"So it's him. I heard another legendary mage has appeared in Rane Town. Truly, the younger generation is formidable."
"It seems the future of our Mage Association is radiant indeed."
The man bent down and crouched in front of Kanzaki Rei, positioning himself even lower than Rei's eye level.
"Little one, have you considered joining the Mage Association?"
Rei glanced toward Iz.
Iz answered in his place.
"Fizer."
"The Mage Association's minimum admission age is sixteen, isn't it?"
The man called Fizer smiled brightly and turned his head toward Iz behind him.
"Compared to rules, doesn't our Association value genius more?"
"As long as one is a genius, rules can always be relaxed."
Iz tapped her finger lightly against the table and refused with firm seriousness.
"He's still a child. Whether he joins the Association or not—let him decide slowly for himself."
"Alright, alright. Since you put it that way."
As he spoke, Fizer took out a blue calling card from inside his coat.
"Little one, whenever you decide to join the Mage Association, you'll be welcome."
"In any region, if you present this card at a Mage Association branch, someone will receive you personally."
With that, Fizer stood up.
He gave Iz another wave before finally taking his leave.
Rei looked at Iz.
"Iz, who is he?"
"The President of the Mage Association on this continent."
"A Level 6 Mage."
…Huh?
Level 6?
Earlier that morning, Rei had been cramming knowledge about this world.
A Level 6 Mage Saint was already considered an extremely terrifying existence on this continent.
"What did he want with you?" Rei asked boldly, taking advantage of his current appearance as a child.
Ordinarily, prying into such private matters might cause offense.
But children were different.
"It's not something that needs to be hidden."
"He came to discuss war."
Rei tilted his head.
"War?"
A sensitive topic.
He could already imagine devastation and scorched earth.
"Yes."
"After Harvest Month comes October."
Rei recalled what he had read earlier about the Months of the Stars.
"The Month of War and Fire. Its celestial sign is Bani."
Iz scratched her head and sighed.
"This month carries blessings for war—greater courage, enhanced morale, legion-scale spells grow stronger, marches become swifter, and commands reach soldiers' minds more quickly…"
A month that advocated war.
Cruel.
Most large and small wars erupted during this month.
In this month, victors received more generous rewards.
The defeated suffered fewer losses.
Illogical perhaps—
But it was written plainly in common knowledge texts.
"He wants me to participate in the coming war."
Rei looked at her.
"What are you planning to do, Iz?"
"I refused."
"I have no intention of interfering in any war in this world."
So Iz was a pacifist.
"He was simply fulfilling his duty as Association President by trying to persuade me. He knows he can't convince me. While he was here, he also provided some other useful information."
Rei asked curiously, "What kind of information?"
Iz glanced at the translucent sheet in her hand, then shook her head.
"You don't need that kind of information yet."
She stretched lazily, shifting the topic.
"Let's go practice your new magic."
Rei's eyes lit up.
"Mm! Okay!"
He had come to find Iz precisely because he wanted to learn Tier II spells.
And the continuation of the "Mana Enhancement" knowledge Iz had mentioned before—now that he was Level 2 Mage, he should be able to learn it.
Besides—
Once you experienced practicing magic with Iz even once, you would never forget the feeling.
Every spell cast granted five times the proficiency gain.
No wonder everyone wanted her guidance.
Without Iz, even practicing magic felt less appealing.
…
They arrived once more at the training grounds of Rane Town.
This time, Iz rented a larger field.
The training grounds were divided into free and paid areas.
The free area meant everyone practiced together. The space was smaller, and there were no wooden dummies or targets—people simply threw spells into open space.
Dedicated personnel provided protection in the free area, usually Level 2 Defenders, to prevent accidental injuries.
The paid area meant private rental.
Generally, it also included protection, and one could even hire Level 3 Defenders.
But with Iz present, none of that was necessary.
"Compared to the single, straightforward effects of Tier I spells, Tier II spells begin to incorporate more complex variations."
"Chant after me."
Rei and Iz chanted in sequence:
"O weighty earth, surge forth! Form a thick and unyielding bulwark—rise into a broad and steadfast wall!"
Rumble—!
The earth churned violently. The ground rose upward!
A stone wall formed before Rei.
「You have learned — Stone Wall」「Stone Wall Proficiency EXP +10000」「Stone Wall (Tier II) (LV: 3)」
Level 3?
Compared to Tier I spells, Tier II clearly required much more experience to level up.
No wonder it was said that most mages spent their entire lives mastering only one or two chantless Tier II spells.
"Haha, it seems I don't need to teach you the theory. I was worried Tier II spells might be too complex for you to directly chant and release."
He felt slightly underestimated.
Rei chanted again—
Rumble—!
Sure enough, Tier II spells were different from Tier I.
Only on the seventh cast did it reach LV: 10 and gain the chantless effect.
However, Rei did not reveal Multicast.
Otherwise, the proficiency gain would have tripled, and leveling would be far too fast.
"Good. You've mastered Stone Wall. Next, let's learn a Wood-element spell—Vine Lash."
Lash what?
Rei didn't react immediately.
"Rampant vines of savage growth—let abundant life burst from the soil! Swing your roots—lash!"
Bang!
Dozens of vines erupted from the earth, countless tendrils whipping wildly through the air.
A Wood-element spell.
A branch he had never studied before.
"This spell is somewhat more difficult than the others. Give it a try."
Rei nodded, repeating the chant he had just memorized.
"Rampant vines of savage growth…"
Boom!
With the chant complete, three vines burst from the ground, lashing through empty air.
"Next—Fountain."
…
Teaching Rei magic was an extraordinarily relaxed and enjoyable experience.
Izparut had once taught at Loinz Magic Academy for a time.
For a newly advanced Level 2 Mage, mastering a Tier II spell from scratch typically required over ten days.
Even so-called genius mages needed at least the time it took to drink a cup of coffee—or a midday nap—to comprehend it.
Compared to Rei—
The gap was immense.
Even someone like Iz, who never looked down on any seeker of knowledge, felt an unusual sense of delight when teaching a genius.
A good student simply felt different.
"Alright. Repeat after me—"
Whoosh!
A violent gale erupted instantly.
Wind Blast had been mastered as well.
To grasp a spell simply by reciting its incantation—
This effortless sensation was something only he could experience firsthand.