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C262 - Age Detection

The Earth Elemental Magus looked toward Leonel with shock.

In truth, he had heard of this Leonel before. No, it was more accurate to say that everyone had. And, due to his position, he was in a unique enough standing to know some special matters about Leonel as well.

The main point was that Leonel was recently given credit for killing two Demon Lords. This was a feat only the likes of the General Stars and the Two and Three Star Magi had. Yet, it was now in the hands of an immature boy.

It was already difficult enough to reconcile Leonel's talent with his age. But, if he was even younger than they all assumed… just what kind of ridiculous matter was this?

Now that the Two Star Earth Magus thought about it, the registration of ages should have been done by the candidate themselves. After all, everyone here should have been registered with either the Knight Academy or the Mage Academy.

.

Leonel was in a bit of a special situation since he was an orphan. It seemed that as a result, other guessed his age for him?

'That doesn't make any sense. Who would input an age for another without first asking? What would such a person gain?'

The Earth Magus suddenly felt a cold sweat falling from his back. He suddenly felt that this matter wasn't so simple, but he also didn't know just what he had suddenly appeared in the middle of.

"Boy, are you certain? The punishment for such an infraction isn't light."

Leonel almost rolled his eyes. How could he not be certain about his own age?

But at the last minute, he held back. In this world, he had claimed to be an orphan. In an era like this one, it wasn't rare for orphans like him to be off on the estimation of their own ages by a year or two. If he seemed too certain of his own age, then it would only bring more questions about his identity forward.

Thinking to this point, Leonel decided to take a step back.

"I'm an orphan, I can only make estimations of my own age. But, I shouldn't be older than 20."

Hearing Leonel's response, the Earth Magus looked at him with an incredulous expression. This boy wasn't even sure but he was stirring up trouble.

At this point, he wanted to wring Leonel's neck. If you weren't certain, why did you have to bring me into this mess?

Leonel only seemed to realize there was something wrong after reading the magus' expression. Now that he thought about it, it was indeed odd that his age had been decided without first consulting him. Was he being targeted?

'If my age was decided for me, it's very likely that my number was decided along with the order of my battles.'

Thinking to this point, Leonel was enlightened. However, he was also inwardly puzzled.

With his strength, was there really anyone 30 or younger who could defeat him?

He didn't know, truthfully. He had a lot of knowledge about this world's magic system. But, as for the actual people that made up this world, he knew nothing. There very well could be for all he knew.

Still, Leonel was confident.

That said… just because he was confident, didn't mean he'd allow others to ride on his head just because they felt he was an easy target.

"There's no need to drag this out, honored Magus. My knowledge is limited, but I do know that there exists an auxiliary spell that can test skeletal age. If I'm wrong, I'm willing to take on whatever punishment you have."

The Earth Magus' expression changed. The truth was that they were mostly were using the deterrence of Camelot to avoid such trouble. The [Age Detection] Mage Art was a Two Star Magus Art.

Not only was it a high level spell, but since it served no other purpose, it was rare for Magi to learn it at all. It took years of meditation and calculations to learn just a single Two Star Magus Art. Why would anyone spend it on such a spell?

It could be said that those who did had done so for research purposes. Since [Age Detection] was a spell that relied on understanding the intricacies of the human body, comprehending it deepened one's understanding of healing magic.

This was all to say that those who could afford to waste time learning such a high level spell had exceptionally high standing within Camelot. In fact, they may be among those overwhelmingly influential individuals within the stands currently.

"This…"

The Earth Magus turned a helpless eye toward the stands. Obviously, he didn't have the ability to cast [Age Detection].

At that moment, several cold gazes flashed within the 21-30 group. It was nearly imperceptible, but Leonel caught onto a few, causing him to sneer within his heart.

The longer he spent in this new world order, the more he learned about how useless ideas of law and justice were.

"Leonel, right? How about this. You're so powerful to begin with. Whether you participate in the lower or middle age bracket, the result will be the same. Why not just allow things to proceed as is?"

Leonel almost laughed in response.

"If that's the case and the result is the same regardless, why not just let me participate in the lower age bracket?"

The Earth Magus was helpless. He was really hoping that Leonel would just take a step back. But, who knew where this child gained enough guts to be so contentious before the eyes of so many elites?

In the end, he could only look toward the stands for guidance.

Pope Margrave watched on with an amused light in his eyes. He found Leonel to be quite interesting. From what he knew, this child was quite clever. If he was doing this, it meant he realized he was likely being targeted and simply didn't care to continue being respectful.

Finally, someone from above stepped forward. When Leonel saw who it was, his internal sneer only deepened.

"Three Star Official Magus Leonel is an orphan. His age is unknown. Judging by his level of strength and his accomplishments, it was decided that he would be allocated to the middle age bracket. This will mitigate the risk to other youths. In addition, it's believed that he has the strength necessary to protect himself."

Leonel didn't have much of a reaction to these words.

"I would like to ask for my age to be confirmed, please."

Lamorak, who had obviously been the one to stand out, narrowed his gaze.

"The decision has been made."

"Is that so?" Leonel asked. "Are you certain?"

Lamorak's aura suddenly became sharp.

"I can just cast it myself if it's really so troublesome." Leonel said as though not noticing Lamorak's expression.

Before anyone could react, a strong wind surged around Leonel.

One second… two… three..

SHUUU!

A light formed around Leonel's body as motes of light began to form from his body.

The lights grew in number and gathered. Soon, the spell dimmed, leaving the truth apparent for all to see.

18 motes of light. The 19th barely formed before collapsing.

Not only was it clear that Leonel was only 18 years old, it was obvious that he was only about half way to 19.

Lamorak's brow twitched.

To be continued