It was already noon. Aeon had been trying to study the new concepts that he learned but wasn't really making any sort of progress. Although Aeon was a bit disappointed, he easily accepted it. The expected requirement was to be a C-ranked mage. And he wasn't one just yet.
Yesterday, he was given the opportunity to identify his current rank. He did so by dishing out D-ranked spells one after another without rest. Aeon persevered to reach 30, the minimum requirement to be considered a C-ranked mage, but in the end, he ran out of magic and passed out after the 23rd spell.
Aeon was let down. But in reality, the result was very good. Even the emperor was surprised. They determined that he was a Mid D-ranked mage. Almost peak.
Mid D-rank!
If his classmates in Fria Academy knew about this, it would probably cause a commotion. No… even the staff would be shocked for sure because they all knew that Aeon hadn't awakened his element yet eight months ago. Therefore, it only happened during that window.
Reach Mid D-rank in eight months or less starting from nothing?
Impossible!
The average mage usually takes 7 or 8 years to achieve that.
But that's what really happened. Aeon didn't make too much of a fuss about it either since he knew what he's been through. He attributed his fast progression to that.
He just went on about studying.
In total, Aeon learned three new concepts.
….
The first concept is the concept of Spell Shields. Training a mage's magic constitution would eventually lead to creating a natural magic barrier around the user. This is the spell shield.
Magic originates from the body of a mage. Usually, when the mage reaches C-rank, his or her magic constitution would evolve. It would then start releasing magic around the user. However, the nature of this magic is quite different. Instead of manifesting something, it breaks other magic down. So basically, it weakens incoming spells.
The spell shield manifesting is a natural occurrence after reaching a certain level. Mages do not need to learn how to create their own. But one needed to feel it in order to start learning how to reshape it.
The second concept is the concept of Property Changing. Magic could allow elements to transcend their natural forms, giving them extra properties.
In a way, this is similar to how the Melbarks could solidify Fire, or the Samos being able to make their spells explosive. However, those were different cases because they could do it even without reaching a certain level.
Property Changing is also something that is comparable to some Magic-enhancing Tenro. However, because people with Tenros could also perform Property Change, they were described as two different concepts.
The best example of this, to Aeon, is the principal's Obsidian Magic.
This concept was weird for Aeon. How can he change his lightning's property? Even his father only used his default white lightning he awakened to. Does he only have yellow and blue lightning as his choices for property changing? If that was the case, wasn't lightning sucky compared to earth?
Aeon shrugged.
The third concept is the concept of Magic Introspection. This is the best way to assess the state of your magic constitution.
It gives you the ability to know your constitution even more. It allows you to see how large your magic reservoir is. It allows you to see how much your reservoir is filled. It allows you to see how your constitution is formed and infer what type of spells would suit you better.
Among the three, this is the most important.
Moreover, this is the concept that allowed the study of Tenros. Although it wasn't as successful due to how unique each and every Tenro is, it still helped quite a lot.
….
Aeon sighed. No matter what he did, he couldn't feel the three concepts yet.
Screw that old man for giving me hope!
In reality, according to the Emperor, a mage doesn't really need to reach "exactly" C-rank before being able to use these concepts. To begin with, there weren't even ranks. It was they who created it. And it was they who used the Lower C-rank as a milestone to identify which mages could start learning the advanced magic concepts.
In truth, there are some Low C-ranked mages who couldn't feel these concepts. And on the other hand, there are some peak D-ranked mages who could.
Basically, the minimum requirement still varies. But the average for sure is Low C-rank.
Hearing this, Aeon was naturally ecstatic. He was near Peak D-rank. Who's to say that he couldn't practice them just yet?
Unfortunately, reality put Aeon down.
He stayed up all night to do everything he could to "feel" those concepts, but he failed. He ended up sitting on his butt doing nothing for an entire night.
Maybe I should just study the dual sword manual that uncle gave me, Aeon thought. He looked at the thick book by the corner of his table with the title, Swords of the East and the West.
But before that, I need to get some sleep.
Aeon exited the study that previously belonged to his father. As he breathed in the fresh air of the room, he realized that there was quite a ruckus going on outside. So instead of heading towards the bed to sleep, Aeon went out to checks.
There, he saw lots of people gossiping. Some, screaming. As Aeon turned his head to check the other areas, he saw his neighbor with a worried expression. Seeing her, Aeon couldn't help asking. "Madam, what's this all about?"
The middle-aged lady turned towards Aeon, her expression still full of worry. She then said, "Ah, Aeon. There are rumors spreading around that the army sent to Cresselia Town lost a lot of people."
Hearing this, Aeon was surprised. His uncle reassured him yesterday that the number of people sent was more than double the forces stationed in Cresselia town. Considering this, if the losses are not absolutely zero, then it should be minimal.
"About how many?" Aeon asked out of curiosity.
"Almost... 2000," the lady answered, her lips trembling.
Two thousand?! I thought the enemies only had an estimated number of 1200? This was thoroughly scouted too. Did the enemies perhaps anticipate their attack?
When fighting a war against enemies with a lower number, except if the opposing side had an absolute advantage with the terrain, even a 1:1 exchange ratio was already considered bad. So the loss this time was extremely devastating. No wonder it caused a panic.
Since the enemies did not have the terrain advantage, then having such losses could only mean that they had superior fighting capabilities.
Aeon's eyebrows furrowed…
This was more troublesome than he originally thought. He had to find out the details. For sure, a report had already been sent to the palace if even the citizens caught wind of it.
Aeon dropped his plans of sleeping and instead rushed towards the palace.
….
The area outside Fermin Town's southern wall was rowdier than the inside.
The word about the severe losses of the army was already spread throughout the empire, and the locals were not happy about it.
Due to the frustrations of the citizens of Fermin town, they directed their anger towards the refugees. All sorts of accusations were thrown towards the mages.
Giving false information!
Hiding information!
Leaking information about the attack!
…
Plenty of normal citizens fearlessly barged into the refugee site to cause a ruckus. Although they couldn't hurt anyone, they went about causing damage to any items their eyes could see. They toppled cauldrons that the refugees were using to cook their food, kicked bonfires, tore tents…
They did all these while the mages were staring at them with anger and hate. They couldn't fight back. They won't. Except for the fact that their citizens were living under Fermin Town's care, they actually owe them a lot more.
Was this how fragile their acceptance towards the Florentinians was?
They knew the losses were great, but why are they to blame? Why would they ravage their properties?
The rampage of Fermin Town's citizens started from late morning until mid-afternoon. The damage done to the site was truly unsightly. Fortunately, they were able to protect Toran Fiore's tent and the storage tent.
Countless people sighed from the event. The following nights would surely be cold with their tents peppered with holes.
….
"Don't worry everyone! We merely lost a meal's worth of food. The tents, we could easily patch up," Klaus Lorenheim said to appease the crowd. He was the one who prevented the former academy students from fighting back, an extremely tough task. The impulse of youth was truly hard to contain, Klaus thought.
Many of the students could not understand why the other mages would not fight back or at least defend their tents. Why would they only watch?
When it was explained to them that they were holding back for the sake of their families kept safe inside Fermin Town, they were all silenced.
Those who were not locals of Sera City began to think of their own families.
It had been a year since they last saw their own families. It had been five months since they accepted that they were gone. If they were able to escape with them to Meredith Empire and were kept inside Fermin Town, would they have behaved the same way as the adults?
Almost all of them thought so.
….