C 265
Raon tossed the grumbling Rimmer into the training room.
"Hey! Be careful! I'm a patient, you know!"
Ignoring his complaints, Raon turned around.
"Sir General Administrator (Herrian Zieghart/Gambling Monster/Light Wind's New Instructor), I'll leave it to you then."
"Sigh..."
Gambling Monster crossed his arms with a sigh.
"Having to serve as a Instructor at this age, I've been through all sorts of things."
He grumbled, but still stood in front of the door.
"Mastering your abilities should be entrusted to someone reliable."
"Hmph!"
"Thank you."
Raon bowed his head to Gambling Monster's back, then entered the training room.
"Let's begin. Will you break the mana core manually, or shall I do it for you?"
"Don't talk about it like breaking an egg!"
Rimmer mumbled, taking a step back in fear.
"You've already made up your mind, haven't you?"
"Well, that's true, but... I need to prepare mentally..."
"I already told you on the way back, I showed you how to use the artificial mana core, so you should have been mentally prepared."
Raon had told him to prepare mentally and learn how to use the artificial mana core on their way back to the family.
Rimmer seemed to have barely paid attention.
"Well, that's... "
"You should start as soon as possible if you want to get stronger even a little bit faster.
You know that better than anyone else."
"I do. I got it! I got it! You unreliable brat!"
Rimmer grumbled and banged the floor with his fist.
"Sigh..."
Gambling Monster sighed and closed his eyes.
He activated the Aura of the shattered mana core.
The accumulated energy flowed through his mana circuit gently, bidding farewell like a final greeting.
'He's experiencing all sorts of things.'
Gambling Monster repaired the torn mana circuit and broke the mana core.
Thanks to Raon and the other kids, he could start a new life.
He felt grateful, yet also sorry for being an insufficient master/leader.
Wooong!
It seemed like it was almost over as the outer part of the artificial mana core was changing.
Thump.
Raon took out two necklaces from his pocket and placed them in front of Rimmer, who was focused on creating the mana core.
"Here's a gift."
The first necklace was an elixir he bought when returning, and the second was a wind attribute elixir he exchanged with the blue-colored silk from before.
He prepared the gift in case Rimmer would be disappointed with the empty mana core.
'This is what being a master and disciple is like.'
As he prepared the elixirs for Rimmer, just like how Rimmer told him to take care of his scattered Auras, he realized that they were both looking out for each other.
Seeing the relationship between a master and disciple, which he had only heard of in stories and books, made him smile.
'Hurry up and come out.'
Raon smiled as he watched Rinmer focused on creating the mana core.
'You have a lot of training to do.'
Hm....
Wrath narrowed his eyes as he looked at the ice flower bracelet.
Was that line right?
*******
"Ugh."
Burren groaned as he opened his eyes.
"Where is this...?"
He looked around, his head throbbing with pain.
It was a dimly lit room with small glowing stones embedded in the walls.
The cold dampness indicated it was likely underground.
"Why am I here...?"
He tried to move, but his arms and legs were bound to something.
Looking down, he saw iron shackles on his wrists and ankles.
"What, what is this?"
Burren bit his lips and tried to unleash his Aura, but even the Aura wouldn't budge.
Something was blocking his mana circuit tightly.
"Ah!"
He remembered.
He recalled how he lost consciousness after hearing his second brother's voice.
It was his brother.
His second brother had undoubtedly kidnapped him and brought him here.
'Why on earth...?'
Burren furrowed his brows.
He couldn't believe his brother would kidnap him just because he wouldn't spread that kind of rumor.
Kkiiiek!
As he shook his throbbing head, the chilling sound of metal against metal resounded, and the iron door opened.
"Brother! What is this?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm not your brother."
Indeed, the person who came into the room wasn't his second brother.
It was Allan, the second in command of the Thundersword Squad, with a small frame and a gentle appearance.
"Hello. It's been a while, Burren."
"Allan?"
The person who entered the room was Allan, the second in command of the Ziggurat (the previous chapter translated his brother's squad as thundersword faction/squad and now it changes to Ziggurat wtf, I will use thundersword for now).
He had often seen him as Allan had been following his brother since he was young.
"Yes, that's correct. It's been quite a while, but you still recognize me."
He smiled lightly and pulled a chair from the outside, seating himself.
"Where is my brother? Release me and I'll..."
"I'm sorry, but you don't have the authority to give me orders."
Allan's smile remained the same, but his pupils were chillingly cold.
"Of course, I understand that you might not believe me because of Gelmier's doubts. That's why I'm here." (I don't know which one his correct name is because the translations result of his name sometimes as gelemia then gelmeer, gelemia and etc, for now I will use Gelmier, it's easy to remember until reaperscans reach the chapter and translates the correct name).
"Brother did this? Do you think I'll believe such a thing?"
"I don't do such blatant brainwashing as Gelmier, so don't worry."
Allan chuckled.
"What I do is a slow and subtle form of psychological manipulation. It may be weaker and slower, but thoughts naturally change. About ten days should be enough to set you free. Of course, the Burren then may not be the same as you are now."
He seemed to think that he had already caught his prey as he grinned.
"Before that, let me give you one last chance. The Information about Raon Zieghart..."
"Pfft!"
Burren spat at Allan's face as he spoke.
"I am Zieghart! I will never sell out information about my comrades! And you know nothing about Raon! He's the kind of person who would break through here and come for me!"
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that either."
Allan wiped the spit off his cheek and smiled slyly.
"We have prepared for that as well."
******
"Household chores?"
Raon looked at Tias, Burren's servant, who had come to the fifth training ground.
"Yes. The internal schedule of the Central Martial Hall makes it difficult for him to participate in training for about ten days."
Tias lowered his head, explaining that Buren couldn't attend the training due to internal matters in the Central Martial Palace.
"I see."
Raon nodded slowly and observed Tias.
'But something feels off.'
He remembered that Tias used to smile sincerely whenever he saw him since the day he woke Burren up from the former Martial Palace.
However, now the atmosphere seemed colder, as if they had returned to how they used to be.
"Thank you for understanding."
After a brief moment of closing his eyes, Tias bowed politely and left.
'Looks like I need to gather some information.'
Raon thought he should ask Judiel to find out about Gelmier and Burren's whereabouts.
"But what about me? I have something to do too!"
Martha complained, upset.
"What's the matter?"
"Well, umm?"
"What's going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"I asked what's going on."
"Ugh, if you ask me so directly, I can't say! Hmph!"
She seemed flustered by the direct question and bit her tongue lightly.
"If you don't have anything to say, it's fine."
"Ugh, don't imitate me! I didn't do it on purpose!"
Raon smirked at the Light Wind Squad. As today was their day off, everyone was focused on resting, and their complexions were not bad.
"What about Burren Captain?"
Krein raised his hand.
The other members's eyes widened with curiosity.
Even Runaan, who usually dozed off, raised her head with interest.
"The mana core is completed, and he's currently gathering his Aura."
Raon pointed towards the innermost training room guarded by Gambling Monster. Rimmer had completed the mana core this morning and was currently absorbing the elixirs.
"He'll take care of it on his own, so don't worry and focus on your training."
Raon grinned and opened a box on the table.
"Put these on your wrists and ankles as soon as you get them."
He tossed black wristbands and anklets to the Light Wind members.
"Hmm?"
"This is... Ugh!"
"Ugh, why are these so heavy!"
"Heck! There's a ghost on the bracelet!"
The squad felt their Aura being snatched away and panicked, flailing around.
"They are not snatching it away, but your Aura is adding weight to the bracelet and anklet. The stronger your Aura, the heavier they become."
Raon explained the training artifact Heukhwan that Encia had made for them.
"You won't be able to take them off without my permission. Carry them around even when you eat or go to the bathroom."
"What? Are we supposed to move with these?"
"If you think it's impossible, that means you can't adapt yet. Humans are creatures of adaptation. You'll get used to it quickly. Let's start with some long-distance running."
The Light Wind members grumbled about how they couldn't possibly wear the Heukhwan and move, but they obediently followed Raon to the training area.
"Hooook!"
"This is crazy!"
"I'm sucking up all of Burren-nim's honey!"
"Number one is me!"
"How many laps should we run?"
The members ran while complaining, and Raon watched them, content.
"It seems okay."
Whether it was because they hated sparring or because they had trained so much, the Light Wind Squad was running with the Heukhwan's weight without any problems.
"I'm fine with the plan then."
Whether it was due to their dislike for sparring or because they had trained hard, the Light Wind Squad was handling the Heukhwan's weight well as they ran.
"You guys are willing to train this way. I'm feeling good about it."
Raon smirked while the members grumbled and ran.
"You are devils! You're all devils!"
"They look like angels compared to you."
"If I just had more strength, I could take it off!"
The members were running with tears in their eyes.
"Don't worry. You'll get used to it!"
"This doesn't make sense!"
Raon ignored their complaints and continued to give them advice on how to train while they ran.
"Come out while running. I'm planning a survival training at Bukmang Mountain. You'll be hiding your presence and breath, and I'll find and attack you. Make a strategy beforehand on how you'll survive."
Raon explained the survival training plan he had prepared in advance to the members who were running.
"Survival?"
"This is insane training..."
"It's scary just to hear about it..."
The members sighed, seeming fed up with the idea.
"When are we doing that?"
Dorian stopped and pretended to ask the question, as if he needed a break.
"Tonight."
At Raon's response, the entire Light Wind Squad stopped and turned to look at him.
Their eyes seemed like they would pop out of their sockets.
"Tonight...?"
"Hey! Are you crazy?"
Lunnan and Martha gasped in shock, their mouths hanging open.
"Tonight, you say?"
"Why the hell are you doing this?"
"Even that elf, Rimmer, gave us a day off!"
All the members of the Light Wind Squad shouted in disbelief.
"That's your concern, but if you don't want to suffer, you better start planning right now. Plan how you'll survive on that mountain."
"But it's not even human!"
"It's a demon, a devil for sure!"
Raon smirked as he saw the Light Wind Squad horrified.
'Ah, this is fun.'
He enjoyed the wicked glares from the members of the Light Wind Squad.
"Now we just need that person to come out."
He looked towards the inner training room.
"I'm sure he's enjoying the recognition from everyone."
Wrath nodded, as if he was impressed.
"You are truly an outstanding talent. You should be with the King in the Demon Realm..."
"No thanks."
Raon declined with a grin.
