Chapter 105: Ashisabaki ( Part 1 )

"So that's where he got these things…" Stella muttered after reading the letter.

"Hmm?"

"Ah… Master. The chief sent me a letter about the origin of the vials that we found in Frank's house. It seems that it was stolen from the mountain bandit's hideout. He told us that I can keep it…"

"I see… That makes sense."

"That's right… I wonder if the bandits stole it from a noble's house."

"There's no need to worry about that… Just be careful on using those potions."

"Alright… Uhmm… Master, do you have a method to identify this Arcane Potion?"

"Let's see…" 

Reiji thought for a moment before he asked the guide for a possible method.

'Guide, is there any way I can identify these potions?'

He can use the guide's ability to appraise Enchanted Weapons, Magic Weapons, and Arcana… However, the guide seemed to be incapable of appraising other objects.

[ Rank Up. A Unique-Rank and above Arcana can purchase a skill called Identification. ] 

'Unique-rank? But Iris' mother only has common-rank and she has an Appraisal magic…'

[ You are a weapon-type Arcana. ] 

'Oh… I see…'

Reiji then realized that equipment-type Arcana seems to enjoy having appraisal-related skills like the circlet and ring.

He remembered that the Chaos Knights have 1 Rare-Rank and 1 Unique-Rank Arcana that has identification skill and both of them seems to be equipment-type. 

He should already be happy that even though he's a weapon-type, he still has the chance of getting this Identification Skill.

'I guess, I must be thankful as you can still help me with weapon identification…'

[ Because you possess the "Blessing" of the Sword Deity, it is an easy job. ]

'Eh? Ah… Is that so…'

Reiji then turned to Stella and answered.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any ways of identifying potions. However, I may be able to... someday in the future…"

"Really? Does it mean that you can grow stronger, Master?"

Stella asked as she was surprised after hearing her master's words. She only had a hunch before but looking at it now, it seems to be true.

Everyone should know that once an Arcana was summoned, they already have a set of skills included in them. She had never heard of an Arcana obtaining new skills…

"Amazing…" Stella muttered without waiting for his reply.

"Oh… Is that amazing? Anyway, it's not impossible although that would still take some time." 

Reiji replied as he thought of something else.

'I wonder if other sentient Arcana can grow as well…' 

***

Hendrick Ricarte together with two other knights entered the Wailing Forest fully equipped. 

They already went to the mountain where the subjugation party killed most of the cult members.

They didn't bring the squires with them as they were unsure about the strength of the living beasts here. It would be a problem if they couldn't protect those young squires.

Instead, they brought two One-Star Hunters to guide them within the forest.

"What is that "X" mark?" Hendrick suddenly asked the Hunter who was with them. They were on the way to the Beacon Tree to find some traces of people using this path… He wanted to find some clues about the cultists or the beast tamers who entered this forest along the way… 

Of course, he was also planning to investigate the existence of the mysterious stone. In order to do that, he had to familiarize himself in the forest and explore the paths that the Hunters had already used before going to unexplored areas. This way, in case they were in a trouble, they can easily use the topography to their advantage and avoid being lost. 

"Mhmm… Further on that path, a team of six Hunters found a strong Evil Beast, only one of them survive to inform us, Sir…"

"What kind of Evil Beast?"

"He described it as a huge monster with black tentacles…"

"What? Is there such a beast?"

"I'm not sure as well… The chief suggested that it may be the guardian of this forest… There were previous records about this guardian and that it was using its long black hair to catch its prey and bring it to its lair…" The Hunter gestured that he doesn't have any idea as well. He was only saying what he heard from the other hunters.

"That sounds dangerous…"

"It is… The problem is that we're not sure whether it was moving or just staying in that area. So we have to remain vigilant."

"I understand."

Hendrick couldn't remember any tentacled beast that can live in the forest… 

No, it may be living in a hidden lake or river. Even so, he couldn't guess what kind of monster or beast it is with only a little information.

Anyway, the beasts that he knows were those taught in class or the ones that he encountered by traveling. 

He can only rely on these Hunters to give them a rough idea about the strengths of other Evil Beasts since they were familiar in this area.

Of course, he also thought that the area where the mysterious stone can be found was mostly in these areas where the Hunters couldn't explore… So he quickly noted this path in his mind.

"Grrr…" 

Several beasts appeared in front of them...

They were being blocked by a group of Forest Wolves… They were only low-grade Wild Beasts but the fact that they always hunt in groups was troubling…

A common saying in Hunter's league was that it was better to fight a lone Phantom Wolf, even though it is an Evil Beast, rather than facing these wolves that can attack in many directions…

"We're surrounded…" Hendrick said as he turned his eye on the surroundings. Aside from the three Forest Wolves in front, there were six more wolves silently encircling them. 

Anyway, although this was the case, none of the five people were worried. The hunters were confident in their hunting skills and survivability in the forest while the Chaos Knights do not fear such measly numbers with their fully enchanted armor and magic weapons with them.

"Is it alright to kill all of them…" One of the knights asked as he held his sword.

"Mhmm… That should be fine, we brought enough Null Flower with us… However, we can just kill or injure their leader and they will back away…" One of the hunters answered.

"Is that so?"

With that in mind, Hendrick gestured to them to stand down…

"I think that the one behind us is the leader…. Let's see if they will indeed retreat…"

"Urgh… Boss, I want to fight too…" 

"No, Lawrence… Reserve your strength for now. We'll be going to the unexplored area later…"

"Really? Alright, then…" 

Lawrence then sheath his sword as he waited for the Knight Captain to act. Although he doesn't possess an Arcana with him, he possesses four Magic Weapons giving him a boost in his confidence… 

Hendrick knows this so he had to ensure that Lawrence would have enough Spiritual Energy to control all of those four Magic Weapons in case they met someone they couldn't beat easily.

"Kuhh..."

While this was all happening, the group was unaware that a Crimson Eagle not too far away was closely watching their movements.

***

"Master Reiji, I have a question…" Stella, who was resting after a set of sword swing practice, decided to start asking questions. She always does this after learning new things from her master… 

She would just listen silently and follow what was being taught to her and would only ask after the training was over or if she was given a break.

"Go ahead…"

"Is there a more effective method to have a better grasp in Ma'ai? I feel that if my opponent was too close to me, I can't properly react to their attack..."

Stella said while remembering the kick that she received from Frank… She was having no trouble parrying those spear thrusts and swings but a sudden close-range attack seemed to be too difficult to defend. 

As per her Master's teachings, Ma'ai wasn't just referring to the distance between her and her opponent… 

It was the combination of physical distance, spiritual, and temporal distance…

It means that grasping the Ma'ai was similarly grasping the time taken to cross the distance, angle, and rhythm of attack…

Before her master could answer, she immediately added the things that she learned from him…

"Of course, as you taught before… It was also good to strike before my opponent can, in order to prevent them in maintaining their grasp in Ma'ai…"

"That's right… Disrupting your opponent's rhythm and hiding your rhythm is a good method… However, it was only to avoid them from getting an advantage…"

Reiji paused before asking Stella… 

"Can you think of something else?"

"Uhmm…"

Stella wanted to grasp the Ma'ai so she can have a better reaction to her opponent. However, Reiji has an innate talent that was brought together with him when he was reincarnated as an Arcana, it was his superb Kinetic Vision… which mostly solve his problem regarding this.

Of course, even if he doesn't have this advantage, there is still a method…

"Err… Is it related to the hanging woods? But…"

"But it feels not enough? Well, that's normal… After some time, you would grasp their trajectory and soon, you'll just easily avoid them even when your eyes are closed…"

"Eh? Not really… I don't think I can do that much…" Stella hurriedly said.

"What I mean is that you can learn to adapt the more you practice… Just like in a real battle, if you have more experience, you'll naturally find a way to counter your opponent… It can be due to your technique, your muscle memory due to training, your grasp in your Arcane skills, your grasp in the environment, or perhaps due to the information you gathered from your opponents, like their habit or such… However, before you can do that, you need to have a stable foundation…"

Reiji calmly explained as he waited for Stella to absorb his words.

For someone who practiced kendo for more than three decades, he was confident that even without his kinetic vision, he can still become a renowned Kensei. 

"Foundation…"

"That's right… We'll start with Ashisabaki…"