The Youngest Low-Rank Mage

The next day. Zelier woke up early and headed straight to the Mages' Guild. He needed to find Instructor Marvin to complete his Magic Apprentice re-examination. Nearly half a month had passed since his first assessment. Judging by the timeline, having learned two Tier 2 spells was reasonably plausible. After all, Instructor Marvin had given him special leeway, and dragging it out for too long would not look good. Upon arriving at the General Affairs Office, Zelier easily found Instructor Marvin. To Zelier's mild surprise, however, another person he recognized was also present. Rand Taylor. The shy rich kid he had met at the Sparring Arena. "Hey, Rand, what a coincidence," Zelier greeted with a wave. "Here for a mage evaluation?" "Y-Yes..." Rand replied somewhat stiffly. "You too, Zelier?" "More or less," Zelier said. "You two know each other?" Instructor Marvin adjusted his monocle. "We ran into each other at the Sparring Arena," Zelier answered. Without any unnecessary chatter, Instructor Marvin cut straight to the chase and clapped his hands. "Come on, Rand. You're up first." "Alright!" Rand took off his robe, setting it aside along with his wand. He then walked up to the crystal pillar, placed his palm against it, and began channeling magic power. A blue glow slowly crept up from the base, but with mediocre momentum, halting at roughly a meter high. Never mind Zelier; it was noticeably worse than even Bev's performance back then. "Magic intensity doesn't pass; it fails to meet the standard of a Magic Apprentice." Instructor Marvin shook his head gently. "You need to spend more time meditating and training." "Understood, Instructor Marvin." Rand's expression visibly sank. "Come, let's see how your magic power control is next." Marvin stepped aside to give him room. "Yes, sir!" Rand took a deep breath and began outlining the spell structure within his sea of consciousness. Zelier watched with great interest from the side, hoping Rand might show him something new. Clearly, however, Rand's magic power control was not impressive either. The first spell was Light, which Bev had once cast. It took Rand a full eight-plus seconds just to finish charging, and the illumination was on the dimmer side. The second spell, however, was an Ice Spike, which Zelier had never seen before. Ice Spike was an Elemental School spell that propelled ice crystals using magic power, similar to Fireball. This time it took even longer; Zelier suspected Rand's charge time exceeded ten seconds. As for the third spell, Rand grew too nervous and failed to release it entirely. The glimmer of magic power flickered several times in his palm before finally fizzling out. Zelier shook his head with regret. Both for Rand's failure and for his own inability to learn a new spell. "I-I'm terribly sorry for wasting your time, sir." Confronted with such an abysmal performance, Rand's head hung nearly to the floor. "Go back and cultivate diligently. Your current level is still quite a ways off from a Magic Apprentice." Marvin sighed. "You must hone your fundamentals properly. Don't skip your daily meditation." "Understood, Instructor Marvin." Rand nodded vigorously. "Zelier, your turn." Instructor Marvin beckoned. Placing his palm against the crystal pillar to channel magic power, Zelier passed the magic intensity test with ease. The blue glow came to a stop at his chest level once again, nearly half again as high as Rand's. Next came the magic power control assessment. The first spell was the familiar Fireball. From channeling to release, the whole process took only about four seconds. Moreover, Marvin keenly observed that although Zelier's casting time had not changed much from before, his magic flow and spell formation were noticeably smoother. These subtle details all showed that he was constantly improving. Marvin couldn't help but wonder. Even if Zelier had spent the entire half-month doing nothing but meditating, this rate of improvement was terrifying. Not to mention he was an adventurer who had to go on commissions just to earn money for magic scrolls. Had his talent truly reached such heights? For the second spell, Zelier chose Wind Blade. Its casting speed was even slightly faster than Fireball's. For the final spell, Zelier used Heavy Pressure. If he used Light or Water Ball again, it would be somewhat suspicious... After all, those were spells Bev had demonstrated. Unlike the first two spells, Heavy Pressure's effect could not be directly observed with the naked eye. However, the crystal pillar was extremely sensitive to magic power. When the downward magical impact burst forth, a pulse of blue light surged and danced within the pillar. "Oh... quite impressive," Instructor Marvin praised. "An improvement over last time." Zelier's excellence somewhat exceeded Marvin's expectations. Seeing Zelier's outstanding performance, envy surfaced on Rand's face. Rand was no fool; judging from the fact that Zelier had no family name and from the clothes he wore, Zelier was undoubtedly of commoner stock. Meanwhile, Rand's family had engaged in commerce for generations and owned a considerable amount of territory, making them very wealthy. He had received meticulous tutoring from magic instructors since childhood, and his family had spared no expense purchasing costly magic tools for him. Yet even with such an overwhelming advantage in resources, Rand still fell far short of Zelier, leaving him feeling deeply ashamed. "I wouldn't dare let Instructor Marvin's help go to waste, so I strive day and night," Zelier said respectfully. "It seems when you asked me about the criteria for a low-rank mage before, you weren't just asking offhandedly," Instructor Marvin said with a smile. "I'm looking forward to it. If the Blackstone Town branch can produce a sixteen-year-old low-rank mage, I suspect it will make those fellows at the Imperial Capital headquarters drop their jaws." "According to the records, how old was the youngest low-rank mage?" Zelier asked curiously. "Also sixteen. Kane Roderi, born into a prominent magic family in the Imperial Capital." "Back then, he was hailed as the future star of the Kingdom of Ther. Ten years have passed; he's probably a high-rank mage by now, isn't he?" Marvin reminisced. "Though I don't know whether he has advanced to another class." "Is that so..." Zelier pondered. Calculated that way, he truly had a shot at becoming the next sixteen-year-old low-rank mage. Though an invisible bottleneck still barred his way, as long as he took steady steps and accumulated experience over time... Two levels... or maybe three? Zelier would be able to break through and become a low-rank mage. He just wondered what options he would get for his next talent skill. "By the way... how did you get those scratches on your face?" Marvin noticed the small scabs on Zelier's face. "Oh, this... Got them during a commission. It's nothing." Zelier scratched his head. He was too embarrassed to admit they were from a tavern brawl; it was a bit disgraceful.