This test is too Freaking hard : Runesmith Class Part 1

This is where things shifted.

Keiji stepped into what he thought would be another arena…but the world did not open into sky or forest.

It descended.

Down into a deep dark hole.

He stood at the start of a staircase that hadn’t existed mere seconds ago. Its steps were created from obsidian blocks that were slightly darker but still visible from the darkness all around the walls. The walls were made of stone and disappeared as he descended, the air thickened, humming with a pressure that filled his chest. Between the steps, runes were suspended in the dark, each having different variations to their structure.

[SYSTEM NOTICE: Runesmith Protocol Active]
 Buffs: +60% Magna Control, +50% Crafting Insight, +300% All Attributes when wielding Runic Gear
Weapon Granted: None — forge your own power.
Objective: Defeat the Golem of the First Sigil
Bonus: Unlock Rune Weaving and Multi-Class Rune Access upon completion

Keiji stopped on the last step, scowling.

“No weapon? Are you kidding me? Am I supposed to punch a golem to death?”

But in truth was he could ask all the questions he wanted, the system offered no answers.

He was about to swear and turn back when he heard the voice of the System for the first time. the voice echoed directly in his mind, colder and deep.

[Runes are the bones of this world. Fire cannot become Water. Air will scatter Earth. Elements resist each other …. unless the Weaver commands.]

The air shifted, and heat raced up his forearm like hot chains wrapping bone. A burning mark carved itself into his skin — a jagged symbol, glowing red. The pain was sharp but… alive.

[Rune Acquired: Fire]

The voice continued.

[Rune Weavers command and bend Elemental Magna. Activation is the will to manifest.]

The heat spread through his veins until it felt like someone had poured liquid metal into his bloodstream. His arm ignited wildly, hungry flames curling to his right shoulder.
“Ahhh…shit! Stop! It fucking hurts!” He tried to smack at it uselessly, the flames only climbed higher.

[Activation Required: Assign an Activation Technique]

“Assign…? Come on, come on, stop…”

The pain was becoming unbearable, his skin started to burn.

[Activation required: Assign an Activation Technique]

His mind scrambled for something instinctive — something he could do without thinking. In frustration, he snapped his fingers — and the flames collapsed inward, folding tight against his arm like a piece of warm clothing instead of consuming it.

The pressure in his chest loosened and his pulse steadied.
He could feel the shape of the fire now, like muscle under his command.

[Activation Acquired: Snap to Ignite]

The System’s voice cut back in:

[Use Fire to Defeat the Minotaur]

From the shadows ahead came the sound of chains breaking. The Minotaur stepped into the half-light — its horns catching the glow of the runes above, steam gusting from its nostrils. The beast had no damage even though it looked similar to the one he had fought earlier.

It snorted and glared at him like it was on a revenge mission.

Keiji looked across at it, grinning. “Okay, let’s try this out.”

He drew in a deep breath, raised his hand, and snapped.
Flames curled up his arm instantly, controlled now, moving where he willed them.

“Alright… let’s dance, ugly.”

The Minotaur bellowed, charging—floor quaking beneath its steps.

Keiji sprinted forward, ducking under the first swing and driving a flaming uppercut into its chest. The impact flared heat across the beast’s body, forcing it back, but its counter came fast — a backhand the size of a battering ram that hurled Keiji across the darkness. He rolled, coughing dust and snapped again.

This time, he feinted — blasting fire into the air in front of the Minotaur’s eyes. While it flinched, he vaulted off a wall, landing on its right flank. His arm came down like a burning hammer into the base of its skull.

The explosion of heat blew his hair and him backwards. The Minotaur dropped, its mouth and cheekbone blackened into ash. Smoke curled from the crater on its face.

Before Keiji’s boots hit the ground, something cool cut across his skin, the fire in his arm dimmed and another rune etched itself onto his skin. It was a spiral-shaped grey-brownish rune.

[Rune Acquired: Air]

The sudden breeze coiled around his ankles. His body felt weightless as gravity let slip its grip on him. Like a falling leaf, he floated down to the ground.

Then the dark ceiling ripped open in a screech. The stairs he had walked shifted into platforms and the ceiling disappeared into grey skies.

The Arcwing Wyrm burst through, wings slicing the air.

[Objective: Defeat the Arcwing Wyrm]

Fire in his right arm. Air in his left leg.

Keiji grinned. “Alright, round two for you, too.”

[Magna Warning: Two active runes detected. Risk of Burnout increased]

Wind surged through his legs. carrying his steps across the floor, dodging the Wyrm’s hurricane blasts. Lightning crackled in the wind — the beast could wield two elements at once.

Keiji tried throwing some fireballs but they got split apart under a combined Air-Lightning strike, the blast slashing heat in half like scissors through silk.

The Wyrm swooped. Keiji sprinted up the wall, flipped backward — and in the air, caught his right hand to his right leg. Fire rune met Air rune.

The world seemed to hold its breath. Then …

[Rune Fusion Detected: Fire + Air → Scorched Crimson Devil]

The flames deepened into crimson, the heat sharpening until it hissed, the air around it warping like melting plastic.

“Okay, this I like.”

The Wyrm prepared a final dive. Keiji crouched, raised both hands, and the crimson fire swirled into a roaring vortex between his palms. The wind fed the heat until it screamed into a living spear of flame.

He snapped.

The blast tore across, shredding one of the Wyrm’s wings. It crashed into the far wall, bones breaking loud enough to echo. Smoke poured from its body before it dissolved to ash.

The platforms and sky immediately shifted again and Keiji was once again in another place, a lake stretched ahead, moonlight shimmering unnaturally on its surface.

“Water, huh. Guess that’s the next element.”

Keiji crouched and touched the surface. A ripple formed on the water, then climbed up his arm, coiling into his skin.

[Rune Acquired: Water]

The mark spread across his left palm, cool as silk.

He grinned. “Let’s see what you do with fire.”

He clapped both hands together — Fire rune in one, Water in the other. But the fusion didn’t happen like he thought, they rejected each other.

[Warning: Incompatible elements detected]

Steam exploded from his arms, skin blistering as the Water rune began burning. He staggered backward, his vision swimming. He plunged his arm into the lake — but the pain didn’t stop. It was like he was experiencing an invisible, unstoppable fire.

[Release Rune Advised]
“RELEASE! NOW!

The Water rune shattered into glowing fragments, dissolving into the lake.
[Rune Burnout: Water Released Successfully]

Keiji collapsed on his back, panting. “Yeah, okay, lesson learned. Fire and water … bad combo.”

From the lake, a dark shaped emerged, its tusks gleaming with wetness.

[Objective: Defeat the Shadowfang]

“Ah, come on. I can’t even rest for a second.”

The Shadowfang darted from the water, jaws aiming for his throat. Keiji dodged with Air, but his left arm was had lost its strength, pain searing deep.

[Hint: Shadowfang are weakened by water]

“Great, the only thing I can’t use right now.”

Keiji flipped onto a rock and pushed back with fire from his arm propelling him towards the water in a splash. The Shadowfang stopped its tracks before the water and circled ,snarling.

“Yeah. Stay back, you dumb creature.”