As soon as the doors opened, Windtails burst into the arena and scattered in every direction. There were more than ten of them, maybe a dozen at first, but their numbers kept increasing until they reached dozens, possibly more than thirty.

  Krovane focused intensely as Emily stood firmly in the center of the arena. Her posture steady and her expression completely free of doubt. She looked ready to face whatever came at her.

  “Windtails are not supposed to be dangerous, at least according to Emily,” Krovane said quietly. “But with this many of them, they can launch ranged attacks, and those hits can deal serious damage.”

  “Let’s see how this know-it-all Emily handles the challenge, haha,” Hugo replied.

  Emily began moving her hands, forming motions Krovane did not fully recognize.

  “That should be to draw magic runes,” Hugo said.

  “Have you ever studied that?”

  “No, but Emily showed me once.”

  The Windtails suddenly rushed toward Emily in large numbers. In a situation like this, it should have been impossible for her to defend herself.

  But in the next instant, two magic circles formed in midair, glowing with runes at their centers.

  When two Windtails lunged forward, Emily snapped her hands down. As if by magic, a burst of intense fire shot out from the circles and slammed into the creatures.

  They were hit head-on, lost their balance, and were thrown back onto the ground.

  “Woah…” Krovane gasped in amazement.

  He was not the only one. Most of the spectators stared in shock, and some of them even stood up, unable to believe what they were seeing.

  “No way, isn’t that girl still a novice?” a voice came from the crowd.

  “A novice should not be able to cast magic spells. She must be an Apprentice who just registered.”

  “But she is so young. Seriously, she is already an Apprentice?”

  Emily moved her hands again, and this time six magic circles formed around her.

  Krovane lifted his head, watching with intense curiosity as small magic spheres shot out from the circles like bullets, firing toward every Windtail in the arena.

  The monsters scattered in panic as the flames struck them. Parts of their bodies were burned, while others tried to fight back, launching ranged attacks toward Emily.

  Emily dodged swiftly, ducking, moving left and right. From time to time, she fired back with bursts of flame.

  “Emily is deliberately using only fire,” Krovane said.

  “Huh? Why? Why not use the other elements if she can use all four basic elements?”

  “You know that having affinity with more than one basic element is extremely rare, right? I think she does not want to reveal too much of her ability in front of so many people.”

  “I think that is stupid. If she can do it and she is that good, she should show it off so more people are shocked and amazed.”

  “Revealing too many of our abilities to others is not a good idea.”

  “Really? I still think this is a chance to show off, right? Not many people get the opportunity to have a special Signature Ability like that.”

  Emily’s display of magic and her agility while using fire spells became a truly incredible spectacle to watch. Everyone who witnessed it looked amazed by what they were seeing. It was also clear that Emily had never truly shown this level of ability before, not even in front of Krovane and Hugo.

  But here, Emily proved that she had seriously studied magic with dedication. The results of her training were clearly visible in this test.

  After some time, a loud signal sounded, marking the end of the test.

  Only a few Windtail monsters were seen fleeing in panic, their bodies scorched by fire. Others remained unharmed. However, the goal of this test was never to kill the monsters. It was simply to reach a certain threshold, enough for the officials to decide whether an applicant was ready to join the adventurers’ guild or not.

  **

  Krovane and his two friends soon found themselves back in a familiar waiting room, furnished with a long couch and a wooden table placed in front of it. After a short while, the door opened and someone entered the room.

  It was a man who looked to be in his forties, dressed casually in a neat white shirt. His hair showed a mix of gray and white.

  Emily stood up at once, followed by Krovane and Hugo, mirroring her actions.

  “I always find it very entertaining when exceptional young talents choose to register with the guild,” the man said calmly.

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  Emily’s expression shifted completely, becoming polite and warm as she responded. “Thank you for giving us this opportunity, Mr. Aldric. We are grateful for the chance to take the test, and we are happy that we were able to complete it smoothly, Guild Leader.”

  The man let out a light laugh and gestured for the three of them to sit back down.

  So this was the guild leader Emily had spoken about.

  The man then took out a small box. From inside it, he took several items and placed them neatly on the table. There were three card-like objects, rigid and solid, likely made of metal or a similar material. Each one was gray in color, with the name of one of them engraved on its surface. Beside them were three circular pendants, small in size, with a metal border and the same matching color.

  “These are your ID cards,” the man explained. “You can supply your mana to the card to secure the ownership. The pendant shows your current stage, and it will be upgraded every time you successfully break through to a higher level.”

  Emily smiled politely and responded, “Thank you very much, Guild Leader. We will take good care of them.”

  She then picked up the items and handed them to the others.

  Krovane touched his ID card and carefully supplied his mana into it. The card immediately shimmered with a brief glow of light. Moments later, the edges of the card changed color, turning a faint pale white.

  The card displayed his name, along with the emblem of the Aurelion Kingdom and the symbol of the Adventurers’ Guild.

  “You can use these ID cards throughout the entire Aurelion Kingdom. All Adventurers’ Guild branches across every city are connected,” the man continued.

  Krovane then fastened the pendant around his neck. It looked surprisingly fitting on him.

  After the formal confirmation of their adventurer status was complete, Krovane and the others left the room and walked back into the lobby area. Krovane carried himself more upright, his steps lighter and full of energy, especially with the adventurer pendant now resting against his chest.

  “Tell me more about the Awakener stages, Emily,” Hugo said as they walked.

  “What do you want to know? That is not important when we are still just novices and those stages are far beyond us,” Emily replied.

  “Just tell me anyway. I think it would be really cool if we had a pendant with a much higher rank than this,” Hugo said again.

  They moved toward a corner of the lobby where a small round table stood, surrounded by several chairs. There, Emily began explaining the Awakener stages in more detail, sharing the important points connected to them.

  “As you already know, we advance one stage every ten levels. It will take a very long time before we can truly reach the higher stages,” Emily said. “But the stages are named like this. Novice, Apprentice, Guardian, Master, Grand Master, Champion, Archon, and Sage.”

  “Only eight?” Hugo asked. “Does that mean it only goes up to level eighty? Is there no one beyond that?”

  “As far as what is recorded in books and the information I have read, there are only eight stages.”

  “I want to know how strong a Mana Sage really is. Just hearing the name sounds amazing. Tell me more.” Hugo said eagerly.

  Krovane was just as enthusiastic and paid close attention to the explanation. It was not that he had never heard about these things before. He simply had never studied each stage in full detail.

  “Novices, like us who have just awakened, cover levels one to ten,” Emily continues. “At this stage, mana mainly provides physical enhancement. That is why simply becoming a Mana Novice already makes us stronger than most ordinary humans.”

  Krovane then responded, “What about Signature Abilities? You can already use magic spells even as a novice, and I can slightly morph my hand as well.”

  “Yes, that is exactly what makes Signature Abilities so special,” Emily replied. “They determine the path we will follow in the future.”

  The two of them nodded with excitement, and Emily continued.

  “When we advance to Mana Apprentice, as I explained before, awakeners begin to form an affinity with certain elements. The basic elements are fire, air, water, and earth. From there, we train ourselves to use these elements more effectively and integrate them into our abilities.”

  Emily continued her explanation, moving on to the stages beyond that. Krovane listened as if he were hearing a bedtime story, amazed by how extraordinary everything sounded, even though this was the very world they were living in now.

  “When someone reaches the Mana Guardian stage, they begin to develop something called a Mana Sigil,” Emily said. “It usually appears as a marking or tattoo that forms on the body. The sigil is not visible under normal conditions, but it appears when activated. It enhances one specific ability within us.”

  “I have seen a sigil shaped like a flame on Rogan’s right hand,” Krovane said.

  “Yes, that is Rogan’s sigil, called the Embercrest Sigil,” Emily replied.

  Interesting. Very interesting.

  “When someone advances further and becomes a Mana Master, they can start using elemental magic in a form known as Mana Elemental Armor,” Emily continued. “At this stage, mana merges more deeply with the body, allowing us to form an elemental aura that acts as protection. It looks like transparent armor, shaped according to our signature ability.”

  “So we would not need human-made armor anymore once we reach Mana Master?” Krovane asked.

  “We would still need it,” Emily answered, “but this gives us much more protection.”

  Emily then continued her explanation, moving on to the Grand Master and Champion stages, both of which sounded deep and complex. They would probably understand those levels better once they actually reached them.

  However, one stage sounded especially fascinating to them. Mana Archon.

  “A Mana Archon is someone at the seventh stage, with levels ranging from sixty-one to seventy. At this stage, there is a high chance of developing something called Mana Wings.”

  “For flying?” Hugo asked.

  “Yes. A Mana Archon can truly fly through the air using their Mana Wings.”

  “I have never seen anyone like that. Maybe there are very few of them?” Krovane added.

  “Even the guild leader, judging by the pendant he wears, is still at the Mana Champion stage. That means even he has not yet obtained Mana Wings.”

  As they spoke, Krovane noticed several people passing by, casting glances in their direction, faces he did not recognize.

  Was there something wrong with the three of them? Was it their clothing, which did not look combat-ready, or was it their age?

  Krovane could see some people who were also in their teens. That itself was not strange, since many people awakened at a young age. Still, most of those gathered here looked to be at least in their twenties.

  “Okay, I will go look for missions first. Our first mission should be something we can do tomorrow,” Emily said. “You two wait here. I will handle this.”

  She stood up with a confident expression and walked away.

  “I heard that novices can only take trivial missions. That does not sound interesting at all,” Hugo said. “We need to reach the Apprentice quickly so we can start taking monster-hunting missions.”

  Krovane nodded quietly. He had just made brief eye contact with a few people who were watching the two of them.

  “Hugo, I think we should find clothes that suit us better, maybe something more combat-ready. What do you think?”

  “Yes, I agree. Let’s go hunting for some gear after this. That sounds like a lot of fun!”