Chapter 37: Chapter 37: The Youngest Junior Mage
The next day.
Zelir woke up bright and early, heading straight for the Mage’s Guild.
He needed to find Instructor Marvin to complete his re-test for the Magic Apprentice rank.
Nearly half a month had passed since his first evaluation, so learning two Level Two Magic skills in that time seemed plausible.
After all, Instructor Marvin had pulled some strings for him; dragging it out for too long wouldn’t be good.
Arriving at the general affairs office, Zelir easily found Instructor Marvin.
But to Zelir’s surprise, someone else he knew was also there.
Lante Taylor.
The shy, rich kid he had met at the Martial Arts Arena.
"Hey, Lante. What a coincidence."
Zelir waved a greeting. "Here for your Mage evaluation?"
"Y-yes."
Lante replied reservedly. "Are you here for that too, Zelir?"
"Something like that," Zelir said.
"You two know each other?" Instructor Marvin adjusted his monocle.
"We met at the Martial Arts Arena," Zelir replied.
Without any further pleasantries, Instructor Marvin got straight to the point and clapped his hands.
"Alright, Lante. You’re first."
"Okay!"
Lante took off his Magic Robe and placed it to the side with his Magic Wand.
He then walked to the Crystal Pillar, placed his palm on it, and began to channel his Magic Power.
Blue light gradually crept up from the bottom, but its momentum was mediocre, stopping at about one meter.
Never mind Zelir; he was a far cry from even Bev’s performance back then.
"Your Magic Power Strength is substandard. It doesn’t meet the requirements for a Magic Apprentice."
Instructor Marvin shook his head lightly. "You need to practice Meditation more."
"I understand, Instructor Marvin." Lante’s expression fell considerably.
"Alright, let’s see how your Magic Manipulation level is next." Marvin stepped aside.
"Okay!"
Lante took a deep breath, then began Sketching the Spell Structure in his sea of consciousness.
Zelir watched from the side with great interest, hoping Lante might show him something new.
Evidently, however, Lante’s Magic Manipulation Level wasn’t very good either.
The first spell was the Lighting Skill Bev had used before. It took Lante a full eight-plus seconds to finish charging, and the illumination was weaker as well.
The second spell, however, was one Zelir had never seen before: the Ice Cone Skill.
The Ice Cone Skill was a spell that used Magic Power to attack with Ice Crystals. Similar to the Fireball Skill, it was also part of the Elemental Magic System.
This time it took even longer; Zelir suspected Lante’s charging time exceeded ten seconds.
As for the third spell, Lante was so nervous he couldn’t cast it at all.
The light of Magic Power flickered several times in his palm before finally extinguishing. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Zelir shook his head in disappointment.
He was disappointed both by Lante’s failure and by his own inability to learn a new spell.
"I-I’m so sorry for wasting your time." Faced with such a terrible performance, Lante hung his head so low it nearly touched the ground.
"Go back and train hard. Your current level is still quite a ways off from a Magic Apprentice."
Marvin sighed. "You need to properly hone your fundamentals. Don’t skip your daily Meditation."
"I understand, Instructor Marvin." Lante nodded forcefully.
"Zelir, you’re up," Instructor Marvin beckoned.
Placing his palm on the Crystal Pillar to channel his Magic Power for the Magic Power Strength test, Zelir passed with ease.
The blue light stopped at the same place as before, around Zelir’s chest, which was almost fifty percent higher than Lante’s result.
Next was the Magic Manipulation Level test.
First spell: the familiar Fireball Skill.
From charging to release, the entire process took about four seconds.
Moreover, Marvin keenly observed that although Zelir’s Casting Speed hadn’t changed much from last time, the flow of his Magic Power and the formation of the spell were noticeably smoother.
These small details all indicated his continuous improvement. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
A trace of doubt couldn’t help but surface in Marvin’s mind.
’Even if Zelir had spent this entire past half-month doing nothing but Meditation, this rate of improvement could be called terrifying. And that’s not even mentioning he’s an Adventurer who has to go on missions to earn money for Magic Scrolls. Has his talent already reached such a level?’
For his second spell, Zelir chose the Wind Blade Technique.
The Casting Speed for the Wind Blade Technique was even a little faster than the Fireball Skill.
For the last spell, Zelir used the Heavy Pressure Technique.
Using the Lighting Skill or Water Ball Skill again would have been a bit suspicious... after all, those were all spells Bev had used.
Unlike the first two spells, the casting effect of the Heavy Pressure Technique wasn’t directly visible to the naked eye.
But the Crystal Pillar was extremely sensitive to Magic Power. When the magical impact burst from top to bottom, a pulse of blue light sprouted and throbbed from within the pillar.
"Oh... quite impressive."
Instructor Marvin’s tone was full of praise. "You’ve improved even more since last time."
Zelir’s excellence was somewhat beyond Marvin’s imagination.
Seeing Zelir’s outstanding performance, an envious look appeared on Lante’s face.
He wasn’t an idiot; judging from the fact that Zelir had no surname, as well as his clothing, the other boy was clearly a commoner.
Lante, on the other hand, came from a family that had been merchants for generations and even owned a considerable amount of land, making them quite wealthy.
From a young age, he had received careful instruction from a Magic Teacher and his family had bought him no shortage of expensive Magic Items.
Yet even with so many advantages and resources, Lante still couldn’t compare to Zelir, which made him feel all the more ashamed.
"I wouldn’t dare to be unworthy of your help, Instructor Marvin, so I’ve been working day and night," Zelir said respectfully.
"It seems you weren’t just asking on a whim when you asked me about the evaluation standards for a Junior Mage."
Instructor Marvin smiled.
"I’m looking forward to it. If the Black Stone Town branch can produce a sixteen-year-old Junior Mage, it would probably make those guys at the Imperial Capital headquarters’ jaws drop."
"According to the records, what’s the age of the youngest Junior Mage?" Zelir asked curiously.
"Also sixteen. Kane Rodri, from a magical family in the Imperial Capital."
"He was hailed as the future star of the Sel Kingdom back then. Ten years have passed... he’s probably an Upper Level Mage by now."
Instructor Marvin recalled for a moment. "I just don’t know if he went a step further and completed his Reclassification."
"I see..." Zelir was lost in thought.
’By that measure, I really could become the next sixteen-year-old Junior Mage. Even though I’m still blocked by that formless shackle, as long as I advance steadily and slowly accumulate experience... another two levels, or maybe three... then I can break through and become a Junior Mage. I just wonder what my next choices for Talent Skills will be.’
"By the way... how did you get that cut on your face?" Marvin noticed the small scar on Zelir’s face.
"This? ...Got it during a mission. It’s nothing." Zelir scratched his head.
He was too embarrassed to say he’d gotten it in a tavern brawl; that would be a bit humiliating.