Chapter 130 - 129: Orthodox Mage

Chapter 130: Chapter 129: Orthodox Mage

"Hmm... While some of the details aren’t quite accurate, all in all, your captain knows a fair bit."

Fevik nodded after hearing Hesia’s summary of his understanding of Professionals, a sign of her approval for Hulk’s insight.

"I’ll start with your questions about Sorcerers."

"A Sorcerer’s power is indeed an inborn talent."

"As for your question—can a Sorcerer learn a Mage’s magic?"

"They can. Just like any intelligent being, as long as your Wisdom Attribute meets the learning threshold, you can theoretically master it. But—"

"It’s completely unnecessary and might even cause a conflict. Sorcerers rely on instinct, while Mages rely on knowledge and Logic."

"It’s like asking a Barbarian who believes in ’Frenzy Power’ to strictly abide by the oaths of a Holy Knight. By the time he stops to consider whether swinging his axe aligns with ’honor,’ ’compassion,’ and ’justice,’ that primal rage inside him would have probably fizzled out."

Hesia understood.

’Looks like equipping the [Weak Red Dragon Bloodline] term really isn’t necessary for the Mage path I’ve already started on.’

’In that case, I’ll just give this term to Bruce, as I planned.’

’Perfect. That silly dog is always dreaming about breathing fire anyway.’

"Teacher, then how do Sorcerers improve their abilities? Don’t they need to learn any skills?"

"They don’t," Fevik answered crisply. "In my view, you can think of Sorcerers as a special type of ’Demon.’ As long as they successfully awaken their bloodline, they’re considered Professionals. Their power grows naturally over time as their bloodline purifies, just like a Giant Dragon grows stronger with age."

’When you put it like that, I guess it makes sense.’

’To become a Professional just by awakening... that kind of heaven-sent fortune is truly enough to drive ordinary people, struggling just to get a foot in the door, mad with envy.’

But the envy stopped there.

’Given the choice, I would never entrust my future to a power I couldn’t actively control.’

’I’d much rather hold my destiny firmly in my own hands—and the path of a Mage is the best way to achieve that "control."’

And then, he suddenly grasped a more crucial point.

’My Term Extraction ability lets me continuously acquire all sorts of powerful talents!’

’A Sorcerer is trapped by a single bloodline their entire life, but I can have countless ones!’

’And this isn’t a parallel path to a Mage’s power; it’s a match made in heaven!’

’A Mage’s bizarre and varied magic is like an all-encompassing, universal toolbox.’

’No matter what unexpected term I draw, I can probably find the most suitable "tool" in that toolbox to pair it with, creating a wondrous synergy where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’

Sensing the unshakable determination in Hesia’s eyes, the corners of Fevik’s lips curved into a satisfied smile.

"Just as your captain said, once you meet certain conditions, you’ll feel the call of a Profession."

"But you don’t need to worry about choosing the wrong one. You can simply choose not to answer the calls of Professions you don’t desire and wait patiently until you meet the awakening requirements for a Mage."

She held up three fingers. "The conditions to awaken as a Mage are: 58 points in Wisdom, and maxing out your proficiency in three basic spells: [Mage’s Hand], [Mage Armor], and [Magic Missile]."

Hesia recalled how Fevik, while teaching him [Mage’s Hand], had cursed his "non-existent teacher" for being irresponsible.

’So that’s why. These three skills are the cornerstones of the Mage path, the absolute fundamentals.’

’As for the 58 points of Wisdom...’

"Teacher, how much Wisdom in total do those three skills provide at max level?"

"If you can reach maximum proficiency in all of them, each skill will provide 15 points of Wisdom, for a total of 45."

"The starting requirement for learning Mage skills is usually 11 Wisdom. Doesn’t that mean basically anyone could awaken after mastering them?" Hesia asked, surprised.

"Learning them isn’t that hard, of course. The key is mastering them."

"It’s not something you can achieve just by locking yourself in a room and practicing desperately. It requires time, resources, and talent. An ordinary person has a pathetic amount of Magic Power. How many times can they practice each day? Especially you humans, with your short lifespans. You might be practicing until your beard turns white just to master one basic spell."

She glanced at Hesia. "However, you managed to grind a spell like the [Earth Spike Technique] all the way to level 3. For you, these three basic spells shouldn’t be much of a problem."

’The only reason I leveled up the [Earth Spike Technique] so quickly was thanks to [Earth Affinity],’ Hesia thought.

’But with my Magic Power recovery speed, plus the ability to increase Skill Proficiency by killing Demons, I shouldn’t have to wait until I’m old to learn them, right?’

’Or... could there be a "hidden Profession" related to Earth Magic with a more suitable threshold for me?’

He voiced his question about hidden Professions.

"Absolutely not. It’s pointless," Fevik shot down the idea immediately. "I advise you not to take that path. Most of those so-called ’hidden Professions’ are just minor branches of mainstream Professions. They might offer some seemingly unique specializations, but they also severely limit your future potential."

"You’d essentially be gambling away infinite possibilities for a narrow future. The orthodox ’Mage’ Profession, on the other hand, is like a wide, grand avenue. Its destination is far higher than what you’ll find at the end of those little side paths."

She seemed to want to say more but stopped herself, just waving a hand. "Anyway, just listen to me on this. You definitely won’t go wrong."

Seeing how resolute she was, Hesia didn’t press the issue. "Okay, Teacher. I understand."

"It’s getting late," Fevik said, floating up from the sofa. "Find some free time soon and come over; I’ll teach you the remaining two skills. After that, practice on your own. Only come find me when you hit a bottleneck you truly can’t break through. I have my own research to do, so don’t come running to me with half-baked questions. Even if I explained things, you wouldn’t be able to understand them at that stage."

"Don’t worry, Teacher. I understand," Hesia nodded confidently.

’I don’t think that will be a problem for me. Since I can see my Skill Proficiency directly, I’ll know exactly when I’ve hit a real bottleneck.’

"Oh, right. About the Mist Cave in the Gray Mist Forest," Fevik said as if suddenly remembering something, her tone growing grave. "I take back what I said before. Whatever’s inside is likely no simple matter. The mist at the cave’s entrance is a powerful Magic Barrier. I’ll tell you the details after I’ve had a chance to study it. Until then, you absolutely must not go near that place."

Hesia nodded.

He hadn’t planned on going to a place like that to get himself killed anyway. Now that a powerful Mage like Fevik was investigating it, he could satisfy his curiosity while staying safe. It was the best possible outcome.

...

After bidding Fevik farewell, Hesia walked along the night road back to Feipu Lane, carrying the ostentatiously designed new Magic Wand on his back.

Feeling the hefty weight on his back and the faint fluctuations of Magic Power, it all still felt a bit unreal to him.

’This powerful and eccentric Half-Elf... is now my teacher? Just like that?’

’Though, she still seems to be holding a grudge about what happened at the Fernandez Magic Academy.’

’She hasn’t said it out loud, but she probably hopes to use me, her "wild genius" of an apprentice, to prove something to some old-timers.’

’I’ll worry about that later.’

’For now, the primary goal is to become a Professional.’

Walking through the silent night, Hesia felt like there was something nagging at the back of his mind, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what it was.

"Was I supposed to meet someone...?"

"Ah, whatever. It probably wasn’t important."

Hesia muttered to himself, cast the stray thought aside, and quickened his pace home.

’I wonder how ridiculously smug that silly dog Bruce will get when he learns he can breathe fire.’