The Last Apprentice of Magic

CHAPTER 2 — THE BOY WHO SHOULDN'T BE HERE

"Wait."

Fred stopped.

Professor Vale's voice wasn't loud, but something about its quiet authority made the hairs on the back of Fred's neck rise.

Students were still leaving the arena behind them, their voices blending into a constant murmur that echoed through the corridor. None of them seemed to notice the strange tension between the professor and the boy who had just survived a fireball.

Fred slowly turned around.

"What did you see, Professor?"

Vale didn't answer immediately.

His eyes remained fixed on Fred, studying him with an intensity that made Fred increasingly uncomfortable. The professor wasn't looking at his torn uniform or the blood on his cheek. He wasn't even looking at his hands.

He was looking directly at him.

It was the same expression a scientist might wear when examining an unknown creature that had suddenly appeared inside a laboratory.

After several seconds, however, Vale's expression returned to normal.

"Nothing."

Fred frowned.

"You just said—"

"I said nothing."

The professor walked past him without offering any further explanation.

"Report to the main administration hall at eight tomorrow morning. Your admission has been finalized."

Fred watched as Vale disappeared through the arena doors.

Something was wrong.

He couldn't explain what had changed, but he knew there was something the professor wasn't telling him.

Before Fred could think about it any further, the academy bell rang.

The enormous crystal embedded in the academy's central tower released a deep magical pulse that rolled across the campus. Fred felt the vibration in his chest, and for the briefest moment, something inside his magical core reacted.

A strange warmth spread through him.

Then it disappeared.

Fred looked toward the tower.

Thousands of magical runes rotated slowly through the air above it, forming intricate patterns that shifted with every pulse of energy. The sight reminded him of why he had wanted to attend the Global Academy of Higher Magic in the first place.

The academy was unlike anything he had ever seen.

And somehow, despite everything that had happened, he had been admitted.

For now, that was enough.

Or so he thought.

---

The next morning, Fred discovered that getting into the academy was only the beginning.

The main administration hall was enormous. Hundreds of newly admitted students filled the marble chamber, while floating screens displayed their names, magical ratings, family affiliations, and class assignments above the crowd.

At the center of the hall stood a massive crystalline pillar.

One by one, students stepped forward and placed their hands against its smooth surface. The pillar measured their magical capacity, and a glowing number appeared above each student as soon as the reading was complete.

412.

Applause broke out from several groups nearby.

Another student stepped forward.

687.

The applause grew louder.

Then a third student approached the crystal.

1,105.

This time, students throughout the hall turned to stare.

A moment later, a tall boy with broad shoulders stepped forward.

He carried himself with effortless confidence, and the way he walked suggested that he was accustomed to being noticed wherever he went.

The moment his palm touched the crystal, blue light exploded across the chamber.

1,842 MANA UNITS.

The hall erupted.

"That's incredible!"

"He's a first-year?"

"Who is he?"

"That's Kael Ardent!"

Fred recognized the name.

Kael Ardent was a combat prodigy and one of the highest-ranked first-year students admitted to the academy that year.

Unlike Lucian Veyr, however, Kael didn't seem particularly interested in the attention surrounding him. He simply removed his hand from the crystal, waited for the classification to appear, and then walked away.

The display above the pillar changed.

ELEMENTAL AFFINITY: LIGHTNING

MAGICAL POTENTIAL: EXCEPTIONAL

Fred watched Kael carefully.

Perhaps sensing his gaze, Kael glanced back.

Their eyes met across the crowded hall.

For several seconds, neither of them moved.

Then Kael changed direction and walked toward him.

When he stopped in front of Fred, he looked him over with a curious expression.

"You don't look like someone who belongs here."

Fred raised an eyebrow.

"I passed the entrance examination."

"The written examination."

"Still an examination."

A small smile appeared on Kael's face.

It wasn't mocking. If anything, there was genuine curiosity in his expression.

"Then I suppose we'll find out whether intelligence can survive in a world built on power."

Fred studied him for a moment.

"You seem very confident."

"I know what I can do."

Kael's answer was simple and completely without hesitation.

Fred nodded slightly.

"And I know what I can do."

Kael's eyes narrowed with interest.

"Do you?"

Fred didn't answer.

The truth was more complicated than he wanted to admit.

He no longer knew exactly what he could do.

Not after what had happened the previous day.

---

The class assignments appeared moments later.

The students immediately crowded around the floating display, searching for their names and assigned divisions.

The academy had divided the first-year students into five primary divisions.

Elite Division.

Advanced Division.

Standard Division.

Foundation Division.

Special Admission Division.

The strongest students were placed in the Elite Division, where they received access to advanced laboratories, private training chambers, rare magical materials, and specialized instructors.

The lower divisions received fewer resources and fewer opportunities.

Fred searched the display until he finally found his name near the bottom.

FRED — SPECIAL ADMISSION — FOUNDATION CLASS.

The students around him gradually became aware of the result.

A strange hush formed around Fred as several people read his classification.

Then someone laughed.

"Foundation?"

"Isn't that where they put people with terrible mana?"

"I thought he was supposed to be some kind of genius."

"He is a genius."

Another student snorted.

"Then the academy must have made a mistake."

Fred clenched his fist.

He had expected this.

He had known that his mana measurement would make him a target, and he had mentally prepared himself for the whispers and insults.

Knowing they were coming, however, didn't make them hurt any less.

Thirty-one units.

That number had followed him for his entire life.

Thirty-one.

His intelligence had been enough to earn him a place in the world's greatest magical academy, but the moment people measured his mana, they stopped seeing his intelligence.

They saw the number.

And nothing else.

A familiar voice came from behind him.

"Maybe the examiner entered the wrong name."

Fred turned.

Lucian stood there with several students gathered around him. The silver crest of House Veyr shone prominently on his uniform, and the faint smile on his face suggested that he had been waiting for an opportunity like this.

"You should ask administration to check the records," Lucian said.

Fred stared at him.

"Why?"

"Because someone with thirty-one mana doesn't belong in the same academy as people like us."

Fred's jaw tightened.

Before he could respond, another voice interrupted them.

"He's here because the academy admitted him."

Kael stepped between them.

Lucian looked at him.

"This doesn't concern you."

Kael shrugged.

"It does if you're blocking the entrance."

A few students nearby laughed.

Lucian's expression hardened, and for a moment, Fred wondered whether he was going to challenge Kael.

Instead, Lucian stepped aside.

Fred glanced at Kael.

"Thanks."

Kael gave him a brief nod.

"Don't misunderstand me."

Fred waited for him to continue.

"I didn't defend you."

Kael turned and walked away.

"I defended the academy's decision."

Fred watched him leave.

Despite himself, the corner of his mouth almost lifted into a smile.

Almost.

---

His first lesson began an hour later.

The Foundation classroom was considerably smaller than the Elite Division halls, and the difference between the two rooms was impossible to ignore.

The Elite students had floating training arrays, enchanted practice weapons, individual mana regulators, and equipment designed to help them refine their abilities.

Fred's classroom had old wooden desks and a single training crystal.

Still, Fred wasn't disappointed.

A room didn't determine what he could learn.

At the front of the classroom stood a strange metallic device. It resembled a large circular frame, with dozens of glowing runes rotating slowly around its center.

The instructor stepped toward it and activated the machine.

"Today, you'll learn the fundamentals of mana circulation."

The device immediately projected a complex magical diagram into the air.

Fred stared at it.

Something about the machine felt familiar.

He couldn't explain why, but the moment he looked at the rotating runes, a strange sensation passed through him.

Then blue text appeared before his eyes.

[Magical Technology Detected.]

Fred's eyes widened.

Another message appeared beneath it.

[Analyzing...]

The internal structure of the device suddenly became visible to him.

Not physically.

He could see the flow of magical energy moving through the machine. He could see the connections between the runes and even identify tiny inefficiencies within the system that would have been invisible to the naked eye.

Fred's heartbeat quickened.

The ability wasn't limited to spells.

It could analyze magical technology.

He moved a little closer.

The training crystal flickered.

A second later, the machine suddenly stopped.

The instructor frowned.

"What happened?"

Every student in the room looked toward the device.

Then they looked at Fred.

Fred immediately stepped backward.

"I didn't touch it."

The instructor studied him for a moment before restarting the machine.

This time, it worked normally.

Fred said nothing.

However, his mind was racing.

Whatever this strange ability was, it wasn't simply a combat trick.

It could understand magic.

Perhaps it could understand things that nobody else could see.

---

That night, Fred sat alone in his dormitory.

The academy had become quiet, and moonlight spilled through the window, casting pale shadows across his desk.

An open textbook lay in front of him.

He wasn't reading it.

His thoughts kept returning to Professor Vale.

You shouldn't have been able to see that.

What had the professor meant?

Fred closed his eyes and concentrated on his magical core.

Thirty-one units.

The same pathetic number he had seen his entire life.

He could feel the tiny reservoir of mana inside him, barely enough to produce even the simplest spell.

Then something moved.

Fred's eyes snapped open.

A faint blue light appeared before him.

[Hidden magical structure detected.]

Fred's breath caught.

"What?"

The message remained suspended in front of him.

Another line appeared.

[Would you like to analyze your own magical core?]

Fred stared at the question.

Every instinct told him to stop.

If someone had deliberately hidden something inside his core, there had to be a reason for it. And if that reason was dangerous, he might be better off never discovering the truth.

But curiosity had always been Fred's greatest weakness.

Or perhaps it was his greatest strength.

After several seconds, he slowly raised his hand.

"Yes."

The blue interface flickered.

For a moment, everything around him seemed unnaturally still.

Then the message changed.

[Beginning internal analysis...]

A cold sensation moved through Fred's body.

His magical core suddenly tightened.

Pain shot through his chest, forcing him to grip the edge of his desk.

"Ah—!"

The lights in his room flickered violently.

Fred struggled to breathe as the strange sensation spread through his body.

Then the result appeared.

[Analysis incomplete.]

Fred stared at the message.

A second line appeared beneath it.

[ERROR.]

His breathing became shallow.

Then the final message appeared.

[Your magical core contains an unknown restriction.]

Fred didn't move.

He read the sentence again.

Then he read it a third time, hoping he had somehow misunderstood it.

An unknown restriction.

Someone—or something—had restricted his magical core.

His entire life suddenly flashed through his mind.

The failed awakenings.

The humiliating tests.

The doctors telling his parents that his magical potential was simply poor.

The teachers who had eventually stopped expecting anything from him.

Thirty-one mana.

What if thirty-one had never been his true limit?

Fred slowly looked down at his hands.

For sixteen years, he had believed he was simply born weak.

Now, for the first time, another possibility entered his mind.

Maybe he hadn't been born weak.

Maybe someone had made him weak.

The blue interface flickered again.

A final message appeared.

[Restriction origin: UNKNOWN.]

[Warning: Attempting removal may result in catastrophic magical backlash.]

Fred's face went pale.

Before he could process the warning, a soft knock came from his door.

Three measured knocks echoed through the quiet room.

Fred's blood ran cold.

Nobody knew about the restriction.

Nobody should have known.

Another knock sounded.

Then a voice came from the other side of the door.

"Fred?"

He recognized it immediately.

Professor Vale.

Fred stared at the door, unable to understand why the professor was standing outside his room in the middle of the night.

Vale spoke again, this time in a quieter voice.

"I know you discovered it."

Fred's heart seemed to stop.

How could he possibly know?

The professor's next words made the blood drain from Fred's face.

"Whatever you do..."

Vale paused.

"...don't let the academy know what's inside your core."

Fred slowly stepped away from the door.

For the first time since arriving at the Global Academy of Higher Magic, he understood something truly terrifying.

His greatest secret might not be that he possessed almost no magic.

It might be that someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure he never discovered how much magic he was actually capable of possessing.

And whoever had restricted his core...

might still be watching.