Battle Wizards

"That may not necessarily be the case."

Viola gently shook her head. Her radiant golden hair swayed like waves, glimmering faintly and leaving Rayne momentarily entranced.

An idea struck him. He activated his phone's camera through thought, and a "click" sounded in his mind as he captured the beautiful scene before him, making it the first photo in his gallery.

While secretly taking the photo, he did not forget the matter at hand. He asked curiously, "Why do you say that?"

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

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

"Of course, that's the most extreme case. Most Combat Wizards aren't weak and are roughly on par with other wizards."

Rayne was stunned.

Those who could become wizards were all top talents, so it was normal for them to be powerful. But how could they possibly be as weak as Iron Guards?

The Iron Guard was the most common Transcendent profession, after all.

Anyone could change profession to Iron Guard after completing the Soul Transformation Ritual. 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 the deal with Combat Wizards?" Rayne asked in confusion.

"It's the result of how they fuse their Demon Souls."

Viola said, "You already know that the fusion methods used by Seal School and Soul Control School wizards differ from those of ordinary Transcendent professions."

"Wizards from these two schools cast spells with Soul Power, making them pure spellcasters. As a result, their physical strength isn't outstanding, and close-quarters combat becomes an unavoidable weakness."

"Even Shapeshifting Wizards, who possess extremely powerful hand-to-hand combat abilities, can only maintain their transformed forms temporarily. Transformation is essentially a strengthening spell. Once it ends, their bodies return to their normal state, and their weaknesses remain."

"The Combat School was created precisely to solve this weakness."

"The theory behind the Combat School is actually very simple. Like ordinary Transcendent professions, they directly fuse the entire Demon Soul into their own soul, without first subjecting it to special treatment like the other two schools do."

"They have extremely high requirements for Demon Souls. A Demon Soul must contain multiple Elements, preferably including a 'Physique Element' capable of enhancing one's strength and defense, as well as an 'Arcane Element' that allows spells to be cast with Soul Power. That way, Combat Wizards can combine close-quarters combat with spellcasting!"

After finishing, Viola picked up the tea on the table and took an elegant sip.

"It can be done like that?" Rayne furrowed his brow and thought carefully.

Demon Souls generally contained Elements, with each Element representing a different ability. All the Elements in the world were divided into three categories: Physique, Arcane, and Supernatural.

Physique Elements could only be activated through the strength 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, these Elements could be stacked and strengthened, granting one even greater power.

Generally speaking, Physique Elements tended to affect the physical level, while Arcane Elements mainly focused on manipulating various forms of energy.

Arcane Elements were a necessary condition for spellcasters. Only Soul Power could drive 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 variety were greater than those of any other type of Element, and no one knew exactly how many spells existed in total.

Arcane Elements could not be stacked, but Soul Power could be invested to increase their spell tier, from a minimum of the first circle to a maximum of the ninth.

The final category was the extremely rare Supernatural Element.

Supernatural Elements could be activated through physical strength or cast with Soul Power. They were like a combination of the other two types of Elements and had no restrictions.

Every supernatural ability was rare, and most were extraordinarily powerful. People could only yearn for them without ever obtaining them.

Among all the Transcendent professions, wizards built their strength upon a large number of Arcane Elements. Since they did not need to worry about conflicts between Demon Souls, they possessed the most formidable spellcasting abilities. However, their lack of Physique Elements resulted in weak close-quarters combat.

Professions outside of wizardry, such as Berserkers, Rangers, Shadow Dancers, Gunners, Iron Guards, and Martial Artists, underwent an incomplete soul transformation 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 them.

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

Intense conflict and low fusion could cause the Elements within the Demon Souls to be lost, or even make one's strength regress.

That was why many Transcendents advanced conservatively.

Within the same stage, such as from the first to the third level, they would choose to fuse three identical Demon Souls, stacking and strengthening their existing Elements. This prevented the conflict from becoming too intense.

The downside was that the Elements in their souls would be difficult to increase, leaving them with relatively few abilities.

Of course, some Transcendent professions had greater talent than basic professions and could master a Meditation Method and cultivate Soul Power, but still failed to meet the requirements for changing profession to wizard. 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.

All these half-spellcaster professions outside of wizardry had to face the problem of Demon Soul conflicts.

However, through the efforts of their predecessors and the Churches, the advancement routes for 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 one to choose as the Secondary Soul, were all known in advance. This reduced the degree of conflict to a minimum, ensuring both successful fusion and the acquisition of more Element abilities.

After that, during every subsequent soul transformation, advancement, and level-up—even upon entering the Legendary Realm—as long as they had the corresponding Demon Souls, they only needed to fuse them step by step.

With that in mind, what difference was there between Combat Wizards and these half-spellcaster professions?

Unless Combat Wizards also had a complete fusion system—and one that was stronger than those of half-spellcaster professions, with a higher fusion degree!

Rayne was not certain, so he asked, "Do Combat Wizards also have a legacy?"

"No."

Viola shook her head. "Combat Wizards are extremely rare. In Longsand City, there may not even be enough of them to count on one hand. How could they have an established legacy?"

Rayne was speechless, and his confusion deepened.

There were so few Combat Wizards, and they had no legacy. Their overall strength was clearly at the bottom among the wizard schools, leaving them without any say. What exactly qualified them to stand alongside the others as a specialization?

Viola immediately guessed what Rayne was thinking. With a light laugh, she said, "Combat Wizards definitely have a unique advantage. That advantage lies in their high fusion degree."

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

"Yes." Viola did not keep him in suspense any longer and explained, "Combat Wizards possess a special Meditation Method originating from the pinnacle of elven tradition. It's called the 'World Tree Meditation Method.' After being improved by a great wizard, it allows wizards to reduce Demon Soul conflicts and increase their fusion degree while cultivating it."

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

Rayne thought seriously for several seconds, then realized how poorly informed he was. He had never heard of such a major figure.

Viola's expression turned solemn. With a look of reverence, she said, "The Soul Saint Wizard, Oruoin Myslandil. You know who that is, surely?"

"Of course I do." Rayne was deeply shocked. The Empire had twelve Soul Saint Wizards, each of them a household name. He asked in surprise, "Master Oruoin was the founder of Combat Wizards?"

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

"I see."

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

Viola continued, "Wizards are inherently more talented than other professions, and their soul transformations are more complete. They already possess a certain advantage when fusing Demon Souls. By using a Meditation Method to reduce conflicts, they have fewer concerns, can choose from a much wider range of Demon Souls, and are naturally more powerful than ordinary half-spellcaster professions."

Rayne finally understood.

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

Sure enough, Viola added, "Combat Wizards can't fuse Demon Souls however they please. Conflicts still exist; they're simply less severe, and the Demon Soul fusion degree will be somewhat higher."

"Moreover, the Demon Souls Combat Wizards choose are usually extremely powerful and contain multiple Elements. Even with a certain advantage, the possibility of fusion failure is still quite high."

"Once fusion fails, they can only wait until their next level-up or soul transformation."

Rayne nodded. Every Demon Soul fusion was a difficult trial for a Transcendent. They could only succeed, never fail. The consequence of failure was being a step weaker than Transcendents of the same level, a gap that was difficult to make up.

Even for a Combat Wizard, having fewer Demon Souls than others would certainly cause a sharp decline in strength.

If they failed several times, they might truly become weaker than even an Iron Guard of the same level.

"The Combat Wizard profession is really interesting."

Rayne smiled. He finally understood why Viola's expression had been so strange when she mentioned Combat Wizards earlier. Perhaps everyone who heard of Combat Wizards for the first time found them extremely novel.

This was a Transcendent profession where opportunity and risk coexisted.

If one chose the right Demon Souls, one could soar to the heavens, possess extraordinary strength, and become a fearsome super-wizard equally capable in close combat and spellcasting. But if one chose the wrong Demon Souls, one would be cast down into the dust and become indistinguishable from the crowd. All-round ability would become the ability to do nothing, and one might even end up 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 a gambler would choose to become a Combat Wizard.

Seeing him deep in thought, Viola suddenly smiled mysteriously and said, "Mr. Rayne, if you want to change profession to Combat Wizard, I happen to have a 'World Tree Seed' here. It's a Soul Power Medium for cultivating the World Tree Meditation Method. I wonder if you're interested?"