Sword God in a World of Magic

Shang hesitated for a moment.

"What is your goal, and what approach are you using to get closer to it?" Shang asked.

Duke Whirlwind's eyes shone for a short moment.

This was a very personal question, and Shang had directly asked Duke Whirlwind about his personal philosophy when it came to becoming more powerful.

One could say that Shang had asked for the secret of becoming as powerful as a Duke. After all, Duke Whirlwind's approach had obviously worked out very well, and knowing how he operated could very likely pay off in a big way.

"Those are two questions," Duke Whirlwind commented.

"There is only one question mark at the end," Shang answered.

Duke Whirlwind remained silent for a bit.

"Alright, I'll answer your question, and the reason why I am answering this question has to do with the answer," Duke Whirlwind said.

Shang nodded and listened to the Duke.

"As for the first question, my goal is to become an Archmage and to have my own Kingdom," Duke Whirlwind said.

Shang wasn't surprised by the answer.

"And as to how I'm trying to achieve it, investment and efficiency," Duke Whirlwind said.

"I can spend 24 hours per day working on my Magic, but that would only be the effort of one High Mage at a time. I can continually grow more powerful by working on my Magic, but without resources, I might not have enough time to become an Archmage."

"However, if I have access to rare and powerful materials, advanced studies, esoteric concepts, and plenty of teachers, I can grow many times faster than if I were on my own."

"But all of these things require wealth. Without wealth, I can't access these things. That's where the investment aspect comes into play."

"I don't have many hours in the day to myself, but the few hours I have are more profitable than several days of working on myself without pause."

"And how did I gain the wealth necessary to become this efficient?"

"Other people."

"I burn through millions of gold each day just to accelerate my growth. If I were on my own, I would never be able to pay such a large sum of money."

"So, I invest, not into corporations or resources, but into people."

"Every person has something they are good at, but many of those people never get the chance to realize their potential."

"Poverty, suppression, enemies, there are many things that will kill talent in its infancy."

of people weaker than me so

am essentially saving

resources to fully realize their potential, their help and

all my lands with dedication, and they

burning them into nothingness like coal. Taking advantage of a True Mage might bring immense profits in

for me, they will

Whirlwind looked

that gives to the weak and gives them the opportunity to become stronger than they could have

that I am exploiting poor and naïve

the end, it's up

the defenseless, or am

matter the answer, two things will

I never force anyone, and everyone working for me is doing so of their own

they are generating the resources I need

answer your

nodded as several thoughts went through

had explained his method to becoming more powerful very objectively without trying to sound like some kind

always been a bit skeptical

nice managers in his past

when there was profit to be

worse, the managers continued smiling and

feared that Duke Whirlwind might be one of these

the logical and

concept on Earth that described the cause and effect of what Duke Whirlwind

Karma.

many people thought of Karma as a religious thing. They thought that Karma was some

simply the term

A was in a tight spot and needed a place to live, person B might directly be impacted in the future based on their

would most likely happen

be more inclined to

Why?

B had helped person A in the past,

associating with person A was of

B got into trouble later, person A would very likely

they? Person B hadn't helped

all about likelihood, and it wasn't

scumbags that had no problems with throwing someone away that had helped them before, and there were also saints that were willing to help people that had

in general, this was how

This was Karma.

and effect when it came

people so that they would one day

enough, one could refer to