Evaluation

After showing Paul to a small room that was only 3x5m wide, including the closet, Jordan explained, "This is the boys' dormitory. Girls sleep on the opposite side of the Sanctum. You're allowed to visit there, but only during the day. If you end up bringing a girl back to your room, you both need to be up by sunrise for the morning lessons."

Surprised by Jordan's words, Paul asked, "The Sword Sanctum allows cohabitation? I would have thought they would see it as a detriment to a person's progress..."

As he had also been surprised when he first came to the Sword Sanctum, Jordan nodded his head in understanding. Then, after clapping Paul on the shoulder, he explained, "Master Farion is a lot more progressive than the Sword God before him. Ever since he accepted one as a disciple, he has permitted members of the Beast Race to study and train here. Since they go into heat and get aggressive during the Fall, he has consented to allow people to have sex so long as they train twice as hard the following day."

Unable to help himself, a wolfish grin developed across Paul's face as he offered a curt, "Nice." He didn't know if it was because of his bloodline or because he had been surrounded by budding beauties his entire life, but Paul's sex drive was quickly becoming one of his defining features. Reida being a God-Tier MILF just exacerbated the issue.

Seeing a kindred spirit in Paul, Jordan gave him another friendly clap on the shoulder before offering a bit of friendly advice, specifically, "Just be mindful of the Sword God's apprentice. Nearly every guy in the Sanctum had tried to court her, but the end result is always the same. They end up seriously injured and placed on bed rest. If they fail to recover within two months, they're expelled from the Sanctum..."

"Sounds about right..."

Though he had yet to meet Ghislaine, Paul knew there had to be a reason she was still a virgin by the time she met his original self. It didn't make a lot of sense for a member of the Beast Race to preserve their chastity, so the most likely reason was that Ghislaine would only sleep with someone she respected, i.e., someone who was strong...

Guided by Jordan, Paul was given a tour of the laundry room, bath, and latrine pit before being shown to a rather unexpected place, the Library.

"This place is pretty cool. Since the Sword Sanctum is affiliated with the Silver Palace, we constantly receive updates on persons of interest and dangerous monsters that need to be slain. Do you want to take a look? I didn't expect anything when I came by, but there were actually a couple of pages about my family and past exploits. It's a little uncanny but also pretty cool."

Though he would assuredly check it out later, Paul shook his head and said, "Maybe some other time. I haven't really accomplished anything just yet, so it would probably just be a few pages about my family and education. Nothing of value at present."

Shrugging his shoulders, Jordan said, "Suit yourself." before guiding Paul out of the Library and adding, "The next place is one of the three Sacred Grounds of the Sword Sanctum. It's where we pay respects to the Sword God, periodically receive his teaching, and demonstrate our abilities...you should be prepared, Paul. The first night at the Sword Sanctum is known as the Crucible of Swords...if you can't defeat at least five people during your preliminary evaluation, you'll be placed on latrine duty until you can defeat ten..."

While others would be mortified by the mere thought of having to empty a latrine of frozen piss and shit, Paul surprised Jordan by asking, "What's your proficiency with the sword? What's your Rank....?"

Though he understood the reason for Paul's question, Jordan showed no signs of fear or hesitation as he returned a wolfish smile and said, "I'm an Intermediate Swordsman, but I can hold my own even against Advanced practitioners. What about you, Paul? I would have assumed you were a Beginner by your age, but you wouldn't have made it this far if that was the case."

As even fully grown Knights were typically only at the Intermediate Rank, Jordan was more than a little surprised when Paul revealed, "I've been at the Advanced Rank of the Water God Style for around a year. The reason I came to the Sword Sanctum is because everyone keeps telling me I'm a better fit for the Sword God Style."

"Are you for real? You know it won't do you any good to lie, right? I mean, you're about to have to demonstrate your skills in front of the Sword God himself..."

Adopting an ostensibly fearless smile, Paul asked, "Isn't that kind of the point of coming to the Sword Sanctum?"

"..."

Realizing he was dealing with another monster, Jordan just gave Paul a firm pat on the back before suggesting, "Then let's get a move on. The others, including Master Farion, are waiting in the Exhibition Hall. Oh, and just so you know, if you had dawdled for too long in the Library, your final opponent during the evaluation would have been a Sword King. It's good that you understand the true reason for your stay at the Sanctum..."

Though he was a little surprised by Jordan's words, Paul just nodded his head in approval, saying, "That's one way to teach people humility..."

...

..

.

Like the rest of the Sword Sanctum, the Exhibition Hall had a distinctly Japanese structure. The floors and walls were constructed from wood, and the windows were covered in thick white paper instead of glass. As for furnishings, the only thing that would even remotely qualify was the small wooden platform at the back of the hall. Everyone was seated on the floor, the only exception being the fierce-looking man with blue and black-haired sitting atop the slightly elevated platform at the back.

Though he felt every nerve and muscle in his body tense when the man's cold blue eyes locked on him, Paul didn't recoil. He had long since gotten used to killing intent during his training with Ei, Augusta, and Reida. After all, if he became paralyzed with fear every time a powerful adversary so much as locked eyes with him, he wouldn't make it very far in the outside world.

With short, untamed blue hair that became progressively darker along the sides, fierce blue eyes, a small goatee, and a rather wicked-looking scar running across his left cheek, Sword God Gal Farion was the type of man that inspired fear and respect with a single glance. One of the very first tests prospective students had to overcome was simply looking him in the eyes, a seemingly simple feat that resulted in most collapsing and outright pissing themselves.

Seeing Paul become even more resolute in the face of his killing intent, a vicious smile developed across Gal's face as he startled nearly the entire hall by stating, "Not bad." in a curt tone.

Resisting the almost instinctual urge to bow, Paul emulated Jordan's and Linus's greeting by cupping his hands together and saying, "I still have a long way to go." with a severe expression and a fair amount of conviction in his tone.

Surprising the hall a second time, Gal said, "And you shall." before rising to his feet and calling out, "Ahuja, you're up first. Our little friend here is the protege of the Water God, so don't hold anything back."

Though he was tempted to say he wasn't Reida's protege, Paul instead focused his attention on a girl with green eyes and blonde hair fashioned into a sort of pixie cut. He didn't know exactly what Rank she was at, but the intent exuding from her was enough to make the hairs on Paul's arms and neck stand on end.

Fortunately, Paul wasn't left guessing as the girl cupped her hands together, glaring at him as she growled, "Ahuja, 14-years-old, Advanced Rank Sword God Swordsman."

Eliciting a few murmurs from the seventy or so students gathered, Paul cupped his hands together, emulating Ahuja's introduction as he stated, "Paul, 10-years-old, Advanced Rank Water God Swordsman."

Though the pupils of her green eyes briefly contracted, Ahuja wasted no time in procuring one of the wooden swords lined up along the wall. Like many practitioners of the Sword God Style, the sword she selected was short and shaped similar to a fang. The core principle of the Sword God Style was speed and defeating your opponent in the shortest amount of time, so their weapons were made to be exceptionally easy to draw.

Due to his training in the Water God Style, Paul was far more proficient with longswords and claymores than shortswords and cutlasses. Thus, despite having many smaller options, he opted for a sword whose blade was nearly as wide as his palm. It was much heavier than Ahuja's sword, but it also packed greater power.

Seeing Paul's choice, Gal was equal parts excited and disappointed. He would have preferred if Paul set aside the Water God Style and focused on the Sword God Style. At the same time, however, he had been trying to get Reida to let him borrow a few skilled Water God users so he could give his students experience circumventing their guards. The Water God Style was considered the 'counter' to the Sword God Style, and while he was confident he would never lose to Reida, Gal knew his students were nowhere near the same level. Against a similarly skilled Water God user, they were bound to experience some frustration.

To give Ahuja a chance, Gal surprised the room by stating, "The match is decided when the opponent submits or is unable to continue. If you lose your swords, you can just beat the shit out of each other. Now, begin...!"

Immediately following Gal's words, Ahuja grabbed her sword in a reverse grip and lowered her center of gravity to the point the fingers of her left hand touched the ground. Then, with an explosive force that caused two tiny shockwaves near her feet, she lunged toward Paul with the intent to smack him in the abdomen.

Unfortunately for Ahuja, she had no real experience fighting against the Water God Style. The moment she lunged forward, Paul stepped forward at the same time. Instead of attempting to meet her charge, however, he aimed to pass on the left side of her body. She was holding her sword in a reverse grip with her right hand, so even if she twisted her body and swung in a full arc, it would be difficult to strike on opponent on the left side of her body.

Demonstrating he wasn't simply proficient in the Water God Style, Paul didn't try to slice across Ahuja's body or disarm her. Instead, he raised his left arm just as their paths were about to cross, his bicep connecting with her neck with enough force to send her reeling back like someone that had biked into a clothesline.

Remembering the conditions Gal had set, Paul only hesitated for a brief moment before stepping in to smack Ahuja's wrists the moment she tried to roll over and bound to her feet.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah-!"

Not expecting Paul to shatter her wrists, Ahuja screamed out due to the intense pain. Paul immediately felt a little guilty about what he had done, but that didn't stop him from setting the tip of his wooden sword against her throat and saying, "Yield." in an authoritative tone.

Instead of complying with Paul's words, Ahuja's teary-eyed expression became indignant as she attempted to lunge past his sword and tackle him to the ground. Unfortunately, Paul had once again seen through her actions, so the moment she shifted her weight, he was already stepping backward. As a result, she was left completely vulnerable as he smacked the top of her head with the flat of his blade...

"Round one goes to the Water God brat. Someone drag Ahuja off to the side and make sure she doesn't have brain damage. Andrews, you're up next."

Before a distinctly eastern-looking youth with long bangs and black hair tied up into a long ponytail could rise to face him, Paul surprised nearly everyone present by using chantless Healing Magic on Ahuja. Gal didn't seem particularly enthused by this, but as there were no rules against it, he just adopted a wolfish grin and said, "Don't regret it if you use up all your stamina and have your ass handed to you..."

Earning stunned silence from his fellow students and a knee-clapping laugh from the rather fierce-looking Sword God, Paul adopted what he hoped to be a relaxed smile as he asserted, "Trust me, when it comes to stamina, I am rarely lacking..."

...

..

.