Magic Idiot

Clark was quite satisfied with the child's reaction. He looked at the crystal ball in his hand. "Come, let me see your talent. I promised your father I would teach you, but the prerequisite is that you must possess magical talent. Otherwise..."

Du Wei raised his head. "What should I do?"

"Place your hands on the crystal ball and grip it tightly. Then try to think of something—something happy, something angry. In short, use every possible way to stir up your emotions." Clark's tone returned to its usual coldness. "Let me see your talent."

Du Wei fell silent, stepped forward, and placed both hands on the crystal ball, gripping it tightly. It felt cool to the touch, yet smooth.

"Focus your mind. Now begin... Think. Think of the things that have left the deepest impression on you. Anger, joy—anything..." Clark's stern voice sounded beside Du Wei's ear.

Du Wei closed his eyes and began searching through his memories...

Clark watched as the crystal ball in his hands gradually began to emit light. At first, the glow was faint, but it quickly grew brighter and brighter!

Even the proud mage could not help showing a trace of surprise. He looked at the crystal ball in his hands, then at little Du Wei before him, and let out a soft sound of astonishment.

Du Wei, however, did not feel very well. His emotions surged as memories of his past gradually resurfaced... He had inexplicably arrived in another world. Everything from before—his ideals, dreams, life, pursuits, everything—had become empty! And the longer he stayed here, the more accustomed he became to this world, the blurrier those memories of the past became... Human memories always faded with time; that was normal. But Du Wei still felt sorrowful. Truly sorrowful...

Zhuang Zhou dreamed of being a butterfly. But was I living in the butterfly's dream, or had I dreamed of the butterfly?

Du Wei's breathing gradually quickened. The strange power within the crystal ball seemed to magnify the emotions in his heart. His pounding heartbeat brought him an indescribable discomfort, as though something were crushing his chest...

At last, an icy hand pressed against his head. A cool current rushed down from his forehead, forcibly cooling his overheated mind.

"That's enough, my child." Clark's voice remained cold, but he had changed his form of address from "boy" to "my child," which was enough to show that the mage was satisfied with Du Wei's talent.

"Very good... I must say, exceedingly good. You are not even six years old, yet your magical talent already rivals that of a magic apprentice. Your spiritual power is nearly twice that of an ordinary person. Considering your age... I am very satisfied with your talent." The proud mage even showed a faint smile.

Strong spiritual power? Du Wei laughed bitterly inwardly. That was probably because he had been "reincarnated" yet still retained the memories of his previous life. It was as if he possessed the spiritual power of two lifetimes.

Mage Clark put away the crystal ball and gestured for Du Wei to sit down. "Now I need to test the second aspect of your talent... I will teach you a most basic spell. I need you to meditate sincerely, feel the power of nature, and then tell me what you sense."

Du Wei carefully memorized the spell Clark taught him. Its simple, ancient pronunciation carried a trace of mystery.

"Meditate with all your heart and focus your mind. This is a crucial test. Whether one can become a mage... many people with greater talent than yours have failed because they could not pass this stage."

"What do I need to do?" Du Wei frowned.

"You need do nothing. Simply recite the spell silently, let your mind wander, and sense your surroundings with your heart. Cold, heat, sounds—anything will do. It is not difficult."

Du Wei did as instructed. He sat down and naturally assumed a cross-legged posture. Clark found the posture rather novel. Then the mage took an hourglass from beneath his gray robe and placed it beside them to measure the time...

Fine grains of sand flowed on. Little Du Wei sat quietly for a long time before finally opening his eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Mage Sir..."

"Oh? What did you sense?"

"I..." Du Wei sounded somewhat helpless. "I felt hungry."

"..."

Clark was somewhat dejected by that answer. Clearly, although this child possessed outstanding magical talent, he did not have the sensitive heart needed to sense the world.

Although the amount of magical power was important, it was not the only standard. Spiritual power could also be gradually improved through diligent meditation. Those born with stronger spiritual power merely started a little higher than others.

But whether one could sense the magical elements in nature was the most crucial test of all!

Clark had once taught several magic apprentices. Some of them had even possessed less magical talent than little Du Wei, yet there had been no shortage of outstanding individuals among them. One of them had sat for less than half an hourglass during this initial test before rising to his feet and extending his hand. A small flame had leaped from his fingertips. Later, that student specialized in fire magic.

Another apprentice had been able to hear the sound of the wind in the sky during this test. Later, that child specialized in wind magic.

Clark's most outstanding student, when he first passed this test, had caused all the water in a vase in the room to float into the air as soon as he sat down to think. It had condensed into a fist-sized ball of water and remained gathered without dispersing!

In short, those truly gifted enough to become mages would all display various unusual phenomena when first undergoing this test! Yet this Young Master Du Wei, who seemed to possess excellent innate magical talent, appeared not to have awakened to it at all.

This could only mean... he was simply not suited to becoming a mage.

What a pity, the spiritual power granted to him by the gods is innate. If he could pass the test, then with his spiritual power, he would start higher than others. Clark felt some regret, but the proud mage quickly dismissed it.

Hmph, what use was having slightly stronger spiritual power? It was like fighting: a stronger person would not necessarily defeat a weaker one. A bull might be powerful, but it was still no match for a leopard.

Still... what a pity.

When the count saw Mage Clark emerge from the room with a gloomy expression, he had already guessed the result after waiting outside for so long.

Sure enough...

"Count, I am sorry. Your son does not possess the talent to become a mage. It seems the gods have not chosen him. I think you should find another field in which he is more proficient." Clark could not help adding, "Forgive my presumption... In my thirty-six years of magical research, I have never seen anyone like your son..."

At this point, Mage Clark sighed. He did not even say farewell before turning to leave. Yet after taking two steps, he suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh, if you truly insist on making him a mage... then I would suggest that you let him study magical potion-making. After all, a potion master can barely be considered a kind of mage."

With that, Mage Clark waved his hand and casually scattered a handful of golden powder. His body vanished amid a burst of flames.

The count sank into thought, his expression dark. At that moment, Du Wei walked out of the room and quietly looked at him.

Raymond met his son's gaze for a moment. He sighed without speaking, but the disappointment on his face was impossible to conceal.

"...In my thirty-six years, I have never seen anyone like your son..."

Well, like him... what? Such an idiot? Such a fool? Such a moron? Someone so utterly without talent?

The count sighed in despair.

But clearly, because of Mage Clark's arrogance, his unfinished sentence had misled the count.

What the mage had actually meant was: someone with such excellent magical talent, yet utterly unable to sense the magical elements of nature—a contradiction like this.

Yet the outcome and the facts ultimately led the count to conclude of his son: It seems he truly is an idiot.

It had to be said that Rosiat, the old scholar, and Mage Clark both bore some responsibility for this misunderstanding, because their concerns or personalities had led them to speak so vaguely!

For although Du Wei did not possess the talent to become a mage, he was certainly no idiot. On the contrary, because his innate spiritual power was greater than that of ordinary people, he appeared smarter than most. The advantage of his spiritual power gave him more energy and a better memory than others.

Yet such a person had now practically been branded with the label of "idiot"!

He had first convinced an outstanding warrior that he lacked the talent to learn martial arts, then driven away a learned scholar in frustration, and finally disappointed a famous mage into leaving.

And the result was... all of this combined made the noble circles throughout the Imperial Capital even more interested in the little idiot of the Roland Family. Even when some nobles disciplined their unruly children, they could not help saying things like, "No matter how stupid you are, you can't be worse than that little idiot from the Roland Family, can you?" to encourage them.

And so, Du Wei became a negative example.

As for where this young master's future path lay, that question troubled every member of the Roland Family... except Du Wei himself.