Chapter 111: Above the Ranked Practitioner

“What ranking system? A Ranked Practitioner is just a Ranked Practitioner.”

“Then what about this High-Rank you mentioned?”

“Oh, it’s just a simple way to compare Mana Capacity among Ranked Practitioners.” Dan Marina waved her hand casually. “It’s a Human term. To me, it doesn’t mean much. If your understanding of power is sufficient, even an ordinary tier’s Mana Capacity can defeat so-called High-Rank. The only difference is the amount of Mana; the level of power is exactly the same.”

“So, a High-Rank’s Mana Capacity can release three High-Level Magics?” Zheng Yichen raised an eyebrow.

“That’s right. Mid-Rank can release one.”

“Well, you could have just said Mid-Rank then.”

Dan Marina smiled, not arguing with him, and continued to explain. “High-Level Magics also vary. The Light Tide you use is very costly, so saying it’s one-third of a High-Rank’s capacity is not wrong.”

“…Alright.” Zheng Yichen nodded, gaining some understanding of this comparison. His current Mana Capacity exceeded Mid-Rank but was not enough to reach High-Rank. He also began to understand why this world had no strict ranking system. It was meaningless. Just as Dan Marina said, the power level of Ranked Practitioners was completely the same. The differences lay only in Mana Capacity and Mental Energy. For Warriors, perhaps physical fitness should be added.

Below Ranked Practitioners was the ordinary level.

“What about above Ranked Practitioners?”

“Above? That’s even more unclear. Dividing it into Low, Mid, and High-Rank is already a bit forced. After High-Rank, whether you can release ten High-Level Magics or twenty, you are still High-Rank. As long as your power does not undergo a qualitative change, no matter how much Mana you have, you are only at the Ranked Practitioner level. If I had to name one such level, it would be… a Witch.”

Zheng Yichen looked at Dan Marina, not feeling she was joking at all. What she said made perfect sense. Without a qualitative change in power, even an immense quantity remained within the same level. It was like rocks on Earth. Whether a big rock or a small rock, they were still rocks. Even a rock as large as a mountain was still just a rock, a part of Earth.

No matter how large a rock gets, it would not become steel…

After summarizing Dan Marina’s words, Zheng Yichen reached his own conclusion. “Ranked Practitioner is one level. If, after Reaching the Tier, one’s own power can undergo a personalized transformation, that is another level.”

“You could say that.” Dan Marina neither agreed nor disagreed. The power of a Witch had its own ‘personality traits.’ Their Mana carried the characteristics of their abilities. Essentially, ordinary Mana was like rock, while a Witch’s Mana was like iron or steel. Therefore, when Zheng Yichen said that personal power underwent a change in overall nature, it was not wrong to call it another level. After all, power whose nature had changed was no longer within the ‘rock’ category.

After confirming the improved power of Light Tide, Zheng Yichen began working on his second High-Level Magic Soldier. Apophis was also a High-Level Magic Soldier. Although its curse was not a High-Level Magic, curses could not be accurately judged by tier. The mechanisms of curses and Magic were different. For example, a plague curse, by tier, fell at the top of the low-tier, very close to mid-tier, yet its range of effect could be extremely wide.

If left unchecked, it could spread from one person to an entire city in less than a week.

Thus, the Bloodthirst Curse could not be called weak… In the hands of a sufficiently powerful user, this Curse could even be deeply engraved into someone’s Bloodline, creating a hereditary trait. This was something ordinary Magic could never achieve, but a Curse could. As long as Apophis continued to be strengthened, the power of the Bloodthirst Curse would naturally rise. Reaching such a height was not impossible. Zheng Yichen positioned Apophis as a weapon specifically suited for Battle Qi Warriors!

As for the weapon he was creating now—he was sure to win… no, the Sword of Promised Victory—it was the most suitable weapon for Mana Warriors. Of course, Mages could use it too, but it was still a sword.

After the second High-Level Magic Soldier appeared in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, it immediately attracted the attention of many Magic Weapon Summoners. The previous one was a Magic Sword, so even if it got attention, it was not high. After all, Magic Swords could backfire on the user. Some had used Frostmourne; the countless Souls trapped within easily influenced the user if their will was not strong.

This was even more true for Apophis, a High-Level Magic Soldier. But this newly appeared weapon was different. Although it was still a sword, which disappointed many Mages or Professionals who did not use swords, it did not stop them from paying attention. Undoubtedly, this weapon’s attributes were the opposite of Apophis’s. It could be summoned anytime, anywhere, without the worry of being pointed at for using a Magic Sword or engaging in improper behavior.

Additionally, this sword possessed a release ultimate of tremendous power. However, this could only be unleashed after an Advanced Summoning. In the normal summoned state, it only had a layer of Wind Element Magic enhancement. This Wind Element Magic could distort light, making the weapon invisible. Moreover, due to this Wind Element Magic enhancement, the weapon’s attack power and lightness were greatly improved. Furthermore, this enhanced Wind Element Magic could be released all at once for an additional striking force.

“You seem to want to make a ‘holy sword,’ but adding this layer of Magic seems a bit unnecessary, doesn’t it?” Dan Marina held an invisible weapon in her hand. Upon close inspection, one could only see the bundled wind trails she grasped. From this information, it was hard to determine the weapon’s exact form, as the wind trails, though bundled, were not fixed in shape.

“Tsk~ It’s part of the setting. I had to maximize… Hmph, who said this was a holy sword?” Zheng Yichen pursed his lips. To recreate the ‘Wind King Barrier,’ he had racked his brains, even chatting with Dan Marina for a long time to figure it out. However, it was not a perfect replica. The invisibility effect was there, but due to the Magic, it gained extra cutting power and a lightness effect. This could be considered an enhancement, right?

Including the conditions for improving Light Tide earlier, plus this ‘Wind King Barrier,’ Zheng Yichen’s true self really needed to meet Dan Marina in person. Of course, Dan Marina was not in a hurry to see Zheng Yichen. Her request for Zheng Yichen to agree to this was a compromise. The meeting would take place after Loris returned, in the presence of another Witch whom Zheng Yichen trusted.

“What about its Magic Armor?”

“Magic Armor… Tsk, having genders is such a hassle!” Zheng Yichen frowned. Although he had many examples to reference for Magic Armor, one point was still unavoidable: gender!