2 Chapter 1: Magus of Infinity (1)

(Ken POV)

Moonlight Magic Academy, a school where aspiring Mages learn and hone their respective magical craft in pursuit of whatever goals that they strive upon.

The academy's educational program is divided into three to five years of intense study. It depends on a Mage's performance whether they can graduate early or not.

It is also not unheard of prodigies graduating from the academy within a year or two, showcasing their devilish talents, incredible mind, and mastery of the Arcane.

Of course, such a notion is rather beyond me. For a talentless bastard such as myself, it is impossible to count myself among the prodigies that I have mentioned earlier.

Heck, memorizing even the simplest of spells proved to be a fucking nightmare to me. When I attempted to comprehend an easy candlelight spell from an E-rank Spell Book, I immediately had a headache and after several attempts, my efforts still proved to be in vain.

But even so, I'm not one to just give up. I would strive to be a proper Mage worthy of being honored by the people.

Thus, I sent my application to Moonlight Magi Academy, hoping that they would accept even someone like me.

After all, it never hurts to try, right? A journey to a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Hehe, saying all that makes me like a great philosopher or something.

Anyways, in a worst-case scenario, I would just be laughed and ridiculed at, so I guess there's nothing to be worried about. I don't even have a reputation to begin with, meaning I have nothing to lose.

Such is the life of a commoner hailing from outside the city walls with my grandfather in a small unremarkable village.

But hey, it's free to dream, right?

Several days later, I received a reply letter from the Academy.

My surprise took me to the next level when the letter said that I passed the initial screening. The sender of the letter, the Headmaster himself apparently, responded that I am to attend the second phase of the screening. The venue is located at the Magic Stadium of the academy itself, where Mages pit themselves against one another to prove who is more superior.

Huh, so even a worthless fella like me can be accepted in a prestigious magic academy. Perhaps the Headmaster took pity on me? Or maybe he is a sadistic asshole who plans to humiliate me in front of the entire school and make me as an example as to why a commoner with no aptitude for magic shall only constitute as nothing more than a pathetic sorry excuse of existence akin to a filthy worm.

Thus, I'm currently here in the capital city of Magnaria as I recently arrived just yesterday. To be more specific, I'm standing in front of the academy gate together with many Mage prospects who were alongside me. No doubt, they too have the same goal as I am more or less.

Although I'm feeling kind of out of place to be perfectly honest. Unlike the other candidates who were wearing their respective set of luxurious outfits that defined their Noble status, I'm clad in a simple white shirt, green hood, brown gloves, brown pants with a leather belt, and brown boots. In short, the clothes that I'm wearing screamed commoner from head to toe.

Because of my current state of low-class fashion predicament, I have been receiving dirty looks coming from most Nobles within my vicinity. Thankfully, others simply don't care at all.

No mistake, those condescending eyes practically looked down on me. Heh, just your typical Noble who thinks that the world revolved around them. Nothing new, really.

When the gate finally opened, the academy began receiving us and we were allowed entry.

The academy is itself is freaking big. It's safe to say that it's bigger than the small village that my grandfather and I have lived for as long as I can remember. Huge buildings towered at every corner and a majestic fountain can be witnessed at the center of the beautiful courtyard.

A young man dressed in light blue hooded robes with the white crescent moon insignia on his breast pocket directed us to the Magic stadium where our exam will be taking place. If my deductions are correct regarding his outfit, then he is probably a student since many of his fellow Mages in our proximity donned similar attire as well.

After a short while, we finally arrived at our venue. We were led inside the circular stadium until we step foot right at the center of the stage. The student instructed us to form ourselves accordingly in an orderly manner since we will be listening to the Headmaster in a few moments.

In this precious span of time, I decided to size in the competition to get a feel of my fellow candidates' capabilities.

Only three though caught my utmost attention.

First is a redhead long-haired girl around the same age as I am perhaps. As per her outfit, she is undoubtedly a high-ranking Noble. She is dressed in a white long-sleeved blazer with a black tie, golden medallion attached to her left chest with a chain that's connected on her left shoulder. She also has white gloves and a blue skirt that show a good portion of her nice legs, and a pair of black shoes. Oh, and she's quite a beauty as well and way out of my league. Not that I'm planning to court her of anything. An average maiden is more than enough for my sorry virgin ass.

The second one on the list is a handsome blonde man. Many of the women in our group has been eyeing him for quite some time, no doubt charmed by his God-blessed looks. Like the redhead girl, he is clad in the same color scheme as well as his attire. The only difference is that he is wearing long white pants instead.

Huh, I guess they are related?

Then, I heard some bickering coming from my fellow Mage prospects regarding red and blonde.

"By the Seven Gods, it's the Dragon Siblings of the Dragonia Dukedom, Anastasia Dragonheart, and Alexander Dragonheart."

"Wait, you mean the twin prodigies who possessed the Bloodline Magic of the Dragons?!"

"Seriously?!"

"Wow, and they are going to be our classmates?"

"If we pass this test, that is."

So, these two are users of the famed Dragon magic. No wonder I can feel a ridiculous amount of power all around them. My Mana Sense sure did come in handy, part of the magic gift that was bestowed to me by the lady of the lake.

Alright, now let's proceed to Mage prodigy no. 3, shall I?

It was a girl with dark blue hair styled in a ponytail. Unlike the others who are commonly dressed in their fancy yet practical suits, this lady let's say has a different cultural flavor. She wore a black kimono with a red sash and a pair of brown slippers. She also possessed a katana sheathed on her right hip. If I'm not mistaken, then this girl is from another country, to be more specific, from the Akanir Empire at the east.

Oh, and she also has a terrifying amount of magical power, Mana in layman's term. Although it's still less than either of the Dragon siblings, perhaps her physical ability makes up for it since she is a katana wielder.

While staring at her, our eyes met for a brief moment as she gazed at me with a calculative look. It did not last long though as she diverted her eyes when a loud voice caught all of our attention from above at the stands.

"Welcome to Moonlight Magi Academy, young Mages."

It was a young boy.

A freaking kid speaking to us.

Of course, I'm well aware that looks can be fucking deceiving.

And the Mana that I sensed from him...

It was leagues beyond the Dragon Siblings and the Akanir chick.

It's like a demon looking down on us despite the welcoming aura that he has been displaying on us.

"A kid? Is this some sort of prank?! Are we in an academy or elementary school?"

Some of the prospects laughed in response at his attempt of humor.

I only sighed when I heard a typical arrogant response coming from a typical arrogant dude.

Of course, there's bound to be a condescending prick in this sort of scenario. The usual dude or dudette with a misplaced superiority complex.

The man's words are thankfully his last when a headache suddenly struck him. Based on his agonizing reaction, it seemed that the pain was utterly unbearable as he fell on his knees.

"Ahh!!!! Make it stop, make it stop!!!"

We were all terrified at seeing such a horrifying scene, that I can certainly say without any shred of sarcasm. I pity the fool, no matter how arrogant he is.

Fortunately, the pain subsided and the suffering ultimately ended. Unfortunately, however, the trauma that was inflicted shall no doubt have lasting effects in his future endeavors.

"Never underestimate your opponent, no matter how weak or powerful they seem to be. For even the lion hunts the rabbit with everything at his disposal."

The words of wisdom came straight from the child himself while staring at us with an indifferent expression.

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Grayford Moon Lunaria or simply Gray for short, the Headmaster of this prestigious academy. Despite the rather... Unpleasant commentary from one of your colleagues, it's still an honor for me to greet you all here at my academy. I look forward to what grand performance that you'll be exhibiting today."

The Headmaster Gray said all this with now a smile on his face.

"Grayford Moon Lunaria?"

"You mean the Illusion Demon himself?!"

"So the rumors are true, he is really just a kid."

"No, you idiot. I heard that his child-like body is just an illusion to cover his real appearance."

"Crap, I don't want to be on his bad side, especially not after what happen earlier."

So that's him, the big boss of Moonlight himself. If I'm not mistaken, then the kid has cast one pretty powerful Illusion spell that caused the poor guy's intolerable agony.

Magic sure is both amazing and terrifying.

Alright, first order of business, stay the fucking hell away from his bad side, assuming that I get accepted here of course.

However, I can't help but notice that the Headmaster shifted his attention right at me and has been staring for quite some time now. That damn smug present on his seemingly innocent face...

It's no mistake, the kid is going to embarrass me. Damn me being a fucking commoner. Not that I resent my social status or anything, but I can't deny that it has brought me some inconvenience, especially when the Nobles would go out of their way to flaunt their so-called superiority and ridicule you just because of your circumstance since birth.

Oh, I'm not going to be a commoner forever, that I can say with full confidence. I plan to rise to the social ladder and also become a Noble myself. And I shall use my power to exercise my authority for the greater good of the realm and her people, regardless of social status.

But wait, I did gain some unique gift just a few days ago when that lady emerged from the lake of the village outskirts. She did mention that it possessed infinite potential and I will either be revered or resented for its unimaginable power.

Hopefully, this "gift" will help me in this exam so I can finally fulfill my dream of being both a Mage and a Noble, all for the sake of helping my grandfather and the villagers back home.

I owe them that much for taking care of me after all.

The Headmaster then continued his speech and told us how the exam is going to work.

"The exam shall be divided into three parts. First is we are going to determine your overall Mana level by using a piece of special measuring equipment. To be perfectly honest, this part of the exam is just a mere formality and won't affect your performance in this exam, unless you have a rather abysmal Mana pool that's even worst than a worm, hahaha."

Phew, well that's a relief, I guess. Everyone, even if they are not a Mage, has Mana. Even if my Mana level is low, I suppose I'll do fine in this part. Grandfather told me that there are a lot of ways to increase your Mana, so that's something I have to work on should my results proved to be unsatisfactory.

Any-fucking-ways, we were instructed to form into three straight lines when the three measuring equipment were all summoned by magic. Said equipment is in the form of a weighing scale of a sort, with a digital device to determine the exact numerical value.

During this period of our exam, I have learned that the average Mana level of a 15 year old knowledgeable and trained in basic magic, which is my age, by the way, is around 1,000 to 1,500 Mana, and most of the candidates exhibited such values.

"5... 5,027?!!!!"

We all heard a scream coming from the second line. The voice belonged to a girl who was next in line to who I assumed to be someone who got such monstrous Mana level.

And that someone is none other than the female of the Dragon siblings, Anastasia Dragonheart.

"S-seriously!!??"

"A Mana level of around 5,000? At our young age?!!"

"Damn, she sure is a prodigy!!"

"Now I'm excited to see what Lord Alexander's Mana level is."

Anastasia appeared to be enjoying the praises all around her as evident by the vain look on her pretty face.

Heh, what a pompous lady.

As for Blondie over the third line, he also received similar applause coming from the others.

"6... 6,421?!!!!"

"Woah, that's even way bigger than Lady Anastasia!!!"

"Lord Alexander is certainly amazing!!!"

"To think that someone has exceeded 5,000 Mana in our age, even if they are siblings!!"

Alexander's reaction was the same as Anastasia more or less when he saw the numbers from the equipment.

"Looks like I beat you again, sis."

His reason for his triumphant reaction differed greatly from his sister. Unlike Anastasia who savored the compliments of the crowd, Alexander instead was delighted when he beat his sister in terms of their Mana level.

"Tsk, you may have the greater Mana, brother, but does your combat ability speak the same?"

"Ooooh, is that a challenge I hear, sis? I'll be sure to bring you to your rightful lowly place as the inferior out of the two of us Dragons."

Hmm, the sibling rivalry between two Dragons. Well, that's quite something to look forward to. I heard that Dragons are a fierce and competitive race constantly striving for dominion and victory. When two or more Dragons clashed against one another, it's a ferocious battle worthy to be sung for ages. Their raging elements are a spectacle to see.

"Now, now, there's a time and place for everything, children. I trust that you two can behave while you're in my academy, yes?"

The Headmaster told the two siblings with a calm voice. His powerful aura was felt throughout the entire stadium, causing the Dragons to acknowledge his vast magical power and effectively shutting them down.

Crap, Gray's position as the Headmaster is clearly for no show at all. To be able to convince two competitive Dragons by sheer power alone is no easy feat.

"Y-yes, sir. We apologize for our unbecoming behavior." Anastasia bowed her head down.

"We shall be more aware of our actuations from this point forward." Alexander performed the same gesture as his sister.

"If you children understand, then that's water under the bridge," Gray replied with a smile that's more fitting for the age of his child-like body.

The exam resumed without any issues. I was also excited to see the Mana level of the Akanir girl. No doubt, it's going to be insane like the Dragon siblings.

But surprisingly, when her results came out, she only had an amount of 1,290.

What the hell? Is my Mana sense malfunctioning or something? Perhaps I was mistaken? I only had this magic for a few days, so I guess I could be wrong in my assessment in sensing her Mana.

Or maybe she has a magic to hide her actual Mana level then. But if that's the case, then how come my Mana Sense can still detect her high level of Mana despite the average value that was displayed in the measuring equipment?

This calls for a self-investigation. I needed to explore the true depth of this Mana Sense so I can effectively use it in any situation.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I realize that I was already next in line to step forth on the measuring device.

Well, here goes nothing.

I bet that my Mana level is going to be only around a hundred or so, given that I seriously suck at magic. It is to be expected if such is the case.

Better prepare my eardrums for a huge load of laughter and insults later on.

As I eagerly await for my result to come, something strange occurred that attracted a whole lot of attention to me.

The measuring equipment...

Fucking burst into flames.

The whole crowd was speechless with shock upon witnessing what just transpired.

I marveled in confusion at the charred apparatus.

"Uhm... I'm innocent?"