Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 54 Power System
Su Ming clearly didn't believe it. Three people were already lying on the other side, and only one person remained, slumped on the ground in fear. "Isn't this acting? Have some professional ethics!"

He summoned another bone spear and walked toward the last person.

"Stop for a moment, leave one alive," the scholar said calmly.

Su Ming froze on the spot. He looked at Zi Jin, then at the last mercenary. The man was trembling with fear, and yellow liquid was flowing from beneath him.

Su Ming turned to look at the others. The person who had taken a direct hit from his bone spear at close range had a caved-in chest, and blood and foam were coming from his mouth and nose. The other two people who had been struck by the thorn whip were already turning black.

His hand trembled uncontrollably, and the whip slipped off onto the deck.

****
When Charles arrived, he saw three corpses on the deck and a mercenary who had been driven insane by fear.

He and his guards drew their weapons and rushed into the cabin, only to find Zi Jin and Su Ming sitting at the table, talking intently.

“I did deliberately let go, hoping you would experience something like this,” the girl explained. “I thought that if you encounter real danger in the future, you would be able to handle it calmly.”

“I know I can learn to kill,” Su Ming said, rubbing his forehead. “But why would I want to kill?”

The scholar was stunned for a moment, not understanding Su Ming's meaning at all.

Charles stood at the door, unsure whether to go in or back. Violet beckoned to him, "You've come at the perfect time, Vice President Charles."

Charles, feeling helpless, walked in.

"Did Lord Su Ming misjudge the situation when he made his move?" he guessed and asked.

“The responsibility lies with me,” Violet replied. “I always forget that Su Ming is extremely lacking in basic common sense.”

Charles was puzzled.

“Su Ming has been playing high-intensity matches with me, and I usually spar with him,” Zi Jin explained. “Those people outside are just ordinary mercenaries. When Su Ming is serious, they naturally die with a single touch.”

"So?" Charles was even more puzzled.

“Those were just a few mercenaries who were lured here in search of bounty,” Su Ming said. “I should have held back.”

“I understand.” Charles clapped his hands. “Lord Su Ming, you don’t want to kill people who pose no threat, right?”

“No,” Su Ming replied. “Whether they are enemies or not is irrelevant. These mercenaries are simply carrying out a national warrant—they haven’t done anything wrong.”

“How could that be!” Charles shook his head. “In the mercenary business, overestimating one’s abilities is enough to lead to death, let alone being stupid enough to be used as a pawn.” He couldn’t understand it at all. “Lord Su Ming, no one would think like that.”

Violet finally understood the crux of the problem.

“Su Ming.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “Here, national organizations do not represent justice. There is no difference between a national wanted notice and a personal bounty. Mercenaries are only responsible for their own choices.”

The scholar's words surprised Su Ming. "Like this?"

“Of course.” The scholar sat up straight. “You come from a fairly orderly world. The concepts of law and enforcers are everywhere, but it’s not like that here.”

Su thought for a moment and realized that many of the rules of the other world conflicted with his usual understanding.

It seems that he was being naive.

He raised his hand. "OK, never mind that for now, give me some time to understand."

A guard from the Chamber of Commerce approached the door. "Sir, a remote-controlled alchemical bomb was found on the body of a dead mercenary. It's very powerful."

"Was it dismantled?" Charles asked. "It was corroded by dark elements during the fight and broke," the guard replied.

"We'll take it back and analyze it to see who did it."

Another guard came over to report that they had used their "secret method" to bring the terrified mercenary back to his senses. The mercenary confessed that someone had paid them in advance and provided them with alchemical tools to kill people, and had arranged for dragon eagles to deliver them.

"They only knew that the target was a man and a woman, but they didn't know that they were going to kill Scholar Chestnut and Lord Ainz Ooal Gown, nor did they know that there was a bomb in the alchemical tool," the guard reported.

“The mastermind’s purpose is probably to disrupt our cooperation,” Zijin pondered. “They impersonated you, so the Four Directions Chamber of Commerce is the most likely suspect.”

"Were they tricked into becoming cannon fodder, which is why they're so weak?" Su Ming murmured.

“Four early-stage top-tier members are not considered weak in the mercenary world,” Charles replied.

Su Ming looked at the two of them strangely, "This isn't considered weak? I didn't feel any pressure during the fight."

“Su Ming, you have great talent, and you have been cultivating diligently all this time,” Zi Jin explained, “so your magic power level is very high.”

"Diligent cultivation?" Su Ming asked, puzzled. "But all I do every day is tinker with the ship, and when I have free time I'm reading magic books and studying runes—I've never actually cultivated!"

“Lord Su Ming,” Charles said cautiously, “you have only recently become a professional, have you?”

"About half a month," Su Ming replied.

Charles froze, "Half...half a month?"

“The strength of a spellcaster’s power depends on their understanding of the laws,” Violet explained, starting from the basics. “For example, their knowledge of runes and the depth of their understanding of spells all affect the strength of a mage’s magic.”

Su Ming was astonished when he heard this for the first time, his mouth agape. "The more books you read, the stronger your magic?"

“No, it’s the deeper our understanding, the stronger our power to interfere with the world,” Violet replied. “Otherwise, how do you think we improve our magic level? By emptying our minds and daydreaming?”

Su Ming felt that many meditation enthusiasts must have been caught in the crossfire.

So it's literally, knowledge is power? He looked at the thick stacks of spellbooks on the table and suddenly felt that this might not be a good thing.

“A mage’s power is determined by three dimensions,” Violet explained more comprehensively. “The first is the capacity of magic power, which is mainly determined by affinity and will increase as the user trains.”

"You said before that my magic capacity is increasing rapidly because of my high affinity and frequent use recently?" Su Ming asked.

“Yes,” Violet replied. “There is a limit to the amount of magic power you can have, which is why I didn’t ask you to deliberately increase it.”

“A spellcaster’s magic power cap will be reached relatively quickly, and then the increase will be slow.” Charles came to his senses and began to realize that the two in front of him were not acting.

It is not Versailles either.

"It won't be that fast. Su Ming has a high affinity, and his magic ceiling is much higher than that of ordinary mages, so it will take longer," Zi Jin continued. "The second is tactics and techniques, including spell skills, tactical concepts, proficiency in magic control, and so on."

“You’ve been teaching me this and practicing with me,” Su Ming said.

“The third is magical power, which represents the level of intervention a spellcaster has over the world, and is also the main basis for describing the spellcaster’s rank,” Violet replied. “Your knowledge is quite high, but you need time to synchronize with the understanding of this world—I suspect your potential strength is at least that of a high-level arcanist. You won’t encounter a bottleneck until your magical power aligns with that level.”

“Hey, is it okay to discuss these things in front of me?” Charles protested. “There’s so much information here, you’re giving me the feeling that I’m about to be silenced!”

(End of this chapter)