A Difficult Path

It had been mentioned more than once in the books Ethan currently had. Sorcerers must be cautious when first absorbing energy and converting it into Magic Power they can control, especially regarding the choice of energy. They should never make a decision lightly.

For example, with Elemental Energy, a beginner sorcerer typically chooses a specific element. While this energy gives the sorcerer better control over that element, it also affects the sorcerer themself.

Having their Mental Power assimilated and taking on some of the energy's properties is considered minor. With extreme energies like Fel Energy, it can even affect the sorcerer's personality and thought process, potentially turning them into a completely different person over time.

This is why, for sorcerers, while all energies can be used as Magic Power, most sorcerers are very wary of extreme energies.

Ethan initially set his sights on Water Element energy. Besides his first learned spell being Water Creation Spell (though Water Creation Spell doesn't use Water Element Magic Power; it's purely an application of Mental Power and strictly speaking isn't a Water Element spell), the most important reason was that the Sea of Tranquility was a world full of water. Water Element magic would be greatly enhanced in such an environment.

At the same time, the Ice Element, a variation of the Water Element, is also extremely versatile – and looks cool when used!

Of course, for true sorcerers, it's not like in game settings where choosing a specific Elemental Energy as their Magic Power prevents them from using other magic outside that element. It's just that the speed of Magic Power circulation and energy consumption will vary depending on the compatibility of the spell being used and its conflict with their own Magic Power.

Relatively speaking, a pure elemental sorcerer whose base Magic Power is Water Element energy will find using Fire Element magic somewhat less efficient.

There are many sorcerers like Isendra who are proficient in three elements, but they either have complete control over Elemental Energy, with their own Magic Power containing more than one type of Elemental Energy, or they use another type of energy as the basis for their own Magic Power, and this energy has strong plasticity and can be freely transformed – such as Arcane Energy.

"If I'm not mistaken, you initially wanted to absorb Water Element energy and start your path as a sorcerer by mastering elemental attributes."

In reality, the world of sorcerers doesn't have so many miscellaneous classifications. There's no essential difference between Elementalists, Arcanists, or even Net-based or Blue Bar systems. True great sorcerers simply don't allow themselves to have blind spots in magical knowledge. They understand almost all relevant knowledge and can 'freely switch casting methods and the properties of their own Magic Power.'

But on the path to achieving this goal, the influence of magical attributes on a sorcerer will determine how far they go on this path, and can even determine a sorcerer's ultimate destination.

"Yes."

Ethan had been staying with Merlin for two days. During these two days, Merlin hadn't taught him anything, but had comprehensively assessed Ethan's abilities. Only now was he preparing to begin teaching.

"Actually, your choice wasn't wrong. If I were in your situation, I might have made the same decision." Merlin carefully chose his words. "However, if I have a path that is very suitable for you, but is much more difficult to walk, yet promises immense future achievements, would you be interested?"

Ethan was a little puzzled because Merlin's words were too vague.

"Immense achievements? How immense?"

Merlin thought for a moment, perhaps choosing a reference point that Ethan could understand clearly? Finally, he decided to use himself as a comparison.

"How strong you will ultimately become, I'm not sure. That depends on you, not on anything else... But if you can steadfastly follow this path, then your ultimate achievements will at least not be lower than mine is now."

Ethan's heartbeat couldn't help but quicken slightly. Fortunately, he was someone who had seen 'big things' before. In a moment, he had regained his composure and didn't lose his composure in front of Merlin.

"Able to observe endless planes, break through plane barriers, and even possess the power to completely destroy a plane?"

Ethan was certain Merlin could do the first point; the second point was also highly probable! As for destroying a plane, that was hard to say, but the most conservative estimate was that destroying a planet shouldn't be difficult for Merlin – the Ancient One, who protected Earth from Multiverse invasions, if she let loose, Earth probably wouldn't be enough for her to mess with.

This didn't mean these two sorcerers could shatter the world with a single punch or a forbidden spell, but that these two sorcerers possessed countless methods and trump cards. For example, the Ancient One, if she was willing to embrace darkness and release Dormammu...

This is the terrifying aspect of sorcerers; no one knows what they can do or even achieve. This unknown nature is also one of the reasons they are feared and dreaded.

Ethan also wanted to become such a sorcerer, so he was very interested in the path Merlin proposed.

"You should know that sorcerers are a group of people who control energy based on powerful Mental Power to achieve their goals. Whether it's Fireball or more advanced magic, the essence is the same."

Ethan nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"Therefore, Mental Power is the foundation of sorcerers. The improvement of Mental Power means being able to control more energy, which means being able to cast more powerful magic and achieve higher goals."

Ethan's Mental Power was insufficient, so he had been working hard to cultivate and improve it. Coupled with the fact that his Mental Power had been trained more or less since the moment the Space-Time Pointer appeared, he had practiced for over seven years to reach his current level – just a little short of being able to enter the ranks of sorcerers.

"Actually, the strength of Mental Power isn't just about allowing sorcerers to use more energy; there are many more benefits."

As the foundation of sorcerers, the importance of Mental Power is naturally beyond doubt. The extent to which sorcerers research and treat Mental Power with caution also exceeded Ethan's previous imagination.

Conversely, many of the 'secrets' of Mental Power have also been researched by sorcerers. As a top sorcerer, Merlin's understanding of Mental Power had reached a considerable height.

"Besides controlling energy, the strength of Mental Power also determines the primary and secondary relationship between you and magic."

"What does that mean?"

Merlin explained in detail, and only then did Ethan understand. The relationship between a sorcerer and magical energy is not a simple master-servant relationship.

Simply put, while improving their Mental Power, sorcerers must also be able to figure out their 'limit' to avoid absorbing too much magical energy and being invaded by the energy in turn.

As Ethan had read in books before, a sorcerer's mind being 'polluted' by absorbed energy in turn is the mildest symptom. More severe cases involve personality being affected.

For example, some Fire Element sorcerers become irritable after cultivating to a certain level; that's because they have absorbed more Fire Element energy than they can control.

"For example, if Mental Power is one, then this Mental Power can perfectly control ten units of Magic Power. Once this number is exceeded, there will be danger." This is not absolute, of course; the quantity of Mental Power can be the same, but the quality is different, so Merlin said this just for ease of understanding.

Hearing this, Ethan seemed to understand Merlin's meaning a little: "You mean, you want me to continue focusing on cultivating Mental Power and not absorb energy to convert into Magic Power too early?"

Merlin smiled and directly shook his head, denying Ethan's guess: "Actually, the path I suggest you take requires you not to absorb external energy to convert into Magic Power."

Ethan was stunned, completely unable to guess what kind of path Merlin had designed for him.

"You should know that besides absorbing external energy, sorcerers can also generate Magic Power themselves."

Shaking his head, Ethan hadn't come across this point yet. However, according to the descriptions in the books he had read, after sorcerers absorb and convert energy into Magic Power and then expend their stored Magic Power, besides absorbing energy of the same attribute from the outside world again, they can indeed recover their consumption on their own.

From this, it can be inferred that sorcerers themselves can produce Magic Power.

"The Magic Power generated by sorcerers themselves is different from energy absorbed from the outside world; it has stronger plasticity and can even be said to be the purest form of magical energy, with the strongest plasticity."

Merlin sighed helplessly at this point: "Unfortunately, by the time many sorcerers realize this, their own Mental Power has been more or less polluted by external energy. In this case, the attribute of the Magic Power generated will inevitably lean towards the attribute of the energy they previously absorbed. The specific amount depends on the degree to which the sorcerer's mind has been polluted."

It is for this reason that sorcerers refer to the invasion of external energy into their own Mental Power as 'pollution'. Sorcerers have many different ways to deal with this situation. But no matter how they deal with it, it will waste more time and energy before they reach their destination.

Hearing this, Ethan felt like he had received a good professional lesson. Thinking back to his previous decision, with his limited Mental Power, he would almost inevitably be polluted by Water Element energy. Not to mention his future desire to learn and absorb other elemental energies, just the pollution of his Mental Power alone posed a risk of reduced control over Space-Time Energy – no, it would definitely decrease.

Suddenly feeling like he had avoided a disaster, Ethan gradually understood the path Merlin wanted him to take.

Merlin sighed helplessly at this point. "It's a shame that by the time many sorcerers realize this, their own Mental Power has already been polluted to some degree by external energy. In this situation, the Magic Power they cultivate will inevitably lean towards the attributes of the energy they absorbed previously. How much depends on the degree to which the sorcerer's mind was polluted."

This is precisely why sorcerers refer to the invasion of external energy into their Mental Power as 'pollution'. Sorcerers have many different ways of dealing with this situation. But no matter how they deal with it, it will cause them to waste more time and energy before reaching their goal.

Hearing this, Ethan felt like he'd just had a thorough professional lesson. Remembering his previous decision, with his limited Mental Power, it would be almost impossible to avoid being polluted by Water Element energy. Not to mention wanting to learn and absorb other elemental energies in the future, just the risk of reduced control over Space-Time Energy after his Mental Power is polluted exists—no, it would definitely decrease.

Suddenly feeling like he had narrowly avoided a difficult situation, Ethan gradually understood the path Merlin wanted him to take.

"The path you've arranged for me, is it to continue focusing on cultivating Mental Power, and then rely entirely on my own Mental Power to cultivate magical energy?"

Merlin smiled and nodded. Ethan had guessed correctly this time; he was indeed suggesting Ethan take this path.

However, this path is infinitely more difficult than the ordinary sorcerer's path, especially in the early stages. Being almost unable to use any magic would make Ethan not much stronger than an average person. Therefore, he felt Ethan might need some time to carefully consider before deciding whether to take this path.

Unexpectedly, Ethan made his decision much faster than he imagined, giving him an answer on the spot.

"No need to consider it. I choose this path."