Chapter 47 - 46: The 3 Major Principles of a Mage

Chapter 47: Chapter 46: The 3 Major Principles of a Mage

First were the two books placed at the very top of the wooden box, which had been taken out right at the start. Their titles were clearly marked on the covers: the *Apprentice Guidance Technique* and the *Apprentice Meditation Technique*.

Gaode picked up the two books and flipped through them. After confirming they didn’t differ from the Cultivation Technique in his memory, he set them back down.

It seemed Mage Seda wasn’t insidious enough to secretly hold back information when teaching the apprentices their Cultivation Technique. Of course, it was far more likely that Mage Seda had simply never taken these street urchins seriously in the first place. He certainly wouldn’t have expected anyone among them to possess the ability to threaten him.

When Gaode read the title of the thinner book, his heart pounded with excitement.

*Mage Apprentice Manual: Introduction to Magic*.

It was an introductory book for Mage Apprentices. Though it seemed unremarkable, it was exactly what Gaode needed most right now.

Mage Seda had never treated the apprentices as his true students, so he had never properly taught them any Mage knowledge. Despite the fact that Gaode had already mastered five Magics, his understanding of the Mage World was no different from a commoner’s; he was completely in the dark.

This was like learning a foreign language by only memorizing phonetic transcripts—it might look convincing on the surface, but without building a proper foundation of knowledge, the learning process would only become more strenuous, and he would inevitably fall behind.

With this in mind, Gaode flipped open the book with great interest.

A striking line of text on the title page caught his eye: *The Three Great Principles of Mages*.

This term wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to Gaode, as Amy had previously told him one of the three principles: *Never let others know your Magic.*

Initially, Gaode had only half-understood it. He knew the logic of "Know Thyself and Thy Enemy, and you will win a hundred battles," but he hadn’t understood why Magic was considered so crucial, let alone why it was listed as one of the Three Great Principles of Mages.

But after the Magical Duel with Mage Seda, Gaode had finally gained a profound appreciation for this saying. If he hadn’t known that Mage Seda had mastered the Flaming Arrow Magic, how could he have come up with the lethal trap of a dust explosion? If he hadn’t known in advance that Mage Seda possessed Flash Magic, he would have died on the spot from the Mage’s Magic combo.

Magic was a Mage’s lifeblood!

Because of this, Gaode was filled with curiosity about the complete Three Great Principles. His gaze moved downward:

1. Knowledge is power.

2. Never let others know your Magic.

3. Although Magic is omnipotent, Magic is not omnipotent.

...

"Huh?"

The complete Three Great Principles left Gaode feeling somewhat baffled. He could somewhat understand the first principle, "Knowledge is power"—although from his current perspective, it would be more accurate to call it "Knowledge is money."

He already had a deep understanding of the second principle, "Never let others know your Magic." However, he felt that, more accurately, it should be phrased as "Never let others know *all* your Magic."

Since a Mage possessed Extraordinary Power, it was impossible for them to never engage in Casting. As long as they cast Magic, it was inevitable that others would notice. Therefore, completely hiding all of one’s Magic was absolutely impossible, but it was absolutely true that one must never expose their entire arsenal.

To achieve this, one had to approach it from two angles: either be sufficiently cautious, or have an abundantly rich reserve in one’s own Magic Library.

However, the third principle—"Although Magic is omnipotent, Magic is not omnipotent"—was somewhat difficult for Gaode to comprehend. It seemed similar to the classic saying from his previous life, "Money isn’t omnipotent." But after pondering it carefully, he felt the meaning was completely different.

After mulling it over for a while without figuring it out, Gaode firmly memorized these three principles. He stopped overthinking and turned to the next page of the book.

*What is Magic?*

The heading was eye-catching.

"A Magic is an independent Magic Effect.

"It is a process of reshaping the Magic Power permeating the world and manifesting it in a specific area in a specific manner.

"Magic can serve as a convenient tool, a necessity for survival, a weapon, or a Protective Barrier.

"They can inflict or heal wounds, create or dispel specific conditions, drain or bestow Life Force. They can create or destroy everything.

"Magic is omnipotent!"

This could be considered the general outline of the book. Gaode’s heart and spirit fluttered, moved by this academically rigorous yet incredibly boastful introduction.

Could Magic truly be omnipotent? Who knew? Either way, a Mage Apprentice definitely wasn’t.

Knowing his own limits, Gaode continued reading.

"Magic Ring Tier.

"Every Magic belongs to one of the tiers from the 0th Ring to the 9th Ring, although a 9th Ring Magic has yet to appear.

"A Magic’s Ring Tier generally indicates its Strength and complexity, but Low-tier Magic remains incredibly wondrous, such as the 1st Ring Magic, *Magic Missile*.

"Even among the 0th Ring Magics, which High-tier Mages often refuse to acknowledge, there are classic Magics like *Mage’s Hand*—amusingly, those very High-tier Mages who don’t recognize 0th Ring Magic as real Magic find it almost indispensable in their daily lives...

"..."

The division of Magic Ring Tiers was common knowledge that Gaode already possessed, but there were details he hadn’t known.

A 9th Ring Magic had yet to appear... According to the correlation between Mage Levels and Magic Ring Tiers, did this mean the Mage World did not yet have a 9th Ring Mage, and the most powerful beings were 8th Ring Mages?

Gaode’s thoughts drifted as he couldn’t help but wonder. Wondering was one thing, but he couldn’t dwell on it. Existences at the apex of the world, like 8th Ring Mages and 9th Ring Mages, were not something a First-class Mage Apprentice like him should waste time pondering.

He read on.

"Magic Rules.

"When anyone casts Magic, they must follow the same set of rules: Casting Time, Casting Distance, and Magic duration.

"Casting Time is the time a Mage requires to channel the Magic Model.

"Normally, the higher the Ring Tier of the Magic, the more complex and massive the Magic Model. The time spent channeling it increases, making the Casting Time longer.

"However, this is not absolute. Some Magics have a low Ring Tier but might require several minutes or even hours to cast.

"Some Mages possess special talents, allowing them to cast Magic in a very short time or even via an Instant Cast...

"Casting Distance: A Magic’s target must be within its Casting Distance. For Magics like *Magic Missile*, the target is a creature, whereas for Magics like *Fireball Skill*, the target is a point in space.

"There are also some Magics that only affect the Caster themselves; the Casting Distance for these Magics is ’Self.’

"However, once a Magic is cast, the area of effect of its Magic Effect is no longer restricted by the Casting Distance, except for certain specific Magics...

"...

"Magic duration is the length of time the Magic remains effective.

"The duration varies greatly between different Magics. It can be measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, or even years.

"Some Magics will even last until they are actively destroyed!

"Many Magics are instantaneous. These Magics instantly deal damage, provide Healing, create, or alter a creature or object in some way. Because their duration is only an instant, the consequences they produce cannot be dispelled afterward...

"..."