Chapter 85: Breaking Through!

The following day, the three carriages came to a stop shortly after noon.

Roderic pushed open the door and stepped outside almost immediately.

His hand was already pressed firmly against his chest.

’Finally,’ he thought. ’It’s completely full.’

The strange feeling that had bothered him yesterday had completely disappeared.

His first aura seal absolutely couldn’t absorb even the tiniest bit more.

Roderic let out a deep breath.

’That means,’ he thought, swallowing hard, ’it’s time to break through.’

A mixture of excitement and nervousness immediately rushed through him.

But there was one more thing he needed to do to finish up his preparations.

Roderic’s eyes quickly swept across the temporary camp.

Knights were already preparing fires while the servants unloaded food and water for the short rest.

It didn’t take long before he finally managed to spot Edmund near the second carriage.

’’Edmund!’’ Roderic called right away.

The chubby attendant quickly turned around.

’’Yes, young master?’’ he replied, smiling.

Roderic approached him immediately.

’’I’m heading into the forest,’’ he said. ’’Until I return, absolutely no one is to disturb me unless there’s immediate danger.’’

Edmund blinked once.

’’Uhm, of course, young master,’’ he answered, scratching his cheek. ’’But, if I may ask, what is the reason for this?’’

Roderic didn’t even hesitate.

’’It’s a secret,’’ he replied firmly. ’’But you’ll know why soon enough.’’

Suspicion flashed across Edmund’s face.

But he didn’t have any intention of pressing further, simply bowing his head respectfully.

Roderic smiled slightly.

’’Thank you,’’ he said.

He silently patted Edmund on the shoulder before walking straight past him.

Within moments, Roderic disappeared between the trees and bushes.

’This is it,’ he thought.

The deeper he traveled into the forest, the faster his heart seemed to pound.

Even after everything he’d told himself yesterday, he couldn’t completely suppress his nervousness.

This was his first real breakthrough.

And unlike his first seal, failure was actually possible this time.

’I can’t let that fucking happen!’

Eventually, the sound of flowing water reached his ears.

Roderic pushed through several bushes and found a shallow river cutting through the forest.

’’Mhm, perfect,’’ he muttered. ’’Should be far enough away as well.’’

After letting out a deep breath, he finally got to work.

Roderic removed his clothes piece by piece, tossing them onto a nearby rock.

He really didn’t want to dirty them like last time, after all.

Then... he finally sat down beside the river.

For several seconds, Roderic did nothing but listen to the sound of his heartbeat.

Everything around him slowly faded away.

The flowing water, the rustling leaves, even the birds, all of them vanished one after another.

Roderic closed his eyes, letting out one final breath.

’’Alright,’’ he muttered, a grin flickering across his face. ’’Let’s get this shit started!’’

Gritting his teeth, he triggered his first aura seal.

WHOOSH!

Blue aura erupted from the seal instantly.

Roderic’s entire body stiffened in place.

The blue aura rushed through him uncontrollably, desperately searching for somewhere to escape.

But Roderic refused to let even the smallest amount leave his body.

He gritted his teeth and forced it to listen to his will.

’Back!’ he shouted internally. ’You need to go back!’

The violent aura gradually started changing directions.

It shot through his chest, past his shoulders, before finally heading to his upper back.

’There.’

Roderic stopped it in place.

But now, the real test would start.

He began concentrating deeply on the aura, forcing a tiny portion towards the surface of his back.

Then he started the engraving process.

The first line of blue aura slowly burned itself into his flesh.

Roderic’s entire body shook.

’’Fuck!’’ he cursed through gritted teeth.

His fingers immediately dug into the dirt beneath him.

It felt like someone had pressed a red-hot blade against his back and slowly dragged it across his skin.

And worse, that was only the first line out of hundreds!

’Keep fucking going!’

Roderic immediately continued guiding his aura.

Line after line was gradually seared into his back.

Each brought along a wave of burning pain that made him question whether his pain resistance was active.

Roderic’s breathing quickly became heavier, but he refused to allow his concentration to break.

Minutes ticked by painfully slowly.

Without even knowing it, the individual lines gradually began forming much larger patterns.

’Fuck...’ Roderic kept cursing, his face twisted from the pain. ’They really weren’t exaggerating.’

Sweat began pouring down his face, dripping onto the ground beneath him.

Before long, the seal had spread across a large portion of his upper back.

And then Roderic suddenly felt something change.

’I can stop?’ he thought, brows furrowing.

He could feel it.

The seal had reached the necessary size to survive without breaking.

If he stopped engraving now, he could move onto the final stage and complete his breakthrough.

Roderic remained completely still for a moment.

’That’s it?’

For a moment, he almost couldn’t believe it.

After all his worrying, he’d already reached the point where he could stop.

’But... I still have so much aura left over,’ he thought slowly. ’No! I’m not done yet!’

’I am going to make this the best damn circle like I promised myself!’

WHOOSH!

Line after line began engraving itself onto his back.

The pattern expanded further and further.

But the pain grew alongside it.

What had just been a hot knife now felt like he was literally getting cut in half.

’FUCK!’ he shouted internally.

Roderic pushed through and started engraving at far higher speeds.

Every additional line became increasingly difficult to create, requiring more aura and far greater concentration than the last.

But he had no intention of stopping.

His entire body began trembling, veins bulging across his arms and neck.

The seal continued spreading across his back, growing far beyond where he could’ve safely stopped.

Roderic didn’t even feel the passage of time anymore.

Eventually, however, something changed.

A satisfied feeling spread through his body, though it was quickly masked by the pain.

As he tried to form another line, the seal began trembling violently.

His eyes snapped open right away.

’’What?’’

Only then did he feel the satisfied feeling.

The seal... had reached its complete and utter limit.

There was literally no room left to expand it.

Roderic swallowed hard, filled with curiosity.

’Can I... push it just a teeny tiny bit further?’

He carefully guided another stream of aura towards the seal.

Instantly, an overwhelming feeling of danger washed through him.

Roderic pulled back his aura instantly.

’Yeah, fuck that!’

There was a difference between pushing himself and being an idiot.

One more line could ruin everything he’d just endured.

Everything fell silent for a moment.

Slowly, a grin began spreading across Roderic’s face.

’’I did it,’’ he muttered. ’’I fucking did it!’’

He’d pushed the seal to the absolute limit his body could currently withstand.

There was nothing more he could reasonably ask for.

’’Now all that’s left... is to enjoy the final step.’’

Roderic stopped trying to engrave the remaining aura.

As if receiving confirmation, his body reacted instantly.

THUMP!

Roderic’s eyes widened slightly.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

His heartbeat started accelerating immensely.

Blood began pumping through his veins faster than ever before.

That’s when it happened.

An immense warmth surged from his chest and back simultaneously, spreading throughout his entire body.

But it wasn’t painful.

It was almost... comforting.

’Ohhhh,’ Roderic thought, relaxing. ’That feels fucking amazing.’

The warmth seeped into every part of his body.

Gradually, his muscles began tightening, his bones grew stronger and his skin became tougher.

Even his organs were being reinforced by the warmth!

And it didn’t stop there.

His senses began sharpening as his body grew stronger.

Even with his eyes closed, Roderic could suddenly hear the river flowing beside him with incredible clarity.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, the remaining aura inside his body rushed out without warning.

’What is this now?’

BOOM!

Immense pressure radiated from his body.

The grass around him flattened instantly, while countless ripples spread across the river.

For several seconds, blue aura completely surrounded his body.

Then it all rushed back inside.

Roderic gulped as everything fell silent around him.

’Is that... it?’

He slowly raised his hands.

Immediately, Roderic could tell something was different.

His entire body felt unbelievably light.

The exhaustion and pain from moments earlier had almost completely disappeared, replaced by a seemingly endless amount of energy.

But there was something far more important than that.

’’Would you look at that?’’ he muttered, smirking.

The amount of aura inside his body had increased tremendously.

Compared to before, his first seal almost felt tiny on its own.

’’Holy shit!’’ Roderic shouted excitedly. ’’This is insane!’’

That’s when it truly set in for him.

He’d done it.

He’d created his second aura seal, and it was at the absolute limit his body could handle.

Suddenly, a familiar blue screen popped up in front of him.

[Congratulations!]

[Second Aura Seal has successfully been formed!]

[Knight Rank increased.]

[Bonus Reward: +10.000 Throne Coins]

Roderic’s grin only grew wider.

’’Hell yeah!’’ he shouted. ’’That’s what I’m talking about!’’