I Entered Magic Academy With F-Rank Stats

Chapter 4 - SS-Rank Talent

Gareth looked at her with a hint of approval.

“Now that’s a much more useful question. The answer is yes. Potions, rituals, contracts, physical enhancement, and certain types of magic can extend a person’s lifespan. Those who reach a high enough level of power can even live far beyond the limits of ordinary humans.”

The mood in the hall shifted.

The fear was still there, but the idea of gaining additional years of life was difficult to ignore.

Evelyn raised another question.

“What about the Academy Credits and Merit Marks listed in our profiles?”

“Credits are tied to your academic progress and graduation requirements. Merit Marks are Blackthorn’s primary currency.”

Gareth paused briefly before continuing.

“Weapons, artifacts, potions, magical materials, training facilities, even ordinary money from the outside world can be obtained as long as you have enough Merit Marks.”

Ryan fell silent.

A few hours ago, his biggest problem had been losing his job.

Now, a mysterious academy was offering something even most billionaires couldn’t buy.

Power.

And a longer life.

Blackthorn suddenly sounded a lot more appealing.

Then the Sigil on the back of his hand grew warm again.

Ryan looked down.

None of the other candidates seemed to be experiencing the same thing.

[Secondary assessment completed.]

[Innate anomaly detected.]

[No matching record found in the Blackthorn Archives.]

[Initial Talent classification failed.]

Ryan kept his expression neutral, but his heartbeat began to quicken.

So there really had been another reason his assessment took more than thirty seconds.

[Innate effect identified: Learning efficiency for all abilities increased by 100%.]

Ryan immediately understood how valuable that was.

His starting attributes might be terrible, but if he could learn twice as fast as everyone else, that weakness didn’t have to last forever.

Then the next notification appeared.

And it was even more shocking.

[Active effect identified: User may copy one F-rank ability from a target for three minutes.]

[Innate Talents cannot be copied.]

[Cooldown: 7 days.]

[Talent possesses growth potential.]

Ryan glanced at Gareth.

The instructor was busy answering another candidate’s question and showed no reaction whatsoever.

Another message appeared.

[Talent has not been named.]

[As the first owner, you have been granted naming rights.]

Ryan only thought about it for a few seconds before making his decision.

'Universal Prodigy.'

[Name accepted: Universal Prodigy.]

[Universal Prodigy - Level 1.]

[Potential evaluation completed.]

[Talent Rank: SS.]

Ryan nearly failed to keep his face under control.

SS.

He still didn’t understand Blackthorn’s entire ranking system, but he didn’t need much context to know that SS had to be extremely high.

Another warning appeared immediately afterward.

[Warning: Information regarding Talents ranked S or higher is classified.]

[Access restricted to the Talent owner and the Headmaster of Blackthorn Arcane Academy.]

Ryan opened his profile again.

The section that had previously shown his Talent as undetected had changed.

﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣

[Talent]

Name: Universal Prodigy

Level: 1

Rank: SS

Passive Effect: Learning efficiency for all abilities +100%

Active Effect: Copy one F-rank ability from a target for 3 minutes

Restriction: Innate Talents cannot be copied

Cooldown: 7 days

Information Status: Classified

﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣

Ryan read through the panel one more time before closing it.

Everyone in the hall had just decided that he was the worst candidate in Group Seven.

Gareth had even compared his combat ability to a chicken.

For now, Ryan thought it would be better to let them keep believing that.

“Break time is over.”

Gareth walked toward the center of the hall and raised his wand.

“The assessment only shows where you’re starting from. Blackthorn is far more interested in seeing how you behave when you’re actually in danger.”

Runes across the floor began to glow.

Several candidates immediately became nervous.

One man hurriedly asked, “What are we going to face in the exam?”

A faint smile appeared on Gareth’s face.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be much of an exam.”

White light rose from the floor and began wrapping around their bodies.

Ryan felt the same sensation he had experienced when leaving his apartment.

This time, however, he was conscious enough to observe what was happening around him.

A few meters away, Evelyn remained standing calmly, though both of her hands were clenched.

Just before the hall disappeared from view, Gareth spoke one last time.

“If you want to become students of Blackthorn, prove that you deserve to be here.”

A second later, every candidate from Group Seven vanished.

Gareth had only just lowered his wand when another instructor entered the hall.

The man wore a broad smile.

“Crowe, you look miserable. Group Three got two Talent holders. One B-rank and one A-rank.”

“I didn’t ask.”

The instructor laughed.

“Don’t be jealous. I heard the North American academy found an SS-rank Talent holder last year. Only in his second year now, but apparently he can already fight on the same level as some graduates.”

Gareth snorted.

“Rumors.”

“Maybe. The upperclassmen even gave him a nickname.”

The man grinned.

“Demon King.”

Gareth shook his head as he walked toward the door.

“SS-rank Talents don’t appear that easily.”

He had no idea that the candidate with only nine total attribute points—the same one he had just compared to a chicken—was hiding a Talent of the exact same rank.