Cesar did not notice it during the fight.
It was only when he lowered his sword and his arms began to tremble that he felt it: a deep burning in his muscles, as if every fiber of his body had been stretched beyond its natural limit.
Despite having already opened all his mana veins, Cesar never eased up. He never stopped training his body. On the contrary, he increased the intensity day after day, pushing himself past what was reasonable, seeking to awaken Aura as quickly as possible.
Not because it was easy.
But because he knew it was necessary.
Sweat ran down his forehead when he finally lowered his guard.
Goby was leaning against a nearby tree trunk, breathing heavily, still smiling despite his exhaustion.
"Today you were tougher than usual," he said between gasps. "Today… it felt different."
Cesar did not answer immediately.
Something felt wrong.
It was not normal fatigue. Not just muscle exhaustion. There was a strange pressure beneath his skin, an uncomfortable sensation, as if something were slowly building up in his chest. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, recalling the crude teachings the elders repeated time and time again.
'Aura is not forced.'
'Aura responds.'
But… responds to what?
Suddenly, the world seemed to sharpen.
Cesar opened his eyes.
The forest expanded around him. The crunch of leaves in the wind, the distant buzzing of insects, even Goby's breathing sounded clear—too clear. His body was exhausted, yet his mind felt sharp, alert in a way it never had before.
"Do you feel it…?" Cesar murmured without realizing it.
"Feel what?" Goby asked, frowning in confusion.
Cesar raised his hand.
And then it happened.
It was not light.
It was not an explosion.
It was a tremor.
Something surged through his arm, from shoulder to fingertips—a warm, heavy current, as if his blood had grown denser for an instant. The sword vibrated softly in his hand, releasing a low, almost imperceptible hum.
Goby took a step back.
"What did you do…?" he asked, eyes wide.
Cesar looked at his own green skin.
There were no visible changes. No glow. No symbols. Nothing that could be pointed out.
But he knew.
'That was… Aura.'
It was not controlled.
It was not fully awakened.
But it was real.
The flow vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving behind an uncomfortable emptiness, as if something had been torn from within him. His strength gave out all at once, and Cesar dropped to his knees, gasping.
"Hey!" Goby rushed over immediately, still stunned but now clearly worried. "Are you alright?"
Cesar nodded slowly.
His heart was pounding violently—but not from fear.
From hunger.
"I felt it," he whispered. "For one second… I really felt it."
Goby watched him in silence, swallowing hard, a mix of anticipation and awe in his eyes.
The forest remained calm, indifferent to what had just occurred. There were no witnesses. No proclamations. Just two young goblins and a silent instant that would change everything.
Cesar clenched his fist tightly.
He had been weak in his past life.
He had lived without purpose.
Not this time.
If Aura was a path, he would walk it to the very end.
Though Aura had always been scorned in this world, he would prove its true worth. He would forge a path of his own—one that was never meant to exist—and carry it toward a glorious future… one that had never been granted to him.
From the day Cesar awakened Aura, he trained like a madman.
He did not fully master it. He barely managed to stabilize it, to feel it without being destroyed from within. But that was enough.
Enough to take the next step.
Cesar had not trained the army in Aura for one simple, absolute reason.
There had been no one who knew how to use it.
Until now, everyone trained only with the exercises Cesar remembered from his past life. There were strikes, endurance, discipline… but no Aura.
That changed the very next morning.
The forest clearing was full.
Goblins with lean, wiry bodies—young and old alike—stood gathered in uneven ranks. Some carried crude weapons. Others had only their fists. All of them faced forward in silence.
Cesar stepped into the center of the field.
He wore no robes or symbols. Only simple clothes and the same sword as always.
'I can't pretend,' he thought. 'I've barely touched it. But it's enough.'
He raised his voice.
"Listen carefully."
The murmurs died instantly.
"Until now, your training has been only physical. Endurance. Strikes. Falling down."
He walked slowly in front of the ranks.
"That does not change."
Some frowned. Others clenched their fists.
"But starting today," he continued, "you will learn to feel something more."
He stopped.
"Aura."
A whisper rippled through the group.
Goby, standing among the soldiers, watched with absolute focus.
"Aura is not magic," Cesar said. "It does not respond to words or circles. It is not summoned."
He closed his eyes for a brief moment.
"It responds to the limit."
He planted his feet firmly into the damp earth.
"Watch me."
He clenched his fist.
Nothing happened.
Some exchanged uncomfortable looks.
'Calm down,' he told himself. 'Don't force it.'
He remembered the exhaustion, the burning, the pressure beneath the skin.
He breathed.
Then, a vibration surged through his arm.
There was no light.
No spectacle.
But for a brief moment, the air around him seemed to grow heavy.
Some goblins took an unconscious step back.
Cesar opened his eyes.
"This is Aura."
He relaxed his fist, and the sensation faded.
"It is unstable. Incomplete. And dangerous if pursued incorrectly."
His gaze swept across the ranks.
"That is why no one will train it alone."
He raised his sword and drove it into the ground.
"From today onward, the army will follow a single method."
He gestured to the field.
"First, the body—until it trembles."
"Then, the mind—until it doubts."
"And only then… the limit."
The silence was absolute.
"Aura does not awaken because you want it," he said coldly. "It awakens when the body can no longer continue… and the will refuses to yield."
One goblin stepped forward.
"What if we fail?"
Cesar did not hesitate.
"You will."
Some stiffened.
"You will break. You will feel pain. And many of you will never awaken it."
His gaze hardened.
"But those who do… will not be the same."
Goby clenched his fists.
'So this is the beginning,' he thought.
Cesar raised his hand one final time.
"Today, you will not awaken Aura."
Some let out relieved breaths.
"Today, you will learn to endure."
And so it began.
Running until they vomited.
Striking tree trunks until their skin split.
Holding stances until their legs gave out.
Cesar did not step aside.
He trained with them. Fell with them. Bled with them.
Not as a commander.
But as the first.
When night fell, many lay scattered across the ground, unable to move.
Cesar looked over the exhausted bodies beneath the moonlight.
'This is not an army of heroes,' he thought.
'It is an army of those who endure.'
There was still no Aura in their fists.
But the path had begun.