Swords, magic, and martial arts

After returning to the inn, Rhodes began his research on magic and internal energy.

Magic is somewhat similar to mana in games; casting spells consumes magic power within the caster. However, there are some differences. Under the control of mental power, magic can resonate with the elements in the environment, increasing the power of the spell. Simply put, the power of magic depends not only on the amount of magic power injected during casting but also on the total amount of magic power within the caster.

In other words, when creating a fireball the size of a washbasin, someone with more magic power will consume less magic power than someone with less magic power. Moreover, someone with more magic power will have higher magic resistance.

As for internal energy, Rhode felt it was like excess energy that the body absorbs from the surrounding environment and condenses within the body. It was generated by the body itself but could also nourish the body. Similar to magic, people with deeper internal energy could grow and recover it much faster than those with less internal energy in their dantian.

The generation of magic is related to mental strength. According to the research of the necromancer Otto, people with strong mental strength also have much stronger magic. Meditation can enhance both mental strength and magic.

Rhodes had previously read the necromancer Otto's diary, and its contents provided him with a lot of inspiration and ideas for his current research.

Besides the rabbit's control experiment with a certain poison, Otto's diary contained several other experiments that left a deep impression on him. He had once lured several people to his lair under the guise of taking on disciples, posing as a sorcerer, providing them with relatively good living conditions, and teaching them how to meditate.

After some time, several people showed their talent for magic, not only being able to use simple spells like Flametongue, but also more difficult spells like Fireball, while several others didn't know any magic at all.

He divided those who could already cast spells into one group and those who couldn't into another. Several months later, those who could cast spells learned more advanced spells, while those who couldn't cast spells before still couldn't cast any spells at all.

Otto, who had wasted a lot of time on this experiment, lost his patience. He killed the apprentices in their sleep and then carefully dissected their bodies one by one. He eventually discovered that those who could learn magic had more brain tissue than those who could not.

He then conducted several experiments to investigate whether the development of that particular tissue, or organ, indicated better magical talent or stronger internal magic. After killing several isolated and weak mages, he finally discovered that this tissue was related to the strength of internal magic, and that magic originated from this location. It's possible that people with better magical talent have that tissue grow faster.

As for why Rhodes suddenly thought of this, it was because he had previously discovered that magic power was not evenly distributed in his body. He could sense it, but not as clearly as he could sense internal energy. The ability to clearly sense internal energy was mainly due to the Divine Illumination Scripture.

This location is one of the keys to understanding the fusion of magic and internal energy. He knew before that the place where internal energy gathers is the dantian. If he hadn't read Otto's diary, he would never have known where magic gathers. In his perception, the magic intensity there is even less than that of his hands, which he often uses to cast spells.

But in reality, the magical intensity near that organization is many times higher. Just as we can see a nose but our brains automatically ignore it, the magical intensity of that organization is very high, but it is ignored because of habit.

Rhodes gathered a tiny amount of internal energy from his dantian and circulated it to the vicinity of that tissue in his brain. He clearly felt that the internal energy was being rejected and could not be integrated with it.

He then channeled the same amount of internal energy into his hands, which he frequently used for casting spells. He felt that very little of his internal energy was absorbed by the magic. Although this amount was almost negligible, he could still clearly sense it.

Next, he gathered the same amount of magic power as before into his dantian, and through his internal energy, he clearly sensed that all of this magic power was absorbed and fused together.

Rhodes, struck by a thought, picked up a quill and animal hide to draw a table. He then experimented with fusing magic and internal energy in different proportions, eventually discovering that the higher the proportion of internal energy, the greater the degree of fusion. If the volume ratio of internal energy was high enough, it could completely fuse all the magic. However, a high proportion of magic would repel internal energy, and if the volume ratio of magic reached a certain level, the two would not fuse at all.

A high degree of fusion does not necessarily mean greater power, a point Rhodes realized after completing his tests. This idea also came from Otto's diary. When Otto was researching alchemical potions, he discovered that many potions, even when the proportions of alchemical materials were adjusted to ensure perfect dissolution, were not as effective as those proportions where some alchemical materials could not be dissolved.

Rod added another column to the table to record the power of the two forces used to activate the One-Finger Divine Skill in different mixing ratios. Considering that the use of the One-Finger Divine Skill might produce errors due to different physical strength, he decided to judge the intensity by the depth of the mark left on the wooden board when striking it from a distance.

Finally, it was discovered that the power reached its peak when the volume ratio of internal force to magic was approximately 3:7. Below or above this ratio, the power decreased. Even when only a small portion of internal force and magic were fused together, the power was actually at its maximum. Rhode carefully observed that under this mixing ratio, some magic could still be used as energy to unleash the One-Finger Divine Skill.

Rhodes sensed the ratio of his internal energy to magic power and found that it was almost 1 to 99. In his previous tests, this huge ratio of magic power suppressed his internal energy, or rather, they suppressed each other, and the power of magic power was also weakened.

It seems that not only the power, but also the growth of internal energy has been suppressed. This may be the reason why the internal energy flow was sluggish in some places before, because the magic power in the body is unevenly distributed, and the magic power in that area is relatively high.

This has nothing to do with the consumption of magic power. Rhodes has also had the experience of exhausting his magic power, but his strength did not increase with the consumption of magic power. It is probably related to the strength of his dantian and the size of the tissue in his brain.

It truly is a case of fortune and misfortune being intertwined. For the people of this world to possess such immense magical power without much training is nothing short of a gift. The dark green flames that ignite at crucial moments consume not only physical strength but also magical power. Could my inability to control those flames at will be related to my internal energy? In truth, Baron wasn't overly secretive; it was his talent, something he had suddenly awakened and mastered. He had no reason not to teach me how to actively control those flames. What he truly wanted to conceal was something else, perhaps the origins of this body?

By the time Rod finished doing all this, it was already evening. He had told Baron and the others not to bother him, thinking it would only last until evening at most, but now it was almost dawn.

A wave of hunger washed over him; he'd only eaten a few loaves of bread that morning. Rod opened the door and went downstairs to grab something to eat. The hotel's ground floor was bustling with activity; many people were chatting, seemingly trying to relieve the stress of the competition.

While eating, he kept thinking about his discoveries that day.

If I hadn't washed my hair back then, I don't know how long it would have taken me to think of these things. Now, even though the magic power within me is suppressing my internal energy, I can still temporarily gather the optimal ratio of magic power and internal energy to power my martial arts.

Imagine if my internal strength increased to a volume ratio of 3:7 with my magic power, how powerful would I become?

Well, since it's so difficult to increase my internal energy to that level, could I learn some kind of sealing technique, or find someone who knows sealing to seal a portion of my magic power?

But thinking about it, it's probably not very useful; it's most likely related to the dantian and that brain tissue.

I should focus on cultivating the Divine Illumination Technique from now on...