NOVEL NEXT Chapter 294: I’m Completely Stunned
Heim Horn had been stagnating at the fourth-tier mage level for nearly a century.
The more powerful a mage's magic, the longer their lifespan tends to be.
Moreover, Heim Horn wasn't human, so his lifespan couldn't be measured by human standards.
Throughout these long years, Heim Horn had spent every day studying books and expanding his knowledge.
His talent was undoubtedly impressive, yet he never expected that Cocotte, that lazy elf, would reach fifth-tier mage before him!
Seeing Cocotte's smug expression made Heim Horn's teeth grind with frustration.
While his own failure was painful enough, a friend's success proved even more heart-wrenching.
Overflowing magical power gathered around Cocotte, as emerald magical light mixed with natural energy began to converge behind her back.
Several rings flashing with dazzling light spread outward, casting green fluorescence that reflected off the cream-colored marble.
The magical rings linked layer by layer, continuously overlapping behind Cocotte.
The surging magic seemed to gain consciousness on those rings, flowing in one direction.
Magic Rings - the materialization of a fifth-tier mage's power.
This meant that Cocotte Yade was currently the only fifth-tier existence in the Mage Council.
No, there was an even more ridiculous fact.
Cocotte wasn't even a council member anymore.
She was a former council member, now working as an employee of the Kravina family!
They couldn't even properly promote this fact within the council.
"How did you achieve this?" he asked, naturally referring to how Cocotte became a fifth-tier mage.
At this moment, Cocotte sat up straight on her cloud with her nose in the air, radiating pride.
She sat cross-legged, letting out several arrogant snorts.
"Of course it's due to my genius talent and persistent effort!"
"..."
Heim Horn fell silent, his face completely obscured by the phantom covering it, making his current expression unreadable.
As the Queen of Elves, Cocotte's talent was undeniable.
But when she mentioned persistent effort...
Did she even realize what she was saying?
Cocotte seemed to thoroughly enjoy Heim Horn's puzzled gaze.
Apparently, showing off in front of her former colleague brought her great satisfaction.
So she continued:
"Now hurry up and bring out those fifth-tier magic books you've been hoarding in the library."
Indeed, countless fifth-tier spells that no mage had ever seen before were stored in Endymion's magic library.
Heim Horn remembered clearly.
The founder of the City of Mages, Endymion.
He was the only legendary figure whom people called the "Grand Mage."
His magic was unfathomable, with each spell seeming to become part of his body.
With just a thought, he could summon mountain floods, molten lava, and mighty thunder.
Throughout the council's hundreds of years of history, this Grand Mage had left countless treasures for Endymion.
For example, the magic library.
He had transformed all the thousands or even tens of thousands of spells he had learned into knowledge and stored them in the magic library.
This included the Grand Mage's life's work.
From first-tier basic spells to everything he had learned upon becoming a fifth-tier mage.
In the entire history of the magical world, his contributions were enough to be remembered by mages worldwide.
However, no mage since had been able to achieve accomplishments like the Grand Mage.
"Most countries' lack of emphasis on mages has led to this phenomenon."
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Things were different in the Grand Mage's era.
His was the era of magic's rebirth.
Combining elements and magical power to form various elemental spells.
The mages of that generation were all pioneering new paths.
But now...
The number of people who wanted to become, or could become, mages was decreasing.
Because of the difficulty.
Becoming a mage was extremely challenging.
Both talent and effort were essential; neither could be lacking.
Just understanding magical structures was enough to drive magic students to despair.
Some people might never even touch the edges of magic in their entire lifetime.
Even if they successfully became mages, they might not necessarily persist on this path.
Because becoming a high-tier mage was even more difficult than becoming a mage in the first place.
Many mages had to overcome various difficult obstacles on their path to advancement.
If one only had talent but didn't put in the effort, they would ultimately be limited by lack of knowledge.
But without talent, one might spend their whole life in mediocrity.
This was why Rachel chose to establish the Magic Academy.
But even so, there were still too few people who wanted to become mages, inevitably.
Heim Horn looked at Cocotte, accepting the reality that she had become a fifth-tier mage.
At least Cocotte was still part of the Mage Council.
Heim Horn stopped dwelling on Cocotte and turned to look at Viktor, saying:
"Then let's first verify if your teaching assistant qualifies to join the council."
He was naturally referring to Henie behind Viktor.
Perhaps worried that Henie might be nervous, Heim Horn spoke reassuringly:
"Don't worry, this is just a formality."
Mages' moral standards were quite flexible,
After all, rules were made by people, and old mages knew how to be flexible.
If Henie had truly only been a mage for three months,
As long as she wasn't some absolutely unforgivable villain,
The council's doors would always be open to her.
Seeing that Henie had no objections, Heim Horn nodded and turned to Viktor:
"Let's go."
As he turned, several phantoms flickered from his body, gradually surrounding everyone.
Those phantoms gradually obscured the scene before them, and a strange pulling sensation enveloped their bodies.
Whoosh!
As a wave of illusion passed, everyone felt the ground beneath their feet seem to crack, becoming gradually empty.
When the haziness before their eyes gradually cleared, those phantoms began to withdraw from around them, returning to Heim Horn's side.
The ground beneath their feet began to feel real again, and in the blink of an eye, they had arrived before the magic library.
Two huge white marble doors gradually opened to both sides, and a heavy atmosphere rushed out, sweeping across everyone's faces.
Viktor raised his head to look at these familiar doors.
The Magic Library.
This was a place he had visited more than once.
He still remembered the days of gathering resources and earning money day and night,
All to learn every spell in the library.
To the point where he was overly familiar with the paths inside the library.
The doors opened, and the four entered the complex magic library.
As soon as they stepped in, they were hit by overwhelming chaotic magical power.
Like thousands of vines, they intertwined and entangled in this magical jungle.
Among those present, Henie was the weakest.
She was first blocked by this complex magical power, and couldn't help but close her eyes before entering.
At this moment, she truly felt the impact from within the library.
The magic library's paths were completely intricate and complex, with heavy books filling both upper and lower levels, and elegant bookshelves arranged regularly throughout the library,
Like two worlds completely turned over, making one dizzy.
Henie's eyes couldn't help but light up.
"This... this is incredible!"
She finally couldn't maintain her composure and exclaimed.
This place was like a world called "knowledge."
Seeing Henie's expression, Heim Horn said:
"You can freely browse the contents of the library."
Here, he paused:
"But remember, don't let yourself be confused by knowledge that's too advanced."
Mages cannot forcibly accept magic that clearly exceeds their understanding.
For example, a second-tier mage absolutely cannot forcibly learn fourth-tier magic.
"This magical knowledge will always be here, and once you become a member of the Mage Council, you can come here to reference and study anytime."
"So now, let's do something serious."
While leading the way, Heim Horn continued:
"The reason we conduct moral judgment and ruling for those joining the council..."
"Is because of rules established when Endymion was first founded."
"That is—"
As his words fell, the stairs around the magic library began to turn, extending into the sky in a twisted spiral.
And on those mysterious spiral stairs, a door appeared out of thin air.
The next second, everyone appeared in a new room.
The entire room was incredibly spacious, with white walls that appeared particularly bright.
In the entire room, there was only a golden scale placed on a table.
As a former council member, Cocotte was already used to this.
Lying on her cloud, she looked at the scale in the center.
"The Scale of Justice."
Heim Horn's voice sounded again.
Beside him, Henie stared at the golden scale with wide eyes.
Heim Horn seemed very satisfied with Henie's reaction, nodding with a smile.
"Of course, this is just a replica."
The original had long since disappeared.
If the original were to appear in the world, it would probably cause major problems.
Heim Horn turned to look at Henie, encouraging her:
"Miss Henie, try using it."
Everyone joining the Mage Council needed to go through this test to evaluate their morality,
The assessment was necessary.
Except for Viktor.
Heim Horn didn't dare test Viktor's morality.
Henie looked back at Viktor, seeming somewhat unsure.
But after seeing Viktor nod, she finally gathered her courage.
Henie stepped forward and reached out to touch the golden scale.
The moment Henie touched it, the scale began to tremble, and both sides of the trays began to sway.
A dagger lay quietly on the right tray, while a phantom feather made of Henie's magical power appeared on the left.
When the feather completely settled.
The entire scale didn't move at all.
It didn't even show the slightest inclination to tilt to either side.
This completely shocked Heim Horn.
He gaped, rubbing his eyes, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing.
What was going on?
How could the scale be so stable?
Could there really be such a pure and kind soul in the world?
This was exactly the moral standard the council needed.
Vega, standing on Viktor's shoulder, watched all this and found it quite reasonable.
After all, she was a pure-hearted succubus whose mind was filled only with studying and Viktor.
Heim Horn immediately became excited, his phantom body trembling slightly:
"Miss Henie, congratulations, you've passed the test."
"You can join the Mage Council anytime now."
Hearing Heim's evaluation, Henie felt somewhat embarrassed, bowed slightly to Heim, and said "Thank you."
Henie was very obedient, and would never embarrass her professor in public.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned to look at Viktor not far away and blurted out something that shocked everyone:
"Professor."
"Would you like to take the test too?"
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