?


    2 monthster


    Training Facility


    "Today is thest day of our training session. After today, all of you have to walk your own paths. For three months we trained you and also exined how things work in the City of Hope. From now on, you would have to live on your own"


    "And as I exined previously today, we will be testing all of you, and depending on the capabilities you showed, we could write you rmendation letters to Magic Academies of different branches. It could be an academy for a Battle Mage, Alchemist, Researchers, and others"


    "Today''s test will test your individual capabilities and also determine if I and Wermon will rmend you better academies than the ones that just everyone could enter. I suggest that you do your best"


    There are many academies inside the City of Hope. Some of them are Academies with no requirement, anyone of any age could be a student there. However, these Academies are the weakest of all academies. Whether it be their teachers, resources, or facilities, all are at the bottom of the barrel. Mages with no talent or background don''t have a choice but to enter these Academies


    If there are Academies with no entry requirements then naturally there would also be Academies that are strict when ites to epting their students. They have various requirements but are mostly dependent on one''s talent


    If a mage was not talented enough, they would not be admitted to those prestigious academies


    "Now, just because your cultivation rank is high it doesn''t mean that you are guaranteed a rmendation letter to prestigious academies. Your rank might be high now but that might also be the highest rank that you could reach. That''s why no one should becent"


    As usual, out of the two, it was Philome that mostly exins everything since it was as if Wermon treated his words as more important than gold with how he rarely speaks


    "Hey, Rezen, do you think there is an academy for bed warmers? I need to be better at bed affairs!" With a mischievous smile, Treen spoke to Rezen while hitting him with his elbow


    "Sshh, I don''t want us to be the cause of punishment again. Did you not see the nasty looks we receivedst time?" Rezen grumbled. This shameless tribesman of his is really a handful


    Fortunately, Treen is also afraid of the tribal people''s collective anger and he shut his mouth to continue listening


    After Philome exined some more things, the tribal people were asked to go outside of thisrge training room meant for many people to train


    They are guided to the smaller individual rooms so that they can be tested. Since there are only two instructors, Philome and Wermon cannot possibly watch everyone do their tests but since there are hundreds of people to be tested it would take a long time if they are to be tested one by one. Fortunately, there are recording crystals that could be used to record how the tribal people performed on their tests and the instructors could review them after


    There were at least 30 tribesmen that were tested at a time. The test was not all the same since not everyone has the same strength


    Some are most suited as a Battle Mage, an Alchemist, a Researcher, and other paths. As for Rezen he naturally chose to be a Battle Mage that excelled at fighting


    He has a farm that could bring him resources. Once he is strong enough he could earn more money to learn alchemy from the experts. But if Rezen chose the path of alchemy then even if he is to be a famous and skilled one he would still have to worry about his life


    In the end, personal strength is still the most important and Rezen prioritized the path of power


    When it was Rezen''s turn, he entered the training room. It was visibly smaller than the room that he and the other tribesmen use before considering that this room was meant for only one person


    Still, it was enough for Rezen to move around without feeling too cramped. Philome already exined how Battle Mages are to be tested and as expected Rezen saw an alchemical doll inside the training room


    The doll has a humanoid appearance and is created out of metal, visible with its shiny metallic skin


    In the chest part of the doll was its core. Destroy it and the doll would cease to move. However, Rezen knew that the core of this alchemy doll was not something he can destroy as it was protected


    If the alchemy doll is something that could bepletely destroyed by someone like him then this training facility''s quality is definitelycking<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The City of Hope is not that fond of formalities in this kind of setting. As soon as Rezen entered the room, the doll''s core churned and supplied mana to its whole body


    "Let''s see what a 3rd cycle Deviant Mage could do against this Alchemy Doll" Rezen muttered as he retrieved his magic wand


    In the two months that Rezen spent after obtaining the second hidden treasure of the Guardian, he progressed faster than before


    The potion even though its potency was diluted is still very effective. 2 months ago Rezen is just a 2nd cycle Body Mage and a 1st cycle Spirit Mage but now, both of his paths are at the 3rd cycle


    This was the strongest state he was ever in and he was itching for a good fight


    "Magic Missiles!"


    Rezen waved his wand and pointed it at the alchemy doll that was starting to approach him. Five blue missiles of mana were fired by his wand all of which uratelynded on the doll''s body


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The missiles shattered the parts of the doll that they hit and metal shrapnels flew all around. Before the doll could even reach Rezen it was already destroyed by him


    However, it doesn''t end there as things just started. As Rezen expected, the metal shrapnels that came from the doll''s body moved on their own and they reconnect with the doll. It was like the doll didn''t have huge holes in its body earlier. It was as good as new again


    The doll that Rezen fought was adjusted to have strength at the 1st cycle of the Junior Rank. Considering his current power, it was no surprise that he defeated it easily


    After the doll repaired itself the mana that its core released increased and it now has the power of beings at the 2nd cycle of the Junior Rank


    However, just like before, Rezen simply uses magic missiles to destroy the doll. What happened earlier was repeated and the doll momentarily stopped moving once more before it reconnected with its body parts


    The doll''s strength grew once more and it is now in the 3rd cycle. If Rezen was a normal 3rd cycle mage he might have a bitter fight with the doll but he is a Deviant Mage!


    Once again, Rezen fired magic missiles. However, these magic missiles are simply not condensed mana anymore. He gave it the attribute of fire and increased its power


    For the third time today, the doll broke down. The current Rezen could defeat any normal beings at the 3rd cycle without much problem but once more the doll reconnected with the body parts that Rezen destroyed along with another increase in power


    There is arge difference between the strength of those at the 3rd cycle and 4th cycle even though it was just a single cycle difference


    Typically, every cycle increases the being''s power by 50% but those that are more talented and special could increase their power more than that


    However, it was way harder to reach the 4th cycle from the 3rd cycle than to go from the 1st to the 3rd cycle. The average power difference of beings in the 3rd and 4th cycle might only be 50% but thetter has way better control over their magic considering the talent and skill needed to be a mid-cycle Junior Mage


    Normally, Rezen would have a hard time fighting the 4th cycle doll and he might even be defeated. However, even the most mediocre Deviant Mage would always have the power to at least be equal to a Mage above their rank as long as the difference was only in the cycle and not the realm itself


    Moments like this made Rezen realize that he really did the right choice to not just be a Body or a Spirit Mage. The right choice was to be a Deviant Mage if ones wants to be peerless


    Rezen gathered more mana at his wand and with a smile he used his magic. This time, it wasn''t a magic missile anymore but arge ray of energy that sted the alchemy doll to the walls of the room with pieces of its metallic body breaking and flying around