Rise of the Grand Archmage

"Spark at the tip of my finger, electrifying everything I touch, Finger― ouch!" A young boy with dark blonde hair and green eyes winced in pain as his right hand got electrified.

"It didn't work …." the boy muttered with a sigh. "Why can't I use magic?" he asked the question that had already asked himself several times.

He couldn't use magic, and some might say he didn't have mana to use magic. However, the fact that he experienced a backlash while attempting to cast a spell meant he did have mana. Then, why couldn't he cast magic? Was he truly that bad at it? Perhaps. But he refused to believe so. He had memorized everything about the lightning elemental magic spell named Finger Zap, and he was confident that he hadn't missed anything. Even his teacher agreed. Still, it ended in failure, much like many other spells he had attempted to cast in the past.

So, what was wrong with him? Nobody knew. Even a skilled mage couldn't figure out what was amiss. Overall, he was fine; he had a magic core, which was essential for walking the path of a mage. He had mana, the fuel for using magic, and a functional magic system within his body. However, when he tried to cast magic, his mana suddenly went chaotic right before the spell was successfully cast, resulting in a backlash in his own body. No matter how many adjustments he made while casting a spell, it would always end up in failure.

"At this rate ... I can't make it to the academy," he muttered gloomily.

The academy he wanted to be admitted to only accepted those with magical talent, and to prove that talent, he needed to cast magic. While there were alternative ways to confirm his magical aptitude, what was the use if he couldn't even cast magic by himself?

Also, he only had six months before the academy started accepting new students. He doubted he could solve this problem within such a short amount of time.

"No, I can't afford to doubt," he declared, lightly slapping himself on both cheeks. He dreamt of becoming a great mage and wouldn't let this small problem hold him back.

"Since I can't use magic directly, then it means I have to resort to other means." He had already planned for this, but he hoped it didn't come to this because it still wouldn't change the fact that he couldn't use magic directly. However, it could prove that he had extensive knowledge of magic and was capable of using it.

What was the plan then? He had two plans. First, by using the mana stone. A mana stone was a special stone that could contain mana and be used several times before it became unusable. Mana stones were often used as a power source for magic when the caster didn't want to expend their own mana, and that was precisely what the boy intended to do. Fortunately, he could still channel his mana to the mana stone and use it to fuel magic from the spell scroll since he couldn't cast magic directly.

Did that mean he couldn't just channel his mana directly to the spell scroll? Indeed, he couldn't just channel his mana directly to the spell scroll. As long as his mana was actively in contact with any spell for a prolonged time, it would register as him directly casting a spell. The issue lay with the spell scroll. A spell scroll was a consumable, one-time item formulated with specific magic, making it suitable only for emergencies. Unfortunately, this didn't apply to him since he couldn't use magic at all, which meant he needed a significant number of spell scrolls, and that would be too costly. Consequently, he attempted to make his own spell scrolls, which were still a work in progress.

Now, the second plan was related to the spell scroll. There was a spell named Mana Refinement, designed to refine external mana for use in magic. The spell aimed to replicate what the magic core inside his and other mages' bodies could naturally do. However, this spell was imperfect and highly inefficient. It couldn't replicate what the magic core could do since according to the creator, the magic core itself was a complex thing, and the spell couldn't live up to it even after extensive research.

It wasn't to say that there was no development at all. With that spell, he could use it to power another spell scroll instead of relying on a mana stone. The drawback, however, was that it would take a considerable amount of time to gather mana and refine it. Yet, wasn't it mentioned that he couldn't channel his mana directly to a spell scroll? Yes, but the key was the prolonged time. He only needed to touch the scroll and channel a small amount of his mana to activate it. After that, the spell would utilize a portion of the external mana to sustain itself.

An idea popped into his mind to perfect this spell. If he could refine it to perfection, enrolling in the academy wouldn't be a problem at all since it would be too wasteful to refuse someone as valuable as him from attending the academy. Unfortunately, the boy himself was aware it was just an idea. He wasn't arrogant or foolish enough to believe he could easily perfect it when many others, far more skilled and intelligent than him, had attempted the same. Perhaps in the future, he might achieve it, but not now.

So, that left him with the option of using a mana stone. However, relying on a mana stone still wouldn't guarantee his admission to the academy since anyone could transfer their mana to mana stones and use them to fuel their magic. What the boy needed was something special. Something that could prove his value, but what that was, he didn't know.

His thoughts however, were interrupted by knocks on the door.

"Yes?" he asked and saw the door open, revealing a maid who was the one who had knocked.

"Young Lord Lucas, it is time for dinner," the maid said in a respectful tone.

"I see .... I'll be there soon. Thank you," Lucas replied, watching as the maid bowed and left the room, ensuring to close the door behind her.

The boy's name is Lucas Harren, the third son of the Harren Noble Family, a Marquis Family. Undoubtedly blessed to have been born into a noble family, which allowed him to have the resources to learn magic.

Being a mage indeed required abundant resources, and being a noble greatly facilitated that. It was no wonder that in the past, only nobles could become mages due to their access to the necessary resources. It was not to say that commoners couldn't become mages back then. It was just that they needed to be exceptionally talented to attract sponsors or be incredibly fortunate. Did that mean all nobles were mages? No, according to the research that had been done, only 45 percent of the population possessed magic, and this statistic applied to nobles as well. Not all nobles were born to be magical individuals, but if the parents were magical, it increased the likelihood that their children would inherit magical abilities as well. For this reason, many people, not only nobles, married themselves or their children to magical individuals, hoping their future generations would inherit magic. After all, having magic was considered advantageous in the dangerous world they lived in.

As for Lucas' family, the Harren family could be categorized as a magical family. Through generations, they consistently gave birth to individuals with magical abilities. Then again, it was a necessity since their family was located at the border to defend the kingdom against magical beasts or invasions from other kingdoms. His father was a magical swordsman with roots in martial arts, his mother was a mage, his first brother was a martial artist, his second brother was a mage, his first sister was a mage, and his little sister's future path had not yet been decided.