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

much, but I am essentially saving that person's life. At the current moment, the resources I spent on that person are far

fully realize their potential, their help and loyalty will pay far

They handle all my lands with dedication, and

and I am not burning them into nothingness like coal. Taking advantage of a

everyone is happy working for me,

looked at

that I am a kind person that gives to the weak and gives them the opportunity to become stronger

I am exploiting poor and naïve people, giving them something negligible for me but

end, it's up to

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

answer, two

and everyone working for me is doing so of their

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

that answer

nodded as several thoughts went

more powerful

bit skeptical regarding Duke Whirlwind's

past life.

profit to be made, Shang

continued smiling and asked Shang not to take it

Whirlwind might

and

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

Karma.

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

was simply the term to

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

A, what would most likely

more inclined to help person

Why?

had helped person A in the past, and they

that associating with person A was of no more value to them since

person A would very

Person B hadn't helped

about likelihood, and it wasn't

helped them before, and there were also saints that were willing to help people that had scorned them in the

in general, this was

This was Karma.

when it

that they would

one could refer to this mindset with two contradicting