Allen blinked, quickly organizing his words before slowly delivering the explanation he had long prepared. "Headmaster Augustine, it's like this…"

  "When the academy previously held the magic aptitude test, I tested with no elemental affinity at all. I thought I would be advised to withdraw from the academy."

  "Fortunately, Mentor Eleanor did not abandon me and took me in as her apprentice. But I know my own talent is poor, and I did not want to keep taking up Mentor's time or disappoint her expectations."

  "So I went alone to the academy's Arcane Library, found a few magic tomes that no one ever touched, and began to explore and study on my own. Then, somehow, I advanced to Intermediate Mage."

  Allen slightly clenched his fingers and continued, "But I am dull by nature. I once happened to hear Mentor mention that even Evelyn took nearly a year to advance from Junior Mage to Intermediate Mage."

  "I could not believe I had advanced so quickly. I felt extremely uneasy, always thinking that something must have gone wrong in the construction of my magic circuits or that I had misaligned my mana pathways."

  "Mentor warned me many times to proceed step by step and never be greedy for quick progress.

  But in my impatience, I went behind her back and secretly read through the complete set of Intermediate Mage spellbooks, skipping many of the foundational steps."

  "Although the mana fluctuations in my body reached the level of an Intermediate Mage, I had never undergone systematic magic training before and was not even proficient in basic elemental control, so I did not dare to confirm whether I had truly advanced."

  "I dared even less to report this to Mentor, fearing she would scold me for being reckless, so I kept myself at the level of a Fourth-tier Magic Apprentice."

  As Headmaster Augustine listened, the doubt in his eyes gradually faded. "So that's how it is."

  "How could you have no talent? Logically speaking, being able to advance to Intermediate Mage through self study alone shows that you have quite good talent."

  The headmaster paused, his tone tinged with emotion. "Most people in this world spend their entire lives studying magic and still may never reach Intermediate Mage. For you to achieve this already puts you far above the ordinary."

  "I just examined your magic circuits. This mana of an Intermediate Mage is real. It cannot be faked, so you do not need to worry too much."

  With the expectations of an elder toward a younger generation, Augustine asked, "From Magic Apprentice to Intermediate Mage, how long did it take you in total?"

  Allen gritted his teeth and said, "Five days…"

  He had already compromised on the time. In reality, it only took him half a day to advance from Magic Apprentice to Intermediate Mage, but that was because he had the habit of reading every word carefully when going through the tomes.

  Augustine casually nodded, his attention focused on thinking about how to cultivate Allen. He misheard for a moment and said with slight disappointment:

  "Five years, huh. That's some talent. Diligence can make up for lack of ability, which is commendable, but compared to Evelyn, you still fall short."

  "Even though you did not have a Mentor guiding you the whole way, this speed is already worthy of recognition. But the path of magic most fears impatience. In the future, you still need to calm down and solidify your foundation…"

  The headmaster went on with his advice, completely unaware of the strange look on Allen's face.

  Allen secretly raised his eyes, glanced at the headmaster who was talking to himself with a face full of expectation, and could not help but quietly correct him:

  "Headmaster, not five years. Five days."

  Augustine froze in an instant, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints, his voice torn with shock. "Five days?"

  "You mastered the complete magic circuits of an Intermediate Mage in just five days, starting from Magic Apprentice?"

  The shock was no small matter. Augustine stammered as he pressed on, "You… you are not lying to me, are you?"

  "You really only spent five days to complete a magical advancement that takes others years to achieve?"

  Allen was so startled by the headmaster's nearly frenzied reaction that he took a step back, his back unconsciously tensing as he muttered to himself, Could this old man be planning to use me as a test subject?

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  He had already deliberately exaggerated the time. He had only entered Radiant Magic Academy a month ago.

  His climb to the top of the Holy Demon Prison Tower had already exposed him. If he acted too mediocre, it would raise suspicion.

  But he had not expected that even saying five days would still exceed the headmaster's limit of comprehension.

  "Headmaster, it really was five days." Allen forced out a shy smile, his tone carrying just the right amount of unease.

  "I have not been in the academy for long. Before this, by sheer coincidence, I obtained a fragmentary magic tome and could only learn up to Third tier Magic Apprentice. After that, I had no idea how to improve further.

  "After entering the academy, I read the complete tomes in the Arcane Library and tried to deduce the paths of mana circulation within them.

  I did not expect that, without realizing it, I would open my magic circuits and directly grasp the core magic of an Intermediate Mage."

  With an expression that was eager for knowledge yet slightly hesitant, he added, "These past few days, I have also wanted to go to the Arcane Library to look for Senior Mage spellbooks and try to learn more complex elemental control techniques.

  "But I worry that I am advancing too quickly, that my magical foundation is unstable, and that deviations in mana flow might even leave hidden injuries, so I have not dared to go."

  As he spoke, Allen raised his eyes to Augustine and asked, "Headmaster, can I continue to study higher level magic now?"

  Augustine still stared wide eyed, his mind blank, his understanding completely shattered by the fact of a five day advancement to Intermediate Mage.

  It was only when Allen's question sounded again that Augustine suddenly came back to himself.

  "You… what did you say?" he asked reflexively. He had not heard a single word of what Allen said after that shock.

  Allen sighed helplessly and repeated his question. "Headmaster, can I continue to study higher level magic now?"

  Augustine took a deep breath. Study. Study as much as you want. Who on this entire continent has talent as absurd as yours?

  Five days to reach Intermediate Mage. This was not merely outstanding talent. It was as if he were born in symbiosis with the laws of the elements.

  Such a gift was something he had never even heard of, not even in the legends of the first headmaster who founded Radiant Magic Academy.

  After calming his emotions for a long time, Augustine finally said in a low voice, "No. Absolutely not."

  "Your speed of magical advancement is far too fast. Forcing yourself to learn higher level magic will only cause your circuits to collapse."

  "It is fortunate that I discovered this in time. Otherwise, it would completely ruin your magical career."

  Allen looked at him with a face full of confusion, his eyes filled with puzzlement. "What is wrong, Headmaster? Why can I not continue learning? I feel that the mana in my body flows smoothly."

  Augustine explained, "Advancing from Intermediate Mage to Senior Mage is by no means something that can be achieved simply by mastering spellbooks.

  "This requires not only an enormous reserve of mana, but also a deep understanding of the laws of the elements, so that you can construct stable circuits capable of bearing high level magic."

  "But with your talent, it seems you can naturally resonate with the laws of the elements, skipping the process of comprehension altogether, and your mana flow shows no obstruction at all. Precisely because of this, you must slow down even more."

  "Magic circuits are like crystal conduits that carry mana. You advanced too quickly, and the conduits have not yet been tempered and hardened by mana.

  If you force high level mana into them and learn complex spells, the conduits will shatter, ultimately backfiring on you and causing you to completely lose the ability to cast magic."

  At this point, Augustine shifted his tone, his voice growing even more solemn. "However, the accumulation of mana and the tempering of your circuits are still indispensable."

  "Advancing from Intermediate Mage to Senior Mage is by no means merely a leap in rank. It is a qualitative elevation of the entire magic system, and a crucial step toward entering the ranks of top tier mages."

  "In the understanding of the magical world, all ranks before Senior Mage are only the foundation stones for building the grand hall of magic."

  "Only by truly mastering high level magic and constructing stable advanced circuits does one earn the right to climb toward Grand Archmage and even higher realms."

  "But it is precisely this step that has trapped countless people throughout the ages.

  So many gifted mages have spent their entire lives refining their mana and contemplating the laws, yet still struggle to break through the barrier between Intermediate and Senior."

  Augustine's voice dropped a little lower. "And yet, because of this, they remain at the Intermediate Mage stage long enough to accumulate vast amounts of pure mana, repeatedly temper their magic circuits, and make their foundations ever more solid.

  "The firmer the foundation you lay, the greater the power of the high level magic you can command after advancing, and the smoother your subsequent path of progression will be."

  "But you are different." He looked at Allen.

  "Your advancement is too fast. Your magic circuits have not yet undergone sufficient tempering by mana, and your mana reserves are far from adequate. If you rashly attempt to reach Senior Mage, you will be like drifting duckweed without roots."

  "Even if you succeed by sheer luck, your mana will be hollow and unstable.

  Not only will it be difficult to control high level spells, but any further attempt to advance will be extremely hard, and you may even suffer a backlash if your circuits cannot bear the mana."

  As Allen listened, he nodded again and again, an expression of sudden understanding appearing on his face, though inwardly he already knew.

  For him, a Demon King, mana and circuits were never a problem. But to hide his identity, he could only follow the headmaster's words and put on an innocent, bewildered look.

  "I understand, Headmaster. You mean I should first remain at the Intermediate Mage level, repeatedly temper myself and accumulate pure mana, and only then try to advance to Senior Mage?"

  Seeing this, Augustine revealed a satisfied smile and nodded repeatedly.

  "That's right. It is rare for you to grasp this. This is the most critical step on the path of magic. If you can calm yourself and do it well, with your talent, your future achievements will be limitless."

  "Wait here. I have something to give you." As Augustine spoke, he turned on his own and walked around behind a massive Crystal Obelisk.

  Curious, Allen followed him with his gaze and saw that the enormous Crystal Obelisk was covered in cracks.

  After a moment, Augustine emerged from behind it, holding a yellowed magic tome in his hands.

  The tome was ancient, yet carefully preserved. Its edges were worn, but there was not a trace of grime on it.