Sure enough, it wasn’t very difficult for Kyle to combine the whirlpools and create the funnel.
As Kyle held his hammer in front of him, he saw green Ether swirling around it.
’It looks almost like one of these aerodynamics simulations of cars,’ Kyle thought as he looked at the swirling hammer.
’It almost looks like it’s in motion or something.’
Kyle slowly walked out of the tunnel and swung his hammer.
“Whoa,” he said as his hammer moved almost on its own.
He had barely used any power, but the hammer still completed a full swing.
“This is crazy!” Kyle said.
“This is a Fighter technique,” Theodor said. “Without these techniques, Fighters are just normal humans.”
Kyle swung his hammer again, and this time, he actually used some power.
As the hammer swung through the air, it didn’t make any noise. After all, it didn’t really displace any air.
“This is so weird,” Kyle said.
“Get used to it,” Theodor said. “The more techniques you know, the better.”
At that point, Kyle remembered Fennek’s fiery swords.
“Hey, Boss,” Kyle said. “What’s the difference between Knight techniques and Fighter techniques? They basically look the same to me.”
“Ether usage,” Theodor answered. “The techniques are similar, but they achieve similar effects in different ways.”
“Knights do not have a powerful mind, which makes them barely more intelligent than normal humans. Because of that, their minds have difficulties in moving their Ether in a complex way.”
“Look at all these whirlpools around your mining weapon. You have to visualize every single whirlpool to keep the technique active. You can do that because of your improved mind. Theoretically, Knights can do the same thing, but it takes them tens, if not hundreds, of times longer to practice these techniques.”
“Someone with advanced spatial imagination can perfectly imagine a spinning dodecahedron in their mind, while an idiot can’t even imagine a spinning cube.”
Kyle had no idea what a dodecahedron was, but it was probably some fancy object. He still understood the sentiment that Theodor tried to convey.
“Then, how do Knights use their abilities?” Kyle asked.
“Brute force,” Theodor said. “Their application of Ether is much simpler, but since they had an improved Center, they just use ten times the amount of Ether with their techniques.”
“Metaphorically, Knights launch huge waves of fire, while Fighters throw small balls of fire that explode on impact. Both of these attacks cause similar levels of damage, but they are different.”
Kyle had a thought at that point.
“But I have an improved Center as well. So, I can just use a lot more Ether while using Fighter techniques, right?” he asked.
“Do you finally understand why Warriors, and especially Experts, are terrifying opponents?” Theodor asked.
Kyle remembered that Warrior was the official name of a Second Realm human who didn’t undergo any rituals, while Expert was the name for the Third Realm.
“Is the power increase double with a ritual?” Kyle asked.
“Roughly,” Theodor answered. “If a normal human has a power level of one in every Aspect of Power, a Knight has 2.5 in body and Center and only 0.2 in mind and Soul. The concentration of Ether has its own use, which further increases the power. That’s why it’s not 2, 2, 0, 0.”
Kyle did something that he rarely did.
He did math!
He treated the calculations about powers the same way he treated his business on Earth.
’2.5 times 0.2 is 0.5. Meanwhile, 1 times 1 is 1.’
“So, a Warrior has double the power of a Knight?” Kyle asked.
“Did you just do math?” Theodor asked in surprise.
“I can do math!” Kyle answered.
Theodor raised a metaphorical eyebrow.
“The numbers in my example were not very accurate. You can’t calculate everything based on that.”
“Theoretically, a Warrior can unleash 50% more power than a Knight or Fighter, but that’s only under optimal conditions, and that only considers the application of Ether. Physical power can’t be calculated with Ether, but it is still an important aspect during a fight. Warriors are not outstanding because of their Aspects but because they lack weaknesses.”
“The Warrior needs to learn Fighter techniques and learn advanced Ether control via Knight meditation. He needs to know twice as much as a Fighter or a Knight. Additionally, just getting these techniques is not easy or free.”
“Additionally, the numbers take an entire fight of stored Ether into account. While the Warrior’s average power is higher, a Knight has much more instantaneous power since they have a lot more Ether.”
“Lastly, Aspects of Power can be strengthened further. During the third trial I created, there were several ores that could improve your Aspects of Power. Knights receive these by working for the Kingdom, while Fighters can obtain them in other means.”
“A Warrior would need to get far more materials since they have four Aspects to strengthen instead of two. Additionally, the spread of Ether makes efficient absorption of improving properties more difficult, pushing the amount of materials needed to four times instead of two.”
“In optimal conditions, yes, the Warrior would be twice as powerful as a Knight or Fighter, but getting there is difficult.”
“Many Warriors are quite outstanding. A rule of thumb regarding their power is to take the power of an equivalent Knight and multiply it by 1.2.”
Kyle nodded. He roughly understood what Theodor was explaining.
“What about someone with an Aristocrat’s body?” Kyle asked.
“2, 2, 2, 2, if you use my arbitrary numbers from earlier,” Theodor answered.
Kyle grinned widely.
“Don’t get too excited,” Theodor said. “Yes, on a baseline, you are far stronger than an equivalent Adept or Squire.”
“But let me ask you…”
“If you fought a Late Squire, who would win?”
Kyle’s energy left him.
“I… don’t know,” Kyle said.
“That is the correct answer. Surprising, considering you have a dwarf brain,” Theodor said.
“Squires have trained their combat abilities for years, while you barely have two months below your belt. A fight between you and a Late Squire would be equivalent to a fight between a bear and an experienced but normal human with a strong spear. It could go either way.”
“You have a lot to learn. You need a lot of materials to improve your Aspects further. You need to learn how to use all four Aspects of Power.”
“Theoretically, you can become almost unrivaled, but the way to that destination is a harder and longer path than the others.”
Kyle took a deep breath.
’Fucking work. I hate work.’
Then, he remembered the last couple of months.
’But I’ve gotten quite used to working.’
’Well, it’s gonna suck, but I guess it will be worth it.’