Marcus chuckled, clearly amused. “There’s no need for all that. We don’t have the kind of power to punish someone for saying our name, you know.”

Arnos exhaled in relief, standing back up. “Phew, I thought I was about to lose my head or something.”

Marcus smirked. “Nah, it's not like we nobles go around executing people for something like that.”

Mabel raised an eyebrow. “So, Leville, what are you doing hanging out with us common folk instead of your high-and-mighty noble friends?”

Trying to suppress a grin, Marcus said, “Well, your entrance earlier was... memorable. I found it kind of interesting.”

Arnos and Mabel both glanced away awkwardly, avoiding Marcus’s gaze.

“Yeah, great entrance...” Arnos muttered under his breath.

Marcus’s tone turned more neutral. “Just so you know, not everyone here is a bully or a snob. Once some time passes, people will get to know you, and I think you’ll find your place here. But,” he added with a small shrug, “from what I’ve seen, about 20% of them are going to hate you no matter what.”

Arnos gave a light chuckle. “That’s not too bad, I guess.”

Mabel nodded thoughtfully. “I was already preparing myself to live as a loner.” She pictured herself eating lunch alone at the edge of a classroom, sitting five desks away from other students, and standing by herself during group activities. The mental image made her sigh.

“Being a loner’s tough, though...” she muttered under her breath.

Their conversation came to a halt as they finally arrived at the entrance of Celera Magic Institute’s training ground. It was an impressive, expansive facility located inside one of the main buildings. A large circular field lay in the center, surrounded by ranks of seats rising up like an arena, as if made to host grand magical events.

Arnos glanced around, then looked over at Marcus with a puzzled expression. “Is this… the training arena?”

Marcus chuckled at his confusion. “Yeah, it is. I can see why you’d ask, though.” He motioned toward the arena. “This is just one of the indoor training grounds where they hold student battles, group contests, mage duels, and all that. There are also three outdoor training grounds where you can practice large-scale spells if you want to go all out. Make more sense now?”

Arnos nodded thoughtfully. “Actually, yeah, it does.” He then glanced over at Mabel, noticing that students were being split by gender for testing. “Looks like they’re measuring boys and girls separately. I guess I’ll catch you later?”

Mabel smiled and waved. “Yep! See you both soon!”

As Marcus and Arnos approached the testing area, they noticed only a handful of students left in line before the crystal. One of the instructors was explaining its function to a student. “This crystal doesn’t need you to project mana into it. It draws your mana automatically and changes color based on how strong it is.”

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A board beside the crystal listed the rankings:

- White - E rank

- Blue - D rank

- Green - C rank

- Yellow - B rank

- Orange - A rank

- Red - S rank

- Black - SS rank

Marcus turned to Arnos with a confident smile. “Looks like it’s our turn. I’ll go first.”

Arnos nodded, gesturing for him to proceed. “Go ahead.”

Marcus stepped up, placing his hand on the crystal. In an instant, it began to glow a vivid orange. A wave of gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd, as students turned to watch with newfound interest.

A girl nearby exclaimed, “I knew Sir Marcus would have that kind of mana level!”

“A rank! That’s really rare,” another student said, his tone tinged with excitement.

Arnos felt a sense of admiration for Marcus’s achievement. An A rank, huh? Only a few people, even among adventurers, have that level of mana. But given his lineage, it does make sense, he thought, recalling that noble families often came from powerful bloodlines with strong magical heritage.

“Hey, kid!” called the instructor by the crystal. He was a tall man dressed in a black shirt and brown pants, with short black hair and sharp, observant eyes.

“Yes, sir!” Arnos replied instinctively, stepping forward.

Taking a deep breath, he approached the crystal and placed his hand against its smooth surface. He felt an odd sensation as his hand seemed to stick to the crystal. Closing his eyes to concentrate, he allowed his mana to flow out naturally, feeling it drawn into the crystal.

“That’s… unusual,” the instructor murmured, narrowing his eyes.

“Isn’t he that commoner kid?” someone whispered. A boy with semi-long black hair and brown eyes was staring at him with a skeptical expression.

Another girl with long black hair and an elaborate purple dress chimed in. “Isn’t he the one who bumped into the princess earlier? Maybe he’s cheating.”

As Arnos opened his eyes, he noticed the crystal glowing bright orange—A rank. He took a step back, almost in disbelief.

“Wait… can that be right?” he mumbled.

The instructor, looking at him with a serious expression, asked, “What’s your name, boy?”

“Arnos, sir,” he replied, trying to keep his voice steady.

The instructor nodded, jotting something down before turning to a female teacher who was recording the results. Meanwhile, Marcus walked over to Arnos, placing a hand on his shoulder with a wide grin.

“That was incredible!” he said.

Arnos gave a slight, uncertain smile. “Thanks, but honestly, I wasn’t expecting it. I thought I’d be more like a D or E rank at most.”

Marcus gave him a friendly nudge. “Hey, your hopes don’t change the fact that you’ve got the power of an A rank. Just embrace it!”

A spark of curiosity lit up Marcus’s eyes. “By the way, did you train in magic as a kid?”

Arnos shook his head. “No, I didn’t. I trained in my special ability, but I never really practiced magic itself.”

Marcus’s eyes widened in surprise, and he let out an exaggerated sigh. “Wait a second… you have a special ability?”

Hearing this, several nearby students started muttering among themselves.

“He’s definitely lying,” said the boy with black hair. “Or maybe he’s some noble’s secret love child.”

“Yeah, right,” replied someone else dismissively.

Marcus, realizing he’d raised his voice, shot a stern look toward the other students, who quickly went quiet. Then he looked back at Arnos, lowering his voice.

Arnos gave a slight, awkward chuckle. “Maybe we should find somewhere quieter and wait for Mabel to finish. You’re welcome to join me if you want.”

Marcus nodded in agreement, and the two of them walked off toward a secluded area of the training ground seating. After finding an empty row, they settled down.

Arnos took a deep breath, still processing everything. “You know, I think having a special ability early on is pretty normal. I got it when I was ten, and I read somewhere that special abilities can show up between ages ten and eighteen, so I didn’t think much of it.”

Marcus shook his head, giving Arnos a serious look. “Well, special abilities are actually incredibly rare.”

Arnos nodded slowly. “Yeah, I know.”

“Do you?” Marcus smirked, crossing his arms. “Then you must know how rare they really are.”

Arnos glanced away, a bit sheepish. “I read that the odds are… what, 0.3%?”

Marcus nodded. “Exactly. Here’s the thing—having an A rank mana level is rare, and having a special ability is rare. But having both? That’s practically unheard of.”

He sighed, a bit exasperated. “I’m terrible at explaining, aren’t I?”

Arnos chuckled. “Yeah, if we’re going by textbook terms, you’re pretty bad at explaining.”

Marcus sighed again, then laughed. “You’re not even trying to hide it, are you?”

They both shared a laugh, the tension easing. But their conversation was interrupted as the girl in the purple dress from earlier approached them.