Mythic Mage
"With the amount of XP I have, I don't even need to choose—I can just upgrade my knight rank to Ultra and buy the [Super Knight Boost] skill. But that would mean I wouldn't have enough left to upgrade my mage talent to Mythic."
"Even if I became a Mythic Mage, I wouldn't be able to cast Mythic spells without the proper talent."
"Mages are truly versatile... Reaching the Mythic rank would be incredibly convenient," he mused, his gaze fixed on the endless expanse of the dark forest ahead.
A lot of time had passed since he woke up, yet the sun had yet to rise.
"Am I even in the same world as before? Or was I transported somewhere else entirely?" The thought gnawed at him, his concern growing with every passing second.
A moment later, he sighed and stopped exploring.
"First of all, I need to become a mage!" The thought was firm in his mind. Being unable to cast spells was a crippling disadvantage.
He checked his remaining XP.
"I still have 87,940,000 XP. If I buy [Super Knight Boost], I'll still have over 40 million left. It costs 40,000,000 to upgrade to Ultra Knight, meaning I could afford both… but that would leave no room to enhance my mage talent or ascend to Mythic Mage."
"The real choice is between Ultra Knight and Mythic Mage. As for [Super Knight Boost], there's no question—I need it. A trump card like that is essential!" Edric decided.
Without hesitation, he opened the skill shop and bought [Super Knight Boost].
He had spent hours examining thousands of other skills, but none could compare. There was a [Super Mage Boost] as well, but Edric had skipped it. Mages needed spells to fight effectively. Even if his mana surged to Super Rank, without the ability to cast Super-Rank spells, his strength would still be lacking.
The basic rule was clear—mages had a far greater upper limit, but unlocking their full potential required mastering countless spells. Knights, on the other hand, were inherently strong due to their physical prowess.
Ding!
You have successfully purchased [Super Knight Boost].
The skill has been added to your stat window.
Edric nodded. "I can't test it now. If I activate it, I won't be able to use it again for a month," he reminded himself.
"Now, Ultra Knight or Mythic Mage?" He pondered for a moment before making his decision.
"Mythic Mage is better!"
With [Super Knight Boost] in his arsenal, he no longer feared Ultra-ranked opponents. What he needed now was versatility—something only a mage could provide.
"Becoming an Ultra Knight would allow me to hold my own against Ultra-ranked beings, but it wouldn't make defeating them much easier. At this moment, it won't help me as much as magic will."
His path was clear.
"System, add 2,500,000 XP to my mage talent!" he commanded in his mind.
Ding!
Mage Talent: Golden (2,500,000/2,500,000)
Congratulations! Your mage talent has been upgraded to Legendary!
As the system notification rang out, countless mysteries and unknowns about magic began to unravel in his mind. Ideas flooded his thoughts, and he realized that, if he wanted to, he could now easily design new spells.
"System, add 10,000,000 XP to my mage talent!" he said, eager to push further. After the recent system upgrade, the cost to enhance his talents had increased dramatically. It was unfortunate, but Edric had no choice but to accept it.
Ding!
Mage Talent: Legendary (10,000,000/10,000,000)
Congratulations! Your mage talent has been upgraded to Mythic!
Once again, the mysteries of the past revealed themselves in his mind.
"Now, I should be able to create a Silver-ranked spell with ease. Once I level up my mage rank too, I should be able to invent Golden or even Legendary-ranked spells without much effort!" he thought eagerly.
Determined, he called on the system and began upgrading his mage rank.
Ding!
Mage Rank: Average (10,000/10,000)
Congratulations! Your rank has been upgraded to Great!
Ding!
Mage Rank: Great (50,000/50,000)
Congratulations! Your rank has been upgraded to Silver!
Ding!
Mage Rank: Silver (500,000/500,000)
Congratulations! Your rank has been upgraded to Golden!
Ding!
Mage Rank: Golden (2,500,000/2,500,000)
Congratulations! Your rank has been upgraded to Legendary!
Ding!
Mage Rank: Legendary (9,000,000/9,000,000)
Congratulations! Your rank has been upgraded to Mythic!
After five successive upgrades, Edric's mental state reached an unprecedented level. He felt as though he could perceive both the past and the future, as if he were omnipotent. Of course, this sensation was simply a result of his enhanced soul strength, not reality—he was far from omniscient.
"Even if it's not real, it still feels amazing!" he thought, basking in the overwhelming sense of power.
"Let's see how much XP I have left..." He glanced at the system interface, curious about his remaining points.
[XP Remaining: 23,380,000]
"Hmm, good. Now, it's time to buy some skills to increase my mage abilities as much as possible!" Edric thought, deciding against spending 10,000,000 XP to upgrade his knight talent to Mythic rank.
He had already decided which skills he wanted to purchase.
...
[Magic Computer] (Ultra)
A skill that drastically accelerates magical research, detects errors in magical and spell formations, and aids in all magic-related calculations. It can also be applied to non-magical subjects, but with significantly reduced effectiveness.
Accurately computes magic-related subjects below Ultra rank. Provides reasonable accuracy for Ultra-ranked magic. Struggles with anything above Ultra rank. Its effectiveness improves with more precise magical data. Can be used without cost or limit.
Price: 11,000,000 XP
[Magic Intuition] (Mythic)
A passive skill that enhances the user's comprehension of all things magic-related, including but not limited to:
Faster and more efficient spellcasting. Easier learning and understanding of magical mysteries. Improved spell creation and magical formation mastery. Highly effective for magic below Mythic rank. Moderately effective for Mythic-ranked magic. Almost useless for anything above Mythic rank.
Price: 3,200,000 XP
[Spell Storage] (Mythic)
Allows the user to store and instantly cast spells without any casting time.
Can store: 10 Mythic spells. 100 Legendary spells. 1,000 Golden-ranked spells. 10,000 Silver-ranked spells. 100,000 Great-ranked spells. 1,000,000 Average-ranked spells. No restriction on what spells can be stored or how long they can be kept.
Price: 3,700,000 XP
[Formation Intuition] (Mythic)
A passive skill that enhances the user's understanding of all types of formations, including spell formations and magic circles.
Extremely effective for formations below Mythic rank. Moderately effective for Mythic-ranked formations. Nearly useless for formations above Mythic rank.
Price: 2,600,000 XP
[Spell Intuition] (Mythic)
A passive skill that increases the user's understanding of all spells.
Extremely effective for spells below Mythic rank. Moderately effective for Mythic-ranked spells. Nearly useless for spells above Mythic rank.
Price: 2,600,000 XP
...
After purchasing all the skills he wanted, Edric took a deep breath and opened his status window.
Status Window
Name: Edric
Age: 36 years, 2 months, 11 days
Rank:
Mythic Mage (0/40,000,000) Mythic Knight (0/40,000,000)
Skills: 12/15
Divination Resistance (Black) Bloodline Shield (Black) Mental Fortitude (Purple) Blessed by the Abyss - Suppressed (Purple) Abyss Emissary (Purple) Demonic Ancestor (Purple) Disguise (Purple) Magic Computer (Pink) Magic Intuition (Cyan) Spell Storage (Cyan) Formation Intuition (Cyan) Spell Intuition (Cyan)
— Skill Shop Available
Talent:
Mage: Mythic (0/45,000,000) Knight: Legendary (0/10,000,000)
Tasks: None
Points: 300,000
Cheat: Moderate - 10,000/day
Looking at his stat window, Edric became thoughtful.
"I can already think of a few Golden-ranked spells… I feel like I could design a spell of Golden rank in just a few hours, and even Legendary spells wouldn't take me more than a few days to design and create. With [Magic Computer] (Ultra), I should be able to design Mythic-ranked spells in at most a month!" he thought, excited by the possibilities.
He decided to stop exploring the dark forest for now and spend his time designing a few Mythic spells, like [teleportation] (Cyan), to aid in his future explorations.
"I have a lot of potential. In just a few years, I'll become incredibly strong at the Mythic rank. As long as I learn a few solid Mythic spells, I'll be far above Mythic Knights. Mages are just so much stronger than Knights of the same rank!" he thought to himself.
Afterward, he decided to focus his attention on his mage path. That didn't mean he would neglect his knight rank entirely—without a strong knight rank, he would be vulnerable to close-range attacks. However, his primary focus would be on increasing his mage power.
With that in mind, Edric ceased his exploration of the dark forest and instead opened his Magic Computer, ready to begin designing a few powerful Mythic spells for his use.