'Well, it seems that the best knight is not at her best,' thought Arthur as he looked toward Sun. It was a pity since Arthur didn't want to let them go. However, he needs to see progress to ensure they are not relying on his promises.

Arthur could indeed strengthen them through his arts and runes, but he felt that they would lose their ambition if strength were given to them on a silver plate. Lusica has already proved that he sought power without Arthur's help, which made the latter proud.

"Step aside," Arthur waved his hand at the knight. "I might have tolerated the weakness of your body, but never the weakness of your heart. Your resolve is too weak."

Sun seemed shaken, and her grip of the sword began to tremble. Arthur frowned when he saw her lower her weapon and return it to its sheath before walking away and standing to the side.

"A disappointment," muttered Arthur before he turned toward the rest. "Step forward, Shield."

"Yes, my lord," the giant man took large strides to stand in front of him. "Thank you for your guidance."

"I am just here to beat you up," Arthur rebuked. "You can also attack me first."

"I refuse to, my lord. You called me Shield to protect, and I shall do as such. So please attack me instead, for I will never attack."

"That is a good tactic," said Arthur as he raised his brows. "However, are you sure that you want me to attack? The knight before knew that she would die if I attacked. You will die."

"I will die doing the task you gave me, then."

"Alright," Arthur used his spiritual energy to unroot a tree, and the giant tree flew from behind them. "I won't attack you directly, but you must prepare yourself. I will let you stay if you can survive this attack."

"Please!" the man took a stance as he raised both hands, and the earth began to gather around them. Arthur grinned as the man's actions were to his liking.

Boom!

The tree was like a baseball bat as it swung toward the man, sending him flying. There were sounds of breaking bones as the man landed in an arch on a few trees.

"You need to stand up again to pass," Arthur said after the man stopped breaking trees. There were no movements, but a grunting sound appeared a few moments afterward.

"I am still alive, my lord," coughed the giant man. Arthur smiled and nodded, and his spiritual energy made the man fly toward him.

"You are badly hurt," Arthur said with an apology. "But you have proven your resolve. There are very few neo-rankers who can block that attack," as he said that, Arthur tapped the man's body and mana healed his wounds. "You pass."

"You are kind, my lord," the giant man looked happy as he bowed. Arthur took out one of the arts and handed it toward the man. It was a fighting style that used steadiness to produce power.

"As long as you stand to protect others, this art will give you strength. So train well in it, and I will see you again in the future."

The man happily received the art and hugged it as if it was his most valuable tressure. Then, after walking away, another knight stepped forward.

"I would like to go next, my lord," said Wave, the woman with short curly black hair. Arthur always had a vague impression about this woman because she always seemed to be thinking of something.

"You can attack first."

"I will," she said as she raised her hand. Arthur was confused because nothing had happened. Then, as he wanted to raise his hand, Arthur realized that he couldn't move.

"You restrained me?" Arthur was surprised as he looked at his hand. Then, his arm began to move, but the woman seemed to be at her limits. "You can control my body. How?" Arthur used mana and broke her control. The woman fell to the ground, huffing.

"Our bodies are made of water," she breathed in and out. "This is still a weak technique, but this is my trump card. I can control the human body by controlling the water inside it."

"Impressive and smart," Arthur was surprised. "You are still weak, Wave. However, this technique surprised me. You pass too. This art will do you good, and I'm glad that I chose one about affinity."

"You are too kind, my lord," she said with a flushed face. "However, I can't move anymore."

"Haha," Arthur laughed as he walked toward her and used his Heal rune to heal her fatigue. "You did well. Take it and go stand aside."

"Yes, my lord."

"You are next, winged boy."

"That is rude, my lord," Sky said as he stepped forward. Arthur was surprised that he took offense but nodded in understanding. "I have not grown any stronger since the last time that we fought."

"That means you will fail," Arthur said.

"I don't mind failing. I stopped feeling like a knight ever since I got here. I joined the knights because I wanted to be respected, but you made sure to destroy our pride before."

"I remember you were the reason behind that," Arthur tapped his chin. "You were offended by my words because of your pride as a knight. Does that mean you want to leave?"

"I do," the demi nodded. "I see no future for me here. This city is drowning in debts, and the people have no respect for the knights or their lord. I also know that we are the main target of the Mernars. So it is only a matter of time before this city falls."

"Shut your mouth, bastard," Lux took a step forward and shouted. "You are a coward who wants to live in luxury because of your title."

"What is wrong with that?" the demi frowned. "We all want to live luxurious lives with maids to serve us. I am simply admitting that I want it, unlike you hypocrites."

"Are you afraid that you are going to fail here?" Arthur realized. "This is your attempt to keep some of your dignity. You don't want to be sent away, so you decided to leave."

"Not everything is about you and your exams," the demi furrowed his brows. "I think that you are unfit to be served. But, unfortunately, this is what I believe in, and you can kill me if you don't like it."

"Nice resolve," Arthur smiled and nodded. "However, I have no reason to kill you. You are all free to choose your fates, and I understand that what we want does not align. You want a carefree life, and I can't promise you that."

"I have one question," the demi seemed confused. "Why did you pick me out of everyone at the academy? I am not the strongest, nor am I the most diligent."

"I can tell when people are unsatisfied with their life. I picked those who looked like they wanted to run away from that place. You were among them, but you had different reasons, it seems. You can go to Manager Ma, and he will handle your transfer as well as your reimbursement. Thank you for working for me all this time."

The demi-human looked a bit confused but nodded nonetheless. Then, he spread his wings and flew away toward the city, and Arthur turned toward the last knight, Lux.

"My knight of light," said Arthur with a smile. "It has been a while since we last met. How is your relationship with Lusica?"

"Why did you let him leave, my lord?" Lux turned away from the demi and looked toward Arthur. "He was disrespectful toward you. I can't understand why you didn't kill him."

"I never gave him anything that he should be grateful for," Arthur smiled. "At least, not yet. When he declared that he no longer wanted to work for me, I had no reason to discipline him. He chose to be a free man, and I respect that."

"That traitor knows too much," muttered Shield. "We should have made sure that he doesn't reveal anything to the other lord."

"You don't need to worry about that," Arthur smiled. "I will handle that later before he leaves the city. However, please know that I won't mistreat you for any of you who wants to leave as well. This is your desire, and I respect it."

"You are far too kind, my lord. Nevertheless, I will be unkind in return so that you will never have to dirty your hands," Lux said with a shake of his head. "This is my resolve. Let me show you how much I have grown."

"Come forth," Arthur gestured.

"Limit-Release," muttered Lux as a powerful pulse rang from his body. Arthur raised his brows as mana exploded like a flame from the knight's body, destroying his armor. "This is my ultimate move. Please witness it."

The mana around his body began to gather around his arm as it distorted space. Arthur was surprised because this was the same move he had used countless times before with his spiritual arm.

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