Caius's promotion method was quite peculiar.

  What was so strange about it?

  Let's start with his training method. The typical way of training varies between Warriors and Mages. Warriors enhance their physicality by exercising, strengthening their vital energy, and circulating magic power throughout their bodies to temper themselves. On the other hand, Mages meditate to develop and fortify their spiritual faculties, thereby increasing their magic power reserves and potency.

  Caius’s breathing technique, by all accounts, belonged to the training methods of Warriors. Strong Warriors often incorporate breathing techniques into their training to amplify their results. Caius initially believed he was a Warrior, but oddly enough, when he activated his vital energy, mobilized his magic power, and tempered his physicality, the surrounding magic power would also be absorbed into his body.

  And this magic power would be stored inside him.

  That’s right—completely stored, with no way to release it!

  This was the bizarre aspect of Caius’s promotion method.

  Whenever he engaged in intense activity, his internal magic power would accumulate more and more. Once it reached a certain threshold, it would settle within him. However, the condensed magic power was beyond his control; it simply remained inside him, sedimented.

  At first, Caius worried that if the stored magic filled his Magic Core to its limit, he might explode and die. However, reality proved otherwise. Once his Magic Core was completely filled with sedimented magic power, a powerful Magic Torrent would erupt, triggering an explosive surge in his cultivation!

  Since Caius began formal training at the age of fourteen, this phenomenon had only occurred once. At that time, he was at Silver One Star, a level he had reached naturally within a year through breathing techniques and rigorous training.

  Then, his Magic Core reached capacity. After the Magic Torrent burst forth, his rank skyrocketed to Silver Five Star, skipping four minor stages in an instant!

  Naturally, Caius was curious—was this related to his Giant physique?

  After all, his promotion method bore some resemblance to "Compression and Explosion" or perhaps "Accumulation and Breakthrough."

  But here was the issue: why did the accumulation of magic power lead to an enhancement of his physicality instead of his magical abilities?

  Caius’s theory was that magic power, under the influence of vital energy, could temper the body. So when the Magic Torrent erupted, his body underwent a significant refinement.

  However, he remained baffled—why could he absorb magic power, circulate magic power, but neither control it nor condense it into Starshine? More importantly, why was he completely incapable of casting spells?

  That, he simply could not comprehend.

  So, the current situation was as follows: Caius had to continue training and using his breathing technique to sediment magic power. Until his Magic Core was completely filled with this sedimented magic, his advancement remained painfully slow.

  Moreover, as his Magic Core filled up, the amount of "free magic power" he could manipulate diminished drastically.

  In other words, if his Magic Core was 99% full of sedimented magic, he would only be able to control the remaining 1% of his magic power.

  During this period, he had to rely solely on his physicality and vital energy to fight.

  Only when his Magic Core reached full capacity and triggered another Magic Torrent would it purge all the sedimented magic, allowing him to freely control his magic power again. However, as he continued sedimenting magic power, his freely available magic would gradually decrease, repeating the cycle.

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  Of course, after each Magic Torrent eruption, his Magic Core’s capacity would expand, and the strength of his magic power would increase significantly.

  At present, his magic power strength was just as formidable as his physicality—far surpassing others of the same rank.

  Caius estimated that his magic power intensity could rival that of a high-tier Gold Mage.

  The unfortunate part was that, despite his vast reserves and immense magic power, he still couldn’t use magic to its full potential. His magical abilities were rudimentary at best.

  For instance, he could coat his body in magic power to create a protective Magic Skin.

  Or he could reinforce his fists with magic power to harden them.

  At most, he could infuse magic power into his blood to slightly enhance his bodily functions.

  That was it—no fancy spells, no brilliant magic, not even a simple Magic Missile.

  Any magic power that left his body would immediately dissipate, rendering him incapable of casting spells.

  Thus, despite possessing an overwhelming magic reserve and strength, he couldn’t release magic, making it impossible to be considered a Mage.

  Caius could only console himself with the thought that he had, in a way, achieved a unique form of Magic-Warrior dual cultivation.

  However, he had a feeling that his peculiar situation was linked to his Giant physique.

  Perhaps, once he advanced further and unraveled the mysteries of the Giant Inheritance within his mind, he would understand the reason behind this anomaly—and maybe even learn real magic.

  For now, he had no choice but to accept it as it was.

  At present, his Magic Core was already 95% filled with sedimented magic. Caius estimated that in no more than half a month, he would reach full capacity.

  If he engaged in a few high-intensity battles and employed his breathing technique during combat, his training speed would accelerate significantly.

  ...

  Arriving at the docks.

  Ocean City was a coastal metropolis with a thriving maritime industry. However, most of the lucrative trade was concentrated in the wealthy districts, demonstrating that the most profitable industries were monopolized by the rich. The land-based portion of Ocean City likely accounted for less than one-tenth of the city’s total economic flow.

  Caius observed massive ships docked at the port.

  These weren’t just traditional wooden sailing vessels—some were Magitech Ships, which combined advanced Magical Technology with seafaring craftsmanship.

  What was Magical Technology?

  It referred to machines powered and guided by magic energy, producing effects similar to spells. Holan’s magical research major covered such technologies.

  Caius mused that if he ultimately failed to become a Mage, perhaps he could study Magical Research and tinker with Magitech Cannons instead.

  Soon, he located the recipient of his delivery through the mission details.

  It was Nick Degado, the owner of a small dockside warehouse.

  When Nick heard Caius’s reason for coming, he welcomed him with surprising enthusiasm, which made Caius suspicious.

  It was just a liquor delivery—was that really worth such excitement?

  With his keen instincts, Caius felt something was off.

  Upon pressing Nick for answers, the man finally admitted the truth with a grimace.

  Nick had offended a local gang leader in Ocean City. The gang wanted to buy his liquor at a price far below market value, but he refused to sell.

  Since Nick held some influence in the dockside district—owning a warehouse and all—the gang couldn’t openly start a conflict.

  That gang was the Crab Gang. While they couldn’t attack outright, they had made a public threat: anyone who took on this delivery job would have their legs broken and be thrown into the sea to feed the crabs!

  In Ocean City, any gang powerful enough to establish itself was filled with ruthless individuals. The leader of the Crab Gang was no exception. He was known as "Iron Claw," a formidable Gold Seven Star warrior!

  With such a rank, plus nearly two hundred subordinates, few in the outer city dared to provoke him.

  As a result, Nick’s liquor had been sitting in his warehouse, and no one dared to take the delivery task.

  The buyer had already paid a deposit. If Nick failed to deliver the goods on time, he would not only have to refund the deposit but also pay compensation.

  As a member of the Chamber of Commerce, his business depended on reputation. According to the guild’s regulations, any merchant who signed a contract, accepted a deposit, but failed to fulfill the agreement had to compensate three times the deposit amount.

  With only three days left until the deadline and no one willing to take the job, Nick had resigned himself to a major financial loss.

  Then, at this critical moment, Caius appeared.

  In desperation, Nick made an offer—if Caius successfully delivered the goods, he would pay him an extra commission worth one-fifth of the liquor’s total value.

  A staggering 3,400 gold coins!

  That meant the liquor was worth a total of 17,000 gold coins!

  No wonder Nick was so desperate.

  If he defaulted, the deposit was half the total price. The compensation would be three times the deposit—1.5 times the total price—meaning he’d have to pay over 20,000 gold coins!

  That was no small sum.

  So, Caius readily agreed.