This Is a Dream! (Second Update, Please Subscribe!)

A mage's combat power could not always be measured solely by their realm and rank.

More precisely,

mages were not a class dedicated exclusively to combat, aside from battle mages.

They were producers, not fighters.

Their combat power was merely a bonus, and it was often directly proportional to their own productive capacity.

Even if a mage could cast spells instantly, they would not really stand there like a turret, going pew-pew-pew and trading spells with you. This was not a game—who was going to take turns with you and trade blows back and forth? Old Man Lu should have understood this deeply. When proper mages fought, they threw all sorts of magic items around. Low-level spells were cheap anyway, so they would first wear you down with an item-based barrage.

Once they had figured out your limits, they would finish you with a spell they excelled at.

Of course,

if it was a battle between mages, things might get a little more complicated.

But! When all was said and done, it still depended on who had the deeper pockets!

You threw a gem spell, and I activated Mage Armor. You brought out a war golem, and I hauled out a Mage Tower... It was more or less like that.

So, even though Boss Li was only an Intermediate Rank Mage nearing the fifth rank, he had a rich daddy backing him up! All kinds of luxurious equipment practically fell into his lap for free.

While he had been in the Main World earlier, he had even upgraded his Mage Armor.

Unfortunately, Li Yao had never truly fought without holding back, so he lacked confidence in his own strength. But if he did not understand, Sauron did.

He had been born and raised in the Main World. He knew all