Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys

Chapter 543: Chapter 236: Sword Bearer Assessment (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4

It’s a bit annoying.

With almost no point of reference, if I fight conservatively and end up failing the assessment, that would be a joke.

“And… full power?”

Rein couldn’t help but think back to what the middle-aged Great Knight had said, feeling eager to try.

Then, full power it is!

After all, since upgrading Shockwave to an Intermediate Secret Technique, he had never used it to its full extent.

‘Full power’ meant unleashing Intermediate Secret Technique ‘Shockwave’ after activating ‘Limit Break’ and the talent ‘Intermediate Giant Force’. Until now, Rein had never found a suitable opponent or place to use this move.

But this extremely hard, gigantic Obsidian Giant before me should be… a very good target.

As Rein walked towards the center of the arena, he took off the pig-headed hammer he carried on his back and took a deep breath. His eyes calm, he stared at the Obsidian Giant ahead.

“Hey, Evelyn, what do you think Rein will do?” A young man who came with Evelyn asks, with a smile that isn’t quite a smile on his face.

“He seems to be a knight who uses heavy weaponry; he’s at a serious disadvantage against the Obsidian Giant.”

“Yes, against the Obsidian Giant, those most advantaged would be Wizard Apprentices adept at Slow Technique or similar decelerating witchcraft. Next would be leather-clad, agile Sharpshooters, followed by Sword-Shield or Hammer-Shield Knights.”

“As for Greatsword Knights or heavy hammer knights… that’s a significant disadvantage.”

“Right, dual-handed heavy hammers are even more disadvantaged than dual-handed greatswords. The heavy weight affects the speed of movement and evasion.”

“After all, facing the steel-like defensive power of the Obsidian Giant, the armor-piercing dual-handed heavy hammer becomes a burden,” someone else analyzed matter-of-factly.

…

“Begin!” The middle-aged Great Knight shouted.

The elderly Earth Wizard then instantly dissolved the witchcraft clay prison, releasing the Obsidian Giant from its bonds.

As soon as the Obsidian Giant regained its freedom, it immediately spotted ‘little Rein’ not far in front of it.

However, the next second, it found that the little one had disappeared.

“Snap!”

Rein’s momentum suddenly burst forth, his size swelling considerably. With a push from his toes, the hard stone ground burst open a small pit.

In an instant, he shot forward like a specter, as if his heavy knight’s plate armor and the heavy hammer in his hand weighed nothing.

By the time the Obsidian Giant realized what was happening, it saw this ‘little one’ turn into an afterimage, charging towards its feet.

Is this… a delivery to its doorstep?

The Obsidian Giant spread its rocky arms, intending to grab this ‘little one’ who was running quite fast.

“He… he’s attacking?”

“He’s crazy!” A young man exclaimed with wide eyes, in disbelief.

Did number two learn nothing from number one’s experience?

Amidst the astonished cries of the crowd, Rein blinked under the Obsidian Giant’s feet, and with a swoosh, he leapt high into the air.

His body fully extended, like a taut bowstring, Rein felt his strength transfer from his leaped toes through his hips, waist, back, and finally, concentrate into his bulging arms.

“Ha!!!”

Rein fiercely unleashed the Intermediate Secret Technique—Shockwave!

At the same time, the dark pig-headed hammer struck the equally gleaming chest of the Obsidian Giant!

This strike, Rein felt, was incredibly satisfying!

Because he had activated both ‘Limit Break’ and ‘Intermediate Giant Force’, releasing almost all of his strength with this thunderous blow!

With a “boom”!

A sound like a bomb exploding rang out!

Winds whipped furiously, as black stone shards shattered and sprayed around!

The Obsidian Giant’s chest now sported a crater-like gaping wound, practically piercing right through the hard and thick Obsidian Giant.

Such an injury was too much even for the thick-skinned Obsidian Giant. It stumbled back several steps with a bewildered look in its eyes before it crashed to the ground!

Even the onlookers standing dozens of meters away instinctively took several steps back, gazing in astonishment at the scene before them.

The previously composed faces of the five examiners now bore round, bulging eyes, no longer able to mask their calm demeanor.

In their hearts, each was shouting, “This… this… the power of this attack!”

“That’s way too exaggerated! Even us seasoned Great Knights can’t do that!”

“Even a Peak Knight might not be able to deal such damage!”

The crowd of young people waiting to be assessed was equally astounded!

Fiona and several of her peers were, at this moment, practically popping their eyes out in disbelief!

Previously, they had heard Rein boast about his confidence in passing the assessment and thought he was just bragging; though they didn’t say anything, they had scoffed internally for quite some time.

But to their surprise, they had completely misjudged him; this guy’s strength was monstrous!

This guy was basically a monster!

And how old is this kid, anyway?

“I feel like this level of attack power isn’t normal, shouldn’t the assessors check into it?” one young person said, her face turning red as she pointed at Rein.

“Boss, where the hell did this guy pop up from?” a young man in a military style said to the muscular brute beside him.

“His attacking power is sick, even stronger than you, Boss!”

“That move must be a secret technique, right? Could he be the offspring of one of the Empire’s Dukes? How could he have reached this level without being trained from a young age?”

….

The crowd immediately burst into ardent discussion!

Regaining their senses, the examiners responsible for assessing the candidates were utterly stunned.

The examiners had their tasks assigned; for instance, examiner number one was in charge of observing and recording the candidates’ Strength performances. Without a doubt, Rein’s display of Strength in the recent battle was outstanding among the outstanding!

The second examiner, responsible for recording speed performance, also found it easy to assign excellent marks, undoubtedly outstanding.

The third examiner was in charge of technical performance, and since Rein had executed a secret technique, he naturally scored excellent as well.

Examiner number four was slightly baffled. How should one score split-second reactions in battle?

For a moment, this examiner didn’t know what to score, but after looking at the other examiners, he noticed they all gave full marks, so he thought it over and did the same.

After all, charging directly at the Obsidian Giant was a split-second reaction… that should also be beyond reproach… right?

Swoosh, outstanding!

Examiner number five, however, furrowed his brows into a “川” shape as he was in charge of combat decision-making. But had the candidate made any tactical decisions just now?

That was just plain charging in, right?

Reckless charging!

This assessment was specifically designed with the Obsidian Giant in mind, a creature with extremely strong defensive power and attack power, in the hopes that the candidates would notice its less agile body.

Ideally, they would target lower body parts, such as ankles or knees, to gradually reduce the Obsidian Giant’s movement speed, whether through witchcraft or physical attacks.

That’s the normal decision-making process in combat.

Who fights like Rein, who simply smashed down with his hammer, and as a result, actually defeated the Obsidian Giant!

A regular fight felt as simple as… playing house!

It was impossible to discern any tactical decision-making…

But…

Examiner number five couldn’t help but ask himself a question. What’s the purpose of combat decision-making? Isn’t it to win the battle?

So, if one is able to defeat the enemy, they should naturally go right at them.

Is there any issue with that?

Apparently not!

After much contemplation, examiner number five finally concluded that this candidate’s combat decision-making should also be considered excellent!