Professor Pedro adjusted his glasses. "By the summer exams next year, reach the level of a Junior Mage."
The boy exaggeratedly gasped. "Whaaat? You're saying there are still an Apprentice Mage inside the academy?"
A round of unfriendly snickers immediately echoed throughout the room.
Elarion pursed his lips and shot a worried glance at Lee Kiwook.
A Junior Mage was a title usually granted to someone with around Level 5 mana, but the title wasn't awarded based on mana alone; it also required learning a sufficient number of spells.
Normally, children with magical aptitude had already learned several spells through various means by the time they reached the age of sixteen.
Even Elarion as a commoner had mastered more than ten Light Magic spells at the church.
If his mana increased a little more, he'd even be eligible to promote to Intermediate Mage.
However, Lee Kiwook's situation was a different story.
Although his full-level character brought with him have a mana reserve that rivaled an Archmage, he still only knew the default beginner spell Fireball, which essentially the equivalent of a basic attack.
As expected, he was likely to repeat the year.
After evaluating his situation, Lee Kiwook decisively raised his hand.
"What is it now?" Professor Pedro had no fondness for Lee Kiwook and his voice was as frosty as ever.
"I'd like to ask, what are the requirements for switching departments?" Lee Kiwook asked with a polite smile, his tone earnest.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the classroom fell into dead silence—then burst into raucous laughter.
"Did I hear that right? Switching department? Someone actually wants to switching department? Hahaha!"
"He doesn't seriously think he can level up more easily somewhere else, does he? Even the dumbest orc wouldn't be that delusional!"
"Silence!" Professor Pedro's expression grew even darker, and the look he gave Lee Kiwook could now only be described as one of pure disdain. His tone dripped with sarcasm. "You'd best focus on how to become a Junior Mage first."
The moment Lee Kiwook had spoken, he realized he had acted rashly. Unlocking the Alchemist skill had made him temporarily forget the setting of this world.
In this world, changing one's profession wasn't as simple or casual as it was on Earth. Due to the constraints of innate talents, switching professions was seen as a complete rejection of one's own birth and existence. It's just as absurd and laughable as saying one no longer wanted to be human.
Realizing his mistake, Lee Kiwook didn't argue further. He calmly admitted fault. "My apologies. I misspoke."
Professor Pedro ignored him after that. He briefly went over a few rules to remember within the Academy before dismissing the class. "That's all for today. Tomorrow's lesson will begin here when the bell rings."
With that, he walked out of the classroom without so much as a backward glance.
The moment his figure disappeared down the corridor, three noble boys in the class, who loved nothing more than stirring up trouble, swarmed over to Lee Kiwook with bright, innocent-looking malice on their faces.