"Our academy's most important course is the spellcasting class. If you can master three red-tier spells within three months, you will be eligible to continue your studies next semester."

Of course, the tuition for the next semester still needs to be paid.

And if you fail to meet this standard, you won't be allowed to continue, no matter how much money you offer.

"However, if you master six red-tier spells within three months, you'll earn the favor of Professor Arcanus Lyra, becoming a true official apprentice mage, and you will be allowed to learn higher-level spells!"

So, it turns out that although Oliver and the others had entered the academy, they weren’t yet considered official apprentices.

Six red-tier spells?

In this world, spells are ranked in levels similar to the way magical cores are categorized. The colors go from red, the lowest, to purple, the highest.

There are even rumors that beyond purple, there might be even stronger tiers, but that was something far beyond Oliver’s current concerns.

"I hope you all manage to win Professor Arcanus's favor," said Hector, the senior student.

His words sparked excitement in both Oliver and James. They felt a rush of anticipation, eager to start learning immediately.

As they continued walking, they arrived at what appeared to be a training ground.

"This is our magic testing area, and it's also where students challenge each other in magical duels."

At the moment, over thirty students were practicing their magic, using spells like Water Arrow and Fireball. The dazzling lights from the spells were almost blinding.

Some were even practicing knightly combat techniques.

After all, Oakridge Academy offered both knightly and magical training.

To Oliver's surprise, he even recognized someone among the practitioners.

It was that aspiring knight!

Mr. William!

It turned out he was also a student at Oakridge Academy.

It made sense—this small town was closely tied to the academy, and most of the knights and mages in Eccleston Town were somehow affiliated with it.

"For the next little while, Professor Arcanus is away in Glensorne City on some personal business, and won’t return until the end of the month. During his absence, your studies..."

Professor's gone?

Oliver and James were momentarily disappointed.

Their first semester and the professor wasn't even around.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

They were starting to feel a bit unlucky, but then Hector continued, "I’ll be stepping in as your temporary instructor."

“Hector here has an impressive level of magic,” William winked at Oliver and added with a smile. "He’s one of the top students in his class, and he’s not far from officially becoming a mage himself."

Mastering six red-tier spells only makes you an apprentice mage.

To become a true mage, one must master at least nine red-tier spells, three orange-tier spells, activate their mana core, and pass the Mage Tower’s qualification test.

Becoming a fully-fledged mage was no easy feat.

They didn’t linger at the training ground for long. Hector led them deeper into the academy, eventually bringing them to a room filled with magical instruments.

"This is the testing room. Now, I’ll assess your magical potential," he said, pointing to a crystal ball on a table.

Testing magical potential?

James felt a rush of excitement at the thought. He couldn't help but imagine himself being one of those rare, legendary talents.

He quickly followed Hector’s instructions and placed his hand on the crystal ball.

Immediately, the ball lit up with a yellow glow.

"Yellow-tier. That’s average, though you have a stronger affinity with the fire element. I recommend you focus on fire magic."

The ranking system for magical potential was similar to the magical core rankings. Yellow was middle-tier.

"Average?"

James’s hopes were dashed, and he felt a little disappointed.

Now it was Oliver’s turn.

He placed his hand on the crystal ball, and after a brief moment of silence, the ball glowed blue.

"Hmm, Oliver, it seems your magical potential is quite impressive."

Hector’s voice was filled with surprise and admiration.

Blue was just below the highest tier, purple. It was a rare and highly esteemed potential!

"People with blue-tier affinity are quite rare. We only have five in our academy."

Only five in this town?

Oliver thought to himself, realizing that blue-tier potential wasn’t as rare as Hector made it sound. But then again, it didn’t matter much.

His greatest strength was his unique super-core, something the crystal ball couldn’t measure.

"Five in town? Oliver's talent is this high?!"

James couldn't hold back a shout, utterly envious.

To Oliver, being strong in this town was no big deal, but for James, it was his ultimate dream.

"You have a stronger affinity with the earth element," Hector continued. "I recommend you study earth magic."

Earth magic, huh?

Earth magic represented strength and incredible defensive power. Oliver was definitely interested.

It aligned perfectly with his boar-form magical core, after all.

But Oliver had a feeling that his future wouldn’t be limited to just earth magic.

With his super magic core, capable of shifting forms, he would likely excel in other schools of magic as well.

"Next, these two books of basic spells. Take a good look at them. They introduce seven of the most basic spells. You need to study them all, but focus on the elements I just recommended for you."

“If you don’t understand anything or need help with the spell pronunciations, feel free to ask me.”

Hector smiled as he picked up a thick book and started reading it himself.

Eagerly, Oliver and James flipped open their own books, hungrily devouring the content.

Since these were beginner books, the content was quite simple, mainly focused on the pronunciation of spells, the correct vocalizations, and the basic hand gestures to accompany them.

If they had wands, they wouldn’t need to use hand gestures, but wands were expensive—costing several gold coins each.

That was beyond Oliver and James's budget.

The book was designed to be easy for beginners, filled with illustrations and very few words.

Oliver began with the spell "Fireball."

It was the simplest and most basic spell.

With a clear and forceful voice, he chanted:

"Fy-ra-lok-hā!"

As he spoke, he began attempting the hand gestures, though his initial attempt was a bit off.

A gust of warm air rose from his palm, but no fireball materialized.

"You did well, but the pronunciation needs some work. Try adjusting the gesture like this."

Hector said, his voice tinged with surprise.

He could clearly sense the heat from Oliver's palm.

To stir the elemental power on his first attempt? This guy was more impressive than Hector had expected.

Meanwhile, James was awkwardly struggling with his own spellcasting. He couldn’t channel any magic, making him look like a fool flailing his arms about.

The morning passed quickly.

By the time it ended, James had finally managed to summon some heat into his palm—he had activated his magic!

As for Oliver, he had already managed to cast a fireball on his own, albeit intermittently.

For the first time, he had truly learned magic!