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

corrupt influence of a powerful family isn't costing me much, but I am essentially saving that person's life. At the current moment, the resources I spent on that

person gets the opportunity, time, and resources to fully realize their potential, their help and

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

Taking advantage of a

everyone is happy working for me, they will be far more

looked

am a kind person that gives to the weak and gives them

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

end, it's

helps the defenseless, or

the answer, two things will remain the

for me is

resources I need

that answer

several thoughts went

to becoming more powerful very objectively without

had always been a bit

past life. They were friendly, helped him, and encouraged

there was profit to be made,

managers continued smiling and asked Shang not to take it

Whirlwind might be one of these

and objective

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

Karma.

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

term to describe

person A was in a tight spot and needed a place to live, person

likely happen if person B got into

A would be more

Why?

person B had helped person A in the past, and they

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

person B got into trouble later, person A

they? Person

was all about likelihood, and

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 scorned them in

this was how things

This was Karma.

effect when it came to interacting with

was helping weaker people so that they

enough, one could refer to this