A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 24 The Will of Nature

Ten years of abstraction, but the passion remains undiminished.

This is a true reflection of Jiang Shuzhou. He started using the internet at the age of nine, which marked the beginning of his abstract life.

Despite browsing forums and engaging in online arguments every day, Jiang Shuzhou still desperately wanted to accomplish something significant. Unfortunately, it was the off-season, and the new season hadn't started yet, so Jiang Shuzhou lacked motivation.

But things are different now; the arrival of Astral Descent has brought him a new goal.

Become a legend!

"But before becoming a legend, let me share my insights first."

Whether he becomes a legend or not can be discussed later, but he can't wait to find fun. If he can't find fun again, Jiang Shuzhou has no doubt that his mental state might be compromised.

Since game forums are unavailable, I'll just have to post this on game-related Tieba (Baidu's forum) for everyone to review.

"Fellow forum members, take a look at my unique insights on Druids."

The title of the post is quite friendly; otherwise, you can't lure people in.

"Brothers, I suddenly thought of something while playing the game today. You guys say that in the eyes of Druids, people and trees are the same. So, does a person cutting down a tree equate to murder? Therefore, is the reason why extreme Druids kill people who cut down trees equivalent to protecting others?"

The post had barely been published when someone took the bait.

"unbelievable."

"That's absolutely right, brother! That's what the Great Western King thinks too."

"What do you mean by 'Bobo reincarnated'? The poster is a genius for even thinking of that."

"That's absolutely right. Little Mustache is a staunch protector of nature because he feeds nature with people."

"?"

"How come there are so many amazing people?"

"I have a friend who plays a Druid in the game. He considers himself a very extreme environmentalist. When he went to join a faction, he told the extremists that he wanted to join and explained his beliefs. The extremists almost killed him. On the contrary, the moderates next to him were very excited and told him that he was born to do this."

"Because I love nature and you don't, so I want you to merge into nature?"

"Integrate into nature? We'll dig a hole and bury you!"

"..."

Seeing the joyful atmosphere gradually infecting everyone in the post, Jiang Shuzhou smiled with satisfaction. Indeed, good things should be shared with everyone, although some things are not suitable for sharing (referring to the succubus photo set).

After spending half a day browsing online forums with his expensively-equipped smartphone that cost nearly ten thousand yuan, Jiang Shuzhou finally felt a bit sleepy and knew it was time to turn off the lights and go to bed.

The game forums are still buzzing with discussion, but aside from the competitions Jiang Shuzhou will participate in, he won't touch the new class.

Relying on the magic network to cast spells is like ice; once you touch it, you become addicted, and once addicted, you can never leave it, ultimately becoming a slave to others.

Before the magic network was introduced, mages could still cast spells, so why couldn't they do it later?

The magic net's binding of elements leads to a reduction in elemental concentration, and another aspect is that mages become more dependent on the magic net. When you can cast spells more easily, who would still go through the trouble of using traditional methods?

At first, the magic net was just a useful tool for mages, allowing them to cast spells even when detached from it. However, as time went by, the magic net transformed from a tool into a net that bound them, and the mages were horrified to discover that they had lost the ability to cast spells detached from it.

This is the subtle transformation that the magic network has undergone in them.

The mistakes of those who came before should serve as a warning to those who follow.

Jiang Shuzhou didn't want to become like that, without even the freedom to cast spells at will. Could such a mage still be called a mage?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

dong dong dong...

A dull thud sounded—the sound of an axe striking a tree trunk—and it also signaled the countdown to the birth of the Tree Man.

Jiang Shuzhou, who stays up late and gets up early, is frantically chopping down trees. He wants to get the materials needed for the burning ritual as soon as possible because there is still a lot to do.

After gathering the materials for the burning ritual, Jiang Shuzhou still needed to learn how to draw magic arrays. Even after completing the burning ritual, he still needed to learn first-tier spells and then officially advance to become a first-tier mage.

After completing the promotion, you need to return to the civilized world as soon as possible.

These all need to be completed within the next two weeks.

Originally, there wasn't such a rush, but the rewards for the competition were just too tempting—it was a soul weapon!

Under normal circumstances, to obtain a soul weapon, one must be at least a high-level spellcaster and complete the ritual of splitting the soul. Then, a portion of the soul must be placed in the soul furnace to be forged. It takes a very long time to finally obtain a soul weapon.

Not just soul weapons, but all equipment related to souls requires this process, such as soul armor.

The advantage is that you'll never have to upgrade your weapons again, and there are no downsides.

However, this ritual has one major drawback: high-level and above professionals can usually only split their soul once. Splitting it again would likely result in severe damage, and in severe cases, it might even prevent them from ever advancing in rank again.

Many professionals use this opportunity to create life-saving items, such as storing the split soul in a vessel so that once the main soul dies, the split soul can become a second life, or multitask by manipulating two bodies for learning and research, and so on.

Low- and mid-level professionals have few limitations and can split their souls seven to eight times without any side effects. They can even split their souls once they reach a higher level. However, they do not have the ability to split their souls. If someone else were to split their soul, it would require at least legendary strength to accomplish it.

Furthermore, the Soul Furnace is not something commonplace; it's at least at the Saint-level.

This whole process is comparable to crafting a legendary item.

Those who can obtain this thing are usually people with close ties to legendary powerhouses; ordinary people simply have no way of getting it.

Now that Jiang Shuzhou has the opportunity to obtain a soul weapon, how could he not be tempted?

Advancing to the next tier only fulfills the registration requirements. To rank highly in the competition and achieve a top-three finish, you need even more: more equipment, more weapons, and more spells.

How do you obtain these? Through trading?

Jiang Shuzhou glanced at the trading post and saw that all kinds of equipment, which were originally trending downwards, were now skyrocketing in price, with prices rising almost every few minutes.

Buying from the trading house is simply unrealistic; he can't compete with the big guilds and clubs backed by powerful financial backers.

You still need to go to the civilized land, join the Mage Alliance, and obtain it within the mage community.

"Ugh, this is so hard for me."

With a pained expression, Jiang Shuzhou sighed, realizing that time was suddenly running out.

Click click click.

A crisp snapping sound rang out, and another tree fell.

But this time was different from usual; Jiang Shuzhou sensed something was amiss.

A massive consciousness descended upon them, both angry and sorrowful, and Jiang Shuzhou could feel it watching him.

That is the will of nature!