Final Assessment

"At last, the day has come!"

In the Teaching Area, Ian stood at the back of the classroom, watching the wizard apprentices around him one after another.

Compared to their youthful inexperience when they had first entered the School, they now all seemed much more mature.

"Lucy, Levi, Beck, Rune, Halman, Logan..."

Ian's gaze habitually swept past those apprentices with Second-class Talent, as though appraising them.

Compared to six months ago, he too had grown tremendously.

He had imprinted eight Mental Power Runes.

He had learned dozens of cantrips and possessed several instant-cast combat spells, giving him considerable combat strength.

Instant-cast wizardry in particular—even many Second-class Apprentice Witches could be killed in an instant if they were unaware of it.

That was where his confidence lay.

The gap between low-ranking wizard apprentices was not as great as people imagined.

There were also the foundational potioneering courses.

Potion Identification and Minor Hemostatic Potion.

The former had long since reached mastery through repeated practice.

It was a skill that could only be improved through massive amounts of reading; without Magic Stones, it simply could not be raised.

Even so, no one among his peers could surpass him, especially after he had gained a photographic memory.

As for Minor Hemostatic Potion, there was even less to say—it had already reached expert level, something even many professional potion makers could not achieve.

So...

"Quite a few people are watching me too!"

Ian sensed many gazes upon him, a faint smugness rising in his heart. He did not even notice the feeling himself.

He waited silently.

A while later, Joran arrived.

Her calm gaze swept over this batch of wizard apprentices as she slowly spoke.

"The final assessment will be based on the number of runes. The lowest grade is C-, and the highest is A+, for a total of nine grades. C- requires only one, while A+ requires nine."

Once she announced the rules, the test began at once.

"Rodri, five Mental Power Runes. B."

The first apprentice quickly stepped forward and received his result.

That was considered a fairly good level in the School.

Then the wizard with Third-grade Talent took the stage.

"Rune, seven. A-."

Rune was the first A- present, and the corners of his mouth immediately lifted. At that moment, it was as if he had regained his confidence.

Before leaving, his gaze lingered on Ian in the distance.

"I took the Advanced Mental Power Potion funded by the Oak Family, and I'm still Third-grade Talent. This time, I will definitely surpass you."

He pursed his lips.

Though he could not defeat Ian in combat or potioneering, there was no gap between him and Ian in meditation classes.

This time, with the Mental Power Potion restoring his mental power, even if Ian had Victor's support, with the same outside support, it would come down to talent.

"In this regard, he is no match for me!"

Light flickered in Rune's eyes. This was where his confidence was strongest.

Even among a group of over a hundred people, his Third-grade Talent placed him among the best.

"Lucy, eleven. A+."

But when he saw Lucy's Second-class Talent, Rune immediately lowered his head again.

He looked down on those with lower talent, while at the same time gazing up at those with greater talent.

"Eleven... as expected of Second-class Talent!"

Ian could not help but sigh as well.

The farther one progressed, the harder it became to condense Mental Power Runes. Eight was already his limit, yet Lucy had surpassed him by a full three.

Even if he were given another quarter, he might not be able to reach it.

"But one day, I too will attain Second-class Talent."

Ian pursed his lips, his eyes gleaming.

Soon it was Levi and Beck's turn. Both had ten, also A+.

"Halman, seven, A-."

Standing before the crystal ball, Halman let out a sigh of relief.

Ross had left him ample resources before departing, and he had not let him down, reaching A-.

"There's still hope."

Halman was somewhat nervous as he watched every wizard who followed.

Even those who had previously ranked in the top ten were basically at the level of seven, which eased him considerably.

"Ian, eight Mental Power Runes, A!"

The first A had appeared.

Joran, too, stared at Ian in surprise. He evidently had not expected him, someone of merely average talent, to claim the first A.

In the distance, Lucy also pressed her lips together, her expression complicated.

The several apprentices they had invested in had reached no more than seven Mental Power Runes, yet Ian had surpassed them.

They should have agreed back then.

"How is that possible?" Halman wore a stunned expression, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

Two runes condensed in a single month.

Even with potions, that was not something someone with fourth-tier talent could accomplish.

"Could Victor really have spent such a fortune on him? Or could it be..." Halman found it hard to accept.

"The boss is amazing!"

Everyone in the Mutual Aid Society was filled with shock. After all, this was the first A.

The testing soon ended. Aside from the three A+s, there were only two As: Ian and another wizard.

In other words, at least in this test, he had reached the top five.

There was no test for the combat course; grades were determined through an overall assessment of their usual performance.

Thus, after finishing their tests, Ian and the others headed straight to the classroom for the potion studies test.

The basic potion studies test was divided into two parts.

A written examination and potion preparation.

The former was completed quickly.

The latter was conducted in batches of twenty, supervised by wizards from the Potions Department.

"Wizard Vivian!"

Ian looked at the beautiful woman in gold-rimmed glasses ahead of him, not expecting this wizard to be the proctor.

"The test begins!"

Vivian's gaze was sharp as she observed every wizard taking the test and assigned scores at any moment.

It was soon Ian's turn.

A Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice naturally possessed an excellent memory, and this made her recall that he was the wizard Victor thought highly of.

"Only third- or fourth-tier talent."

Vivian did not care.

But...

"This isn't right, is it?"

Yet when she saw Ian's flowing, seamless preparation movements, even her cold expression showed a trace of astonishment.

This proficiency?

Was this a joke?

Vivian's heart trembled. Even Victor back then could never have possessed such proficiency.

No wonder Victor thought so highly of him.

"But Mental Power is still the core. If he fails the meditation assessment, he's finished."

A Potion Genius was naturally extremely important to her, but there were hard requirements for entering the Potions Department.

At the very least, one's meditation grade had to be above A-.

"Hopefully, he can reach it."

Vivian adjusted her glasses and gave Ian an A+ without hesitation.

Because of the written examination, the potion studies grades were not announced immediately.

Instead, it would be announced together with the other results three days later.

In the blink of an eye.

Three days passed.

That day, in front of the Teaching Area, a huge sheet of paper had been pasted onto an enormous stone slab.

It listed the rankings of all the Wizards in this round.

From top to bottom, they were Lucy, Levi, and Beck.

"Fourth, Roger. Wizardry course: A. Combat course: A+. Potions course: A+."

"Fifth, Ian. Wizardry course: A. Combat course: A+. Potions course: A+."