30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?! novel Chapter 103

“Air Step isn’t just a technique where you explode your power. What’s needed here is an advanced level of concentration and sensation.”

Ihan explained as simply as he could.

A promise made is a promise kept.

It was more of a motto than an actual rule he followed, but once he decided to teach something, he would give it his best effort.

“The key isn’t in pushing off the air. What matters is gathering energy at the tips of your toes and spreading it wide to quickly create a foothold to step on. Since you all have mastered handling aura to a degree, I thought it would be manageable for you...”

However, despite giving his all to teach them...

“...Huh. You all look pitiful.”

Ihan clicked his tongue as he observed the knights sprawled out on the ground.

“...Is this even possible?”

“Uuugh!”

“I’m getting dizzy...”

Despite being the renowned Eagle Knights, whose long-standing tradition and skills were known even in other countries, these knights were now lying about, groaning in agony. This was the result of failing to master Air Step.

They weren’t dead, but they all looked pretty rough.

‘The way they’re failing is a spectacle on its own.’

Each of the hundred knights had found their own unique way to fail.

One attempted Air Step and ended up launching himself 15 meters in the air, only to plummet back down. Another, attempting to walk in the air, flipped upside down. The most ridiculous one, though...

‘The guy who did a somersault and slammed into the cliff was the funniest.’

He’d given everyone something to laugh about for a year, no doubt. The knight who slammed into the cliff was probably hurting, but to anyone watching, it was quite the sight.

The others were no different.

Most failed in similar ways, collapsing in self-destruction, and Ihan, having watched all hundred knights fail, set out to analyze the issue. It didn’t take him more than ten minutes to pinpoint the cause.

“It’s the aura technique...”

As he mentioned the day before, the aura technique involves amplifying one’s internal energy by causing a burst within. It’s like detonating a bomb inside the body, then converting that energy into physical power, with greater mastery leading to even more potent explosions.

...But managing that explosive energy with precision—how difficult could that be? freewebnøvel.coɱ

‘I thought they’d get it quickly, but this might take longer than I expected.’

These knights weren’t amateurs; they were talented and elite. Ihan had assumed they’d pick it up in no time, but he hadn’t expected such a hurdle.

“...Does this mean we’ll never learn to walk in the air?”

One of the knights, seeing Ihan’s expression, asked, and Ihan shook his head.

“It’s not impossible. You just need to learn how to handle your aura delicately. In other words, you need to hone your fine control.”

“I’m confident in my control...”

Vale mumbled, and the other knights nodded. They weren’t novices who had just started learning aura; they were elite knights who had trained control techniques extensively to improve endurance in battle.

They voiced their resistance, and to them, Ihan replied...

“Damn, even my kids could handle that level of control. What I’m asking for is... ah! It’d be easier to show you than to explain.”

What good would words do? As he’d noted earlier, none of them lacked talent or intelligence. And talented, intelligent people often had immense pride, never fully accepting others’ words. Some wouldn’t believe him or would doubt his explanation, even when they were in the position of learners.

Unwaveringly.

Ihan decided to stop explaining, glanced around, and spotted a tree with lush foliage.

“This should do.”

“?”

He picked up a leaf from the ground near the tree, then placed it on the lake’s surface. The knights watched, blinking in confusion, wondering what he was doing.

Then...

“Watch closely.”

With a twist, Ihan flipped in the air, diving towards the lake. They expected a splash, but what they saw was...

Plop...

“...?”

A sight that defied the laws of physics.

“What... what is that?”

“Where does he learn these things?”

“...Am I dreaming?”

The knights, their mouths hanging open, looked on as if they’d become fools.

They had expected water to splash when he jumped, yet the lake remained as still as ever...

And there, on the lake, was Ihan, balancing on one foot on the leaf.

“Do you see it? This is what I mean by controlling your power.”

A single reed crossing—a feat of balancing on a reed leaf and crossing the river.

...Though he had to use a tree leaf since there were no reeds around.

Regardless!

The point wasn’t about the reed leaf.

“What you need is delicacy and concentration. Enough finesse to control even your body weight, and the focus to maintain this state for at least thirty minutes. Only with that level of skill can you truly understand control.”

“...”

“Anyone still unconvinced, step forward. If you can pull this off, I’ll call you my elder brother.”

“...Haha.”

There wasn’t a single one.

Unable even to offer a rebuttal, the knights simply stood in a daze, wondering how such a thing was possible.

And they thought to themselves,

“Looks like we’ll have a lot of people falling into the water soon.”

The knights seemed certain that many of them would soon be taking unintentional dips.

Vale, too, despite his remarks...

‘I’ve got to try it myself!’

...couldn’t resist the temptation.

However, it would be four days later that the marquis would lose his wits when the entire knightly order fell into the water and came down with colds.

Ihan hadn’t specifically instructed them to practice the single reed crossing, yet he chuckled as he saw knights grabbing a leaf and jumping into the river.

It seemed that men were similar no matter the world.

Well, he was no different...

‘I practiced this like crazy too.’

Thinking back to his past life, he remembered how much effort he’d put into mastering various techniques after he attained enlightenment. Among them, he had relentlessly pursued the single reed crossing.

...He’d nearly drowned multiple times.

Don’t ask why he did it. He just felt like it.

But all that practice wasn’t in vain.

In fact, the foundation of his current techniques, like Arrow Leap and Steel, stemmed from the single reed crossing.

While Arrow Leap and Steel seemed like brute strength on the surface, in truth, they demanded instantaneous control and concentration above all else.

So Ihan didn’t bother stopping the knights who kept falling into the water.

After all, he’d experienced firsthand that any effort ultimately helped.

‘Teaching is rewarding.’

They had passion and talent.

There was nothing more satisfying as a teacher than having bright students. Furthermore...

‘I’m gaining something too.’

He wasn’t using the phrase in the clichéd sense of “learning by teaching.”

‘I like that they don’t shy away from fights.’

Maybe out of frustration from losing to him the day before, but the knights actively approached him, requesting duels.

Sometimes it was one-on-one, other times one against many, but whatever the case, Ihan was delighted.

‘They’ve got some fascinating techniques. Especially the Sword Threads—that one’s a gem.’

In contrast, with Sword Threads, one could control them at will. Unfortunately, mastering such a skill required extreme talent and intelligence, which he didn’t yet possess.

In a kingdom where any religion other than Light of Radiance was treated as heresy, bringing up Buddhism would only label him as a heretic.

“By the way, there’s something I’m curious about—about the Sword Threads, could...”

Just as he was about to ask about the Sword Threads, a servant from the marquis’s estate called out to him, and Ihan looked over, puzzled.