I Reincarnated as a Shinai

Rufus's performance was truly impressive especially the last moments where he deflected the bullet in such a close range.

The two old Arcanists couldn't help but appreciate his performance… They have never thought that someone aside from the high-ranking Knights was capable of pulling this off.

His swordsmanship skill must be at the level of a Knight-Lieutenant already. 

If he can show his skills to the royalty and swear fealty to the king, he might even receive a Silver Swordsman title…

"Ho~ Are you perhaps thinking of accepting him as your disciple?" Kael noticed the light in the eyes of his friend as he teased him a bit. 

It wasn't unusual to accept a disciple as even Kael already accepted five direct disciples in the past 10 years. The youngest of them and the only one that is still in this tower is actually Yui Sakura, the wielder of the Mythical Wand.

Every red-robed Arcanist behind them was shocked after hearing this. Being accepted as a disciple of a genuine Second-Class Arcanist is completely different from being a regular member of the tower.

They would receive a special method of practicing Spiritual Energy, personal guidance in crafting Magic Weapons, connection to the high-ranking nobles of the Kingdom, and there is even a chance to inherit their Arcana if ever something happened to their master.

"A disciple, huh…" Sven muttered. 

He knows why his friend Kael suggested this, it was because of his Arcana.

Sven uses a saber as his main weapon. The style or technique of wielding a sword and a saber is different from each other even though the weapons have similarities. 

It is because the center of balance of the two weapons is different.

Of course, it doesn't change the fact that Sven can still teach a lot of things to Rufus.

"I'll think about it…"

***

Time quickly passed as the top 15 was determined, however, this wasn't the end yet.

The two Second-Class Arcanists stood up to conduct another test to finish the second part of this evaluation. 

They wanted to know the top 3 or perhaps the top 5 trainees of this batch. 

"The last fifteen trainees, step forward..." Sven said to everyone in a low voice.

They were gathered just outside the arena when the second-class Arcanist showed in front of them. Sven's voice shows his old age but his aura was still filled with vigor and charisma.

Rufus, Lexi, Nika, and the others were quite excited seeing such a high-ranking Arcanist. 

After all, their rank was said to be capable of summoning another Arcana.

That's right, not just taking claim of ownerless Arcana but literally summoning another Arcana from the boundless Arcane World.

Of course, possessing multiple summoned Arcana is a person's top-secret information so they can't confirm if they have one. 

But they can somehow tell that Sven and Kael are hiding one due to their involvement with the royalty. 

Almost everyone can guarantee that any 1st or 2nd-Class Arcanists have two or perhaps more summoned Arcana as this is something that even the kingdom would help you to acquire. 

They just have to make it a national secret to avoid leaking the weak points of their Arcana.

"Ehem… All fifteen of you… Enter the central arena for the final part."

Everyone silently followed as they started guessing in their minds about what kind of challenge they were about to take.

Will it be a battle royale? A team fight? Perhaps they will fight against another Evil Beast? 

As they nervously waited for them to announced the next challenge, they saw the old Arcanist Sven untying his saber… It was still unsheathed so they were quite curious about his purpose in doing so.

They then heard the man explain what was about to happen.

"For the final part of the Second Evaluation. You have to fight against me within five minutes… Do not worry, I won't draw my saber to avoid accidentally killing you… On the other hand, you can do your best to try and fight me with the intent to kill. Do you understand?"

The trainees were shocked but some felt that they were insulted just now. The top 15 weren't pushovers and they defeat two of their fellow Arcanists as well.

They also have various Arcane Magic that would surely trouble even a Second-Class Arcanist. The confidence of this old man was quite admirable. 

"Alright, I'll give you 30 seconds to talk with each other. Then after that, the timer will start…"

Sven gave them some time as he looked at his friend watching outside the Arena… Kael actually wanted to do this fight but Sven managed to convince him to change with him. 

"Haaa~"

Lexi sighed as she stepped forward. She plans to lead the others in this fight. 

Everyone understood that in order to give this old man a good beating, they have to be coordinated and avoid canceling each other's attacks…

With this in mind, they didn't mind Lexi leading their team. After all, they also wanted to use the others to probe the old man's abilities. They didn't want to waste their Spiritual Energy.

Apparently, Lexi was the one tasked to probe the Arcanist first.

"There's seven of us that's good in close combat… We'll encircle him but let me go first. I have an Epic-Rank ring that can defend even against any powerful Arcane Magic... The others would try to attack depending on how he responds… Rufus, I need you to deal a critical blow once you found an opening…"

Surprisingly, Lexi addressed Rufus as if he's the strongest damage dealer out here.

There are still many powerful Arcanists like the Flail Wielder, the Pike Wielder, and the others in the top 10…

Rufus only uses a wooden sword so they doubt that he can deal much damage even if they created an opening…

No one bothered objecting at this since they know that once they're in the battle, it wouldn't matter who would utilize the opening as long as they can hit Sven…

However, everyone remembered how Lexi looked at the young man.

Lexi then gave a few more pieces of advice before they heard the old Arcanist calling for them…

"Time's up… Pick up your weapons and come to me…" Sven smirked at them as he places the sheathed saber in front of him.

They only have five minutes so they can't waste a lot of time…

As soon as they surrounded the old man, Lexi decided to initiate first… It was followed by a couple of close combat specialists.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Lexi's battle axe and the two other's gauntlet and dagger were deflected by an Arcane Magic similar to Shell Protection.

This prompted everyone to test the limit of the man's defenses.

***

'Master…'

'Calm down… I think this will be graded depending on how much damage you'll deal with the old man.'

Reiji calmly said but he was actually surprised by Sven's Spiritual Energy… Even the noble or Lord Castillo's Spiritual Energy was nothing compared to this. 

It doesn't feel like his Spiritual Energy was abundant as it feels thicker and solid… 

His energy creates a different form of pressure on the trainees…

Unlike the Spiritual Pressure that could envelop the whole surroundings, his energy was like a solid pillar blocking their way…

It seems like he's immovable even if the 15 of them tried to break his defense…

How can they deal damage if he has this sort of mutated Spiritual Energy!

A hundred and twenty seconds passed but Sven was still standing unharmed in front of everyone.

The difference between their strength laid bare to everyone's eyes.

"Ho~ It seems that you guys are done… It's my turn now…"

Sven finally said after taking all their attacks…

He stepped forward and vanished.

He appeared behind the furthest Arcanist that was about to cast a long-range Arcane Magic.

Thud!

He was hit at the back of his head as he fell unconscious… 

Sven didn't stop as he eliminated the young fourth-class Arcanists one by one… He was like a ghost that appears beside the person he sets his eyes on…

'It can't go on like this… Once he appeared, throw me at him quickly… I'll try to make him acknowledge your power before he eliminates you…'

Reiji quickly said to Rufus using their Link. The Take Over cooldown was still not over so he can't help him by using that ability…

However, this battle is not meant to defeat Sven but a final chance to give a good performance to the judges. As long as he managed to create an impression to the old, Rufus should be graded high by this old Arcanist…

'Yes, Master!'

Rufus answered his master as he locked his eyes on the old man…

He gripped the shinai tightly as he wanted to throw it using his full force… 

But something happened unexpectedly, before he can gather his momentum and his Spiritual Energy, he felt the sword leave his hands as it flew towards Sven!

His master decided to fly directly to the old man!

Rufus was at a loss as he lost his balance due to the sword's sudden burst movement from his hands.

Boom! 

A loud explosion stopped everyone as they looked at Rufus who threw something out of his hand and hit Sven…

"You did it!"

He heard the remaining trainees celebrate his success...