Huh? A skill trade? Misha couldn’t help but blink at the floating window.

"What are you looking at?" Gerbaut called out. "Are you going to stand there all day?"

Her eyes widened slightly before she glanced around. Nobody seemed to be reacting to the floating screen.

They couldn’t see it? Was it because of the screen’s color?

"Just give me a second," she quickly replied. "I’m just catching my breath."

"If this were a real battle, you wouldn’t have time to catch your breath."

"Then I’ll just pretend to be dead so I can catch my breath."

Nyxie ended up laughing out loud, while Yara chuckled at her retort.

Misha paid them little attention as she turned away from them and quietly glanced at the system window.

"You shouldn’t turn your back on the enemy." Gerbaut raised his brow.

"Good thing you’re not my enemy then. Please allow me a moment here, I’m currently gathering all the courage I can find."

"Can’t blame her." Nyxie placed a hand over her heart. "I’d want divine intervention before fighting that ugly mug too."

Gerbaut simply stared blankly at Nyxie.

Tuning out their conversation, Misha focused on the screen once again.

"Yes, I’ll do it," she whispered to herself.

「 Skill Selection Available:

- Weapon Mastery (R)

- Piercing Thrust (R)

- Swift Riposte (R) 」

Misha’s eyes moved across the list. [Piercing Thrust] and [Swift Riposte] looked powerful, however, she had never received any combat training.

Even if she had those skills, dodging, positioning, and timing would still be her responsibility. What she needed wasn’t a stronger attack, it was the ability to fight properly so this one was a no-brainer for someone like her. Even if the other two looked tempting, she lacked fundamental skills more than anything else.

"Weapon Mastery."

「 Acquiring [Weapon Mastery]...」

「 ERROR: SKILL CANNOT BE TRADE!! 」

「 ERROR!! ERROR!! 」

The screen flashed from gray to red. It was flickering so violently.

Another error?

A chill ran down her spine. This was the second time the system had displayed an error message in front of her. Whatever had caused it then, it couldn’t be a coincidence that it was happening again.

「Overwriting Protocol Initiated... 」

「 Congratulations! Trading Successful! 」

「 Skill Acquired: Weapon Mastery (R)

Description: A combat skill that grants foundational knowledge of any weapon held by the user.

Passive Effects:

• Grants combat knowledge and experience equivalent to Intermediate Mastery.

• Improves balance, coordination, and footwork.

• Increases weapon handling efficiency.

• Reduced stamina consumption while using a rapier.」

The moment the skill was activated, a sharp pain shot through her head.

"Argh..." She held her temple and winced.

A rush of foreign information flooded through her consciousness as if months of training had been compressed into a handful of seconds. It also felt more like someone had dumped an entire library into her head. Then, just as suddenly as it began, the sensation disappeared.

"What the hell was that...?"

As the flood of knowledge settled, Misha instinctively adjusted her grip. She rolled her wrist and the rapier suddenly felt like it was an extension of her hand while the dagger rested comfortably in her left hand.

She turned to face Gerbaut once more. Her shoulders relaxed, and her stance corrected itself. Even her footwork felt smoother. For the first time since drawing her weapons, she felt like she actually knew what she was doing. "Shall we begin round 2?"

Gerbaut studied her stance for a moment. "Ready?"

"Yes. Thankfully, I had a moment of clarity."

He twirled his pole once before settling into a low stance. "Come."

「 Passive Skill in Effect: Weapon Mastery 」

This time, Misha didn’t simply charge straight at him; her feet moved in a rhythm as she closed the distance.

Gerbaut immediately noticed the difference in her. Her stance was cleaner, and her balance was steadier. Most importantly, her movements no longer screamed beginner.

The wooden pole shot forward. Instead of panicking, Misha angled her dagger and redirected the strike to the side.

Clack!

The force traveled down her arm, but she held her ground, and before Gerbaut could recover, her rapier darted toward his shoulder. He twisted his body, and the blade missed a few inches.

Misha stepped in and thrust, then retreated, and thrust once again. The rapier’s point aimed towards his chest, throat, and shoulder in rapid succession, but Gerbaut managed to parry each attack with the shaft of his pole.

Tak! Tak! Tak!

Nyxie’s eyebrows rose. "She’s actually fencing now."

The corners of Yara’s lips smiled in amusement. "Yeah, that’s more like it."

Misha pressed her advantage.

That worked... why did that work?

Don’t question it, Misha. Just keep on attacking!

She feinted high with her rapier and struck with the dagger from below when Gerbaut moved to intercept. He knocked it aside with the middle of his pole and immediately retaliated.

Thunk!

The end of the staff struck Misha’s shoulder, making her stagger, but she refused to retreat. Her rapier lashed out once again. Rapier and dagger, rapier then dagger, a relentless chain of attacks forced Gerbaut to give ground several steps.

Yet the difference between them was beginning to show as Gerbaut suddenly shifted his grip.

Misha’s eyes widened when he began spinning the pole around his body.

Whack!

The shaft struck her dagger aside.

Whack!

The opposite slammed into her hand, making the rapier slip from her. It landed several feet away from her.

Before she could recover, the pole hooked behind her ankle and Gerbaut pulled.

The world flipped. But as she was thrown off her feet, Misha twisted midair and drew her last dagger from her back. Then she threw it.

「 Trait in Effect: Steady Hands 」

「 Projectile control refined. Impact probability increased. 」

Swoosh!

Gerbaut’s eyes slightly widened at first but he still managed to tilt his head just in time, but not completely. The blade grazed his cheek, leaving a thin cut.

Thump!

Misha crashed onto the ground once again.

Gerbaut rested the pole across her shoulder. "Match over."

"Yeah..." Breathing hard, she raised her gaze and stared at the sky above.

She had lost, but she didn’t feel bad about it since she knew exactly why. Gerbaut was stronger because he had spent years applying his techniques in real battles. Experience was the gap she still needed to overcome.

Yara walked towards her and reached out her hand. "Welcome to the team, Misha."

Misha stared at the hand for a moment before she took it. Yara pulled her up with surprising ease.

Her legs wobbled slightly as she stood while she continued to catch her breath.

Nyxie strolled over next to her with her hands over her head. "Not bad," she said with a satisfied grin. "You actually managed to hold your ground for a while."

Gerbaut picked up Misha’s fallen rapier and daggers, then walked over and held them out to her. "These are yours."

"Thank you..." Misha said, accepting her weapons.

"How many daggers do you even have?" Nyxie asked curiously, tilting her head.

"Just three... for emergency purposes."

Nyxie blinked before she nodded thoughtfully. "So one for offense, one for backup, and one for throwing? That’s a very specific kind of emergency plan."

Misha adjusted her weapons back into place on her body. "It’s flexible."

Elyes handed over her cloak. "Preparation is good."

"You did well for your first assessment." Yara’s gaze softened slightly as she stared at Misha. "Better than I expected, honestly."

Misha blinked. "That sounds like I was supposed to fail."

Nyxie snorted. "You kind of were."

"Nyxie," Yara warned lightly before turning back to Misha. "What I mean is... most recruits don’t adjust mid-fight like you did. You are quick to adapt and that’s the kind of member we need."

Yara offered her hand once again, this time more formally. "Welcome to Skyreach. From this point on, you’re one of us."