Chapter 178: Missing

Rufus was dumbfounded at first but he needed to act his part. 

"Focus!"

He shouted at his teammates as the five minutes isn't over yet. Sven would surely come at them again and this time, he'll probably increase the intensity of his attacks...

Although he knows that his master is strong, it couldn't act like a sentient Arcana as he said that he can't be discovered here. In short, his master wouldn't be able to show his true strength as he needed to act like a thrown sword...

"He's still standing..." 

"He must be weakened, let's not waste this opportunity!"

"Don't save your Spiritual Energy... Let's do this!"

As soon as they saw the shadow of the old Arcanist from the smoke caused by the explosion, they unhesitatingly showered him with various Arcane Magic in hopes of dealing significant damage to the Second-Class Arcanist...

"Chord Lightning!" 

It is an offensive skill from an Epic-Rank Arcana owned by Lexi. The casting time of this ability would take 10 seconds so she was quite thankful for Rufus in holding him back...

A bolt of red lightning then came out of her ring followed by fireballs, ice spear, and various common-rank arcana's Arcane Magic from the others.

Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions occurred as they didn't want him to take a rest...

As they started getting exhausted, they stopped throwing their magic and waited for the result... They were confident that even if Sven still managed to defend against their attack, he should've used various Magic Item or even used his second Arcana to survive that onslaught.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

They suddenly heard someone applauding within the dust and smoke caused by their Arcane Magic...

Everyone became tense as there's only one person inside that smoke.

"You guys did very well... Probably the best batch of young Arcanists for the past decade..."

They heard Sven's voice as he complimented their skills... However, as the timer was still not over, it only added to the tension as the trainees nervously backed away.

After the smoke cleared up, they saw the undamaged Sven, walking out slowly...

His hands were free but there are two weapons stabbed on the ground. On his right was the saber while Rufus's wooden sword was on his left...

"Eh?"

"I think he looks weakened now..."

They noticed that even though there is no visible injury on his body, the old man actually appeared to be quite pale compared to his previous complexion.

They realized that the man must've used a huge chunk of his Spiritual Energy to defend against all of their attacks...

Whoosshh~

The wooden sword suddenly acted as it flew back to Rufus's hands... Sven was seemingly surprised but he didn't act to take it back.

He just watched it return to the young man's hands... Everyone thought that it was one of Rufus's abilities.

"Look!"

"He's injured!"

The crowd suddenly discovered that Sven's left shoulder started bleeding...

That is where Rufus's sword hit the old man!

"We still have less than two minutes... Let's hold on!"

They all felt invigorated after seeing the result of their persistence. 

However, before they could gain more momentum, the old man decided to end this test...

He didn't pull out his saber but as soon as he held it again, his aura completely changed as they felt his killing intent...

***

As soon as Reiji returned to Rufus's hands, he felt the killing intent coming from the old man.

'Master... You managed to stab him?'

'A little... It's one of my Arcane Magic that can forcefully consume some of my target's blood...'

Reiji was quite happy as he already completed one of his missions even before he mentioned it to Rufus. Only one more task was left and he can have his Rank-Up quest.

On the other hand, Rufus didn't notice how he used the word 'consume' as he was being pressured by the aura emanating from Sven…

Bang! 

His friend beside him was suddenly thrown away as he was smashed by Sven's weapon. 

The old Arcanist then sets his eyes on Rufus. The latter felt it but he couldn't do anything, he doesn't have the skills to contend against such a strong foe.

Perhaps if he learned under Reiji for a few years, he may be able to defend himself against him but right now, he could only accept defeat… 

Boom! 

Rufus somehow raised his hand to block Sven's attack… He is the first person who managed to react against the Second-Class Arcanist!

Kael and the other red-robed Arcanists watching the fight couldn't help but admire the tenacity of the young man…

However, even if he managed to react and block the strike with the wooden sword, he was still thrown away and smashed towards the arena's wall…

It seems that Sven increased the force on that strike since he managed to parry his strike…

'Urgh...' Rufus felt the pain on his back before he lost consciousness.

He did not witness how shocked Sven was as the latter momentarily halted his assault on the young Arcanists. As a matter of fact, even Lexi and the others forgot to raise their defense after seeing how cool Rufus was before he was defeated…

He tried to survive until the very end instead of just accepting his fate of being defeated.

"Hoho~ Truly interesting…" Sven muttered before he looked at the clock… He still has plenty of time so he continued his beating to the young Arcanists…

***

Cough! Cough!

Rufus woke up after being healed by the medical practitioners. He noticed that he's in a room that smelled like a familiar medicinal herb…

"Ahh!"

As soon as he realized that he's on a bed meant for the injured, he immediately felt nervous and found a person to ask about the evaluation. He can't miss the third Evaluation! 

That is the only evaluation where he's confident to pass even without his master's help! They can't take it away from him!

He couldn't keep himself in the bed as he jumped out to the man that was about to leave the room…

"Oh, you're awake now. Don't worry, you still have plenty of time to rest. Sir Sven seemed to have used excessive force during his fight especially against you. So they delayed the last Evaluation until everyone is fully healed."

The man smiled as he tried to reassure the young man.

Rufus sighed in relief but he felt something was missing…

"Ahh… Where's my master?"

"Huh?"

"Oh… I mean my sword! Er… I respect my sword a lot I accidentally called it master… Hehe…"

"That's fine. You might've hurt your head a bit so take a rest first… Your weapon should be at the table--- Eh? It's missing…"

The doctor seemed to be genuinely confused… 

"Don't worry… It's just here. You can find it later once you're fully rested…" The doctor said before he runs away from the room. It feels like he didn't want to take responsibility for any missing items.

Rufus was speechless at this as he tried to calm down. Anyway, his master should be capable of protecting himself. The only concern is that he needed to act like a normal magic weapon instead of a sentient one. 

In the end, Rufus can't calm down as he decided to look for his master.

***

"Odette… Are you telling me that this wooden sword is also a Sentient Arcana?"

"Really? It doesn't look familiar though? Mhmm… Let me remember."

"Are you sure this is the same sword that Noel summoned?"

"Urgh… I can't remember. I'm too focused on celebrating for having you during that time…"

Reiji heard the woman who stole him talking to herself… No, she must be talking to her Arcana!

"Hey! Are you really a Sentient Arcana… Can you try moving if you can hear me? Or perhaps connect to my mind?" 

The young girl started talking to the sword. If someone saw her doing this, she would surely be called crazy so she went to a private room within the tower to do this…

Reiji remained silent as he observed the beautiful lady… He couldn't recognize her. This girl just entered Rufus's room while he was asleep and took him away…

He didn't immediately act as he wanted to know the purpose of this young lady… However, after hearing her talk just now, he realized that she's perhaps the owner of the Mythical Wand…

'So, Odette was her name, huh… Then this girl must be Yui Sakura…'

Since the wand told him that Yui is a regular member of the tower, this matches her description as the girl in front of him was also wearing the red robe meant for regulars.

'Should I answer or not? What do I do here?' Reiji was at a loss… He's confident in escaping in this place if he wanted to, but running away feels like he was defeated or something. It doesn't sit right to his ego…

***

It was now time for the third and last part of the year's evaluation.

Those who failed in the first and second parts were now desperate to perform really well in this test. 

On the other hand, those who excelled in the previous tests no longer felt pressured as they waited for the supervisors to explain the evaluation.

"..."

Rufus, on the other hand, couldn't relax as he still couldn't find his master…