What the hell is that bratdoing?!" Headmaster Johnny's furious voice echoed through the academy's tree-lined paths. "I can't reach him on the crystal orb, and his Azure Source badge isn't showing his location. If it weren't for the tower's surveillance, I'd think he'd died!"
He was heading to Kai's residence with Official Mage Irene and another male Mage. Irene wore a faint, amused smirk—she was about to watch Kai get into trouble. It had been three or four years since she'd last seen him. For a Mage with a lifespan of hundreds, even thousands of years, that was nothing. But for an apprentice, disappearing for years was rare.
Irene had once taken a liking to Kai and planned to give him private lessons on advanced fire-element magic before the Regional Tower Academy War. It would be a shame if such a promising apprentice died in the war. But to her shock, she'd lost track of him entirely for years—no response on the crystal orb or badge. Since they weren't close, she'd eventually forgotten about it.
Their sudden visit to Kai's dorm was triggered by his repeated absences from mandatory pre-war training sessions. The tower had summoned all Senior Apprentices and above to a special classroom for war briefings. Lower-tier apprentices would also participate, but they were essentially cannon fodder. Only Senior Apprentices and above were seen as potential stars—the ones who'd bring glory to the tower.
Johnny was humiliated: Kai, a Senior Apprentice, had skipped days of training! Senior Apprentices were rare at Azure Source, even with recent promotions. Each was a documented talent; unless dead or in an unavoidable emergency, they were required to return to prepare for the war. Any apprentice who dodged the war would be expelled and punished.
Azure Source already ranked last in every war—embarrassing enough. If word got out that an apprentice was avoiding the fight, neighboring towers would laugh them out of the region.
The culprit was Johnny's own student—a Senior Apprentice he'd personally recommended years ago. No wonder he was livid. He'd expected a Mage like Midici to spot true talent—Kai shouldn't be a coward. But the tower's surveillance showed Kai hadn't been avoiding training on purpose; he'd literally stayed in his dorm for years. Both Johnny and Irene were now burning with curiosity.
Kai's residence looked much the same as years before—just more rundown, with layers of dust and neglect. Only the stone path to the door seemed maintained, proof someone still lived there.
Irene, who knew a bit about Kai's life, teased Johnny: "I heard Kai moved in with a female apprentice—his cousin, actually."
Her words only made Johnny angrier. Had Kai been holed up with a woman for years? A vein bulged on his forehead. The Level 2 Mage unleashed a sonic spell, shouting, "Kai! You little bastard—get out here!"
The sonic wave shook the house and surrounding trees. Irene covered her ears, grinning in schadenfreude.
Instead of Kai appearing, a violent explosion rocked the house. Thick black smoke billowed out, and coughing sounds followed. Soon, two soot-covered figures stumbled out: Kai, tall and disheveled, and Serena, his shorter cousin, who'd been caught in the blast.
Kai's face was blackened, his robes tattered, and his beard was a wild, unkempt mess. He looked utterly unkempt. Yet despite the interruption and the destroyed lab, his expression wasn't angry—just faintly excited.
He was annoyed, of course, but he couldn't vent at Johnny and the others. Johnny noticed the odd excitement and muttered, "Did the explosion knock him stupid?"
"Are youkiddingme? The Regional War is starting soon—what have you been doing?" Johnny demanded.
"Wait… it's starting soon?" Kai, still dazed and messy, asked in surprise.
Johnny rubbed his temples. Strangely, he wasn't as angry anymore. He saw a glimmer of his younger self in Kai—obsessed with a single experiment for years. But Johnny had been a full Mage then; it was rare for an apprentice to get this consumed.
Most Level 1+ Mages in the wizarding world had similar stories. To reach Level 1+, a caster needed a deep understanding of magical truths. With their extended lifespans after reaching Level 1, years of research were trivial. Johnny himself had once spent 56 years on a single experiment, leading to his breakthrough in Elemental Avatar magic and promotion to Level 2.
"You're an Archapprentice now?" Johnny studied Kai for a moment, then asked.
"Uh… yes," Kai replied, still distracted by thoughts of his Sun Eye Mask and the impending war.
Johnny glared at the absent-minded apprentice. "Don't skip tomorrow's briefing! And try to get a good rank—don't die out there, got it?"
He'd intended to slap Kai to snap him out of it, but seeing his soot-covered state, he stopped. Kai quickly agreed. Though their interactions were rare, Johnny clearly cared about him.
Once Johnny confirmed Kai was unharmed, he left, followed by the other Mages. Before departing, Irene shot Kai a teasing grimace—probably amused by his disheveled look.
After they left, Kai turned to survey his smoking house. This was far from his first lab explosion at Azure Source. Without servants to clean up, he and Serena had to handle it themselves. With magic, though, tidying up didn't take long.
Back in the lab, he ignored the debris and went straight to the workbench. Most equipment was destroyed, but the sturdy bench itself held. Amid the wreckage, a golden glow caught his eye.
A pale golden mask sat there, its edges etched with faint fire-element runes, giving it an air of nobility and mystery. Six clear light-element crystals were embedded in its center and sides, resembling strange eyes from afar. This was the pinnacle of his three-year labor—a top-tier magical artifact,beyondapprentice-tier, reaching the level of official Mage artifacts. For an apprentice like Kai, it was nothing short of a miracle.
"Regional Tower Academy War, huh?" he mused, running a finger over the mask.
The next day, cleaned up and presentable, Kai arrived at the central academy hall on time. The classroom was packed with over a hundred Senior Apprentices and above—the most high-tier apprentices he'd ever seen in one place. He even spotted Mark, his old rival. Mark was still a Senior Apprentice, having fallen out of the top 20 a year ago. As the war approached, Azure Source's veteran apprentices and rising stars had surged, filling the top 20 with Archapprentices.
Kai also noticed several elderly apprentices, their auras all at the Archapprentice tier. Their age alone suggested they'd pushed their mental power and magic to the limit. Many had fought in the last war…
"Today, we'll review the war's rules and what to watch for once you enter the trial space," an Official Mage announced from the podium.
Kai had long been curious about the war. As the Mage explained, the Regional Tower Academy War was a trial held periodically between neighboring towers in the same region—a showcase to select the wizarding world's finest talent. It mattered for tower prestige and apprentice training, but more importantly, it was a cornerstone of wizarding civilization, a way to prepare for planar wars.
No one knew exactly how old the tradition was, but it was vital to ensure wizards weren't killed by primitive, weaker beings from other planes. It was, in essence, an internal training ground—mirroring the "Kingdom War Program" for knights, two key methods to nurture talent below Level 1.
Azure Source's territory, the Green Source Region, was tiny compared to the wizarding world's vast expanse. It wasn't even considered a "region" on its own. It shared its war group with four other towers: Shadow Tower, Whisper Tower, Earth College Tower, and Tower.
Earth College Tower was the strongest, with an 80,000-year history. Tower, though younger at 50,000 years, was rising fast—nearly overtaking Earth College in the last war. Shadow and Whisper Towers were evenly matched, but both dwarfed Azure Source.
To Kai, the "pre-war training" felt less like preparation and more like the Azure Source Mages teaching their apprentices how to hide, claim low-risk resources, and avoid being ganged up on by other towers. It was a last resort—Azure Source's weakness forced them into this. Without such tactics, they'd surely finish last again.
During the training, Kai learned the war's mechanics. It took place in a specially created space sealed by an elemental barrier—no entry or exit. Apprentices earned points by capturing resource nodes, defeating apprentices from other towers, and killing otherworldly creatures the towers had planted there. It was a simplified version of planar war.
A strict rule: no infighting among apprentices from the same tower—mirroring the wizarding world's prohibition against attacking one's own kind in planar wars. The Mages also stressed the importance of protecting their tower badges. Before entering, each apprentice's badge was enchanted with a Gravitational Shield, strong enough to withstand a full Mage's attack. Activating it would teleport them out, but they'd forfeit half their points to their attacker.
The Mages' message was clear: be smart, don't be reckless. Use the shield to escape if needed. Azure Source clearly valued its apprentices' lives—after the last war's nearly 40% casualty rate enraged the Tower Lord, the Mages and Deans had grown far more cautious.
Last time, Azure Source had suffered partly due to Shadow and Towers targeting them, but also because the tower's leaders had grown desperate after three losses, pushing apprentices into unwinnable fights. This year, Kai and his peers were lucky—the tower had switched to a defensive strategy, aiming for fourth place (held by Whisper Tower last time, the only tower that didn't treat Azure Source like prey).
Kai had already decided: once the war started, he'd split from the Azure Source group and act alone. He preferred solo combat, and following the tower's passive strategy would never let him gain enough points.
Each point equaled a mid-tier energy crystal; ten points, a high-tier one. Apprentices started with points based on their tier: 1 for Junior, 10 for Mid, 100 for Senior. With nearly 10,000 Azure Source apprentices and more from other towers, targeting enemy apprentices alone promised huge rewards—let alone the high-point otherworldly creatures.
Kai aimed higher: top 20 in total points. The top 20 earned resources and potions that boosted the chance of becoming a Mage by 70%. The higher the rank, the better the rewards.
Over the years, while focusing on alchemy, Kai's mental power and magic had still grown:
Mental Power: 81Magic Power: 79Constitution: 21
A ten-point increase in mental power in just a few years wasn't due to raw talent—it came naturally as he broke knowledge barriers and expanded his understanding through alchemy and magic research. Unlike apprentices who meditated endlessly, this was the true path of a Mage's growth.