It is common knowledge that basic magic is not supposed to be lethal.
It's used for daily life purposes and doesn't play a major role in battles. Most mages don't even bother to learn too many basic magic spells.
Still, every mage starts their journey by learning basic magic.
That's because basic magic is easy to learn and control, making it an excellent way for novice mage to improve their mana control.
Barely any mage learns more than ten basic magic spells, and then they move on to focus on their own attribute magic.
The same is true for Thomas.
He grew up in a family of ordinary people and worked his way up to the peak of grade 2.
In terms of barrier magic, he's only second to grade-1 individuals, and his wind magic is heavily focused on defense.
But as a child, he was fascinated by the basic magic spells.