The Marinus Mage Academy was the largest in Roia, with buildings that spanned the size of a small city on their own.

They took in students from all over the world, searching for the most outstanding talents.

Many teenagers stood at the giant gate of an entrance, waiting for the exams to begin.

The Academy was a temptation anyone aspiring to be a mage would want to enter, especially with the things they would experience inside it.

From the unparalleled resources given with student credit to the sixth, seventh, and eighth stage magicians that were the teachers, even someone who had returned from the future like William couldn't resist its allure.

It was the perfect environment for someone like him to grow unimpeded.

Two years passed by in the blink of an eye, and William had reached the age of fourteen. He was currently walking towards the gate, his steps equal and measured. Every movement he made was imbued with a sense of purpose, showcasing his significant advancement in strength.

The results of his training with Raymond spoke volumes since he was now at the Aura emitting stage, the second stage of Aura users. While his magic talent was more extraordinary than his Aura talent, he had primarily focused on his Aura and aspect these two years, so he had only reached the second stage as a magician.

However, being at the second stage at his age was already an outstanding achievement. It was enough for him to get a direct scholarship to any other mage academy, but Marinus didn't have such a thing, only accepting those who passed the test.

His height had skyrocketed after refining his Aura and physique, reaching 170 cm (5'7). His facial structure had also changed, becoming a bit more masculine but also more devilish.

His sharp eyes contrasted with his mischievous smile and button nose. Even walking through a crowd of talented youths, he stood out like a sore thumb due to his looks alone.

As he walked towards the gate, he couldn't help but think of the things that had transpired in the last two years.

The movement of the demonic forces had halted almost completely, making the world peaceful, but William knew that this was the calm before the storm. In a few years, the new Heroes would form their party and begin wandering around; it was then that the Demons would start their actions.

For that reason, William had to use as many resources as possible to improve himself just so he could be ready to carry out his own plans properly.

Suddenly, as he was walking, he bumped his shoulder into a girl's, prompting him to turn around and apologize.

Not having looked at the girl's face before apologizing, he raised his head to look at her, recognizing her for some reason. However, he didn't have time to meddle with where you knew her from and directly turned around without waiting for a response.

The faster he reached the gate, the better. He wouldn't have to wait for the second batch to begin their tests.

Tests were done in batches since the number of people who took the exams was usually over fifty thousand every year.

This amount sounded exaggerated, but one should not forget that people came here from all over the world, all of them from different races and backgrounds.

They were all talented individuals who could be considered geniuses in their own hometowns, but here, the actual cream of the crop would shine.

William arrived at the gate and showed his recommendation letter to the guards, who checked it and let him through. He then followed the crowd towards the testing area, feeling a bit nervous but also excited.

Although the recommendation letter didn't help him pass the exams, it gave the Academy a reason to check his prospects faster, giving him a result earlier than the rest. Usually, it happens as soon as the test is over.

He had trained hard for the past two years and was confident in his abilities, but he knew that the competition would be fierce.

As he walked, he couldn't help but glance at the girl he had bumped into earlier. She was walking a few meters behind him, her long blonde hair swaying in the wind. He still couldn't remember where he knew her from, but there was something familiar about her.

Finally, they reached the testing area, which was a large field surrounded by the Academy's buildings. Dozens of examiners were waiting there, their faces stern and severe.

William took his place in line and waited for his turn. He looked around and saw that there were hundreds of other teenagers waiting as well, all of them looking nervous and eager.

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The first test was simple; it was the attribute and talent test. All a student had to do was place their hand on a glass sphere that would examine these two factors.

These glass spheres were the newest results of the Magic Kingdom's research, so they weren't available even for the Hero families. They were only used here at the Marinus Mage Academy.

Even in the previous timeline, this technology was lost after the demon invasion, so he never had the chance to test his magic talent. He knew that he was an omni-mage, a mage who was talented in all attributes, but he wasn't sure as to which element he was more aligned with. The element he used the most was sound due to the fact that he was a bard.

Teen after teen placed their hands on the glass sphere, displaying their aptitudes and potential. Some got looks of surprise, while others were normal or below average. It was clear that talent was essential here, creating some sort of hierarchy.

Finally, after waiting for ten minutes, it was William's turn.

William placed his hand on the glass sphere, a soft glow enveloping his hand. He could feel a warm sensation spreading through his body. He closed his eyes and focused on his mana, feeling it respond to the sphere's magic. Since he had a mana brain instead of a heart, the flow of his mana was different from the rest, but he could hide it by imitating the path of a mana heart.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the sphere was displaying his results. The first thing he saw was the list of attributes he was aligned with, which included fire, water, earth, wind, light, metal, nature, lightning, darkness, sound, space, and time. He was indeed an omni-mage, just as he had suspected.

The second part of the test showed his talent level in each of the attributes. He was pleased to see that his highest talent level was in sound, followed closely by time and space.

He felt a sense of relief wash over him. With his talent level in sound magic, he could continue pursuing his passion for music while still excelling in his other attributes. It wouldn't be a waste of time for him.

Sound mages used their understanding of sound, music, and many other things to create their spells. For that reason, the highest-ranking sound magicians were incredible musicians who wrote the world's most famous compositions.

Seeing his test result, many of the examinees were gob-smacked, staring wide-eyed. This was the best result so far.

They all had a single word in their mouths, the blonde girl included.

"Monster."

Not caring about their reactions, William moved on to the second test. He knew that being an omni-mage was a feat of its own, but many in history failed to achieve anything. The reason behind their failures was the fact that they were all jacks of all trades, masters of none.

To master all elements required time and dedication, which William couldn’t afford at the moment.

After the attribute and talent tests, the next test was the magic control test. In this test, the examiners would give the students a simple task to complete using their magic, and they would be graded on how well they were able to control their magic.

William was given the task of levitating a small stone. Taken aback by such a simple task, William decided to go a step beyond.

Waving his finger, Mana gushed towards the stone, making it float. After the first connection with his mana, he retracted his finger and directly controlled the stone with his mind, making it do loops around him, spinning at high velocity but also doing maneuvers in the air, clearly showcasing his remarkable control.

As the stone floated in midair, William decided to push himself further. He began to manipulate the mana flowing through his body and started changing the shape of the stone. He transformed it into a beautiful crystalline sculpture of a rose, its petals shimmering in the sunlight.

After one reached a particular stage of mana control, they would turn their control into 'telekinesis.' What William was displaying was precisely that: the highest stage of mana manipulation.

The examiners watched closely, taking notes on his performance, with a slight hint of awe evident in their eyes. William was confident in his abilities, and he was pleased with how well he was able to control his mana. He wasn't yet back to where he was in the previous timeline, but he was getting close.

The final test was the combat test, where the students would be pitted against each other in a mock battle. William was paired up with a tall, muscular boy with short black hair.

William didn't recognize him in any way but still asked for his name. The teenager wasn't rude like his appearance would suggest; instead, he was highly frail in his manner of speaking. His name was Russell Nielsen.

An examiner stood at the side and shouted for the fight to begin.

Russell waved his staff in the air, creating a dozen small red magic circles, condensing countless fireballs, and threw them at William.

Already expecting this sort of attack, William dodged to the side and countered by waving his finger and casting [Counter Current].

In an instant, all of Russell’s spells were disarmed without a single issue. Russell was caught off guard, giving William an opening to strike.

[Counter Current] was an extremely overpowered spell, even by William's standards. As long as he understood the spell, he could instantly dispel it and cause it to collapse. It was a spell he was originally taught by Leonardo, and later refined into his own personal skill.

William pointed his finger towards Russell, and a vast amount of mana surged towards it. Since William was a second-stage mage, even if he only used brute-force magic spells to beat his opponent, he would be able to do so with ease. After all, the number of people who were second-stage mages here could be counted in one's hand.

"Tier Two spell, Mana Beam."

In an instant, a condensed beam of mana was shot from his finger, heading towards Russell's helpless head.

At that moment, the examiner stepped over, using a fifth-tier mana barrier, directly dispersing William's attack.

Feeling the damage of his attack, the examiner nodded towards him and split the two, ordering them to continue ahead to the next test.

They both passed the test despite Russell losing. He had already displayed enough combat potential; it was just that his opponent couldn't be defeated even by those a stage above him. The examiner understood this well, so his eyes were shining with anticipation.

It was pretty hard to find such a talent; William was someone who should be nurtured with everything they had.