Namgung Se-ga, the warrior, was reincarnated in Romance

“Haap! Hahap!” What had started as a quiet lesson soon turned into chaos, with many students letting out loud, almost scream-like battle cries after an hour had passed. The act of exerting every ounce of strength and force without any clear beginning or end was an effort that lacked precision or refinement.

Rather than refining the movements of the sword with accuracy and power, they were blindly attempting to drain all their energy.

Even when I first practiced swordsmanship in the Central Plains, I learned the *Samjae Gyeombeop* (Three Calamity Sword Techniques), but this kind of thoughtless act was rarely seen. Without using internal energy, swinging the sword started to drain my own strength as well, and soon, the back of my training clothes became damp with sweat.

To make matters worse, it was the hottest part of the day. The students, already panting under the scorching sun, gave up on closing their mouths and were gasping for air.

*Swish!*

A tickling energy approached from somewhere, and without thinking, I swung my sword to cut through it, leaving me momentarily stunned. I quickly raised my head and locked eyes with Professor Mustang.

He was smiling. As he smiled, he was also pulling out strands of energy, like thread, and teasing the students by brushing their arms with it.

Energy? Mana? I wasn’t sure what to call it. It almost seemed appropriate to call it magic, but the energy was definitely coming from the sword techniques. I couldn’t understand what kind of bizarre act this was, so I stood there, looking around in confusion.

The students who were already able to use energy stopped, surprised, looking at the professor, or at the students who had stopped, but the others, unaware, continued to swing their swords up and down, letting out breathless “Haap! Hahap!” sounds.

“…Heh. With this level of internal energy, one could make string from it…”

A stunned murmur escaped my lips. A knight, a knight indeed. I wasn’t referring to the students practicing swordsmanship here, but to the bizarre and absurd things that could be called “knightly deeds” (奇事, “strange things”).

Such things were unheard of in my past life, and I was certain no one else in this life would be using energy in such a manner.

Techniques like the *Igi-eo Gyeom* (Sword-Binding Technique) or *Heogong Seopmul* (Floating Object Retrieval) could, if the proper technique was applied, lift and catch objects in the air, and such things weren’t completely unthinkable if one was able to measure the energy precisely.

To project energy over a large distance, all one needed to do was use a large amount of energy. It was no different from scooping soup with a spoon or wrapping energy around something like a rope.

But who in their right mind would take a fraction of their internal energy, thick and blunt, and use it to tickle someone else with it?! And to use this strange method to make others feel energy who could not even see it!

It felt like I had been struck in the back of the head, and I couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief.

As I laughed, Professor Mustang, who had been watching me, raised a finger to his lips and made a “shh” gesture, all while continuing to freely move his arms and legs while tickling the students with energy.

It was so cute and absurd that my curiosity was piqued. As I returned to my stance, the professor immediately extended his energy toward me.

It felt like the tail of a baby kitten brushing against my body.

It was a cautious and gentle action, like holding a blind person’s hand and leading them into water, softly teaching them, “This is water.”

He lightly poked my forehead as if to wipe away the sweat or patted my back, and sometimes, he pressed down on a larger area, then narrowed the focus to tickle me.

I bit my lip and suppressed my laughter. The sword stopped.

I simply couldn’t swing the sword because it was too funny. The students who could see the energy, like me, were in the same state, while those who couldn’t see it but could feel it looked confused and halted their strikes in the middle.

As for the slow ones, the cute ones, they continued swinging their swords, gradually weakening, their legs trembling, their senses dulled, until, finally, with sharpened instincts, they squinted their brows in concentration.

It was like a mother hen carefully cracking the eggshell for a chick that couldn’t break it on its own. It wouldn’t work with just one try, but after repeating this several times, it seemed like they might eventually force themselves to “see” the energy.

In the Central Plains, martial artists with weak energy perception often traveled to famous spots across the martial world. These places were said to gather energy—be it a majestic mountain range, a vast and wide lake, or a deep valley—places where energy would accumulate but couldn’t escape. These locations were called *Yeongso*, or “spiritual spots.”

Martial artists would sit in a lotus position at such spots for five days, a month, or more, practicing breathing exercises to absorb the natural energy, a method known as *unji* (breathing and cultivating energy). It was a rather ignorant way of doing things, but when one was determined to break through their limits, everyone seemed to resort to such methods.

When I attended the advanced swordsmanship classes, I was both amazed and a bit envious at how many of the younger students had already unlocked their energy perception. Later, I realized that the reason for this was the teacher, Professor Douglas Mustang.

Though he wasn’t on the level of someone like Maelo Sanson, he was a remarkable and powerful figure. I had heard that some people were better at elevating others than at cultivating their own skills, but this was the first time in my two lives that I saw someone using such an unconventional method.

“Alright, that’s enough for today. If anyone felt a tickling sensation, raise your hand.”

“U-Uh, I did!”

“I think I felt it too!”

“Yes, what did it feel like?”

“Uh… Is it normal for *Aura* to be felt on the cheek first?”

*Crack!* Unable to hold it back, I covered my lips with the back of my hand.

Those who already knew about it were too busy suppressing their laughter to raise their hands, while the confused looks on the novices were so amusing that I almost burst out laughing. I felt like stomping my feet and giggling like a mischievous child.

Douglas Mustang responded nonchalantly.

“Well, I didn’t experience it that way. Did you?”

“Uh… I guess not…”

“Think about it carefully, and just rest without thinking too much until the next class. Since today is the first day, let’s call it quits here. Good work, everyone.”

I wanted to explain what had happened, but there was likely a reason for letting them figure it out on their own. The students, wiping off their sweat and straightening their uniforms, bowed to the professor and left, some with bewildered faces, others chuckling quietly.

I stayed behind until the end, glancing around before approaching the professor. Benjamin, who had been waiting beside me, followed curiously and stood close by. Since I didn’t plan on discussing it with everyone, I had no intention of hiding it from those close to me, so I just decided to ask.

“Professor, I have a question.”

“Sure, what’s on your mind?”

Since the beginning of the class, I had been struck by how surprising his soft and gentle voice was, especially considering his imposing stature. Despite his large frame, broad shoulders, and chest that might have sounded booming with a deeper voice, his words came out in a soft, almost whispering tone, which felt oddly ticklish.

Having seen him play with the aura like a string earlier, I could now guess more about his character.

“I have some questions about the aura I’ve learned. After enrolling, I noticed that academy knights seem to train by pulling external energy into their bodies to enhance and reinforce their physical strength… Is that how it usually works?”

“Hmm, that’s generally the case…”

“I store energy in my body and take it out when needed. Here, around the navel, I imagine a virtual space where I refine and store the aura, and then pull it out like this when needed…”

“Uh…?”

I wasn’t confident in explaining it with words, so I decided to demonstrate instead. I focused my energy and gathered a pale, cloudy aura on the blade.

Though my skill was lacking, and I couldn’t form a distinct sword aura, I thought Professor Mustang would be able to understand the method with his expertise. He observed the flow from my lower dantian, through my middle dantian, and into my arms carefully.

Due to my tired body from swinging the sword, I couldn’t maintain this crude aura for long. After showing it briefly, I dispersed the energy and returned the sword to my waist.

“When I saw what you were doing earlier, it seemed like you were also pulling the energy of the atmosphere and fixing it at a specific point, rather than using the energy within your body. I’m curious, how do you view people who accumulate mana in their bodies, Professor?”

“Heh, you were paying close attention to that. I thought you were too distracted by laughing to notice.”

Hearing that made me chuckle, but laughing in front of the professor didn’t seem appropriate, so I bit my lip and suppressed it. I could hear Benjamin next to me trying to hold in his laughter, and it only made it harder to keep my composure. Mustang, however, continued to answer seriously.

“Most people can’t perceive mana, but some do make contact with the immaterial realm from birth. Usually, spirit users, and some mages or swordsmen, exhibit such traits. It’s like how a child tries to carry something they find fascinating in their mouth—those who are close to the immaterial realm often attempt to embrace mana at least once. But most give up quickly.”

“Why is that?”

“Because it hurts. Aura is the energy of nature, and you can’t just play around with it without enough effort and understanding. It’s like how a child, after being shocked by static electricity, tries to avoid touching a fuzzy fabric. Most people who try to gather mana end up giving up due to the pain.”

“…Has anyone tried to accumulate aura inside their body?”

“Oh, why wouldn’t they? People who’ve tried to accumulate aura in some part of their body have always been considered oddballs, but it’s happened through the generations. The most common methods were to accumulate aura on the arms or on the skin to enhance them, but usually, the tissues couldn’t withstand it and began to necrotize, causing the person to stop after receiving treatment. As for mana being accumulated in the heart… there’s one creature I know of…”

“…There’s one?”

“Well, just a creature, but this is just a guess.”

I had a feeling that Douglas Mustang was about to say something strange.

“Mikael Ernheart, is it a dragon?”

It was a ridiculously naive question.