The Aura Ascendant: A Knight's Unbroken Path

Killian sighed as he realized that these slaves were still unaware of how to handle Spells.

"Instead of tackling your master, you have to use your speed. You're being trained every day for that. You just have to grab their wrists and force them downward, grounding the energy safely. Then you knock him out if he resists."

Killian could only start teaching them more about various Spells that their master might use… This continued for about a month as they all started to get familiar with all the various Spell triggers, activation requirements, duration, range, and others.

It was hard.

After all, they had zero Mana and couldn't use any Spells at all. They were Aura Users.

They could only imagine these Spells and remember Killian's words.

Then, since they had already learned for four weeks, Killian started another test.

His gaze swept the room, landing on Hayden.

Over the past four weeks, he had noticed that Hayden had the best potential among them. If Hayden were to be sold, he would recommend that he be sold with the highest minimum bid price.

Now, to confirm his thoughts about Hayden, he asked him again.

"You. Your master is forming a Mana Chain, but her Circle is unstable. The spell is flickering. Why?"

Hayden answered after a moment of breath as he played the obedient student. "Her mana channels are overstrained. She needs to stop or risk backlash."

"Correct. And how do you know it's a Mana Chain and not a Binding Sigil?"

[ Spell signatures differ by—

"The glow will be concentrated at the fingertips, not the palm. Chains form linearly. Sigils are circular."

Killian studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "Very well."

Realizing that there was no need to doubt Hayden's skills, Killian scanned the rows of slaves before him.

"You," Killian pointed to a young man called Jordan. Killian didn't know his name and he also didn't care. After all, these people would have new names once they were bought by their new masters.

After some thought, Killian decided to ask a familiar question.

"Your master is attempting a Firebolt, but his hands are shaking violently, and his breathing is erratic. What do you do?"

This question about Firebolt had been asked once a month ago and the previous Slave made a mistake.

This time, Jordan didn't hesitate as he also recalled this question.

"I will approach from behind, pin his wrists together, and force them downward to ground the spell safely. If he resists, I strike the base of his skull to knock him out."

Killian gently nodded. "Acceptable. But why from behind?"

Jordan didn't hesitate to reply. "Because… if I come from the front, the spell might detonate in my face?"

"Correct. Never intercept a spell head-on unless you enjoy being charred meat." Killian's gaze shifted to another slave.

Hayden knew him as she was May, a former student from Solaris Academy. "You. Your master is chanting a Healing Light spell, but her skin is turning gray. What's happening?"

May straighten from her seat as she replied. "She's overdrawing mana. The spell is consuming her life force or Internal Mana instead of Ambient Energy."

"And your response?"

"Disrupt her chant immediately. Healing spells are forgiving—if stopped early, they won't backlash."

"Good." Killian's lips twitched in approval before he turned to Jethro, one of the Priority Targets of the abduction, like Hayden, Ulysses, and a few others.

"Your master is sustaining a Mana Barrier, the shield is steady and it's even getting stronger. However, he started nose bleeding, and his veins started getting visible all over his body. Why?"

Jethro blinked as he tried to recall this subject. However, he was sure that there hadn't been such samples before.

It means that he had to answer this question based on other scenarios closest to this situation.

"His Circle is destabilizing… It can be due to his Circle getting weaker or it is getting too strong for his body to handle."

"And?" Killian said.

Jethro wasn't really sure this time. "I… wait for the barrier to collapse before grabbing him?"

Killian sighed. "No. You never wait for a destabilizing Mana Circle. If the Mana Barrier spell continues getting too strong because of Mana Circle issues, it can explode on its own. You intervene before their Mana Circle destabilizes further."

Jethro's face darkened, but he nodded.

These lessons were actually very helpful for Hayden's Ocularis Lens. After all, they had no other references they could use, and Killian's teachings were incredibly important.

For the whole day, Killian tirelessly gave them various scenarios to help them understand Magicians better.

Well, it was actually not that surprising since Hayden learned that Killian's performance would also be assessed by a higher-ranked Authority.

If Killian was able to teach them, pass with incredible marks, and sell for a higher price, he would obtain a good position in the Obsidian Tower or perhaps, even better.

In any case, the questions grew more complex, probing deeper into the slaves' ability to anticipate danger.

"You," Killian pointed to another slave.

"Your master is attempting a long-range teleportation spell, but the sigil beneath her feet is cracking. What does that mean?"

The slave, Claire, didn't answer immediately as she recalled what was taught to them...

This was already in the realm of Third Circle or higher, so she had to be careful.

"The spatial anchor is possibly unstable. If she completes the spell, she might teleport into a wall."

"And your solution?"

"Tackle her out of the sigil before the spell completes."

Killian raised an eyebrow. "And if you're too late?"

Claire's jaw tightened. "Then I pray she only loses a limb."

A few slaves shuddered as they looked at Killian...

Killian, however, only smirked. "At least you're honest. However, if that happens, you will get punished heavily if not killed right away. However, for Aura Users like you, assisting Third Circle Mages will be a lot harder unless you reach the fourth or fifth level of your Aura."