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 that

a young man that landed in prison due to the corrupt influence of a powerful family isn't costing me much, but I am essentially saving

their potential, their help and loyalty will pay far more than I have

are incorruptible, loyal, and powerful. They handle all my lands with dedication, and they are happy

Taking advantage of a True Mage

working for me, they will

Whirlwind looked at

can say that I am a kind person that gives to the weak and gives them the opportunity to become stronger than they

person can say that I am exploiting poor and naïve people,

it's

that helps the defenseless, or am I a greedy businessman that exploits the

matter the answer, two things will remain the

everyone working for me is doing so of their own free

second, they are generating the resources I need to work towards

that answer your

thoughts

more powerful very objectively without

had always been a bit skeptical regarding Duke Whirlwind's

managers in his past life. They were friendly, helped him,

to be made,

even worse, the managers continued smiling and asked Shang not to take it

feared that Duke Whirlwind might be one of

logical and objective explanation

a concept on Earth that described the

Karma.

thought of Karma as a religious thing. They thought that Karma was some rule the Gods had made to punish the wicked and

the term to describe how cooperation

spot and needed a place to live, person B might directly be impacted in

likely happen if person

A would be more inclined to help

Why?

person B had helped person A in the past, and

threw person A away because they thought that associating with person A was

person A would

they? Person B

course, this was all about likelihood,

had no problems with throwing someone away that had helped them before, and there were also saints that

in general, this was

This was Karma.

cause and effect when it came to interacting

weaker people so that they would one day help him in

could refer to this mindset