Reincarnated As The Dark Knight

Artur hacked and slashed at the custom dummy which Merlin had made him. For the past few months Merlin had been trying to help Artur improve his sword skills but his progress was slow, hence the custom dummy.

A magical dummy that could dodge and block incoming attacks and if he was close enough it could try to attack. The use of wooden swords was needed because as a dummy it could randomly carry out actions and would not be held responsible. Even with the wooden sword Artur was still inflicted with wounds and bruises that made him want to quit.

"Dear gods, I thought this would take three years but at this rate we are going to spend five"

"I'm just warming up"

"It takes you two weeks to warm up?"

"Well maybe if you would crank it down a bit like I said, this would be way easier"

"Do you think opponents are going to "Crank it down" when you are in the middle of a fight?" Merlin said stressing on the "crank it down". Besides, he knew what Artur's problem was and it definitely was not because the dummy was too strong.

Artur got up to his feet and lunged at the dummy again.

"People always called my father a Knight. I always wonder how it feels like to be one"

"A Knight? Your father?" Merlin said, "You are still very naïve, aren't you?"

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Yes. Your father was no Knight"

"But everyone kept referring to him and his men as knights"

"Yes, because that was what they liked to believe. You father was as good as the Exceptional rank at best. Do you even know what a Knight is? The weights of the words your mouth so nonchalantly blurts out"

Artur could read anger which surprised him because he was sure he had not said anything wrong. Was it worth it for Merlin to get angry over the mere mention of "Knight". From his knowledge of knights from his past life he would even say that they did not compare to his father but then again, it was his past life and this world was different.

"I wonder what's got you so upset. I'll accept that I'm naïve so tell me, what is so great about Knights that even my father who is supposedly famous for being powerful does not measure up to them?"

Merlin was quiet for a few seconds, thinking of how to present his argument and soon enough he turned around with a good response in mind.

"How much do you know about me?"

"You are Merlin, a powerful Mage who is thousands of years old and lies a lot" Artur replied.

"You brat" Merlin snapped "Now give me all the ranks in order"

There were ten ranks for Mages in total. The ones who had just tapped into their Mana were naturally called Awakened. The next stage was the Empowered, then Adept, Enhanced, Exceptional, Grand, Mythic, Transcendent, Celestial and Divine with no human ever reaching the Divine rank.

Artur mentioned them in order but when he got to the Transcendent rank Merlin ordered him to stop. The abrupt stop could only have meant one thing.

"You called me a powerful Mage before. How powerful would you say I am?"

"According to the history books, Merlin was a 6★ Mage of the Mythic rank which he achieved after decades spanning into centuries of training and isolation"

"That is correct" The old man said with a look of pride on his face. It was not an easy feat after all "Now, do you know what the difference between me and a Knight is?"

"I don't know, you tell me"

"What was it that I said about the Transcendent rank?"

"Are you going to keep asking questions or are you going to make your point?"

"Just answer me this one question"

"Huh!" Artur huffed out his irritation "The Transcendent rank is the first rank that humans cannot attain through just talent and effort"

"So you do keep up with your studies. Now the difference between me and the weakest knight you will ever find is that that Knight is in the Transcendent rank, and the worst part is that they would have achieved all that before the age of thirty"

Artur was left speechless "You're kidding, right?"

Referring to the knowledge he had gained over the time he had spent with Merlin, Artur knew that a Mage or Rune-user who hoped to climb through the ranks and reach the Transcendent was nothing more than a pitiful muck.

That rank was called Transcendent for a reason. Any person in this rank was said to transcend mortal limits and they could bring down legions on their own. Artur was so surprised that some people were able to just casually reach this rank without putting in the time and effort like others.

"So, you are telling me that Knights are the strongest people in this world"

"Exactly"

Artur became lost in thought. Like a child, he imagined himself as a Knight, what would happen and the things he would be able to do. The thought of it made him want to salivate. But then again, to be able to do something like that in a world such as this one would require a lot of power, which he lacked at the present.

He had forgotten that he was still in a fight with the dummy and it did not hesitate to take advantage of that. With a swing it drove the long end of its sword into his cheek and sent him flying. Artur recovered almost immediately and rose to his feet.

"Merlin, are you certain that I can get a Runestone?"

"Why ask such a question again? Though there is a possibility that you might be rejected"

"How much effort do you think it'll take for me to be as strong as a Knight?"

Merlin gave him a straight answer "Don't sweat it. Like this you can never become a Knight. It's already baffling how you are alive without Mana, don't dream too big"

Artur grinned "If it's you who is saying such, then I'm certain that it's not entirely impossible"

"Wait, did you misinterpret what I said? I said that no one can become a Knight in a state like yours, don't you understand me?"

"Since you said Knights are those who have transcended the limitations of humans..." Artur dodged the dummy's sword and caught it by the right shoulder. He shifted his center of gravity and pulled at the same time, but the dummy stiffed its entire being, disturbing the flow of his move. Artur acted on instinct and pushed one of his feet backward to trip the dummy. With that instance of dominion, he pulled as hard as he could and flipped the dummy over, slamming it with enough power to separate its hand from the rest of its body.

He tried to catch his breath but still raised his head to face Merlin. There was no smile on his face anymore but he looked more of a person who was going insane with anger. Merlin needed no one to tell him that the child was still keeping his father's killer, Duncan, in mind.

"...Why don't I just do that too?"