Eight years old, a Level 2 Mage, promoted in three days.
No matter how you looked at it, none of those numbers seemed normal.
The old man's eyes were filled with shock.
Meanwhile, the other staff and candidates waiting in the Promotion Hall also started whispering.
Lu Cang grumbled internally.
'If Chi Cheng hadn't dragged me out drinking, I would've been even faster.'
'Come to think of it, I was unconscious for more than half of that time...'
"Lord Iz."
"He's too young. We're afraid we can't preside over his promotion Ritual..."
Iz gave a slight nod. "I know."
He then turned to look at Kumironi.
"It should be fine if Kumironi presides over the Ritual, right?"
The old man nodded and bowed respectfully to Kumironi.
"Of course, there's no problem."
Kumironi chuckled. "Then I'll be taking over."
The old man spoke again, "But the records..."
Kumironi nodded. "Yes, I will follow standard procedure."
The old man let out a sigh of relief. "That's good."
The promotion Ritual had a standard procedure.
It was mandated by law.
Kumironi skillfully took the old man's place, standing in the officiant's spot, and announced, "A Mage's promotion Ritual requires meeting three criteria: Magic Power, Elemental Sensing, and Spell Mastery Level. Furthermore, you must possess proof of at least one battle."
"The first test will measure your total Magic Power."
News that Izparut was supposedly promoting to Magic Saint had spread.
More and more people began to crowd into the Promotion Hall.
But when they saw it was a child being promoted, they felt their expectations dashed and turned to leave.
However, a sudden thought struck them...
A child?
How the hell could a child be at a promotion Ritual?
Shit.
Taking a closer look, they saw Kumironi herself was presiding over the Ritual.
So they turned right back around.
But when they did...
...they found a wall of people in front of them. The prime spots they'd nabbed earlier were long gone, taken by others.
"That little guy..."
"Isn't he the one who treated everyone the day before yesterday?"
"Oh, oh! I remember, Little Lu Cang, right!"
"I heard he soloed a Tier Two Dungeon on his first adventure!"
"For real?"
"He's Izparut's personal disciple. How could it be fake?"
"Damn... that's badass. If only my kid were as promising as him."
The corner of Lu Cang's mouth twitched slightly.
'I expected to draw a crowd, but not this big of one.'
'Oh, Iz...'
'I actually wanted to develop quietly. You're making things so high-profile, it's making my life difficult.'
Lu Cang placed his hand on the Crystal Ball before him.
'Testing Magic Power, huh?'
Kumironi announced, "A Magic Power Value of 5 is a pass, 10 is excellent, and 20 is perfect."
'So 20 is perfect? That probably corresponds to 100 times the base Magic Power.'
Lu Cang placed his hand on it and released his Magic Power...
CRACK!
The Crystal Ball instantly fractured with a web of fine cracks!
'Hey... don't pull a classic cliché like this on me right now. Don't shatter and then display a zero. I'm in front of a huge crowd, you know.'
'I don't want to be too high-profile, but I don't want to be seen as a loser either. I've got some pride, you know.'
Fortunately, the Crystal Ball only cracked slightly.
It didn't shatter into a million pieces.
A number finally appeared...
And it was a number that struck everyone completely silent.
[Magic Power Value: 10,000]
H-how much?
How many zeroes?
Ones, tens, hundreds... dear lord... my ancestors!
Ten thousand?
Five is a pass, ten is excellent, twenty is a perfect score...
And you come in here with ten thousand?
The entire Promotion Hall fell silent.
A number that terrifying had only appeared once in the last few years.
Well, there had indeed been one other time in recent years.
But in the thousands of years before that, it had never appeared even once.
Oh.
Lu Cang now roughly understood the meaning of this number.
This value was likely the multiplier of a Mage's Magic Power Value right after awakening.
A score of 20 was equivalent to 20 times the initial Magic Power.
And for most Mages...
...promoting from Level 1 to Level 2 meant hovering between 5 to 10 times their base Magic Power.
A very small number of Mages could cultivate up to 20 times their base Magic Power.
This was the absolute limit for most excellent Magic Enhancement Techniques.
As for 100 times...
...that would only appear during a Magic Tide, and was known as the so-called "Limit Magic Power for a Level 1 Mage."
10,000 times.
Only the Mana Void could achieve that.
Huh...
When he heard 20 was perfect, Lu Cang had assumed 20 was equal to a Level 1 Mage's Mana limit.
The once-noisy hall was now utterly silent.
Kumironi, however, showed no surprise at this.
The shock was for everyone else.
As the one officiating the Ritual, her only responsibility was to see it through.
"Next is Elemental Sensing."
"Sensing five Elements is a pass. Sensing eight is excellent. Beyond that number, we only differentiate by the degree of sensitivity to the Elements."
"The first Element... Fire."
It was still a test with a Crystal Ball.
'These tests... aren't very creative, are they?'
Thinking this, Lu Cang still placed his hand on the Crystal Ball.
A blazing Flame ignited within the Crystal Ball.
This symbolized a complete affinity for the Flame Element, a perfect sensitivity to the presence of all Flame Elements.
"Freak..."
"Damn, is he even human?"
"Being able to sense 70% of the Flame Element's presence is enough to be considered a highly talented Flame Mage."
"This kid... has perfect sensitivity?"
Perfect sensitivity to the Fire Element was only the beginning.
Lu Cang continued to the next Element's test.
Ice Element—perfect sensitivity.
Dark Element—perfect sensitivity.
Water Element—perfect sensitivity.
Wind Element—perfect sensitivity.
...
After spending yesterday afternoon reading, Lu Cang had a general understanding.
Not every Mage was a versatile one capable of learning all forms of Magic.
The vast majority of Mages only had a particularly strong affinity for a single Element.
Sensitivity to an Element could be cultivated over time—for example, by using a Dark Crystal to sense the Dark Element—but it was a slow climb starting from 1%.
The higher it got, the more difficult it became, requiring more effort and resources.
That final wall at the 90% mark was considered impossible to break through.
That was why Mages with a strong sensitivity to a particular Element would ultimately choose to specialize in that direction.
Greater sensitivity to an Element meant better control over its corresponding Magic, faster learning Speed, and even greater Power when cast.
This eventually led to the distinctions between Fire Mages, Ice Element Mages, Thunder Mages, and so on...
And yet, here was Lu Cang.
For every single Element tested, he demonstrated 100% perfect sensitivity.
100% sensitivity to All Elements.
A perfect all-elemental Mage.
This time, even Kumironi showed a hint of astonishment.
If not for this test, she would have never known that Lu Cang truly possessed Perfect Sensitivity to All Elements.
"100% sensitivity to All Elements."
The old Elder in the Promotion Hall, who was originally supposed to conduct the Ritual, couldn't help but tremble as he spoke.
He had felt some regret at not being able to witness Iz's promotion Ritual to Magic Saint.
'It seems I'm witnessing the birth of a new magical prodigy.'