The Hierarchy of Mages**
The forest path wound between towering trees as Ethan and Lyra walked side by side, the late afternoon light painting long shadows across the dirt road. After the encounter with the bandits, the silence felt almost peaceful. Except for Ethan's quickened heartbeat—he was still riding the high of his first real spell.
Lyra wiped dried mud from her robes, eyeing him curiously."You're not from around here, are you?"
Ethan forced a casual shrug. "Is it that obvious?"
"Very. Your spell casting is… weird."
He blinked. "Weird?"
"Yeah. Clean. Too clean." She squinted at him. "Most new apprentices fumble a lot. Their mana fluctuates like a toddler trying to walk on stilts. But you… you're stable."
Ethan laughed softly, trying not to look as proud as he felt."Lucky, I guess."
"Lucky my ass." Lyra snorted. "You either trained under someone really good… or you hide the fact that you're some wandering prodigy."
Ethan stayed silent.
Lyra continued walking, humming. Then, almost as an afterthought, she said, "Well, since you clearly don't know how anything works, let me fill you in before you embarrass yourself in the village."
He pretended to choke. "Is it that bad?"
"Oh, it's worse." She cleared her throat dramatically. "Welcome to the grand, glorious, absolutely life-defining… Mage Hierarchy of the Verdant Kingdom."
Ethan grinned despite himself. Lyra was energetic in a way that felt contagious.
"Let's start with the basics," she said. "Magic isn't just power. It's status. It's law. It's religion. It's survival."
Ethan nodded, absorbing every word.
Lyra raised a finger."At the bottom, we have Novices. That's what I am."
Ethan imagined the simulated version of himself struggling to break through the novice stage at twenty-two."What does a Novice do?"
"Mostly chores." Lyra sighed. "Cleaning mana chambers, feeding spirit beasts, copying scrolls, surviving lectures. The usual suffering."
"And you get paid for that?"
She barked a laugh. "Paid? We pay them! Tuition is expensive, you know."
Ethan felt a pang of sympathy.
Lyra held up two fingers."Above Novices are Apprentices. That's the first real step toward being taken seriously."
"Magic students?"
"Exactly. Apprentices can cast basic spells—like Ember Shot. They can defend themselves, help with guild missions, and even teach Novices. Also, apprentices get access to proper cultivation chambers."
That explained why even apprentice wizards looked down on regular civilians. They were the first tier with true magical ability.
Lyra continued, her tone growing slightly more serious."Then we have Adept Mages. That's where you start being considered a real wizard."
Ethan's heart tightened.That was the realm he reached in the simulation.A realm he nearly retained.
"If you're an Adept," Lyra said, "you can join guilds officially, take contracts, hunt low-level beasts, protect villages. Most people would kill to reach Adept."
Ethan hid a smile.He didn't need to kill—just survive another simulation.
Lyra lifted her hand higher."Above Adepts are Experts or Specialists. People call them different things depending on the region, but their power is consistent: they can flatten small squads, manipulate large flames, shape water currents, move boulders. You know. Fun things."
Ethan imagined an Expert in the simulation—one stray blast had nearly killed him. "So it gets dangerous quickly."
"Oh, you have no idea." Lyra leaned closer. "Once you reach Master Wizard, you're basically royalty."
Master Wizards.The ones whose battle had vaporized the simulated Ethan at age forty.
"What can they do?" Ethan asked quietly.
Lyra exhaled dramatically. "Masters can fly. They can warp space. They can unleash spells that destroy forests. They can wipe out small armies. Also, they live for hundreds of years if they're careful."
That was… insane.
"And after that?"
Lyra hesitated.Her voice became hushed.Almost reverent.
"Above Masters… are Grandmasters."
The wind seemed to die for a moment.
"What's a Grandmaster like?" Ethan asked.
"They're myths," Lyra whispered. "Legends. People who command storms. Who rewrite reality with spellcraft. Some say they can fight dragons. Others say they become immortal flames or walking storms. No one knows how many still exist."
Ethan swallowed hard.
The hierarchy was far steeper than he expected.
Novice → Apprentice → Adept → Expert → Master → Grandmaster
He was currently… none of them.
Lyra noticed his expression and smirked. "Don't worry. Most people never go past Apprentice."
He blinked. "That's supposed to make me feel better?"
"Sure," she said cheerfully. "Because you can be average with the rest of us!"
Ethan laughed.
The road curved, revealing the first glimpse of rooftops—Verdantbrook Village. Smoke curled from chimneys, children ran along wooden fences, and farmers carried baskets of fresh herbs. It looked peaceful.
But behind that peace lay fear.The fear of beasts.Of rogue mages.Of bandits.Of magic gone wrong.
Maybe that was why villages valued mages so highly. Even a single Apprentice could save dozens of lives.
Lyra pointed at a distant tower rising above the huts."That's the Verdantbrook Mage Guild. They handle monster subjugation, spell distribution, apprenticeships, and all that boring administration stuff."
Ethan's heartbeat quickened.
A guild meant resources.Libraries.Techniques.Mana chambers.
And most importantly—
A place to hide his origins.
Lyra stretched lazily."Anyway, the hierarchy is simple when you break it down. It's not about strength, really. It's about mana control."
"Mana control?"
"Yep. Your ability to gather mana, refine it, shape it, store it, and release it. That's what determines your realm."
Ethan mulled that over.
His techniques gave him perfect control at the lowest level… far beyond what a normal starting apprentice could achieve.
Lyra added, "If you master your techniques properly, you could jump ranks easily."
Ethan's lips curled subtly.
If she only knew…
The Wizard Life Simulator wasn't just giving him technique mastery.It gave him decades of experience compressed into seconds.Perfect practice, perfect understanding, perfect optimization.
Every seven days, he'd get another life.Another chance to accumulate skills, affinities, bloodlines, and knowledge.
While others relied on talent and luck…
He had something else entirely.
"Thanks," Ethan said softly. "For explaining all this."
Lyra shrugged, smiling. "Someone has to keep you from acting like a clueless farm boy."
"I didn't even know what a Novice was."
"Exactly. Disaster potential: maximum."
They reached a wooden bridge over a sparkling river. The village gate stood just beyond it.
Lyra paused and looked at him with an odd expression.
"For what it's worth… you're weird." She poked his arm. "But you have potential. Real potential."
Ethan looked at Verdantbrook Village.
A new home.A new beginning.A chance to build power before the next simulation.
"Then I'll make the most of it," he said.
Lyra grinned. "Welcome to Verdantbrook, Ethan."
The system chimed faintly.
[Simulation Cooldown: 6 days, 12 hours]
Time was ticking.