You Cannot Become a Mage

Hearing Mia say that, Matthews decided they should move somewhere else and continue.

By the end of the afternoon, he had sold all the fans he'd brought for high prices to the nobles from the Imperial Capital who had come to the Magic Academy, except for one he'd given to Lady Kelly Berna in Karim City.

"Hahaha, that's more than a hundred gold coins!"

Mia's eyes shone as she said to Matthews, "Brother, I want to buy pretty dresses."

"Sure. Let's deposit the money first."

"Weren't we going to take the magic aptitude test first?"

"It's inconvenient to carry all these coins around. There's a place nearby where we can deposit them. We'll do that first."

"Fine."

As soon as Matthews walked into the bank, he said, "I'd like to deposit some money."

"Sir, do you have a card?"

"No."

"There's a two-silver-coin fee to open an account."

Mia exclaimed when she heard that, "What? That's so expensive!"

"Miss, the card is linked to you personally. It costs a little more to make."

"Enough. Let's get two cards."

Once they left the bank, Mia looked at the card in her hand and asked Matthews unhappily, "Brother, why do I only have ten gold coins?"

"You're still young, so I'll keep the money for you. I'll buy you lots of tasty things later!"

"Fine."

Seeing that the little girl was getting harder to fool, Matthews immediately said, "Come on, let's go take the magic test first."

By the time the two of them returned to the testing area, some time had passed.

There were far fewer people now, so a line had begun to form.

"Next."

"Brother, I'll go first."

Mia placed her hand on the crystal ball, and a brilliant green light immediately shone from it. The person in charge of testing aptitude was visibly excited. "Exceptional aptitude for the Wind Element!"

Then he said, "Quickly, step into the magic array."

After enduring the spiritual pressure for quite a while, Mia finally made it through.

The tester exclaimed excitedly, "Exceptional spiritual aptitude!"

At once, recruiters from the various nearby academies crowded around. They all introduced their academies to Matthews, but after the Imperial Capital Magic Academy invited Mia, the other academies tactfully left.

"Mia, welcome to the Imperial Capital Magic Academy."

Mia bowed gracefully. "Thank you. It's an honor to be accepted into the Imperial Capital Magic Academy."

The recruiting magic instructor nodded and left. At that moment, the person testing magical aptitude called out again, "Next."

Matthews stepped forward, but the mage in charge of keeping order stopped him. "Parents of students, stand back. You can't go in."

Matthews handed over ten gold coins for the test and said, "I want to have my magical aptitude tested too."

The mage in charge of keeping order was taken aback by Matthews's actions. "What? But you're already in your twenties. No magic academy will accept you as a student."

"Is there any rule saying someone over twenty can't have their magical aptitude tested?"

"Well..."

Just then, someone inside asked impatiently, "What's going on?"

The mage in charge of keeping order said, "This young man in his twenties is making trouble."

The person inside who was responsible for testing aptitude frowned and asked, "Are you the guardian of the girl with exceptional aptitude?"

"Yes, sir. I'm not making trouble. I just want to have my magical aptitude tested, and I'm willing to pay ten gold coins. Besides, there's no rule saying people over twenty can't have their aptitude tested."

"Fine. There really isn't such a rule. Hurry up—we're short on time."

Matthews placed his hand on the crystal ball, and dazzling purple and blue lights immediately flared.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to have exceptional aptitude for the Lightning Element and high aptitude for the Water Element!"

Then, looking at Matthews regretfully, he said, "If you'd come to test your aptitude at seven or eight, you might have been a genius. But it's too late now. Do you want to test your spiritual power too?"

When I was seven or eight, I wasn't even here. How could I have come to test my magical aptitude?

"Go ahead and test it."

After Matthews finished the spiritual aptitude test, the man in charge asked, "Have you really never practiced magic?"

"No."

Seeing Matthews answer without hesitation, the man shook his head. "What a pity. You have exceptional spiritual aptitude, but you're already in your twenties. You have no chance of becoming a mage."

"Why not?"

"The sea of magic is vast. If you'd started practicing at seven or eight, you'd be a fifth- or sixth-level mage by now. No magic academy will accept you now, because you started too late. Your accomplishments in life would be limited."

Matthews asked uncertainly, "Is it really impossible?"

"I'm sorry, but you have no chance of becoming a mage."

Matthews felt dazed and dejected. It seemed he'd lost his chance to learn magic.

"Brother, don't worry. Mia will grow strong and protect you."

Matthews smiled and patted Mia on the head.

Mia took Matthews's hand and comforted him. "Brother."

"It's fine. I can still practice Battle Qi. Now I just need to get my hands on a manual for Lightning Element or Water Element Battle Qi!"

Mia nodded, then left with Matthews.

Since Mia had a chance to study at the Imperial Capital Magic Academy, Matthews opened an ironworking shop on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital. It cost him sixty gold coins. No matter the world, houses in the Imperial Capital were ridiculously expensive!

Matthews now had two paths before him. Once Mia learned meditation and how to absorb magical elements, he could learn magic and become a mage with no offensive spells, simply accumulating magic until he reached the Saint Realm. Then he could continue developing warrior combat techniques and comprehending the Laws.

Or he could get his hands on a Battle Qi manual and practice Battle Qi.

The second option seemed impossible to Matthews. Battle Qi manuals were incredibly precious on the Coiling Dragon Continent. In the original story, the people from the protagonist's hometown could only obtain rudimentary Battle Qi by enlisting in the army and earning military merits.

That stuff probably wouldn't even let someone become a high-level warrior. It was easy to understand why: no ruler would casually spread techniques that could threaten their position. The techniques they distributed only gave their subordinates enough Battle Qi to fight for them.

Even a magic aptitude test cost ten gold coins. The hide of a wolf-like creature that wasn't a magical beast—the kind Matthews had hunted earlier—had only earned him one hundred and fifty copper coins. He'd only been able to hunt it safely because he was a sixth-level warrior. An ordinary person like the village chief couldn't possibly get his hands on a hide like that; most people could only catch wild rabbits and the like.

How could they possibly earn ten gold coins for a magic aptitude test? And even if they managed to get the ten gold coins and take the test, they'd still need a magic staff to practice magic, not to mention money to live in the Imperial Capital.

A mage couldn't be raised by an ordinary family. Battle Qi warriors were probably no different.