59 Battlemage
A few minutes before Eren and Miranda began their fight.
“There’s no cut-off period within which you have to pass the test to go to the Numbered Oasis. So you can take the test again even if you fail today.
You don’t have to defeat me. The test isn’t time bound either. I’m just checking your reflexes and seeing the extent of your battle potential. If you pass the bare minimum threshold, you’d be onboard as an official member of Team Miranda.
Anything you want to ask?”
Miranda explained everything to Eren before asking him. That latter took a long breath before pondering to himself.
‘How much should I show my hand?’
Eren scratched his almost non-existent white beard before looking at the audience booth. A few rankers were sitting there from Miranda’s team. Eren recognized Rhea and Ekay right away.
Eren knew that Miranda’s team underestimated him because of his start. He understood that he shouldn’t disclose all of his powers here. He had to be especially careful with his core secrets. Therefore, he was going to use his regular mana core in the battle.
But something told Eren that he’d never be appreciated for his efforts if he always played the underdog. That in turn would be detrimental to his growth as it would affect the opportunities he receives.
He needed to find a balance. He needed to put on a show that would amaze his spectators and examiners alike. At the same time, the show had to be believable and within the realm of “it was great but nothing I had never seen before.”
‘About half. I’ll show about half my cards.’
Eren thought to himself and made a decision. Only a few seconds had passed since Miranda had asked the question. He answered her after considering all things.
“Only one question, captain. Which class do you have?”
***
Eren asked while fixing his eyes on Miranda. Ever since he had signed a contract with the Stardust guild, he had come to know a lot of things related to rankers that were previously unknown to him.
All rankers who were affiliated with authorized guilds had to sign these binding contracts to keep the information confidential from the general public. It was supposed to curb the misuse of spells and knowledge by the masses, which may lead to carnage and mayhem like the previous calamities.
A ranker would only be provided with the information of their rank. This was true for most rankers like Eren who had humble beginnings.
A ranker’s class was one such crucial piece of information. The class of a ranker determined their path on their ranking journey. Therefore, rankers liked to take their time deciding on a path for themselves.
A particular class would have a specific set of spells. The efficiency of spells would decrease if a ranker that has decided to focus on a particular class changes his mind and decides to add a spell belonging to a completely different class in their repertoire.
For example, if a ranker selects ranger to be his class and selects ranger-specific spells, his mana circuits would change over time to adapt to those spells and thus that class. The elemental attainment they would gain from advancing in their ranking journey would also be related to that class. Slowly and surely, the ranker’s existence would align with that class.
There was also something called a ranking technique involved that was supposed to shape a ranker’s mana circuits according to the class the technique belonged to. But the existence of Numbered Oasis had removed that need for Meta rankers.
Now all they needed to do was select a class before getting into Numbered Oasis. Their bodies would adapt with their class as they progressed in their ranking journeys through the use of Numbered Oasis.
Numbered Oasis had become mass factories for foot soldiers to quickly get trained. As a result, Meta rankers were able to focus on spell execution after selecting a complete set for their rank. Spending time in Numbered Oasis was akin to practicing a ranking technique for Metas. So that’s what they did.
***
Miranda nodded at Eren’s question after realizing for which reason he was asking it. Every class had its advantages and disadvantages. Knowing your opponent’s class would allow the rankers to take necessary countermeasures.
“Knight.”
Miranda said and chuckled before adding up.
“It seems you bit off more than you could chew, didn’t you? Told you that you shouldn’t have gone to that class. Jack of all trades is master of none they say, Eren.”
Eren smirked. “Still better than master of one,” he responded.
Miranda had a small pout on her face when her advice was still ignored.
“You won’t understand with words it seems. I’ll have to beat you well to make you realize the class you have chosen for yourself is not suited for rookies.
Plus, you could have come back to this class after breaking into the Awakened rank. Your struggles to take this class in your current rank would mostly go wasted because of your choice.”
Eren didn’t reply to her this time. He did not ask her any questions. Even with his basic knowledge of classes and their selection pattern, he understood that the class he had chosen for himself was not an easy choice.
But it was the class he had chosen after considering his biggest advantage that nobody was aware of. Infinite mana core.
Eren opened the palm of his right hand and concentrated. In the next moment, a circle-shaped runic tattoo appeared over his palm. This was called the Identity Rune– or I-Rune.
I-Rune had multiple uses for rankers. It featured various runes as a packet. And spatial rune was one of them. Therefore, it offered up to 10 cubic meters of storage space for rankers that had it.
I-Rune also had a communication rune rankers could use to contact each other. It also served as a ranker’s unique identity card. Ranking contracts often included a runic imprint of the ranker’s I-Rune.
Of course, the communication range for I-Rune was limited. Arrays or artifacts were needed to extend its range. But for close communication, I-Rune was a go-to choice for all rankers acting as a team.
This was how Team Stan was able to communicate with others or draw their weapons from thin air. By sending his mana sense into the void space the I-Rune had, Eren tapped into it and pulled out his weapon.
A long Tachi blade with a lightning-element runic inscription.
Eren had chosen a class that could incorporate a wide range of weapons and spells at the cost of decreased mana expenditure efficiency. A class that was supposed to be attractive only in theory.
Battlemage.
Eren had chosen battlemage for his class.
Now he needed to try different spells, weapons, artifacts, and martial arts to create his own battle style. And that’s what he was aiming to do in his fight against Miranda as well.