When Lynn placed his palm on it, the mana inside his body involuntarily flowed into the stone pillar.
A white light immediately glowed at the base of the pillar, climbing upward as it passed one marking after another.
Twenty centimeters, forty centimeters...
In the blink of an eye, the height of the light exceeded one meter, reaching Lynn's waist without stopping.
It was only when the pillar of light rose to the level of Lynn's chest that its ascent slowed, yet it still did not come to a complete halt.
Betty was already somewhat surprised. When she had taken the test a month ago, her result had only reached this height.
Although she had expected Lynn to have the potential to become a mage, she had not expected his maximum mana capacity to have already reached the same level as hers.
After all, she had been diligently studying and training ever since her magic talent was discovered in her childhood.
One and a half meters, 1.6 meters... The pillar of light was now climbing with great difficulty.
Finally, the pillar of light reached a height of nearly 1.8 meters, aligning with Lynn's brow.
At this, even Gray was slightly surprised.
This maximum mana capacity was already close to the level of a mage class-holder!
Generally, a Level 1 mage class-holder's mana would only conduct up to a height of two meters.
Meanwhile, Lynn also managed to deduce some clues about this mana-testing stone pillar.
Each marking was spaced twenty centimeters apart, which likely corresponded to one point of his Intelligence attribute. With his nine points of Intelligence, it made sense that it reached 1.8 meters.
Of course, this was merely his speculation.
After all, although Lynn's light pillar was close, it had not quite reached the 1.8-meter mark, and he was not sure why.
Betty suddenly put on a very serious expression and asked Lynn, “Lynn, just how long have you been practicing magic?”
She was starting to feel a bit off-balance. An illiterate country boy actually had a higher maximum mana capacity than her?!
It was not that she looked down on commoners from the countryside, but rather that a mage's training required too many resources. The amount she had invested in this aspect since childhood was enough to train an entire squad of class-holders.
Without a massive investment of resources, relying solely on self-study made increasing one's maximum mana capacity an extremely slow process.
The fact that Lynn's self-taught progress in the countryside was faster than hers with all her resource-assisted training meant his talent was probably far beyond her own...
Lynn hesitated slightly at this question, but in the end, he told a small lie.
“Well... I've been studying for a while now.”
He could hardly say that he had cast a spell for the very first time in a goblin cave just yesterday. Aside from the potential for unexpected trouble, he also would not be able to explain the source of his spell.
Since it concerned the 《Monster Identification Manual》, it was better to be cautious.
Hearing this answer, Betty seemed to feel a bit more balanced, but she still wore an envious expression.
Beside them, Gray spoke up to comfort Betty: “On the path of a mage, talent is not the sole deciding factor. There is no need to be discouraged.”
After saying this, he did not forget to balance things out and praised Lynn:
“However, a commoner genius like Lynn is indeed very rare. I hope your path ahead will be smoother with the association's help.”
With those words, Lynn passing the test and becoming a member of the Mages' Association was already a done deal.
But soon, when they reached the spellcasting ability test, Gray found that the surprises Lynn brought him did not stop there—
“Are you saying you only know one spell?” Gray pushed up his slipping glasses, looking somewhat surprised.
Most spellcasters would learn multiple Zero-Circle spells before becoming official class-holders. A spellcaster like Lynn who only knew a single spell was extremely rare.
But on second thought, Gray could understand.
If Lynn really was an ordinary commoner, he most likely could not afford the high tuition of a systematic magic education. He probably could only sneakily learn a few tricks from a drunken bard.
“Well, that's fine.” Gray shrugged. “Just cast the spell. As long as you can cast it successfully and prove you aren't a 'dud,' you will pass the spellcasting test.”
Coming to the final step, Lynn squeezed his palms, feeling a rare touch of nervousness.
He really lacked a bit of confidence when it came to casting.
Mostly because that single Magic Missile in the cave last night had nearly drained all of his mana.
It had only been a dozen or so hours since then, and he was not sure if the recovered mana would be enough to cast the spell again.
However, Lynn was no longer the farmer who wanted to run away at the sight of a goblin. Even if he was a little nervous, it would not affect his casting state in the slightest.
Raising his hand slightly, Lynn made a gesture to guide his mana.
Guided by the gesture and the chanted incantation, the mana in his body was rapidly mobilized, flowing from Lynn's fingertips to gather in front of him.
A cyan sphere of light gradually took shape, stirring a gentle breeze in the surrounding air.
During the casting process, Lynn once again felt a sense of emptiness in his body, as his internal mana was nearly drained dry by this sphere of light.
By the time four or five seconds had passed, Gray, who was standing to the side, also sensed that something was amiss.
Did a Zero-Circle spell require such a long channeling time?
At least, Gray had never heard of a Zero-Circle spell of this scale.
“Vas!”
Lynn let out a low shout. With a distant point of his finger, the cyan sphere of light shot from his hand, instantly flying toward the stone wall of the room.
Magic Missile?!
As such a classic First-Circle basic spell of the School of Evocation, Gray naturally recognized it instantly.
But Lynn was not an official class-holder yet; he shouldn't be able to cast a First-Circle spell.
Gray's expression changed slightly, and he chanted, “Dis Ma.”
A surge of mana burst from his body, enveloping the missile. Instantly, both spells collapsed and vanished into thin air.
A Third-Circle Abjuration spell, Dispel Magic.
He could not let Lynn's spell blow up the room.
Although the magic-absorbing materials used in the building provided some protection against spells, a spell like Magic Missile—which was considered highly powerful even among First-Circle spells—would likely leave a small crater in the wall.
Immediately after, he was about to step forward to support Lynn, who was on the verge of collapsing after casting the spell.
However, he found that someone else was already a step ahead of him.
Betty had already seen Lynn's exhausted state after casting yesterday. Naturally, she had been waiting by his side, and the moment Lynn finished casting, she reached out to support him.
Lynn also felt a gentle, light fragrance of roses envelop him. Looking up, his eyes met Betty's.
He offered a weak smile and nodded in thanks.
Seeing this, Gray let out a playful smile, but he still spoke up to interrupt the subtle atmosphere building between the two.
“A non-class-holder who can use a First-Circle spell... This is the first time I've ever seen such a thing.”
“A First-Circle spell?!”
The one who spoke was not Lynn, but Betty beside him. Her mouth was wide open in shock, and the astonishment on her face could not be hidden as she looked at Lynn, whom she was holding in her arms.
Although she had witnessed the power of the Magic Missile with her own eyes, she had never expected it to actually be a First-Circle spell.
No wonder someone with Lynn's near-class-holder mana capacity would still end up this weak after casting it.
She had heard before of certain spellcasters who could cast First-Circle spells across ranks before officially obtaining their class, but the protagonists of those legends were almost always races with outstanding magic talent, like dragons or elves.
Certain branches of these races were born with innate magic, which allowed them to cast spells beyond their rank.
Lynn did not know just how deep an impression this spell, which had been randomly given to him by his Goblin Apprentice talent, had left on the two of them.
But judging by Gray's reaction, he had likely passed the test.
“Congratulations on passing the test and becoming a new member of the Wingen Town branch of the Mages' Association.”
Gray reached out and handed Lynn a finger-sized, crystal-clear magic stone.
A steady stream of mana flowed from the magic stone into Lynn's body, quickly easing the discomfort of his overdrawn mana.
Pop—
Once the mana inside the magic stone was completely drained, it crumbled into a pile of fine powder in Lynn's hand, disappearing with a gentle breeze.
Lynn looked at Gray awkwardly.
He had heard Betty mention earlier that magic stones were quite expensive, and he certainly could not afford to pay for it.
Gray merely smiled, indicating that Lynn did not need to worry.
It was just a consumable low-grade magic stone, a matter of two or three gold coins.
Lynn instantly gained a new appreciation for how incredibly wealthy mages were.
Gray spoke, “Betty, take Lynn to collect his uniform and badge. I won't tag along.”
As he said this, he seemed to remember something and added, “Lynn, remember to come find me the next time you come to collect your stipend. You need a focus material for a staff. Casting like this consumes too much mana.”
Lynn was taken aback.
So casting actually required a focus material.
No wonder he had always felt a sense of obstruction during his two castings, as if some spellcasting component was missing.
Beside him, Betty suddenly nudged him with her elbow.
Lynn looked over, and Betty was winking and gesturing, hinting at something.
Only then did Lynn realize what was happening.
Teacher Gray was planning to gift him a focus material for a staff!
Lynn quickly said with sincerity, “Thank you, Teacher Gray!”
Gray waved his hand, signaling Lynn not to be polite.
This could be considered his own small investment in this commoner genius.
Rate on N.U.
