Chapter 164: Annual Consumption, One Noble Family

Chapter 164 Annual Expenditure, a Noble Family

[Fireball Explosion (Second Tier Beginner)] 0/1000

[Blazing Flame Technique (Third Tier Beginner)] 0/1000

Learning these two fire spells had drained every last coin from Livi’s savings.

Now he had only four gold coins left in his pocket.

His choice of spells was not made lightly.

The Fireball Explosion leaned toward explosive force, delivering high physical damage.

Livi hoped to integrate its characteristics into his Charged Fireball, amplifying its blast power—

so that even enemies with strong fire resistance could be shattered by sheer detonation.

The Blazing Flame Technique, on the other hand, emphasized magical damage, unleashing the full fury of flame.

He wished to merge this too, enhancing the raw destructive might of his Charged Fireball.

He desired both overwhelming explosion and searing flame.

It sounded contradictory.

Yet in truth, it wasn’t.

Livi already had a plan.

Explosive force meant area-wide impact; flame damage meant concentrated burn.

Put simply: at the epicenter of the blast, temperatures would soar, inflicting massive fire damage upon nearby targets.

Meanwhile, the shockwave would crush distant foes with brute physical force.

This was one solution.

If that failed, he would pursue a second path—

developing two separate branches: one optimized for explosion, the other for flame.

Easier to achieve than the first, though sacrificing some overall power.

For now, his priority was mastering both spells to the “Minor Mastery” level.

Once achieved, he would grasp their fundamental spell structures—

not yet complete understanding, but sufficient to serve as material for evolving his Fireball.

As he advanced the Fireball through refinement, the proficiency in both spells would rise in turn,

until he fully digested their models.

This was how he had done it before.

Beyond this, another idea had recently taken root in his mind—

the fusion and evolution of three spells: Fireball, Telekinesis, and Invisible Armor.

Burst acceleration!

Back in the island labyrinth, attacked by a lava serpent, he’d nearly died.

At the brink of death, he used the recoil from a self-detonated small fireball to lurch forward—

and narrowly escaped.

Since then, he had successfully replicated the technique multiple times.

Now, he wanted to weave them together, forging a true burst-acceleration ability.

Telekinesis, Invisible Armor, Fireball—none could be spared.

Only with Telekinesis could he fly.

Only with Invisible Armor could he withstand the crushing force of sudden acceleration.

And the Fireball was the very source of propulsion.

Perhaps, when fused, they would birth an entirely new spell.

Livi longed for it deeply.

This matter was crucial.

Flight speed had always been his weakness.

Now that he finally found a way to accelerate, he would seize it without hesitation.

Speed determined escape.

As long as his body could endure it, faster was better—always.

Livi returned to his room.

That night, he began attempting to fuse the three spells, striving to evolve something new.

It proved far more difficult than imagined.

Even with the control of a third-tier mage, he could not bind the three together.

Their structures were fundamentally incompatible.

Helpless, Livi turned back to grinding experience, leveling each spell individually.

He hoped that once all three reached First Tier Perfection, a breakthrough might come.

August 1st.

Jimmy delivered Livi’s manuscript fee for July—

fifteen gold coins and thirty-six silver.

A significant increase from previous months.

Yet now, Livi barely glanced at the sum.

He still carried materials worth thousands of gold, unsold.

Still, writing novels was like a steady stream—

not much each month, but reliable, enduring.

And it cost him little time.

As his mental strength grew, his mind sharpened.

Plotting stories had become far easier.

Now, he could draft forty or fifty thousand words in just two days.

Hardly burdensome.

Jimmy asked, “Mr. Livi, when will next month’s manuscript be ready?”

“In a few days,” Livi replied.

“Understood. I won’t disturb you further.”

Li Wei went to the third floor to collect this month’s benefits—five contribution points.

He glanced at the magical steward, shook his head, and returned to his room.

Second-rank mages received twenty contribution points each month.

In the past, Li Wei might have coveted that sum.

Now, wealthy and unconcerned, he didn’t want to expose his true strength for mere twenty points.

Just as he stepped back into his room, his magical badge trembled.

He picked it up—the number had changed from five to twenty.

Li Wei froze for a moment.

Coming to his senses, he looked up at the ceiling.

“Master?”

Torasta’s voice reached his ears: “What is yours shall not be taken away, not even by a single point.”

“Rest assured, you remain a first-rank mage.”

Li Wei bowed deeply in gratitude. “Thank you, Master!”

Outwardly, he was still a first-rank mage—but he now enjoyed the privileges of a second-rank one.

Staring at the number glowing on his badge, he sighed with satisfaction.

“It truly feels good to be a mage!”

“Writing novels drains the mind for such meager returns—earning less than what the Mage Tower gives out monthly.”

He shook his head.

Still, he would keep writing.

After all, it was a long-term source of income.

Day after day, the accumulation added up.

Throughout August, Li Wei stayed quietly within the Mage Tower, cultivating diligently, grinding experience.

At the same time, he gradually sold off his possessions, converting them into coin.

Then, coin was transformed into power.

A mid-tier magic potion cost twenty gold coins—he used them without blinking.

After becoming a second-rank mage, one bottle only lasted ten days.

Merely for cultivation, he spent sixty gold coins a month.

Seven hundred and twenty per year.

The expenditure was staggering.

An average minor noble family in Maple City earned two or three hundred gold coins annually.

In human terms, that amounted to an annual income of two or three million RMB.

Larger noble houses made around five hundred gold coins a year.

Only top-tier families like the Goldshield or Lainster clans could reach two or three thousand gold coins annually.

Yet even they wouldn’t dare fund a mage’s cultivation so extravagantly.

Great houses meant great expenses.

Little remained in each individual’s hands.

Li Wei’s yearly cultivation cost surpassed the annual income of most noble families in Maple City.

But he had no choice.

He had grown accustomed to the swift progress granted by magic potions.

To return to slow, natural cultivation would drive him mad.

Especially after reaching the second rank—progress without potions was agonizing.

Without them, a full day of hard training yielded only seven or eight points of proficiency.

With mid-tier potions, he gained about thirty per day.

Only then could he hope to reach the peak of the second rank within a year.

Otherwise, it would take three or four years of grueling effort.

Li Wei had already enhanced his aptitude using the Spring of Elves.

Without such blessings—and without potions—it was normal to spend seven or eight years just to reach the second-rank pinnacle.

Take Er, who had been a second-rank mage for over a decade, yet still hadn’t broken through to the third.

One stage could consume fifteen, even twenty years.

Yet to most mages in the Tower, this was ordinary.

Li Wei was the anomaly—he was too fast.

(End of Chapter)