Eight years old.Level 2 Mage.Three days to advance.
No matter how you looked at it, those numbers were absurd.
The old man's eyes were filled with shock.
Around the Advancement Hall, staff members and candidates waiting for their own ceremonies began whispering in disbelief.
Rei silently complained in his heart.
If Akase hadn't dragged me out drinking, this progress would've been even faster.
Come to think of it, I was unconscious for most of those three days anyway…
"Iz-sama," the old man said cautiously, "the child is too young. We may not be qualified to officiate his advancement ceremony…"
Iz nodded lightly. "I know."
He turned to Kumiloni.
"If Kumiloni conducts the ritual, that should be acceptable, correct?"
The old man bowed respectfully to Kumiloni.
"Of course. There will be no issue."
Kumiloni smiled faintly. "Then I'll overstep my bounds."
The old man hesitated. "But the records…"
Kumiloni nodded. "I will follow standard procedure."
The old man exhaled in relief. "Very well."
Advancement rituals followed standardized protocols.
They were mandated by law.
Kumiloni smoothly took the officiant's position and began reciting:
"The Mage Advancement Ritual requires fulfillment of three criteria: total mana capacity, elemental affinity, and spell mastery. Additionally, the candidate must possess proof of at least one combat experience."
"The first test will measure your total mana."
Meanwhile, rumors that Iz Parut had come to advance to Magic Saint had already spread.
More and more people crowded into the hall.
When they saw that the one advancing was merely a child—
Some turned away in disappointment.
Then—
Wait.
A child?
What the hell is a child doing at an advancement ritual?
They looked again.
Kumiloni was personally officiating.
They turned right back around.
But this time—
The view was blocked by a wall of people. The spot they had just vacated had already been claimed.
"That kid…"
"Isn't he the one who treated everyone the other day?"
"Oh! I remember! Little Rei, right?"
"I heard his first adventure was solo-clearing a Tier 2 dungeon!"
"No way."
"He's Iz Parut's direct disciple. You think that's fake?"
"Damn… if my kid were half that promising…"
Rei's lips twitched slightly.
He expected to be watched.
He did not expect this many spectators.
Iz…
I was planning to develop quietly. You're making this way too high-profile. That's not ideal.
Rei placed his hand on the crystal sphere.
Testing mana, huh?
Kumiloni announced:
"A mana value of 5 meets the standard. 10 is excellent. 20 is considered perfect."
20 is perfect?
So 20 equals 100 times base mana?
Rei placed his hand on the sphere and released his mana.
Crack!
Fine fissures instantly spread across the crystal.
Hey—don't do this cliché scene right now. Don't shatter and then show a zero in front of this many people.
I don't want to be high-profile, but I also don't want to be labeled trash. I still have some pride.
Fortunately, the crystal only cracked slightly.
It did not explode into fragments.
The number slowly formed—
And it was a number that rendered the entire hall silent.
[Mana Value: 10000]
How many?
How many zeros is that?
One, ten, hundred, thousand—what the hell?!
Ten thousand?
5 is passing. 10 is excellent. 20 is perfect.
And you're showing ten thousand?
The entire Advancement Hall fell into absolute silence.
Such a terrifying number had appeared only once in recent years.
Yes—there had been one other occurrence in recent years.
But before that, for thousands of years—
Not once.
Oh.
Rei roughly understood what the number meant.
This value represented a multiple of one's mana at initial Mage awakening.
20 meant twenty times initial mana.
Most Mages advanced from Level 1 to Level 2 with only five to ten times their starting mana.
A rare few could reach twenty times.
That was the limit of most high-quality 「Mana Enhancement Techniques」.
One hundred times—
That only appeared with Mana Tide.
It was considered the theoretical maximum mana for a Level 1 Mage.
Ten thousand times—
Only Mana Void could achieve that.
Ah…
When she said 20 was perfect, Rei had assumed that meant the maximum possible for a Level 1 Mage.
The hall, previously noisy, was now deathly silent.
Kumiloni, however, showed no surprise whatsoever.
Shock was for everyone else.
As the officiant, her responsibility was to proceed with the ritual.
"Next is elemental affinity."
"Sensing five elements qualifies as passing. Eight elements is excellent. Beyond that, evaluation depends on the depth of affinity."
"The first element… Fire."
Again, the crystal sphere.
No creativity in these tests, huh?
Still, Rei placed his hand on it.
A roaring flame ignited within the sphere.
It symbolized complete affinity with the Fire element—perfect perception of all Fire-elemental presence.
"Monster…"
"Is he even human?"
"Sensing 70% of Fire elements is already considered a prodigy among Fire Mages."
"He's at full perception?"
Fire was only the beginning.
Rei moved on.
Ice Element — Full Perception.
Dark Element — Full Perception.
Water Element — Full Perception.
Wind Element — Full Perception.
…
After reading all afternoon yesterday, Rei now understood—
Not every Mage could learn every spell.
Most Mages had exceptional affinity for only a single element.
Elemental perception could be improved through external means—such as sensing Dark Crystals to increase Dark affinity—but it began at 1% and rose painfully slowly.
The higher it climbed, the harder it became.
The resources and effort required grew exponentially.
And the final 10%—
Was considered impossible to reach.
Thus, Mages with strong affinity for a particular element would specialize deeply in that path.
Greater affinity meant easier spell mastery, faster learning, and greater power output.
That was how distinctions like Fire Mage, Ice Mage, Lightning Mage came to be.
But the boy before them—
Every single element tested—
100% Full Perception.
All Elements: 100%.
A perfect Omni-Element Mage.
Even Kumiloni's expression showed a flicker of surprise.
Without testing, no one would have known Rei truly possessed perfect full-element perception.
"All elements… 100%."
Even the elderly ritual master could not suppress his trembling voice.
He had felt regret over not witnessing Iz's ascension to Magic Saint.
Now—
He had witnessed the birth of a new arcane prodigy instead.