"THE NEXT CONTESTANT FOR THE GRAND MAGIC COMPETITION — MISS LILY AEDILE!" the announcer shouted excitedly.
It was a competition held every year to discover new talent. With a grand prize of six million gold coins, mages from around the world gathered to show off their magic abilities and get scouted by famous magic academies.
Lily, a young and inexperienced mage, slowly walked onto the stage, her hands wavering slightly. She first bowed to the judges, then took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
"Fireball!" she shouted.
It was a basic fire spell that almost any mage could use. But at the same time, Lily also cast another spell.
"Wind Burst!"
The audience, expecting a normal fireball, looked at her with disappointment.
But right after she finished casting—
A massive fireball, nearly half the size of the stadium, suddenly appeared above the arena. The intense heat and power radiating from it made the entire audience fall silent.
No one dared to speak.
They could only watch as the gigantic mass of flame slowly dissipated after Lily canceled her spell.
After a moment of silence, one of the judges suddenly stood up.
"M-Miss Lily… are you really a beginner mage?"
Lily looked at the judge in confusion.
"Yeah? Didn't you see? All I used was the beginner spell Fireball."
The judges immediately stood up one after another, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
"Miss Lily, are you really sure?"
"Miss Lily, that spell looked like advanced fire magic!"
"Miss Lily—"
"Miss Lily—"
"Miss Aedile—"
Questions came one after another. Lily quickly became overwhelmed and couldn't keep up.
So she decided to brush it off.
"Ah… yes, it was actually the advanced spell Sunflare."
The moment Lily said that, the judges stopped talking and slowly sat back down.
Even the announcer was staring at her with his mouth wide open.
Then the judges spoke in unison.
"Miss Lily, who has not even been a mage for over a decade, can already use advanced magic. This is unheard of. Therefore, our decision is to give her a perfect score, ranking her first place in the competition!"
The audience erupted into cheers.
It was absolute chaos.
A young mage capable of using magic that many mages would never master in their entire lives had just appeared before them.
Suddenly, a man stood up from the crowd and rushed toward Lily on the stage.
"I'm a recruiter from Formosa Academy! After seeing your immense talent, we hope to recruit you to our prestigious school!"
Meanwhile, Lily was still in shock.
She could barely process what was happening.
She was an advanced mage now?
And on top of that, a recruiter from one of the top magic academies just tried to recruit her!
Lily's mind was a complete mess. She couldn't comprehend a single word of what was happening, so she decided to simply turn her brain off and stop thinking.
Lily crossed her arms and looked to the left.
The recruiter, who was originally standing confidently with his hand extended, suddenly froze when he saw her reaction.
What? She's rejecting the offer?!
But we're the best academy! She should be grateful for this opportunity!
If I fail to recruit her, the higher-ups are going to fire me…
Sweat began forming on his forehead.
Determined to recruit her at any cost, he quickly raised the stakes.
"We will cover your entire tuition! You won't need to pay for anything!"
Miss Lily still had her arms crossed.
The recruiter was now sweating heavily.
"O-Okay! We'll also cover all of your living expenses and sponsor you in anything you need!"
Lily slowly uncrossed her arms, but she was still looking to the left.
Yes… it's working! the recruiter thought.
"We will also give you a legendary-ranked magic tool!"
Lily remained completely still.
It didn't work?! But that was supposed to be my trump card!
Panicking, the recruiter suddenly knelt in front of her.
"Please join our school! I'm begging you! Just please! I don't want to get fired!"
Hearing that, Lily finally snapped back to reality.
"Sure," she said plainly.
But inside, her mind was still in chaos.
She had actually planned to accept the first offer, but her body had frozen and refused to move. Then the recruiter just kept adding more and more rewards.
But hearing him beg finally helped her regain control of her body.
Meanwhile, the entire audience watched the scene with the exact same thought.
Wow…
She's so young and already this arrogant.
Just because she's strong, she made someone kneel and beg just to recruit her.
She probably doesn't even need those rewards.
She just wanted to see him beg.
Lily stood silently on the stage.
Then her thoughts drifted back to one year earlier.