Diether slowly got closer to the evil beast and as soon as he saw its menacing feature, he had the urge to run away from this place. If not for him holding the shinai, he would surely be scared witless just by seeing it.

"M-master... This one looks dangerous..." ​​

The first beast that he saw was a majestic wolf called Phantom Wolf that was defeated by two groups of hunters. It was definitely nothing compared to this abnormal three-eyed viper that leaks several drops of venom on its mouth.

The viper's body was as thick as an adult's head and with a length of about 15 meters. It was definitely big compare to his small frame.

He knows that he has a very powerful striking force with his Spiritual Energy, however, this viper was made of thick muscles and it also has hints of having spiritual energy wrapping around its body... After all, this is an Evil Beast that even Arcanist would have to be careful whenever they encounter one.

"Don't panic... I can use Take Over if it is really necessary... Also, you have two hunters behind you, so you didn't have to worry about getting seriously injured."

Reiji said to Diether. He was trying to make him relax as he faces the evil beast. It would do no good if Diether fought the viper while nervous. Aside from that, Reiji also wanted to finish the other mission that he has.

It was the Beast Duel Victory with a reward of 20 SP... However, Diether's life was more important so he would surely save the kid with all his ability if necessary.

"Alright, feel him out a bit..."

Reiji finally said as Diether got closer to the viper.

Diether took on his stance and channeled his energy in readiness to strike.

Sssaaa!

The beast already took notice of Diether but it was cautiously observing him due to the Spiritual Energy he was releasing towards his sword.

The young man realizes that it was slowly getting closer to him but was also keeping its distance. It seems that it possesses a level of intelligence as it wasn't just attacking mindlessly after seeing its prey.

'No, evil beasts were all smart... It must've felt the danger coming from the Arcana...'

Bam!

The viper's tail suddenly struck the ground as it trembled a bit. It may be trying to create dust or to make him unbalance. However, this was also his chance.

Reiji noticed Diether's movement and realized that the kid used a technique in kendo which he didn't deliberately teach to the kid.

It was tsugi-ashi!

Not only that, but it was also perfectly executed to gain a bit more distance to reach the viper's head.

Whoosh!

Unfortunately, the strike only grazed a bit due to the viper's quick movement so Diether immediately returned to his stance and waited for another chance.

That was unfortunate but he still has a lot of energy to repeat those powerful strikes...

The beast felt threatened by that sword's slash although it missed. It immediately tried surrounding Diether to strangle him by using its strong body.

The viper realized that it will be fine to get hit by that strike as long as it wasn't the head that would take the brunt of the assault.

It plans to utilize the thick scale it has to capture its little prey.

***

"Kyle... Just tell me and I'll save the kid. This might be too much for him."

"Just wait, Brian. Just wait. Can't you sense the kid's energy? He was still brimming with strength. He is definitely not a simple guy. Although he doesn't have an Arcana, I think that he has the talent to become an Arcanist. He may still be hiding something..."

"Well, now that you said it... The old man wouldn't pass the kid on the first examination if he wasn't confident for this young man passing this second examination."

"Haha! That's right... Only a handful of people would fail the exam if you already pass the first one..."

Kyle said as he smiled waiting for the battle to reach the climax. He could sense that Diether was already reaching the peak of his energy accumulation.

There were still cases of having this second examination fail. It was normally when they failed to properly identify the level of the evil beast they were fighting against with or they got too nervous after fighting a scary opponent.

After all, most people wouldn't get a first-hand experience against an evil beast. They would normally start fighting or sparring against humans which would sometime give a little help when fighting some four-legged beast or even those crawling or flying beasts...

"Look at this kid's movement..."

"He has good reflex. He can easily dodge the viper! It couldn't wrap its body on this little human at all... Great footwork..."

"Told you... That kid wasn't simple. Let's just be ready in case he runs out of energy dodging all the attacks from viper..."

Right now, what they can see was Diether moving around to avoid the viper from strangling him to death. He wasn't able to properly hit the beast's head at this rate so they were closely observing the young man in case he used up all his energy and collapsed on the ground.

Although Diether was able to somehow hit the body, the thick scale covering its skin was preventing it from taking any lethal damage.

Bam!

Bam!

Several strikes continuously hit the viper's body however it doesn't seem to be hurt at all or it doesn't show.

However, the 8th strike of the bamboo sword made it flinch a little as it tried to take a distance from the little kid.

"What happened?"

Both Brian and Kyle watching the battle exclaimed. The kid's spiritual energy suddenly spikes!

Haaa!

The aura of this young man suddenly changed.

He jumps towards the viper and roared loudly. He ignored his previous stance and thrusts his sword to the viper's eye...