Death inside the arena did not mean true death.
Instead, the moment someone died, they would simply be ejected from the arena.
Legend said this was the divine authority of the War God, protecting every fighter within the arena.
[Enjoy the battle to your heart's content! Fight endlessly and revel in combat!]
Rei looked up at the enormous words carved above the gate.
After a moment of thought, he decided to first head toward the Spectator Gate.
[Level 3 Warrior: Frost King — Frozen Domain | 1v1 Duel | 10 Win Streak — Losers call me Daddy]
[Level 2: Mist Nation — Newbie Assassin Looking to Get Beaten, Anyone Welcome]
[Level 2 Warrior: Life Spring — No rookies, Warriors only]
[Level 4 Mage: Land of Lava — No assassins allowed. Assassins will be kicked immediately. 5 Win Streak.]
…
Most of the rooms were created by Level 2–3 combat classes.
There were far fewer rooms hosted by Level 4 fighters or above.
That made sense.
Level 4 was a major threshold.
Out of a thousand people, it was impressive if two or three managed to reach Level 4.
Level 3, on the other hand, was something most people could eventually reach with enough effort—it was mostly a matter of time.
Besides, not everyone even chose a combat class.
The reason Rei encountered so many combat classes was mainly because they gathered around places like the Adventurer's Guild.
In reality, those who selected combat as their primary profession only made up about 5% to 10% of the total population.
In Rain Town, there were only around a hundred permanent adventurers.
But because of the continent's overall population, Level 4 professionals weren't exactly rare either.
It was Level 5 that was truly scarce.
He had heard that reaching Level 5 meant undergoing a fundamental transformation of one's life form.
Some arena rooms had already begun their matches, while others were still open, waiting for challengers.
Rei thought about it for a moment.
Iz had once said that classes naturally countered one another.
For mages, the most dangerous opponents were assassins, as well as archers who could attack from outside spell range.
The last time he had faced an assassin, he had nearly been caught off guard.
Maybe it would be a good idea to observe how assassins fought.
Rei scanned the room listings and found one.
[Level 4 Assassin: Mist Nation — 1v2 | Skilled opponents welcome.]
One versus two?
That sounded confident.
Let's watch this one.
As for the small skirmishes between Level 2 assassins…
Rei wasn't particularly interested.
The skills and techniques of a Level 4 assassin were basically the advanced versions of everything a Level 2 assassin could do.
Rei selected the arena.
With a shift of his thoughts—
His consciousness seemed to enter a mist-covered complex of buildings.
The structures were uneven in height and stacked across the landscape.
It strangely reminded him of Chongqing from his previous life.
But unlike that city, this place was filled with dense, drifting mist, severely limiting visibility.
However, as a spectator, Rei could still clearly see every detail of the map through the fog.
It was quite a fascinating experience.
After he entered, the arena match was just beginning to gather participants.
A Level 4 archer and a Level 4 warrior had arrived.
The warrior wielded a greatsword and stared at the assassin ahead of them.
"Taking on two opponents by yourself?"
"Let's see if you're really that impressive."
The Level 4 assassin stood silently in the distance, partially concealed by mist.
She didn't waste words.
She simply said calmly,
"Prepare."
A faint green light flickered over the two challengers.
[Preparation Complete]
Moments later, the green glow turned into a flashing red.
The signal that the battle was about to begin.
The Level 4 assassin quietly stepped backward.
Within two seconds, she vanished from the vision of both opponents.
Assassin Specialty — Stealth
When enemies lose direct visual contact, the assassin gradually erases their sense of presence. In this state, they become extremely difficult to detect visually. However, the larger the movement performed while in stealth, the more their presence increases.
All assassins possessed the Stealth specialty.
But there were also many ways to break stealth.
The archer immediately raised his longbow toward the sky.
He was preparing to fire Detection Arrow.
But before the arrow could even be released—
A flash of cold light appeared.
[Tier 4 Combat Technique — Piercing Thorn]
Pshhk!
The dagger pierced directly through the archer's throat.
Blood sprayed into the air.
So close.
And incredibly fast.
After entering stealth, the assassin had already moved into their blind spot.
While the two stood back-to-back, she had silently navigated along the edge of their vision gap, approaching the archer unnoticed.
One strike.
Instant kill.
Rei's heart tightened as he watched.
Assassins were far more dangerous than he had imagined.
If that had been him…
Would he have noticed?
His danger perception might have triggered in time.
But if an assassin attempted to kill him without him realizing they were there…
Would he truly be able to react?
Rei quietly reflected on his own methods.
After killing the archer, the victim hadn't quite died yet and attempted to retaliate with a final attack.
But the warrior's sword came crashing forward in pursuit of the assassin!
Ironically, that strike ended up blocking his own archer's last counterattack.
Clang!
The warrior's blade collided with the assassin.
Using the force of the impact, the assassin was knocked backward—
And disappeared into the mist once again.
The warrior's expression turned serious.
He suddenly raised his head and roared.
"Ah!"
"Hah!"
"HAAAA—!"
Rei had no idea why he was shouting like that.
But it was obvious his aura was rising.
His skin gradually turned deep red.
Ah.
A warrior's battle shout.
But…
The assassin was already standing right behind him.
And the warrior was still busy roaring at the sky.
Pshhk!
The dagger plunged straight into the warrior's back, piercing his heart.
The assassin twisted the blade.
The heart was instantly shredded.
Thud.
The warrior collapsed to the ground.
Rei twitched slightly.
What was the point of all that shouting earlier?
Was he made of paper?
The assassin had used only two strikes from beginning to end.
Clean.
Efficient.
Decisive.
Rei couldn't fully gauge her depth, but he had gained a clearer understanding of assassin tactics.
Afterward, Rei watched several more arena matches.
Some rooms even required payment to spectate.
Twenty silver coins per match.
So this was also a money-making method.
Rei thought about it for a moment.
Then paid.
The match was between a Level 4 warrior and a Level 4 mage.
Perhaps because his own main class was Mage, Rei couldn't help frowning slightly while watching the mage fight.
He had grown used to chantless spellcasting.
Watching someone chant during high-intensity combat felt… strange.
In battles where the situation changed every second, they still had to stand there reciting incantations.
"Prison of Ten Thousand Trees — Bind!"
"Heaven-Shaking Inferno — Sweep!"
"Thunder of Ruination — Strike!"
BOOM!
The distance between them was about five hundred meters.
The moment the battle began, the warrior sprinted directly toward the mage.
But halfway through—
Countless thick vines erupted from the ground, blocking his path.
When he tried to circle around from the side—
A massive tornado of fire suddenly rose in his way.
Then dozens of lightning spheres appeared, relentlessly pursuing him.
Although the mage needed to chant, he didn't seem nearly as passive as Rei had imagined.
His chants were clearly shortened.
It was hard to tell whether this was due to his staff's effects or because he had trained the spell's proficiency to Level 5 or higher.
In the end—
The mage won.
Crowd control.
Damage.
Maintaining distance.
Setting traps.
One spell after another formed a continuous chain.
The fight was actually quite entertaining to watch.
After that, Rei watched several more battles from other classes.
In one-on-one duels, you almost never saw Guardians or Healers.
After all, if their only role was to endure attacks, their defeat was merely a matter of time.
Once Rei had gained a rough understanding of how the various classes fought—
He exited the Spectator Gate.
Then he walked toward the Combatant Gate.
"HAA—!"[Indomitable Spirit: Resist mental corruption and strengthen willpower.]
"HA!"[Iron Body: Increases the body's resistance to physical attacks.]
"HAA—"[Anti-Magic Body: Increases the body's resistance to magical attacks.]
"AH!"[Strength Boost: Increases Strength.]
"AH!!"[Advanced Strength Boost: Increases Strength significantly.]
"AH!!!"[Superior Strength Boost: Increases Strength enormously.]