The desolate frontier.
The Relic City of Sug.
A spacious, brightly lit, domed classroom.
"Student Gune," the instructor, a tall, statuesque woman with flowing golden curls and fair skin named Cylair Potter, addressed a young man. "In your opinion, what is the most important quality for a spellcaster?"
Gune Laurence, a youth of about sixteen with short black hair, dark eyes, and a black turtleneck, stood up and answered calmly, "I believe the most important thing for a spellcaster is to build tanky. Only then can they survive, and only by surviving can they deal damage."
His words were met with a moment of stunned silence in the large, circular classroom filled with fifty novice spellcasters. Then, a few snickers rippled through the room, quickly escalating into full-blown laughter. The sound echoed throughout the classroom and beyond.
Even the seasoned spellcaster Cylair Potter couldn't help but smile. It was common knowledge that the most important thing for a magic user was to master powerful spells and arcane knowledge. This student Gune's idea of a "tanky" spellcaster was certainly novel.
"Can you elaborate on your viewpoint?" Cylair asked, choosing not to immediately dismiss Gune's opinion. These students of the Sug Relic City Academy were still young and naive. Once they experienced the true "blood and terror" of the mystical world, they would abandon such "immature" notions and follow the established paths laid down by countless elite mages, geniuses, pioneers, and explorers.
Unfazed by the laughter of his peers, Gune remained composed and continued, "As we all know, spellcasters possess incredible long-range attacks, high precision, and wide area coverage, unmatched by other extraordinary professions. However, our physical and magical resistance is relatively weak. To put it bluntly, we're as fragile as paper, easily torn apart."
"Many powerful and talented mages have died ignominious deaths at the hands of assassins or practitioners of dark magic who managed to bypass their defenses and get up close. I've read about numerous incidents in the history of the Northern Oya Continent where high-ranking spellcasters were ambushed, their shields shattered and bodies torn asunder, leading to unforeseen consequences and catastrophic events."
"If spellcasters dedicated some time and effort to physical training, strengthening their bodies and increasing their resilience, even if their shields fail, they would stand a better chance of survival in complex combat situations, allowing them to counterattack and defeat their enemies."
"An interesting perspective," Cylair Potter conceded with a nod. "But the problem is that spellcasters are inherently weaker physically. Don't you think that dedicating the same time and energy to studying spells and arcane knowledge would be far more beneficial than focusing on physical resilience?"
"Furthermore, possessing profound arcane knowledge will help you survive and thrive during Ancient Ruin explorations, expeditions into the Misty Wastelands, and even in the increasingly popular deep-sea voyages aboard steampunk ironclad ships, allowing you to explore distant seas, uncharted islands, and forgotten ruins. These experiences will grant you access to more extraordinary resources. With those resources, you can become a truly powerful spellcaster, rather than a slightly more durable, but ultimately weaker one."
Cylair Potter refuted Gune's argument succinctly and dismissed him with a wave of her hand, not even giving him a chance to rebut. Gune, however, didn't react with the impetuousness of a typical teenager, eager to defend his point. He simply sat down calmly, seemingly unperturbed by the brief debate.
"I understand the logic," Gune mused internally as he sat down, "but as a squishy mage, survival is paramount. Focusing solely on damage output at the expense of survivability is a risky path."
Gune Laurence's "tanky mage" philosophy stemmed from his inherently cautious nature, a trait amplified by his experience as a transmigrator. Roughly six months ago, on a stormy night, after dominating a Summoner's Rift match with a tanky AP champion, the excitement led to a spilled drink, a short circuit, an electric shock, and a series of convulsions that transported him to this world—a world of steampunk and arcane mysteries.
Initially, Gune felt fear, anxiety, and confusion. He even experienced a brief period of excitement about his newfound orphan status, seeing it as a good omen. Over the past six months, he had come to accept and adapt to his current identity: an adopted orphan with a talent for spellcasting.
Having learned about the dangers of this world and his own vulnerability as a mage, the cautious Gune naturally gravitated towards the path of a tanky spellcaster. While his argument had been refuted, he wasn't discouraged. The concept of a tanky mage wasn't unheard of; he wasn't the first to propose it. However, the mainstream path for spellcasters was to pursue powerful spells and arcane knowledge. The tanky mage build was considered an unorthodox and fringe path. He didn't expect to change the minds of his classmates with just a few words.
But for Gune, the choices of others were their own concern. He would stick to his own path of unwavering stability.
Of course, there were practical reasons for his choice, beyond his cautious nature. In this world of steampunk and arcane magic, the tanky mage build was entirely viable.
At the lectern, Cylair Potter continued her lecture on spellcasting techniques and principles, interspersed with anecdotes about her own adventures exploring steampunk ruins. The students listened attentively. Gune, however, who had access to information beyond the reach of ordinary people, found her stories less captivating. He knew far more about the dangers, bloodshed, and brutal realities of ruin exploration than Cylair Potter could convey.
His gaze drifted towards the grimy window. The first thing he saw was the Relic City of Sug, with its distinctive, richly colored architecture, reminiscent of Byzantine style but infused with the mechanical aesthetics of steampunk. Buildings of varying heights stretched out before him, leading to the large steel-framed steampunk factories on the city's outskirts, their massive smokestacks belching black plumes into the sky. Further out, he could see the steampunk trains. Just then, a train let out a low whistle, its wheels clattering on the tracks as it carried a load of newly mined black iron ore away from the city.
This was the world Gune now inhabited: a world of steampunk and arcane magic, a world powered by steam, built on steel, and fueled by arcane knowledge, a world forging ahead into an unknown future.
Fortunately, Gune wasn't alone in this strange new world. He had a powerful "Idle System" at his disposal. The Relic City of Sug, situated on the border between steampunk civilization and the mystical wilderness, was a city of both danger and opportunity, a true frontier town. For now, the still-weak Gune was content to remain in this border city, quietly leveling up.
I... carrying the weight of the steampunk world on my shoulders... have returned!