Moon Garden.

Vibrant honeysuckles bloomed brightly in winter, and the snow on the ink-green leaves sparkled with colorful rays of light.

Deep within the beautiful flower bushes, there was an inconspicuous stone table.

The Archmage, Sophia the Countess of Omicia, was sitting at the head of the long table, with a beautiful female attendant standing respectfully on each side.

On the sides of the long table, Shabolei sat on the left, and Lawson sat on the right.

On the table were rare fresh fruits for the winter days, as well as sweet milk tea with rich aroma of tea and milk.

In addition, farther out, in those inconspicuous corners, many powerful guards were concealed.

But all in all, this afternoon tea hosted by the Countess of Omicia herself had a rather relaxed atmosphere, at least more relaxed than other days' afternoon teas.

After the opening courteous small talk, the elegant and noble Countess of Omicia held a small silver teaspoon and gently stirred the steaming tea water in front of her.

She spoke in a casual conversational tone: "Shabolei, my dear nephew, I am very disappointed in your performance, but you have finally made some progress, at least in the past month."

Lawson was a little surprised to hear this. This past month was when Shabolei had been useless.

It seemed that the Countess had been keeping an eye on Shabolei all along.

Shabolei immediately stood up straight, his body tense, and shouted loudly: "Auntie, I'm sorry I disappointed you!"

"Why are you being so startled? Have you forgotten all the noble etiquette Markill taught you?"

'Thud!'

Shabolei sat back down in his chair, his heavy weight pressing the chair to creak under the unbearable burden.

He lowered his head, his face full of shame: "Auntie, I wanted to change too, but I just couldn't help it whenever I saw those gentle..."

He was interrupted halfway by his aunt: "Shut up. I don't want to hear about those indecent things that happened in the brothel baths."

"Yes, Auntie."

At this moment, Shabolei was as docile as a little kitten.

The Countess of Omicia then turned to Lawson: "Child, how old are you?"

"I'll be 16 after the Winter Snow Festival."

"Hmm... then you look too frail. Eat more meat, drink more ewe's milk. Before you turn 20, especially abstain from lust, or you'll end up not growing tall like Shabolei."

With the corner of his eye, Lawson quickly glanced at the Archmage beside him. He saw a woman of about 50 years old, with delicate features and many similarities with Shabolei in her features, but much more well-proportioned than the latter.

She was slightly stout, but stood straight with composure, her eyes solemn, quite dignified like a person of high status.

At the moment, she was looking at him with a kind gaze, like a caring old lady looking after a junior.

Of course he would not argue with her over trivial matters. He immediately nodded: "I'll remember that, my lady."

The innocent victim Shabolei was extremely frustrated: "Auntie, I'm not tall because of my parents' genes, it's got nothing to do with other things."

"Of course I know it's related to your father. But if you could control your desires, you could grow taller and have a better physique, instead of... instead of embarrassing our House of Omicia like you do now!"

Shabolei was both ashamed and angry. He argued loudly: "Auntie, isn't that too harsh!"

"Alright alright, enough of this old nagging."

The Countess of Omicia lightly waved her hand to shake off her nephew's entanglement.

She continued to say to Lawson: "Shabolei said you have extremely outstanding talents in spells, and are very smart. Is that true?"

Lawson replied: "Master Shabolei flatters me too much. I do have some talent and am not that stupid, but in a small town like White Horse, I can only make a small name for myself. In a big city full of talents like Silvermoon, I would seem mediocre."

The Countess of Omicia nodded slowly: "Mm... Not bad, such an appropriate reply at such a young age. At least my foolish nephew has done one decent thing."

"I'm not foolish!" Shabolei protested.

"Smart people never argue about this," she scolded. "Now shut up and listen!"

Shabolei was frustrated but could only bury his head drinking milk tea, finishing one cup after another.

After easily suppressing her nephew's protest, the Countess asked: "What has Therandis taught you these past days?"

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Then she added: "Answer me truthfully, do not conceal anything, because I do not like precocious children."

Lawson had no intention of playing tricks before the Archmage anyway.

He answered loudly: "During this time, Master has taught me all the knowledge a formal mage should master."

"Oh, she taught quite a lot indeed. It seems she values you highly. Apart from the standard knowledge, has she imparted you her own unique insights into spells?"

"Yes she has."

"What are they?"

Lawson answered seriously: "I deeply respect you, my lady, but matters regarding the Master's personal privacy, I cannot tell without her permission."

The Countess was very pleased: "Mm...a child who knows courtesy and caution, much more sensible than Shabolei!"

'Gulp!'

Shabolei finished a large cup of milk tea, stood up and said, "Auntie, I need to go relieve myself."

The Countess scolded at once: "How old are you, still reporting to me whenever you need to relieve yourself? Do you need me to hold it for you like when you were little?"

Shabolei's face flushed red and white as he turned and strode away.

The Countess watched his back and sighed softly, then turned to look at Lawson.

"Therandis did teach a lot, but how much have you actually grasped?"

Lawson thought carefully and replied: "I have a decent memory, so I remember all the specific spell knowledge, but I haven't fully comprehended everything."

"Master's evaluation is that I probably only understand about 30%, the rest still needs time and contemplation to fully digest."

There was too much to just cram everything, but fortunately he already had the foundational knowledge base. Even without guidance, he could still slowly improve by himself.

"Having 30% grasp is already very good. When I was learning the basics of spells, I was just a little better than you."

She asked again: "What about actual spells then? A formal mage should master the three virtues and six techniques. How have you been learning them?"

Lawson also answered truthfully: "I've learned them all already, and can cast proficiently."

The Countess' eyes lit up instantly: "You've learned them all? What's your proficiency level now?"

"Currently four stars, but on very good days, I can barely reach five stars."

"That's quite impressive."

Lawson showed no smugness on his face: "It's all thanks to Master's attentive teaching. She not only explained the structures and principles of spells in detail, but also incorporated training into daily life, so I can improve every moment."

The incorporation was quite deep. Even during intimacy, she didn't forget to push his limits, nearly giving him psychological trauma.

"No wonder. It seems the Master values you highly. But even so, this is not something ordinary people can easily accomplish at your age. At least my foolish nephew could never achieve this."

Right on cue, Shabolei came back from relieving himself, and upon hearing this, kept quiet and sat back down on his chair to keep drinking tea gloomily.

The Countess beckoned Lawson with her hand: "Come, come to my side."

Lawson did as told.

When Lawson came to her side, the Countess of Omicia stretched out her palm, which glowed with silver light: "Vajra Palm, you can do it, right?"

"Yes."

"Very good, now exert your full power and strike a palm against mine."

Lawson took a deep breath, executed Vajra Palm, then channeled ninety percent of his power into it. His palm instantly glowed with a bright yellowish white brilliance.

"To achieve such mastery of high-intensity Fire-aspected mana at your age, very impressive!"

She then gently pushed her palm forward and said: "Don't play tricks with casting techniques, I just want to know your level of mana."

Lawson did as told.

In the next moment, their palms collided.

With a muffled 'bang', Lawson instantly felt a tidal wave of tremendous force surge towards him. Unable to maintain the mana structure of Vajra Palm, he was also pushed back steadily by the force, retreating five or six steps before barely stabilizing himself.

"Excellent! Extremely excellent!"

Appreciation filled the black eyes of the Countess, the same as Shabolei's.

"For one your age to withstand half my full powered Vajra Palm, it's the first time I've seen this. You are much more promising than my nephew!"

Right on time, Shabolei had just come back from relieving himself. Hearing this, he kept quiet and sat back down to keep drinking tea gloomily.

The Countess gestured for Lawson to return to his seat.

After he sat down, she spoke solemnly:

"Child, your mastery of spells already compares to a low-rank formal mage."

"Now, you have two choices."

"First, go back to your studio, keep selling those vulgar erotic paintings, earn money to study spells, barely qualify as a notorious formal mage after two to three years, living a mundane life without worries of food, shelter and transport, until you die an mediocre death."

"Second, accept my trial mission. If you succeed, not only will I personally sign your formal mage qualification, I will also personally instruct you for one month."

The formal mage trials had three gates, the Lord, the Mage Guild, and the Temple.

Considering the Countess' enormous prestige in Silvermoon's mage circles, with her acknowledgement of Lawson's ability, it meant passing the first two gates in one go, leaving only the Temple to deal with afterwards.

So Lawson was very tempted.

But as soon as the Countess finished speaking, Shabolei shouted unhappily: "Auntie, Lawson is so young, why give him trial missions and only teach for a month? Can't you just directly accept him as personal disciple?"

Hearing this, Lawson knew Shabolei was in for another scolding, but he could also see the deep mother-son like affection between the aunt and nephew.

"Childish!"

The Countess glared and scolded harshly: "Do you think that just because I'm the Countess of Omicia, I can do as I wish?"

"Do you think I can casually accept a commoner as disciple? What would the Highland Barons think?"

"Among their children and relatives there are also many talented apprentices who want to become my disciples."

"If I did as you said, wouldn't I be trampling their dignity?"

"Do you want me to rule Yellow Waters Highlands relying on a bunch of angry Barons? Hmm?!"

"But...but Auntie, accepting disciples is your private matter, right? If you're afraid of being called unfair, just accept more disciples at once."

Shabolei cowered, speaking softly.

"The Countess of Omicia has no private matters! Each of my decisions represents the stance of the entire House."

She sat upright, with none of an old lady's kindness, only the dignity of Silvermoon's ruler.

"Lawson, I really appreciate your talent in spells. Although young, you already possess outstanding personal capabilities, especially skilled in investigation."

"In personal preference, I'm very willing to instruct you."

"But your lowly birth means you cannot become my disciple. Even just to get my guidance, you must use concrete achievements to convince all of Yellow Waters Highlands."

"Now, tell me your choice!"

Lawson stood up and gave the Countess the bow of a junior apprentice.

"I'm willing to accept the trial."

Of the two paths ahead, one was mediocre and comfortable, one legendary but arduous.

The former, though comfortable, lacked drive, and was very fragile, with life going well or poorly fully in the hands of the powerful.

Then since reborn into this life, why tread the same old road as the previous?

Why not ride the waves at the crest of the era?

A glint of approval flashed in the Countess' eyes: "Excellent! I was right about you!"

She turned to Shabolei: "My nephew, afternoon tea is over."

"Take this appointment letter, take Lawson, go to the Internal Affairs department to retrieve the necessary supplies. Then immediately head to Moon Glow Town, thoroughly investigate the situation at the Dawnstone Mine!"

"Note, only investigate, don't meddle with other matters."

Seeing Shabolei slowly reading the appointment letter after taking it.

The Countess barked: "Shabolei, are you deaf? I said immediately!"

This time Shabolei finally understood completely. Bringing Lawson along, he bolted away from Moon Garden.