The Aura Ascendant: A Knight's Unbroken Path

Hayden was able to tell that there were five visitors. However, it was only when they rushed at him with their Aura activated, did he realized that his opponents were Aura Users.

The sudden wave of Aura disrupted his focus. After all, he was used to dealing with one source of Aura. By suddenly sensing five of them, Hayden was momentarily confused as he even thought of using his Ocularis Lens to deal with this matter easily.

However, that would just be cheating again. He wanted his body to truly learn the way of the Knights.

Soon, his blindfolded world became a maelstrom of shifting energies, pressing against his senses like invisible blades.

Hayden barely had time to brace before he scrambled to block the first attack. However, the second strike came too fast and he was hit.

Thankfully, the five Aura Users weren't too brutal on him as they allowed him to retreat after getting hit.

But they only gave them three breaths before a sharp Aura came at him. It was fast and Hayden identified him as the Enemy A... This Enemy was also the same one who attacked him first with a sword.

Hayden turned and raised his sword to intercept.

Thud!

Then, Hayden sensed Enemy B who had struck him… The one wanted to punch him again but he was able to hold his wrist, and he twisted, using the attacker's momentum to flip them over his hip.

Thud.

A body hit the stone floor with a grunt. Hayden smiled as he was able to take a bit of revenge.

But before Hayden could recover—a crushing presence, heavy and deliberate, swung downward. Hayden felt the air compress an instant before the strike… Then, he also realized what weapon was coming at him, it was a training mace!

Whoosh~

Hayden dropped into a crouch as the weapon whistled over his head, then drove his elbow upward into his ribs.

Crack.

Hayden then heard a pained exhale. Enemy C was hit just like that! Furthermore, he used his Aura on that since he could tell that these guys were also using their Aura as much as they could.

He couldn't hold back at all.

But the moment he straightened, Enemy D was already behind him. This one was erratic as it seemed like he was trying to confuse Hayden about his movements or perhaps, he was just trying to hide his attacks.

Soon, Hayden received a series of sword strikes from all angles—Hayden dodged the first two, but the third grazed his shoulder, and the fourth hit his thigh.

Damn it.

He backstepped, forcing space, as he blocked the rest of the strikes, but—

No warning. No buildup. Just a sudden, piercing intent—a dagger thrust aimed at his kidney. It came from Enemy E who had been silently observing the battle until now!

If he would make a guess, this fifth enemy was more like an Assassin than a Knight!

"Ugh…"

Hayden barely twisted in time, as the wooden dagger struck through his tunic instead of flesh.

This time, he had no choice but to get some assistance with his Ocularis Lens as he knew that he would get hurt really badly if this continued.

As soon as he did this, he was able to dodge, parry, and counterattack perfectly!

Headmaster Mensa and the others had of course realized that Hayden had become more acquainted and seemed really capable…

"Incredible…" Mensa was obviously delighted at this result but the five Aura Users weren't thrilled. They felt humiliated…

After all, as per Headmaster Mensa, they would earn 15 Dawn Points if they beat this 9-year-old kid and 10 Dawn Points as long as they trained with him for a couple of hours... Of course, they were also not allowed to use lethal moves against Hayden.

Anyway, they thought that it would be their easiest mission ever but it was obviously not.

"Tsk… This is annoying. Hey… Let's take this seriously." One of them muttered.

"No… He's still a kid… Just take it easy."

"Let's just train him nicely. The Headmaster treats him well you know."

Hayden listened to them but he didn't care.

Now that he calmed down, he decided not to use his Ocularis Lens and use his natural senses once again.

'I can do this… I don't have to rely on my Lens for everything.' Hayden thought as he concentrated on the Aura of the five people.

Soon, the battle started once again, and used his one-handed swords to either block or attack while also using his fist or palm strikes to deal with other attacks.

As the battle continued, the attacks became more and more uncontrolled.

No matter what, the five of them still wanted to get a clean hit on him and it wasn't surprising…

Soon, however, Hayden's fist connected with what felt like a jaw.

Snap.

Teeth clacked together as he hit Enemy A.

"You!" This student was definitely angry now.

Hayden wanted to follow up but Enemy E, the Knight who was more like an Assassin, made his move.

He had been patient all this time, so Hayden knew that this person was calculating.

Because of that, he was always monitoring his movements.

Enemy E, however, was still too fast as he seemed to be using a foot technique that wasn't taught in the Academy.

In just a moment, a foot hooked behind Hayden's ankle. Then, a palm slammed into his chest.

Thud!

Hayden hit the ground hard and the impact drove the breath from his lungs.

"Ugh…"

Enemy E also realized that he seemed to have used too much force, so he signaled for everyone else to stop and give Hayden some time to take a breath.

After all, they had to train him for two hours.

For a moment, Hayden lay there, blind and gasping. The five Auras circled him as they watched him while he was down.

'Focus.'

Hayden didn't like this but he decided not to use his Ocularis Lens again.

'A bit of pain should be fine.' Hayden thought as he slowly stood up…