Mourad arrived early at the Training Hall due to his little sister's nagging.

He slept for almost 10 hours today and felt like he was still sleepy. However, he has to fight against the other practitioners today.

​​

"Brother, are you confident? Can you defeat Miss Imane or perhaps that guy called Stasis?" The young girl asked.

She had seen the other six practitioners fight yesterday and she's probably thinking that Imane and Stasis were the most troublesome opponent for this competition.

She couldn't be blamed for that since Mourad already defeated Vinete… As for Alee and Droltob, they also have skills in Kendo but they are lacking explosive skills as they stick too much to the basics of the Miyazaki Sword Style.

"Well, I'm not confident. But I'll try to do my best…" Mourad smiled wryly as he has been thinking about how to deal with nittouryuu for the whole night. However, didn't think of any useful skills aside from what his Master has taught him before and the tips given by the guardians before.

Aside from that, he watched the man fight against one of the triplets and defeated him quite easily.

However, since he didn't really have much experience fighting a dual wielder, he's unable to say that he'll be able to execute his plan just like what was in his head.

Tap… Tap… Tap…

Mourad heard footsteps behind him and found Vinete staring at him quite menacingly. It seems that she wanted to fight him again to get her revenge.

"I'll be looking forward to our match…" Vinete said in a low voice that feels like she's threatening him.

"I won't disappoint you."

"Hmph… My brother will win again."

Mourad and Saira answered but the young girl only uttered her words like a whisper as she was afraid that Vinete will get mad.

Then, the other participants started gathering at the Training Hall.

One will notice that their numbers have dwindled because of the arrival of the Melody Geese that they have to breed. They needed to teach some of the young ones how to take care of them and not to let them die.

"Good luck to us, Mourad." The man suddenly heard a woman's voice beside him and noticed Imane looking at him with a mysterious smile.

"Hmm… Let's do our best, Imane." He replied.

A few more minutes had passed as the Training Hall opened. The elders are already present and waiting for the participants of the battle.

Ruthren then stepped forward to explain the competition.

"We have decided to give some gifts to all the practitioners who reached this stage. It may not be as luxurious as getting a chance to summon an Arcana. We can guarantee that it will still satisfy you so do your best in this round."

The man gave a piece of good news which lifted everyone's mood. Their village's elders had already promised them some benefits and receiving more from the guardians is definitely a good thing.

"We have also decided the start of today's match…"

Ruthren continued.

[ Alee vs. Mourad ]

[ Stasis vs. Vinete ]

[ Droltob vs. Imane ]

"There are three platforms prepared. Just go to the ones assigned to you. This time, the first platform's referee would be Mio, followed by Tenri and Shiori. We will have the same rules so I won't be repeating them. Good luck, everyone." Ruthren finished his speech as he let the referees handle the start of their battles. They will be the ones deciding whether both practitioners are ready.

However, one thing that the crowd noticed was that four of the participants were looking at one side of the training hall instead of their opponent.

They curiously looked in the same direction and found a display of weapons but there's nothing too surprising among them. Perhaps, the weirdly placed Trident was the one they're looking at since it doesn't seem to belong there.

Nevertheless, it only lasted for a few moments before they returned to their stance.

***

Reiji saw all his students within this chaotic land.

His first student here is Mourad… The man who liked the stabbing form of the Miyazaki Sword Style.

Once he held a real sword, he would always aim for the vital parts of the beasts and would always look for a quick end.

He was lazy. But his laziness made him think of a way to make his swordsmanship precise that wouldn't waste his energy at all.

'I wonder if he already mastered the Seigan Stance.' Reiji pondered because he hadn't seen the fight yesterday against Vinete.

The Sentient Shinai then glanced at Stasis, his second student. The man was already practicing swords when he first met him. He was training in the river as he exudes the aura of an Evil Beast while training, an Imp Evil Creature to be exact.

Apparently, he wanted to learn how to utilize his bloodline while using his sword techniques… Aside from that, he has two long swords which are both Magic Weapons that are passed down to him by his father. This made him work harder to use them.

Though he doesn't necessarily have to use the two, he felt that he'll get even stronger having more than 1 sword in a battle.

Luckily for him, Reiji needed a wielder to complete his missions so after observing him for a while and learning about his situation, he decided to help him.

Like Stella, he taught him the Nittouryuu but this time, he was quick to catch up and he only needs time to polish his skills.

It was most likely due to his experience with the sword. Aside from that, he was also using real swords during practice so he's clearly aware of the dangers.

'Hmm… He focused too much on Zangetsu. I wonder if he practiced the other stances…'

The only problem with Reiji's teachings is that it was too short compared to the others. However, since Stasis was quite experienced, each day of his teaching was definitely worth it.

'As for Imane… She should be quite strong already… Hmm… Maybe, she wanted another Arcana?'

In terms of just pure swordsmanship, Reiji has to admit that Imane is probably the one with the most potential.

The fact that she's comfortable with any stances to use against her opponent proves that. The only problem was perhaps her confidence that can be a little too much at some point.

Unless she met a truly strong sword practitioner, she wouldn't be able to properly gauge her strength.

If Reiji would rate them as a team, Stasis would most likely be a Taishou, Mourad will be a good Jibou, and Imane a Senbou.*

As for Vinete, Reiji felt a little conflicted about her.