The reception mentor at the entrance escorted Asrant to the spacious training ground and handed him over to the mentor there.
However, when he saw the person in the middle of the field, a surprise expression appeared on his face.
"Bring him here," the mentor in the middle of the field said to the reception mentor. "I heard some interesting remarks at the entrance, and I'm curious to test his abilities."
"Yes." The mentor nodded, then looked at Asrant. "He will be your examiner, so follow his arrangements later."
Then, he left the training ground.
Asrant looked at the mentor in the middle, who smiled back and spoke gently.
"Come on, attack me, and let's see if you are qualified to enter the academy from here."
The mentor held two wooden swords, swung a sword flower with his right hand, and threw the wooden sword in his left hand to Asrant, who caught it easily.
"Show your strength, don't hide it, as it will only lower your score."
"Yes." Asrant nodded, then placed the wooden sword diagonally at a 45-degree angle across his chest, slightly bending his legs with one in front and one behind, staring intently at the mentor opposite him.
Seeing Asrant's movements, the mentor nodded secretly.
"It seems that he has not received formal instruction, but his sense of defense is quite good."
"His leg strength control is excellent and can better exert his own power."
"Concentrated and focused in battle, huh..."
"He seems to have experienced many battles, and his actions tend to be practical, at this age?"
"Come on, let's start."
The mentor shouted, waiting for Asrant's attack.
...
Asrant didn't attack directly but circled the mentor carefully and slowly.
Impatience and recklessness were the deadliest points in battle, as he had learned during his previous attacks on the werewolves' strongholds, where he suffered unnecessary injuries.
The mentor looked at Asrant, his eyes brightening.
"Experienced and possessing battle wisdom."
"Since you won't attack, then I'll start."
The mentor said in a low voice, rushing forward with his sword.
Asrant narrowed his eyes and rushed forward as well.
The mentor's wooden sword swept across Asrant's abdomen, and Asrant tilted his sword downward to block the strike. The slanted sword blocked the mentor's steps, forcing the mentor to change his steps several times in a short second to avoid the sword tip.
"You have a weakness!" Asrant shouted, thrusting and lifting his wooden sword diagonally upward at the mentor.
The mentor's pupils shrank, and he dodged to the right while blocking Asrant's sword and promptly kicked the back of Asrant's right knee.
Asrant lost his balance, fell to his right knee, and was about to stand up and counterattack when the mentor's wooden sword bounced his weapon upward and stopped at his neck.
"It's over." The mentor performed a sword flower and made a fake sheathing gesture, then paused, "I'm used to it."
"You did well." The mentor patted the kneeling Asrant and said.
"You've been in many battles, but you probably haven't had much practice with humans, am I right?"
Hearing the mentor's words, Asrant looked up in surprise.
"How did you know?"
"Hahaha." The mentor laughed. "Your battle preparation is very solid, which shows that you have fought many times, but your defensive posture is not the best, being more inclined to dodge attacks. However, effective defense is usually easier to control the rhythm of the battle than dodging, which indicates that you have not experienced other people's teachings and rely on your own exploration in battles."
"Many people, when I say battle starts, will rush up recklessly, some even get scared by my shout and get knocked out by a single move. You, on the other hand, hold your sword without attacking, observe weaknesses while circling me. This indicates that you have very rich combat experience and are calm and steady.""I specifically chose a dive attack to test your response ability. Your reaction in this aspect is very satisfying to me. It is the most foolish thing to stand still and accept the attack that brings the power bonus of passing speed. You gave up this meaningless defense and chose to engage in a faster battle with me, which shows that your mind is very flexible."
"When you engaged with me in that moment, you tilted the tip of your sword, deliberately blocking my step. Not only could you defend my lateral attack, but you could also use the force of the weapon to disrupt my pace, creating flaws in my movements. This shows that you are very meticulous."
"However, when you attacked this flaw, you shouted out loud, which was a mistake. Moreover, you chose to perform an upward stab, although it was the fastest attack at that time, but it also exposed a significant flaw in yourself. You didn't have any countermeasures, so I easily killed you directly, which shows that you have rarely fought with experienced human opponents."
The mentor chuckled and looked at Asrant. "Am I right?"
Asrant stared at the mentor dumbfoundedly, nodding stiffly. He had never thought that his fighting style would have so many flaws.
"Well then, congratulations! From now on, you are a member of the Knight Academy."
"!!" Excitement appeared on Asrant's face, and he nodded heavily to the mentor. "Yes!"
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Inside the academy, groups of students left their classrooms and headed to the training grounds after attending a theory class.
A tall, handsome blond knight walked out of the classroom and headed to the training ground. With his appearance, the students began to exclaim.
"Look! It's Asrant!" A girl called her friend pointing at a figure in the distance.
"Where? Where?" The girl's companion looked around excitedly, then saw the figure the girl pointed to. "It's really Asrant! I can't believe I got to see him!"
"Today I saw that legendary perfect knight!" A male student enviously watched the students who were having a passionate discussion about Asrant.
His companion patted his shoulder, "Asrant is a genius who enrolled with a perfect score. He rose to the middle of the silver rank in just three years. I heard the headmaster personally tested him during the entrance exam."
"Also, Asrant has an excellent reputation, and he is very patient in teaching others if they need his help."
Finishing speaking, the male student's companion waved at him and ran towards Asrant, "I also want to practice with Asrant. If you want to come, hurry up. I heard he's about to graduate and be knighted."
"Wait for me!" The male student followed his companion quickly, saying excitedly, "I've heard Asrant's guidance is handy. I can't miss this opportunity."
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"Thank you, Instructor Mark."
Asrant spoke to the training ground administrator in front of him.
The instructor named Mark nodded with a smile, pointing to a larger training area and said, "Go ahead, I've heard you just came back from the Southern Plains with good achievements."
Asrant nodded, "Yes, it was not bad, but I would rather not have these achievements. The constant harassment of the beast tribe causes great suffering for the residents. The situation is not sustainable."
Mark sighed and shook his head. "That's not something we can control, but I still have to congratulate you. I heard you'll be taking the oath next week. Have you thought about who you want to serve?"
Asrant smiled warmly and nodded gently, "I've been working towards this all along, and my decision has long been made, with no confusion."
"That's excellent. In that case, I won't bother you any longer. Your fellow students will kill me with their stares. Asrant, you have become an incredible person." Mentor Mark looked around and laughed loudly.
"You must be joking," Asrant said shyly with a smile, knowing that Mentor Mark was joking about his popularity.
As Asrant entered the training ground, the surrounding students immediately gathered around with great enthusiasm.
Seeing this situation, Asrant had no choice but to calm them down and line them up one by one, and then began the often half-day long training sessions.
