novelThe Treader
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Chapter 78: The Treader
"Warriors strengthen their physical body to change the world, while Mages use their will and imagination to affect the world. Don't use the dumb methods of Warriors to understand magic, otherwise, you will be stuck at the level of an apprentice for your entire life, or as a magic-sword-carrying-dumbass-Warrior."
Harloys wasn't wrong. I went down the wrong path in the past. It was only because I was troubled by the Holy Knight career's lack of large AOE and long range attacks, and thus, without any thoughts about my actual circumstances, I blindly chose to study Ice Magic.
Demand determines the supply. Back then, I also didn't really find the need to dig up the potential of Ice Magic.
Alright, just like Harloys said, even if my talent for Magic is just sub-par and my sense for the Elements is so insensitive to the point of imbecilic, but by using the System to forcefully pull me up, I still rose through the ranks.
However, without having a bottleneck to be stuck at, I lost the period of accumulation when one is stuck in a bottleneck, as well as the experience and understanding that one will gain when breaking through via one's own understanding.
This is just like a Science and Technology faculty nerd using his own rational thinking to analyze a literary work. Perhaps, he is able to analyze why the work is attractive to others as well as its good points, and that everything he says may be logical. However, if you were to ask him to write his own literature piece, only the backbones of the essay will appear.
That is because he lacks the emotions and dedication for the work. He is unable to pull in the bits and pieces of the good parts to create a truly good story. In the end, it can only serve as a simple and concise news report script.
Based on Harloys's description, learning magic is quite similar to creating art. They both involve using one's will to picture one's little world and affect reality through it.
Then, it is necessary for there to be one's understanding and one's personal views to be inside it.
It may seem that this thought process has nothing to do with one's power level, but it is of utmost importance. They determine a Mage's own road. On the other hand, losing these sentimental understandings, one's path will just become more and more narrow.
I am the most obvious example. I treated the literature works that require sentimentality (Elemental Magic) as Math (Martial Arts that require routine training and accumulation) to learn and in the end, I can only follow the main content and copy the footsteps of the predecessors, learning standard Magic and turning my own Ice Magic into an Ice Bomb Tower.
Charge mana and blast it; this became my utmost understanding of Ice Magic. As a Mage who managed to create a Forbidden Spell, this is too big of a waste.
However, what is fortunate is that hard work is never wasted, even if one is working in the wrong direction.
Even if I didn't do research on magic with sentimentality, but my time and effort spent on studying it rationally aren't wasted. The Fate Points that I spent brought me rewards. Although I didn't realize it rationally, the sentimental part somewhere deep in my soul had gained a certain level of understanding. Un, it may sound confusing so let's just put it as 'although the mouth says no, the body is honest'.
The crystallization of understanding and one's experience, the once in a lifetime Soul Imprint.
【Soul Imprint: Mark of Justice (Destroyed), The Crown of Undead (Destroyed), The Ice Treader (Destroyed), Son of Light (Destroyed)】
On the System board, the four destroyed Soul Imprints are arranged in a row. 'Increase effectiveness of spells by 1%', 'Increase the effect of Necromancy by 1%'. These Soul Imprints offer this kind of insignificant additional buffs that can only be used to reminisce on their existence.
Of course, unless I were to have suicidal thoughts and burn my soul once again, they would probably stay like this forever.
In my second life, 【The Ice Treader】 is my Soul Imprint but apparently, I seem to not have lived up to its true meaning.
Treader, it refers to a person who treads, a person who measures the world through their steps. Through the perspective of an adventurer, they gaze at the scenery, feel and understand nature and experience life.
The Ice Treader. Actually, it's just an adventurer of snow mountains, obsessed with the culture of the Northern Countries.
The vast snow lands without boundaries. The horizon seems as though an unreachable destination. The beauty of life when it is fast asleep. The roar of the heavens during an avalanche. The world under the ice river that can't be frozen. The white wolf pack who howls towards the sky. The giant monsters and hidden snow leopards in the snow mountain. The seedlings that appear from beneath the snow. Life and nature vying and coexisting in harmony.
Even Gods have to be humble in the face of the true power of nature. The replacement of life is a rule of nature that hasn't changed for millenniums. In order to survive the cruel winter period, everyone has to work and cooperate together. The winter wolves who gather in packs to hunt understand, the true countryman of the North also understands.
When Harloys mentions her own understanding of the nature of her Ice Magic, my memories of the culture of the Northern Countries seems to repeat itself in my mind again and again as though a zoetrope.
"So, the truth is that no matter whether it is back then or now, I have always missed home."
Deep in the night, thunder starts to roar outside. I solemnly place my hand out of the window. What fell on the center of my palm aren't the snowflakes that I was so familiar with but rather, the summer rain that brings a trace of warmth in it.
What can an adventurer who lost his way and misses his home do? Of course, it is to return home. But, it is a pity that even though the memory of the snow still remains, the flag that stands proudly on top of the land isn't the same one as it once was. The Country of Snow, which seemed to have not changed at all, is no longer the country I belong to.
"I don't feel like going home. At least not now."
Then, since I have no home to return to, I shall temporarily have the most beautiful scenery of my homeland turn into the scene of my dreams. Perhaps, one day, there will be a chance that my world of dreams can transform into reality.
【The Infallible Diffindor】
One's soul is always much more honest than one's mouth. In the three Soul Imprints that form the Soul World, The Ice Treader forms the winter scenery of my homeland. Displaying its true powers, it turns into an unresting adventurer of the snow, depicting the natural frost and the beauty of ice in my homeland.
"Heh, I really am a failed master, to think I would be ignorant of my Soul Imprint's true powers. Is it because of its great powers that my senses are blinded? But it isn't too late for me to understand now. So, let it snow."
In the short moment after this silent voice, the rainwater outside the window turns into snow.
It's a midnight snow that is limited to only this house. The neighbors might not even realize it, but it created quite a stir among the temporary residents living within.
I seem to finally understand the path of my Ice Magic. It isn't the path of a cannon station that I thought I was adept in. Rather, it is using mana as a pen to turn the most beautiful and dangerous ice plains in my memories into reality.
"Heh, you seem to get it now, huh?"
Harloys jumps happily onto the window ledge and turns back into the form of a small cat before disappearing into the snow.
As for me, I close the window. My understanding is still in its primary stage. The night is still too early for me to be able to convert it into an actual fighting power.
At this moment, in the depths of my soul, that 【The Ice Treader（Destroyed）：Increase effectiveness of Ice Magic by 1%】's insignia of an adventurer in the winter night is suddenly undergoing a change. At this moment, it is 【The Ice Treader（Damaged）：Increase effectiveness of Ice Magic by 3%】.
"Looks like I am really over-reliant on the System. My soul is still here and a physical body that nurtures the soul is also present. Naturally, the Soul Imprints which are crystallizations of the Soul can be recovered. Hehe, let's take it slowly. A Legend with four Soul Imprints. It really makes one look forward to it."
————-
Very quickly, following the recovery of my Soul Imprint, my abilities in Ice Magic soared. It didn't take long before I was able to grasp the ultimate Forbidden Spell, Ice Aeon, once again. Then, using the Forbidden Spell as a threat, I forced the Auland Capital to acknowledge the East Mist Communal Country's independence.
Alright, it is impossible for everything above to happen.
Life isn't a dream. It is impossible to move a thousand miles in a day just because of a single epiphany. That is a story written in novels. In reality, one must slowly take one step after another.
Even if I have understood the nature of my Ice Magic and that I have a plan for the future, but the problems I had before still persist. That is...
"As expected, my talent in Elemental Magic is crap."
The same Book of Magic and the same person. Even if he were to comprehend some logic, but it will still be the same loggerhead, so it is still hard to comprehend it.
Thus, after reading it for half a night, I can only shut it helplessly. Turning to the screen, I activated an old solution — Cheating through the System.
"20 skill points, I am really reluctant."
Skill points are good things. They can allow me to learn a technique or magic directly. Also, it can also allow magic to be upped by 1-circle. For example, 1 skill point can turn a 1-circle Ice Arrow into a 2-circle Ice Vector, increasing the attack power and other factors significantly.
I, who have only reached the second rank, Bronze-rank, the highest-tier magic I can control now is 3-circle (The relationship between magic circles and rank is [First rank -> 1-circle] [Second rank -> 2-circle, 3-circle] [Third rank -> 4-circle, 5-circle] and etc). If I were to throw a dozen skill points into it at one go...
Alright, that would be a great waste. Let's not mention the fact that to upgrade higher-circle magic would require more skill points; the higher the circle, the greater the chance of failure when casting the spell. It is actually quite easy to die from your mana rebound. However, throwing too many points on 1-circle magic without much potential is an extreme waste of resources.
My Fate Points aren't sufficient to pull me to the next rank. Currently, I am still a LV21 Order Knight/Chaos Witch King. By right, going by the usual 2 level - 1 skill point calculation, I should only have 10 points. However, while it expends four times the effort to raise my level, this double job gives me twice the amount of skill points as a reward.
Previously, I didn't use it at all. This is due to the fact that as an Order Knight, I have the confidence to learn and use any ability and skill of the Holy Light and Law without using any skill points. As for Necromancy, this isn't the time for me to use it now. Thus, I saved all of my skill points so as to forcefully break through my bottleneck when I am at a higher-rank.
But right now, I probably would require fighting power soon. I can already vaguely see my future path. Since my Chaos and Order powers have to develop equally, then my weak points would require me to devote a greater amount of time and effort to pull them to equal standards. Given my horrible talent in Elemental Magic, there's probably no way I can save my skill points.
If there must be a difference to be said between using skill points and through one's own effort, then it would be that through understanding the concepts, one would be more clear on one's future path, allowing them to consciously choose the direction where they want to develop towards rather than choosing randomly as one pleases.
Looking at the ton of Ice Magic on the skill tree, a large portion of them are powerful cannon-style magic. But, they're not what I require now.
Very quickly, I found the one I was looking for.
"I can already use the 1-circle Ice Magic, Cold Armor. Now, with two other magic spells, I should be able to achieve my objective."
【1-circle Cold Armor (Iron): Form a thin Ice Armor around the spellcaster's body, slightly increasing one's defense. If the spellcaster were to be successfully hit by an enemy, the enemy's speed will be reduced by 0. 1 seconds by the chill. 】
【2-circle Ice Breath (Bronze): Sustains a conical Ice Breath that deals 1 to 3 frost damage and creates a chill effect, reducing the target's speed. The maximum range is two meters and the maximum duration is six seconds. 】
【3-circle Ring of Ice (Bronze): Create a Ring of Ice around the spellcaster which explodes outwards. The Ring will only fly for a maximum of fifteen meters and all those touched by the ring will be slowed by a chill effect. 】
The attack power of these three magic spells is almost zero. However, they're the rarer type of Ice Magic that reduces speed. If my guesses are accurate, they probably belong to the same class and form the stepping stone to higher grounds.
"First, the Cold Armor which covers my body."
The Ice Armor, which is almost invisible to the eye, probably can't really defend me from attacks. However, it surrounds me in the Ice Element and it's one of the few magic spells which directly creates cold air that reduces speed. It is the same cold air that results in the effect of reducing the speed of the attacker as well.
At this time, under the drive of my mana, a surge of cold air is created from the Cold Armor.
"Next, the Ice Breath."
The breath of ice turns into an icy fog and the cold air is refined and evolves. A layer of thin ice creeps on everything that the cold air touches.
"Last but not least, the Ring of Ice."
Upon the end of my incantation, the accumulating cold air bursts out. This room is immediately wrecked. Regardless of whether it is the furniture or the ceiling, a layer of ice forms on everything in the room.
A magic chain creates a powerful effect of 1+1+1》3, but I still knit my brows in displeasure.
If I only wanted such an effect, then it would have sufficed to simply invest points in a higher-tier magic. I didn't throw in 2 entire skill points just for this.
"Is this still insufficient? Hm, I guess it is insufficient. Then, only this magic remains."
I opened the skill tree once again and find that large AOE freezing magic.
【6-circle Snowstorm (Gold-rank): Create a small-scale storm and using the fallen snow, create a large AOE frost damage and slow effect. 】
"6-circle magic, even if I were to invest points here, I wouldn't be able to use it for quite a long time. 3 skill points, don't let me waste them without reaping any rewards."
At the moment when I cast Snowstorm, the Cold Armor suddenly dissipates and all of the cold air in the room seems to return back to me. Then, when it is released once again, it has already been refined into an even higher-quality, deadly-cold air.
"Ding! Congratulations, you have learned the combination skill 'Frozen Air'. This skill is an emulation of the extreme cold of the natural world. No life is immune to its effect — Kid, you made a good choice this time, you seem to have finally figured out how to use me. Make good use of your resources, treasure your skill points."
【Frozen Air: A kind of deadly cold air that is without sound or presence. It can be enchanted onto one's physical body and weapon, as well as paired together with Ice Magic as an attack. Those who are touched by the Frozen Air will have all movements slowed by 1% and suffer 1 point of frost damage per second. This debuff can be stacked. If the target's movement speed is reduced by more than 20%, a frozen effect will be inflicted. Many negative statuses will be inflicted, such as the freezing of one's thought. If the target's movement speed is reduced by more than 50%, then there is a chance that the target might die at any moment due to massive loss of heat. 】
【Usage Requirement: Soul Imprint of The Ice Treader. If the user were to reach Gold-rank and gain the ability to control the magic Snowstorm, Frozen Air will be automatically evolved to the next stage. 】
As expected, my guess wasn't off. Under the effects of my Soul Imprint, the accumulation of my experiences allowed quantity to create a change in quality.
Just by thinking about it, one will know how treacherous and deadly this soundless and presence-less Frozen Air is. It is able to be stacked as long as we are crossing blows and by the time they realize that the frost is plaguing them, it will already be too late. Just like the pests in the farm who die due to a steep and sudden fall in temperature, they can only watch helplessly as strength leaves them.
Furthermore, this is only the beginning. This kind of Frozen Air that emulates the harshness of the natural world will become my stepping stone to higher heights. In the end, I would be able to create the absolute winter that belongs solely to me.
"As expected, only by undergoing the frigid winter can one feel the warmth of spring again. Only after abandoning my incomplete physical body and start anew can I progress to greater heights. Perhaps, under the accumulation of experiences in my four Soul Imprints through four lives, this time, I would be able to step onto the pinnacle of this world."
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