#49: 45. The Blue Flame Reversal — The Heroic Tale of the "Classless" — Banished by a Duke's Family, He Discovers He Can Steal Skills with His Fists and Becomes the Continent's Greatest Hero (WN)

As the scheduled time drew near, Reet and the others made their way to the training grounds for the match.

Reet’s condition had improved slightly, but remained far from ideal for combat.

Despite this, he pushed forward one step at a time, gritting his teeth.

“Well, well, Reet. You don’t look so good,” Kait said with a contemptuous smile as he waited at the grounds.

He had no intention of worrying about Reet’s state.

He already knew from his father that Reet had been poisoned, and while he found it surprising that Reet showed up at all, he revealed nothing.

Instead, he feigned concern.

“Hey now, are you alright?”

Reet ignored him and took his designated position.

“Man, it’s rough fighting someone who isn’t at their best. I’d feel bad about winning like this,” Kait said plainly as he stood across from Reet.

Standing opposite Charlotte was Kait’s partner, Alexander—a stout, muscular man much like Rand’s partner before him.

His Class was Swordsman-Mage.

He was a “mercenary,” originally employed by a powerful regional noble, a man with no need to become an apprentice knight in the first place, possessing power equal to or greater than that of a knight.

“Well then, we will now begin the Platoon Leader Appointment Exam, Second Round—the match between Reet’s team and Kait’s team,” the referee announced.

Reet stared at Kait desperately, his consciousness threatening to slip away if he lost focus, but he managed to grit his teeth and endure.

“Let the match… begin!”

The referee’s voice rang out.

“Dragon’s Breath Nova!”

Reet launched a devastating opening attack—the highest-tier magic spell.

He couldn’t fight Kait in close combat in this condition, so he’d settle it with ranged magic.

But—

“Sacred Barrier!”

Kait unleashed a Holy Knight Skill, and a golden barrier materialized around him, neutralizing Reet’s magic.

A new technique.

It was one Reet didn’t have. Kait must have acquired it recently.

Though Reet could use Holy Knight techniques, he couldn’t acquire new ones without the Holy Knight Class itself, no matter how hard he trained.

The difference between having a Class and lacking one became apparent.

Against ordinary knights, Reet could win with the Holy Knight Skills he’d obtained from Sara, but against a fellow Holy Knight, the advantage was Kait’s.

When it came to Skills, Reet was always at a disadvantage.

“That’s all you’ve got? Sacred Barrier doesn’t even budge!” Kait laughed loudly.

“Fire Lance Rain!”

Reet launched magic attack after magic attack from a distance, but couldn’t break through the Sacred Barrier that Kait had activated.

“Haha, what’s wrong? If you keep fumbling around, that little dwarf friend of yours is gonna get beaten down!”

Kait was employing the same strategy Rand had used in the first round—defend with Sacred Fortification, hold Reet in place while his partner defeated Charlotte, then create a two-against-one situation for a total assault.

He could potentially win by engaging Reet in close combat despite the poison, but he preferred the safe route.

Meanwhile, Charlotte struggled against Alexander.

His Swordsman-Mage Class made him a skilled combatant both close and far—an extremely versatile opponent.

Worse for Charlotte, his magic attacks were her weakness.

She had no ranged attacks, and his constant barrage of magic cut off her path forward.

“Fire Lance Rain!”

Alexander unleashed advanced magic.

Charlotte dodged several shots while intercepting the ones she couldn’t avoid with her Skills.

“Burning Knuckle!”

But no matter how many she knocked down, the next spell came flying.

“Fire Lance Rain!”

The attacks came without pause—she couldn’t get close.

“Looks like little dwarf girl’s dancing around like a good little puppet. But I wonder how long you can keep that up?” Kait sneered.

At this rate, we’ll be ground down.

Reet was thinking of a way to break through.

Deciding the odds were poor, he executed the strategy that came to mind.

“Fire Lance Rain!”

He fired that magic attack—not at Kait, but at Alexander.

If Kait was staying on defense, he had to assist his apprentice.

But of course, Kait wouldn’t allow that.

Kait moved between Alexander and Reet.

“Sacred Barrier!”

He blocked Reet’s attack.

“Come now, don’t be so rushed. Let’s quietly watch our apprentices’ efforts together, shall we?”

Reet’s lips twisted in frustration.

Looking over, Charlotte seemed to be losing considerable stamina from continuously defending against Alexander’s barrage.

“Tee-hee. Your apprentice is doing pretty well despite being a dwarf. I’d like to praise her,” Kait said with a laugh.

It was a contemptuous laugh that looked down on people.

“But really, a dwarf is still a dwarf, you know? Thinking she could become a knight—well, that’s just impossible, isn’t it? Obviously, the royal capital doesn’t suit her. Sleeping on the side of the road is where she belongs.”

Those words.

Kait’s words directed at Charlotte.

They ignited the fire in Reet’s heart.

“Shut your mouth, trash.”

Reet forced his heavy body to move and charged toward Kait.

“Dragon’s Breath Nova!”

He unleashed the highest-tier technique again.

Of course, it—

“How tedious. Sacred Fortification!”

was repelled before Kait’s iron wall of defense.

But—

“Sacred Blade!”

Reet kicked off the ground and launched a reckless charge.

“—Dammit, are you actually able to swing a sword!?”

Kait felt alarm at Reet coming straight at him.

Sacred Fortification was effective against magic attacks but powerless against melee techniques—especially those with the same Holy attribute.

Kait activated Sacred Blade himself to counter Reet’s attack.

Their power was evenly matched.

Reet barely held the sword through sheer willpower but couldn’t output his normal level of power.

When the two Sacred Blades’ power was exhausted, Kait leaped backward to create distance.

“Tch. Hey, Alexander. Finish her off quick!”

Kait issued the order to his ally.

“Understood.”

Alexander stopped his magic attacks, drew his sword, and switched to close-range assault.

Since Charlotte was already exhausted from continuously defending against his magic, he judged he could overpower her in melee combat.

The air around Alexander warped from the surging magical power.

“Magical Slash!”

Alexander’s signature technique—his magically-infused blade moved to deliver the finishing blow to Charlotte.

No good. Charlotte’s Burning Knuckle won’t stand a chance against that!

Reet understood this intuitively.

But—

“…Haa”

Charlotte let out a long breath, steadying her breathing.

She still hadn’t given up.

And then Charlotte whispered something small yet distinctly clear:

“My first time… I hear the goddess’s voice!”

The next moment, Charlotte pulled her fist back and lowered her stance.

Alexander was slashing down with his Magical Slash.

Against that, Charlotte accepted the challenge head-on.

Her fists ignited with flame, but the color was different from before—blue.

A fist of flame raised to the ultimate temperature.

“—What is—”

Reet understood.

The Skill Charlotte was unleashing was—

“—Burn-out Strike!”

It had been inevitable.

Charlotte had barely any real combat experience before acquiring her Class and meeting Reet, but over the last month and a half, she’d been training every day against stronger opponents.

So she had plenty of experience points.

Charlotte’s small fists, now wreathed in blue flame, clashed head-on with Alexander’s Magical Slash.

The enchanted steel blade was completely melted away.

“—Impossible—!!”

The force of her punch didn’t stop—it struck directly into Alexander’s abdomen.

The protection ring’s barrier shattered.

“—You’ve got to be kidding me!?”

Kait let out an involuntary cry.

But because of that, Charlotte’s attention turned toward Kait.

Charlotte immediately turned on her heels and leaped toward Kait.

“Burn-out Strike!”

Her fist ignited again.