The mage Gareth, who had been assigned as the examiner for the current general disciple selection, carefully reviewed the two pieces of paper in his hands.

These were the answer sheets of the final candidates who had passed the general disciple exam.

One of them was exactly as expected, showing the efforts of an ordinary person. It met the expectations, so there was no reason not to pass it.

The problem was the other one.

"Hmm... Interesting..."

The more Gareth read it, the more impressed he became. But at the same time, he grew suspicious.

"Is this really possible at the level of an ordinary person?"

The exam question this time was to create a logical structure based on the regular flow of patterns. Whether the answer was correct or not didn't matter.

It was designed to see if the candidates, all of whom were expected to be ordinary people with a single attribute, possessed the intellectual capability to grasp the basics of mana.

However, the answer written on the paper Gareth was holding far exceeded those expectations.

It didn't just hint at basic water magic—it went as far as suggesting the concept of fluidity. Though the final conclusion wasn't explicitly stated, the logic leading up to it was nearly perfect.

The logical structure was incredibly clean, as if the candidate fully understood the essence of the magic but was deliberately pretending not to.

"No matter how I look at it, this seems impossible..."

If this answer were given as an assignment to a current academy student, could they come up with something similar? They would likely reach the conclusion of water magic more easily, but it would be difficult to achieve such a clean logical structure in the process.

Gareth carefully scrutinized the neatly written answer sheet and clicked his tongue.

"For someone so smart, it's a pity they haven't acquired any magical talent."

But that was beyond Gareth's concern.

He decided to summon both candidates for a final interview. He wanted to conduct one more check of their constitutions and ensure they weren't spies from another magic tower.

Especially Leon, the owner of the answer sheet he was currently holding—Gareth resolved to scrutinize him closely.

Just as he made up his mind, someone burst into Gareth's office.

"Who...!"

Gareth frowned and looked up, only to leap to his feet when he recognized the intruder.

"Ah, Lady Arpina! What brings you here?"

Arpina Winterfritz, the Mystic Mage, held a position just below the Tower Master in the hierarchy within Wydia. Gareth's face was filled with confusion. This was a place she had no reason to visit, and he wondered why a high-ranking mage would waste her time on such trivial matters.

"Have you finished the general disciple interviews?" Arpina asked.

"No... I was just about to start."

"There's a boy named Leon, right?"

Gareth glanced at the paper and quickly nodded.

"Yes, he's here."

"Just pass him. I've already conducted the interview."

"Oh... I see."

Gareth barely restrained his head from tilting in curiosity. If Arpina said so, then that was the end of it.

"Understood. Shall I proceed with the interview for the other candidate?"

"Yes, do as you wish."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Gareth responded energetically, but Arpina, having finished her business, immediately turned to leave.

'What's going on?'

Gareth looked once more at the name "Leon" written on the answer sheet.

'Is he someone of interest?'

Otherwise, there would be no reason for Arpina to personally come for such a trivial matter.

'It makes sense...'

No ordinary person could have written such an answer. Gareth decided to remember the name Leon, as anyone Arpina took an interest in was likely to have a promising future.

The list of successful candidates was posted on the notice board. Among the two names written there was Leon's.

Despite not having had an interview, it seemed Arpina had spoken favorably on his behalf.

Friends from the orphanage gathered around Leon to congratulate him. While some were envious, most offered sincere congratulations.

"Don't forget us when you become a mage, Leon!"

It was the same boy who always insisted on playing cops and robbers at the orphanage.

Leon naturally patted the boy's head, briefly enjoying the innocence that was rare among the cold-hearted mages.

The next day.

Leon stood in front of a five-story building, facing a brown-haired young man who appeared to be on the verge of adulthood. He was the other person who had passed along with Leon.

"I thought I was the only one who passed since I didn’t see you during the interview."

The young man quickly struck up a conversation with Leon, but Leon only responded politely and walked into the building.

A man wearing glasses, who was standing by the door, greeted the two.

"I'm Peter, who passed last year. I’m here to explain the basic rules and give you a tour of the building."

Following Peter's lead, Leon familiarized himself with the layout of the five-story building.

The first floor was used for occasional mage lessons or to receive guests. The second and third floors were entirely training rooms, while the fourth and fifth floors served as dormitories. There was a small dueling arena in the basement.

'It's quite simple.'

In a way, it was appropriate treatment for general disciples. The training rooms, in particular, weren’t designed for mages at the Mystic level. It was assumed that a mage with a single attribute would never reach the Mystic level.

"You can move your belongings after today's lesson."

"Yes!" replied Aaron, the brown-haired youth, while Leon expressed his intent to decline.

"I already have a personal room."

"Oh, you must have been working hard."

Peter didn't object. Since the room was assigned based on merit, no one could complain about Leon using it.

After the tour, basic lessons on magic followed, taught by a different, experienced mage who was responsible for managing the general disciples and assessing their progress.

"If you came here expecting to learn extraordinary magic, you should forget it. Mages are essentially scholars who explore the source of wisdom. In the harsh world of magic, if you lack the ability to navigate it on your own, you'll eventually be weeded out," said the mage, Robert, with a stern expression, as he addressed Aaron, who had just been introduced to magic.

"For those with a single attribute, it usually takes two to three years to awaken mana, even with concentrated training. However, you only have one year to dedicate to training. After a year, you'll be assigned tasks and will have to train alongside work, which will only prolong the time it takes to awaken mana."

He continued in his usual, cold manner.

"You need to awaken your mana within a year."

He then discussed the salary.

"Unlike when you were living at the entrance, you'll now receive your salary in mana stones. Since transactions among mages are conducted in mana stones, it will be a satisfactory reward if you can continue on the path of a mage."

Leon was more interested in the part about having a year guaranteed for training than in the salary.

"So, I can focus solely on training for a year?"

Leon was pleased with the prospect of being able to train without anyone watching him. A year was enough time for him to reach the 4th rank.

"I'll train like I'm dead for a year and pretend I just barely awakened my mana."

Though it was faster than the two to three years Robert mentioned, it didn’t seem impossible given how they were pressured to do so.

After spending a week observing, Leon approached Robert.

"Can I learn common magic?"

Robert’s brows furrowed slightly at the request.

"Without even having awakened mana? You'll naturally learn it once you reach the 1st rank."

"But I think understanding it would help me grasp and awaken mana more easily."

Robert thought the request was arrogant but refrained from saying anything harsh, recalling the message from Gareth about Arpina’s interest in Leon.

"Well... Since you haven't awakened mana, I can't teach you directly, but I'll give you a book on common magic. Try to understand the principles as you suggested. Maybe it will help."

Robert handed Leon a thick book from his subspace with words that lacked sincerity.

Leon received it gratefully.

"Thank you."

After that, Leon buried himself in the training room.

There were several types of common magic.

Among them, a few were particularly valuable, making Leon glad he decided to learn them. Most of them didn't require incantations, making them useful.

The first was basic telekinesis, a spell that allowed Leon to exert physical force on objects out of his reach.

The second was detection magic, which spread mana to detect the presence of people or traces of magical energy, and could also be used to gauge the level of an opponent.

The third was appraisal magic, which allowed the user to infuse mana into an artifact to easily discern its functions.

The fourth was mana infusion, the same technique used by Porun and Leah, known as the activation word, Infusion. It allowed one to spread mana throughout their body, temporarily granting physical abilities beyond that of an ordinary person. However, this technique required an incantation.

And the fifth was the technique of dividing consciousness, a spell that enabled the use of multiple spells simultaneously by dividing one's awareness.

For example, it allowed one to hold an artifact in place with basic telekinesis while casting another spell, or to simultaneously calculate and cast two or three spells.

Of course, at Leon's current level, he could only manage to hold an artifact with basic telekinesis while memorizing a spell. But it was a common magic that became increasingly important as one progressed to higher levels of magic.

There were also other useful spells like levitation magic, basic healing magic, and cleaning magic, which made Leon regret not learning them sooner.

"Levitation magic consumes a lot of mana..."

Leon’s feet touched the ground again after floating in the air.

Leon spent two weeks focusing entirely on mastering common magic. Since common magic was included as part of basic magic, the quests proceeded just as before.

Once he became familiar with levitation magic, Leon finally emerged from the training room.

He had only left to get food, otherwise remaining locked in the training room, even sleeping there.

Since reaching the 3rd rank, he could go without food for three days without any issues, which made his secluded training more effective.

Leon stretched and headed down to the first floor.

There, he encountered his fellow disciple, whom he hadn't seen in two weeks.

‘What was his name again… Oh.’

It was Aaron.

The brown-haired man looked at Leon with a surprised expression.

"Have you been cooped up in your room practicing the mana absorption method all this time?"

"Yes."

Leon still spoke politely to him. He was wary of people who tried to be overly friendly from the first meeting.

"That's impressive. Are you seeing any results?"

Aaron’s eyebrow twitched slightly. He was asking out of curiosity, but there was a faint hint of wariness in his expression.

"I think so... but I'm not sure."

Leon answered ambiguously, pretending not to know, and Aaron responded with relief.

"Take it easy. Robert said that rest is more helpful than overexerting your mental strength, remember?"

"You're right."

Just as Leon was about to return to his room, Peter, the senior from a year ago, came rushing in.

"You're here, Leon. You have a visitor."

"A visitor?"

"Yes, it’s a girl about your age."

"Oh."

‘Is she here to congratulate me on becoming a general disciple?’

Naturally assuming that Leah had come to visit, Leon turned toward the door, but he was surprised when he saw a flash of red hair peeking through the door.

"Why are you here?"

"Well... Why? Can't I come?"

It was Rowen.

"No, I just mean, there's no reason for you to be here. You said you didn’t even want to talk to ordinary people."

"Uh..."

Judging by her flushed face, it seemed she remembered how she had behaved before.

Seeing her reaction, Leon tilted his head even further.

‘Why is she really here?’

Suddenly, Leon's gaze shifted to something she was holding in her hand.