Twenty
"Another year pass. My Mana control should be in decent enough. Though it would not be until I am 12 that I can even hope to start a proper magic training." Ardent mused to himself.
The lack of Mage in the rural area in general, not just the village made them a previous commodity. After all, each Mage is equivalent to a group of trained Warrior, increasing the defensive capability of the village and making the village even more protected from any outside threat, whether there are bandits or wild beasts.
Even if some guards can use Mana, the ability to attack from a distance, with spells that can bombard an area made many consider Mages to be better.
In fact, he decided to learn of the Technique some guards can use to use Mana. Though, they called it Aura, or so Frank told him.