Combat Wizard

"That may not be the case."

Viola gently shook her head. Her brilliant golden hair swayed like waves, glimmering faintly, and Rayne was briefly lost in thought.

An idea struck him. Using his mind, he activated his phone's camera function. With a mental click, he captured the beautiful scene before him, making it the first photo in his gallery.

Even as he secretly took the picture, he did not forget the important matter at hand. He asked curiously, "Why do you say that?"

Viola thought for a moment before answering, "Combat Wizards are the most unusual of the eight specializations. The gap between their upper and lower limits is enormous."

"At the same class level, a Combat Wizard might be the strongest, surpassing every other Transcendent profession. But they might also be the weakest, barely stronger than an ordinary Iron Guard."

"Of course, that is the most extreme situation. Most Combat Wizards are still not weak, about the same as other Wizards."

Rayne was stunned by what he heard.

Those who could become Wizards were all exceptional talents. It was only natural for them to be powerful, but how could they possibly be as weak as Iron Guards?

After all, Iron Guard was the most common Transcendent profession.

As long as one underwent the Soul Transformation Ritual, anyone could become an Iron Guard. It could be said to have no threshold at all. Unless they advanced into another profession, Iron Guards were basically at the bottom in terms of strength.

"What exactly is going on with Combat Wizards?" Rayne asked in confusion.

"It is the result of how they fuse Demon Souls."

Viola said, "You already know how the fusion methods of Wizards from the Seal School and Soul Control School differ from those of ordinary Transcendent professions."

"Wizards of those two schools cast spells with Soul Power. They are pure Spellcasters. Therefore, their physical strength is not outstanding, and close combat becomes an unavoidable weakness."

"Even Shapeshifting Wizards with formidable melee abilities can only maintain their transformed forms temporarily. At its core, shapeshifting is actually an enhancement spell. Once the transformation ends, their bodies return to their usual state, and their weaknesses remain."

"The Combat School was born precisely to solve that weakness."

"The theory behind the Combat School is actually very simple. Like ordinary Transcendent professions, they directly fuse an entire Demon Soul into their own soul. There is no need to specially process the Demon Soul beforehand, as the other two schools do."

"They have very high requirements for Demon Souls. A Demon Soul must possess multiple Elements, preferably including Physique Elements that can improve one's strength and defense, as well as Arcane Elements that allow spells to be cast with Soul Power. That way, a Combat Wizard can balance melee combat and spellcasting!"

After finishing, Viola gracefully picked up her tea and took a sip.

"So that is possible?" Rayne frowned and considered it carefully.

Ordinary Demon Souls generally contained Elements, and each Element represented an ability. All Elements in the world were divided into three types: Physique Elements, Arcane Elements, and Supernatural Elements.

Physique Elements could only be activated through the power of one's muscles, blood, and bones. Examples included "Stone Skin," "Tenacity," "Enduring Stamina," "Blood Rage," "Nimble Hands," and "Gigantification." By fusing more Demon Souls, one could stack and strengthen the same Element, gaining greater power.

Generally speaking, Physique Elements tended to affect the physical level, while Arcane Elements primarily involved manipulating various forms of energy.

Arcane Elements were a necessary condition for Spellcasters. Only Soul Power could activate Arcane Elements.

Every Arcane Element was a spell. There were offensive spells like "Fireball," defensive spells like "Elemental Armor," enhancement spells like "Psionic Infusion," and healing spells like "Restoration." Their number and complexity surpassed those of the other two types of Elements. No one knew how many spells existed in total.

Arcane Elements could not be stacked, but Soul Power could be invested to raise their Circle. The lowest was First Circle, and the highest was Ninth Circle.

The final type was the exceedingly rare Supernatural Element.

Supernatural Elements could be activated with physical strength or cast with Soul Power. They were like a combination of the other two types of Elements, without any restrictions.

Every supernatural ability was rare. Most were extremely powerful, and people could only dream of obtaining them.

Among all Transcendent professions, Wizards drew their strength from a large number of Arcane Elements. They did not need to worry about conflicts between Demon Souls, so they possessed the most formidable spellcasting abilities. However, their lack of Physique Elements left them weak in close combat.

Professions outside of Wizards, such as Berserkers, Rangers, Shadow Dancers, Gunners, Iron Guards, and Martial Artists, underwent less complete Soul Metamorphosis during the ritual and could not master a Meditation Method. Therefore, they could only choose these relatively basic professions.

Without the ability to cultivate a Meditation Method, they naturally had no Soul Power.

These basic professions could only fuse complete Demon Souls to increase their strength. Even if a Demon Soul contained Arcane Elements, they still could not cast spells without Soul Power.

Moreover, the greatest problem with fusing complete Demon Souls was the conflict between Demon Souls.

Most Demon Souls in the world were difficult to reconcile. It was almost impossible for two Demon Souls to be completely compatible; there were only differences in the degree of fusion.

Severe conflict and low fusion degree could cause the Elements within a Demon Soul to be lost, and could even make one's strength regress.

Therefore, many Transcendents leveled up conservatively.

Within the same stage, such as from Level 1 to Level 3, they would choose to fuse three identical Demon Souls, stacking and strengthening their existing Elements so that the conflicts would not be as severe.

However, this made it difficult to increase the number of Elements in their souls, leaving them with relatively few abilities.

Of course, some Transcendent professions had greater talent than basic professions. They could master a Meditation Method and cultivate Soul Power, yet still did not meet the requirements to become Wizards. Examples included Demon Hunters, Bloodline Sorcerers, Mechanics, and Plant Tenders.

Many Church professions also possessed spellcasting abilities, such as the Holy Swordsmen of the Church of Justice and the Earth Nuns of the Church of the Earth Mother.

These semi-Spellcaster professions outside the Wizard path all had to confront the problem of Demon Soul conflicts.

However, through the efforts of their predecessors and the Churches, the advancement paths of these professions had become relatively mature, forming fixed fusion systems.

Which Demon Soul to fuse as the Primary Soul after the First Soul Transformation, and which Demon Soul to choose as the Secondary Soul, were all known. This reduced the degree of conflict to the lowest possible level, ensuring successful fusion while granting more Elemental abilities.

For every subsequent Soul Transformation, advancement, level-up, and even upon reaching the Legendary Realm, they only needed to obtain the corresponding Demon Souls and fuse them step by step.

Thinking about it this way, what difference was there between Combat Wizards and these semi-Spellcaster professions?

Unless Combat Wizards also possessed a complete fusion system—and one stronger than those of semi-Spellcaster professions, with a higher fusion degree!

Rayne was not certain, so he asked, "Do Combat Wizards also have an inheritance?"

"No."

Viola shook her head. "Combat Wizards are not common. In Longsand City, you could probably count all the Combat Wizards on one hand. What inheritance system could there possibly be?"

Rayne was somewhat speechless, and even more puzzled.

There were so few Combat Wizards, and they had no inheritance. Their overall strength was clearly at the bottom among Wizard schools, and they had no influence. What gave them the right to stand alongside the others as a specialization?

Viola immediately guessed what Rayne was thinking. She chuckled and said, "Combat Wizards naturally have a unique advantage. That advantage is their high fusion degree."

"High fusion degree?" Rayne vaguely thought of a possibility.

"Yes." Viola stopped keeping him in suspense and explained, "Combat Wizards possess a special Meditation Method derived from the Elves' greatest Meditation Method, called the World Tree Meditation Method. It was improved by a great Wizard so that Wizards who cultivate it can reduce Demon Soul conflicts and increase their fusion degree."

"The World Tree Meditation Method? A great Wizard?"

Rayne thought seriously for several seconds and realized that he was simply ignorant. He had never heard of such an important figure.

Viola's expression turned solemn. With a look of reverence, she said, "Soul Saint Wizard Oruoin Mislandil. You have heard of him, haven't you?"

"Of course I have." Rayne was greatly shocked. The Empire had twelve Soul Saint Wizards, and every one of them was a household name. He asked in surprise, "Master Oruoin was the founder of Combat Wizards?"

Viola nodded. "Master Oruoin was not only their founder. He was also a Combat Wizard himself."

"So that was it."

Rayne suddenly understood. The founder of Combat Wizards was one of the Empire's twelve Soul Saint Wizards. No wonder it had become a Wizard specialization!

Viola continued, "Wizards are naturally more gifted than other professions, and their Soul Metamorphosis is more complete, giving them a certain advantage when fusing Demon Souls. Then, by using a Meditation Method to reduce conflicts, they can eliminate some concerns. Their range of Demon Soul choices becomes much broader, so naturally they are stronger than ordinary semi-Spellcaster professions."

Rayne finally understood.

However, he did not blindly assume that every Combat Wizard was stronger than other professions.

Sure enough, Viola added, "Combat Wizards cannot fuse Demon Souls however they please. Conflicts still exist; they are merely less severe, and the Magic Soul Fusion Degree is somewhat higher."

"Furthermore, the Demon Souls chosen by Combat Wizards are usually extremely powerful and possess multiple Elements. Even with certain advantages, the possibility of fusion failure is not low."

"Once fusion fails, they can only wait for their next level-up or Soul Transformation."

Rayne nodded. Every Demon Soul fusion was a difficult trial for a Transcendent. Success was the only option; failure was not allowed. The consequence of failure was falling far behind Transcendents of the same level, a gap that was difficult to make up.

Even for Combat Wizards, if they had fewer Demon Souls than others, their strength would certainly plummet.

If they failed several times, they might truly end up weaker than even Iron Guards of the same level.

"The Combat Wizard profession really is interesting."

Rayne smiled. He finally understood why Viola had looked so strange when she first mentioned Combat Wizards. Perhaps everyone hearing of Combat Wizards for the first time would find them quite novel.

It was a Transcendent profession where opportunity and risk coexisted.

If one chose the right Demon Souls, one could soar to great heights, possessing exceptional power and becoming a fearsome super Wizard capable of both melee combat and spellcasting. But if one chose the wrong Demon Souls, one would be cast into the dust, becoming ordinary among the masses. All-round capability would become incapability in every aspect, and one might even rank at the bottom among professions of the same level, trampled beneath others' feet.

Opportunities were rare, but the risks were even greater.

Rayne believed that unless someone had absolute confidence in their own talent, only gamblers would choose to become Combat Wizards.

Seeing him deep in thought, Viola suddenly smiled mysteriously and said, "Mr. Rayne, if you wish to become a Combat Wizard, I happen to have a World Tree Seed here. It is the Soul Power Medium for cultivating the World Tree Meditation Method. I wonder if you would be interested?"