The test

Allen's purpose in visiting the library was simple: to find a detailed introduction to mages. In the other places he had visited, both Giles and Morien had barely touched on the subject, offering no detailed explanation at all. As a result, Allen still had only a hazy understanding of the profession.

For Allen, who intended to become a mage, how could he even talk about becoming one without understanding them? Dalaran was a nation of mages, so there had to be detailed information about them here. Sure enough, he found it not long after entering. There were many books introducing mages-an entire bookshelf's worth.

Allen stayed in the library for a full six hours, leaving only when the money on his card ran out. In those six hours, he had skimmed through nearly all those introductions to mages. Most of the books were much alike and covered the same material. He sorted through his thoughts and gained a general understanding of what the books were trying to convey.

The mage was a powerful profession, and becoming one required a certain degree of talent. He had suspected this before, and his guess had been correct. However, becoming a mage required not only extraordinary Mental Power but also a certain affinity for magic. The former allowed a mage to control magic better rather than injure himself with the spells he cast. The latter allowed him to absorb magical power more effectively. To some extent, these two talents essentially determined a mage's achievements, though other opportunities or enough money could change that.

Allen already possessed the former—powerful Mental Power. As long as his affinity for magic was not too poor, he could become a mage with a bright future.

Second, mages trained differently from those in other combat professions. Their training mainly involved drawing magical energy from the outside world into their bodies for their own use, while other combat professions seemed to develop their own innate potential. This was why mages' bodies grew increasingly frail, while those of other professionals grew stronger.

Of course, although mages were physically weak, they often had many ways to prolong their lives. The most common was to use their own magical power to extend their lifespan, a skill every mage knew. There was no question that the stronger a mage's magical power, the longer he lived.

There was also a particularly notorious method that was said to grant eternal life: transforming into a Lich. However, all such practices were forbidden in Dalaran and would never appear there.

The final point, and the one he most wanted to understand, was the system of mage professions. The origin of the word "mage" could no longer be traced. Some believed it came from the elves and was the term humans used for an elven profession when translating the elven language. Others said it was the name humans gave to the first group of people who used magic. None of that mattered. Nowadays, "mage" was a respectful term for anyone capable of using magic. Anyone who could wield magical power was a mage, even someone like him, who relied on a charged staff to cast wind blades and then had to draw a sword to fight enemies at close quarters. That did not qualify as being a mage in the true sense. Even so, ordinary people still regarded him as one.

"Mage" was undoubtedly a broad term. Among mages, some were called frost mages or flame mages, names people gave them based on the magic they excelled at. More distinctive titles included Star of Fire, Whisperer, and Swift Caster. These titles had become those mages' most prominent traits and were widely known. In any case, almost no mage who earned a title was weak. It was precisely because of their strength that their admirers spread those names far and wide.

Beyond that, the books also clearly divided mages into ranks. The method was simple: they were divided into ten tiers according to the degree to which magical power had accumulated within their bodies. With each advance, their accumulated magical power underwent a qualitative change. After advancing, both their mana and their control over magic increased greatly, far surpassing what they had been before.

The sixth tier was the most important dividing line. Upon reaching it, their gains in magical power and control far exceeded those of earlier tiers. At the same time, their magical power became sufficient to cast the most famous mage spell-teleportation. Only those capable of casting this renowned spell were called Archmages.

After becoming an Archmage, one could enjoy every privilege in Dalaran, enter its highest governing body, the Kirin Tor Council, directly, and build a mage tower in the city. These were the towers of varying heights he had seen when he first arrived in Dalaran. By his rough count, there were around thirty or forty, which meant Dalaran had at least thirty or forty Archmages. Dalaran was home to nearly ninety percent of all human mages, so by a conservative estimate, the entire human race probably had no more than a hundred Archmages. This showed just how rare Archmages were, but also how difficult it was to advance to that rank.

The most powerful person in all of Dalaran at present was Antonidas, the council's Chief Archmage. The books devoted more than half their pages to introducing this genius, the most powerful and wisest in history. They described everything from the Chief Archmage's birth to the present in exhaustive detail. It would have been impossible to find more lavish, more flattering language than the adjectives those books used to praise Antonidas. After reading one, Allen had no intention of reading the others. The flattery had reached the heavens.

After leaving six hours later, Allen returned to the inn. He planned to take a mage aptitude test the next day to see what his talents were like. Originally, he had intended to apply for admission directly, saving the testing fee and getting into an academy to study at the same time. Unfortunately, admissions had ended not long ago, unless he was willing to wait another six months. But he could not possibly wait half a year to be tested.

The next day, Allen arrived early at Dalaran's Mages’ Association. Upon entering, he explained his purpose to an attendant and paid the fee of three gold coins. The attendant led him into a room containing a chair, with a table in front of it. A strange device sat on the table. It looked as though it was made of silver, its entire surface silvery white and gleaming. There was nothing on the device except a long, narrow, transparent strip, whose purpose he could not guess. He instinctively glanced around and discovered that apart from the strange device in front of him, there was nothing else in the room.

He did not wait long before a middle-aged man in mage robes entered. It went without saying that he must be a mage, presumably the one who would test him. After entering, the mage motioned for him to sit in the chair, and Allen sat down without thinking much of it. "Concentrate and look ahead. Not with your eyes-with your mind. Understood?" the middle-aged mage said casually.

Allen soon understood what the mage meant: he was to explore this strange device with his Mental Power. He extended his Mental Power into it and discovered that it was filled with densely packed Magic Runes. He had never seen so many before. From bottom to top, the runes gradually grew more complex. At the very top, he could no longer make them out clearly; all he could see was a vast band of Magic Runes densely tangled together.

At that moment, the middle-aged mage behind him spoke. "Tell me, what do you see?" Allen answered honestly, "A lot of densely packed Magic Runes." "Oh, really? Looks like you're not bad. Those nobles who came the last few times couldn't see anything, then accused me of fooling them. That's nobles for you." The middle-aged mage could not help sneering at the mention of nobles. "All right, now control the energy at the very bottom and fill the Magic Runes with it. Keep going until you reach your limit." Following the middle-aged mage's instructions, Allen filled the Magic Runes with energy. It was familiar work for him and posed no difficulty at all. But as the runes became more complex, his Mental Power became increasingly insufficient. He would often attend to one part only to neglect another. In the end, Allen could only keep the runes filled with energy up to nearly the halfway point.

The middle-aged mage beside him was so astonished that he could not speak. "Th-this... how is this possible? Say, boy, you haven't already become a mage and come here to make a fool of me, have you? Your Mental Power is beyond that of a mage apprentice. This is simply impossible for an apprentice!"

Allen knew his Mental Power was powerful, but he had not expected it to be this much stronger. He immediately explained to the middle-aged mage, "Sir, I've never studied magic. Look, there isn't even a trace of magical power in my body." How could the middle-aged mage have known that Allen's Mental Power was so powerful because he had been practicing a chant since his previous life? Although the chant's effects were very slight, they had accumulated over so many years. Added to the fact that he had not neglected his practice in this life either, they had produced this result.

The middle-aged mage came to his senses and realized that his suspicion had been groundless. He immediately became overjoyed. "Heavens, I've witnessed the birth of a genius! Oh, th-this... once the test is over, please let me be your mentor. What do you say? No, no, no, I don't think I'm qualified to teach you yet. I can introduce you to my mentor. He's a seventh-tier Archmage, Ganast Krins, the Fire Controller, one of Dalaran's most famous Archmages. I think only he could be your mentor." The middle-aged mage began extending an olive branch to him, even offering a wealth of generous terms. He made Allen want to go meet that Archmage at once.