Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer

The Book of Infinity is a Cursed Magical Artifact.

The guy who entered the same room as Ashton and guided him through the process, knew about this the moment he laid eyes on the said artifact. This person had been working here for years now and he had seen this situation so many times already, that's why he isn't caught by surprise when this happened.

His eyes was instead fixated on the crystal on top of the podium as it is his duty to tabulate the results that will come out of that. The surprising part comes from that...

'...what is going on?'

The reading was a bonafide mess. Even with his tenure, he can't make sense of what's going on.

Typically, this crystal will read the student's mana and will show a Specialized Glyph which he then could analyze to discover what kind of Specialization a student has. That's the process and the one he's used to seeing.

What's happening at this very moment however, isn't something like that at all.

The crystal glowed brightly, flashing with different colors. Multiple glyphs appeared and disappeared in quick succession that the man can't get an accurate read out of them.

The longer he watched, the more it doesn't make sense since he could see several familiar glyphs, representing basic and rare Specializations, flickering in and out of existence. It's as if the crystal can't decide which one suits this student the most.

It had to be known that this crystal has been here for a while now. It has been used by many students and it never acted this way. The man's also certain that it's not malfunctioning since, part of his job is to provide maintenance to this crystal after each use. He's good at his job so he's confident that this isn't the fault of the crystal.

This is due to the student who's using it...

However, before he could say anything or even think about reporting about this to his superiors. The crystal flashed with a pure white light which almost blinded him.

It softened within a few seconds and when his vision adjusted, he saw that there's a single glyph being displayed on the crystal.

A crystalline, pure white glyphs, unblemished from any kind of dirt, impurities or corruption.

Now, this one is something he's familiar with.

Ashton also regained his consciousness at this point. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his Magical Artifact flew out of his body and is now floating in front of him, much to his surprise.

He also saw the glyph on the crystal but he doesn't know what it represents. Which prompted him to look at the man with him with a curious expression.

"What you see in front of you is a Specialized Glyph that represents something. The number of glyphs represents how many paths are open to you currently and the language that the Glyph spelled out represents what kind of Specialization you got." The man started explaining.

"...based on the results shown, you have a single path open to you currently. As for what this Glyph means, it is spells out the word; White."

"Young Man, you have the potential to become a formidable White Mage." He stated.

"Huh..." Ashton was surprised, he looked at the glyph in wonder and then back at the man. "May I know what White Mages do?"

"Sure, it's no big deal." The man shrugged, "White Mages are often referred to as 'Healers' but that doesn't mean they're completely stuck with just Healing Spells."

"See, White Mages specializes in 'White Magic' - a branch of Magic that deals with the preservation of life and purification of evil. It is also one of the Principal Constructs that keeps the balance of out world."

"It is said that the Last Bastion was once an inhabitable land for Humans and that, it is White Magic that purified it and kept it this way, allowing us shelter and protection."

"You'll learn more about White Magic as you continue your studies here. For now, I ask you, do you intend on pursuing the Path of White Magic?"

Ashton didn't reply at first. He submerged on his own thoughts since this will be an important decision.

'So I have and affinity for the Support Class huh? And it looks like it's the only one.'

'It doesn't sound bad...' he thought to himself, 'It fits my personality and style. Plus it also somehow harmonizes with my curse. I'm guessing that White Magic doesn't really focus on hurting people. My curse somehow prevents me from hurting people as well so it works just fine.'

'Plus, with my System. It shouldn't be hard for me to do my job properly if it's just for providing support. Yeah, I think I can work with this for now. This might chance in the future but I'll let future me decide what to with that.'

He took a deep breath and looked at the man, before he agreed though, there's something he wants to know first...

"Did this have anything to do with the results?" Ashton pointed at his cursed magical artifact.

The man was at a lost for a brief moment. In the end, he sighed and said: "To tell you the truth, I have no idea."

"Curses isn't really my specialty. But I have seen many kinds of Cursed Magical Artifacts and Cursed Physiques in my time working here."

"I'd say yes if we're strictly talking about intervention. You see, the curse always rear their heads whenever the Specialization Assessment happens, that must mean something right? Why else would they come out if they don't without your consent for nothing?"

"But there's an irony in you." He said, "Curses fall into the category of Black Magic. But your result lead you to the path of White Magic, isn't this weird and mysterious?"

"Therefore, I can't really say if your curse tampered with your results or not. We can only leave it to speculation for now. If you want, you can ask a Professor to analyze it for you if you really want to know more."

"That, plus a chance of learning more about curses in general. I'd appreciate it if you can tell me some ways to do so."

"Well you have nothing to worry about then." The man replied, "Considering that you are a bearer of a Curse, it is most likely that you're already eligible to enroll to a Special Class for that. You should see the available subjects you can take tomorrow, your Class Advisor should show you that."

Ashton heaved a sigh of relief at that.

"Thanks. I'm tired of remaining ignorant about this curse." He said, "Oh and uh, yeah. I'll be studying White Magic."

"Good to hear. I'll add your name to the list. 'White Magic 101' is the name of the subject. You can choose your preferred time-slots tomorrow."

"Thank you." Ashton gave the man a curt nod.

"You're welcome. You can leave, I have to prepare the crystal for the next user. The people outside will take you home."

Ashton nodded once more stepped out of the room.

He coincidentally exited at the same time as Mary, Blake and Alice. Ashton noticed their expression and could vaguely guess the results.

Blake looked excited while Alice looked relieved. From their looks, it seems that they got what they wanted at least.

Mary looked lost. Which made Ashton unable to guess what happened. It is possible that she didn't get what she desired but it could also be because of another matter.

Maybe it'd be better if he asked her about it instead.

"How the tables have turned." He said softly upon reaching her side, "Now, you're the one who looks like you're plotting world domination."

"Shut up, I'm going through my emo phase."

"The what phase?"

"Emo phase." She repeated. "I'm like...so emo right now, you don't get it."

'I kinda do. I went through that phase back then too you know. Ugh, memories I could forget.'

"Why? What's wrong?" Alice looked visibly worried. She even held Mary's hand. Blake also looked serious.

"I didn't get the Red Mage." She replied.

"What!?" Blake and Alice looked shocked.

"Wait, I'm not finished." Mary interrupted them before they could ask more questions. "I meant to say, I didn't choose the Red Mage. It was there. Don't panic."

"Then what did you pick?" Alice asked.

"...Magic Archer." Mary visibly sagged after saying that.

"Bruh..." Blake whispered. Alice covered her mouth in shock.

Meanwhile, Ashton was confused. To him, Magic Archer sounds like a rare class. If that was within his options, he'd choose it in a heartbeat. He didn't understand why Mary was sad about this.

That being said, he didn't comment. He figured that this must be due to personal reasons and he's but a mere stranger so it would be inappropriate to pry further.

"It's fine. I can handle it. I'm old enough to make a decision for myself. For now, let's go home. I'm a bit tired."

Blake and Alice nodded. Mary looked at Ashton and smiled wryly at him. Ashton waved his hand, signaling that he doesn't mind.

It was then that the consultants gathered them around, told them some important things and casted a spell that sent them directly to their home.