Chapter 262: Junior

Reiji made a quick Appraisal of the items.

However, he was unable to appraise the silver skeleton and only getting a message letting him know that he doesn't have enough Appraisal level.

It seems that it's a high-level item or it probably has an Arcane Magic that blocks his ability…

Anyway, he still has the four other things he needed to check.

[ Duke-Class Arcanist Robe – Class S Magic Item ] 

[ Gratitude Token – Class S Magic Item ] 

[ Autumn Wyvern Scarf – Epic-Rank Arcana ]

[ Winter Moonlight Gauntlet – Epic-Rank Arcana ] 

Reiji was elated after finding out the level of items he has! Finally! This is the first time he got an Epic Rank Arcana!

He couldn't help but celebrate a little as he would no longer have to worry about his promotion…

Crack! Crack! Crack!

"Master, this place could no longer hold on… We will be buried if we don't leave quickly."

Szaaz reminded Reiji after noticing the trembling earth. 

The latter agreed with it so he decided to quickly pull the things inside his storage space. Reiji then used his Sword Kinesis to escape while Szaaz used his Wind Mount to float…

Whoosh!

As soon as they got out, a noise caused by the collapse of the cavern and the passage echoed throughout the forest.

Reiji glanced at the mess before looking at his Minotaurs. He no longer needs these beasts as his slaves… 

'Hmm… What do I do?' He pondered for a moment before giving them an order to survive here until he needed them.

That's right. Instead of killing them, he decided to just leave them here in case he requires their strength later on. 

Anyway, he still has a lot of slots for his Slave Marker… If they can survive here until the time they could be useful, then that would be better. After all, his 20 kilometers range is already quite far and it could cover this forest and the three other villages of the half-imps.

Finally, Reiji decided to return to Bhibra Village where the others are waiting.

***

Ruthren, together with the other guardians has a house near the training hall.

The Hall itself is being called by their master as a Dojo, Miyazaki Dojo to be exact. However, since the people living here don't have an idea about the term Dojo, they adapted the Training Hall instead since this is the popular term being used by other nations.

"Everyone, tomorrow will be the final assessment. Do you think that master will be satisfied with how we supervised the selection?" The only man in the group asked as he looked at Mio, Shiori, and Tenri…

The four of them are tasked to find the next person to get a chance to summon an Arcana. However, the assessment they started here was just their idea to find the right person instead of just picking their favorite.

Apparently, Ruthren suggested choosing one of the triplets… However, it was denied by Mio who's recommending Stasis.

While Shiori and Tenri also showed their support to Vinete and Mourad.

None of them supported Imane since she already has an Arcana, unlike the others.

"I think that master Reiji wouldn't think of it too much. He said that he wanted to make it a norm to gift the outstanding students of his Dojo…" Mio answered as she cleans the swords displayed at the house. 

Currently, they are keeping 10 Sword Arcana at the levels of Common-Rank to Unique-Rank aside from some Magic Weapons and Arcana inside Reiji's storage space. 

It is to make sure that anyone that would visit their house would know that they aren't simple individuals even though they are not Arcanists at their age.

"Well, Master should be arriving by now since the hunting group should be returning before it gets completely dark… So you don't have to think too much." Tenri answered while preparing their food to eat. 

On the other hand, Shiori just continued writing something on a book. She's tasked to create a guide for practicing the Miyazaki Sword Style. 

Of course, this was under Reiji's guidance and she's just writing what she heard and learned from her master. If she has questions, she would just attempt to communicate with her master using their Link.

They then heard a commotion outside as the hunting group has finally arrived.

They seem to have brought a lot of Melody Geese than they expected.

It didn't take long before Ayumi arrived at the house.

"Haa~ I can finally rest." The lady entered the house as she stretched her body. She wanted to lay down on her bed as soon as possible.

"Mhmm… Master hasn't returned with you?"

Ruthren asked after not feeling their Master's presence.

"Yes. He seemed to be looking for a Tomb…" Ayumi replied as she cleaned herself using a wet towel… 

She then quickly changed her clothes as their master is quite strict about their appearance. 

"Tomb? Is it where a Cursed Arcana is hiding? I think I heard him searching for it before."

"That's right… He found a clue so he went to find them together with his new followers."

"New followers?!" This was asked in surprise by Ruthren, Shiori, Tenri, and Mio at the same time.

"Yes…" Ayumi replied blandly.

"How many?" Mio asked as the other waited with bated breath.

"There are twelve of them. I think that he likes them more since he ordered me to return here while he goes with them." Ayumi answered as he smirked a little. However, none of the four noticed this. 

They were just left speechless as they remained silent after hearing it.

They can't believe that their master would find 12 new followers that fast. 

"I guess we are going to be Seniors…" Mio finally shattered the silence as it lit up everyone's mood.

Nevertheless, Ayumi didn't bother explaining as she decided to take a rest for now. 

Apparently, their hunting group still encountered some weaker beasts a while ago and her master was no longer there to boost her abilities. This made her work a little harder before they managed to return here safely.

"I'll be sleeping… Wake me up once Master Reiji arrives."

"Fine…"

"Got it…"

Everyone replied. 

Though it was only after about an hour did Reiji and Szaaz arrived at their house silently. 

They didn't know that their next junior would be an Ancient Cursed Arcana.