I Reincarnated as a Shinai

Felix couldn't believe that Reiji was capable of marking humans as his slaves. He was unsure about the limitation of his ability but marking three people at the same time is definitely a sign of being a high-rank Arcana…

Although he doesn't have a skill close to this level, he knows that an ability that can control the mind of an intelligent being is a skill meant for strategic weapons sought after by any country in this world. 

He wanted to ask about Reiji's ability but they were still not that close and he didn't want their relationship to become awkward. In the end, he decided to just acknowledge his skills but avoided digging deeper into them…

It is that same for the two Arcana as they approached Reiji with his three followers…

"Reiji! You are so strong!"

"I think that you can contend against the Mythical Arcana that I've heard about…"

"That's true… You can even control these people as you wish… I'm jealous…"

The three Sentient Arcana praised Reiji for how he handled the group of bandits a while ago. Even Ruthren the Pillager was unable to do anything as he seemed to be a child brandishing his toy in front of an expert.

"Haha… I just got lucky… Anyway, they're not Arcanist so I easily marked them with my ability… If they are, it would have to take some time before I can mark them…"

Reiji replied as he ordered the three slaves to pick up any valuable materials in the flipped carriage…

The merchants lit up a flare a while ago to signal the city guards… Even though they are busy fending off the Cults who are causing trouble, a few of them might still arrive to investigate the place…

"What are your plans now?" Felix asked.

"Well, I'm going to visit their hideout and take a look at their treasures… Do you want to come with me?" Reiji invited.

The three Arcana looked at each other and thought about their current plans… None of them are in a hurry so they really didn't mind following such an incredible Arcana… Who knows, they might learn something after following him for a while.

In the end, all of them decided to follow Reiji as they chatted about his three new servants…

"Reiji… These three bandits, can you control them at your will? I only have an ability called Mind Control that would last for 10 seconds if they are wearing me… However, your ability seems to be longer than that and they don't need to hold you or something…"

Jaymie curiously asked as she even shared her Mind Control ability… 

Reiji nodded after hearing this. Her skill appears to be something similar to his Level 1 Take Over based on her descriptions. Reiji didn't mind giving a bit of detail as long as he left the vital information about this ability undisclosed.

"Yes… Similar to Fern's Sword Servant Skill, I can appoint a few people to become my followers… As for its duration, it would remain active as long as I did not remove the mark I put on them…" Reiji answered as he waited for the three slaves to gather the materials they've found…

"What are these?"

Reiji saw six sacks filled with black powder… It doesn't seem to be that heavy considering that the bandits can carry one in each hand.

"These are powdered Prehnite…" Ruthren answered. 

"Prehnite?" Reiji repeated as he glanced at the three Arcana… 

They looked unaware as well so he continued asking Ruthren.

"It is a material we wanted to have for ourselves as it would further strengthen our Enhanced Weapons even without the help of Arcanists who specializes in craftsmanship… These materials are being traded to high-quality gems in our kingdom." 

"What are these things for? What kind of strengthening it does?"

"It helps in weapon's durability enhancement and it has a low chance of having Arcane Magic resistance. Although not as effective as Mythril Alloy, it can still weaken the Arcane Magic going your way."

"I understand…" Reiji replied. 

With the three's line of work, it was normal to encounter an Arcanist while robbing someone… Through the help of this powdered Prehnite, they might have a chance of killing an Arcanists if they planned well enough…

After all, the only advantage of Arcanists was their Arcana with various Arcane Magic…

If they can limit this, their Enhanced Weapons might be enough to deal with them.

An hour had passed as Reiji and his group arrived at the bandit's hideout… 

The four Sentient Arcana found out that there are 10 horses owned by the bandits not too far from where they ambushed the merchants…

They brought 6 horses with them to carry the sack of powdered Prehnite while Reiji ordered his slaves to free the other four…

"Are these treehouses?"

Reiji looked at the pieces of the log put together to barely let anyone live on it… He thought that since they have horses with them, they should have good living conditions… After all, it is not easy to raise or feed a horse… 

However, it seems that these people were just robbing some good horses that they've found on the road…

"Yes, master… Although the chances are low, Evil Beast might lurk around this area…" Ruthren answered.

"Did it happen before?"

"Yes, it happened once eight months ago. However, we are a group of fifty bandits before so we managed to survive. These days, we're only encountering mid-tier Wild Beasts at most…"

"Mhmm… What happened to your numbers?"

"Most of my subordinates were recruited by some shady cult and left our group."

Reiji shakes his head as even up to here, he can still find traces of the cult. It was like they were following his journey in this kingdom.

It must've been tough for this bandit leader as well… 

"Master… We have various Magic Items and Arcana up there. However, none of us could use them so they're just stored there collecting dust."

"Huh? Why not sell them?" It was Felix who asked the question since he knows that humans need money in order to live comfortably. 

That is why they're working as bandits to steal things or even kill their fellow humans to acquire these…

Although Felix knows that it's wrong, he didn't bother thinking too much of it since he felt that this is the nature of humans…  He was only curious why they decided to just let their loots be stored here.

As the slaves would only answer to their master, they ignored Felix until Reiji told them to answer him.

"We have difficulty selling them since our merchant partner hasn't visited us for a couple of months already." 

Reiji understood their point as stolen things are difficult to sell even to this world. They'll need a connection to the black market if they wanted to discard their collections.

"Let me see them…"

Reiji could no longer wait as he flew quickly to enter the treehouses. He used his keen senses to find the stash where the precious items are hidden.

Finally, he found a crate filled with various weapons and equipment… Some of them still have some dried blood on them as they were probably acquired not in a pleasant way.

The three other Arcana followed as they looked at the excited Wooden Sword Arcana that seemed to be trembling in anticipation…

"Reiji… Why are you so excited seeing a bunch of non-sentient Arcana?" Yerin asked as she even chuckled a bit. 

She found it hilarious that a powerful Arcana like him would be so interested in these lower-level creations by the World of Arcana…

"Did you found something interesting? Share it with us…" Jaymie curiously asked. She tried looking at the various swords, armors, bracers, bottles, arrows, daggers, and other miscellaneous items on the crate but nothing caught her attention…

All of them were indeed precious Arcana but none of them were as astounding as any sentient Arcana that she met in the city. 

Felix also took a glance at the crate and aside from a set of throwing knives that he saw, none of the weapons here should attract Reiji…

Apparently, they can detect the level of the non-sentient or normal  Arcana in front of them so they can make this judgment.

However, they were obviously unaware of Reiji's method of advancing… This also means that not everyone has the same method of ranking up. If everyone has the same method, then these three would've realized what he was thinking after seeing the bunch of Arcana with a couple of Rare-Rank and a single Unique-Rank mixed in.

Honestly, Reiji was truly surprised after finding out that they've collected such valuable items… After all, Arcana is a very precious item in this kingdom where the Bestowal Ceremony only happens yearly with a limited number of people…

Although there may be chances of Arcana appearing from neighboring countries, their number should be low and wouldn't be in a bandits possession…

"Well… I just needed them for something…"

Reiji replied as he ordered his three slaves to carry a few Arcana that he selected before they continued their way to the northern region.