Inside the palace, Lucas clenched his fists, feeling the immense power coursing through his body.
His gaze shifted to John, his lips curling into an exaggerated grin.
Licking his sharp teeth, Lucas sneered, "Your strength indeed took me by surprise, forcing me to activate the blood crystal secret technique. I admit I underestimated you, but sadly, you no longer have a chance to leave here alive!"
Spreading his arms wide, Lucas laughed maniacally, "Now, the real game begins!"
As his words faded, the blood light around his sword intensified.
In an instant, Lucas vanished from his spot, reappearing beside John, his blood sword slicing through the air towards him with ferocious speed.
"Bloodshadow Slash!"
Lucas's speed was astounding; many in the audience could only catch a fleeting glimpse of a blood light before he reached John.
John's eyes remained calm, his body suddenly radiating a ghostly blue light and becoming ethereal.
With a light step, John drifted away like a falling leaf, gracefully dodging Lucas's strike.
"Wraith!"
This was the skill provided by John's ghostly cloak, allowing the wearer to ghost through physical forms.
John rarely used it, saving it for crucial moments to catch his opponents off guard.
"Boom!"
Lucas's blood sword struck down with a burst of blood-colored light!
The palace floor was cleaved by his sword, leaving a deep, bottomless crevice that testified to the terror of Lucas's strike.
Seeing John evade his attack, Lucas raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised that John still had tricks up his sleeve.
However, he didn't care much, sneering at John, "Commoner, let's see what other surprises you can show me!"
John's gaze was icy as he replied tersely, "You'll find out soon enough!"
As his words fell, a quick interplay of green and earthy hues lit up his staff.
The surrounding wood and earth elements rapidly fused in his hands, giving rise to a power unseen before by the onlookers.
Everyone outside widened their eyes in astonishment.
Baron exclaimed in surprise, "This kid is actually attempting to use skill fusion technique here?!"
Theodore frowned, "He's being too reckless!"
Fusing skills wasn't something that could be done on a whim.
Apart from the demanding talent requirements, an awakener needed to be fully concentrated and handle the skills with utmost care during the fusion process.
Otherwise, even a slight mishap could lead to elemental conflict and result in an explosion.
In that case, John could end up being killed by his own skill, even without Lucas lifting a finger.
Alexander laughed heartily, "Haha, I admire this kind of daring spirit. When pushed into a corner, why not give it a shot?"
Eldritch shook his head gravely, "This young man's talent is far more terrifying than you all imagine. Haven't you noticed? The two elements in his hands are completely stable, all controlled by his mind power. This kid's mind power is at least several times stronger than an ordinary magus!"
Prompted by Eldritch's observation, the others began to notice the difference.
It was unexpected that Seraphina not only had a second class but had also awakened House Harris's Holy Light Magus!
In the major families of the capital, all inheritance classes had their drawbacks or aftereffects to some extent.
For example, House Carter's Crimson Count gradually turned the user into a monster, while House Fairfax's Radiant Visage led to the decline of the family's future generations' vitality.
The drawback of House Harris's Holy Light Magus lies in its extreme difficulty to awaken. Often, not even one Holy Light Magus would emerge among a generation of House Harris's descendants.
In recent times, there have been two generations without a single Holy Light Magus awakening in House Harris.
However, should anyone from House Harris successfully awaken and grow into this class, they are destined to become one of the top powerhouses in the Federation.
They would be highly valued by House Harris and might even be designated as the sole heir to House Harris in the next generation.
Now, people finally understood why the elder of House Harris was so fond of his granddaughter Seraphina.
Perhaps he had recognized Seraphina's talent early on and had consciously nurtured her from a young age.
Within the trial, John nodded towards Seraphina, saying, "Thanks."
He only knew that Seraphina possessed a powerful class related to holy light, unaware of what her Holy Light Magus class signified.
But even if he did know, John wouldn't care much.
After all, no talent could surpass his All-Class Magus and Divine Favor Tome...
Seraphina shook her head, not saying much.
She simply stood behind John, ready to use her skills to heal and boost him at any moment.
John glanced at her, not bothering to insist that Seraphina leave.
Instead, he focused all his attention on fusing his skills.
With the amplification from Seraphina's Sacred Blessing, his mind power was enhanced, and the speed of the green and blue lights in his hands noticeably increased.
This time, John was fusing the Vine Thorn and Ground Spike skills.
Not only because these skills were relatively easier to fuse, but also because they could potentially counteract Lucas's regenerative abilities.
However, the actual effect remained to be seen in action.
Observing the seemingly well-coordinated duo, Lucas's face turned sour, his fists clenched so tightly they creaked.
He had known from the moment he met Seraphina that she might possess the Holy Light Magus, House Harris's inheritance class, so he wasn't surprised by that revelation.
What truly enraged Lucas was the fact that Seraphina would deign to assist such a lowly vermin!
In Lucas's mind, Seraphina was his forbidden fruit; even if he couldn't have her, he wouldn't allow anyone else to defile her!
"You both deserve to die!" Lucas roared, his body emitting a surge of blood that quickly formed a vast sea of blood above his head.
An intense stench of blood instantly filled the area.
Lucas's eyes were bloodshot, his sanity slipping away.
He pointed his blood sword at John, and arrows made of blood rapidly formed within the sea of blood.
In just the blink of an eye, a dense array of blood arrows appeared, their mere presence enough to make one's skin crawl.
"Bloodsea Arrow Rain!"