Facing a beast

"Shut up, you weaklings! If you think you can't take me down, then let me make things easy for you. If any of you impress me with your fighting ability, then I will consider you to have passed the exam."

Upon hearing this, many who had decided to back off a moment ago were now filled with new energy.

"Then come at me," said Ragnar. Another examinee stepped up, a sword user who initially performed well with his speed and seemed to be doing better than the previous examinee. However, to his dismay, it didn't help him in the slightest. It took Ragnar only a minute to defeat him.

"Your techniques are good, and you have speed too. You will be best at supporting close combatants. You pass," said Ragnar. The examinee jumped in joy, thanked him, and left the arena. "Don't doze off, you dumbasses, and come at me," said Ragnar.

Just like that, combatants stepped up one after another, and Ragnar began examining them.

Pass.

Fail.

Fail.

Fail.

Fail.

Pass...

This continued for an hour, and out of the 24 opponents Ragnar faced, only 7 managed to pass. Now, only one combatant remained, and it was none other than Aldric. "Oh, I see you're also here," said Ragnar. "Has anyone told you before that your acting is horrible, Mr. Ragnar?" said Aldric jokingly.

"Ahh, that hurts," replied Ragnar. "Are you ready?" said Ragnar, taking an attacking pose. In response, Aldric did what anyone would do in this situation, which was to take a defensive stance. "Hey, system, can you compare me with Sir Ragnar?" he asked the system.

"You need to be in physical touch with this person," replied the system. Before he fought with Ragnar, Aldric needed to gauge his opponent's strength. Aldric then sheathed his sword and started approaching Ragnar. Seeing how his opponent was approaching him confused Ragnar. "What are you doing?" asked Ragnar.

"It is a custom in our clan to shake hands before fighting an opponent whom you respect," Aldric said while approaching for a friendly handshake. Respecting his clan's rule and courtesy, Ragnar shook his hand. "System, do it," said Aldric.

[Analyzing... Analysis complete! Here is the brief report.

Status

Name: Ragnar Fangmaw

Species: Wolfkin

Rank: Grandmaster Swordsman

Weapon: Sword

Level: 59

Str: 230

Mana: 258

Int: 267

Edr: 278] displayed the system and then showed Aldric Ragnar's stats.

Author's note to readers: Since there was no noticeable improvement in Aldric's stats, I didn't show them. It would take a full chapter to explain.

Aldric then backed off and got back into his defensive stance. As he was reading through Ragnar's status, he realized that Ragnar was not an ordinary person. Soon, the battle began, and Ragnar dashed towards Aldric, launching a barrage of attacks. Aldric was baffled by how strong Ragnar was. Aldric tried to defend against his attacks but found himself slow in reacting to Ragnar's strikes. He also realized that it was easier hunting monsters than fighting this beast.

[Sword mastery increased (current mastery: 14%) Combat mastery increased (current mastery: 28%)] the system said in Aldric's mind. "Yes, how can I forget those buffs I got when choosing the sword as my main?" Suddenly, a realization struck Aldric's mind.

As the battle went on and the two swords clashed, waves were generated, and cracks formed on the ground where the two swordsmen stood. "You are surprisingly doing better than I thought," complemented Ragnar to Aldric. "Sir, you are too humble. I am not that praiseworthy," replied Aldric. This wasn't him acting, but Aldric genuinely believed that he was nothing in front of Ragnar.

Ting!

[Increase in sword mastery]

As another clash between swords occurred, the two swordsmen were thrown a meter apart. "I think you are worthy," Ragnar said, and then a burst of aura filled the arena. Everyone on the sidelines, including Aldric, was put on the ground by this domineering aura. Ragnar was covered in a red and green layer of aura. Aldric felt as if he had somehow experienced this situation before.

Aldric coughed up blood. "What is this? Just from this, I am forced to my knees. How weak am I?" he thought. Aldric felt that he knew this feeling he was getting from his opponent.

Ragnar then compressed his aura and wrapped his wooden sword with it. Yes, Ragnar was also doing the same as Afeef when he used his Mana Knight class, but the difference was that Afeef wrapped his sword with Mana, while Ragnar did something entirely different - he wrapped his sword with his aura.

The aura around Ragnar calmed down, and he now looked at Aldric. Aldric felt as if he was prey in Ragnar's eyes, a prey that wasn't even worth hunting."Aaaaooooooo..." howled the Wolfkin with all his might. "I have never felt this excited. Don't even dare to disappoint me now, kid," Ragnar said with excitement.