Chapter 205 - A Secret Proposal

XXXX Continent, Seraph Kingdom, Arcana Tower.

"I was right. That legendary class has now become my class," Erea said to herself with a wide smile on her face as she looked at the notification screen in front of her. "I wonder how far I can go."

Ding!

'The user has ascended to a higher class.'

'The user's class has been changed from Rank 2 Mage to Rank 3 Dual Cortex Mage.'

'The user has gained access to Level 0 Spells of the Fusion variant.'

'The user has obtained [Fusion Affinity] and [Spell Fusion].'

'The user's stats have been greatly increased.'

'A god seems to be greatly interested in your abilities.'

After reading through all of the notifications she had obtained, she went ahead and closed the screen before pondering over what she wanted to try out first. Amongst the three notifications she had obtained, there were two things that she could actively use in there that were new to her: Fusion variant spells and [Spell Fusion].

Of course, Erea already had an idea as to how [Spell Fusion] worked from the name alone. With that in mind, she decided to test out the new Fusion variant spells she had obtained, commanding the system to bring up a list of the Fusion variant spells in her mind.

Then, she went ahead and closed her eyes as she used her thoughts to look through the list, eventually opening her eyes not long after as she muttered, "These spells…are quite peculiar."

"Although I now have an idea on what Fusion spells can do, there's still a difference between thinking about it and testing it out," she added before going ahead and extending her right arm as she chanted the incantation for the most basic spell among the Fusion variant spells.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Not long after, a great amount of Erea's mana was consumed, allowing multiple energy particles of various colors and Elements to become more pronounced in the surroundings as they slowly made their way towards her. As she looked at these energy particles get closer to her before forming a whirlpool around her, she could not help but be at a slight loss for words, surprised at how much energy particles were pulled in by this basic Level 0 spell.

Indeed, the spell that Erea had cast was the lowest level of spells possible for a Mage to cast, a Level 0 spell. But from the looks of it, even though this spell was considered a Level 0, from the number of energy particles pulled in, Erea could not help but think that this spell's power was around the lines of a Lower Level 1 to a Higher Level 1 spell.

Eventually, the energy particles circling her had become uniform in their movement, allowing Erea to manipulate these particles to head towards her open right palm, a bolt of pure white hovering over her right palm not long after. As she looked at this white bolt, she could not help but think of the contrast between the various colors of the energy particles from before and the monotone color of the spell right now. Nevertheless, she muttered the name of the spell.

"[Fusion Bolt]."

"Well…with that out of the way, what should I do next?" After muttering the spell's name, Erea asked himself on what she was going to do next, pondering as to whether she would throw the spell towards a certain direction or not. Eventually, she decided to not throw it, remembering that she read from the system that Fusion variant spells were inherently spells with no element.

She also read from the system that in order for a Fusion variant spell to shine, one must fire skills or spells with other elements towards the Fusion variant spell, allowing the spell to obtain characteristics from the elements. And so, she went ahead and extended her left arm, using the abilities of her current class to hastily conjure a spell she had cast multiple times already.

"[Fireball]."

Fwoosh!

Within a few seconds, a fiery ball of flames started to hover over Erea's left palm, leaving her astonished at the fact that the speed at which she had cast such a spell was far faster than before she ascended to this current class of hers. Not long after, she lightly chuckled as she said, "Then again, this kind of ability is inherent in the name of my current class anyway."

"Anyways, should I go ahead and fire this spell at the bolt on my right?" Erea asked herself, wondering if a Level 0 spell would be able to handle the power imbued within a Lower Level 1 spell. In the end, the experimental side of her mind won over her rational side, prompting her to say, "Well, you just have to try it out to find it out."

Whoosh!

After saying those words, she then manipulated the fireball with her mind, increasing the gap between the fireball and the white bolt within a matter of seconds. Eventually, thinking that the distance between the two was enough, she then went ahead and manipulated the fireball to hit the white bolt as fast as possible.

Splash!

At the very instant the two spells had collided over her right palm, Erea could not help but close her eyes from the slight fear that the white bolt would explode from the power of the [Fireball] spell. Surprisingly, instead of hearing a large explosion sound resound from the collision, what she heard instead was the sound of something splashing into some liquid, making her wonder as to what happened to the spells.

And so, she opened her eyes, only to open her mouth agape from slight surprise not long after. Just as the system described, the white bolt had absorbed the properties of the [Fireball] spell, with the white bolt taking on a faint orange tint as a flickering orange flame emanated from its exterior. Looking at its current appearance, Erea could not help but think that the spell on her palm was just the basic Level 0 [Fire Bolt] spell, but with its destructive capabilities boosted to that of a Level 1.

With that in mind, Erea asked herself, "Surely, a Fusion variant spell wouldn't just do that, right?"

"From the name of the variant, I'm pretty sure this spell could take on the characteristics of multiple elements at once," Erea added before going ahead and casting a spell she had just mastered a while ago before her ascension, [Aqua Sphere].

Whoosh!

After casting the spell, she could not help but be in slight disbelief, surprised by how fast she could conjure the spell. Not only that, but she also had a strong feeling that the spell could mimic the natural movements of water for a far longer time after her ascension. Either way, she placed these thoughts at the back of her head as she unhesitatingly manipulated the ball of water to distance itself from the now light orange bolt before making it charge towards the bolt.

This time though, she decided to not close her eyes, wondering what happened when the two spells collide.

Splash!

Surprisingly, at the very instant the two spells had collided with one another, from what Erea could see, the light orange bolt expanded to a size far larger than the ball of water for a short amount of time. It then went ahead and engulfed the ball of water without a problem as the characteristics of the bolt gradually changed in a matter of a few seconds.

Watching the process of how a Fusion variant spell took on the characteristics of an element, Erea could not help but ponder as to how many elements a Fusion variant spell could have before it disintegrates. Eventually, she decided to think that the limit was based on her class, which was 2.

She then took a closer look at the bolt hovering over her palm, slightly entranced. If the bolt from before was pure flames with enhanced destructive capabilities, then the bolt hovering over her palm right now was akin to flames acting like a fluid. Not only that, but the flames on the bolt also gave off the feeling that it could be manipulated in any way possible, akin to the flexibility of water.

And so, with those characteristics in mind, Erea went ahead and unhesitatingly threw it towards one of the walls in her training room, with the bolt exploding without any difficulty as it collided. But what happened next surprised Erea.

Rather than leave a burn mark on the wall just like any normal Fire-based spell, the flames constituting the bolt went ahead and acted like water, scattering into multiple particles that lit up quite a large portion of the room on fire. Fortunately, there were no flammable things near where Erea threw the bolt, so after looking at what the Fusion variant spell could do more closely, she went ahead and dispelled the spell, letting out a sigh of amazement not long after.

"To think that a Fusion variant spell has this much capability," Erea muttered to herself, still in awe as to what it could do. Just as she was about to test the second thing she had obtained from the ascension, a spark of inspiration flashed in her mind, giving her a new perspective on Fusion variant spells as she wondered, "Now that I think about it, Fusion variant spells aren't only limited to me firing the spells towards it. Even other people can fire skills or spells towards it."

"If that's the case…wouldn't I become a person that could take the place of everyone else," Erea asked herself, imagining situations wherein that would possibly the case. With that thought now in her mind, she was quite excited to go ahead and tell her teacher, Dane, about her successfully ascending to a Rank 3 class.

After thinking about the greater potential of the Fusion variant spells, Erea decided to go and try out the [Spell Fusion] skill she had received from her ascension, only for someone to knock on the door to her room just as she was about to do so.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Hearing those loud knocks resound throughout her room, Erea could not help but slightly frown before taking a few deep breaths to compose herself. After composing herself, she went ahead and opened the door with a light smile. She then looked at the person knocking on the door before asking in a kind tone, "How may I help you?"

In response to her question, the person in front of her cleared their throat before asking her, "I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but might I ask if your name is Erea Magimillia? A Rank 2 Mage?"

Hearing her voice mentioned by the person, Erea could not help but be slightly vigilant as she nodded her head, responding, "Yes, I am Erea Magimillia. What seems to be the problem, sir?"

With Erea responding that she was indeed the person the person was finding, the person let out a sigh of relief before responding to her question as a gold leaf appeared on the left side of his red robe. "Ah. There's no problem at all, Miss Erea. We've just obtained news that you have ascended to a higher class. Is that true?"

At this moment, Erea had become more vigilant since the person was asking her about him breaking through, even though she did not even know the person in front of her. Noticing her vigilance, the person let out a light smile as he realized what he was doing wrong, saying, "Ah. I apologize for not introducing myself to Miss Erea. I am Veriano von Artelia, a Rank 4 High Mage of the Arcana Tower, as well as a High Official of the Tower."

After the person in front of her introduced himself to her, it was then that Erea noticed the gold leaf on the man's robe, letting out a suppressed gasp as her vigilance had gone down the drain. She then hastily replied, "Ah! I apologize for not recognizing the gold leaf on your red robe!"

For common mages like Erea in the tower, mages who have a gold leaf on their robe signify that they hold an important position in the Tower. A mage with a budding gold leaf is considered a Low Official of the Tower, while a mage with a fully grown gold leaf is considered a High Official of the Tower. Of course, there are also mages with two or more golden leaves of the Arcana Tower, but they're considered core officials of the tower, being incredibly rare to meet.

"It's fine, it's fine, it was my fault for not introducing myself at the start anyway," Veriano replied to Erea's statement with a light smile on his face. He then asked her once more, "Anyways, let me ask again, Miss Erea. Have you ascended to a higher class?"

"Indeed, I have." Erea nodded in response to his question. "I've just ascended to Rank 3."

"I see, I see," Veriano responded to her words with a smile on his face. He then went ahead and rummaged something inside his robe, revealing a decently sized green crystal to Erea not long after. Letting the green crystal hover over his right palm, Veriano went ahead and told her, "To officiate your status as a Rank 3 class holder of the Arcana Tower, please place your palm on this Class Crystal right here."

Listening to Veriano's words, Erea went ahead and opened the door wide open before placing her right hand on the hovering green crystal. A few seconds later, multiple flashes of light radiated from the crystal before condensing into three decently sized motes of light inside the crystal.

Looking at these three motes of light, Veriano's smile had widened a bit as he replied, "You have indeed ascended to a Rank 3 class. Congratulations, Miss Erea."

After saying those words, Veriano then went ahead and snapped his fingers, opening up a rift as a folded piece of black fabric landed on his right palm. He then gave this folded piece of black fabric to Erea before saying, "Since you are now a Rank 3 class holder of the Arcana Tower, the Tower has bestowed upon you a black robe, a robe signifying that you have a Rank 3 class."

"I see, thank you for giving me the robe," Erea responded to Veriano's words with a light smile.

Just as Erea thought that the conversation between her and Veriano would end here as she slowly closed the door, a voice resounded in her head, the tone of which was incredibly familiar to her. She could not help but look at Veriano, who had a light smile on his face all this time, wondering why Veriano was talking to her through her mind. Fortunately, she hastily found out the reason why.

"According to some mages under me, you've radiated an aura akin to a Rank 4 mage while you ascended, even though your class is just Rank 3. That makes me think that your class is far stronger than anyone would think," Veriano's voice resounded in her mind.

"What are you trying to imply?" Not knowing what Veriano was getting to, Erea replied to his words through her mind. Not long after, a light chuckle could be heard in her mind as Veriano's voice continued to resound.

"I'm a Mage under the Tenth Prince. How about it, Miss Erea? Would you like to join the Tenth Prince's team in the War for the Throne? I assure you that you would be treated nicely."