Jyorta clutched his head, feeling the pain from the smack. His vision blurred as his eyes moistened, with the tears filling to the brim, on the verge of spilling out. He felt something through his senses as he moved his head. But, the attack was faster; a pale blue fist smacked him again, also healing the damage it had inflicted.

The nurse then inspected his body condition, focused on the task, her expression tinged with anger. From time to time, her psychic arm would hover above his head and curl up into a fist. Sometimes, she would control her urges but oftentimes, she would smack him.

Finally, the nurse nodded, seeing Jyorta's healthy complexion. "It seems you are back to normal."

His expression was of curiosity, of one filled with questions. The nurse turned around, nodding after seeing that there wasn't anyone she had to treat for the time being. She glanced at Jyorta, "Jyorta Bone from October Batch, right?"

"Yes, ma'am." Jyorta nodded, looking at his reflection in the mirror above. He had returned to being normal. The mirror then dissipated while a psychic arm removed the restriction around his neck.

As he relaxed, the nurse spoke, "Exploring the Labyrinth is not an easy feat. There is not just the threat of the Frenzy Beasts in there. The very environment itself is harmful to the human body. This effect is not pronounced much in Warriors, thanks to their tougher bodies. But, it is different in the case of Espers."

"Ma'am, I thought my injuries were light; how did they become this worse?" Jyorta felt confused, wondering if his senses had been affected. Based on the pain and sensation he felt, he had only suffered bruises in most of the places. The only injury he suffered was the one in his left hand. But, reality proved otherwise.

The nurse folded her hands before her, staring at Jyorta for a couple of seconds. She then sat on a chair that appeared from out of nowhere. All Jyorta could make out was a faint blur and the mild flow of air. But, everything ended in a flash.

The nurse introduced herself, "I am Vaika, a Wave Controller affiliated to the Veera Family. Before I answer your question, what do you think about aura?"

"Aura is our presence. Every cell in us possesses aura, thought faint." Jyorta readily had a reply. It was something he knew of beforehand.

"Seems you have read some articles about aura," The nurse nodded, "But, aura isn't that simple. From the historical records accessible by us, aura had been a concept that wasn't just theory even before the dark ages, or the Silicon Age to be exact."

"It seemed aura was also a tool that had a variety of uses, intimidation being only one of them. Just based on a person's aura, you can judge the state of their body and mind. It is a vast concept. Though, what we learn is just the tip of the iceberg." She displayed her index finger, slowly pointing it at him.

Immediately, his heartbeat spiked. His vision blurred before the surroundings changed. He was in the same pose, the hospital bed under him remained as is. But everything else apart from that changed.

It was a grass plain, with gentle winds flowing across, forming large waves of swaying grass that moved about uniformly. The air was warm, the evening sun beginning to set. The faint chirping of birds echoed as a couple of sparrows danced about, playing with each other as they glided through the wind, flapping their wings as they danced.

It was a scene of serenity. Just when Jyorta blinked his eyes, the scene changed. It was now the interior of a large hall. Curtains were draped over the sides, hiding the numerous paths that trailed behind. Seats were placed along the two sides, forming a long row.

Each seat was wide enough to accommodate four well-built men side by side. Detailed engravings of oriental dragons covered the legs, with the tails curving around the hand rest. The heads were sprawled on the floor, facing forward.

Pouring out from within their opened mouths was a thin stream of water, overlaying a layer of mist in the hall. The water fell on the floor and was absorbed into it, vanishing without a trace. The head of the dragon was at the bottom of the nearest seat, inching further and further up as the seats progressed.

Finally, the seats on the end had the overarching dragon heads. Next to them was a raised platform, possessing three steps, each a metre high. Atop it was a seat, twice the size of others. Also, unlike the other seats, it had a backrest, shaped into a door, with the symbol of a sun parted by clouds, condensing rain. It resembled a throne.

A streak of lightning flashed through the hall, dimming the surroundings while highlighting itself. Sounds of rain resounded, followed by intermittent thunder. Something seemed to be seated atop the throne, watching him. At the next moment, Jyorta realised he was looking at the face of the nurse.

She smiled and retracted her finger, "My prime field of research is aura. The more I research it, the more mysterious it becomes. What I did just earlier was use my aura to affect your senses, inducing a hallucination in you. As I affected all your senses, you weren't able to differentiate reality from it."

She snapped her finger once, pulling Jyorta out of his reverie. "Coming back to your question, you were affected by the aura lingering in the Labyrinth. When you entered, your aura was inside your body, resisting the foreign aura from invading your body. You had also erected a barrier. Since your psychic arm also has your aura, it helped you."

"But," She stretched her index and middle finger, outlining a handgun that she pointed at him, bending her thumb forward, "When the barrier on your left hand shattered and the teeth of the Spiked Lizard pierced your skin, the surrounding aura gushed into your body, along with the aura it injected through its poison."

"Normally speaking, your aura would have counterattacked this." She shook her head, clicking her tongue. "But, the aura in your body is limited, stored within it like a container. Let us suppose you have 100 units of aura. When you unleash your aura, around 60-70 units are emitted, leaving the remainder in your body. This weakens your resistance to foreign aura, making it easy for it to invade your body."

Vaika looked at him, "What state do you think aura exists as? Energy? Or matter?"

"Is it…energy?" Having not thought along this line of thought, Jyorta could only make a guess.

"Then, do you think gravity is energy?" She questioned, sporting a smile.

"Isn't gravity a force?" Jyorta frowned, failing to catch her line of thought. It was then he thought about gravity. 'How does it act? What is its state?'

"I'll leave you to ponder about it later." The nurse laughed, amused by his expression. "Some things look so obvious that we fail to question them. As to how you want to classify aura, I'll leave it to you. It is not something I can explain to you like this anyway. For the time being, consider aura as a form of radiation, as energy your body contains and can emit."

"This theory will help you picture it clearer: there exist tiny particles in your cells, called Aurons. I just named them as such, they don't actually exist." Vaika waved her hand, "This is only to help you picture it. Your Cells exert a certain force of attraction over them, keeping them bound. The Aurons, on the other hand, contain tremendous energy, making them highly unstable."

"When more of them condense, they can be emitted and retracted upon thought. If the quantity is less, they won't break out the force field of attraction. This is why normal people and Tier 1 beings can't unleash their aura. At Tier 2, the quantity of aurons increases beyond the threshold, called the emissible threshold." She then waved her hands, cutting her theory short.

She then concluded, "They impede foreign aura. But, as their concentration decreases, the foreign aura easily moves through the large spaces. That is why, when you unleashed your aura, you were weakening your defences, making it easy for the aura in the area to seep into you."

Vaika then pointed at Jyorta, creating the hallucination of the meadow once again, but this time, she was also in there. "You can also imbue properties into the aura. The effect it exhibits will vary accordingly. I am using my aura to create a hallucination. The aura lingering in the first level of the Labyrinth of Frenzy places one in a state of malevolence, causing the person to engage in slaughter. There is also other traces of aura intermixed into it, causing bodily harm upon contact, such as what you faced."

"I call this the personification of aura." Vaika glanced at him, "Remember how after killing the first Spiked Lizard, your aura was tinged with killing intent? That was a minor personification of your aura. But, an aura filled with killing intent is not suitable for you. That's why you had tired out so quickly."

She pointed at herself, "The personification of my aura induces hallucinations. Rakh Veera, who you have seen in your first month, can dominate the minds of his foes through his aura. Your grandfather's aura can make his foes experience intense hunger. There are many such effects. You would have to find one that suits you. Usually, one will not activate the personification of their aura, only unleashing it in its base form while in the presence of others. It is to guard their secret. As for the examples I quoted, the individuals have expressed their willingness to share it."

"Now, what do you think your aura will personify into?"