50 The magician’s view

Once in his private office, he dropped to his seat and took a long deep breath, trying to calm his mind.

'Goodness, I think I screwed up there.'

He grimaced, thinking back to his blunder during the lesson.

When he found out that the young heir had 5 whole attributes, and that too from more than one magic type, he felt momentary jealousy, but it was quickly overwhelmed with the sheer awe he felt.

That young noble was blessed by mana.

'A world's difference from someone like me with just 3 attributes.'

While 3 was still not bad, the magician's talented paled in comparison to the young heir's.

Even if the young lord was just one grade above his in terms of foundation, it still made a great difference. Silver was for talented, and Copper for above average. He would achieve higher Tiers that the man could only dream of.

'Sigh, what am I doing getting jealous of a noble-born? Of course, we'll be different. Their entire bloodline is talented in some way, be it a sword, magic, or sheer looks.

Still, though. 5 whole attributes.'

This had excited him so much that the man lost his composure and ended up crossing a line.

'I can't believe I tried to rope him into being a magician. Especially when the Maximus family is known for its Swordsmanship. Thankfully, they were lenient.'

If it were some other noble family, he might have been punished or even lost his job for that mistake.

'But can you blame me? The kid is blessed with 5 ATTRIBUTES! That's one more than the head wizard, who has 4 and THAT is considered quite amazing. It'll be such a pity if he chooses sword over magic, which he likely will, given his heritage. Sigh.'

Another thing that baffled the man was the speed at which the young heir learned spells.

'To think he would want to walk the way of magic circles, rather than chanting.'

While it was true that the magic circle was a much more silent way of casting magic, it was also a more difficult approach. And more often than not, magicians failed to produce the firepower and efficiency that the chanting magic had.

'He didn't seem to like the idea of chanting. I wonder why? Chanting magic is easier. But then again, he managed to storm through so many magic circles and managed to produce equivalent firepower of a fireball created through magic chanting.'

The man smiled as he felt a certain comradery with the young man.

After all, he too had chosen the path of magic circles over magic chanting.

The man stayed silent, lost in the thoughts of today's event and the talented young man he had had the honor to teach.

'He can perhaps walk the path of a magic swordsman. Yes, that would be ideal. I wish I could persuade him to do that, but I would rather not test the limit to their patience.'

*Knock* *Knock.*

His thoughts were interrupted when a few knocks came from the door.

"Yes, come in."

From the gate entered an elderly man whose hair was almost pure white and a few gray strands.

"Head Wizard Dolorith. Greetings, sir!"

The man stood straight as he greeted the elderly magician who walked in with an experienced smile on his face.

"No need to be so stiff, Arnold. I just came to enquire how the lesson with Young Master Alexander went."

"Ah, sir. I was just about to come and report. Apologies for the tardiness."

"No, no. It's alright. I can assume it must be stressful, visiting the Marquis mansion."

The man smiled wryly.

It had been rather exciting. But it was also quite nerve-wracking, walking into the large mansion that housed just 4 members of the Marquis family and dozens of maids and even more knights.

"To be honest, it was quite nerve-wracking. But, if I were to be frank…"

The man paused and looked at the magician, hoping to get his permission to speak casually. After receiving a nod, he continued.

"I was quite surprised and honored by the hospitality they provided. I didn't expect them to be so… welcoming to someone of unknown origins and no pedigree such as I."

"Well, what can I say? Our lords are among the most lenient and understanding nobles. I'm always thankful to be serving under them. Makes my job easier.

As for your nervousness, I too felt like so when I was first invited to visit the mansion. Ah, that was over a decade ago. I can only tell you that it gets easier as time passes. You'll get used to it."

The man widened his eyes as he realized the implications.

"Are you saying…"

"Well, I am."

The man looked at the smiling elderly magician with gratitude.

"Thank you very much, Sir. I'll try not to disappoint."

"I'm sure you won't. Now then, shall we talk about the lesson? Tell me, how is the young master's magic affinity? The past two spawns have not been magically gifted, sadly. Understandable. One still became a Duchess and the other is a genius at the sword. That knight commander boasts a lot about Young Miss Emma. Even though it's a known fact that the Young Miss doesn't like training under anyone and is more than talented enough to progress on her own. Truly a prodigy."

The elderly didn't have any scorn in this voice when talking about the Knight commander. Instead, it was more amusing to him than anything. Still, one could see he hoped for something.

The man smiled brightly hearing the elderly magician, but it quickly turned into a sad smile when he realized the sad possibility.

"Young Master Alexander, he… is blessed by mana."

The man saw the elderly magician's smile increase in intensity.

"Hoho, I had a feeling it'll be the case. He was able to achieve his Foundation Tier 1 on his own and the case with his mana being completely depleted was a bit unusual too.

But, this is good news. No, this is great news! We have two geniuses from the Marquis family. One in swordsmanship and one in magic. Their future is bright and shining. What great news!"

The elderly looked genuinely happy by the news. One could tell he had a lot of devotion towards the Marquis family. It was the case. After all, he had served them for over a decade.

"Well, about that. Um, I may have gotten a bit excited about him having 5 affinities…"

"5?! He has 5 magic affinities?!"

For the first time, the elderly broke his calm demeanor and asked with a bit of surprise. The man could understand. He too was shocked when he found out. Thus the reason for his overexcitement at the time.

It still irked him that he acted unprofessionally like that during an important lesson.

It'll be one of those things that'll haunt the man's nights for the foreseeable future.

Shoving those grim thoughts aside, the man spoke.

"Yes. He had a major affinity with Fire and Lightning elements and minor affinity with Air, Body reinforcement, and Lifestyle magic."

"Hoh? Two elemental, 1 hybrid, and 2 composites. 4 of which could be used as offensive and defensive magic. Wonderful. Truly wonderful. He's indeed blessed by mana. Perhaps he'll surpass my poor old self in his prime if he learned magic properly. The possibilities with so many affinities are endless."

"Not just that, he learned over a dozen spells in just a few hours on his first lesson. He decided to go the magic circle route that not many go and is capable of learning the complicated circles and all their intricacies."

"Hoh? Fascinating."

"It's a pity though."

"Hm?"

"I mean, given his lineage, he might still want to pursue the path of the sword."

"Hm, that is true."

"I wish he went the magic route though. He has the potential to earn greatness in magic."

"Well now, that's not something we can decide. Young Master Alexander will choose his own path. I just pray that whatever path he decides to walk, he achieves greatness in it. His and young Miss Emma's actions and achievements will affect the Marquis's reputation and position in the future."

The man nodded, deep in thought.

The two magicians continued talking about Alexander's magical abilities in-depth and discussed the possibilities and the future of the Maximus territory and perhaps the magic tower itself in case the heir showed great interest in the subject.

[End of Arnold's POV]

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