Chapter 7 - The Dance of The Dazzling Sword

"John White!" The Evaluator announced.

John gulped as he heard his name called by the evaluator, his heart beating rapidly as he felt the weight of everyone's eyes on him as he moved towards the battle ground.

The Evaluator stared at John in confusion as he stood before him, gripping his sword tightly in his hand.

"You are a white aura user? Why did you pick sword instead of staff? Are you sure about this?," he questioned.

John nodded in response, not wavering from his stance.

The Evaluator could sense the determination in the young man's eyes, and he respected that.

Despite the murmurs and laughter coming from the audience, John seemed unfazed and pushed forward, not allowing himself to be deterred.

The Evaluator could tell that John was serious about his choice to wield a sword in combat, despite the fact that white aura users were normally evaluated in the support category.

He respected John's confidence and dedication to achieving his goals, and because of that, he decided to honor John's request.

After a few moments of contemplation, the Evaluator nodded and called out to the audience, "We will proceed with the evaluation as planned. John White will enter the arena for a sword combat evaluation."

The audience was taken aback, some murmuring in surprise at this turn of events.

However, John remained unfazed and stepped forward, a determined expression on his face.

The Evaluator then gesture for him to begin. " Come on! Show us what you've got, Young man!"

John narrowed his eyes as he felt his aura begin to form.

He brought about a light-based enchantment and let it flow over his body as a white light encased him.

Calling upon the power he had stored from within, he felt the surge of strength course through him as his speed increased.

With a steely determination, he rocketed forward in one fluid motion towards the Evaluator, never hesitating in the slightest.

He felt no compassion or empathy; this is his time to show everyone who look down on him what's white aura user in sword truly is.

The Evaluator was stunned, his eyes widening in surprise.

He had not expected this white aura user to be so direct, and he quickly retrieved his two swords to block the upcoming attack.

John kept his focus on his opponent and his swords collided with a loud clang.

Sparks flew as the swords clashed, and the Evaluator found himself unable to push John away.

John continued his barrage of strikes, pushing the Evaluator back with each one as he expanded his white aura to create an even greater strength.

He moved with unrivaled speed and precision, each slash of his sword achieving its mark with perfect accuracy.

John kept a steady pace, alternating between single strikes and combos with powerful, sweeping strikes and elegant arcs.

He commanded the battlefield, driving the Evaluator back with each successive attack.

The Evaluator was stunned at John's swordsmanship- he was clearly no ordinary white aura user.

Entirely revolutionizing his strategy, the Evaluator began to summon a series of hardened wall mud to protect himself from the relentless strikes.

John quickly concentrate his aura and focused it into his sword.

In an instant, its blade shone with the energy of his power, sharpening and strengthening its edges.

The defensive walls proved to be no match for John's sharp aura-infused blades, which cut through the mud with ease.

The Evaluator took a step back and immediately hurled a series of stone bullets towards John.

John stood his ground and expertly deflected the volley of stone bullets with his sword, sending them ricocheting away in all directions.

Meanwhile, the veteran hunter watching the fight couldn't help but be impressed by John's swordsmanship.

"He's truly a master of the sword," he marveled. "Look at how he uses it to deflect those bullets with perfect accuracy."

The less experienced hunter next to him nodded in agreement, his eyes wide with admiration for John's skill.

"It's no wonder why he was so unfazed when he pass through the doubting eyes of the audience as he headed to the battlefield a while ago," he commented."His swordsmanship is more than a match for most veteran hunters."

The veteran hunter nodded solemnly.

"Yes, indeed. He has the potential to go far in this field. I only hope that he remembers his limits and fights with a spirit of respect, or else he could end up becoming reckless."

Back to the battle, the Evaluator, however, had expected as much.

He quickly focused his aura on his palm before slamming it to the ground to change the composition of the earth beneath John's feet in order to trap him.

John immediately reacted to the sudden transformation, concentrating his aura on his legs and launching himself into the air.

The Evaluator anticipated this reaction and continued his attack, making elegant motions with his hand while concentrating his aura to conjure a series of stone bullets to fire at John while he was mid-air.

Little did the Evaluator know, John had also foreseen this follow up attack and had already directed his aura to the tips of his fingers, ready to snap them and create a blinding flash.

The flash momentarily blinded and disoriented the Evaluator, rendering him unable to take aim at John, with his bullets flying aimlessly.

As John landed, he took advantage of the Evaluator's disoriented vision and dashed swiftly towards him.

John dash towards the Evaluator at great speed, swinging his swords in an elegant arc, aiming for the Evaluator's neck.

But before the blade could meet the flesh, John stopped and murmured,

"Yield."

The Evaluator dropped his sword in disbelief that he had been defeated by a swordsman with a white aura.

The audience was shocked and confused, unable to comprehend how a mere white aura user had managed to take down one of the Evaluator's most experienced and skilful swordsmen who had a more powerful aura.

However, after a moment had passed, the Evaluator announced the result.

"You are so skillful and unpredictable! Congratulations, you are a B rank hunter!"

While the Evaluator thought John deserved an A rank result based on his performance, he knew that assigning a white aura user such a high rank could be difficult to justify and could potentially cause insult to the family of Goodwin, who had previously been awarded a B rank.

The Evaluator, with a soft whisper, said to John, "You are indeed powerful and skilful, but I couldn't give you the A rank result due to a certain issue."

John clearly understood the unspoken words and replied with a simple, "I know what it is, and I'm fine with the result."

The Evaluator appreciated John's understanding and admiration for his skill towards swordplay.