Chapter 247: Candidates

Mourad and all the people present were surprised by the sudden announcement. 

They already heard about the assessment but being rewarded to have a chance to summon an Arcana was something they've never expected. 

And based on their understanding of this summoning, it would not be similar to what their leaders are doing when summoning an Arcana.

"Whoa~ Is that true?"

"But there's over a hundred of us here… Who would be lucky enough?"

"That's right… Ugh-- I hope they make the reward for top 10… Or perhaps make it random…"

"Ha~ You're wishful. Do you think it's easy to summon Arcana? It's a question of whether you can even summon one… If they're not choosing the finest student, there might be a chance that the summoner wouldn't even connect to the Arcane World."

Mourad silently agreed with that. He's unsure of their method of summoning but it's definitely something that they couldn't just waste.

He then looked at the top three candidates that may take the top sport from their village. 

Their names are Vrogh, Aknel, and Droltob. They are triplets and possess almost similar skills talent. So the top 1 in their previous assessments would always shuffle between the three depending on their luck.

Their Bhibra Village is not a normal human village as most of them are half-imp and half-human.

It is not surprising considering the multiple contacts of their ancestors to the Nine Imp gods.

Their appearance was still human-like with darker skin color but their bodies have capabilities that are not normal to ordinary humans.

They have better eyesight at night, they can hold their breath and survive underwater for a prolonged period, their affinity with using Arcane Magic in their items was also incredible, and lastly, they have a gift of easily mastering any Arcane Array.

This is why their village could modify any Arcana once they have one and even duplicate it if they wanted to…

However, the problem with such a method is that the power of the Arcana would lessen depending on the number of times it was duplicated. 

Mourad then glanced at the only female in the top 10… Her name is Imane and she's only 18 years old… 

Apparently, she would barely use all of her abilities in a fight and during each assessment, she always loses her mood to continue once she reached the top 10… 

There are rumors that she's actually stronger than the top 5 of the ranking but the problem is that she's not motivated enough to take the place.

'Perhaps, she'll take this seriously now.' Mourad thought as he glanced at the participants of the other villages. 

They have a different design of uniforms so he can easily identify them… 

Their villages, Reboroz and Ormug weren't too far from their plateau. The Reboroz village was deep underground while the Ormug was created by digging through a mountain…

Perhaps, their Bhibra village is the most exposed to the flying Evil Beasts. However, they have the highest survival rate as they were able to survive not only through hunting beasts but also by planting some crops beside their houses.

They have an access to sunlight which allows them, to have better health conditions compared to the two other villages… Though they can similarly survive without sunlight due to them being half-imp, it doesn't mean that they have to force it and decline the sunlight…

"Brother? What are you thinking?" His little sister noticed him staring at Imane…

"Nothing. Go to your friends now! You guys need to reach 5th-Kyu before the winter comes, right?"

Mourad reminded his little sister as he pointed to the directions of her friends.

Apparently, their five guardians created a ranking for sword art…

The 6th-Kyu is the lowest and the highest would be the 1st-Kyu… After reaching that, they will be receiving a promotion examination to reach the 1st-Dan… Then, the highest Dan would be the 8-Dan, and as per the words of the instructors, their own strength was only about the 3rd-Dan and is approaching the 4th-Dan.

On the other hand, their top ten had only reached the 2nd-Kyu…

They managed to reach that for only a few years but they heard that once they stepped to the 1st-Dan it will be extremely difficult to advance further.

"Alright, the assessment will start in the afternoon… So you can still warm up while we're preparing the stage. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Instructor!"

They answered in unison as they started practicing the Sword Art… The Miyazaki Sword Style. No one knows the meaning of Miyazaki but it sounded cool so everyone was amazed when they heard it the first time.

Because of the cultists that are doing missions outside this land, they were able to gather information about the fighting style of each kingdom.

However, the Miyazaki Sword Style was surely not included in their stories.

"Mu! Let's practice! Hurry up!"

Mu is his nickname so Mourad quickly turned in the direction of the voice.

He saw his friend waving at him.

"Tazim… Why do we have to practice? Isn't it obvious that we won't reach the top 10?"

"Heh~ What are you saying… Look at the students from Reboroz Village! They have many pretty girls! I want to impress at least one of them…"

Tazim said the latter part in a lowered tone. Mourad didn't notice this before so he took another glance at them…

There's indeed a lot of females in their group… All of them have excellent bodies that made him think that they have a higher ratio of imp blood than humans.

Aside from that, Mourad felt that one of them is probably stronger than the triplets of their village. 

Though he's not thinking that no one in the younger generation could beat the three, he was still surprised since the girl he saw was probably just 17 years old or younger.

There are three age categories whenever they do an assessment…

The 7 to 12 years old is in one group. Followed by 13 to 24 years old and finally, the 25 and above category.

"Mu, are you sure you're not going to take this seriously? That's a chance to summon an Arcana! Though I may be here to impress the girls, I'm sure that you have the skills to do it…"

"Haa~ It won't be easy… And I won't require Arcana in the meantime…" Mourad answered.

Tazim advised him with sincerity so he answered truthfully. This friend of his had seen him fight before when the Gryphons attacked their village… He previously helped one of the five guardians deal with one evil beast sneaking an attack on her.

This is why he knows that Mu has the ability to muster the power of his bloodline to a large degree… 

It means that if he wanted to, he can use his physical prowess to obtain an advantage in the unique sword art they learned.

The Miyazaki Sword Style appears to be very suitable to their skills as if it was tailored to half-breeds like them…

***

Instructor Ruthren returned to the training hall to complete the arrangements for the battle. They have invited the elders of the three villages in this assessment to show the power of the younger generation.

Of course, they have other reasons that they won't mention yet.

It is to slowly remove the influence of the Nine Imp gods and be self-reliant from now on. Perhaps if they've seen the improvement of these young ones, they'll realize that the power gifted to them by the Imp gods wasn't that impressive at all…

The instructor then looks at the 15 elders of the three villages. They have sent 5 representatives each and they seem to be curiously looking around the hall.

"Instructor Ruthren, is it true that you'll reward the top 1 a chance to summon an Arcana? Not a modification or duplication… But a genuine Bestowal Ceremony?"

One of the elders couldn't wait any longer as he wanted to confirm this news. All the others waited as well since they were also interested in this topic.

Their villages do have an Arcana bestowal ceremony but it is completely different from the ceremony being done in other nations. It requires sacrifices to please the Imp god to provide them an Arcana…

"Yes. Don't worry. We can do so…" The man answered with a resolute face. He's not allowed to let them see the method but his words should carry enough weight considering what they've done for the three villages.

Everyone then whispered among themselves as they seem to be debating on something.

Nevertheless, Ruthren wanted to give them some information about the Miyazaki Sword Style before they start with the assessment, so he decided to display the sword art and techniques to the elders… 

Of course, the Miyazaki Sword Style is largely similar to kendo but Reiji decided to add a few techniques that would require Spiritual Energy to be completed… 

Because of these changes, he felt that it is no longer genuine kendo so he named it Miyazaki to honor himself...