“Self-taught?”
Those two words piqued Bev’s interest.
In her understanding, magic was synonymous with luxury, forever linked to expensive tutors, privileged family backgrounds, and costly tomes.
Someone of common birth teaching themselves magic?
That sounded far too rare.
Just as Bev was about to ask something more, a wooden door on the right side of the hall opened.
A mage wearing a monocle beckoned in Bev and Zelier’s direction.
“It’s your turn.”
……
The place where the examination was conducted was a room called the Chamber of Tranquility.
The surrounding walls were all built of white stone, and a crystal pillar stood in the center, giving the place a distinctly sacred air.
The mage in charge of the assessment adjusted his monocle and spoke in a clear voice.
“My name is Marvin Koffler, a senior mage, and I will be your examiner for this test.”
It seemed like an introduction addressed to both of them, but in truth, Marvin was only speaking to Zelier.
Judging from Bev’s expression, she had known Instructor Marvin for quite some time.
“My name is Zelier.” Zelier placed one hand over his chest and bowed slightly.
When he heard that Zelier had no surname, Marvin was somewhat surprised as well, but the expression quickly passed from his face.
“All right, Uncle Marvin, hurry up and start,” Bev urged.
Marvin glanced at Bev, his expression rather helpless.
“Bev, this is already the third time this month that you’ve come to take the mage ranking assessment. If you fail again, I’ll have to put you into a ninety-day cooling-off period.”
Bev pursed her lips, her voice noticeably quieter.
“I’ll definitely pass this time…”
“The assessment for a magic apprentice is very simple. First is the magic power test, then your level of spellcasting. I will judge whether you pass based on the process.”
Marvin raised his hand toward the crystal pillar. “Bev, you go first.”
“Good luck.” Zelier smiled and encouraged Bev.
Bev clenched her fists and nodded hard.
“Mm!”
She took off her pale purple mage robe and set it aside along with her wand.
Tools like these, which could amplify magic power, were not permitted during the assessment.
Bev took a deep breath and walked up to the crystal pillar. She pressed her small, delicate palm against it, then infused it with magic power.
The material of this crystal pillar was similar to that of the crystal ball the guard had taken out at the entrance, only much purer, allowing the intensity of one’s magic power to be judged clearly.
A burst of blue light lit up from the bottom, then gradually surged upward, slowly reaching the height of Bev’s waist.
She put all her strength into it, desperately pouring magic power inside. The blue light rose a little farther, then finally stopped moving.
Zelier estimated it by eye.
About… a little over a meter?
Around one meter twenty or one meter thirty.
Marvin swept it with a glance.
“Not bad. Barely qualified.”
The corners of Bev’s mouth lifted, and a joyful smile appeared on her pretty face.
“Woohoo!”
The last time, she had not even passed the magic power test.
Next, it was Zelier’s turn.
He likewise placed his palm against it. Blue light sprouted from the bottom of the crystal pillar, then shot upward all the way.
Not only was its speed much faster than Bev’s, its height also quickly surpassed the position Bev had reached earlier.
Bev blinked, as though she could hardly believe what she was seeing.
Marvin was surprised as well, and the look he gave Zelier gained a few traces of deeper meaning.
In the end, the blue light stopped slightly below Zelier’s chest, twenty or thirty centimeters higher than Bev’s.
“Not bad.”
Marvin nodded approvingly. “Your magic power intensity fully meets the standard for a magic apprentice, and you even have some to spare.”
“Thank you for your praise.” Zelier withdrew his hand.
With a Spirit attribute of 71, he was indeed more than sufficient by the standards of a magic apprentice.
If Zelier had chosen Spell Surge among his innate skills, the position on the crystal pillar would probably have been even higher.
“You…” Bev muttered under her breath. “Are you really self-taught?”
He was actually better than her.
Next, Marvin had to test the two of them on their spellcasting level. Bev was still first.
The process was also very simple. They only needed to cast a spell they were proficient in, and Marvin would be responsible for judging it.
Bev extended her palm forward and began to drive her magic power, outlining the spell structure in her mind.
Marvin narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully observing Bev’s casting process.
“Whoosh!”
Space suddenly warped slightly, and a pale cyan blade of air slashed forth!
Wind Blade.
Although there was nothing like a wooden stake to quantify the level of destruction, Zelier felt that the power of this strike should be quite decent, at least enough to reach the level of an ordinary sword slash.
Then, Bev began outlining a second spell structure.
About six or seven seconds later, bright light appeared in her palm.
Moreover, following Bev’s movements, this light could be condensed into a sphere that floated high in the air, illuminating a larger area.
Illumination.
After resting briefly, Bev began outlining a third spell.
This time, a ball of water the size of a human head gradually condensed in front of her.
With a “bang,” the water ball shot forward at high speed and struck the wall.
Water Ball.
“Hah… hah…”
After casting three spells in succession, Bev was clearly having some difficulty. She panted softly and looked toward Marvin.
“How was that, Instructor Marvin?”
“Looks like you really have been working hard lately.”
Marvin nodded slightly. “You’ve passed, Bev. From now on, you are a magic apprentice.”
“That’s great!” Bev was endlessly excited.
It was not only Bev who was happy. Zelier was also quite happy, because he clearly saw three more progress bars appear beneath Arcane Formula Deduction.
Wind Blade, analysis progress—2%.
Illumination, analysis progress—2%.
Water Ball, analysis progress—2%.
This innate skill was truly useful. It saved him the money and effort of obtaining magic scrolls himself.
Moreover, compared to a relatively complex spell like Embrace of Mistveil, the analysis speed for the three spells Bev had cast was clearly much faster.
They had only just entered the queue and already had 2% progress. At this rate, it would probably only take a few days for the analysis to be completed.
“It’s your turn, Zelier,” Marvin indicated.
Zelier stepped forward, exhaled lightly, and the spell structure of Fireball surfaced in his mind.
Magic power spread along the predetermined trajectory, preparing to flow.
But just then, Zelier suddenly froze, having made an unexpected discovery.
In his mind, the originally complete spell structure of Fireball actually contained some redundant portions that seemed unnecessary to him.
Those twisting, winding redundant portions could be modified into straight-line structures that allowed magic power to flow faster.
What was going on…
Zelier could not help feeling puzzled inwardly.
When he had cast Fireball before, he had never had this feeling.
However, Zelier did not dwell on it too much. He followed his instincts, modified those redundant portions, and successfully finished outlining the spell structure.