I held my shortsword just above my waist, ready to attack or defend. The cacophony of sounds filling the arena soon faded as my focus narrowed to the man before me.

The man, Kaspian, head of the largest Guild Halls, held the menacing rapier lightly in his right hand. He stood upright, describing figure eights with the tip of his blade, humming softly. Yet, he presented no openings. The palpable pressure of his bloodlust was evident in the innocent smile he dared to wear.

Memories of duels in the arena of my previous world flooded my mind as the air grew tense between us. My concentration reached its peak. The only sounds that reached my ears were Kaspian’s: his blade whistling through the air, the rustling of his fine clothes, and the controlled breaths he took. My body screamed at me to be wary of this man.

My hands trembled slightly, not from apprehension, but from excitement. I hadn’t expected to encounter an opponent of this caliber so quickly. This wasn’t a fight to the death, but I knew it would differ greatly from the sparring matches I’d had with Grandpa Virion back in Elenoir.

“I knew from the first moment you would require a different assessment. I hope you don’t take this… special treatment to heart,” Kaspian commented as he lowered his stance.

In that brief moment, I analyzed all the useful information I could glean about him. His reach was a foot longer than mine, and his stance suggested a preference for thrusts over swings. The swirling mana around him clearly indicated he wouldn’t make any careless mistakes.

“Please prepare yourself. I wouldn’t want the person Miss Flamesworth sponsored to lose too quickly.”

He sprang forward, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake as he closed the distance. In one fluid motion, he lunged with his rapier, like a coiled spring using the momentum of his initial step.

I twisted my head to avoid the thrust, but a few strands of my hair were severed.

“Excellent dodge,” he mused, retracting his rapier in preparation for his next attack.

Immediately following with an angled lunge, I raised my scabbard. A sharp clang echoed through the arena as our blades clashed, throwing me off balance. It seemed I was still unable to fully utilize my past swordsmanship knowledge with this undeveloped body.

I recovered from the setback, pivoting to use the momentum of his attack to generate a powerful swing.

Kaspian leaned back just as my sword reached his head, but a thin red line appeared across his nose.

His eyes widened in surprise, but he recovered instantly. I seized that split second, bringing my sword back for a sharp, upward strike at his unguarded legs.

My blade reflected the arena lights, creating a silver arc as it sliced through the air.

However, my opponent repositioned his sword to defend against my swing. The sharp ring of metal on metal made both of us cringe. We both seemed to have the same intention, using the opportunity to gain distance. Only a few seconds passed during the deadly exchange, but each of us emerged with only minor injuries. My right hand trembled from the impact of our last clash, and I switched to my left arm.

The realization that I was still unfamiliar with fighting in this body was evident as I coaxed my hand back into position.

“I must apologize for underestimating you. I shall be more serious now.” Kaspian’s voice was calm, but his face expressed a newfound seriousness.

His sharp eyes gleamed with a powerful killing intent, the kind only years of combat could cultivate. His rapier was aimed at me, and as he brought it closer, the blade began to glow with a silvery hue.

“Ha!” With a sharp breath, he thrust his rapier, piercing the air in front of him.

My neck hairs stood on end as my body screamed for me to flee. I instinctively pivoted away from the trajectory of his attack. A sharp pain erupted in my shoulder as hot blood stained the sleeve of my robe…

“Seems Miss Flamesworth has indeed chosen a worthy protégé,” Kaspian acknowledged.

As far as I was concerned, this was no longer an assessment. Whether he expected me to dodge or not, he had aimed for my heart.

Could I have defeated him easily with my past life’s body? I wasn’t sure. Too many factors played a role: the quality of our swords, the use of long-range mana manipulation nonexistent in my old world…

Taking a moment to charge his next attack, he unleashed two more consecutive thrusts, but I anticipated them.

He was creating sharp wind projectiles, nearly invisible. But that didn’t mean they were impossible to dodge. By analyzing the timing of the thrusts and their arrival at my arm, I could gauge the speed of the spells.

The spells traveled in a straight line based on the direction of his jab, so while the speed was frightening, there were openings to exploit.

I ducked under the first wind projectile, which barely grazed my hair. I parried the second with the flat of my blade, deflecting it away from me. Immediately afterward, I channeled mana into my legs and dashed towards Kaspian.

I needed to close the distance now that I knew he had long-range spells at his disposal, but even in close combat, it would be a difficult battle.

My body was several inches shorter than I was used to, and my mana pool significantly smaller. Even with Sylvia’s dragon will strengthening my body, I didn’t have a significant advantage against a veteran fighter with a body enhanced by mana.

My only advantage was that Kaspian didn’t know what I had up my sleeve.

Focusing mana into my free hand, I imbued my sword with fire. Approaching him, I swung down to unleash a fiery arc.

I saw the concentration on Kaspian’s face as he channeled more mana into his rapier, causing it to glow silver-white once more. He fanned away the flames with a powerful swing, creating a brief opening.

Gathering mana into the sole of my left foot, I shaped the spell into the proper form.

[Piston Stamp]

A series of fiery explosions erupted beneath my feet, propelling me directly beside Kaspian.

“How—” was all he could manage. His mouth agape, his rapier still held high from his previous defense, his left arm outstretched—palms open—aimed directly at me.

My position wasn’t ideal; I’d propelled myself a bit further than intended, but it was enough.

Without time to form a proper spell, I strengthened my body with mana and thrust my sword forward.

However, even as the distance between our blades shortened, I could make out the words the Guild Hall manager was chanting. “Gather and unleash!”

[Gale’s Vortex]

I barely managed to withdraw my attack and leap away as a powerful whirlwind of air erupted from Kaspian, surrounding him in a protective vortex of wind and debris.

The Guild Hall manager was hidden within the swirling wind and debris, giving me time to prepare for his next attack.

The spell dissipated, revealing Kaspian, sweating and panting, his sword arm tucked close to his side like a coiled serpent; his left arm extended, palms open, aimed directly at me.

He was clearly chanting, as the blade of his rapier glowed even brighter with silver light.

“Pierce those who stand against me!” he roared, as his rapier vanished in a blur of countless thrusts.

[Skyfall Torrent]

This was just a trial, right? Was he actually trying to kill me?

“Screw this,” I muttered to myself as I concentrated the last of my remaining mana into the sensory and motor neurons of my body.

[Thunderclap Impulse]

One of the few techniques I’d developed using knowledge from my previous world while training with Grandpa Virion. A technique that used lightning affinity mana to send currents of electricity through my nerves, drastically increasing my reflexes to superhuman levels. The average human reaction time is around 0.3 seconds, but trained fighters can get it down to 0.2 or even 0.15 seconds.

Using Thunderclap Impulse, my reaction time briefly shortened to about 0.05 seconds.

My pupils constricted, and my skin prickled with the electric currents.

I heard the sharp whispers of the air bullets as I prepared to dodge them.

“Release!” Kaspian screamed.

The torrent of air bullets dissipated, rendering his spell harmless.

“I may have gotten carried away testing your limits,” he apologized, sheathing his sword. The Guild Hall manager immediately turned and headed for the exit as I released my own spell.

“Given your reluctance to display your full abilities until the very end, I can only assume you wish to be placed in a lower rank,” he said, continuing his stride without looking back. “Note: B-class.”

“Just before disappearing into the passage he’d come from, Kaspian turned and looked me in the eye, one of the lenses on his glasses cracked. “I’m sure you have no problem with this?”

I merely nodded, watching him disappear down the dark corridor.

“That concludes today’s examinations! Please proceed to the front desk to receive your adventurer’s card. All dismissed!” the augment examiner shouted, hurrying after their boss.

KASPIAN BLADEHEART’S POV:

I arrived at my desk, and before I could sit, the two examiners in charge of today’s placements bombarded me with questions.

“George, Emily, take a seat and don’t talk at once,” I sighed, sinking into my chair.

“Sir! What about today’s examinees?” George exclaimed immediately. “Three B-class adventurers in one day? Unprecedented. Not to mention two of them were children! A light orange at eleven years old… unheard of among humans!”

Emily nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

“Do you remember what happened half a year ago here in Xyrus?” I asked.

“Around six months ago, the first tournament between the three races took place, right?” Emily replied.

“Yes. The Adventurer Guild workers will all know soon, so there’s no point in hiding this; I was informed a couple of weeks ago. The ban on elves and dwarves becoming adventurers has been lifted, and today’s batch included some of the representative examinees.” I pulled a thin file from my desk drawer.

“Sir, do you mean to say all three were either dwarves or elves?” George’s eyes widened in shock.

“Lucas Wykes is a half-elf residing in the Kingdom of Sapin. Information on his birth is classified, but I suspect he’s a product of an elf slave. The Wykes family has a notorious reputation for using underhanded methods to breed stronger mages for their house. He’s an unusual case, though, being so adept at flame affinity despite his elf lineage. He awakened at eight, which is fast even for elves, and was sent here for a trial run. The Wykes undoubtedly spent a lot of money on beast cores and other resources to accelerate his growth.” I flipped to the next page.

“Elijah Knight. A mystery. According to the file, his origin is unknown. However, he was raised among dwarves from a young age. He was sent as one of the first representatives from the Kingdom of Darv to integrate into the human kingdom.”

“Why wasn’t he tested, Sir? The clerk just put him in B-class,” Emily asked, her voice higher than usual with excitement.

“Elijah awakened a few months ago, so he’s only just barely reached the dark-red stage. As for why he was allowed B-class, it likely has to do with the person backing him. I have no say in his case, so we can only let it be. I’m curious about his abilities, though.” I shook my head, putting down the file.

“And that masked augmenter from today? Honestly, I have no idea who he is. He wasn’t listed as any of the representatives. I was simply curious about the kind of person Miss Flamesworth would sponsor.”

“Flamesworth… as in that Flamesworth House? The famous house known for producing the strongest fire mages?”

I put away the file and regarded them seriously, adjusting my glasses. “I’ve told you this because you’ll find out anyway. However, I trust you’ll keep this confidential until the official announcement.”

With fervent nods from both, I dismissed them.

I was left to ponder today’s events.

That masked augmenter. His techniques weren’t standard for most fire mages. Even his swordsmanship style… it made me shiver.

Regardless, I couldn’t help but feel something was off about his movements. His awkward moments suggested he was somehow restrained, or even uncomfortable with his own body.

Dismissing my needless thoughts, I began reviewing the pile of unread documents.

I couldn’t help but grin to myself; this continent was changing. There would be many more interesting events to come.

ARTHUR LEYWIN’S POV:

The same receptionist who led us to the examination site handed me my bronze adventurer’s card at the front desk.

From E-class to B-class, the card is copper; A-class and above are silver, then gold for AA, and white for S.

“Do you have a close relationship with Kaspian, Jasmine?” I asked after putting away my card, Sylvie asleep on my head.

“He’s an acquaintance of my father,” she replied, her voice devoid of warmth.

I didn’t press for more. She clearly didn’t hold positive feelings toward him. Changing the subject, I asked my adventuring partner, “So what’s next?”

She pondered for a moment.

Several options presented themselves. We could take missions at or below our rank, ranging from guarding to acquiring specific items. We could travel to the Beast Glades and hunt mana beasts. Or…

“Dungeon exploration,” Jasmine answered, a faint smile gracing her face.