Eijin's clicking tongue suddenly stopped.
He stared at the child in front of him—at Kanzaki Rei—as if he were looking at some kind of monster.
"…Wait. The transformation stage of Mana Void?"
Iz nodded.
"Mm."
Eijin let out a long sigh.
"The younger generation truly is frightening…"
Then he straightened up and asked,
"Alright. Tell me—what kind of magic staff do you want me to craft?"
Iz glanced at Rei.
"Go on. Take it out."
Rei nodded and pulled the [Void Spirit Starwood] from his storage space.
The moment the wood appeared—
"WHAT?!"
Eijin jumped backward in shock.
"Iz! Did you rob the royal treasury or something?!"
Iz wiped his forehead awkwardly.
"Eijin… do I really look like that kind of person?"
Eijin slowly reached out, gently stroking the Void Spirit Starwood.
"Then how could that old king possibly bear to give something like this to you?"
"It wasn't given to me."
Iz gestured toward Rei.
"It was given to him."
Eijin looked at Rei again.
"To him?"
"Perhaps the king saw the value of his talent."
Iz placed a hand on Rei's head.
"Rei really is an extraordinary genius."
"…Though he's still just slightly behind me."
Rei glanced sideways.
Iz… that last sentence was completely unnecessary.
Although Rei was still a bit behind for now, it wasn't hard to imagine the future.
Once he gained a few more God-Tier talents, surpassing Iz would likely become inevitable.
After reaching Level 3 Mage, Rei planned to change classes and become a Level 1 Cryptology Scholar.
That would grant him two new God-Tier talents in one go.
At that point… it should be enough.
Although, based on the nature of the Cryptology Scholar, its talents probably wouldn't be combat-oriented.
Eijin stared at the Void Spirit Starwood resting on the table.
His expression turned serious and solemn.
He crouched down again, facing Rei.
"Kid… what kind of staff do you want?"
Rei had already thought about this carefully before coming here.
He answered calmly,
"I want a staff that can greatly increase my spellcasting range."
"It would be best if it could also enhance spell power and spell coverage area."
"As for effects like mana cost reduction or shortened casting time, I don't need those at all."
Eijin began counting on his fingers.
"Range… power… area of effect."
"That's not a problem."
"What about other enchantment effects? For example, specific elemental amplification."
"Or perhaps certain types of magic you specialize in—particular elements."
"I could give you some suggestions."
Iz spoke before Rei could answer.
"Eijin, Rei is a genius with perfect affinity for all elements. He doesn't need elemental specialization."
"As for spellcasting… he can also push every spell he learns to beyond its level limit."
Eijin's mouth twitched slightly when he heard that.
This genius… sounds a little absurd.
"You mean Transcendent Magic?"
"The thing you mentioned before?"
Iz nodded.
"Yes. That's right."
"And those Transcendent spells were developed by him."
Monster…
A complete monster.
Why are magical prodigies appearing like they grow on trees these days?
No wonder the Kingdom of Loren had been growing increasingly secure in its position across the continent.
Loren was, at its core, a nation built around magic.
While it accepted other classes, magic remained the greatest pride and central pillar of the kingdom.
The country had Fizer, the Level 6 Archmage, along with seven or eight Level 5 Mage Emperors.
On this continent, even if Loren wasn't the single strongest nation, it was certainly considered a hegemonic power.
Many smaller countries were fortunate just to possess one Level 5 mage.
Some weaker nations didn't even have a single Level 5 class user at all.
Of course, kingdoms that weak were often smaller than a single city of Loren.
As for Iz Parut—
He wasn't actually from the Kingdom of Loren.
He had merely passed through by coincidence.
The king had tried to persuade Iz to remain in Loren, at least nominally affiliated with the kingdom.
But Iz had refused without hesitation.
Iz was an absolute neutral party.
He favored neither any race nor any nation.
That was probably the reason the king had been reluctant to hand the Void Spirit Starwood to him.
Of course, with Iz's strength, he didn't particularly need that staff anyway.
Eijin paused briefly before continuing.
"So the staff's focus will be casting range, power, and area expansion."
"That's good. The more pure and focused the requirements are, the better the final product will turn out."
Iz lightly brushed his hand across the table.
Instantly, a row of materials appeared—bones, shells, roots, leaves… an entire assortment of rare components laid out before Eijin.
"Seventh-tier…"
"Is that… the shell of a Seventh-Tier monster?"
"And this—could it be the legendary Mirror Dragon Scale?!"
"And this… the Heart of the Holy Spirit King?!"
Iz smiled faintly.
"Let's use these materials."
Rei looked at the table full of legendary materials and couldn't help but feel stunned.
"Iz… these materials are far too precious."
But Iz shook his head.
"Rei, a base material on the level of Void Spirit Starwood requires auxiliary materials of the same caliber."
"Otherwise, its full potential won't be realized."
"As for the corpse of that Insect King you killed—I used it for research."
"You can consider these materials as the equivalent value I'm returning to you."
Rei knew very well that the corpse of a single Insect King was nowhere near enough to equal the value of so many Seventh-Tier materials.
"And besides," Iz added,
"As your teacher, I've never given you a staff before."
"In academies, when a student advances, their mentor usually presents them with a commemorative staff."
"So you could consider this one my belated promotion gift to you."
For a moment, Rei didn't know what to say.
Iz Parut had already helped him far too much.
Without Iz, Rei might have simply learned the ordinary Mana Enhancement Spell like any other mage.
Even if he had leveled that spell to Level 100—or even beyond, it probably wouldn't have produced such an enormous mana pool.
And beyond that…
There were countless other things.
Rei couldn't even count them all.
After a long silence, Rei finally looked up.
"Iz."
"I'll become a student you can be proud of."
Iz grinned.
"Oh! Then I'm looking forward to it!"
"Oh, right."
Rei turned toward the shop owner.
"What about the crafting fee?"
But Eijin immediately waved his hand dismissively.
"Fee? What fee?!"
"You should be grateful I'm not paying you for the chance!"
Eijin clapped his hands excitedly.
"Tell you what."
"Pick two magical items from the shop outside. Anything you want."
Rei blinked.
"Huh?"
"What do you mean 'huh'?"
Iz laughed.
"High-tier materials are extremely rare."
"This kind of crafting opportunity allows him to fulfill the principles of an Enchanter."
"For him, chances like this are worth more than gold."
"Oh…"
Rei finally understood.
His understanding of this world had deepened yet again.
Iz then asked,
"Eijin, how long will it take to finish the staff?"
Eijin had already picked up the Void Spirit Starwood, running his hands over it as gently as if he were caressing a lover.
His eyes shone with obsession.
"About one week, I think…"
"But for now, I can only craft up to Level 5 properties."
"Level 6 properties will have to wait until after I advance."
"But for this little guy, that will be more than enough for quite a long time."
"This staff…"
"…might become the strongest magic staff on this entire continent."