Rylan breathed in as he stepped strongly on the grass. Less than a second later, the rhythmic sound of dozens of people following his movements reached his ears.

"Keep running!" he said loudly, hearing the sounds of pained agreement coming from the soldiers behind him.

With a grin, he continued to run. Each step was perfectly balanced and light, but judging from the sounds, the same couldn't be said about the ones following him. His improved senses could perceive the soldiers gritting their teeth and wiping their sweat, each step strenuous and merciless.

Not bad. We've been running since dawn.

Rylan looked up. The sun had almost reached its peak.

This is enough for now.

It was time to slow down and let the soldiers catch their breath before stopping entirely. Without a word, he took a turn to the right in the direction of the entrance to Damian's Mage Tower. Barely a moment later, bursting cheers echoed. Rylan couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't celebrate just yet. Tomorrow, we'll do all of it again. Now, follow me," he yelled, keeping his smile and continuing to run.

He glanced over his shoulder to look at Jack, Scott, Daniel, and Raniel, who were all struggling to approach him.

"Master, is this really enough?" Scott gasped out before the others could speak. "Is this all we need to do?"

Rylan looked at the man up and down. Just like all the other soldiers, Scott wore his full armor. The shirt underneath it was completely soaked, his legs were clearly struggling to hold up his own weight, and he looked like he was about to die, but his eyes still burned with steeled determination. The resolve of one who knew he needed to grasp at any opportunity to become stronger. Rylan smiled.

"Of course not. Next, we'll train in sword fighting, then magic theory," Rylan said, this time in a lower tone. "But let the others celebrate for a bit."

Daniel and Raniel groaned at the same time, and Jack almost stumbled.

"…Young master," the man gasped out after a second. "It's not that I don't believe in your method, but I don't think the others will be able to take it."

The twins nodded. Meanwhile, Scott only turned to look at Jack and scowled.

"Don't be a wuss," he said. "We'll do what we need to do. That's the only way."

Jack blinked and met Scott's stare.

"It's not about what we need to do or not. It's about what we can actually manage to do."

"Don't worry, Jack," Rylan intervened before the situation could devolve into an argument. "You guys will be fine. I know what I'm doing. I agree with you, even, but there's a point to making everyone confront their limits time and time again."

Jack slowly nodded and continued to breathe deeply. Rylan turned to face forward, looking at the Mage Tower's entrance, which was now much closer.

Not all of them will be able to do it, but if I want any of them to succeed, I need to do it like this.

It was only natural that some wouldn't be able to keep pushing themselves beyond their limits. Still, it was the only way to awaken Aura. Even if some of the soldiers failed, he was confident that he could make most of them succeed, even if it would be extremely difficult. After all, in his past life, most warriors awakened Aura at some point.

The biggest difference was how long it took them.

Some had been able to awaken Aura after only a few years of training, while others required decades. Unfortunately, there was no time for the latter option. Rylan knew he needed to make the soldiers stronger, and quickly. There was no telling when and what the Empire would do.

Finally, after a short time, the group strode inside Damian's Mage Tower. Without stopping but moving more slowly, Rylan continued to lead them through the winding stairways and shifting bookcases until they reached the first training ground. It was a wide, empty room.

Rylan stopped running and walked to the middle of the room, then turned around to look at the soldiers, evaluating their condition. Apart from the few who were heaving and had their hands on their knees, the rest seemed to be in good enough shape. Of course, the most outstanding ones were Scott, Jack, and the twins. Some soldiers ran their gauntlets through their sweat-soaked hair, while others only focused on breathing deeply and slowly.

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Crossing his arms, Rylan waited a while for them to catch their breath.

"Now, we're going to fight," he said after a few seconds, grabbing Silver Twilight's hilt.

Each of the soldiers flinched almost at the same time.

"…Now, young master?" one of the soldiers tentatively asked, his voice filled with dread.

Rylan flashed him a bright smile and nodded.

"Of course. In the near future, you guys will be fighting each other in turns, but today, you will all fight me as a group."

Silence.

"Oh, fuck yeah," Scott's voice was the first to break the still atmosphere, the sound of steel escaping its sheath marring it. "Let's fucking do this."

Jack scoffed at the man and looked back at Rylan, then slowly drew his sword.

"Please be careful, young master," he stated.

Rylan nodded. The other soldiers traded looks.

"Wait, he's not joking?" one of them muttered to another.

"Wouldn't we all just get crushed?" another asked.

After listening to a few more mumbling complaints, Rylan clapped once, drawing the soldiers' attention to him.

"Don't worry," he said. "I won't use mana for this. It'll just be swordplay. You guys are free to use whatever strategy you think will work best, no restrictions. Come at me as if you're trying to kill me."

Most of the soldiers froze in place before a few narrowed their eyes.

"…You're very confident, young master," one of them said loudly, drawing his sword. "We know you're stronger than any of us, but…"

Once Rylan shrugged, more of the soldiers grabbed the hilts of their weapons. After a few seconds, they were all facing him, swords in hand. Rylan drew Silver Twilight with a grin and beckoned them.

Scott was the first to rush in. The man shot forward, thrusting the blade toward Rylan's chest. In turn, Rylan only sidestepped and cleanly parried the blow. It was the start of the battle. Daniel and Raniel dashed at him from the sides as Scott recovered his balance, while Jack took a cautious approach and walked instead of running. Meanwhile, some of the other soldiers also started rushing toward him. Rylan breathed out.

Scott found his balance at the same time that the twins' attacks arrived. One was a slash from the right that aimed at Rylan's chest, while the other was a stab aimed at his right knee. Still, Rylan could sense some hesitation in their blades. He sighed inwardly.

Blades like this can't reach me.

He needed to give them a rather rude awakening and force them to take the battle seriously. Once the blades had almost reached him, he finally moved and jumped. His right foot slammed right into Daniel's chest, and his left one kicked Raniel in the face, all while using Silver Twilight to parry another attack from Scott. The twins almost flew backward, rolling on the floor as Jack dashed in and swung his blade in a diagonal arc, seeking to cut Rylan from shoulder to waist. Rylan couldn't feel any hesitation in his attack, unlike the twins'. Satisfied, he reacted. A swing of his sword later, Jack's sword almost escaped the man's grasp.

The battle raged on. More and more of the soldiers arrived and tried to attack him, but there were only so many who could attack him at the same time due to spatial limitations. As he fought, Rylan kept moving around without using any Skills or techniques such as the Falling Snow Steps, relying only on his physical stats and skill. Naturally, the soldiers were easily overwhelmed, unable to even begin to cross the enormous gap in battle experience and skill.

One after the other, Rylan either blocked or parried most blows, avoiding a few of them while counterattacking. The flat of the blade slammed into some soldiers' chests, forcing the air out of their lungs, while his free hand and feet landed on the faces or legs of others, ruining their balance. Simultaneously, Rylan avoided knocking out any of the soldiers, even though he could have easily done so – this was training, not a battle.

After only a few minutes, the soldiers' exhaustion began to show. They struggled to take steady steps and to raise their arms and attack. Rylan watched all of this attentively as he lightly dodged a slash that came for his neck.

"Keep fighting!" he shouted in a clear voice, his voice echoing throughout the room. "Only stop when I say so!"

The soldiers gritted their teeth and kept attacking and moving around. By this point, all of them were completely focused on defeating him. It was only a matter of course after he'd intentionally caused them pain and forced them to become aggressive. Of course, the most outstanding ones were still his group of four. Rylan looked at Scott. Sweat was dripping down the man's brow, and he shook like a flame in the wind, but his eyes still burned.

Giving him hope was the right choice.

Rylan smiled and kept fighting. The minutes ticked by, one after the other. By the end of the fifteenth minute, most soldiers could just barely move. By the end of the twentieth minute, over half of them were lying on the ground, taking deep breaths.

"Don't stop!" Rylan shouted.

Cursing and whining, the soldiers stood up and grabbed their swords with shaking hands. The mock battle raged on.

It was only on the thirtieth minute that Rylan told them to stop. Almost simultaneously, all soldiers collapsed, including Jack, Scott, and the twins. Rylan evaluated the group. Without exception, all of them were soaked in sweat and unable to even say anything. Rylan nodded, satisfied.

This is how it's got to be. Teaching is fun.

He chuckled to himself and approached the soldiers.

"Gentlemen," he said. "Rest for now. Two hours from now, you've got magic theory classes. Don't be late."

The soldiers groaned, a few of them rolling away from Rylan, making him chuckle. He walked toward the doors, tapping all the soldiers in his way on the shoulder. All of them acknowledged him, but clearly had no energy left to say anything. Rylan nodded at the sight and walked to the doors.

Now, he needed some training of his own.

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