Arthur placed his palm on the crystal orb.
Nothing happened. The crystal remained perfectly clear, unchanged.
The instructor sighed and shook his head. "Blank affinity."
The reaction was imdiate.
So students looked at him with mild pity, while others snickered.
One noble in particular, a young man with yellow talent and lightning affinity, smirked and turned to his friend.
"I don’t know what black represented in the talent assessnt, but since an elder showed up, it must have been sothing important," he sneered. "Heh… still, a blank affinity? Really, that’s exactly what a commoner should have." He was jealous that a commoner was found to have White talent and sothing as rare as light magic affinity, while he only has Yellow talent. So he tried to take out his frustration by belittling Arthur.
His companion, another noble with slicked-back blond hair, chuckled. "A possibly high-level talent wasted on soone with no affinity. What a joke."
The laughter spread among a few others, mostly nobles who saw Arthur’s result as a disappointnt. In their minds, talent ant nothing without a powerful affinity to match.
Arthur, however, remained unfazed. He simply turned and walked back to his spot beside Finn, ignoring the sneers entirely.
Finn crossed his arms and scoffed at the nobles. "Tch. Bunch of morons," he muttered. Then, nudging Arthur, he said, "You good?"
Arthur smirked. "Why wouldn’t I be?"
Finn grinned giving a thumbs up. He had seen Arthur’s power during the ambush of the crimson wolves, he thought Arthur was a martial artist and he just wanted to learn magic to increase the moves in his arsenal.
The affinity tests continued, but the excitent had already peaked. The crowd remained energized from the shocking results of the White Talent of the two participants, while Arthur’s blank affinity beca a topic of mild amusent for the more arrogant noble-borns.
Elias and Saria, however, remained thoughtful.
A blank affinity, yet a Black-Level Talent?
They had never seen such a contradiction before.
Elias shook his head and sighed. ‘What a pity, if only he had an affinity.’
Then the affinity test ca to a conclusion.
…
The sun had already set, and the magic lamps lit up casting a warm orange glow over the academy grounds as the selected students were handed their dormitory keys. The air was buzzing with murmurs and chatter, so excited, so nervous. The assistant assigned to Arthur and a group of seven more students, a tall young woman with sharp features and a strict deanor, led them toward their accommodations.
Arthur, Finn, and a handful of others followed her through the winding stone pathways of Velcrest Academy. The dormitories were located near the far end of the academy, close to the expansive training fields. As they walked, the towering spires of the main academy building slowly disappeared behind them, replaced by lush green courtyards and cobbled walkways illuminated by enchanted lanterns.
Finally, they arrived at their assigned dormitory. It was a sturdy, three-story stone building with a dieval yet refined design. The exterior was a combination of grey bricks and dark wood, giving it a traditional yet elegant look. Large windows with iron reinforcents dotted the facade, allowing ample light into the interior. A small staircase led up to the main entrance, a heavy wooden door adorned with intricate carvings of magical symbols. Above the entrance, a stone plaque bore the inscription: "Dormitory C-7".
The assistant turned to the group and spoke in a clipped, professional tone.
“This will be your residence during your ti at Velcrest Academy. Basic anities are provided, but anything beyond that is your own responsibility. The academy does not tolerate negligence, so maintain cleanliness and discipline.”
She then continued. “Tomorrow morning at seven sharp, all first-year students are required to gather at the training field. Do not be late. Additionally, your academy fees must be settled by tomorrow. Failing to do so will result in expulsion.”
With that, she gave them one final glance before turning on her heel and walking away.
Finn let out a low whistle as he studied the building. “Not bad. Definitely better than what I expected.”
A few other students murmured in agreent before making their way inside. The interior was spacious but simple, designed with practicality in mind. The ground floor featured a common area with wooden tables and chairs, a fireplace against one wall, and bookshelves stocked with a variety of texts. To the side, there was a small kitchen area for basic al preparation, though the academy had dining halls for proper als.
A staircase at the back led to the first floor where the individual rooms were located. There were four rooms on each floor, each with a simple wooden door and a small naplate slot beside it.
Finn stretched his arms. “Alright, ti to pick a room. You got a preference?”
Arthur glanced around before settling on one of the rooms on the first floor. After leaving Finn to select his own. He walked over, turned the key in the lock for the room, and pushed the door open.
The room was modest but well-furnished. A sturdy bed with a firm mattress, a wooden desk with a chair, a wardrobe, and a small bedside table. A single window allowed a cool breeze to filter in, giving a view of the academy grounds. The walls were bare, leaving space for personal additions if desired.
Finn peeked in and nodded approvingly. “Not bad. I’ll grab the one next to you.”
Arthur nodded and placed his bag down the bed.
…
After locking the door, Arthur sat cross-legged on the bed and pulled out the book the elder had given him. The cover was old but well-preserved, bound in dark leather with golden inscriptions that shimred faintly under the room’s soft lighting. The title, "Foundations of Magic: From Apprentice to Third Circle", was embossed in flowing script, a testant to the centuries of knowledge contained within.
Arthur flipped open the book, his eyes scanning the pages. It detailed the entire process of magical advancent, from the formation of a mana core to the refinent technique required to ascend to higher circles.
At its most basic level, a person was considered an apprentice mage once they successfully ford a mana core within their dantian, a taphysical energy center located in the lower abdon. From there, progress was marked by refining the mana core and compressing the mana within it, which in turn ford rings around the core. These rings served as the foundation for higher levels of magic, dictating a mage’s strength and ability to cast more powerful spells.
The number of rings is equivalent to the level of the mage, for example if a mage had ford three rings around their mana core they are considered a Third Circle mage. And as one advances it becos difficult to progress further.
The text emphasized that forming a mana core was already a significant hurdle, many aspirants failed at this very first step. The ability to advance beyond the First Circle required higher innate talent to efficiently absorb and manipulate mana.
Arthur remained impassive as he processed the information. In theory, the process made sense. He pressed his fingertips against the book’s pages.
He deployed so nanobots, and began scanning the book. Within monts, he turned the book’s content into digital data, and using his technopathy he downloaded every word, formula, and diagram straight into his brain.
The flood of information was instantaneous. Complex formulas, mana circulation techniques, and ditation thods all solidified in his mind.
He exhaled softly. And first focused on the core formation part for apprentices, he deduced the thod within ten minutes.
“Let's start with Core formation first.”
He closed the book, it was no longer needed.
Sitting upright on the bed, Arthur focused inward, directing his attention to his dantian using the thod written in the book. The book described core formation as the process of condensing ambient mana into a stable energy core within the body. Normally, this took nearly a week of effort as a person had to attune themselves to mana, draw it in, and refine it carefully without destabilizing the forming core.
Arthur, however, worked differently.
He took out a pile of mid-grade mana stones he bought from the city. Drawing a slow breath, he extended his senses outward, and instead of using the mana absorption technique he started to use his Energy Absorption ability as it was nearly seven tis faster than the technique provided by the academy.
Though he thought there might be better techniques available, but the thing is the more he used his Energy Absorption ability the faster he was able to draw mana from the mana stones. He thought he would be able to leave those techniques behind in terms of speed of mana absorption with ti and practice.
A few seconds later a tingling sensation spread through his body.
Though Arthur wasn’t able to see it, trillions of invisible particles of raw mana, drifted like cosmic dust. They moved in patterns, influenced by his ability.
He could feel the mana present in the mana stones and around him. Without hesitation, he began pulling it in.
A normal apprentice would struggle to absorb even the faintest trace of mana at first. But Arthur didn’t have the problem, he started directing the mana toward his dantian with pinpoint control, compressing it into a singular point at his core.
The mana resisted slightly at first, like water slipping through fingers.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
He focused, and controlled the flow with a fine-tuned efficiency that no normal apprentice could match. His body began to warm, a faint pressure building deep inside.
After a few minutes of continuing the process the scattered mana particles within his dantian suddenly collapsed inward, condensing into a single, stable core.
A faint hum echoed through his body.
His dantian pulsed with newfound energy, and a sense of completion settled over him.
Arthur opened his eyes, exhaling slowly.
He had done it in a single attempt. He had successfully beco a mage apprentice.
What should have taken a week had taken him re minutes.
His fingers curled into a fist as he assessed the sensation. The mana core within him was small, still in its infancy, but it was there stable, and already pulsating with potential.
He wasn’t done yet.
The book stated that after forming a core, an apprentice had to slowly refine and compress it over ti to increase the mana density in their core, before attempting the First Circle breakthrough.
Arthur had no intention of waiting.
Closing his eyes again, he prepared for the next step, he took out all the mana stones he had and started to absorb mana from them.
***
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