The tension in the room was palpable. Despite the annoying whims of the prince, no one would dare to offend him in any way. Yet his teacher had just the dreaded deed in front of his eyes. Lucian thought this day was his final and prayed to God.
I had a good life. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to learn magic, at the very least.
But the dire consequence that Lucian thought would befall him didn’t happen. The prince was visibly upset; the haughty face that he had had before Cecilia came barging through changed to a pitiful look. Almost pitiful enough to make Lucian forget the absolute brat a few minutes ago. But that was not his primary concern for now. His teacher had a grim look on her face as if she had discovered something abhorrent. Curious and worried, Lucian wanted to ask her what had happened but decided against it after thinking for some time.
It may not be the best of times to ask. Maybe another time.
After fifteen minutes, Cecilia walked out of the room. She looked less worried than when she came.
“Uh, teacher? We have a very important guest here. I don’t think it’s good for you to ignore him.”
“Who? Eugene? Ah, it’s fine. I’m sure he waited patiently while I finished my talk, like a good boy?”
A good boy? Where? I don’t see a single one here, thought Lucian, almost letting his inner thoughts spill out.
But the prince did indeed wait patiently for Cecilia. After hearing Cecilia’s words, the prince’s face lit up as he started to speak.
“It has been a while, Lady Vespera. Have you been doing well? I see you have a good apprentice, although he does lack manners.”
Oi, brat. The only one here with no manners is you, thought Lucian.
“I am still teaching him. I hope Your Highness shows some consideration to him.”
Lucian knew that one should always choose their words carefully in front of royalty, especially if they were commoners. But he couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed at the excessive tip-toeing he had to do.
“Mm, I will. I wanted to see your magic, but your apprentice here showed me a good time.”
“My, I’m glad it was to your liking.”
The minutes felt like hours as they talked in roundabout ways typical of nobles. Lucian was starting to get sick of it. Just as he was about to snap, Cecilia asked to be excused.
“Forgive me, Your Highness, but I have some extremely important work to do, ordered by the royal family. I’ll take my leave with my apprentice here then.”
“Oh really? Are you leaving now? Then let me know whenever you have free time. I’ll personally invite you and your apprentice.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Lucian was finally free from the constant blabbering inside. After he breathed a sigh of relief, he asked Cecilia a question.
“Teacher, did something happen in the place you visited? I’ve never seen you look like that.”
“It’s not something I can tell you. It’s hazardous, and just knowing it will endanger your life.”
“Woah. I’m not gonna ask then.”
“So, what’s the extremely important work? I think this work might be way above my abilities.” Asked Lucian.
“While it’s true that the royal family entrusted some important work to me, what you are going to do is to go to the church with me. We are going to get your status checked.”
“Status?”
“It’s a measure of how strong you are, to put it simply. The clergyman will take out a special tool made from the cores of magical beasts and the blessing of god, and you have to pour mana into it. After that, on a roll of parchment, you’ll find some numbers and letters that will classify your strength. Ah, that reminds me, do you know how to read and write?”
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“No, I don’t.”
“Well, I guess I can teach you starting today.”
Lucian got excited when he heard the word status and its meaning. From how Cecilia described it, it sounded like it was proof of one’s growth over the years. And he had known first-hand how hard he worked to get as strong as he is now. He grinned from ear to ear, thinking about how he would be classified as he reached the church doors. After entering through the door, he saw that the church was dedicated to Lord Zachriel. The statue was of a man with a spear in one of his hands and an odd tool in his other hand. The odd device had two outer rings perpendicular to each other, and they surrounded a small orb in the center.
He saw a man in white robes sitting in one of the pews in the front row. His head was bent forwards as if he was looking at something at his feet or knees. And as such, he didn’t notice Cecilia and Lucian approach him from behind.
“Excuse me, father.”
After Cecilia called for the robed man, the robed man jumped from his seat.
“A-Ah, pardon me. I was engrossed in reading, so I didn’t notice you there. How can I help you?”
“I’m here to get this child a status check.”
“Certainly. Please follow me to the appraisal room.”
Lucian and his teacher were led to a room inside the church that was unique for displaying the status of anyone who could channel their mana outwards.
“This tool is called the Zachriel’s Eye. All you need to do is pour some mana into it, and the tool will imprint what it sees on a roll of parchment for you.”
Having understood the instructions, Lucian held his hands over the tool to pour his mana. It was at this moment that he started to feel a bit nervous. What if the tool said that he didn’t work hard enough? What if it told him that he never had any hope of becoming a mage? As these questions popped into his mind, the tool started to glow as a reaction to his mana. But, seconds afterward, the light began to flicker, with a short burst of intense light, which would disappear immediately, leaving the tool dull.
“Hmm. The tool seems to have some problem with his mana. But I have received most of the information required to imprint in a roll of parchment. Please wait here while I make it.”
Another problem? First, it was my spell potency was lower than my peers. Now, the tool went weird with my mana. Why do these problems happen to only me?
After a few minutes, the priest returns to the room with a scroll meant for Lucian.
“Here’s your status. I must say, you are very talented for your age. However, we couldn’t figure out what the Eye saw, so you have an unknown Soul-Quirk.”
“Can I have a look?” said Cecilia
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Name:
Lucian
Core Rank:
Unformed
Body Attribute:
Endurance: 22
Mental: 46
Agility: 18
Strength: 16
Proficiency:
Spell-casting: Tier 1 -> Level 6
Current experience level: 43/100
Soul-Quirk:
●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●
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When Cecilia picked Lucian to be her apprentice, she did so while thinking that he would be a great mage since his mana levels were as high as a noble. But she didn’t expect him to exceed her expectations. Judging from his stats, he was above the level of an apprentice mage of his age in every skill and calling him a once-in-a-decade talent would not be an overstatement. She was elated, thinking she had the opportunity to raise an exceptional mage, but then started to think about how to nurture this talent best.
I have to pull some strings in the academy. It won’t do to let his talent rot. Maybe someone can guide him there.
Cecilia then glanced over the hidden Soul-Quirk. Soul-Quirk were either extraordinary boons that aided their owner or deadly curses that could kill their owner or deal a fate worse than death. However, they were not set in stone and could be changed over time through either the owner’s actions, some third party or some item. And she had to figure out whether this Soul-Quirk was a boon or a curse.
“Do you really have no information about the Soul-Quirk? Or is it that you don’t know what it does.”
“The latter. There were some traces of dark magic and a new type of magic that we haven’t discovered yet. I believe this unknown type of magic is the cause of it being unknown. If it were to be discovered and the Zachriel’s Eye was to be tuned accordingly, the Soul-Quirk will be known to us.”
A new type of magic? What could it be? Maybe if someone analyses the faint traces of the magic, a clue will pop up.
“Uh? Teacher, can you tell me what this piece of paper says?” said Lucian, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Sure. I’ll read it out for you.” Said Cecilia, after which she read him what was written on the parchment.
“To put it into perspective, a normal human adult, like a farmer, has their body attributes around fifteen. A well-trained soldier has their body attributes averaging around twenty-two to twenty-three. Since you have been circulating your mana daily, it has strengthened your body.” Said Cecilia. But she didn’t tell him that the mages in the academy, who would be his future classmates, don’t even have a single body attribute above thirteen.
I think it’s best if he doesn’t hear that he is better than the other mages his age. It might hinder his growth if he gets a big ego. But then again, he will know sooner or later.
“Teacher, I just remembered when you said ‘core’. When are we going to form my core?”
“How about after two hours, back at the estate? Sounds good?”
“Yeah!”
Cecilia smiled as she saw how her apprentice couldn’t sit still at all, from how happy he was. She didn’t have the heart to tell him about the double-edged nature of Soul-Quirks. So, she decided on what she must do. She had to find any clue to identify this new type of magic that obscured Lucian’s Soul-Quirk.