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Before Conra could even finish his thoughts, he stepped forward, shedding his stealth. But no one caught sight of Conra as his stealth faded. In the very next moment, the boy’s figure blurred into a faint afterimage and vanished.

A sudden high-speed movement executed before it could even be caught in sight. No matter how naturally gifted the giants were as warriors, it was difficult for them to grasp his figure with their eyes.

Conra, who had been moving forward like a shot arrow, stomped the ground repeatedly with his booted feet, tearing through the spatial veil before him. Like a shadow passing by in an instant, the boy’s figure sank into the trembling space beyond.

The place where the boy, who had hidden himself in space, reappeared was a spot perfectly concealed from the surrounding eyes, tucked between three giants. Only one giant stood directly in front of him.

The giant, blinking in confusion, was about to let out a roar of anger but froze stiff on the spot before he could act.

With a few light taps, Conra sealed the giant soldier’s human and demon blood, depriving him of his ability to speak and move. In the next moment, Conra moved to blindside the giant soldier, activating the power of the Cloak Quiness.

The giant, unable to move or make a sound, felt terror at his own state. He felt as if he had encountered a ghost due to Conra, who had vanished from sight. Rolling his eyes, he wanted to alert his comrades, but his stubborn body couldn’t send any signal.

If he had remained paralyzed, his comrades might have approached him, sensing something was wrong. The problem was that shortly after, his body regained some movement, though his vocal cords remained unresponsive.

Still, the giant soldier tried to communicate his situation.

“…, …!”

Unable to make a sound or move his tongue and lips properly, he had no choice but to resort to body language. Though he could move, his limbs still felt awkward as he tried to communicate with his comrades.

“?”

But his comrades’ reactions were cold. They all looked at him with question marks above their heads, as if thinking, “What’s wrong with him? Is he crazy?” The giant soldier felt suffocated, but there was no other way. Eventually, he thrashed around in frustration until his comrades beat him into submission.

Meanwhile, Conra, having made a fool of one giant soldier, began to move according to his plan.

‘Damn, it’s like tentacles.’

Dodging the sword energy strands extending like tentacles from the sword aura, Conra slowly wormed his way between the giant soldiers and the sword aura. Once he found a suitable spot, he used his boots to move to the next predetermined location. After moving, he would slip out in a similar manner to how he had toyed with the giant soldier.

Though there were difficult moments, it was manageable. When things got tough, he carefully strummed his lute, using music to overcome the situation.

Unlike most spells, which typically required a noticeable surge of main strength, the lute’s music and sound techniques had a more natural and subdued reaction, making it possible.

‘Well, at this rate, I should be able to reach the tower without any problems.’

The progress was painfully slow. Sometimes, he had to stop completely, waiting for the tentacle-like sword energy to pass. But despite that, Conra steadily approached the tower. His eyes gleamed sharply as he watched the layers of the sword aura peel away.

If he continued like this, he could pass through the tower’s sword aura and the giants’ guard. Just as he was hurrying along, having repeated the process three times, a sudden variable occurred.

“Huh!?”

‘Ugh, suddenly?’

A fierce, intangible bundle of sword energy surged violently, as if sensing an intruder. Facing the turbulent sword aura, Conra strained his eyes, trying to read the sudden change.

The chilling sensation, as if his soul was being sliced, was hard to suppress. Adjusting his path to the changing sword aura was no simple task. Facing the harsh onslaught, Conra dodged, deflected, and even thrust his spear energy to avoid being caught in the sword aura’s trajectory.

The clash between the sword aura and spear energy was like a toothpick against a kitchen knife—precarious and dangerous. Yet, surprisingly, the boy managed to maintain a precarious balance, carving out his path.

“Guh, guh…!”

Every time the sword aura and spear energy clashed, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins, and his head rang. His jaw clenched so hard that veins bulged, and despair loomed as if death was imminent.

‘It’s tough. Honestly, I’ve done well so far. But…’

For a moment, Conra’s mind flashed back to his revered teacher, Sophia de Chazel, and their sparring sessions.

‘Master’s sword aura was far more ferocious and complex. This level, though large, isn’t something I can’t handle.’

The sword aura he faced during his sparring with Sophia was like an infinite, harmonious ocean. Each strand was part of the whole, yet each had the potential to become the whole.

Having experienced such a bizarre sword aura, the tower’s sword aura, though intense, wasn’t something he couldn’t comprehend.

Conra stubbornly pressed on toward the tower.

Though the tower’s sword aura changes made it harder to activate his boots, slowing his progress, and each moment of dealing with the sword aura took a toll on him mentally and physically…

His finely tuned senses didn’t miss a single change in the tower’s sword aura, and his mind and body remained calm, finding the right path through the chaos.

Watching Conra, the spirits murmured.

{He’s reaching his limit,}

{He’s done incredibly well so far, but he’s nearing his limit.}

Technically, Conra was flawlessly countering the sword aura’s energy strands.

However, no matter how skilled, facing the sword aura of a master swordsman was exhausting.

Even though it was just intangible energy, the sword aura and energy were the essence of a master swordsman’s years of training and perception. The tower’s sword aura, though from an inanimate structure, carried the weight of its grandeur and ruthlessness.

Conra’s technical skill, his genius-level ability, was something worthy of praise across eras. But sadly, Conra was still a young teenager. His body was still growing, and the hormones surging through him were transforming him from a child to an adult.

Though his spirit was strong and noble, the natural weakness of being in a growth phase wasn’t something that could be overcome easily.

The mind and body are not separate. That simple truth was now holding the boy back.

‘I can still do it…’

{He’s reaching his limit. He needs to find a safe spot to recover.}

‘Then it’ll be too late. I have to… somehow… do it!’

Conra, still unyielding, raised his spear, preparing to unleash his spear energy and activate his cloak, boots, and lute.

But the next moment, Conra’s figure wavered as he tried to extend his spear energy to counter the sword aura. His vision blurred, then darkened, and a momentary blankness occurred in his consciousness. Though he quickly regained his stance and shook off the sword energy, the damage from that brief moment was severe.

His stealth, maintained by the cloak, broke, and Conra’s figure was fully exposed to the surrounding giant soldiers.

“Damn it!”

Realizing his mistake, Conra hastily cursed and tried to activate the Cloak Quiness, but it was too late. The sudden appearance of the boy in mid-air drew the attention of the giant soldiers. Feeling their gazes converge on him, Conra broke into a cold sweat and awkwardly forced a smile.

 

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