Chapter 65: Using Aura
The semi-visible, greenish-blue energy swirled around his wooden blade, condensing until it was wrapped in a vibrant, humming sheen.
Emma’s breath paused, eyes widened in shock.
"Aura coating..." she muttered.
"Aura?!" several students screamed, instinctively getting to their feet.
It was a completely absurd sight. Achieving true aura coating required relentless physical conditioning and mental refinement; only a ridiculously small hand-picked elite among the entire student body could manifest it.
And now, the notoriously talentless Volsver’s trash was casually wielding it on the training grounds?!
Even Crown Prince Theo was staring in absolute awe, his jaw practically touching the dirt. A guy standing beside the royal heir murmured, "It... it isn’t nearly as dense or refined as Your Highness’s personal aura, though."
"That doesn’t matter," Theo replied with a bright, fascinated grin. "Manifesting aura is already an incredible achievement in itself."
Back on the field, Emma’s initial shock melted away, replaced by a deeply excited smile. Her heart thumped wildly, her battle-maniac instincts roaring.
"Just how many things have you been hiding from me, Young Master?" she asked, her voice trembling with pure adrenaline as a dense layer of her own greenish-blue aura enveloped her wooden sword, holding back to his level.
Eren shrugged, his signature lazy smirk returning despite the sweat dripping down his temple. "Who knows? I find new things every single day."
"Let’s test them!" Emma shouted.
She lunged forward, bringing her blade down in a wild arc.
This time, Eren didn’t dodge or execute a clever parry. He charged straight head-on, swinging his aura-coated sword to clash directly against hers.
BOOM!
A shockwave tore through the training ring, blowing up a cloud of dust. The energy sent Eren flying backward; he hit the dirt, rolling several times to absorb the impact before plunging his broken wooden blade deep into the ground to halt.
Emma, meanwhile, remained standing perfectly still in her position.
She looked down at her weapon, her eyes widening slightly as fractures spread across the wood and it snapped completely in half, its top portion clattering into the ground.
It was silent. Heavy silence. No one can even breathe.
Eren slowly pushed himself back up to his feet, dusting off his uniform with just minor scrapes. He raised his eyes, looking at his captain.
The silence held for one more second—and then the crowd completely lost its mind.
A roar of cheers erupted from the students! For a moment, everyone completely forgot about Eren’s notorious history, his stalker reputation, and his public scandals. All their brains registered was the pure adrenaline rush of an absolute peak-tier martial clash.
Emma smiled warmly, tossing her broken hilt aside as she began walking toward him.
Everyone leaned forward with eager expressions, fully expecting the fierce instructor to shower him with glowing praise for his miraculous achievement.
But Eren knew his girlfriend entirely too well.
The exact moment Emma stopped right in front of him, her warm smile vanished, replaced by a stern, menacing scowl. She placed her hands on her hips, towering over him as her lecture mode launched at maximum volume.
"Your footwork during that final clash was utterly atrocious!" Emma barked, completely silencing the cheering crowd within two seconds flat. "You relied entirely on the raw burst of aura to force a standstill! If I had been wielding a real steel broadsword instead of a wooden dummy, your wrist joint would have shattered upon impact! And what was that desperate ground-roll?! You exposed your left flank for nearly half a second!"
The poor students in the audience froze in utter horror, their cheers dying in their throats as they watched the terrifying instructor mercilessly dismantle the victor’s entire performance piece by piece.
After three solid minutes of delivering a relentless, highly detailed tactical critique of all his physical flaws, Emma finally paused to catch her breath.
Her stern expression suddenly softened, and a genuine smile broke across her face.
"That being said..." Emma purred, her grey eyes sparkling with deep, undeniable affection. "I was genuinely, thoroughly impressed today."
The surrounding students let out a collective, breathless gasp, their excitement instantly reigniting as the dramatic martial session concluded on a high note.
***
Later that evening, inside Eren’s private quarters, Mira was humming a cheerful, bubbly tune in the kitchenette area as she was cooking delicious dinner for Eren.
Hearing the front door open, she spun around with a brilliant smile to welcome her master home, only to freeze mid-stride. Standing at the threshold right behind Eren was a certain tanned, pink-haired captain.
"Hey, Mira," Eren announced casually, loosening his collar. "Is it fine if Emma joins us for dinner tonight?"
Mira blinks her green eyes in surprise before a mischievous grin tugs at her lips. "Oh? Does this mean the lovers’ quarrel has officially concluded? Have you two finally patched things up?"
Emma scratches the back of her neck with a hint of embarrassment. "Of course we did. How could I possibly stay angry and avoid this idiot for days?"
Within minutes, the three of them were gathered around the small wooden dining table. Emma was practically devouring her portion, her eyes sparkling with absolute delight as she chewed.
"By the heavens, Mira! Is this the kind of feast you prepare for him every single day? You are far too good to him!"
Mira puffed out her spectacular chest, smirking triumphantly. "Of course it is! It is my sacred duty as his dedicated partner to feed him properly. And, naturally... it is my job to take exceptionally good care of his daily needs while his other girlfriends are far too busy with their high-class academic work."
Emma offered a wry, amused smile, casting a glance toward the shameless dark-haired guy. "Oh, is that so? Look at you, getting spoiled daily."
Eren was about to give a counter-statement, but the moment he opened his mouth, he froze solid as a smooth, warm sensation at his lower part.
Eren glanced down discreetly under the tablecloth only to see Emma’s bare leg was pressing firmly against the crotch of his trousers.
Eren’s eyes snapped up to lock onto his captain.
But she was casually chewing her food, giving him a sly, wicked wink. She slowly pushed her foot a little more, expertly teasing the rapidly awakening dragon beneath his pants.
Eren took a slow breath, trying his absolute hardest to maintain a completely neutral face while his internal control mechanisms fought for absolute survival.
’I am going to have to enforce some severe discipline on this girl before the night concludes.’