Kanna no Kanna

Yo there, been a while.

Which do you think is better spirit arts/spirit magic.

mamono/magic beasts.

spirit force/spirit power/mental power/mental force

P.S Sorry it"s late.

P.S.S Stuff between {} is just me talking, which is mostly small explanations.

P.S.S.S I kinda did a rushed job with the editing. If you think it needs some more(or some part is weird), please say so.

This week"s quote

“Well, you don"t need to be so on guard degozaru yo. You just have to fight the guild examiner or the adventurer hired instead degozaru. You don"t have to win, you pa.s.s if the examiner thinks you"re good enough. What? If it"s the Kannshi who defeated this one, pa.s.sing is a simple matter degozaru.”

“I"m telling you that was mostly a stroke of luck.”

“Excessive humbleness is but sarcasm degozaru zo. In that case, just remember the training you did with Agatt-shi degozaru yo. Though it seemed like he couldn"t use magic, his swordsmanship was pretty impressive. If you could cope with that then becoming E-rank is only natural degozaru.”

We exchange words as we walk in a fast pace. I"m relieved to know there is no written test.

“Is anything fine for the weapon?”

“Obviously degozaru ga, but you"re only allowed to choose from the blade less weapons prepared by the guild degozaru. Depending on the examiner you might be given permission to use it if your weapon is specialized in shock damage.”

” That"s a rather detailed explanation, Is this stuff common knowledge between adventurers?”

“It"s one of the C-rank requests,『examiner of the adventurer registration exam』degozaru. This is a must do request in order to raise to B-rank degozaru kara, anyone aiming above C-rank knows it"s contents degozaru yo.”

Just as we got engrossed in talking, we arrived in front of a big door. After asking Chloe to read the words written on it, it seems like the venue of the exam is beyond this door.

What came into view after opening it is one big empty venue. it felt similar to a highschool"s kendo dojo.

An adventurer like man is standing on what seemed like a podium. on his sides are a man and a woman in guild employee clothing holding doc.u.ments. And facing them are fifteen people of both genders. Most of them are pretty young. the ratio of guys is just a little above that of girls.

Having confirmed that I entered, the examiner opens his mouth.

“Looks like the final last guy who"s pa.s.sing the test has come. You there, we"re about to start so hurry up and come. The woman next to you is just your companion right? Please wait by the wall. Though I think you understand…”

“It"s alright degozaru yo. This one hasn"t the slightest intention to interfere degozaru yo.”

Well then, do you your best degozaru yo. Receiving Chloe"s light encouragement, I mingle with the examinees. Doing as she was told, Chloe leans on the wall.

“With this we"ll be starting the adventurer registration exam.”

The examiner eyes us once.

“Though I think you already heard from the guild receptionist, your test will be a one vs one mock battle with me. winning is irrelevant. You guys just give it everything you have. And I"ll judge how good you are. Whoever gets his name called, pick a weapon from over there and come to the middle of the venue.”

A great variety of weapons were rested on the wall to his left. I just choose from there,  huh.

“Sorry for the others but, until your name is called you"ll be spectating by the wall. Well then, firstーーーー”

The first to get called was a boy much younger than me. What do you call this, Some childishness still remains in him. He orthodoxly chose a shield and sword combination from the weapons on the wall.

On the other hand, the examiner was using a two handed sword. Unlike the common sense breaker of Real, it was a normal b.a.s.t.a.r.d sword that could be used with either one or two hands. In his left hand was a small round shield that"s called a buckler as I remember.

As told by the examiner, I retreated to the wall along with the others. Thinking ‘while at it", I headed towards Chloe.

The two at the center faced each other weapons ready in hand. Having confirmed the boy to be ready, the examiner gave a nod to the guild employee standing a little away. Confirming the signal the executive raises his arm up.

“We will hereby begin the adventurer registration exam.”

He made a little gulp.

“Begin!!”

Making a move as soon as he heard the beginning signal was the boy.

Fully swinging the swords in his right hand, he charged in. It"s a good attack but, I can"t help but think it"s lacking in sharpness. My eyes might have gotten a little sharper thanks to training with Agatt. Actually, what"s with that way of fighting when he"s equipped a shield.

Should I say as expected? The examiner easily brushed aside the boy"s sword with his buckler, then swung the sword in his right hand at his opponent. Though the examinee had a shield on his left hand, he was trying to regain the balance he lost when his attack was parried. though boy managed to receive the adventurer"s slash with the shield, the he lost to the momentum and went rolling on the ground. before he could get back up, the examiner"s sword was kissing his throat. It"s over.

“you"re not even worth considering. retrain from the basics and come again.”

Un, I think so too. To be honest, he"s out of the question. I wanna ask him why he picked the shield.  It would have been more effective had he taken two one handed swords and swung them with his all at the examiner.

The boy"s face wrapped in frustration after receiving the examiner"s look and words of disappointment. looking at him again, he really is quite young. In terms of the real world, he"s just became a middle-schooler.

He glared at the examiner before returning the weapon to it"s place. The boy then proceeded to sit by the wall in P.E sitting position and buried his face in his knees. No well, I get that it"s frustrating but, couldn"t he have done better?

The two employees in guild uniforms started noting down something on the doc.u.ments they were carrying. Complementing the examiner who gives an evaluation based on the fight, they make their judgment from an objective outside view, I guess.

Continuing, the examiner calls the name of the second testee. This time it"s a woman. Her weapon is a spear. Same as the first time, the two of them face each other in the middle of the venue and the guild employee gives the beginning signal.

Compared to the first battle, this one had some feedback. making use of the spear"s long reach, the woman released a series of thrusts.  I felt like I could hear the sound of the wind being cut from a distance. The examiner who couldn"t get close due to the continuous thrusts was parrying the attacks with his sword and buckler. However, his movements as he parries the spear and the expression on his face were pretty calm. Somehow, I can see where this is going.

Though  she continued releasing thrusts non-stop, the expression on the woman"s face was becoming rather grim. And suddenly there was an interruption in her thrusts.

She shot that many thrusts uninterruptedly. She should be out of breath. Unable to bear with the lack of oxygen, the woman takes a big breath. Not overlooking that opening, the examiner parries the thrust out spear to the side and swings his sword at the her. Obviously, it"s over. The swung blade stopped just before touching the tip of her shoulder.

“It"s not bad to use everything you have from the start against someone stronger. The sharpness of your thrusts as well as their number are proof of the amount of training you"ve acc.u.mulated. If you could just raise the speed to the next level your skill with the spear will be a good weapon.”

The examiner pats the shoulder of the discouraged woman. In contrast to the boy, this time he gives her honest advice. The woman who received his words greatly nods her head and moves away.

From there on, the names got called one after the other. If there were some lacking in ability like the first boy, there were also some that showed promise. The formers are told to「get stronger and come back」while the latters are given advice. This part seems like it will affect pa.s.sing. The majority seem like they will be pa.s.sing. only three or four are no good.

Oh, as I was a.n.a.lyzing, it became the turn of the fifteenth guy. Next would be me huh. This guy is the same age as me, I see.

…………Then again, his equipment is weirdly of good quality. The rest are wearing cheap leather armour which is common equipment for new adventurers. Yet this guy has metal armour all around his body. Not to mention, extravagant decorations can be seen here and there, in a word it was bizarre equipment. He just doesn"t give the impression of a youngster giving it his all to raise up.

A frivolous expression plastered on what couldn"t not be called a well-arranged face. He neither has the dandyness of Rand"s nor does he possess Agatt"s valiance. He also lacks the refreshing aura of someone helpless. He looked like he was just faking it all. It might be because I"ve been interacting with ikemens from up close, I seem to have become an ikemen expert which doesn"t make me happy.

{Ikemen is a handsome guy, with a good face. Should I just return it to English?}

“That one is most likely a n.o.ble degozaru na.”

Hearing Chloe say that convinced me but raised a new question in my head.

“Why would the n.o.ble obotchama become an adventurer?”

{Obotchama means spoiled young master.}

“Though rarely, n.o.ble children becoming adventurers isn"t unheard of degozaru yo. there are multiple reasons degozaru na. Hating the n.o.ble way of living hence resolving to be adventurers, resolving their poor n.o.ble house to resolve it"s economic situation, such case exist. For those with confidence in their ability, being an adventurer is a charming profession.”

At the very least, this guy doesn"t seem like he"s resolved himself to rescue his family from a difficult financial situation.

Such an ikemen chose two one handed swords and stood at the center of the venue. It"s my first time seeing two-sword style in this world. It may look cool at first glance, but pretty hard to use is what I heard.

Just like the candidates before him, the ikemen faced the examiner in the middle of the venue and readied his swords.

“It"s quite the accomplished stance.”

Just as Chloe said, contrary to his fake appearance, his swordsmanship seems to be the real thing. Now then let"s see how capable he is.

Hmm? Just when the guild employee raised his hand to give the beginning signal, the ikemen"s eyes looked here. At the end of his line of sight there was meーーーーNot, he was looking at Chloe next to me. after sending her a smile, he returned his sight to the examiner.

“…………What was that degozaru ka?”

Chloe was t.i.tling her head.

Chloe"s appearance is that of a bishoujo, a certified beauty. And her style is good, her beast tail and ears are also to my taste. Above all, her chest is voluptuous. She"s been gathering the eyes of the guys in the venue. That n.o.ble ikemen is the same huh. Seems like he sent her some『goodwill』with his eyes, but wasn"t even understood. How sad, isn"t what I thought. You r.e.t.a.r.ded idiot!! Is how I was making fun of him deep inside.

Just saying the conclusion, the ikemen"s two sword style wasn"t just for show. He was the strongest among the fifteen who took the test. Although, after exchanging a few blows, the examiner blew away the sword in his left hand and that"s all. The reason why I won"t go over the details is simply because my heart wasn"t big enough to use my time on him.

Nonetheless, that examiner is really strong. he took on more than ten people while holding back and he"s not even out of breath. It"s proof that his technique is on a different level. His current rank really intrigues me.

“In Chloe"s eyes, how high is that examiner"s rank?”

“It"s clear he"s not a C-rank aiming for B-rank degozaru na. He seems pretty used to handling weaker opponents. He is most likely a B-rank degozarou.”

The man thought to be B-rank gave his advice to the ikemen like usual, but the guy himself was grinding his teeth enough to crack them. He seems like a sack of pride. Is losing that frustrating? Nope, that"s not the expression when frustrated at your loss, it"s of someone who can"t accept that he of all people lost. That is not the face you make because you lost, it is the face you make because you lost. I"ve seen a lot of them not to recognize it.

Having finished with the ikemen, finally my name got called.

“Do your best degozaru yo. It is only natural that Kannshi pa.s.ses degozaru.”

“Please don"t give me pressure. But well, I"ll go break a leg.”

receiving Chloe"s words, I headed towards the center. And from the other side the ikemen was coming this way. He forced his anger inside and put on a frivolous smile. I who was getting closer to him wasn"t even in his view, as his sight was totally locked on Chloe.

Fumu, I don"t like this.

It is not like Chloe is my girlfriend or anything but, she"s someone I hold a relationship of certain depth with. I don"t intend to interfere in people"s love but, I simply can"t see that charlatan ikemen making Chloe happy. Even if that wasn"t the case, it simply irritated me when he called to Chloe.

I called to the spirits just when we pa.s.sed by each other.

(Do it)

ーーーーYes sir!!

　For a moment I thought I heard the spirits" voice, a real lively one.

Following my order, the path of the ikemen was frozen. It was the instantaneous completion of a deadly trap. Not realizing the trap that was just made in front of him, firmly stepped on the ground.

“Ha?!”

By the time he raised a voice of confusion, the ikemen was already halfway in the air. It was like he slipped on a banana. The leg that slipped flew in the air while his other leg shortly followed after. For a second his whole body was experiencing the skies. There is no need to see as his presence says it all.

Time froze. At least inside the ikemen.

And then.

ーーーーGOOoon!!!

“Nuguoo??!!!”

A not so ikemen-esque scream. That sound was from the back of his head hitting the ground, I guess. Leaving that sound and scream behind, the ikemen stopped moving, No he"s not dead, he just lost consciousness.

While a strange mood drifted between the people in the venue, I faced the examiner without minding a thing. Otto, I didn"t forget to have the spirits get rid of the evidence.

“Please take care of me.” {yoroshikuonegaishimasu.}

I pay my respect to the examiner in front of me. He on the other hand stiffened looking at the ikemen. The guild employees were no better. Good for you ikemen, your joke got the attention of everyone here. If only you had more spectators.

Realizing with a time delay that I was facing him, the examiner hurriedly faced my way.

“Well then, we will now start the last mock battle for today.”

Now then, since my nervousness went down from dealing with the ikemen I should focus on dealing with this examiner in front of my eyes huh.

Before the starting signal was given, the examiner opened his mouth.

“Looks like you don"t have a weapon, don"t tell me you"re fighting bare handed.”

“Nope, these guys are more or less my weapon.”

{The word Kanna used for weapon is *emono*=*得物* while the others use           *buki*=*武器*, there"s not much of a difference between the two as 得物 means a specialized weapon while 武器 means weapon.}

I pointed at the leg and arm guards I was using. Though he shows some hesitation at my answer, the examiner soon shook his head.

“…………No, you too are someone who made his resolve to become an adventurer. It would be uncouth to run my mouth about that.”

I"m sorry. Killing time and pocket money are my objectives. If I said that, It"s clear that the his evaluation of me will go down. Hence, I keep my mouth shut.

Nevertheless, even if I have equipped armour in place of a weapon, the difference in reach between his sword and my fist is undeniable.

To begin with, my fighting style is centered around spirit arts, as my hand to hand combat skill is that of an amateur. Nonetheless, I"d rather refrain from using spirit arts here.『Ice』magic is already rare enough, if I use something that looks like said magic without even the slight presence of magic power, I"d attract unneeded attention. Showing my cards in front of so many people is unfavorable.

That being said, I have no chance at defeating this guy in a battle of pure skill. Though my technique might have gotten better from facing Real and Agatt, it doesn"t surpa.s.s a certain level. Defeating the first brat would be my limit. It is frustrating but I can"t win against the ikemen.

Which means, I need a plan like always.

(It doesn"t look like throwing my sword will work on him. There"s no sand to blind him as we"re inside. shouold I poison him? That would be bad as expected. And this floor is too hard to dig a hole. Catch his his sword? No good, I"d probably lose in strength.)

{I think you should use the oiroke no jutsu.}

Going through the countless defective winning patterns I picked up in the real world, no answer comes out after considering the place and my opponent. was this a normal battle, I"d be running away already, but I can"t possibly do that in a test. I"d have failed before even starting.

(……………………A single tactic that I gamble everything on, I did have one huh.)

Once in the past I used this move that came in a boxing manga I read before. It was a move that requires monstrous patience so I never wanted to use it again, but it can"t be helped seeing as it"s the only thing that may work.

(I don"t think I can win in the first  place. And it"s not like anything is at risk here.)

Fast decision making is one of my few good points.

Having resolved myself, I took my stance, facing the examiner with everything I have.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

{We just switched to examiner pov.}

Along with the the employee"s signal, the last test of the day begins.

The examiner readies his sword while observing Kanna.

(…………A waiting stance huh?)

Even after the signal was given, Kanna didn"t move. Though his stance indicated that he could move any time, it also showed that he wouldn"t make the first move. Though the ones before him all attacked first as to make an appeal of their abilities, he seemed to be of a different breed. It"s also interesting how he called defensive gear his weapon.

However, Kanna wasn"t simply standing in place. His eyes were sharply observing the examiner as to not overlook his slightest movement. Though they haven"t exchanged blows yet, the pressure coming from his eyes is the real deal.

(He"s aiming for a counter huh? Then I guess I"ll test him a little.)

By some stroke of luck, the examiner preferred the same fighting style. Observing his opponent, predicting their next move then taking them down in a single swing was his way of doing things. More like, when it comes to judging the enemy"s battle prowess, the man is praised as unrivaled. Which is why he often gets named for the adventurer registration examiner quest. This time too being one of such.

A youth who uses the same strategy as me, huh. Then I"m interested in his skill. Luckily, he"s the last person taking the test today. Though there"s another one at night, It won"t begin until a few hours. We have all the time of day. I"ll accompany you as much as you want.

The two men glare at each other. Both of them have taken their stances but don"t move an inch. However, everyone in the venue could feel the intensifying tension.

One minute pa.s.ses in that state.

The examiner"s long sword slightly moves. As if to follow it, Kanna"s fist moves the exact same amount. Nevertheless, he still doesn"t show an opening. Looks like he"s not just bluffing.

Another minute pa.s.ses by.

I shows an opening on purpose, of course it"s bait. Kanna gets a little fl.u.s.tered, however, he grinds his teeth and stands his ground. He can bear with this, huh. He"s pretty sharp. Had he came, I would have ended it in a moment.

Then another three minutes elapse.

None of the two has yet to show a movement. However the examiner was picturing all kinds of scenarios in his mind, and thinking up ways to deal with them. Even the expression on his face was a calm one.

On the other hand,though he didn"t break his stance, Kanna was drenched in sweat from head to toe. His breathing was also getting rougher. though he chose a perfect stance for a counter attack, it seems like he"s still lacking on the mental front. In about ten minutes he"ll break his stance on his own.

On the contrary, the examiner didn"t mind waiting another fifteen or twenty minutes. Rather, he was enjoying the tension.

(Now then, shall we stay like this for another hour?)

He was even thinking something like that on the inside.

ーーーーzokuiiin, it was at that time that a cold sensation a.s.sailed him.

He felt a hard to describe chill. The examiner who was feeling some leeway despite not letting his guard down, braced himself.

(Is he gonna do something?)

Kanna isn"t moving, but the chill he just felt can"t be ignored. The examiner raised his concentration so as to not miss a single change in Kanna.

ーーーーKanna makes an obvious move.

He suddenly broke down the stance he was taking. Did the tension get to him? Just like that Kanna looked to the side.

(What?) {NANI?!} {omae wa mo shindeiru}

The examiner『instinctively』followed Kanna"s line of sight.

At the end of his line of sight was the aristocratic looking young man still pa.s.sed out on the ground. Oi oi, someone help him out, is what the examiner what thinking inside. And that was when『the hearts of everyone in the hall turned to one』.

That"s right, at this one moment, with the exclusion of one exception, 『the attention of everyone』『a.s.sembled』on the pa.s.sed out youth.

ーーーーThe sound of kicking the ground brought me back to my senses.

“ーーーーNah?!!”

The instant the examiner returned to his senses as if waking up from a dream, Kanna"s fist was sinking into his abdomen.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

{Back to Kanna POV.}

That was super scary!

That was real painful!

I feel like crying!

Happiness was overflowing from the depth of my heart at my plan having succeeded. especially  the last moment as it felt like my stomach was getting wrapped. Ao○-san, I"m all admiration for your nerves. This tactic really takes a toll on the heart.

{Reference to Aoki Masaru from hajime no ippo.}

The tactic I chose was in short.

Simply put『looking away!』

Well, It needs no more explanation.

Humans have a habit of unconsciously following with their eyes when the line of sight of someone in their view moves, I have no idea what the logic behind it is. I also realized after reading it in a manga. Thinking about it it"s true.

In this case, I made use of that habit in a situation of deep tension. It really was painful.

Though it"s a tactic that can be named in a single word. The explanation of the preparation to make it a success can"t be wrapped up that easily.

I made three gambles with this tactic.

I already knew that the examiner preferred the counter attack tactic. in all the mock battles up to now, there wasn"t a single time where he went on the offensive first. I had thought he chose to do so because it"s a test but, his was of doing it was to natural. Nevertheless, I wasn"t completely sure of it, so this was the first gamble.

My prediction hit the mark, looking at my solid stance the examiner chose a battle of endurance. This was the second gamble. I kept my whole body on guard ready to move at any time and『made it seem like』I was aiming for a counter. Had this bluff came to light, he would have stopped waiting and swung his sword at me, and I would have lost without being able to lift a hand. I was about to be exposed because of his small movement but I somehow covered it with ad-libbing. I really feel like praising myself for that part.

And finally the last gamble was succeeding at having him『look away』 which is the main pillar of the tactic. As the tension created by the two of us filled the venue, I used my last trick. I silently employed spirit arts and lowered the temperature of the venue. If I was asked what this was for, I"d say it"s to physically drop the examiner"s body heat. Not so that his movements become sluggish, but I simply wanted him to feel that something is out of place. All in hope that he misunderstand the chill as his sixth sense ticking in. As a result he"ll ama.s.s all his focus on me so as to not overlook my smallest movement.

And that"s where『looking away!』comes into play.

As a result, the attention of everyone there including him was on the ikemen. No well, it was just a coincidence that they focused on that b.a.s.t.a.r.d and well what matters is that the examiner"s attention was away from me.

And that"s how I managed to get into his unguarded bosom and drive my fist into his torso.

I felt the impact as it went dogaan.

A satisfactory blow. The iron fist that was unleashed after stepping in sunk into the examiner"s abdomen. However, my joy only lasted but a fleeting moment. Because the sword of the examiner who was pushed back a bit from the impact was heading for me.

“Owaffuaa??!!”

Albeit while raising a pathetic scream, I moved my body barely evading the falling sword. It was supposed to be a blunt sword right?!

Normally this is where I go on the offensive, but I hurriedly took a back step away from the examiner. without going after me, he takes his stance again. Though his left hand is holding his abdomen, the figure of him holding his sword in his right hand made one feel the pressure. I did manage to damage him right? But the aura he was giving off a.s.serted that that much was nothing to care about.

Ah, this is pretty bad. I"m gonna die huh?

I really was thinking so, when the next words of the examiner swept away my despair.

“…………Un, wonderful”

The examiner nodded with a smile on his face before sending an eye signal to the guild employee. Though he was struggling to understand the situation, the man raised his hand the moment he noticed the signal.

“That"s it! In accordance with this, This time"s adventurer registration exam is declared to be over!”

ーーーー It seems like I managed to survive.