Above the mage

Chapter 714: Extra points! Add some more! Add some more! Add some more!

"Yes." Gao De nodded. This was something that was actually hard to hide.

"To cultivate two cultivation methods simultaneously and still reach the third ring level at this age is truly remarkable," Marcus remarked sincerely, his eyes full of admiration.

"I don't even dare to think about how high you would have reached as a mage if you had only practiced one cultivation method. You might have already touched the threshold of the fourth ring."

"You just need to choose any one of the factions that sent you the invitation."

"After the investigation, be honest with them that you have two cultivation methods, and let them spend money and resources to help you upgrade both cultivation methods to the late stage of the third ring."

"If I equip you with two elemental items with compatible attributes, you can easily imagine how much your combat power will increase."

"This will indeed cost an astronomical sum, something that ordinary forces simply cannot afford."

"But those forces that extend invitations to you are capable and willing to do so."

Marcus spoke calmly, slowly revealing the secret behind it: "Many families and forces want to join this game called the Unparalleled Magic Competition, hoping to gain more resources and influence in the dynasty and even the Nolan Continent."

"With limited tickets available, they don't have enough skill to qualify directly."

"And your sudden emergence has undoubtedly made you the most sought-after commodity in their eyes."

"No one expected that a grassroots mage with such outstanding talent would appear in the Dynasty Mage Team, with no powerful backing."

"To you, they are resource providers; to them, if they can cooperate with you or even sign a contract, it is equivalent to indirectly obtaining this scarce ticket to the game."

"So, like hyenas that have spotted food, they will pounce on you like madmen, offering all sorts of conditions to win you over."

"In this situation, choosing one of them is actually the best option."

"The reason is as I said: although you were able to participate in this French Fighting Championship as a substitute member, without resource support, it will be difficult for you to go further."

"Don't underestimate this short five-day break. When you see your teammates again, their skills will definitely have improved considerably."

"Besides that, there's one more thing you need to consider."

Marcus's expression turned serious, and he said meaningfully, "If you refuse all the invitations, it may seem like you are staying true to yourself, but in reality, you are likely to offend those powerful forces."

At this point, he finally revealed the purpose of his visit: "I am here today on behalf of my wife."

"Madam values ​​your potential and is willing to provide you with resources and support. You can ask Wang Mian for anything you need, and Madam will do her best to meet your needs."

He understood what Gao De cared about and specifically stated, "Don't worry, this has nothing to do with your relationship with Prince Liuying."

""

"It is purely an investment in your talent and potential by the Madam, just like the inner court of the King extends a special invitation to you, without any additional conditions."

"Why don't you consider it? This is indeed a rare opportunity for you," Marcus asked.

"No need to consider it." Gao De replied without any hesitation, "My answer remains the same as before. Thank you for your kindness, Madam Wang Mian. I appreciate your consideration."

"I'm just used to being alone, and I'm used to getting resources on my own. It's more troublesome and harder, but it's also more reassuring."

"I have always firmly believed that the power gained by relying on others will ultimately belong to those same people."

"In this world, there is no help without a reason, and no one will give you resources for free. I don't want to be bound by these things."

"And if it were really like you said, being kept like that, where you only need to focus on your cultivation while others bring everything else to you, what's the point?" As he said this, Gao De's lips curled into a relaxed smile.

Marcus looked at God, paused for a moment, and nodded slightly: "I understand. I will convey your message to Madam."

"That's true. How could a grassroots mage like you, who has worked your way up from the bottom, possibly get used to the life of a noble mage who has everything handed to him?"

"In history, among the truly powerful figures who stood at the top of the mage pyramid, the ratio of noble mages to commoner mages was almost 50/50."

"And most of those grassroots mages have made their way up step by step on their own, and you might just become one of them," Marcus said.

"I like hearing that," Gao De said with a smile.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

Marcus seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "Madam also told me that regardless of whether you accept Wang Mian's invitation or not, you don't need to worry about offending the families and forces that sent you the invitation."

"Wang Mian's inner court will handle this matter for you, and you will not suffer any injustice."

There are no strings attached.

Origin: Three Rings — [Iron Feather Eagle Beast] (7/7) —

After returning to the inn from the inner palace of the King, Gao De focused all his attention on the fourth item in the [Wind Spirit Moon Shadow] Origin section.

Pointing to the origin of the three rings, he thought of what Marcus had said in the inner court of the King.

He couldn't help but smile.

Elemental types are awesome, right...? My Wind Spirit Moon Shadow is just as good.

Not to mention the increased capabilities Boeing gained after evolving to the second stage.

After all, this is a random event, and it depends to some extent on luck, so it cannot be relied upon as a regular occurrence.

He also has this reliable "stat allocation" method.

And who said they don't have any powerful backers?

Isn't the North the answer?

Although it may not seem as impressive as the Royal Mage Corps, the Vanguard of Justice, or the Ancient Clan...

But in reality, the history of the North is much longer than that of the Plantagenet dynasty.

More importantly, the North belongs to his forces, obeys his commands, and is under his control, rather than him being dependent on the North.

Making the North stronger little by little, turning it into a reliable backer, provides a sense of control that is far more reassuring than directly relying on any powerful force.

Since the upgrade to the third ring, the difficulty of obtaining Gaode's source points has increased significantly.

One is that the difficulty of killing Leyline Creatures in the third ring has increased significantly, and the other is that the number of Leyline Creatures in the third ring has decreased significantly.

Therefore, Gaode Maps also started to be a bit stingy and developed the habit of hoarding source points.

What I fear is that later, when I master even more powerful spells, I'll have no points left to allocate.

But now, with the French Fighting Championship just around the corner, followed by twenty days of intensive training, it is a crucial moment when a breakthrough in strength is needed.

He decided to splurge and use up all the four points of the three-ring essence he had stockpiled at once.

Gao De closed his eyes, his mind scanning his third-circle spell slots, quickly weighing the practicality and suitability of each spell in his mind.

Since the points are being allocated in preparation for the Magic Tournament, the spells chosen must all be highly practical combat spells, and not a single point can be wasted.

After a moment's thought, he made his decision.

Gaode had only one thought in his mind: Add points! Add points! Add points! Add points!

【Frost Nova+】(Energizer, Level 3):

Creates a frost explosion at a point you specify within casting range, originating at the target location...

Additional: The extreme cold of Frost Nova not only causes damage, but also pushes the creatures hit (only those damaged by Frost Nova) into an unstable critical state.

Under critical conditions, countless tiny ice crystals will condense on the surface of the organism and in its internal tissues.

These ice crystals do not cause immediate additional damage, but they make his body exceptionally vulnerable and extremely sensitive to cold damage:

Any subsequent exposure to cold would trigger a chain reaction of freezing within the body, causing far more damage than usual.

However, in order to maintain this extremely cold state, its internal temperature drops sharply, which makes it somewhat resistant to fire damage, and the effect of fire damage will be weakened.

This critical state can only be maintained for a short period of time.

[Evocation + [True Freeze]] (Alteration, Third Ring):

You channel energy to reshape your spellcasting core, allowing you to temporarily alter the energy nature of the spells you cast during the remaining casting time.

When you cast a spell that deals a specific type of damage, you can choose to convert it entirely into another type of damage that you are familiar with.

The visual effects of the transformed spell will change accordingly, but the basic shape, range, duration and other parameters will remain unchanged.

Additional: After you cast a spell, you do not immediately convert its damage type. Instead, the spell hits the target in its original, unconverted form, and then the conversion is completed the instant after the hit.

[Blink + [True Freeze]] (Alteration, Third Ring):

You are flashing between the material plane and the spirit plane, appearing as if you are flashing in and out of the real world very quickly and chaotically.

Additional: During Blink, you will be completely free from spell lock and sense lock. Any single-target spells, spell marks, and mind locks that are tracking you will become invalid immediately after Blink is completed.

However, it cannot dispel curses or persistent magical effects that have already taken effect.

[Ice Barrier + [True Freeze Spell]] (Evocation, Third Ring):

A semi-transparent barrier of ice materialized out of thin air, completely enveloping you.

During the spell's duration, you cannot move, speak, or perform any actions; even your thoughts become sluggish and stagnant. However, no attack, fire, poison gas, or impact can harm you in the slightest.

Additional: When you are attacked while the Ice Barrier is active, sharp ice spikes will erupt from the barrier's surface, automatically dealing cold damage to the attacker.

The four points of the three-ring essence were instantly exhausted, and all four spells were completed.

Gao De slowly opened his eyes, shifting his focus away from the newly created spell model.

His choice was very deliberate:

Among them, [Frost Nova] is an area-of-effect spell that can effectively make up for his lack of area-of-effect attack ability. It is also his most proficient ice element spell.

As for [Empower], [Blink], and [Ice Barrier], they are not only combat spells, but also True Ice spells, making them the most powerful.

This is undoubtedly the most cost-effective option.

The additional effects that the four spells gain after adding skill points are also quite interesting:

【Frost Nova】 adds an extra layer of Vulnerability buff, essentially giving the target an effect that doubles the damage from cold.

Although the effect is short-lived, it is enough to turn the tide of battle in the ever-changing world of French fighting, and it is applicable to a wide range of scenarios.

Whether in 1v1 battles, you can first apply buffs to your opponent and then follow up with [Frostblade+] to unleash burst damage, or in team battles, you can use [Frost Nova+] to hit multiple enemies and create an output environment for your teammates' ice spells, it can play a huge role.

【Energy Shaping】 adds the effect of catching the opponent off guard.

It is especially suitable for complex and ever-changing battle environments, and for opponents with elemental advantages.

After allocating points to [Flash], it transforms from a simple dodge skill into a god-tier skill for both survival and counterattack.

As for the [Ice Barrier], it was originally a purely defensive spell. Although it provides unparalleled defense, the user is unable to move and is essentially forced to take hits.

This makes it easy for opponents to focus fire on you after the barrier disappears.

The additional effect after adding points gives this defensive barrier the ability to counterattack, which to some extent frees it from the limitations of passive defense.

With this set of skill point allocations, Gaode's practical combat capabilities, adaptability, and survivability have all been greatly improved.

The five-day rest period passed in the blink of an eye.

Following Fritz's instructions, God, along with Cedric, Gareth, and others, went to the Silverwing Nest Fighting Arena of the Ryuga Magic Hall once again.

People arrived one after another.

Gao De activated his Mandora's Eye, briefly observed his teammates, and immediately noticed the subtle changes in them:

The elemental fluctuations around Cedric were more concentrated than they had been five days ago.

According to the information provided by Marcus, he has clearly refined the elemental seed, further enhancing his strength.

Arya's wind energy became increasingly fluid, with a faint current of energy surrounding her, and she exuded more confidence in every gesture.

Gareth was still cheerful, but his aura was stronger than before.

Feng Lin remained the same as before, but Godman's magic eye could detect a slight, barely perceptible amount of magic power automatically emanating from her body.

Evan's eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and he exuded even more confidence.

Clearly, they had all gained something during these five days.

Gao De stood in the corner of the line, his expression still calm.

Compared to others, the magical energy fluctuations around him appeared calm and uneventful.

But in those five days, his combat strength increased by no means.

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries, the conversation inevitably carried a hint of probing about each other's changing strengths, but everyone kept it brief and didn't pry into each other's privacy.

Just as everyone was chatting, Fritz's figure slowly appeared in front of the training ground.

His expression was serious, and a faint aura of a high-level mage surrounded him, instantly silencing the originally noisy training ground.

Behind him stood five unfamiliar mages.

They stood in a row, their auras calm and composed, and the fluctuations of their magical power were clearly discernible; each of them exuded a strength that should not be underestimated.

These five mages were dressed uniformly in standard magistrate robes, yet their sharp edges were fully exposed, and they made no attempt to conceal their individual characteristics.

Upon seeing these five unfamiliar monks, the expressions on everyone's faces became more doubtful and wary.

Fritz glanced at the expressions on everyone's faces, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, and then said, "Let me introduce you. These five are the sparring partners I've invited for you."

He emphasized the word "sparring partner" when he spoke.

"For the next twenty days, they will accompany you throughout your training camp and will also be your opponents in the upcoming high-intensity French fighting training."