"Highly talented mages are terrifying; they can cast spells at minimal mana cost. According to my calculations, a mage with average talent may barely be able to defeat a knight of the same rank, but a talented mage would destroy a knight of the same rank." Edric concluded, realizing his mage talent upgrade might have to be elevated in his priority list.

Knights have advantages over mages; they have tough physiques and are very hard to kill; as a knight's rank progresses, they also obtain magic resistance. In contrast, even though a mage's lifespan increases as they rank up, their physique would remain fragile; killing a mage in an ambush is much easier than killing a knight.

But in battles, a highly talented mage can cast spell after spell, fly in the sky, shoot fireballs and burn cities, quickly run away, heal allies, etc.; any mage is much more valuable than knights of the same rank because of the incredible versatility and uses they have, but highly talented mages are in entirely different leagues than knights of the same rank.

In fact, in the eyes of many lords, a great mage may be even more valuable than a Silver Knight; depending on the situation, a low-ranking mage may even be more valuable than a Golden Knight.

Edric had not read informative books on mages and was unaware of these nuances before becoming a mage; now, he has started understanding them himself. After all, Edric is now both a knight and a mage and understands the difference between them better than most people.

"A talented mage may be able to cross ranks and fight knights of a higher realm; this is something that knights cannot do," Edric thought.

"Mages have higher potential, but they are very rare. Among my extended family, I am the only one with any mage talent, and I only have Average talent, even though it's said that my family had a mage ancestor. I can't imagine how rare mage talent is among commoners with no mage ancestor; I cannot imagine how rare a Silver or Golden mage talent is." Edric thought.

"Talent is very important; it's a shame I can't waste XP on it anytime soon; for me right now, the priority is to break through to Legendary rank as quickly as possible; I wouldn't be able to upgrade my talents anytime soon; for the foreseeable future, I would have to simply learn simple Heal and Fly spells to use them during emergencies," Edric thought; in his view, nothing could be more important than reaching Legendary; as a Legendary Knight with little experience, he wouldn't be able to defeat other Legendary Knights, let alone jumping ranks and fighting Mythic ranks; however, one's rank is the basis of everything; as long as he breaks through to Legendary rank, he would be able to protect himself; even a Legendary Knight with absolutely no skill or training can, without much trouble, defeat a Golden Knight simply by relying on pure strength.

"I just don't know if there are any mage gatherings?" Edric thought; even though mages have much higher theoretical upper limits than knights, the world is still firmly in the grasp of knights, simply because of their far greater numbers.

"There is probably no mage gathering on this Silver Flower Island; I would have to travel to the Flicker Empire if I am to find a mage gathering," Edric thought.

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"For now, I should stop thinking too much about those faraway things and increase my knight skills as much as possible!" Edric concluded, deciding his future. His reasons were straightforward; as someone with immediate needs to strengthen himself, the knight path was far more suitable. His knight talent was very high, and with the recent addition of a mage's mental strength, he would become a monstrous genius, quickly mastering the sword and all knight arts. Furthermore, his progress would be even faster with his mother, a Silver Knight, as his teacher. On the other hand, his mage talent was poor, and he had no teacher; his mother had a few spell books, but those contained few spells suitable for a Great Mage; they had nothing related or helpful for Silver Mages. Even if he became a Silver Mage, he would lack suitable spells, and because of his talent, he wouldn't be able to invent and create his own spells; also, his mana consumption would be extremely high.

Once he became a Legendary Knight, he could set off to look for mage circles to find mage circles; of course, looking for mages in the Flicker Empire may be dangerous, and depending on the situation, he may wait for Mythic rank before even attempting to upgrade his mage talent and look for mage circles; with his daily 1,000 XP, his future was guaranteed, so why take risks? If he hadn't had the daily 1,000 XP, he would have had no choice but to take risks to become stronger. However, in the current situation, he sees no need to take anything that could endanger his life.

"Time to study a few spells!" Edric ran his mana through his body and felt ecstasy. Being a magician was his childhood dream, and he was always a fan of fantasy movies when he was on Earth. Even though he decided to focus on the knight path, he should at least learn a few simple mage spells for now.

...

It was late at night, and everywhere was dark, but after becoming a knight, especially after his recent mage breakthrough, his dark vision had improved by leaps and bounds. He opened the book with just a single candle in the corner and could read every word easily.

The book, 'Guide to Beginner Mages,' had only 24 mage spells and 6 Great Mage level spells. It was the most advanced mage book in Lyria's possession that Edric knew of. Of course, it's possible that she had other books, but she hid them from him. Edric had no idea whether other members of the Windwalker family, such as Marquis Windwalker, had any more advanced books.

"I don’t think he would lend it to me; in any case, I cannot tell anyone about my mage breakthrough!" Edric thought. The news of his mage breakthrough must not be spread; it would shock the world so much that even allies might try to assassinate him. No one would want to allow a young, talented knight-mage to grow, not even Marquis Windwalker. The only person Edric could trust was his mother, Lyria.

The book had the mental formula and casting instructions for a lot of spells, such as Stamina Recovery, Thirst Satisfaction, Hunger Satisfaction, Dust Clean Up, Poison Antidote, Healing, Plant Growth Acceleration, general spells such as Generate Heat, Heat Absorption, Light Generation, Light Absorption, etc.; there were other more useful spells as well, such as Fly, Fireball, Magic Shield, and Foresight, which was a mysterious spell Edric couldn't quite understand due to his average talent; overall, even though all spells it contained were simple, it was a comprehensive spell book that was enough for someone in Edric's situation.

"Healing spell and Fly spell are a priority. Fortunately, my increased mental capacity means I should be able to learn simple spells relatively quickly; let's pick Mana Shield, Fireball, heal, and fly. These four cover mobility, defense, healing, and attack. Foresight spell is very complicated, and I cannot learn it considering my average talent," Edric thought.

"I should first learn the Heal spell, then the Fly spell, then Magic Shield, and then Fireball; these four are the most important for me," Edric thought and started reading the mental formula for the Heal spell.