[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-108":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Above the Mage!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2257112,4404,"Chapter 108: Awakening Talents","above-the-mage-chapter-108",108,"\u003Cp>This was Gao De’s first time seeing a geopulse creature of such immense size, and his first time witnessing a 2nd-rank geopulse creature with his own eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt both awe and a sense of melancholy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The awe came from the purple worm’s colossal size and power—its visual impact was absurdly exaggerated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like a sci-fi film playing out in reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The melancholy arose because the giant geopulse creature’s flaws were glaring and fatal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their enormous size made their movement painfully slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And because of their size, their targets were far too obvious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, they could barely dodge spell attacks and could only choose to endure them head-on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they could withstand it, they were invincible—what could you do if you couldn’t break their defense?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they couldn’t, they ended up like this purple worm, toyed with at will by the 2nd-rank mage Viersha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This thing looked terrifying, but in terms of combat power among 2nd-rank geopulse creatures, it was among the weakest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The purple worm’s sudden appearance caused five deaths, including an unlucky apprentice mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it didn’t cause much of a stir.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People in this world had a casual acceptance of death that Gao De had never known in his past life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Human lives were as worthless as grass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De still felt an odd emotion inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soul from the Age of Order simply couldn’t become indifferent to life in such a short time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gao De noticed he was gradually adapting to this atmosphere, learning to accept this environment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People always had to adapt to their surroundings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next, the soldiers hastily tidied up the temporary camp, which had been thrown into chaos by the purple worm’s appearance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several soldiers approached and began dissecting the purple worm along the cracks in its chitinous carapace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour later, the soldiers dug up the bodies of the five unfortunate souls who had been swallowed whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Less than an hour after being swallowed, their corpses were already unrecognizable, corroded beyond human form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t surprising—the purple worm’s stomach could corrode and digest leather armor, let alone human flesh. After briefly searching the bodies for belongings, the soldiers dug a grave in an open patch of ground and buried them together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the belongings recovered, they would be returned to the families of the dead upon their return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was already considerate enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they couldn’t bring back the bodies, at least they brought back the belongings—something for the families to remember them by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harvest Month, 9th day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last night’s accident didn’t hinder the continued expansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They still cleared the geopulse creatures dwelling in the dense forests along both sides of the official road, in batches and sequence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone had become thoroughly familiar with the entire process.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re so far from the Hogan Geopulse; under normal circumstances, 2nd-rank geopulse creatures shouldn’t appear here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thankfully, Viersha was leading us—otherwise, it wouldn’t have been just five dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ma Qieyi, a relatively talkative mage, sighed aloud while no geopulse creature had yet been spotted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Viersha is a combat mage, and she’s been 2nd-rank for over a decade, so she could handle a 2nd-rank geopulse creature so easily.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whenever he spoke of Viersha, his face filled with admiration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Combat mage? Why is there such a distinction? What’s the basis?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the sixth day of the expansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The temporary team had grown considerably more familiar with one another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Ma Qieyi speak up, someone immediately picked up the thread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ma Qieyi didn’t mind explaining some knowledge that, to them, was “common sense.” “It’s normal you haven’t heard this—it’s usually only covered after reaching 1st rank,” Ma Qieyi explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone else in the team, besides him, were apprentice mages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After each successful rank-up, a mage randomly awakens a special ability.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This ability can target a single spell, enhancing only that specific spell’s power.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It can target a category of spells—for instance, granting bonuses to protective spells, enhancing summoning spells, boosting all damage-dealing spells, or any combination thereof.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It can also be a universal enhancement applicable to all spells—like reducing casting time, increasing spell range, and so on.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or it can be a personal enhancement—such as increasing resistance to certain elements, improving reaction speed, refining skill with a specific weapon, or even bluntly boosting one’s mana and mental energy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It can even be an enhancement of craft skills—like increasing the success rate or speed of alchemical item creation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or it can be some strange auxiliary effect—like accelerating your cultivation speed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It can even directly grant you mastery of a peculiar spell.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In short, any special ability you can imagine—or even those you can’t—might awaken.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These numerous, varied, yet astonishing special abilities are collectively called Talents.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s no universally accepted standard for Talent tiers, since finding two identical Talents in the world is extremely rare.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But based on their effects, Talents can be categorized into several types.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Namely, Combat Talents, Creation Talents, Meta-Spell Talents, Auxiliary Talents, and Special Talents.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Talents that significantly enhance a mage’s combat power are classified as Combat Talents.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once a mage awakens a Combat Talent and studies multiple damage spells, becoming proficient in combat, they are called a Combat Mage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though these were trivial common knowledge to Ma Qieyi, they were invaluable insights for the wild mages in the team who hadn’t yet entered the formal mage domain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone listened with rapt attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Each time a mage ranks up, they gain one random Talent. Viersha, as a 2nd-rank mage, is said to have awakened two Combat Talents.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So even within the Enforcement Corps, she ranks among the top Combat Mages.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, everyone finally understood why Ma Qieyi had sighed in relief that Viersha was leading them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You said Talents awaken randomly—does that mean it’s all luck?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could a wild mage awaken a Talent far superior to a genius mage’s?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or could a genius mage awaken a useless Talent? Wouldn’t that make gifted mages terribly frustrated?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, someone in the team asked a question Gao De had also been pondering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s true it’s random—but not entirely random. It should be called pseudo-random,” Ma Qieyi shook his head and elaborated: “You can’t control which Talent awakens, so we call it random.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But the Talent awakened is linked to the mage’s existing knowledge, spells, cultivation guidance methods, and meditation techniques.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How exactly are they linked?” someone else, still unable to grasp the concept, couldn’t help asking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ma Qieyi didn’t show impatience and continued: “Take the simplest examples—if you only know utility spells and no damage spells, you’re extremely unlikely to awaken a Combat Talent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you know multiple protective spells and have your own unique understanding of them, you have a high chance of awakening a Meta-Spell Talent for protective spells.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or if you’re an outstanding alchemist with far deeper knowledge of alchemy than anything else, you’re very likely to awaken a Creation Talent.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In short, experience has led to a consensus: the more spells a mage knows, the deeper their knowledge, the stronger their mana and mental energy, the higher the chance they’ll awaken a powerful Talent of a certain type.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So it’s random—but within a controllable range.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Genius mages, whether in knowledge or spells, vastly surpass ordinary mages—so in 99% of cases, their awakened Talents are exceptionally powerful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see,” everyone in the group, not just the questioner, thought this silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone fell into thought, unconsciously considering what Talent they might awaken upon reaching 1st-rank mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1239,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","549e2b744ec304245d9212ffe5175272896b55f7dd545248cb94489fbc143cb6","above-the-mage-chapter-109","above-the-mage-chapter-107",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]