The lessons were great! Mila constantly improved her understanding of how her presence erasure worked. She was truly learning a lot.

Only…

“Stop that,” Leona tried to get away from her husband's hands. “Beino can hear us.” She whispered, not trying ‘that’ hard to escape.

“I am not doing anything,” Nio grabbed his wife’s waist. “Yet.”

Mila cringed. It had been six days since she had awoken in this body. And while she had learnt a lot, she had also suffered a lot. She couldn’t decide if the knowledge was worth experiencing all this flirting and squeezing of the unfamiliar woman.

At least the night activities were not something Mila had to experience. Aaers still had enough sensibility to take those out of the dream. Not that it helped her with the rest of the cuddling and flirting.

But tonight would be the last she had to spend here. Mila just hoped it wouldn’t involve a lot of tears and hugging. Her patience for this had long since run out. She wanted to squirm and scream—but was stuck mute and still.

“I am sore.” Leona wiggled her butt against her husband’s crotch. “But maybe…”

“I wish, but…” Nio suddenly sobered up.

“You are leaving,” Leone sadly noted. “I knew you would, but… You said seven days…”

“And at midnight, it will be seven.” Nio gently turned his wife around and kissed her cheek. “I am sorry…” He whispered. “I have delayed as much as I can… I have to return.”

“...Can you tell me why?”

“Hmm?” Nio felt something was wrong.

“Why haven’t you told me?” Leona’s tears grew larger.

Nio’s fingers clenched, betraying his nervousness. “Told you what?”

“About what you truly do in the army,” Leona’s voice continued to grow sadder. “You hide it well… Only because you do something with Beino… He is still a child. Don’t be angry at him. He just slipped a couple of times…”

“I would never,” Nio shook his head. “And I…” His throat was dry.

But Mila tuned out. Or at least, she tried to. The drama continued to unfold, resulting in Leona hiding away in a separate room. There was no shouting or swearing. Just disappointment.

“Why did Mom cry?” Beino had stayed silent through the spectacle. He had done everything to appear small and unnoticeable. Something he had become really good at during this week.

Nio didn’t answer. In the end, he hadn’t told his wife about his true occupation. “Come,” he spoke harshly, startling his son. “We have time for one last lesson before I have to go.”

As they exited their home, Nio had calmed down. “Do you remember the tale I told you before?” He scanned the surroundings routinely.

“About the boy and the monster,” Beino did. “It was very sad…”

“Indeed. But that was not where the story ended.” Nio planted his feet in the middle of the courtyard and circulated his mana. “That wasn’t a fairytale.” He cleansed his thoughts of his wife.

This came as a surprise for Mila. She had thought it was just a tale for kids to learn from. Her attention was piqued as Nio continued.

“The monster didn’t just eat any child. He picked those who had mana.” Nio now spoke more like a veritable master of his craft than a father. “The trio of siblings was talented. But back then, there was no system in place to discover them. The temples didn’t have their influence spread like now.”

“It was also why the boy succeeded. He awakened something in himself and pushed past his limits.” Nio explained.

“Um,” Beino shuffled his feet while standing in front of his father. He was not used to the stern air Nio exuded. “Wasn’t it a long time ago?”

“Many, many years ago,” Nio nodded. “It was my master who told me about this. As had his master before him. And so on…” He reminisced. “That even was the source of who we became…”

“We?” Beino asked the question Mila had wanted.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Yes, we. People like me. There are very few of us… By design…” Nio didn’t explain further. “As I was saying, the boy had a talent. He could have become great. But he died, cutting off the possibility.”

“But in his family, he was not the one with the greatest talent. The remaining sister soon learnt of her brother’s death. She knew of his plan, but being younger, she had been made to stay home.”

“Upon hearing the news, she rushed to where the battle had taken place. Despite being very young, her desperation brought out her latent energy. She arrived just as her brother’s body was dug out from the pit of blood and dirt.”

“People tried to stop her, fearing her young mind would not be able to handle the sight.” Nio didn’t stop recounting. “But as the girl’s eyes found the monster that had taken her two siblings, she was overcome with rage instead of sadness.”

“And just like her brother, she found a way forward. She already knew her brother was gifted in staying hidden. That’s why she had hoped he would survive—not just succeed.”

“But she was not her brother. The girl could not hide from all these people—not when they already saw her. It wasn’t that she couldn’t hide her presence. No. She might have been able to do it, too.”

Nio mulled over the thought. “After all, she became… Well, that’s not important.” He cut off the line. “But in her sadness and anger, she saw only obstacles in front of her and her brother.”

“And while she could have tried to hide her presence, the girl chose to arm it.” Nio let the words be carried by the gust of wind.

Mila furrowed her brows. She had learnt about history—or what was passed down as history. It was interesting, but she hadn’t heard about the method Nio mentioned.

“Instead of vanishing, she created shadows of herself behind the people who tried to stop her.” Nio moved his mana again.

The pattern was intricate, somewhat similar in some ways to how Mila did it. But the application was entirely different. The circulation was quicker and more aggressive. Mana got agitated into a flurry and wanted to explode outwards. Mila realised this was what she was searching for and began to memorise.

“It is a very intentional way to abuse your presence. Frankly, it is not very useful if you are weak. The method relies on your strength and deadliness to become truly fearsome.” Nio finally made his move.

Mila felt the mana flow out of the man and gather behind Beino. She didn’t know what the boy felt, but he paled. Beino threw himself forward, as if to avoid a mortal blow from behind.

“That’s how it is,” Nio calmly observed. “You project your presence near someone. You can make them feel mortal danger and commit a mistake. It is truly a marvellous skill.” He admired.

“...” Beino simply panted, his eyes wide in fright.

“Of course, the girl couldn’t project anything threatening. As she ran towards her brother’s body, she simply confused everyone's senses. She dodged around them and made them see what wasn’t there.”

“That’s…” Beino still hadn’t calmed down. He kept looking over his shoulder to make sure nothing was there. “... but…” He couldn’t form a sentence.

“The girl just wanted to see her brother. She just wanted to say the last farewells.” Nio waited for his son to calm down. “She just wanted to be with her sibling one last time.”

There was still no response. Mila had stopped listening, replaying how the mana had moved in her mind. Something was missing. She knew the general flow but doubted she could replicate it. Not without years of trying, at least.

It took a while, but Beino calmed down. He still looked scared but also greedy. The doubts about what his father was teaching had vanished. He now desired the possibilities this skill offered.

Seeing the change, Nio was relieved. “I hope you do not abuse it in the future.” He knew his son wasn’t listening, but he mentioned it anyway. “And use it to protect your mother.”

“But what about you?” Beino suddenly asked. “You keep saying I have to protect Mom, but what about you?” He asked with the innocence only a child could.

And the question impacted Nio heavily. Mila felt the man inwardly tremble, even if his face and body betrayed no emotional turmoil. “It is because I will have to head into…” He stopped himself. “I have to go to a very dangerous place. I can’t tell you where or why…”

Seeing his son distraught, Nio softened his stance. He planted his palm on top of the boy’s head. “I am sure I will be fine. So don’t worry. I still have more things to teach you.” He soothed Beino.

“But for now,” Nio continued. “For now, listen carefully. I will pass this technique to you, and you do the same when the time comes with your child.”

Despite his reassurance, Nio’s words still predicted a grim fate. “Now, stand here and remember what I taught you up until now.” He instructed.

Mila refocused her attention. She grasped at every sound that came from Nio’s mouth.

“First of all, this technique relies on your emotions.” Nio started. “Normally, people like us mute them—keep them hidden. We are still ponds—reflecting the world on our surface.”

“But just like the girl back then, to achieve true aura projection, we have to let our deepest, most raw emotions become our sharpest needle. We have to pierce our enemy’s minds. We have to make them super aware of our presence.”

“So we focus our emotions into a thread and use our mana to force them to flow outwards. Instead of using our magic to contain everything inside, we use it to explode our presence. Do you get it?” Nio questioned.

“Yes…” Beino hesitantly nodded.

“Now, use your mana sense.” Nio slowly moved his mana. “Watch. How it is done.” He waited for his son’s attention to be on him, then repeated the action. “Once more. Again. I know you can’t replicate it now, but watch.” He kept demonstrating.

“This is important.” With each time he repeated, Nio went further. “I will leave notes for you on how to do some of the steps. But I can’t do more than that.” He cycled his mana and finished the technique—projecting a small influence behind his son.

“Destroy those papers once you have memorised them,” Nio was relentless. “Again.” He didn’t allow rest. “Again,” he demanded.

Throughout the night, Beino learnt an ancient secret technique. And alongside Mila did the same.