"Teacher Roxy,"
Cui Ciyou watched the Mage Hat in front of him sway gently in rhythm with the horse's steps and spoke up.
"May I ask a question? In this world, is being a mage... a common profession?"
"Or rather, how difficult is it to become a mage?"
Roxy seemed not to have expected that question. She fell silent for a moment, as though recalling what her instructors at Ranoa Magic University had taught her.
Only then did she answer softly in her clear voice.
"According to the incomplete surveys of the population and their innate talents conducted across the Central Continent by the Magic Guild and Ranoa Magic University over the past several centuries..."
"On average... only about one in twenty people is born with enough mana to meet the minimum threshold and possess the 'talent' needed to become a mage."
"Oh? One in twenty?" Cui Ciyou felt a flicker of interest.
That ratio sounds... not all that low, does it?
"But,"
Roxy seemed to have guessed what he was thinking and added,
"Having the talent doesn't mean you'll become a mage."
"Of those twenty talented people, the number who eventually master spellcasting through study and training,
"and become a Certified Mage recognized by the Magic Guild, capable of casting even the simplest Beginner Magic, is usually... just one."
"In other words..." Cui Ciyou quickly did the math in his head. "...one in four hundred?"
That was quite a low ratio.
Roxy nodded, a hint of emotion in her voice.
"Yes, roughly one in four hundred."
"And those are only mages who can cast Beginner Magic. Reaching the intermediate or advanced level, let alone Saint-level, King-level, or Emperor-level... is far more difficult."
"In the Asla Kingdom, only those who reach the advanced level are permitted to teach magic."
"That's