After hearing Lyle's explanation, Mason became even more suspicious of the whole situation.
A flower that could attract elemental energy and enhance meditation efficiency?
That sounded like a bad racial joke.
Even though he was only a Tier 3 mage, Mason had worked under Professor Hicks for many years and possessed a solid foundation in alchemy and potion-making. He knew very well that no such plant should exist.
If it did, what was the point of all those expensive meditation-enhancing potions and the Magic Tower's high-element-density chambers built at astronomical cost? They'd be nothing but jokes!
"Friend, don't let yourself be fooled," Mason warned kindly. "Guys who look that good are often rotten on the inside."
"Hey, brother, talking behind someone's back isn't a great habit," Lyle chuckled, patting Mason on the shoulder. "Besides, I'm not a mage and wouldn't buy the flower anyway. If you really think he's lying, why not go over and expose him yourself?"
Lyle's teasing, paired with Mason's own deep-rooted sense of responsibility as a teacher, suddenly lit a fire within him.
As a seasoned mage, he could easily see through tricks and deception. But what if an inexperienced magic apprentice came by and got duped into buying a flower from this slick-talking con artist?
Since he was resigning soon anyway… maybe this could be his final good deed.
With that thought, Mason's sense of duty flared up even stronger.
However, the young man in front of the store was still meditating.
Out of basic professional courtesy among mages, Mason didn't interrupt immediately. Instead, he decided to wait until the young man finished.
While Ron meditated, Mason glanced around the flower shop's interior.
It was beautifully arranged. The towering cylindrical glass columns gave a strong visual impact, and the overall layout had a pleasing aesthetic.
But the shop was far too empty.
Aside from the purple flowers neatly arranged on the cubed shelves… There were no other species at all?
At least pretend to be legit!
Mason sneered slightly, increasingly convinced that Ron was just a scammer trying to make a quick buck and vanish.
What a waste of a handsome face.
As for the extremely dense elemental energy in the area, Mason figured Ron had probably carved some kind of temporary gathering formation into the ground.
Mason didn't specialize in magic circles, but he'd heard of simple one-time-use formations that could achieve something like this.
Such formations could indeed gather a high density of elements—but the resulting energy would be unstable and chaotic, hard to absorb, and entirely unsuitable for meditation.
So clearly, this young man named Ron was running a scam, trying to trick naive apprentices into buying—
Right as that thought crossed his mind, a fresh floral scent hit Mason's nose—and his mind suddenly cleared.
His mana seed, which had been dormant for so long, began to stir faintly!
"W-What…?" Mason instinctively inhaled deeply. That strange fragrance filled his lungs and jolted his mind awake.
He felt it.
The bottleneck that had plagued him for over a year… had subtly loosened!
This... how is this possible?!
Was it just an illusion?
Mason, both excited and cautious, tried desperately to calm himself down.
Every time he had felt hopeful in the past, reality had smacked him in the face.
He was sick and tired of hope and disappointment taking turns, tearing him apart.
But right now, he truly felt the urge to sit down and meditate on the spot.
And it all seemed to be tied to that crisp floral aroma hanging in the air.
He recalled Lyle's earlier explanation—
"According to Ron, the flower can attract elemental energy and enhance a mage's meditation efficiency."
How could that be possible…?
The world of magic had never seen a plant with such an effect.
Even those crazy researchers in the academy labs hadn't found anything like this. There was no way this was real.
And even if such a miraculous plant existed, how could it possibly have ended up in the hands of a guy who hadn't even become a Tier 1 mage yet?
And on top of that, he was selling it openly?
Wouldn't other jealous forces be fighting to seize it?
Or perhaps… the effect wasn't as amazing as it seemed, and everything Mason was experiencing was a cleverly crafted illusion?
Mason's eyes narrowed as he stared at Ron and the flower in front of him.
He began carefully examining the ground, looking for suspicious markings—trying to spot any signs of a hidden magic formation.
Could it be some kind of stimulant gas? Something that mimicked mana agitation to trick mages into thinking they felt something?
This scam… if it was a scam, it was incredibly elaborate.
But here was the real problem—he had no solid evidence.
And as a teacher, he couldn't just go around debunking things with speculation and textbook knowledge. That would be irresponsible.
Then, at that very moment, a clear wave of mana radiated from Ron's body!
Mason instantly sensed that the elemental energy around them was surging toward this young man!
Water and earth elements especially reacted as if they had found their long-lost mother—rushing toward Ron with terrifying enthusiasm.
Mason was stunned.
"This… this is insane…"
His eyes widened in disbelief at what he was sensing.
In the world of magic, there were many ways to assess a person's talent.
When someone was still just an apprentice, their ability to perceive elemental particles during meditation was used as the main standard.
The denser the particles they could sense, the greater their potential. The denser a specific element appeared, the stronger their talent in that element.
Later on, a mage's innate talent could also be judged by observing the mana tide caused during the condensation of their mana seed.
If the elemental field barely rippled, their talent was poor—at best, they'd become a Tier 1 or 2 mage.
If their meditation stirred up a single splash, it meant decent talent—possibly capable of reaching intermediate levels. Mason himself had been in this category.
If they caused an actual elemental wave, it meant they had exceptional talent and a shot at becoming a high-tier mage.
Beyond that, it was all about the scale and frequency of those elemental surges.
For example, Professor Hicks had stirred up seven successive elemental surges when forming his mana seed, leading the academy headmaster to personally take him as a disciple. Now, at just forty-five, Hicks was already a Tier 6 high-tier mage.
He was among the top geniuses of the current era.
If he kept progressing, he had real potential to touch the legendary Tier 7 realm.
And now…
Ron.
Mason swallowed hard, beginning to doubt his own perception.
What Ron was causing wasn't a wave…
It was a whirlpool.
An elemental ocean whirlpool.