Ascension Of The Failed Mage

"W-what?! Is he out of his mind?!" Lord Denzel shouted from his office.

Standing upright in the vast room, his eyes were wide open and his jaws were loosened from their tight grip.

More wrinkles appeared on his face as he stared at the Magic Window that floated in front of him.

Within its panel was the scene going on in the Foundation's Intermediate Class. It was both fantastic and unbelievable to watch and listen to, yet—

"Who approved of this?" The old man murmured.

As he watched Noir use Tier 6 Magic to transport the students, and now mentioning how he expected them to do the same, the Archmage felt a surge of shock roaring from within.

How could a lecturer demand such a thing from Tier 1 students? Even seasoned Mages hardly ever reached such a level.

'Noir Novo... what are you up to?!'

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"WHAAAAATTTTT?!" The students roared in shock.

Well, not all of them did.

Ciara was actually laughing hard when Noir mentioned his crazy objective. It wasn't that she doubted his words, though; it was the opposite.

Noir never lied. He definitely wouldn't joke about something as serious as this on his first day teaching.

Wasn't he the one who made her a Tier 2 Mage in an instant? He was also the one who transformed her into a Tier 3 Mage in a mere three months.

Ciara didn't doubt his abilities at all.

'Still... Tier 6 is a bit of leap, isn't it? What are you up to, Noir?'

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'Why are they all surprised? I thought I explained this pretty well.' Noir wondered to himself.

Wasn't it pretty straightforward?

All they had to do was know the Rune to use. If he provided them with the resources and supervised their Runecrafting, then there was no problem at all.

Why was everyone looking at him with such disbelief?

'Ah, I see...' Noir finally realized the problem.

It was their minds.

'They believe Tier 6 is a big deal. Some might have not even seen anyone use it before. It's understandable...'

After snapping his fingers and teleporting everyone here, Noir realized he might have shattered the perception of some of the students.

They had to be recoiling from the effects of his demonstration. Plus, their current thoughts on Magic was shackling them from realizing the possibilities that existed within it.

"Before Magic advanced to this point, how do you reckon our ancestors practiced it?"

Noir's voice silenced the rowdy murmurs made by the students.

"Before the classification of Magic into Types, or into Tiers; before there existed concepts like Runes or Spells... what do you think they used?"

The students fell silent. They didn't know how to respond.

A lot of information had been lost in the age of war many years past, and only a few even had access to the grand history of Magic.

Sure, Institute taught them l about the evolution of Magic, but nothing they knew dated that far.

"I can't speak for them, but I can at least say one thing. One thing you should all understand."

Curious stares greeted the young lecturer. In turn, his gaze rested on each student one by one. It felt like he was staring at all of them, individually, at the same time.

"The founders and developers of Magic... were willing to learn. They understood that they couldn't be shackled by their perception of the world. Thus, they let go of all their presuppositions and assumptions. Instead, they clung to the endless pursuit of knowledge."

If those in the past hadn't done so, then what kind of development would Magic have experienced? The answer was clear, wasn't it?

NOTHING!

"Without keeping an open mind and exploring the impossible... there can be no advancement in something as supernatural as Magic."

Everyone's eyes bulged. Their jaws were loosened. Their bodies twitched.

Noir had just shared something revelationary. It brought them out of the slump of their assumptions and affected their fundamental perceptions of the nature of Magic.

"Stop restricting yourself by viewing Magic as something so linear and compartmentalized. Magic is free... and you should be too."

In essence, the types and levels of Magic were simply used to define and objectify the art. It was useful in identifying the known aspects of Magic. However, what happened to the knowledge they had no knowledge of?

Was there no possibility that Magic of a higher Tier existed? Couldn't there be methods in which one's Mana wouldn't necessarily translate to the Magic they could control?

'I know these to be true...' Noir thought to himself.

Higher categories of Magic existed.

Bloodline Magic was an example of how a Mage's Mana Pool didn't translate to their ability to utilize something so complex.

'These students need to understand that.'

"There's nothing that can't be done with Magic. You just need to know how." And with that, Noir concluded his little rousing speech.

Decorum followed his conclusion, and for a while, the students could do nothing but gawk at him. Why?

"I... I've never thought of that before."

"A-amazing..."

"H-he's so cool..."

Most of them still hadn't abandoned the restrictive notion of Magic that pervaded their entire education and upbringing, but they felt eager to explore it—the kind of Magic that their instructor was referring to.

They wanted the ability to transcend the capabilties they were stuck with. They, as Tier 1 students, desired to reach the level of masters.

One after the other, the flames in their eyes ignited, matching the deep yearning for the extraordinary that drove them to become Mages.

"I... I want to learn!" Finally, one student spoke up.

Her shrill voice got the attention of everyone. It was Mia—the girl who had been silent in class since she resumed from her suspension.

However, at this point, no one saw her as the horrid bully that she was. No, they were too occupied with Noir's rousing words that they didn't realize when they all began nodding in agreement—agreeing with Mia's position.

"M-me too!"

"I want to try Tier 6!"

"I want to do it!"

"Let me try!"

It was amazing how the students altered their position on their limitations. In a flash, they were all raring to go. This sight caused a strange sensation to swirl within Noir.

'I'm happy...?' He asked himself.

Watching how the kids scrambled for attention, and how they were so excited to do something as mundane as grafting a Tier 6 Rune, made his heart race in excitement. Suddenly, he found himself also desiring to show them.

"Very well, then." Noir nodded, snapping his fingers once again.

Instantly, a good number of jewel-like crystals appeared all around him. They floated, suspended in the air with him at the center.

"These are forty-one Mana Crystals—all of excellent quality. They will be adequate for our exercise today."

The students watched the gleaming crystals with delight. They could also feel the concentration of energy each one possessed. Each crystal had more Mana than they could even comprehend, thus showing them the extent they needed to go before using higher Tier Magic without assistance.

"Spread out, everyone. I'll be distributing the Mana Crystals now."

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After ensuring each student had enough room for crafting a rune, Noir handed the Mana Crystals to them. Afterwards, he taught them the kind of Rune he would be teaching them. To their surprise...

"The teleportation Rune. You'll be grafting it yourself. Of course, I'll simplify the formula, and you'll use the Mana Crystals as fuel for making it and activating the Magic itself."

All they had to do was inscribe the Rune, as well as channel the Mana within their respective Crystals to the surface. They also had to cater to certain command functions—like the range of the teleportation's effects, and the location they wanted to be teleported to.

"Since it's too dangerous to teleport yourselves, we'll be transporting objects. You can use anything of choice."

Once the students were done with the inscriptions, they began pulling off their shoes—some, their shirts—to see the success of their experiments. The boys obviously relied on the more daring approach, but Noir drew the line when one of them attempted to pull off his pants.

Still, there was no lack of the kind of resources they could utilize to test out their results. The true question was... would it succeed?

And the answer?

"H-holy crap!"

"It worked!"

"M-my shoe! It got transported ten meters away from me!"

It was amazing—thrilling even—to see their objects change location from their initial positions to the assigned destination.

Orange glows filled the massive hall, and the voices of the students echoed loudly. They sounded genuinely happy, and a true passion for Magic within them ignited. Some even eanted to try again, but as per Noir's words, the Mana Crystals could only sponsor one use each.

Still... what were they supposed to do with this newfound energy surging within them?

"C-can we go again?"

"You think we can go higher? Maybe use Tier 8... or Tier 9 Magic?"

"Tier 9? Are you insane?"

"Remember what Mr. Novo said. We shouldn't restrict ourselves to our common perceptions!"

"Let's try one more time, please!"