Chapter 43: The Nascent Champion Rank! The Battle Aura!
Kaiden spent some time talking with his two pets, Piedra and Ibla. He introduced them to his territory and its residents, taught them some basics — such as not attacking the territory's residents — and covered some common sense about this world, like the territory's borders and other such matters.
When he felt he had spent enough time with them, he stopped. He would teach them more later.
He sent the lizard monster Piedra to rest — she was still injured, so he set out several units of meat to help her recover. As for the Subterranean Dragon Worm Ibla, he gave her additional instructions: hunt her own food, don't dig holes randomly. Kaiden had no desire to hear stories about people suddenly falling into a deep pit.
Ibla was like a curious child waiting for the adults to finish their instructions so she could go play. Every time Kaiden reminded her to pay attention to something, she would respond quickly in her sweet voice: "Yes, master!" and "Understood, master!"
Kaiden felt amused watching her reactions. He genuinely doubted whether she was actually listening to the warnings he was giving her.
But he didn't call her out on it. Instead he sent her to explore the territory as she had been hoping — though he ordered her not to stray too far. She said she understood, her voice tinged with barely contained excitement. It was obvious she was eager to explore the world, for she disappeared underground at a breathtaking speed, leaving behind only a faint trace of dust.
Kaiden shook his head with a smile.
Finally, with his hands free, he wanted to go explore the "Subterranean Vision" skill to try and complete the quest. But at that very moment, he saw Laura approaching from a distance with hurried steps — so he stopped where he was.
He wasn't surprised. He had seen the kill notification for the monster Laura had just slain, though he hadn't paid it much attention. It seemed she had reached her rank threshold through that last kill.
Laura arrived before him quickly. It was just as he had expected — she had indeed reached her rank threshold.
"Well done."
"Thank you, my lord!"
He nodded in response to Laura's enthusiastic thanks. He didn't linger any further. The day was passing at great speed and he still had many things to attend to. So he began the upgrade ceremony without any more words.
The cost of promoting an elite soldier to the Nascent Champion rank was 8 Origin Points — a modest sum given what he had.
Kaiden selected confirm.
The white flash appeared and enveloped Laura completely. It disappeared swiftly, revealing the blonde's new appearance.
The changes that had come over Laura were significant. But Kaiden didn't examine them closely at this moment — he was occupied reading the consecutive notifications:
[System Alert: Congratulations! You have promoted elite soldier archer Laura to the Nascent Champion class.]
[System Alert: Please note that for forces at the Silver rank and above, equipment and armor matching their power level will no longer be provided, as this falls outside the Beginner Support period.]
[Quest "The Territory's First Hero!" Completed! Reward dispatched: Random Nascent Champion ×1.]
A white flash appeared beside Laura. It gave way to a man in his late twenties with explosive musculature, a large broad-bladed war sword strapped diagonally across his back. His armor resembled that of ancient Roman soldiers, his massive build clearly visible beneath it. He knelt on one knee before Kaiden and paid his respects.
"Josh greets the Lord."
"Rise. Welcome among us."
Kaiden welcomed him and returned to reading the notifications carefully. He was surprised to see the second system alert. He glanced at Laura and saw that her armor and bow had already been upgraded, though they didn't appear to carry any special effects.
This suddenly reminded him of something. The 20 units of mithril ore he had gained earlier from the Silver Treasure Chest. And his conversation with Hook the Blacksmith the following day — Hook at the time had still been just an apprentice blacksmith, unable to produce anything useful from mithril. So the matter had been temporarily shelved, and Kaiden had later forgotten about it amid everything else, having had no need for anything made from mithril ore.
Now, with the system withdrawing its care, it was naturally time to add this to the agenda.
Kaiden opened Laura's information board to see the changes brought by her rank upgrade:
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Name: Laura
Rank: Nascent Champion (Archer)
Level: 10
Experience: 0 / 1,200
Loyalty: 95%
Battle Aura Type: Wind Aura (Green)
Aura Properties: Acceleration, Laceration
Description: An expert archer. During the rank-breaking process, she awakened the Knight's Seed and acquired a Wind-type Battle Aura, making her a superhuman individual capable of confronting even Rare-tier monsters.
Note: At the current "Nascent Champion" stage, she can only use the Battle Aura for short periods.
Class Skills:
- Aura Sense (Common, Passive)
- Hawk Eye (Rare, Passive)
- Piercing Shot (Rare, Active)
- Arrow Volley (Rare, Active)
Future Path: (Locked — please upgrade the Lord's Crown to the Silver Crown tier to view information)
---
Laura's attributes board had undergone sweeping changes, and a great many details had been added — which left Kaiden a little overwhelmed.
"Hmm… Battle Aura?"
But the first thing that seized his attention was the Battle Aura. This detail reminded Kaiden of the Knight's Path he had been offered as an alternative to the Mage's Path previously. At the time, the path's information had stated that the host would acquire the Knight's Seed and the ability to cultivate, refine, and control the Battle Aura to increase their strength and defense for limited periods.
But he hadn't chosen that path. So he didn't know much about Battle Aura types. As shown in the status board, Laura had acquired the Wind Aura, with properties of Acceleration and Laceration. Kaiden had a basic idea from the names alone, but decided to wait until he could see it in action to know more.
He focused on the skills — a habit he had picked up. Sure enough, detailed descriptions of the skills appeared before him.
The "Aura Sense" skill was similar to the skill he himself had acquired when entering the Mage class — only mana was replaced by aura, a different system. Its function was simply to sense aura instinctively and passively.
As for the remaining skills, they were specialized skills for the archer class. "Hawk Eye" granted sharp vision over long distances, making Laura an ideal sharpshooter. "Piercing Shot": by concentrating and compressing aura onto an arrow, she could fire an armor-piercing arrow with high destructive power — though according to the description, this skill consumed a large portion of aura. Kaiden estimated Laura could only use it a limited number of times.
As for the last skill, "Arrow Volley," she could through it fire multiple arrows simultaneously — up to five — to strike multiple targets or concentrate on a single one.
It had to be said that the changes following Laura's promotion completely stunned Kaiden. He had known she would become considerably stronger, but not to this degree.
He turned to look at the territory's second newly arrived hero and opened his status board:
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Name: Josh
Rank: Nascent Champion (Broad-Blade Swordsman)
Level: 10
Experience: 0 / 1,200
Loyalty: 75%
Battle Aura Type: Power Aura (Orange)
Aura Properties: Detonation Point, Weight, Physical Strength
Description: A broad-blade swordsman. Possesses immense physical strength and endurance. His sword is heavy as a mountain — a single swing is enough to turn enemies into a bloody pulp. Awakened to the Knight's Seed of the Power type, making his destructive force greater and more lethal.
Note: At the current "Nascent Champion" stage, he can only use the Battle Aura for short periods.
Class Skills:
- Aura Sense (Common, Passive)
- Mountain Descent (Rare, Active)
- Full Burst (Rare, Active)
- Berserk (Rare, Passive)
Future Path: (Locked — please upgrade the Lord's Crown to the Silver Crown tier to view information)
---
Kaiden finished reading both boards. He drew a deep breath. Then exhaled quietly:
"The Battle Aura is incredible. Champions are incredible."
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— End of Chapter Forty-Three —
Author’s note: There are 10 additional chapters available on Patreon for a small fee for anyone wishing to support the novel. I have also started posting character images.