American Isekai - Chapter 102 (Patreon)

Once we returned to base, the Chief Commander went and handled the debrief. I was told that I could just go back and relax, so I didn’t argue.

“Man, we just sat there and did nothing. It may as well just have been you three.”

Vetsmon grumbled a bit. He prepared everything just to sit in the car for an hour.

I smiled.

“Hey, you know how much I need you guys. I couldn’t even do something like that without Umara, let alone any other mission.”

“Eh, still. I’ve been finding myself itching lately.”

“I keep telling you to come duel me.”

Feiden spoke out, making Vetsmon click his tongue.

“That’s different. I keep losing to you.”

“You need to get faster. You don’t do that unless you push yourself.”

“No, you’re just too fast. Not even Ponteck is that fast, so I’m pretty sure I could handle him better than you. I feel like I’m just standing still in our duels.”

“Hm.”

Feiden hummed, feeling a bit flattered while Vetsmon sighed.

It was tough for the big guy to keep up with Feiden’s speed, let alone move as fast. I had seen some of their duels as well and could clearly make out how Feiden was in another league all to his own.

He wasn’t quite as fast as Shadowbane. She was the real freak of nature. But Feiden was also several years younger, and yet he wasn’t that much slower. If he kept it up, he would be able to reach that level.

It was scary to think that something could move so fast that it could dodge my bullets even after they were fired. I had now met two such people who were getting to that point, and one of them was only Authoirty 7.

Seriously, how was I supposed to fight at a higher level?

I sighed as we walked, the Puppet Master appearing in our view.

“So? How was it?”

“A resounding success. 4 Scouts dead and not so much as a scratch sustained.”

“Mm, good. Even better than I thought, in fact. Since that’s the case, look forward to another one soon. There are plenty of higher value targets in the vicinity that the General here wants to get rid of. I’ll be finding you some more missions.”

“Sure.”

I nodded plainly. I felt like I was getting used to this already, so I didn’t have any particular reaction.

My only concern was encountering a Royal, but I trusted the Puppet Master’s judgment. He wouldn’t send me on something he knew wasn’t safe.

Still, I needed to be prepared.

After that conversation ended, we all went back to strip our gear and relax. We had been out in the field for no more than three hours, so there was still plenty of daytime left.

That left me with a few thoughts.

I looked at Feiden as we unpacked in our room.

“Hey, how’s your Aura?”

“Mine? Not as good as yours. I’ve never seen an Aura so powerful that it can dodge arrows without even knowing they’re there.”

“Well, I’ve been thinking. I met one of Umara’s friends from the Raven Family not long ago in the Whetted City.”

“Really? I’ve always wanted to go to there. The Martial League sounds much better than the Magisterium, but my parents insisted. Anyway, what’s this about a friend?”

He tossed his armor to the side and took a seat on the bed. I did the same and entered discussion mode.

“She reminded me a lot of you. She specializes in speed, and is freakishly fast. A lot faster than you. Anyway, I helped her with her Aura while I was there. I thought I could do the same with you and Vetsmon, maybe give you a few pointers that might rectify some things. It worked with her, I don’t see a reason it shouldn’t work with you.”

“Well, I’ll certainly take whatever you give. Still, information on Aura is difficult to come by, and that’s not even considering cost. I can pay you for lessons.”

“No no, that’s not why I’m doing this. Just let me help you out. This stuff with the Royal has me antsy lately, so I just want to make sure all of you are as prepared as you can be.”

“You? Antsy? I don’t see it.”

Feiden’s brows raised, a bit of a smile on his face.

“You’re the spitting image of confidence. I didn’t see you nervous even when you were dying.”

“That was an extreme situation. Besides, I’m more concerned about you guys. I need to make sure the people around me aren’t getting hurt just because I’m catching eyes.”

“Well, it should be the other way around. We’re responsible for protecting you. You’re the most talented summoner I’ve ever heard of, let alone seen, but you’re still a summoner. It’s up to us knights and warlocks to take the damage for you.”

“I’m certainly not arguing, but that still puts you in danger, and how can you face the threats trying to kill me if you’re still lacking in certain areas? Would you be able to stop or dodge an arrow you couldn’t see?”

I stared him down with a small smile, his scrutinizing gaze reluctantly giving way.

“Fair point. Then how do you suppose I trian my Aura?”

“Well, I’ll explain it to you how I did with Umara and her friend. After that we can train it physically. Knights learn with their body, so that’s how I’ll teach you. By the way, Umara’s friend was able to dodge my bullets.”

I waved a 1911 around as I said that, making his eyes bulge.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. It baffled me too, but that was until I saw the Raven Chief move so fast it looked like he was teleporting. Still, I think that’s a goal you should shoot for. Who knows, maybe with me there to motivate you, you’ll grow even faster than she did.”

“...Maybe.”

He rubbed his chin, his face neutral, yet his Aura radiating dedtermination. It seemed I had sparked his competitive spirit, or maybe just inspired him.

*Knock Knock*

At that moment, there was a tap on the door, Vetsmon walking in.

“What are you guys doing?”

“Just conversing. Come sit. I’ll explain what I was just telling Feiden.”

Patting the bed, I invited Vetsmon over before going back over everything, elaborating on some things in the process.

Once they both understood what I was offering, we made plans to put it into motion the next day.

It was well into the evening now, so we were tired, especially me. I may have only fired 5 shots, but the use of my coat had taken its toll.

So we went to sleep with our plans, waking up the next day eager to get started.

…

“What are you guys doing?”

“I’m training their Aura.”

“Well, I’d certainly trust you more than anyone else. You made mine sharper than ever and managed to inspire Shadowbane. She had been battling that threshold for over a year, and a few lines form you were able to shatter it like it was all an illusion.”

Umara nodded as she watched Feiden and Vetsmon prepare their gear on the training grounds.

I tampered with my Springfield as she spoke, shrugging.

“She was going to cross it anyway. I just offered a different perspective that managed to help her. Honestly, it’s such a simple concept that I don’t understand why they don’t teach it in schools everywhere.”

“Information on Aura is extremely valuable since it can be such a strong tool. There are in fact techniques for it, but those are Kingdom secrets given only to the most trusted warriors in the military. Even I wouldn’t be getting one until well into my career. So you can imagine how little information there is on developing it open to the public.”

“It’s stupid.”

I scoffed.

“You’d think against a threat capable of wiping our humanity, they would do anything they could to promote strength. But here they are, protecting their interests over the wellbeing of humanity. Besides, if I’ve figured out some secret knowledge no my own, the rest can’t possibly be that special. Their techniques are probably nothing more than rudimentary formations, especially in front of the real monsters I’ve seen wielding Aura.”

I thought of Apocryon, my inspiration for several of my Auric improvements.

President Carrion, an Authority 11, had a strong Aura surpassing any other. However, Apocryon’s was so sharp and destructive that he could kill with it. Carrion’s couldn’t do that. At best, it could get rid of some extrasensory perception.

And then there was the Raven Chief, who was a black hole of perception, capable of eluding my mind so much that my own senses turned against me.

Someone like Carrion couldn't possibly compare, so I had no doubts that the Kingdom was lacking in the field of Aura. After all, where could Carrion have possibly learned how to strengthen his Aura like that?

Maybe he had other techniques that I simply wasn’t aware of, but I also understood enough to know that everything someone’s Aura did was reflected in the Aura itself. I would have seen it, since I could even make out the Chief’s Aura.

But I didn’t, which meant he was either better than both the Chief and Apocryon, or he was far inferior. I was inclined to believe the latter, which only made him more pathetic in my eyes. All his years of living and he couldn’t make a single technique of his own, whereas I was already using Telepathy.

Perhaps I could save Vetsmon and Feiden from that fate. And the only way I would know is if I started now.

Umara sighed.

“Putting that aside, why the sudden motivation? You weren’t thinking of training them before.”

“Well, as you had said, the Royal stuff is something to be concerned about. Well, I’ve been feeling a little on edge lately. I just want to make sure I do what I can to make sure they’re prepared for whatever might happen.”

“On edge? Is this coming from you or your Aura?”

“Is there a difference?”

“...”

She went silent at that.

At this point, I was starting to fail in differentiating between where my own intuition and senses ended and where my Aura began. As it got better, the lines blurred more, transforming into what I could only describe as one unified form of perception.

It was nice to have in battle since it kept me safe, but outside of that, it resulted in some heightened feelings of anxiety bordering on paranoia.

It almost felt like I was always being watched, like there was always a threat to my life no matter how safe I should be. At first it was easy to ignore, but now it was starting to wear me down.

It was why I was training so hard in my free time. Not doing so just made me feel like I was digging my own grave. Only by training could I keep myself out of it.

And now, I was worrying about the people around me. Umara and I had already been working together for a while now, but the other knights of my squad were people I needed to worry about as well.

I explained some of these things to Umara. At the same time, Tana showed up, as I had called her.

I walked over, putting my conversation with my girlfriend to the side.

“Alright, listen close. I’m going to be helping you with Aura by explaining it in simple terms. Then, we’re going to put yours to the test with some live training. It might take a while, but it at least won’t be physically demanding.”

After waving Vetsmon, Feiden, and Tana over, we gathered together and I started explaining my interpretation of Aura.

They were all silent as I spoke. My theories on what Aura was, its purpose, and how it should be used were rather basic, so it wouldn’t teach them anything specific, but it was because of that they could understand it easily.

Like with Umara, they would hopefully realize how to hone their Aura, even if they couldn’t find a way to use it beyond its most basic extrasensory abilities. Still, in our situation, that was the most important.

I knew that Tana had a pretty good Aura. She made that clear when I had first met her. But that was also when I had no idea what the concept even was. Mine had long since surpassed hers.

Still, besides Umara, she probably had the best Aura out of the three knights.

It took about half an hour to get through my explanations, and then I spent some more time answering questions and giving them time to digest.

They were talented, so they could all already sense their Aura and harness it to some extent. That only made it easier for them to understand what I was saying, but unlike with Shadowbane, they weren’t yet at the threshold for enlightenment, or whatever Shadowbane had gone through. It at least wouldn’t happen so quickly for them.

After an hour or so, each of them had grasped what I was saying to some extent. That’s when we moved on to applied training.

I took out my pistol as the three lined up in a line, their backs facing me.

My smile caused Umara to speak.

“What? You enjoy the thought of shooting your friends?”

“Of course not. Still, this situation is quite humorous.”

“Do you want me to silence the gun?”

“No need. It won’t matter.”

I raised my arm with those words, aiming at Tana.

*BANG*

“Ow! Why me first?!”

She yelled and flipped around as the bullet landed on her leg. It probably stung a bit.

“Flip back around. If you don’t want to get shot, then learn to sense it. All you have to do is raise your hand if you think I’m going to shoot you. If you’re right, then you won’t get shot. Otherwise I’ll just make it hurt more.”

*BANG*

Another shot went off, my bullet landing square on Vetsmon’s back.

He cracked his neck.

“Like a massage.”

“Just focus on your Aura.”

I aimed my gun at Tana while smirking at Vetsmon. After that I waited several seconds, giving her time to figure it out.

Of course, I wasn’t simply pointing my gun. I was engaging my own Aura, using it to subtly poke at them with an invisible hand. I wasn’t obviously trying to kill them, so my intentions through my Aura weren’t so strong. But I was still expressing the desire to shoot them, my finger itching in the trigger.

After counting to 10 and not seeing her hand, I shot.

*BANG*

“Ack! Again!?”

“Blame yourself. Next.”

I moved my gun back to Vetsmon.

After 10 seconds, I shot, earning a grunt of displeasure.

Then it was Tana’s turn again, which ended in me shooting her.

Then Tana again.

And again.

And then Vetsmon twice.

Before shooting Tana four times.

And then shooting Vetsmon three times.

Finally, I shot Tana twice before suddenly placing my gun on Feiden’s back.

That’s when I saw his hand go up.

“Heh, I knew you were sharp.”

I smirked and then shot Tana.

“Ahh!! Stop shooting me!”

“Sorry, habit.”

“You’ve said that five times!”

“Because it’s a habit.”

I smiled while aiming at Feiden again. This time, I made my Aura a bit indiscernible.

Sure enough, his hand didn’t go up. He was sensitive, but he still had some work to do.

*BANG*

“Ouch.”

He flinched a bit. My bullet was a bit empowered, making it hurt, not to mention that I had caught him off guard.

“Come on, focus up. I can and will do this all night until all of you are able to sense it. So if you don’t want to be covered in welts…”

*BANG*

“...then start using that Aura.”

I smirked as Vetsmon remained silent in the face of my shot. A bit of Psyka and suddenly he couldn’t shrug it off anymore.

Just like that, I stood and shot my friends for another several hours. They weren’t even allowed to eat, Umara occasionally bringing some water for us in the times that she wasn’t training herself.

It was only when night fell that Vetsmon finally raised his hand.

My brows went up, and then I shot Tana.

“...”

They were all silent, but I could sense Vetsmon’s joy.

As for Tana, she had stopped complaining.

I had said that her Aura was the sharpest of the three. But that’s also why I made it more difficult for her. Feiden never raised his hand again after I shrunk back my Aura, so his back was riddled with red welts. As for Tana, I had never made it easy, so she never raised her hand once.

Thankfully none of them were immature enough to fake it and raise their hand without sensing it. They took training seriously, as most people in this world did given that their lives were actually on the line.

Even after darkness long overtook the sky, we still continued. Umara helped me by silencing the sound of my gun, ensuring that we wouldn't get yelled at for making too much noise.

But we stayed up, even as the moon glowed and midnight came. Hour after hour, I would shoot one of their backs every 10 to 20 seconds. My Aura constantly adjusted between shots, prodding at their own and giving them an idea of what it should feel like. I treated it like shocking awake a new limb.

Still, I didn’t change anything for Tana. I decided that we wouldn’t go anywhere until she raised her hand.

It was a good thing that all of us had the stamina. My body wasn’t as good as there, but I had a strong mind that could push through the fatigue of my brain.

And before we knew it, morning came.

The sun rose, none of us acknowledging it.

I continued shooting, occasionally glancing at that unfamiliar star in the distance poking its head over the horizon.

Umara rested on my lap, continuing to operate her silencing spell.

It was only when the base became active again that she released it, falling asleep in the process.

As for me, as morning passed and we approached noon, even I started to feel the crash of exhaustion.

However, that’s when I noticed something.

*BANG*

Yet another bullet landed on Tana’s back. However, this time, I noticed a fluctuation in her emotions.

There was excitement. For a second, she was about to raise her hand, but she decided to refrain.

That’s when I focused in, making sure my Aura was at the level of subtlety it had always been at for her.

And I shot the others once before moving back to her.

After about 10 seconds, I didn’t see her hand. But I did sense how taught her body became.

So I followed along and shot.

Right before I did, I saw her body twist. I continued with my shot anyway, and sure enough, she had dodged the path before I even shot.

The bullet sailed past her, burying itself in the dirt.

I smiled and stood, walking over to her and planting my hand on her shoulder.

“Ow.”

“Good job. We’re done. Get some sleep.”

“Okay.”

She nodded before tilting to the side and falling to the floor.

The other two did the same, all of them passing out under the afternoon sun.

I just sighed and walked back to Umara, picking her up and taking her to her room before going to sleep myself.