Forged Destiny [Book 9: Ch. 6]

"But my Swordmaster Class is a melee Class."

"Is it?" Blake asked. "Last I checked, your Skills didn't work like Adam's, even if you share the same names for them. His cut through people and Grimm. Yours cut through weapons and armour." She clicked her fingers. "Ferromancy. You're a Mage, Jaune. A very specific and targeted Mage who can disarm an army with a wave of a sword."

That… Was that accurate? Could a Class be split in two directions at once? Path was the obvious answer and explained how some Warriors could be pure tanks, while others were damage dealers. The same applied to Mages, who could specialise in all sorts of different things. In theory, your Path dictated what you became, and you chose your Path through the actions you took in life.

Adam's Path as a Swordmaster saw him becoming a warrior versatile against Grimm and people. My Path had led be to become, if Blake was right, a Mage of some kind? A Mage who specialised in swords and armour? It would explain why my Skills were so stupid. They weren't the problem; I'd just been using them wrong. Instead of trying to cut people down, I should have been disarming them.

I wasn't a Swordmaster in terms of being a master of the sword. I was a Swordmaster in terms of being a `master` of swords. Someone who could make and break them at will; who could craft, enhance and manipulate them with spells poorly disguised as melee attacks. In a way, it was so obvious. I'd gained my Swordmaster Class against Cinder when I forged the sword stuck through my chest, gaining levels in the process.

My Path couldn't have dictated that as something combat related. It was crafting, pure and simple. I was a Blacksmith before I was a Swordmaster, and even as a Swordmaster my Blacksmithing was the Path I'd chosen. Every Skill I had would have been factored around that path. If I didn't have any Skills as Blacksmith to help me in melee, I wouldn't have any as a Swordmaster.

"It doesn't help," I realised. Even as my heart soared, it fell. "If this was against Mistral, I'd be the most useful person ever, but we're against the Grimm. They don't use weapons or armour. I'm the Archmage of Uselessness."

—Forged Destiny [Book 9: Ch. 6]