I Reincarnated as a Shinai

Stella woke up from her long sleep after feeling the heat from the sunlight.

"Good morning, Master." She smiled after seeing the unmoving sword leaning on the wall. 

He would sometimes not answer her but she knows that he's always listening… 

She sat up and stretched her body for a bit. She had such a comfortable sleep thanks to her master who was always beside her. 

After her parent's death, it was normal for her to have a nightmare every night. She would always wake up in the middle of the night, feeling scared and lonely…

However, ever since the Sentient Arcana came into her life, her dull and uninteresting life had suddenly become colorful…

She learned how to fight Evil Beasts and even defeat people who are older than her… It was something that she would've never imagined until they've met.

The most important thing was that she no longer had a nightmare after being with her master.

She became stronger as she slowly discovered the splendor of this world. She earned money, collect Magic Items, and now, she would even become a licensed Hunter. 

It feels like she has nothing to worry about and she just had to focus on learning the art of Kendo that her Master was teaching…

She thought that she could just stay together with her master like this and grow stronger at the same time. However, as she prepared herself to do the day's routine, her master suddenly requested something that she thought would still happen in the future…

That's right, she already expected this but it had come too early so she was a little surprised. 

"Master?"

"Stella… I would need some of your blood. Can you give me a little?"

After Stella understood Reiji, she immediately calmed herself and answered.

"I understand, Master… You have taught me a lot of things and I grew stronger than I could ever imagine. I would be more than happy to give you my blood."

She has seen her master consume several liters of blood in one go, so she expected that the "little" that he was talking about shouldn't be compared to her interpretation.

She had to prepare for the worst.

"Eh? Let me explain a bit… Don't worry… I wouldn't take a lot of your blood and we'll do it several times--- No, I mean little by little…"

Reiji quickly said after seeing Stella's emotional expression. He then explained to her his plan to take some of her blood on a weekly basis.

As for the wound that they have to make during the blood extraction, Reiji heard several medicines that can be used to avoid getting a scar that will stay on her body.

Of course, he only heard of it in the Apothecary and not many were using them.

After all, people who live in the village where hunting is a job, there wouldn't normally be a need to hide those scars as it can be treated as an honor and a sign of strength.

"I understand now, Master…" Stella replied.

Reiji told her to wash first and have her breakfast before they'll deal with the blood mission…

'Ahh… No… I think we should deal with the Arcana first…'

As Reiji thought of this, he waited for Stella to finish eating before he discussed the Arcane Stone…

"W-what?! This little stone can summon an Arcana!" 

Stella stuttered as she was shocked by her master's revelation… 

The Arcane Stone that she was aware of was several times larger than this and as far as she remembers, she should be able to press both of her palms on that stone but this stone was too small!

'Sshh… Use the Sense Link, the Sense Link….'

'Ahhh... Sorry… Is that true, Master?' The young girl did her best to calm down.

'That's right… So, go ahead. Close the window and lock the door. Let's try summoning one now.' Reiji was also quite excited about this.

Stella looked at the black stone and she couldn't feel anything about it. It seems that her master was full of surprises today.

Nevertheless, she clearly knows that there is indeed an Arcane Stone needed in Arcana Bestowal Ceremony, but the Arcane Circle was also needed and it requires an abundant source of Spiritual Energy. Aside from that, there will be a need for a 1st-Class Arcanist to help in preparing the stage or the altar as they have a crucial job in this summoning. 

This is the reason why the Kingdom couldn't conduct the ceremony several times in a year… 

However, her master Reiji was saying now that only this single piece of stone was all they need for summoning!

It was completely different from what she read about the ceremony…

'Well, I guess this is not a normal Arcane Stone as it's called Ancient Arcane Stone… This must be special.' Reiji tried to reason.

Stella had no idea about their difference but it sounded more precious than a normal Arcane Stone she heard about.

She quickly closed the window and even covered it with a curtain… She also locked her room but recalled that her uncle might look for her…

She then went to the smithy and told him not to disturb her in her room as she would practice her Spiritual Energy…

Finally, after everything was prepared, Stella asked Reiji about the process of summoning…

'Ahh… About that, I'm also not quite sure… You can try to experiment for now. I just know that it can let the user connect to the unfiltered Arcane World and find their fated Arcana.'

Stella froze after hearing Reiji. She then asked him again to confirm what she just heard.

'Unfiltered? Does it mean that I can summon Cursed Arcana or perhaps other Sentient Arcana?' Stella didn't doubt her master's words and was just surprised.

Reiji was at a loss after hearing this… He read about the unfiltered from the item's description but he didn't think too much about it. 

However, Stella's words alarmed him a little.

'Oh? Is that what being unfiltered means?'

'That's right… Remember when I told you about how I researched how to get a Hammer-Type Arcana before?' 

'Yes… You said that it is impossible to get what you desire during the summoning and your plan changed to buying an ownerless Hammer-Type Arcana instead." Reiji recalled their conversation.

'That's right… During that time, I read about the Bestowal Ceremony… The 1st-Class Arcanist that was supervising the ceremony was also tasked with filtering the connection to the Arcane World to avoid the negative aura being called…'

'Negative Aura… I guess you meant the Cursed Arcana…' Reiji finally understood the situation… In any case, even if she summoned a cursed one, his guide should be capable of appraising it and they'll be able to deal with it…

'That's correct. It means that if I used this… I can summon any type of Arcana. I'm really excited, Master…'

'Well… It's a good thing that you're excited. Anyway, just treat the black stone on the table as the Arcane Stone that you've read about and your room as the Arcane Circle…'

'Yes… I will do it now…'

Stella took a deep breath as she went forward and pressed her two fingers on the black stone… She stopped worrying as she felt that she wasn't that special for a Cursed Arcana to take an interest in her Spiritual Energy… 

She would already be happy even if a Common Rank would come out. 

As she slowly poured her Spiritual Energy on the stone, she silently prayed that an Arcana would come out… 

It would be too embarrassing in front of her master if she was unable to summon one. 

'Please, any Arcana would be fine…' 

Finally, after exhausting almost all of her Spiritual Energy, she suddenly felt that her energy was stuck into something… It didn't take long before she realized what was happening…

'This…'

A cloud of smoke came out of the Arcane Stone. It is completely different from the books she read… She expected that it would be a white or any colored light that will be forming the Arcana.

However, she no longer felt too surprised since her method of summoning was already questionable in the first place. 

What truly shocked her was the color of the smoke… It is blue smoke! 

If she'll interpret it with the color equivalent that she knows, then this is a Unique-Rank Arcana!

Stella waited for the weapon or the equipment to be completely formed in bated breath.

After a few more seconds, a thin and black bracer appeared in front of her. There were no intricate designs on it and it appears that it is as thin as cloth…

'An arm-guard…' Stella muttered as she held the Arcana.

She had to equip or just touch the Arcana first so that all the information regarding it would incorporate into her mind.

It didn't take long before the details of the Arcana appeared in her mind.

As expected it is truly a Unique-Rank Arcana!

She immediately informed her master about the good news as they both celebrated her success…