Arcane Innovator

The day I had been waiting for so long was finally here. In just a few hours, the talent measuring ceremony will take place in the Great Hall of the Outer Fortress.

I woke up early in the morning with nervous anticipation coursing through my body, feeling both thrilled and terrified at the same time.

I knew that no matter how today went, my life would never be the same afterward. I stood for a long time before the mirror, adjusting my looks as I wore my best clothes. There would be a lot of important people attending, not to mention the Court wizard himself, so I needed to look the part.

After a small breakfast, I made my way through the bustling streets of Ereneth toward the center of the city, where the ceremony will take place. I tried to contain my growing excitement the whole time and maintain a somewhat dignified image.

Before long, I was nearing the grand entrance to the Fortress, looking at its majestic walls illuminated by the rising sun. There weren't that many people here this early, so I had no problems getting inside.

I looked around, finding my way to the small plaza before the entrance to the Great Hall. Spotting a bench in a quiet corner, I sat there and observed the small crowd forming before me. Despite the ceremony still being at least an hour away, many people apparently had the same idea as me.

I saw a plethora of rich merchants and city officials dressed in opulent attire proudly parading their children who were about to undergo the measuring and boasting about their undeniable magical talents to their friends, coworkers, and everyone else who was willing to listen.

I also saw one family cowering on the side, which stood out from everyone else there. Based on their plain clothing and frightened expressions, I concluded they must be peasants from the countryside. The parents were in their thirties with worn-out faces, accompanied by a girl around my age who was nervously looking at everything with wide eyes, shyly hiding behind her mother's back.

As I knew that no village peasant would be able to afford the measuring fee on their own, that left only one possible explanation. The girl must have demonstrated her magic in public, meaning she has a very strong talent, thus receiving a summons to take the measurement.

'Poor girl...' I sighed, knowing what fate now awaits her. I too would find myself in a similar situation if not for my distrustful nature, thanks to which I kept my magic a secret for so long, not even telling my parents about it...

I was curious about how much essence the peasant girl had, so I focused and employed my magic sense, enveloping the whole plaza. Through its constant use, my magic sense has improved significantly over the years.

Not only was I able to sense essence from far away, but I was also able to detect even the faintest traces of magic if I was sufficiently close. So I was hopeful that I would be able to sense something from her.

And sure enough, I was able to detect a small sphere of essence shining gently somewhere in her chest. But then I scowled as I realized something. 'Hmm, that's weird...' I thought as I looked around the crowded plaza.

When I sensed other people's essence before, it always looked like a dim cloud moving chaotically around the body; it never looked like a shining sphere of light. 'Wait... does this mean she is like that because she has a talent for magic?' I pondered while I looked at the other children gathered there.

I scanned the whole plaza, and after a while, I discovered that a few of them had the sphere too. Although a lot smaller and dimmer than the girl. However, the majority had nothing but a few specks of essence floating around their bodies.

I sat there on the bench, pondering this new discovery. I never noticed any of this as I haven't been around any mages before, and for some reason, I couldn't detect my own magic, so I couldn't check if I had the same sphere or not.

'But if it is so easy to tell if someone has a talent or not, why do we need to undergo the measuring anyway? Couldn't the Court wizard just come out and check us to see if we have the sphere or not?'

Then the corners of my mouth started twitching as the truth hit me, and I had to try very hard not to burst out laughing. 'I was so dumb...'

It was indeed a very easy thing to do, so the only reason for not doing it and having to resort to a special artifact is that the Court wizard can't use the magic sense at all... And since he is one of the most powerful mages in the whole of Ereneth, second only to the Count de Santis himself, I'm probably the only one in the whole city who can use it...

Thus, I was never in any danger of being discovered, and all the extra steps I took for my protection were for nothing. 'Well, there is no reason to cry over spilled milk...' I thought as a mischievous grin slowly crept up on my face.

'This is a game-changer... I can now use my abilities a lot more freely within the city without any fear of being discovered...' I chuckled to myself.

However, this knowledge also brings out a lot more problems than it solves, and I need to carefully decide how to proceed from here.

The Measuring may seem like a simple affair, but it is much more complicated than that. As I had learned from Theo beforehand, there are, in fact, five tiers of magical talent one could have.

The first tier was called "Insignificant," which was probably what Theo had. People with such low talent weren't able to become mages and could only do auxiliary jobs like alchemy.

The next tier was called "Common" and was... well, common. The majority of people who were discovered to have talent were in this tier. They could become mages but were able to do only the most rudimentary spells, designating them to be, at best, Court wizards for less significant nobles.

The third tier was called "Significant," and most of the powerful nobles were of this tier. They were able to cast strong spells and could even become Master wizards, turning into honorable lecturers and researchers.

The fourth tier was called "Rare," and such a talent could be found only in about one in ten thousand people. It was also a type of talent where those who had it could sometimes manifest their powers on their own without needing to be measured in the first place.

And lastly, the final fifth tier was called "Legendary," and those with such talent were hailed as the greatest prodigies of the entire generation.

The problem with this system was that it was believed that the strength of one's talent was something decided at birth by the gods and couldn't be changed afterward. While I agree that talent itself is something a person is born with, the size of one's essence pool is not.

I know this because I was able to increase my own essence pool quite significantly over the years through training. 'Does this mean that nobody here knows about circulating and compressing your essence?' I thought with a puzzled face.

Not that I care if others squander their potential or not. But if my current train of thought is correct, that would bring all kinds of trouble on its own. Following the same logic, I should already be at the highest tier of talent possible, as I have painstakingly worked to slowly improve it over the years.

That would, of course, come with all sorts of unwanted attention directed my way if brought to light. I can't even imagine the kind of uproar it would cause if I turned out to have the fourth or fifth tier of magic talent. So I need to come up with a way to influence the results of the Measuring in my favor.

As I don't have a strong background, I don't want to become a plaything in the hands of the nobles. I want to choose my own path in life. I knew that for a wealthy commoner, having a magical talent was a golden ticket straight into nobility, but for poor peasants, it was something entirely different.

Those who demonstrated high enough magic talent were awarded a stipend, and the Count then paid the cost of their training from his own coffers. However, nothing here comes for free...

They have to then swear an oath to the Count, and they basically turn into his slaves. Forever bound in service to him and his family. They, of course, enjoy a much better life than most commoners do, but still...

'Such fate probably awaits that peasant girl over there too...' I thought somberly. Being lost in my thoughts, I almost failed to notice when the large doors leading into the Great Hall finally opened and the city's Herald, dressed in his ceremonial uniform, came out onto the plaza.

He noisily struck his staff several times on the marble floor covering the entrance to the hall. The ubiquitous chatter on the plaza instantly went silent as everyone turned their heads toward him. When he saw he had everyone's attention, he then loudly proclaimed in a somewhat haughty voice:

"By the grace of our liege lord, his exalted excellency, Count de Santis, and under the supervision of Sir Roderick, Court Wizard of Ereneth, the Magic Talent Measuring Ceremony shall now commence..."