Chapter 324: Three Choices

The Changer, though a rare mental profession even dismissed as garbage by mainstream mental transcendents, Li En increasingly felt it suited him.

"In essence, it's one of the War Mages, similar to a Paladin."

Every transcendence system has warriors who train both martial arts and magic, for this is a genuine necessity—Arcane Knights, Elven Sword Dancers, Paladins, Changers, and even Druid Warriors.

They share no essential difference in combat role or strategic positioning: all are frontline fighters who enhance combat potential through transcendental power.

The source of their differing abilities lies in the origin of their transcendental power.

Among them, the Paladin is unquestionably the most classic and optimal, and precisely because of its success, it indirectly spurred the emergence of other "War Mages."

Yet other War Mages face the obvious flaw of being mediocre at both disciplines, struggling with equipment and weak in actual combat—a "juggling profession" with high potential but abysmal cost-efficiency. Arcane Knights primarily rely on zero-level cantrips; their permanent inability to master high-tier spells remains a despair-level weakness for all War Mages.

The Paladin is the exception—after all, the Smite Evil ability is simply too absurd, granting excessive bonuses against evil creatures.

Radiance dealing multiple times damage is standard; the constantly upgraded Smite Evil also bypasses the weakness of lacking high-tier divine spells—Smite Evil alone is enough; why need high-ring divine spells?

Radiant and positive-energy Paladins can use divine spells to bolster themselves, compensate for defensive weaknesses with heavy armor, and pair it with healing spells granted by "positive energy"—a pure hexagonal warrior.

Especially against "evil," they become a razor-sharp dagger.

Practical and highly survivable, so various benevolent deities have "cultivated" some of them—proving this path's success by making it one of the continent's primary combat professions.

But other attribute-based War Mages easily become mediocre at both sides. The Changer is a mental-psionic version of the "Paladin," even a textbook example of failure.

It is a user of mental abilities, with strong, hardened flesh mutations. But to infuse its flesh weapons with mental psionics, it sacrifices the greatest advantage of mental psionics—spell range and stealth.

It lacks even a few signature mental spells; its spell list mimics the Paladin's, overflowing with support and healing abilities.

As a melee unit's core capability, its attack and damage output are weak; mental damage affects only living beings, and though it is true damage, its destructive power is feeble.

This is a profession requiring close-quarters combat, yet its primary weapons are arms transformed into hammers, swords, or crossbows—mental damage only triggers upon impact. So why not simply use poisoned swords, crossbows, or poisoned arrows? Poison damage often exceeds mental damage.

It compensates for the mental-psionic branch's lack of melee-oriented War Mages. But in reality, even a Mind Warrior wielding a psionic blade—though notoriously frail and mediocre at both—is far superior to the Changer.

Using one's own mutated flesh for melee combat is an astonishing concept. But please, don't do this again next time—enemies adore fragile melee units like you.

And you turn your arm into a sword to duel opponents? Don't you think dismemberment comes too slowly? One Smite Evil from your opponent and your arm is gone.

"This profession is terrible for mortals—terrible indeed. But if the one undergoing flesh transformation is a high-tier transcendental being, say, a dragon, then it's an entirely different matter."

Can ordinary flesh mutations compare to armor forged from dragon hide, dragon flesh, dragon bone?

Li En couldn't develop his own "Dragon Knight" yet—wasn't this a path toward weaponized transformation?

And Fiestrion, as the "Singer," offered three additional choices, each with its own unique merits.

"Gauntlets (Giant Hand), Shield, and Priest's Bell."

This is undoubtedly a reform targeting the Changer's weaknesses.

"Since you cannot become an outstanding melee fighter, then become a support class instead."

Gauntlets can transform into a "Giant Hand," enabling the playing of larger instruments and amplifying psionic sound waves.

The Shield is purely a weakness-compensating tool—a shield infused with mental power is better suited to resist magic and mental damage than physical harm.

Priest's Bell. Li En recalled the "bell" on that statue—it's a pure amplifier, perhaps perfectly suited to his Sound Heart ability.

Li En wanted it, but he truly had no confidence in using it well.

"Since you cannot learn to use Echo the human way, use it the dragon way."

Fiestrion offered another option.

After all, Li En needed extra "dragon heads" as material for his Changer's bio-weapons—why not borrow even more of the "Dragon Voice"?

"Some dragon species do use sound waves, though they are exceedingly rare."