Now both of them were coming after me together while Tobias kept Mio occupied near the far side of the arena. Sylra thrust her spear toward my chest while Rhett circled around from the opposite direction, clearly trying to trap me between them.

I quickly pushed myself back onto my feet while gripping the wooden dagger tightly in my hand. My breathing had already turned uneven from the pressure Rhett was putting on me. He and Sylra both stood several meters away now, clearly expecting me to panic again.

Rhett rolled his shoulder and smirked at me. "That all you got, F-Class?"

Sylra adjusted her spear in her grip and narrowed her eyes at me. "You swing like you’ve never touched a weapon before."

Honestly, she was right. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. If I kept fighting like this, they were going to flatten me in less than a minute.

I clenched my jaw and immediately opened the system again in front of me.

Warrior and mage.

Merge.

The translucent screen shifted instantly.

╔═════════════════╗

> CLASS MERGE

╠═════════════════╣

> WARRIOR + MAGE

───────────────────

> RESULT: SPELLBLADE

╚═════════════════╝

A strange warmth spread through my body the moment the merge completed. It felt like something clicked inside my head. My grip steadied around the dagger, and the flow of mana inside me suddenly became easier to sense.

I immediately checked my abilities.

╔═══════════════════════╗

> Ace | LC: 156 | EXP: 156/490 | LVL 6

╠═══════════════════════╣

> HP ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 115/115

> MP ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 85/85

> STA ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱ 77/100

────────────────────────

> Class: SPELLBLADE

> Known Abilities:

• Blazing Cleave

• Battle Renewal

• Arcane Bulwark

────────────────────────

> PERKS

• +15% Magic Damage

• +10% Critical Chance

• Backstab Damage

• Light of the Believer

╠═══════════════════════╣

> [ BAG ] [ MAP ] [ SHOP ] [ QUESTS ]

╚═══════════════════════╝

Three new spells.

Blazing Cleave immediately stood out to me.

The weird part was that I somehow understood the spell already. It felt familiar even though I had never cast it before. The activation method, the mana flow, even the movement required to control it all came naturally to me.

It needed a trigger word. Rhett suddenly rushed toward me again while spinning one of his daggers around his fingers.

"Still standing?" he mocked.

I tightened my grip around the wooden dagger and gritted my teeth.

"Blazing Cleave!"

╔═══════════════╗

> Blazing Cleave: -45MP

────────────────

Duration: 30 seconds

Cooldown: 10 seconds

╚═══════════════╝

Fire exploded around the blade instantly.

The wooden dagger became wrapped in violent orange flames that extended several feet beyond the weapon itself, forming a burning edge large enough to split a man in half.

The entire crowd went quiet.

Even Rhett’s expression changed. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"What the..."

I swung the dagger forward.

A massive arc of fire erupted from the blade and tore across the dirt arena toward Rhett and Sylra. The attack was nearly as tall as I was, a roaring crescent of flame that left scorched lines across the ground in its wake.

Both of them immediately jumped in opposite directions to avoid it. Sylra threw herself left. Rhett moved right.

The flaming arc ripped through the space between them and continued toward the edge of the arena like an attack that had completely missed its target.

Then I pulled my dagger backward.

The fire responded instantly.

The massive arc twisted in the middle of its flight as though an invisible chain had been hooked into it. Flames spiraled violently while the entire attack curved back toward me instead of dispersing.

Rhett’s eyes widened. "It tracks?!"

I rotated my wrist sharply to the left.

The burning wave followed the motion exactly.

The entire crescent of fire bent sideways across the arena and slammed directly into Rhett’s back before he could regain his footing. The impact exploded across his body and sent him crashing face-first into the dirt with a yell.

Gasps spread throughout the courtyard.

The fire still had not vanished.

It circled around me in a wide burning sweep, moving with every motion of my dagger like the blade was dragging the flames through the air itself.

I lifted my arm upward. It was now a moving orb of fire, waiting for my command.

Then I slashed down.

The flaming arc rose high above the arena before crashing downward onto Rhett like a burning whip.

The ground erupted beneath him.

Then I slashed again.

The fire snapped across the dirt and struck him a second time before he could stand.

Again.

And again.

Every movement of my dagger redirected the flames instantly, the massive arc changing direction with unnatural speed as though the spell itself was alive. Rhett tried to roll away, but the fire continued pursuing him across the arena, curling and twisting after every desperate movement he made.

Professor Veyra suddenly raised her hand from outside the barrier.

"Rhett Morn is down!"

The flames vanished immediately as the spell duration ended.

Heavy silence filled the arena.

I stared down at my dagger while breathing hard and quickly checked my status again.

╔═══════════════════════╗

> Ace | LC: 156 | EXP: 156/490 | LVL 6

╠═══════════════════════╣

> HP ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 115/115

> MP ▰▰▰▰▱▱▱▱▱▱ 40/85

> STA ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▱▱▱ 77/100

────────────────────────

> Class: SPELLBLADE

> Known Abilities:

• Blazing Cleave

• Battle Renewal

• Arcane Bulwark

────────────────────────

> PERKS

• +15% Magic Damage

• +10% Critical Chance

• Backstab Damage

• Light of the Believer

╠═══════════════════════╣

> [ BAG ] [ MAP ] [ SHOP ] [ QUESTS ]

╚═══════════════════════╝

Damn. That spell consumed a ridiculous amount of mana.

Murmurs immediately spread through the students surrounding the arena.

"That wasn’t a Mage spell."

"Did you see that?"

"Spellblade?"

Queen Mia herself looked genuinely surprised now. She had leaned slightly forward on her throne while staring directly at me. Beside her, Yua looked openly impressed.

Rhett groaned from the dirt and weakly lifted his head before collapsing flat onto the ground again.

Sylra stared at me with wide eyes while gripping her spear tighter.

"Wait," she said slowly. "Was that one of the Spellblade abilities?"

"Okay," I muttered while adjusting my grip on the dagger again. "Since I’m already this deep into it, I might as well keep experimenting."

I merged another pair of classes immediately; Warrior and Cleric this time. The result appeared before my eyes. Nongi. I had absolutely no idea what that class even meant, and honestly, this was not the moment to care about it.

I opened the system interface again and checked the new abilities I had gained.

Martyr Armor. Holy Breaker. Crown of Nails.

Just like before, understanding the spells came naturally the moment I looked at them. I somehow knew what each ability did, how much mana it consumed, and how I was supposed to activate it.

Without hesitating, I cast Crown of Nails.

The moment the spell activated, a circle of long purple-black nails began floating behind me. They slowly rotated through the air like the points of a crown orbiting my body. The mana coming from them felt cold and heavy compared to the fire spell from before.

The spell was simple. If I struck an enemy, one of the nails would shoot forward at them. Useful.

Sylra instinctively took a step backward. Her spear shook slightly in her hands now.

"No way," she muttered while staring behind me. "How are you doing this?"

╔═══════════════╗

> Crown of Nails Cast: -30MP

────────────────

Cooldown: 30 seconds

╚═══════════════╝

I rushed toward her before she could recover from the shock.

She quickly repositioned her spear and thrust it toward my chest, but I knocked the weapon aside with my dagger and stepped inside her range. The moment our weapons collided, one of the floating nails immediately launched itself toward her shoulder.

The nail struck hard and buried itself into her uniform.

Sylra cried out and stumbled sideways from the impact.

I used the opening immediately. I stepped around her spear and punched her straight across the nose while she was still distracted by the spell.

She lost balance completely and crashed onto the dirt arena floor.

Professor Veyra immediately raised one hand.

"Sylra Fen is down!"