Star Citizen Online: Isekai Edition

Chapter 102: Conclusion of the Tests

Saying that, Master Nassain indeed sped up the ratio of his attacks and became more ferocious in attacking Arcturus. Seeing that the young Highborne Asuryani was indeed a sword prodigy, as was told in the papers that were sent to the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy, Masster Nassain started taking the test more seriously.

Arcturus realized that Master Nassain was a speed-oriented sword fighter, which was one of the most common categories of the swordsmen, as most of the swordsmen were focusing on speed first and foremost.

In most cases, because depending on ht shape of the sword, it could be most effective to focus on the speed. This is because Master Nassain was using two short tanto-shaped swords and had a very huge advance when it came to the high-speed attacks that were coming one after another.

Arcturus quickly switched to the Sardau Star Sword Style, which was also centered around the speed, and started evening the field with the Master Nassain, though it was rather hard because Arcturus's mastery over the Sardau Star Sword Style was still at the Level 3 Apprentice even though it was raising a bit during the fight.

He could sense that using the Sardau Star Sword Style in real combat like this was indeed helping him a lot because there was nothing better to polish his combat style than using the combat skill in real combat.

[Proficiency with the Skill Sardau Star Sword has been increased by 15%.]

[Proficiency with the Skill Sardau Star Sword has been increased by 12%.]

[Proficiency with the Skill Sardau Star Sword has been increased by 14%.]

Arcturus ignored the notifications from the system as he searched for the weak points in Master Nassain's combat stance, but unfortunately and expectedly, he didn't find a single one, as the man for sure polished his combat skills to near perfection.

It was to be expected; if not, then he wouldn't be teaching Swordsmanship at the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy. Yet, Arcturus managed to find a few points in the opponent's stance that were easier to exploit than the rest, and in a fight like this, he took every chance to obtain the upper hand above his opponent.

With a kick on the ground, Arcturus disappeared from his previous spot and slashed with the training sword at Master Nassain, who blocked the strike of his sword with the short sword in his left hand while at the same time used his right hand to counterattack as he dodged sword by inch.

The swordsmanship of Master Nassain was indeed superb, and Arcturus had rather problems keeping up with him, but fortunately enough, the Skill Basic Swordsmanship at Level 10 allowed him to keep up with Master Nassain for some time.

Because Basic Swordsmanship was actually an overpowered skill, not many people have such a high degree of Basic Mastery over any weapon. It allowed Arcturus to keep up with his opponent for a long time as he received more and more notifications from the system about the growth in the Sardau Sword Style.

[Proficiency with the Skill Sardau Star Sword has been increased by 8%.]

[Proficiency with the Skill Sardau Star Sword has been increased by 9%.]

[Proficiency with the Skill Sardau Star Sword has been increased by 11%.]

[Proficiency with the Skill Sardau Star Sword has been increased by 6%.]

[Proficiency with the Skill Sardau Star Sword has been increased by 4%.]

[Proficiency with the Skill Sardau Star Sword has reached Level 5 Apprentice - 0%.]

Coupled with the growth in the Sardau Star Sword Style, he was keeping with the Master Nassain rather well, though that was just because he, the opponent himself, was holding back a lot.

Arcturus knew that if the Master Nassain wasn't holding back his skills, then he would be defeated rather fast, but even then, he was able to figure out the quality grounds with someone who had more than two centuries or so of combat experience.

He was also using bits of the Slayer Force on the controlled end because he didn't really want to go all out, and using the Slayer Force was rather dangerous.

Even right now, Arcturus was very wary and cautious when he was using the Slayer Force because every single time he activated the Slayer Force, it was whispering to him promises of great power, and the seduction level of effort of the Slayer Force were very high.

And everything that the Slayer Force has "promised" him sounded too good to be true. As his master instructed, using the Slayer Force needed to be slow and cautious, or else, one would be easily overwhelmed by the Slayer Force.

This was even more true for the species that were innately connected to the concepts of war, battle, and slaughter, like the Asuryani, for whose combat was in their very own blood.

With the presence of the Slayer Force in the combat, Arcturus was able to even the field against someone so skilled as Master Nassain, even though it started taking a great toll on his body, especially on his psyche.

[Proficiency with the Skill Slayer Force has been increased by 3%.]

[Proficiency with the Skill Slayer Force has been increased by 2%.]

[Proficiency with the Skill Slayer Force has been increased by 3%.]

He even got some notifications from the system that the proficiency with the Slayer Force was growing rather steadily, which brought a slight smile over his face, as he swung his sword towards the head of Master Nassain as the Proctor of this combat test barely dodged on time.

From the sideline, though, Headmaster Kane was rather surprised by the skillset showcased by Arcturus because he recognized the Slayer Force. As someone who served together with the Arsit Byrmellir and knew his capabilities rather well, he was aware of the pinnacle of man's creation, the Slayer Force.

'No wonder he was able to learn the Godslayer Sword Style from Arsit... but to use the Slayer Force already at his age? Damm... it makes me wonder how strong his mental fortitude is, even I would be tempted to give in to the temptations of the Slayer Force if I overuse it for some time...'

He observed Arcturus fighting expertly with the use of the Slayer Force, as he clearly used bits of the Slayer Force to boost up the combat prowess with his swordsmanship, which was masterfully done.

'And his swordsmanship style is pretty ruthless... something that was clearly developed to kill humanoid opponents, possibly exclusively members of the human species. Sharp movements, nothing wasted, only aimed at the vital points... yeah, certainly made to kill the human race, what a fascinating swordsmanship style.'

From Grandmaster Arsit Byrmellir, Headmaster Kane learned that Arcturus had already learned some sort of swordsmanship that was specifically designed to kill, and he could see the reason.

The Sardau Star Sword was indeed very effective against other humans in combat, and it was clear that whoever created this swordsmanship style invested a lot of resources and time into it, so it would be the perfect method of killing other humans.

Contrary to most of the sword styles, even those that were taught at the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy or were popular across the Eternal Empire of the Asurya, the Sardau Star Sword was rather...

Unappealing and ugly in comparison.

These were not flashy movements; they lacked any sort of "dominance" and similar feelings that most of the famous swordsmanship styles had. This one had just one thing: the desire to kill the enemy in the most effective and fast way possible.

'I should probably end their spar... if they continue this way, then with the growth in the power of the Slayer Force, it is very possible that he will his Nassaim and severely injure him... even though it would be certainly entertaining to watch how Delta-Grade Psyker managed to almost kill Si

g

ma-Grade Psyker / Warrior, it would be better if it wasn't one of ours.'

As this thought went through the Headmaster's mind, he then stepped forward and stopped the match between Arcturus and Master Nassain; as everyone who was watching the spar between the two of them obtained a very concrete idea about Arcturus's capabilities when it comes to the Way of the Sword.

"It seems that the spar has come to an end... I must admit that this showcase was phenomenal; I would have never expected to see another person aside from Arsit achieving such control over the Slayer Force and also showcase such high resistance towards the seduction of the Slayer Force."

Headmaster Kane appeared between Master Nassain and Arcturus, stopping their spar and praising Arcturus's performance in the swordsmanship test. Even Nathril El-Amini Kane had to admit that even he would have problems resisting the lure of the Slayer Force as Arcturus did during his time using the Slayer Force.

This was also reason, why nobody aside from the Grandmaster Arsit Byrmellir was able to learn the Godslayer Sword Style and execute it properly. Many people tried to learn it, but all failed... some failed to comprehend even the basics of the Godslayer Sword Style, while some fell to the corruption of the Slayer Force and were needed to be put down.

It was rather unfortunate considering the power of the Godslayer Sword Style and the Slayer Force, but there was no free lunch in this world, as they say.

Everything requires some price, and the bigger the power, the greater the price for the said power is.

"With the last test concluded, you should go and rest. Somebody will call you to my office in one hour."

Headmaster Kane stated that as Arcturus put away his training sword and went quietly to his room, he gave the man a nod of acknowledgment because he was rather tired from the spar against Master Nassain.

As Headmaster Kane observed the departing back of the future student of the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy, he was approached by Master Nassain, who breathed a sigh of relief after the spar had ended.

"That last attack was dangerous... who would have thought that someone so young would be able to sue the legendary Slayer Force of Grandmaster Byrmellir without any side effects... and I don't even want to see what he could achieve when he fights in his full force."

Nathril El-Amini Kane couldn't help but agree with Master Nassain's statement because it was indeed true.

Rather disturbing truth at the same time.

"He was accepted as a disciple by Arsit for a reason, and it seems that the reason wasn't without basis... and it seems that Arsit has entered the recuperation phase and, in a few years, would be back to his full power. And with the current young generation in the Special Course Class, the Empire would have a rather glorious future in front of it."

Headmaster Kane stated that the current young generation of the Eternal Empire of the Asruya was indeed really promising. The current Special Course Class that was opened by the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy was indeed filled with the most peculiar cases, but each one of them had tremendous potential to become Beyonder.

One could even argue that the current members of the Special Course Class were the most talented ones that the Academy ever recruited. Some of the higher-ups within the Imperial Administratum and Military already termed it as the "Golden Generation", and it seemed that it won't be that far away from the truth.

"Yes... the people enrolled in the Special Course Class right now all have the potential to become Beyonders and even go beyond that of the current generation of the Beoynders. With that, the Empire would greatly rise in power and influence within the Desolate Cosmic Territory."

***

When Arcturus returned back to the quarters that were assigned to him, he went to take a shower in the high-tech bathroom that was attached to his room. Taking a shower in the high-tech shower wasn't really for him, because it was less show and more of some high-tech cocktail of cleaning chemicals.

Not really for him, as he decided that it was better to stick to the more classical concept of the showers that weren't really that much used these days in the advanced civilizations, aside from the rich.

When he was finished with the shower, he laid down on the bed for a time as he attempted to get some rest, at least a bit of the rest, before he was called by Headmaster Kane, as he was really tired from the physical spar again the Master Nassain.

Unfortunately for him, it wasn't really that long until Headmaster Kane called him to his office. As he was called, he managed to rest only for half an hour, which wasn't really a lot, because the last days spent at the Imperial Phoenix Military Academy were taxing and tiring.

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Even though it didn't really seem like it at first glance, every single Combat Test that was part of the Academy Admission Combat Test pushed him to the limits of the very exact ability that was being tested during that day.

Especially in the last spar, the Swordsmanship Test, he was most tired from it because it was the longest time he fought against someone this intensively using just the Way of the Sword and nothing else.

Of course, if he didn't count the training with the Grandmaster Byrmellir, but that one was done under rather different conditions.