[The best way would be to lower their health below 25% and then humiliate them publicly. Demons are prideful creatures who value hierarchy and dominance above all else. Making them appear weak, foolish, or incompetent in front of their subordinates will trigger an enraged state more reliably than mere damage.]

Jack's grin widened as the information was relayed to him. 'Perfect. I can work with that.'

"Is this the demon presence I detected?" Permafrost's voice carried across the battlefield, dripping with contempt. "Looks like a flimsy human."

The lesser demons erupted into laughter, their mocking voices echoing off the stone.

The fire demons' amusement came out as crackling roars, while the ice demons' laughter sounded like breaking glass.

"Brother said this one killed Cho!" one of the fire demons wheezed between fits of laughter. "That weakling probably died of embarrassment!"

"Maybe the human just asked nicely and Cho exploded from shame!" another added, sparking fresh waves of mockery.

Jack said nothing, simply standing with his Lightning Spear held loosely in one hand.

Their arrogance would make the lesson more memorable.

Permafrost raised one crystalline hand, and the laughter died instantly. "Enough. Kill the human quickly. I want his head delivered to my brother within the hour."

The lesser demons surged forward as one.

Fire demons bounded across the rocky terrain, leaving trails of molten stone in their wake.

Ice demons slowly moved towards Jack, freezing the ground with each step.

The ice demons reached Jack's position first.

They raised their hands in unison, and the temperature plummeted so fast that Jack's breath turned to frost.

"Ice Dome!"

Walls of crystalline ice erupted from the ground, growing at impossible speeds to form a massive hemisphere around Jack.

The structure was easily thirty meters in diameter and fifteen meters high, its walls thick enough to trap a large beast inside.

The fire demons poured through gaps in the forming dome, their flame auras creating violent reactions with the ice.

Steam exploded from the walls, slowly obscuring everything in sight, while the temperature differential made the air itself shimmer and distort.

Then the dome sealed completely, cutting off Jack's view of the outside world and trapping him inside with thirty-three demons who thought they had the advantage.

Jack looked around at the assembled creatures, noting their confident postures and grins.

Fire demons clustered on one side, ice demons on the other, both groups radiating fury that turned the enclosed space into a coming storm.

"You stupid creatures," Jack said softly, his voice carrying perfectly in the confined space. "I'm not trapped in here with you."

He activated Lightning Embrace, and blue electricity erupted along his spear's length in crackling sheets of power.

The weapon hummed a sound like chirping birds, every inch of the blade wreathed in lightning that cast dancing shadows across the ice walls.

"You are trapped in here with me."

'System, switch classes. Spearman and Arc Mage.'

[Classes Changed!]

[Spearman (MAX) | Arc Mage Level 8]

[Spear Synergy active: All spear damage ×2]

[Spear Mastery active: Enhanced technique and control]

The change was immediate and profound.

Jack's grip on the Lightning Spear shifted subtly, his stance adjusting for what was about to happen.

The weapon felt different now, not just a tool for channeling magic, but an extension of his body.

The fire demons attacked first, perhaps emboldened by their numbers or simply too arrogant to recognize the danger.

Ten of them rushed forward in a coordinated assault, their claws extended and flame auras blazing hot enough to turn sand to glass.

Jack bolted across the room.

His agility made the world slow around him.

The 30% speed boost from his equipment and Thunder Mantle meant he was faster than anything in the dome.

The fire demons' attacks, which should have been blindingly quick, seemed almost sluggish to him.

He sidestepped the first demon's lunge with minimal effort, his spear already moving in a controlled thrust that caught the creature in its exposed ribs.

The Lightning Spear punched through demonic flesh like it was paper, blue electricity flooding the wound and cooking the demon from the inside.

[-1,067 HP]

The fire demon's scream was cut short as Jack twisted the blade and ripped it free in a spray of dark blood and crackling energy. The creature collapsed, its flame aura guttering out like a candle in a hurricane.

Two more demons closed from his flanks. Jack spun his spear in a tight arc, the butt of the weapon catching one demon across the jaw hard enough to shatter bone while the blade carved a deep line across the other's chest.

[-1,067 HP]

[-1,067 HP]

The impacts sent both demons staggering, their flame auras flickering with their pain.

But Jack didn't give them time to recover. He activated Spear Barrage, and his weapon became a blur of controlled violence.

Three thrusts in rapid succession, each strike faster than the last.

[-1,334 HP]

[-1,334 HP]

[-1,334 HP]

Both fire demons dropped like puppets with cut strings, their bodies smoking from internal lightning burns and the catastrophic trauma of having their vitals perforated by electrically charged steel.

But the assault didn't stop. The remaining fire demons and ice demons spread out, trying to surround him, their previous arrogance giving way to caution.

'Good. It'll make breaking them more satisfying.'

An ice demon lunged from his left, frost gathering around its claws in preparation for a freezing strike.

Jack dropped low under the attack, his reflexes making the movement effortless, and thrust his spear upwards.

"Piercing Strike!"

The technique was designed for maximum penetration, concentrating all of Jack's strength into a single devastating point.

The Lightning Spear punched through the ice demon's chest cavity and emerged from its back in an explosion of crystalline shards and dark blood.

[-3,201 HP]

A couple drops of demon blood splattered into Jack's mouth.

'Is this demon blood? It tastes kinda sweet. That's weird.'

[Demonic Essence +1]

'Wait, I can gain demonic essence from blood too?!'

[Yes consuming demon hearts, demon blood, or demon meat will allow you to absorb more Demonic Essence.]

[My suggestion would be to consume all the demon hearts in this dome. You will have a very hard time dealing with a pack of nightmare creatures.]

'I never said I was okay with becoming a demon!'

[Whats the worst that can happen? You would just become stronger, and strengthen your body beyond mortal limits, and get access to new skills and classes.]

'Hold on..... I can get classes and skills if I consume demons.'

[Yes Jack, anything is possible in this world. My suggestion would be to seek out Dreknar the Black Flame.]

'Dreknar the Black Flame??? Who the hell is that??'

[Dreknar is the oldest Demon Lord in existence. He was once human, that turned into a demon, and than killed the previous God of Demons]

'Wait... you telling me someone killed a god??'

[Yes. It is possible given enough strength.]

The lifesteal from his Sanguine Accelerator activated immediately, converting 10% of the magic damage into healing.

Since his spear carried Lightning Embrace's enhancement, the attack counted as magic damage. Jack felt warmth flood through his body as 320 health points restored themselves, erasing minor cuts and bruises he'd accumulated.

Even amongst a large scale battle Jack was undergoing, he was having a detailed conversation with the system.

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