“Where are we going, Father?”

Doran was strangely unconcerned as he called ‘father’ to a stranger. He was finally starting to think that he was more affected by this soul fusion than he thought.

“We need to meet with Maverick to do the mana aptitude test?”

After Doran had breakfast in the main hall, his Father had told him to follow him and left the room. Doran was relieved to be at Lord Albert's side after Lord Albert had said that he had accepted Doran as his son. During the month he spent in the castle, he had lived with care not to do anything that would reveal his identity, and living this way was seriously deteriorating.

“Why are we doing this like a secret?” said Doran. Looking curiously at Lord Albert.

“Those who are in your situation. In such cases, it can get things out of hand. Even though I've cleared out the spies, one might be overlooked, and it's best to keep the results confidential.”

Doran understood what his father meant. If his skill turned out to be too high, his enemies who did not want to see a rising duke could try to assassinate him. His father intended to do the test secretly to avoid such a situation.

They came to the building used by Maverick in quick steps. Maverick and his family have served his Lewis family for generations. There was no need for him to doubt their loyalty.

The door of the building was pushed open by Lord Albert. And the inside was revealed. Doran and Lord Albert entered and closed the door.

The room looked like a mad scientist's study office. Strange looking tools. Stacks of books stacked on top of each other, Scrolls on which calculations are made. Even trying to walk in this room problem itself.

Through this mess, Lord Albert and Doran found Maverick, who was committed to an experiment ahead.

“Hey, Maverick. What's the situation here? If I'm not mistaken, I sent you some maids to clean up this mess?"

“Oh, Hi My Lord Welcome to this humble one’s home. I’m more comfortable this way my lord”

"Okay okay, do as you want."

"What did you come for, my lord?"

It was not normal for the lord to get up and come to this building. He even brought his son with him.

“We're here to do a mana aptitude test for Doran. The time has come for him to choose his path. But you need to keep the results a secret"

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“Of course, my lord, you go ahead and I'll get the materials for the test,” said Maverick, pointing to the glass-enclosed room.

Doran and his father went into the room Maverick had indicated. This room was tidier than other parts of the building. Maverick most likely used this room for his guests.

“My lord, is Doran aware of the paths he can choose?”

"I thought it would be better for you to explain," said Lord Albert.

Maverick turned to Doran and began to speak.

“Young master, after thousands of years of research, human beings discovered two different ways of improving themselves with mana. The first of these is the Mage way. Mages are often those who choose to control mana outside of their Body. They were the ones who manipulated this mana and created spells.”

“The other way is the method of purifying inner mana. Although many different names are given to those who choose this method, we call it 'Cultivators' in Etna. They are people who purify the mana produced by their own bodies with the help of meditation and use this mana. Those who choose this path are people with superhuman physical powers.”

“Can everyone choose one of these two paths they want? " doran asked.

He was aware of these two ways. But he was not very knowledgeable.

“Technically no, although every human being is born with mana, some are more talented than others. To become a Mage requires a high level of mana inclination. Only 5% of people can be mages. Therefore, mages have developed methods to identify people who could be Mages.” He said, pointing to the black orb with his hand.

"If you want, let's do the test first, then we'll talk about the path you will choose"

Lord Albert nodded at Maverick, and Maverick turned to Doran and began to speak.

“Young Lord, please place your hand on the top of the orb and try to diffuse the blackness inside”

“How exactly am I supposed to do it?” Doran said after touching the orb with his hand.

“Use your will to disperse the blackness.”

Although Doran did not fully understand what Maverick was saying, he put it into practice. When he directed it to the black orb with his will, there were movements in the blackness and it started to slowly dissipate. Before long, the black color inside the sphere gave way to Dark gray. Doran easily cleared this dark gray when he realized how it was done. But this time, the gray color appeared before him.

Doran was completely isolated from his surroundings as he struggled to clear the orb. But the amazement of Maverick and Lord Albert, who were watching the Orb, was growing rapidly. Because it had disappeared in Gray color and left its place to white.

Doran was immersed in the process of clearing the colors from the orb. Before long, the white also dissipated, leaving a transparent sphere. With nothing more to clear, he lifted his head from the orb. And he looked at his Father and at Maverick.

Maverick and Lor Albert's eyes widened.

“Legendary potential.” muttered Maverick.

“Maverick, no one will know the results of this test but you.” said Lord Albert.

"Don't worry, my lips are tied, my lord"

“How? Am I fit to be a mage?” said Doran. He hadn't heard the conversation between Maverick and his father.

“Very, you were born to be a Mage. You have Legendary potential, which means you can rise to the top as a Mage.” said Maverick, unable to control the excitement in his voice.

Doran had something on his mind. Mages knew it to be quite weak in close combat. Why weren't they both Mages and 'Cultivator' to prevent this?

"Something on my mind. Why do we have to choose? Isn't it possible to be both a Mage and a Cultivator?"

“Since this is a method that requires Mages to focus their attention and time in two places, most mages stop working as Cultivators after they become Tier 3 Cultivators and devote all their time to cultivating as Mages. But the situation may be different for you,” he said, as if something had occurred to him.

“3. Layer? “

“Cultivators and Mages are part of a 9-tier system. Each layer is also divided into 3 in itself. These are the beginning, middle, and peak. There has not been anyone in the world who has reached level 9, but we know that there are a few levels 8.”

This was the first time Doran had heard of these layers. Perhaps he had never had the opportunity, because he fell ill at the age at which he should have learned these terms.

“What level are you on? Mr. Maverick”

“I am a Tier 6 mage. Unless your father has elevated his rank, it is a Tier 6 cultivator.”

Doran's eyes widened when he heard this. He didn't know his father was that strong. Probably enough to snap his fingers to kill himself.

“You can talk about these later. Maverick, if it's okay with you, I want you to take over Doran's training.”

“I would be honored, my lord,” said Maverick, Leaning.

Doran and Lord Alberth spoke a little more with Maverick and left the building. Doran looked like he was dying to become a Mage. They were going to start Mage training tomorrow.