A Peak Mage Lord.
A Mage who surpassed Shang by an entire Realm.
Was it possible to win this fight?
No.
Even if Shang used his most powerful attack, Fate, George would only lose about 20% of his Mana.
And then what?
George could easily replenish the lost Mana, while Shang would be unable to launch further attacks.
The cost was clear.
Lucius had understood the concept of entropy by sacrificing external mana, a process that took him a long time. But what could be better than experiencing it oneself?
By experiencing the true power of Entropy, Shang could understand the feeling of fading into nothingness.
The price?
Whatever Shang needed to sacrifice from his own body to comprehend the Concept of Transformation.
That was the price.
Shang had already sacrificed 15% of his soul to Entropy, and killing George would likely require sacrificing at least another 5%.
Naturally, Shang had often contemplated what he would sacrifice next, and he knew what he had to do.
As George prepared his spells, two small black lights appeared behind Shang's bandages.
It almost seemed as if a void was peering through the bandages at George.
For some reason, George felt a sense of imminent death and hastily unleashed all his prepared spells.
Ssssshhhh!
A soft gust of wind.
That was the sound of Entropy consuming the spells and George's body.
Surprisingly, the walls remained intact, with only a few scratches.
Shang's body had turned into a withered shell, but compared to the previous occasions, he could cope with this state.
George had disappeared while the hall remained undamaged.
It was as if George had never been there, except for the fact that a part of Shang's body was missing.
Shang slowly lifted his left arm and gazed at the bloody stump. He didn't need to sacrifice his entire arm to kill George.
Just sacrificing his hand had been enough.
What a strange sensation, Shang thought. It had happened twice before, yet he still couldn't grow accustomed to permanently losing a part of himself.
"But if that's the price I have to pay, I accept it."
Shang had made the decision to sacrifice his left hand.
Shang needed his feet for swift movement and acceleration. Without a foot, his speed would decrease, and he would likely become vulnerable to avoidable attacks.
Sacrificing organs would be even worse, as they produced and converted life energy.
If Shang sacrificed some of his organs, he might lose his ability to regenerate completely.
Ears, teeth, tongue, and other body parts wouldn't be valuable enough. Thus, Shang opted to sacrifice his left hand. Moreover, the reduction in Shang's battle strength wouldn't be as significant as one might expect.
Shang retrieved his Subsis,
CRKSSSH!
And inserted its hilt into his bloody stump. Then, he froze the Subsis into place and swung it around.
He had lost some mobility and flexibility with his sword, but it was still preferable to losing a foot.
Once Shang finished experimenting with his new stump, he focused on the newfound knowledge.
He had solved a few complex aspects of the Concept of Transformation, but there was still much for Shang to comprehend. The main issue was that time had passed too quickly. He hadn't had enough time to thoroughly examine Entropy.
"I never possessed this power," Shang remarked, turning to the ghostly image of Lucius.
"I could only sacrifice Mana without a conscious decision," Lucius' image said. "I never even attempted to sacrifice a part of myself."
"But everything has its pros and cons," the image continued.
"If I could have sacrificed a leg to understand the Concept of Transformation faster, I would have done so. At that time, I feared for my friends' lives and desired power above all else."
Shang didn't respond.
In the next moment, several piles of green crystals materialized in the hall.
Shang could sense a significant surge in the density of life energy in the room.
"I created this trial for future Mages," the image said, "but I also created it for my successor."
"While you're here, you won't lack life energy or the effects of enhancing your mind."
Silence.
Shang wordlessly sat down and pulled a few life power source crystals toward him. "Don't you want to know?" the image inquired.
"Know what?" Shang asked, not turning to face Lucius.
"Why I summoned the Peak Mage Lord instead of simply instructing you," the image explained.
"Commitment," Shang replied. "You knew how much I would have to sacrifice, and you were afraid that I would sacrifice all the smaller parts of my body first before having to sacrifice something significant."
"You summoned him because you wanted me to use something significant, so I would be compelled to continue using the already damaged part of my body instead of sacrificing all the minor parts," Shang said evenly, devoid of any emotions.
It was as if he were discussing sacrificing parts of his body casually.
Silence.
"I seem to have overthought," the image conceded.
"You're different from how I was."
"What may have posed a problem for me may not be a problem for you."
"But what troubles you may not have troubled me," the image added.
Shang remained silent. Instead, he pulled out his Subsis from the stump.
And then, a small part at the edge of the stump began emitting a faint black wisp.
Shang was gradually sacrificing more of his body, but this time, he was doing it very, very slowly.
As the black wisp came into contact with Mana, it dissipated, but the density of Mana in the room also decreased slightly.
Fortunately, Lucius' image could easily replenish the room with Mana.
As Lucius' image observed Shang, a thought occurred to him.
"Perhaps if I had been more like him, I would have succeeded."
