Chapter 329: The Cost of Kindness

In the world of the extraordinary, is power more important, or technique?

“Why not have both? Because it’s impossible.” Though wanting everything is the obvious path, time and energy are limited—sometimes you must choose.

The endless debate between the “One Power Crushes Ten Techniques” school and the “Watch Me Play With My Hands” school means nothing to Li En Sudar—he uses whatever works, whatever is effective.

Li En Sudar originally thought spellcasting was a matter of “mathematics,” where an optimal choice always existed.

It is, or it isn’t—but now he saw how shallow his understanding had been.

“Looking solely at a spell model, the one with maximum power, minimum mana cost, and highest efficiency might be called the optimal choice. But in reality, the foundations of many highly practical, high-tier techniques lie in those very ‘mistakes’ and ‘outdated methods.’”

Li En Sudar believed the Fireball spell, refined by countless predecessors, had reached its limit—mana cost and damage radius both perfected. But now he saw that “optimal” might mean mediocrity, the loss of higher-level adaptability.

“They call our school the Star Burning School. But I think it should be called the Star Shaping School. No, I don’t mean we shape fireballs like stars—‘compressing’ and ‘fusing’ fire elements to approach the very essence of a star is one of our paths.”

This system of the Master is actually a branch of the Elven school—elegant Elven Archmages love to float several elemental orbs above their heads: fire, ice, or lightning.

This is a technique to train magical control, and also a requirement for instant-cast spells in combat. Beastfolk spellcasters struggle with this, because it demands sustained, stable mental output—mastering it may take decades.

Due to their relatively shorter lifespans compared to Elves, Half-Elves favor “explosive power.” Within this system, they deeply researched “spell orb fusion,” which follows the general pattern of “scientific” study.

The more specialized one becomes, the narrower the path grows; sub-disciplines spawn more sub-branches.

The more refined the research, the harder progress becomes—but the results are astonishing.

“Our system has existed for about fifteen hundred years. Most Archmages are Half-Elves or Elves—it demands high elemental affinity and magical control. But I think you can learn it.”

The most basic training is to hold the flame as a “Burning Orb” between the palms—neither exploding nor extinguishing.

“Hmm, judging solely by this spell’s capability, it’s only about 2.5th tier—higher mana cost, lower explosive power, smaller damage radius.”

Li En Sudar was confident he could master it, and he unexpectedly realized this system suited him perfectly.

“The hardest challenge is actually maintaining multiple fireballs with focused concentration.”

After releasing a fireball, no sustained mental focus (mana maintenance) is needed—it’s done once thrown.

But since the Burning Orb involves spell fusion, sustained magical focus is required—to keep the fireball hovering mid-air, maintaining stable contact between the two elements without explosion. At least, maintaining focus on both spells.

This is precisely why the Master tested Li En Sudar on this ability—it’s the core skill of this system.

If you can’t draw a circle with one hand and a square with the other, this path is impossible—don’t waste everyone’s time.

“All Evocation systems require multitasking—you must simultaneously summon, convert, compress, and fuse energy. A single-threaded mind simply isn’t enough.”

The more Li En Sudar walked the path of the mage, the more he understood its hardships—perhaps true “mortals” simply couldn’t endure it, so many unnatural talent demands.

“Your talent exceeds expectations. Are you really just an ordinary ‘Beastfolk’?”

The Half-Elf looked pointedly at Li En Sudar’s rounded ears and smiled. Li En Sudar smiled back in silence.

Li En Sudar suspected the Master had seen through him long ago—just chose not to say so.

As long as no one says it, I, Li En Sudar, am on the Pseudo-Dragon Evolution path—not Dragonblood!

Given the number of Dragonkind in the Prime Plane, Dragonbloods are rare but not extinct; their base traits are high resistance and spell damage amplification corresponding to their element.

But Li En Sudar’s multitasking ability clearly surpasses expectations.