The journey was quickly settled. For Eledis, who was accustomed to wandering, travel was second nature.
Ian had little to pack, but he had another request for her.
After some coaxing from Ian, Eledis persuaded the lord to forgive his family's debts and even gave them a sum of gold coins—enough to live comfortably for a long time.
"Mom, Dad, I'm leaving now."
"Be good and listen to Mage-sister!"
"Study hard, Raven!"
"Big brother! You have to come back!"
Amid his family's enthusiastic farewells, he left the territory.
This was his first time departing the land he had lived on since childhood, and his emotions were mixed.
"Should I call you 'Master' now?"
"Not yet. I haven't taught you anything. Just call me sister."
Truthfully, Ian had been wondering: Could he really call her "sister"?
A child's perception of age was entirely different from an adult's.
Eledis considered herself relatively young-looking, but to Ian, she seemed more like a "mom" than a "sister."
After all, Eledis was twenty-nine.
Ian's sister calling her "auntie" was actually a startlingly sharp insight.
"Sister."
"Hmm? Something you want to ask?"
She adopted a "ask anything" attitude, but Ian hesitated. Was this question appropriate?
Yet curiosity won out.
"Why did you choose to take me as your apprentice?"
Eledis smiled mysteriously, assuming Ian was anxious.
Ian knew nothing of the magical world—terms like "Chronomancer" were foreign to him.
Ignorance bred fear, and fear stemmed from the unknown.
Why would the son of a serf suddenly become a mage's apprentice?
It was an adult's duty to ease such worries.
"I chose you based on a prophecy."
"Prophecy?"
The sudden keyword startled Ian.
Though he knew this was a medieval fantasy world, he hadn't expected actual "prophecies" to exist.
A prophecy!
That was a staple for major characters in all fantasy works!
Usually, prophecies came in two types: either great success or great destruction.
Ian swallowed hard.
"What kind of prophecy was it?"
"Guess?"
Eledis shamelessly violated the first rule of Q&A: never answer a question with another question.
But Ian didn't back down.
"Did it say I'll become a great mage in the future?"
Throw it out there boldly—that's what courage looked like for a kid.
"Pfft, quite the dream! Do you really want to become a great mage?"
"Yes!"
Ian answered firmly.
To Eledis, he was utterly adorable.
"Choosing you as my apprentice was the right decision."
Of course, if she were formally selecting an apprentice, she could have chosen someone far cuter than Ian.
Mages typically selected apprentices around age five—the younger, the faster they learned.
In an industry where "cuteness is power," a ten-year-old couldn't compete with a five-year-old.
Ten was nearly graduation age from "cuteness," and relying on it beyond that was getting old—such was the harsh reality.
But for Eledis, taking on her first apprentice, Ian was irresistibly cute in every way.
She had never experienced parenting; to her, a child's cuteness was a strange and fresh joy.
"Actually, I don't yet know if you can use magic."
"Huh?"
This was shocking.
Ian hadn't even fully processed the joy of being chosen as an apprentice when his beautiful master dropped this bombshell?
Though it was only a possibility, it was terrifying enough for Ian.
If he couldn't become a mage, he truly had no future.
But Eledis felt the prophecy was unlikely to be wrong.
It was a Chronomancer's prophecy: taking Ian as her apprentice would bring her good luck.
If Ian couldn't use magic, that wouldn't be good luck.
"Before true initiation, you must study hard first."
Ian nodded vigorously.
Like other fantasy worlds, mages here were intelligence-based roles.
In other words, fools couldn't become mages.
"I'm confident!"
In his previous life, Ian had been a science student—he'd even considered majoring in math but ended up in computer science.
Though not from a top-tier university, it was one people recognized ("Ah, that place!"), proving his mind wasn't weak.
And the core of fantasy magic was spell calculation.
Calculation? He was the type who could calculate in his dreams—a calculation fanatic.
"No matter what spell, I can compute it."
Just as Ian lost himself in fantasy, Eledis… wasn't thinking much.
She figured since the prophecy had pointed to him, she could just watch him grow on his own.
Thus, the two continued their journey.
Eledis was a born wanderer with no concept of "home."
She never felt the need for a fixed residence. With her decent magical skills, handling a few troubles for others covered food, clothing, and shelter.
Nobles were eager to invite her—why buy a house? The entire empire was her home.
But this time, she exceptionally purchased a property.
Located at the edge of the Golden Mountains in the northwest of the empire, it was originally a noble's hunting villa. Eledis bought and renovated it into a cozy dwelling.
She and Ian would live here until Ian grew into a recognized mage.
"How is it? Nice, right?"
Eledis was inherently simple—if she liked luxury, she wouldn't have wandered for so many years.
But for her adorable apprentice, she splurged on a good house.
To Ian, who grew up in a dilapidated wooden hut, this was a palace!
"Amazing!"
"Hehe, big sister spent a lot of money!"
The only downside was its mountain location, making maintenance troublesome.
But Eledis, with her nomadic life, had no concept of "residence." In other words, she hadn't thought it through.
She was only satisfied with the neatly arranged magic books on the shelves.
"Now that we're settled, it's time for lessons."
Ian's heartbeat quickened.
This was the first step to becoming a mage—a moment of immense significance.
"Ian Raven, from this moment, you must regard me, Eledis Manskar, as your master."
"Yes! Master!"
"Good. From now on, you shall be called Ian Eledis Raven."
Ian's name had gained a new segment: Ian Eledis Raven.
Translated, it sounded a bit odd: Eledis's apprentice, the great raven Ian!
...
His first lesson officially began.
"Magic is an extremely dangerous thing. Without thorough preparation, nothing can begin."
Eledis was unusually serious, her usual laziness completely gone.
Ian also steeled himself, ready to give his all.
"Open the magic book."
Ian struggled to keep his hands from trembling as he carefully turned the pages.
Unfamiliar text spread out like an ocean—Ian felt like a small raft adrift in a sea of knowledge.
"What is this?"
"The most foundational basics: Maronius language."
His stomach churned.
Maronius language—this magical script looked eerily familiar.
It closely resembled ancient Chinese writing.
In other words—
'This is… Small Seal Script??'
Ian's mind spun.
"It's actually Small Seal Script!"
Though he had a talent for calculation, ancient scripts were absolutely not his strength!
He could only recognize a few simple characters—complex ones were impossible without context.
If anyone claimed he knew them, they were only referring to the most common ones.
He never expected to be learning magical pictographs in another world!
"Starting today, learn 100 characters daily."
"Isn't that a bit much?"
"If it's too difficult, I can reduce it. But these 1,000 characters are the basics—you could master them in a month if you push."
"Then let's start slowly?"
And so, Ian's first magic lesson began.
The teaching method was simple: Eledis taught Ian the names and pronunciations of characters, and he repeated them.
Then, she explained how these characters had evolved into their current forms.
"This character is pronounced 'Eled,' just like my name, right? When Maronius language was created, many elements were drawn from ancient tongues, so pronunciations often overlap."
Eledis, speaking of magic after so long, grew exhilarated.
She was a natural magic enthusiast who had barely felt the struggles of initiation.
The result: whenever magic was discussed, she became a "chatty magic encyclopedia."
But for Ian, who knew nothing of magic…
Learning Maronius—this otherworldly pictographic script—was torture.
Normally, that would be the case. But Ian was different: he possessed a power not of this world.