"Madame Yaga," Murphy said, "from what I can feel, you, the two great shamans, and several powerful people I know seem to be fairly close in strength. Does that mean you and they are on the same tier of magic?"
Madame Yaga chuckled. "Not they. We. You've long since reached this tier too."
"It's just that the spells everyone has mastered, and the areas of magic they specialize in, aren't the same. That leads to differences in strength, but on the ladder of magic itself, there's little distance between us."
Murphy understood.
Put in simpler terms, Murphy had already reached the same "realm" as the great shamans, Dumbledore, and the other wizards who stood at the ceiling of the wizarding world.
There was no difference in realm between them. It was just that their methods, fighting styles, and so on led to differences in combat strength.
"Then does that mean that Maria is on a tier above us?" Murphy frowned. "Have you ever seen anyone on that tier?"
Madame Yaga shook her head. "No. It's very unlikely for such a person to appear in this world."
"At most, wizards can only reach where we are," Madame Yaga said. "You don't understand yet, but if you keep going upward, you'll encounter an invisible wall."
"Magic only allows humans to reach this height."
Murphy was stunned. This was the first time he had heard of such a thing.
"You're saying that a wizard's strength and realm have a ceiling?"
Madame Yaga nodded. "Yes. You will eventually run into that 'ceiling' too. When the time comes, you'll discover that everything has a price. Magic and life cannot both be had. Great magical power inevitably leads to a shorter lifespan, while a long life comes at the cost of losing the growth of one's