Chereads / I Possessed The Strongest Character / Chapter 8 - Two Paths (1)

Chapter 8 - Two Paths (1)

As I looked out of the window, I noticed that it was already night.

"I read a lot; it has probably been around 12 hours." I said while stretching.

It reminded me of when I used to study back in university, except that I was much more motivated.

There were two reasons for that.

One, it was actually important to read since it was my life we were talking about. The author would kill Rylan Ashencroft; therefore, I needed to learn how to use magic if I wanted to increase my odds of surviving.

Second, the book was very interesting. The way Oliver Olacan wrote the book was very fun to read. It didn't feel like a scientific book at all; it included a lot of layman terms, which made it easier to read.

And since it was magic we were talking about, I was already very interested. This was basically something that didn't exist in the real world.

Therefore, the opportunity to learn something so amazing naturally made me motivated.

There was also another problem that I realized midway through reading the book.

How did I understand the contents?

This was a different world, but somehow I understood what everyone was saying.

Even the book was understandable.

Therefore, I had a theory. Since I possessed Rylan Ashencroft, anything he understood, whether it be language or reading, I, who was in the same body, would naturally also understand.

I didn't get his memories, but I got everything else.

It also raised another question at the same time. Isn't language a memory? So how could I understand what everyone was saying?

Well, I only had one answer.

I don't know.

I had no idea why I could understand the contents or the language.

From my point of view, what everyone was speaking was English. The book was also in English.

Wait a minute.

What everyone was saying sounded like English, and even the words in the book were in English.

My eyes widened, and I made a facepalm.

"What if the language here was just English?".

That would make a lot more sense.

Maybe the fantasy world in the book was a world where everyone spoke English?

That would explain why I could understand what everyone was saying.

I closed the book, and I went to the arched window. It was a nice vantage point that overlooked the cityscape.

The lights in the city twinkled like stars, creating a beautiful scene. Above, the sky was dark but clear, filled with stars.

"It's truly peaceful here.".

There was a cozy atmosphere that I could feel just by seeing the city.

It was beautiful, which just made me admire this fantasy world more.

"This world is not that bad.".

I raised my hand, and a small flame sprouted out of my index finger. At the same time, on my other fingers, a small shard of ice, a little dirtball, and a small tornado also appeared.

"This magic is very amazing.".

After reading the book, I already understood the concepts. It was probably because Rylan Ashencroft already had the necessary experience, making it very easy for me.

All I had to do was imagine, and the magic would start to form. This wasn't the case for other people.

They would have to make complex formulas inside their heads to do the same.

I don't know if it was because Rylan Ashencroft was different, but it was like he already knew the answer.

If a normal person wanted to make a giant fireball, they would have to create a formula inside their head. After getting the answer from the formula, the fireball would start to form.

As I tried to imagine a fireball,

A fireball the size of a basketball started to manifest outside the glass.

But I was different; it was like I already had the answer. I could just skip the formula and immediately create the fireball.

If I had to explain it with an analogy, imagine a person having to do a very hard multiplication problem.

He would have to solve it step by step to get the result.

But I, on the other hand, felt like I was using a calculator and could just get the result immediately.

The fireball outside the window vanished into thin air.

"But not everyone can use magic.".

To be able to use magic, you had to become an 'Awakener'.

In the book, they mentioned 'Awakeners'.

Awakeners were people who had unlocked an 'Insignia'.

An 'Insignia' was, in short, a special ability that a person could use.

This doesn't work the same way as the magic I was using. An insignia was different in the sense that it did not require mana.

The stronger the person, the stronger the insignia would be. But there is a limit.

This is where mana comes in. Just like in the novels, it was a special energy.

But if Insignia didn't require mana, what was the point of even having it?

'Mana are used to strengthen the body. The more mana you have, the stronger your physical body is'. This is what Oliver Olacan wrote.

It's true that insignia doesn't require mana, but it does take a heavy toll on the body if you use it too much.

Therefore, having a large amount of mana was essential if you wanted to be strong.

So if every awakener had an insignia, that must mean that they also possessed mana. So why couldn't everyone use magic?

It all depends on the path you choose. Do you want to become a warrior or a mage?

If you chose to become a warrior, then focusing all your mana to strengthen the body was the best choice.

If you choose to become a mage, instead of using your mana to strengthen your body, you would use the extra mana on magic.

These were two distinct paths. One chose to use mana to strengthen the body, and the other chose mana to be used as magic.

But if Insignia took a heavy toll on the body, wouldn't mages be at a disadvantage?

Not necessarily.

If you chose to become a mage, there were multiple ways to counteract this.

One was to not spam your insignia. Since Insignia takes a heavy toll on the body, the obvious solution would be to not use your Insignia too much.

Since they could use magic, the insignia could be used as a trump card when they didn't have any mana left.

Two, some mages can counteract the heavy toll by consuming their mana.

Insignia doesn't use mana; therefore, you train the body with mana. But if you can make Insignia use your mana, the heavy toll you would get would disappear at the cost of mana.

It sounds easy to say, but actually doing it is very hard.

So if mages can use both magic and insignia, wouldn't a warrior be at a disadvantage?

No.