Chapter 25 — Proficiency
The next day, Ren booked another private session with Teacher Vance to continue practicing the Blazing Apex Technique.
At present, his proficiency in the technique was only at the Beginner level.
In the world of magic, the proficiency of techniques and spells was divided into five levels.
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, and Perfected.
Proficiency represented a person's level of understanding of a technique or spell.
For spells, higher proficiency generally meant greater power, lower mana consumption, shorter cooldown times, and better overall performance.
For magic techniques, the benefits were different.
Higher proficiency allowed the transformation of one's life level to proceed faster and more efficiently.
More importantly, proficiency placed a limit on one's advancement.
If a mage's understanding of their technique became stuck, their life-level progression would eventually become stuck at the same point.
No matter how many resources they possessed, they couldn't simply force their way past the limit.
Only after reaching Perfected proficiency could a mage completely finish the transformation of their current life level.
At that point, one hundred percent of the corresponding body and soul transformation would be complete, allowing them to advance to the next level.
This made comprehension extremely important.
Someone with sufficiently high comprehension could master a technique extremely quickly, allowing them to advance far faster than their talent would normally permit.
Talent mainly determined a person's potential ceiling.
Comprehension determined how quickly they could reach that ceiling.
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Of course, this didn't mean that choosing the strongest technique available was always the best option.
There was a trade-off.
The stronger a technique was, the more difficult it usually was to comprehend.
If someone chose a technique that was beyond their ability to understand, they could become stuck at a certain proficiency for years.
That was why mages had to be careful not to bite off more than they could chew.
Choosing a suitable technique was extremely important.
Elemental affinity was another factor.
It wasn't impossible to learn spells or techniques belonging to other elements. It was simply much more difficult.
A Fire Element mage could still learn a Water Element spell, for example, but their lack of affinity would make comprehending it considerably harder.
For that reason, most mages focused on spells and techniques that matched their elemental affinity.
Ren, however, had no intention of limiting himself unnecessarily.
After finishing his practice with the Blazing Apex Technique, he purchased several spells from the university and began learning them under Teacher Vance's guidance.
By the following day, he had reached Beginner proficiency in all of them.
His progress was fast.
Naturally, he paid Vance's full teaching fee this time.
The previous session had been a one-time courtesy.
Ren had only sought direct guidance in the beginning because he wanted to make sure he didn't make any dangerous mistakes while learning magic.
From now on, he planned to practice mostly on his own.
He would only book a class whenever he encountered a problem he couldn't solve himself.
And so, time passed.
Ren established a simple routine.
He alternated between practicing the Blazing Apex Technique and learning his spells.
From time to time, he used Tier 1 Low-Grade comprehension potions to temporarily increase his comprehension.
He also used other potions to accelerate his training and recovery.
Whenever he encountered a problem he couldn't overcome, he booked another class with Teacher Vance.
His initial collection of spells consisted of six spells.
Telekinesis — Tier 1, Level 1.
A Soul-type spell that allowed Ren to manipulate objects with his mind.
It could also be used to control his own body and fly.
It was one of the spells that practically every mage learned.
Fire Spear — Tier 1, Level 1.
A Fire Element spell that condensed flames into spears and launched them toward an opponent.
Simple, but effective.
Flame Barrier — Tier 1, Level 1.
A Fire Element defensive spell that created a spherical barrier around the caster to block incoming attacks.
Flame Heal — Tier 1, Level 1.
A Fire Element healing spell capable of treating injuries.
Its effects were comparable to an ordinary healing potion.
Most mages didn't bother learning spells like this.
Everyone's time was limited, and there were far too many spells to learn. Most mages preferred to specialize in the spells most useful to them and simply purchase healing potions when necessary.
Ren didn't care.
He had his own plans.
As long as he had enough resources, he was willing to spend them.
Cleaning Spell — Tier 1, Level 1.
A simple utility spell that could accomplish essentially the same things as a cleaning talisman.
Ren didn't deliberately spend time training it.
He used it as part of his daily life, so its proficiency would naturally increase.
Exploding Fireball — Tier 1, Level 1.
As the name suggested, the spell condensed fire into spherical projectiles that exploded upon impact.
Each of these spells had cost Ren roughly twenty to thirty thousand Astras.
Even Tier 1, Level 1 spells weren't cheap.
For an ordinary person, spending that much money on a single spell was an enormous expense. For Ren, however, it was simply another investment in his future.
These were the spells Ren focused on for the time being.
He rotated between spell training and practicing the Blazing Apex Technique throughout the day.
Whenever he encountered a bottleneck, he sought guidance.
Whenever he needed a boost to his comprehension or training speed, he used a potion.
And every day, large amounts of money disappeared from his account.
Ren didn't mind.
Money was ultimately just a resource.
And right now, he had only one thing he wanted to accomplish.
Become stronger.
So he continued to burn through his resources without hesitation.
After all, he had already spent years preparing for this moment.
Now that he had finally become a mage, there was no reason to hold himself back.