Chapter 23: Hello, Seniors! I’m a Newbie

“Fiora, I’ve already spoken with the Mage’s Guild.”
“You won’t have to take the written exam like a beginner; you can go straight to the practical test.”

On the way to the Mage’s Guild, Leon was briefing Fiora.
Fiora had changed into the little mage outfit Leon had given her.
She really did look like an inconspicuous apprentice mage.

“You’ve already pulled the strings!”
Fiora marveled at Leon’s efficiency.
She was genuinely a little impressed by Leon’s plan.

It was bold—
Leon actually wanted her to infiltrate the Mage’s Guild and have Fiora climb the ranks step by step, conquering it from within!

The Mage’s Guild was an important national organization.
By using his own strength to control other organizations, Leon could gain the power to contend with the Donghui Kingdom.
At that time, if he were to reveal her identity as the Dragon King…
Who would dare stand in Leon’s way?

This man’s ambition was truly terrifying.

Due to their racial talents, dragons were natural-born mages.
Even a good-for-nothing slacker like Fiora wouldn’t be too bad off, thanks to her bloodline alone.
If she wasn’t mistaken, Fiora believed Leon’s next instruction would be for her to display her strength—but not too flamboyantly.
Someone who appeared out of nowhere and was too powerful would easily arouse suspicion—

“Fiora, don’t be too over the top in your performance.”
“Just do enough.”

It’s just as I thought!

Fiora, believing she had guessed Leon’s thoughts, gave him a thumbs-up with an I get it expression.
“Don’t worry, I’ll grasp the proper measure.”

“How surprising. It’s rare for you to be so obedient.”
“Hmph… dismantling the Donghui Kingdom from within is indeed a convenient path.”
“As expected of a man as sadistic as a demon.”
“This monarch is starting to see you in a slightly different light.”

“Huh?” Leon paused for a moment.
“Forget it. Since you’re so motivated for once, I won’t get into the details.”

***

Arriving at the entrance of the Mage’s Guild, Fiora saw a beautiful girl in a mage’s robe.
Her figure was no worse than Vivian’s, and she wore a pair of glasses, further emphasizing her intellectual qualities.

“Lord Leon!!”
She seemed to be anxiously waiting for someone.
Upon seeing Leon, her expression instantly changed, and she trotted over.

“Roland, long time no see.”
Leon greeted her stiffly, but Roland expressed her enthusiasm with rapturous joy, hugging his arm directly.

“Roland, be more reserved. Aren’t you preparing for your engagement?”
Leon pushed her away, just as he had pushed away Ellie.

“Hmph~ Lord Leon, that’s my family forcing me.”
“It’s not my personal wish at all.”
“Please don’t misunderstand,” Roland said with a shy smile.
“My feelings, in fact, have never changed.”

“Is-is that so…”

“During the four years you were away training, I also trained and became much stronger.”
“I should have caught up to you! During the mage test later, you can pay attention to my performance.”

“Roland, so you’ve gotten stronger too.”

Fiora watched them flirt from the side.
To be honest, she was practically burning with jealousy.

This damn frivolous man, Leon, is hitting on another woman!
And another pretty girl at that!
He gets to enjoy fan service from a girl right after meeting her.
What is this— is this guy a walking human aphrodisiac? But—

Leon glanced at Fiora, and for some reason, a smile tugged at his lips—a genuine one at that.
Fiora was startled, thinking, What’s wrong with this person? Is he showing off his popularity with women again?

“That’s great, Roland.”
“You’ve helped me out a lot, solved a big problem.”

Leon patted Roland’s shoulder and whispered something in her ear that Fiora couldn’t hear at all.

These two… seem to be discussing something.

Fiora watched everything, feeling a strange tightness in her chest, as if she had been set up.

“Mhm! It’s nothing,” Roland said.
“It’s just a small matter.”

Then Roland looked at Fiora—her narrowed eyes seeming to hide something—definitely with ill intent.

This mage seems a bit familiar, just like Ellie.

Unaccustomed to being stared at, Fiora nervously averted her eyes and used her staff to block her face.

“Let’s go, Fiora, let’s go in,” Leon said.
“Hm…? Oh, oh!”

Fiora agreed and followed the two of them into the Mage’s Guild.

***

Arriving at the training grounds, Fiora saw an old man with white hair standing in the center.
Although he looked elderly, she could feel an unfathomable aura from him.

“Greetings, Grand Sage.”
“Mhm, hello, Roland.”

Roland greeted the Grand Sage with utmost respect, and the Grand Sage merely gave a faint response.

“This is the strongest mage of the Donghui Kingdom—the Grand Sage,” Leon whispered beside Fiora.
“For hundreds of years, his combat power has been among the top ranks of humanity.”

“So there are such strong people among humans,” Fiora said in surprise.

Fiora was not aware of the combat power standards of the outside world.
Being too much of a shut-in, she lacked a lot of common sense about this world.
Currently, she could only use Leon as a benchmark for combat power.

Since Leon can defeat me, this old man, who Leon himself says is powerful, must be an existence far beyond me!
His calm demeanor, as if he can see through everything, is practically at the level of a sweeping monk.

“I heard Roland say just now that her strength is very similar to yours.”
“Is she also very strong?”

“Well… four years ago, my strength was about the same as hers.”
“Since she has also trained a lot these four years, she might have already surpassed me,” Leon said.
“After all, she is the much-anticipated genius of the new generation of mages in the Donghui Kingdom.”

After learning this information, Fiora prepared to reconsider how she would display her level of strength.

“Now, let’s proceed with the mage rank assessment.”
“Those present, come forward and test your amount of magic power first.”

The Grand Sage tapped the ground with his staff.
His resonant, magic-infused voice spread to every corner.

A crystal pillar rose from the ground, marked with rows of squares.
An assistant from the Mage’s Guild beckoned for everyone to line up.

Since Fiora was not the only one taking the test, there were other mages as well.
Under the direction of the Mage’s Guild staff, they lined up one by one to take the magic capacity test.
They channeled their magic power into the crystal pillar with all their might.
The notches on the pillar lit up one by one, and the capacity level was judged by the number of squares filled.

Roland’s test result was Transcendent, a level above High.
When the crowd saw this result, they couldn’t help but let out exclamations of amazement.
Even the Grand Sage couldn’t help but praise her a few times.

Then it was Fiora’s turn.
Leon gave her a quick instruction, “Don’t make it too low,” and then let her go.

“Oho, a little mage who hasn’t even reached adulthood dares to participate in the elite test?” The staff member saw her and thought it was quite amusing.
“Little sister, how old are you?”

“Can we start?”

“You can, but—be careful, little sister.”
“This thing has been malfunctioning a bit recently.”
“If you’re unlucky, the test crystal might explode, you know~” the staff member continued to ramble.

Fiora didn’t want to bother with him and instead analyzed the situation.

Leon ≈ Roland > Dragon Form Fiora > Human Form Fiora.

Since Roland’s magic power is only at the Transcendent level, if I go all out now, I should be around High level, right?
Alright, I’ll do that then.

After finishing her calculations, Fiora, who had no common sense about her own strength, channeled her magic power into the test crystal with all her might.