Three Types of Magic

"Self-taught?"

Those two words piqued Bev's interest.

In her understanding, magic was synonymous with luxury, always associated with expensive tutors, a well-off family background, and costly tomes.

A commoner teaching himself magic?

That sounded far too unusual.

Just as Bev wanted to ask more, a wooden door on the right side of the hall opened.

A mage wearing a monocle waved toward Bev and Zeliel.

"You're up."

The testing site was a room called the Chamber of Serenity.

The surrounding walls were built of white stone, and a crystal pillar stood in the center, giving the place a sacred air.

The mage in charge of the assessment adjusted his monocle and spoke in a clear voice.

"My name is Marvin Kofiler. I am a senior mage and your examiner for this assessment."

It looked like he was introducing himself to both of them, but Marvin was really only speaking to Zeliel.

Judging by Bev's expression, she had known Instructor Marvin for a long time.

"My name is Zeliel." Zeliel placed one hand over his chest and bowed slightly.

When he heard that Zeliel had no surname, Marvin was slightly surprised, but the expression quickly vanished from his face.

"All right, Uncle Marvin, hurry up and start." Bev urged.

Marvin glanced at Bev, looking somewhat helpless.

"Bev, this is already your third mage assessment this month. If you fail again, I'll have to put you in a ninety-day cooling-off period."

Bev pursed her lips, and her voice grew noticeably quieter.

"I'll definitely pass this time..."

"The assessment for magic apprentices is simple. First comes the magic power test, then the spellcasting level test. I will determine whether you pass based on your performance."

Marvin raised a palm toward the crystal pillar. "Bev, you go first."

"Good luck." Zeliel smiled and encouraged Bev.

Bev clenched her fist and nodded vigorously.

"Mm!"

She took off her light-purple mage robe and set it aside along with her wand.

Such items that enhanced magic power were prohibited during the assessment.

Bev took a deep breath, walked up to the crystal pillar, pressed her small hand against it, and poured in her magic power.

The material of this crystal pillar was similar to the crystal ball the guard at the entrance had brought out, except it was purer and could clearly measure the intensity of one's magic power.

A blue light rose from its base, gradually climbing until it reached Bev's waist.

She gave it everything she had and desperately poured in more magic power. The blue light rose a little higher before finally stopping.

Zeliel estimated it visually.

About... a little over one meter?

Perhaps 1.2 or 1.3 meters.

Marvin gave it a glance.

"Not bad. Barely passes."

The corners of Bev's lips curled up, and a delighted smile appeared on her pretty face.

"Woohoo!"

Last time, she had not even passed the magic power test.

Next, it was Zeliel's turn.

He likewise placed his palm against it. Blue light emerged from the bottom of the crystal pillar and shot upward.

Not only was it much faster than Bev's, but it also quickly surpassed the height she had reached.

Bev blinked, seemingly unable to believe what she was seeing.

Marvin was somewhat surprised as well, and his gaze toward Zeliel gained a deeper meaning.

In the end, the blue light stopped slightly below Zeliel's chest, twenty or thirty centimeters higher than Bev's.

"Not bad."

Marvin nodded approvingly. "Your magic power intensity fully meets the standard for a magic apprentice, with some room to spare."

"Thank you for the praise." Zeliel withdrew his hand.

With 71 Spirit, he indeed had more than enough for the requirements of a magic apprentice.

If Zeliel chose Spell Surge among his talent skills, the light on the crystal pillar would likely rise even higher.

"You... are you really self-taught?" Bev muttered under her breath.

He was actually better than her.

Next, Marvin would test their spellcasting level, with Bev going first again.

The process was simple. They only needed to cast the magic they were proficient in, and Marvin would evaluate it.

Bev held out her palm and began mobilizing her magic power, sketching a spell structure in her mind.

Marvin narrowed his eyes slightly and carefully observed Bev's casting process.

Whoosh!

The air suddenly twisted slightly as a pale cyan blade of wind slashed forward!

Wind Blade.

Although there was no wooden target or anything else to quantify its destructive power, Zeliel felt that strike was quite powerful—at least comparable to an ordinary sword slash.

Then Bev began sketching a second spell structure.

About six or seven seconds later, a bright light appeared in her palm.

With Bev's movements, the light condensed into a sphere and floated high in the air, illuminating a larger area.

Illumination.

After resting briefly, Bev began shaping her third spell.

This time, a water ball the size of a human head gradually condensed before her.

With a bang, the water ball shot forward at tremendous speed and struck the wall.

Water Ball.

"Huff... huff..."

Casting three spells in succession had clearly exhausted Bev. She panted lightly and looked at Marvin.

"How was that, Instructor Marvin?"

"Looks like you've been putting in some effort lately."

Marvin nodded slightly. "You passed, Bev. From now on, you are a magic apprentice."

"That's great!" Bev was ecstatic.

Bev was not the only one happy. Zeliel was also quite pleased, because he clearly saw three more progress bars appear beneath Spell Structure Evolution.

Wind Blade, analysis progress—2%.

Illumination, analysis progress—2%.

Water Ball, analysis progress—2%.

This talent skill was really useful. It saved him the expense and trouble of obtaining magic scrolls himself.

Moreover, compared to a relatively complex spell like Mistflow Veil, the three spells Bev cast had obviously analyzed much faster.

They had reached 2% progress the moment they were added to the queue. They would probably be fully analyzed in just a few days.

"Your turn, Zeliel." Marvin gestured.

Zeliel stepped forward and exhaled softly as the spell structure for Fireball appeared in his mind.

Magic power spread along its predetermined path, ready to flow.

But at that moment, Zeliel suddenly froze as he made an unexpected discovery.

Within his mind, the originally complete Fireball spell structure unexpectedly contained some redundant sections that seemed unnecessary to him.

Those winding, redundant sections could be altered into straight structures that would allow magic power to flow faster.

What was going on...?

Zeliel could not help but feel puzzled.

He had never had this feeling when casting Fireball before.

However, Zeliel did not dwell on it. Following his instincts, he modified those redundant sections and successfully completed the spell structure.