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."

chunk of my money into the futures of people weaker than me so that they

I am essentially saving that person's life.

their potential, their help and loyalty

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

coal. Taking advantage of

is happy 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

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

it's up

helps the defenseless, or am I a greedy

two

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

are generating the resources I need to work

answer your

as several thoughts

to becoming more powerful very objectively without trying to sound like some

always been a bit skeptical regarding

of nice managers in his past life.

profit to be made,

even worse, the managers continued smiling and asked Shang

that Duke Whirlwind might be one of these

and objective

concept on Earth that described the cause

Karma.

a religious thing. They thought that Karma was some rule the Gods had made

was simply the term to

to live, person B might directly be impacted in the future based on their

A, what would most likely happen if person B got into

more

Why?

person B had helped person A in the past, and they would want to repay

that associating with person A was of no more value to them since person A had become homeless now, things would

B got into trouble later, person A would very

should they? Person B hadn't

all about likelihood, and it

that had helped them before, and there were also saints that were willing

this was how things

This was Karma.

was just cause and effect when it came to interacting

Whirlwind was helping weaker people so that they would one

refer to this mindset with two