Chapter 13: The Heart of a Strong Person (Part 2)
Still calling for recommendation votes. As a new book, I desperately need recommendation votes!
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During dinner, the three members of the Baruch family and the butler ‘Hiri’ dined together. Little Wharton was lively at the table, keeping the living room filled with laughter. After dinner, when the old butler Hiri carried Wharton off to bed, Linley began to talk with his father, Hogg.
“By the way, Father, which is stronger, a magician or a warrior?” Linley inquired.
Hogg glanced at Linley, smiled, then shook his head. “Linley, magicians and warriors each have their own strengths. In terms of pure power, a magician and a warrior of the same level—the magician should be slightly superior. Most importantly… magicians hold a much higher status than warriors, about one grade above. For example, that eighth-rank dual-element magician just now, in terms of status alone, even a ninth-rank warrior would be slightly inferior to him.”
“If their power is only slightly superior, why is there such a big difference in status?” Linley was puzzled.
Hogg laughed and said, “Before that, you need to understand the ranking of magicians. Magicians are divided into nine ranks: first and second rank are elementary magicians, third and fourth rank are intermediate magicians, fifth and sixth rank are advanced magicians. Above that, the seventh, eighth, and ninth ranks—these three levels are all extremely terrifying. Of course, above ninth-rank magicians, there are also Saint-level magicians!”
“The reason magicians have such high status is because of their immense destructive power.” Hogg picked up a glass of fruit juice and took a light sip as he spoke.
“Destructive power?” Linley looked at his father.
Hogg set down the glass and nodded. “A warrior, even a Dragonblood Warrior, can only kill nearly a hundred enemies with one sword strike. Facing a million-strong army, at most they can kill the commander. But if one commander dies, the enemy can replace him with a new one. What about a Saint-level magician? A single forbidden spell can destroy an entire city, annihilating hundreds of thousands of troops. If hundreds of thousands of soldiers are wiped out, what use is the commander even if he’s still alive? To a nation, a Saint-level magician is more terrifying than an entire army.”
Linley suddenly understood.
“Never mind Saint-level magicians—even eighth-rank and ninth-rank magicians can unleash astonishing power in war. That’s why magicians hold such an exalted status.” Hogg said with a faint smile.
Linley nodded gently.
In the Yulan continent, where ‘war’ was the central theme, it was easy to see why magicians held such a high position.
“Oh, by the way, Father, I remember reading in a book that magicians have weaker bodies compared to warriors. But earlier, I saw that magician jump lightly off the back of a Swift Dragon. That… would you say his body is weak?” Linley pressed further.
Hogg replied, “Let’s set that aside for a moment. Linley, you should know that ordinary people on the Yulan continent have a lifespan of about one hundred twenty to one hundred thirty years. Powerful magicians and warriors generally live longer, usually two to three hundred years, sometimes even three to four hundred years. The maximum human lifespan is five hundred years. Only by reaching the legendary Saint domain can one attain an extremely long, nearly infinite life.”
Linley nodded.
He had read about this in books before.
“But Linley, do you know why powerful magicians and warriors live longer?” Hogg asked immediately.
Linley was stunned.
He had taken it for granted that powerful magicians and warriors lived three to four hundred years, never thinking about the reason.
Seeing Linley’s expression, Hogg couldn’t help but laugh. “Linley, first I need to tell you that the world contains elemental attributes like fire, water, wind, earth, lightning, light, and darkness. Both magicians and warriors absorb the elements of the world to train. This is why both magic and battle qi have elemental distinctions. If you observe carefully, you’ll notice that among the four male warriors in the mercenary squad earlier, the red-haired leader’s battle qi was fire-attributed. Among the other three, there was wind-attributed battle qi and water-attributed battle qi… Battle qi has attributes, and magic does too!”
For the first time since birth, Linley understood that… magicians and warriors actually absorbed the same world elements.
“The reason powerful magicians and warriors live longer is that when magicians absorb the world’s elements into their bodies and refine them into ‘magical power,’ those elements flow through the body and are naturally absorbed by the organs, muscles, and bones. This improves the magician’s physique. The better the physique, the longer the lifespan. By the same logic—warriors training in battle qi also absorb the world’s elements, refining them into ‘battle qi’ within the body. As the elements circulate, they also improve the physique. The stronger the warrior, the better the physique, and naturally, the longer the lifespan.” Hogg explained everything clearly.
Linley had a sudden epiphany.
According to his father, a magician’s body was also improved by the world’s elements, making it quite robust.
“Father, then why do people say magicians have weak bodies?” Linley asked in confusion.
Hogg shook his head. “Can’t you figure that out? Saying a magician’s body is weak doesn’t mean it’s actually weak—it’s just that compared to a warrior of the same rank, their body becomes a ‘weakness.’ For example, an eighth-rank magician, even without training their body, can still match a second- or third-rank warrior. But compared to an eighth-rank warrior, the eighth-rank magician’s body is the weaker point.”
Linley slapped his forehead and gave an embarrassed smile.
Such a simple question, and he hadn’t figured it out. His thinking really had become rigid.
“However, although magicians are weak in close combat, they have ways to deal with it. One is to cast defensive spells, like ‘Earth Shield,’ ‘Ice Shield,’ ‘Wind Shield,’ ‘Light Shield,’ and so on… first use defensive magic to block, then attack with offensive magic!”
“Another method for powerful magicians is to tame ‘magical beasts’!”
Hearing this, Linley’s eyes lit up.
Linley also wanted to tame a magical beast, like a powerful Swift Dragon.
“A strong magical beast is enough to protect the magician, preventing enemies from getting close. This way, the magician can unleash powerful magic and kill the opponent directly.” Hogg said with a smile.
Linley immediately asked eagerly, “Father, how do you tame a magical beast?”
Seeing Linley’s expression, Hogg couldn’t help but smile. “To tame a magical beast, you need two conditions. First, you must make the beast willingly submit to you. Second, you must set up a soul contract magic array to make the beast your servant.”
“The first condition is very difficult. To make a magical beast willingly submit, you probably have to defeat it in a fair fight to earn its submission. For example, if you want to tame a Swift Dragon, you must first defeat the Swift Dragon.” His father’s words left Linley speechless.
He wanted to tame a Swift Dragon, but did he have the strength to defeat one?
“The second condition is setting up the soul contract magic array. This magic array is very troublesome. At the very least, you need to be a seventh-rank magician to have enough power to set it up.” Hogg said solemnly.
Linley was stunned. “Father, according to you… only seventh-rank magicians or higher can tame magical beasts?”
“No, not necessarily. If you have enough money, you can buy a ‘Soul Contract’ scroll. Then you just need to tear it, and it will directly form a ‘Soul Contract Magic Array.’ However, ‘Soul Contract’ scrolls are very expensive.” Hogg gave a self-deprecating smile.
“How expensive?” Linley pressed.
“The last I heard, it was ten thousand gold coins per scroll, and even then, it’s hard to find on the market.” Hogg’s words made Linley inwardly bitter.
To tame a magical beast, the hardest part was defeating it.
Of course, you could tame a weak magical beast, but what use would that be? If you wanted to tame a strong one, did you have the ability to defeat it? And if you used tricks, how could you make the beast willingly submit?
Willing submission—that was no simple matter.
And the seemingly secondary second condition—setting up the soul contract magic array—also determined that only powerful magicians or wealthy people could tame magical beasts. Spending ten thousand gold coins on a single ‘Soul Contract’ magic scroll was something even nobles with substantial wealth wouldn’t dare to be so extravagant.
Linley pursed his lips and furrowed his brows slightly.
“If I really want to tame a magical beast, given our family’s financial situation, my only path is to become a seventh-rank magician first, and then tame one.” Linley thought to himself. He also knew this path was very difficult.
The first hurdle on this path was—whether he had the ‘talent’ to become a magician!
After all, it was only a one-in-ten-thousand hope. If he didn’t even have the talent, then becoming a magician would be completely impossible.