Chapter 198: Triumphant Return (4)
From what Varos had observed, Leven was undoubtedly a diligent person. Whenever given the opportunity, he never slacked off and devoted himself wholeheartedly to training.
And yet... Damn, who knew someone could be diligent without being steadfast?
Leven had an innate talent for swordsmanship. There was no doubt about that. No matter what technique he encountered, he could mimic it after seeing it once or twice, quickly grasping its core and making it his own.
The problem is that his outstanding talent was overshadowed by Emil's presence.
It was the environment he grew up in. Leven could imitate almost any technique with near-perfection. The keyword here was near, not absolute perfection. About 90% complete, perhaps?
In real combat, that was good enough to be considered fully mastered. Even skilled warriors wouldn't notice the slight gap. But stopping there meant he could never break past the wall of aura awakening. This was why having a great mentor was essential.
The difference between almost perfected and fully perfected was subtle, so subtle that only a warrior at a higher level could bridge that gap.
In her past life, Lapicel had received training from the martial king Beltia at a young age. Thanks to that, she had easily overcome this stage and steadily walked the path of the sword.
On the other hand, Leven was hindered by Emil. Naturally, as brothers, they would have trained in swordsmanship together. Both were highly talented, and both would have excelled. The problem was that Emil's talent was slightly greater.
If Leven could reach about 90% completion on his own, Emil could reach 95%. And at that point, Gellard had simply filled in the remaining 5% for Emil before moving on to the next stage.
Which means Sir Leven has been stuck at 95% all this time.
The bigger issue was that Leven was undeniably a genius. If he had been merely an ordinary talent, he would have kept trying and trying until he finally broke through by sheer perseverance, just like how Serati had awakened her aura.