The long journey across the wilderness, steep cliffs, and treacherous trade routes finally paid off. After weeks of traveling on foot with dwindling stamina and heightened vigilance, the wild landscape began to shift. The ancient trees slowly shrank, replaced by neatly paved white stone streets, towering stone fortress walls, and majestic spires piercing the cloud-filled sky in the distance.

Rian, now eleven years old, stood before a colossal gate forged of black iron, engraved with the emblem of a seven-branched star—the official symbol of Astrea Magic Academy, the most prestigious and elite institution of magic across the entire realm.

The academy’s grandeur was laid bare before his eyes. Beyond the iron gates lay a sprawling courtyard paved in white marble, a grand fountain featuring statues of legendary mages, and magnificent Gothic-style buildings where future spellcasters gathered. Yet, beneath that architectural beauty radiated a rigid, merciless social hierarchy.

The academy's front courtyard that day was packed with hundreds of children Rian’s age. Most of them wore luxurious silk robes embroidered with gold threads, carried crystal-studded magic wands, and were surrounded by personal servants or family bodyguards. They were the children of high-ranking nobles, dukes, and royal ministers who arrived in lavish carriages or on choice steeds.

Amidst this glittering sea of aristocratic children, Rian’s presence looked starkly out of place—and unwelcome.

Rian wore a worn, dark cloth cloak caked in the dust of his journey, carried no fancy magic staff, and lugged a simple, small pack. His appearance resembled a vagrant or a stray peasant boy who had wandered off course rather than a prospective student of an elite academy.

"Hey, look at that rustic brat! How on earth did trash from a backwater village manage to reach the gates of Astrea Academy?" a mocking laugh rang out loudly from a group of silver-haired noble children standing near the fountain.

"At most, he’s just a beggar trying to steal gold coins from the nobles. The gate guards must be completely brainless to let common filth breathe in this sacred sanctuary," scoffed another young aristocrat with an expression of utter disgust, eyeing Rian from head to toe as though he were a repulsive bug.

Those insults and condescending whispers flowed from all corners of the courtyard. The gate guards, clad in silver armor bearing the academy’s crest, cast cold glances at Rian, ready to drag him out should the boy dare step inside without permission.

Yet, Rian remained utterly unfazed. His face stayed blank, his gaze cold and vacant, as though those insults were nothing more than a passing wind blowing dust off his boots. Deep inside his body, his mana circulation spun calmly, stabilizing his emotions amid an environment reeking of fake arrogance.

Let them laugh, Rian thought coldly. In this world, hierarchy is determined by the power at the edge of your palm, not by gold threads on a cheap robe.

Right at that moment, a massive bronze bell tolled three times, echoing across every corner of the academy courtyard. The commotion and mocking laughter instantly subsided. The heavy doors of the main examination hall swung wide open, and a white-haired proctor in deep gray robes stepped out, carrying a long parchment scroll.

"Special commoner track and scholarship entrance exams are now open! All non-noble applicants, please enter testing room number three in an orderly fashion!" the proctor called out in a deep, authoritative voice.

The atmosphere among the commoner-track applicants suddenly grew tense. Unlike the nobles who entered via recommendations or political bribes, commoner applicants had to endure a notoriously discriminatory, brutal screening process boasting a failure rate of up to ninety percent—not uncommonly resulting in permanent physical disability due to energy surges during the test.

Rian stepped forward alongside dozens of other children from lower-class backgrounds. They entered a massive underground chamber whose walls were lined with faint blue runes of ancient warding. In the center of the room stood a magic artifact shaped like a black stone pillar with a transparent crystal orb the size of a human head resting atop it—the Mana Crystal Meter, the royal standard tool used to measure an individual's mana capacity and purity.

A burly academy proctor stood beside the crystal pillar with a bored expression, calling out participants' names one by one.

"Applicant number forty-two, step forward! Place your hand on the crystal orb and channel all the mana you possess!" the proctor commanded.

A ragged-haired boy in tattered clothes stepped forward with trembling hands. He placed his palm flat against the transparent orb and closed his eyes, forcing every ounce of internal energy to flow outward.

A weak glow!

The crystal orb emitted a dim white light, stopping at a low grade. The proctor jotted it down lazily on his parchment. "Capacity: Low. Purity: Poor. Fails academy standards. Cast him out!" Two guards immediately dragged the weeping boy out of the room.

Participant after participant stepped up, and nearly all of them failed completely. The academy's standards were deliberately set sky-high to weed out anyone deemed unworthy.

Until finally, the proctor called out the next sequence number.

"Applicant number eighty, Rian from Oakhaven. Step forward!"

Rian took a slow breath. He stepped out of the line with complete composure, his footsteps clinking softly against the cold stone floor of the room. Every pair of eyes in the hall—including several proctors watching from the upper balcony—gazed at him with undisguised contempt, recalling his ragged appearance.

Rian stopped right before the black stone pillar. He stared at the transparent crystal orb before him with a piercing gaze.

The royal standard measuring tool... let's see how well this vessel's capacity handles energy drawn from the forbidden grimoire, Rian thought.

He raised his right hand, then slowly pressed his palm directly against the surface of the transparent crystal orb.

The moment his skin made contact with the crystal glass, Rian slightly unsealed the mana circulation loop within his body, releasing a tiny fraction of the pure shadow energy he had trained with for years deep in the forest.

Silence reigned for a second.

The crystal orb, previously clear, suddenly flickered. The usual white light failed to appear; instead, the core of the crystal abruptly turned pitch black, swallowing all surrounding light in the blink of an eye.

The proctor, who had been standing with bored posture, instantly widened his eyes, leaping up from his chair in sudden shock.

Creak... creak... crack!

The sound of fine fracturing echoed sharply through the quiet room. Branching crack lines rapidly spread across the entire surface of the crystal orb within seconds, emitting an intensely dense energy vibration that pressed down on everyone in the room, making it difficult to breathe.

Before the proctor could shout a warning, the capacity-measuring crystal orb shattered into a million pieces with a loud blast, showering the room's floor with sharp glass shards shimmering in the dark.