Time flew by like an arrow, and another year passed in the blink of an eye.
During this year, Statiw's magic power grew incredibly fast, now reaching the upper limit of what his current vessel could bear. In terms of raw magical energy alone, Statiw was already at the peak of an A-Class Mage.
It was precisely because his magic power growth had nearly plateaued that the next stage of knowledge was unlocked within his mind: the nature of the Magic Source itself.
Statiw hadn't initially paid much attention to this, as he had fragmented memories from his previous life and recalled concepts like the "Second Origin" or "Second Magic Source."
However, as he began to truly digest and comprehend the intricate knowledge now available to him, he realized how simplistic his previous understanding had been. According to the information, a Mage's primary Magic Source was not merely a well of power but a singular, fundamental point of connection.
This point was like a sealed gateway. The first thing a Mage had to do was to breach this gateway with their spiritual will, allowing external energy—often called the "ambient ether" or "background magical energy"—to flow into this point, where it was then converted into the Mage's personal magic power and stored. Only then could the Mage control this energy with their will to release spells.
Of course, these concepts were not unacceptable to Statiw. He could grasp the idea of a single point containing vast potential.
But what truly surprised him in the deeper data was that these so-called Magic Sources were not as limited as he had believed. The common explanations of a "First" and "Second" Source were incomplete.
The actual theory was that every particle of the Soul that constituted a human being had the potential to transform into a Magic Source. Human spirit was the external manifestation of the Soul's activity, and magic power was formed when these Soul particles were activated, directly connecting to the ambient ether and converting it. Magic, then, was the controlled release of this power, guided by spiritual will to create specific, rule-based effects on the world.
Knowing this, Statiw naturally began working on unlocking this deeper potential, aiming to activate more of these Soul particles. But a significant problem arose: while the knowledge of its existence was there, the methodology for safely achieving it was not provided. Thus, for the first time, Statiw found himself in a state of confusion. Without a clear path forward, he had no idea how to proceed, only the certainty that it was possible.
Similarly, while he was troubled by the problem of developing his Magic Source, there were other goals he pursued. For example, mastering Transformation Magic, Barrier Magic, and the design of higher-level magic circles.
Transformation Magic and Barrier Magic were both intended to address his personal weaknesses—it was always good to have multiple layers of defense. Although these two types of magic were not impossibly difficult, mastering them to a combat-effective level still took several months of dedicated practice.
The most intellectually demanding task was the design of higher-level magic circles. It was known that the magic circles used by the vast majority of Mages were two-dimensional, flat arrays. This type of circle could, at most, allow a Mage to reach A-Class. To be promoted to an S-Class Mage, one had to master magic that produced higher-level effects.
Currently, there were two known theoretical directions for achieving this. The first was the widely used "superposition method," which involved layering multiple flat magic circles to combine their effects and ultimately produce a more powerful, complex result.
For Statiw, the superposition method was logical, almost like programming; each flat circle was a module producing a certain effect, and these effects were sequenced and combined to create the desired outcome.
The far more difficult direction was the other approach: upgrading the magic circle itself, transforming a two-dimensional flat array into a three-dimensional, volumetric magic circle. This would not only allow for vastly more complex information to be encoded within the structure but would also result in incredibly efficient magic power usage with almost no waste. However, the difficulties involved were monumental. If it were easy, the world would be full of three-dimensional magic circles, and the superposition method would be obsolete.
Because Statiw possessed unique insights and memories of advanced concepts from his previous life, he understood the revolutionary potential of such an advancement. Therefore, after achieving proficiency with the superposition method, he immediately focused most of his research energy on designing three-dimensional magic circles.
Soon, it was time for the S-Class Mage Promotion Exam once again.
"Yo, Statiw. Who do you think is qualified to participate in the exam this year?" Just as everyone in the guild was waiting anxiously, Gray leaned over and asked.
"Why even ask? Mirajane will definitely be there this year," Statiw replied, gesturing towards Mirajane, who was happily chatting with Lisanna and Elfman not far away.
"That's true," Gray strongly agreed. After all, Mirajane had been on the list the previous year but had simply had the bad luck to be paired against Erza. However, that wasn't what Gray was asking; he wanted to know which new names might appear. "I meant, besides Mirajane, who else? What about you?"
"Me?" Statiw was stunned, then shook his head. "My chances are slim. I haven't taken on a high volume of missions this year, focusing on research instead. And my own combat weaknesses haven't been fully resolved yet. With such obvious flaws, Master is unlikely to allow me to participate in the S-Class exam."
As soon as Statiw finished speaking, Natsu and Happy suddenly popped up from behind him. "Statiw, let's compete and see who becomes an S-Class Mage first!" Natsu exclaimed excitedly.
Statiw listened, sized up Natsu, then smiled and said, "Oh? So, you're very confident in yourself?"
"Of course! I'm an adult this year too, and Happy and I have completed tons of missions to get strong enough for S-Class!" Natsu confidently raised a fist, grinning widely.
At this moment, Gray chuckled and said, "I, on the other hand, don't think you'll be nominated, Natsu."
"What did you say, Gray?!" Hearing Gray doubt him, Natsu immediately glared fiercely, his brows furrowed.
"I'm talking about you," Gray didn't back down, meeting Natsu's glare. "Everyone knows that even though you've completed many missions this year, you cause massive property damage every single time. How could someone with a destruction record like yours be qualified to participate in the S-Class Exam?"
Just as Gray finished speaking, everyone in the guild suddenly looked up at the second-floor railing. Master Makarov stood there, ready to announce the list.
"The participants for this year's S-Class Mage Promotion Exam are…" he began, his voice carrying through the hall. "Mirajane Strauss!"
Mirajane heard her name, crossed her arms, and smiled a confident, faint smile.
Then Master Makarov announced the next name: "Cana Alberona!"
"Huh?" Hearing this name, everyone in the guild, including Gray and others who were usually close to Cana, were greatly surprised. In their impression, although Cana was clever and had her tricks, her raw power wasn't considered particularly high. They hadn't expected her to be nominated...