Hearing "free of charge," Reyn nearly jumped up and left.
Free is the most expensive, isn't it?
Back in his youth and naivety, how many times had he fallen for games baited with "free" ads! He jumped from one trap to another, spending countless sums on in-game purchases, ruining his health, only to realize he was just a paying extra for rich heirs who threw money around for in-game dominance.
Lost in these bitter memories, Reyn forgot to reply immediately.
Viola, seeing his expression shift as if displeased, wondered if she'd said something wrong. For a moment, she faltered, and an awkward silence hung in the room.
"Ahem..."
Reyn finally remembered this wasn't a game, coughed, and said somewhat embarrassedly:
"Lady Viola, I truly haven't had time to think deeply about choosing a Superhuman profession. Please, tell me about it."
The half-elf nodded slightly and said seriously:
"Lord Reyn, you just passed the soul test and endured twenty-five minutes. Such talent is extraordinarily high. In Longsand's three academies, there might not be even a few geniuses like you."
Reyn pretended to be modest, waving it off, though he rejoiced inwardly. Hearing such praise from a beautiful woman felt incredibly good.
"With your gift, the first choice should undoubtedly be mage."
Viola gracefully tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear, revealing its pointed tip, and continued:
"The Empire is under the Goddess's patronage, ruled by mages. Moreover, mage is the oldest and, without any 'perhaps,' the strongest Superhuman profession among humans. No matter how you look at it, you should become a mage."
Reyn fully agreed.
Indeed, in the Auriens Empire, mage was the most coveted Superhuman profession.
Mage—always the top pick for Superhumans!
Though other Superhuman professions were strong too, and superior in some aspects, few with the chance to become mages turned it down.
Of course, mage ability requirements were very high. Among those undergoing the Soul Transformation Ritual, perhaps only one in twenty—the most gifted—became mages.
Thus, nearly all the Empire's most powerful figures were mages.
Reyn hadn't rushed to accept Roger's demon hunter offer precisely because he wondered if he had a shot at mage. If not, demon hunter would be his backup.
Finished speaking, Viola effortlessly conjured a fire crow before her.
The fire crow, with a half-meter wingspan, looked strikingly lifelike, just like a real predatory bird.
It circled the room, then grabbed a teacup from the table, flew to Reyn, and hovered motionless before him. Not a drop of tea spilled from the cup gripped in its talons.
"Please, have some tea," Viola gestured invitingly.
Reyn took the cup. The fire crow vanished instantly, as if it had never been.
But in his Soul Eye, Reyn saw the crow dissolve into red energy that rushed to Viola, absorbed into her forehead, and returned to the spectral tower in her soul, where on the lowest level, the fire crow's demonic soul reappeared.
Reyn had long known Viola was a mage but feigned surprise anyway.
"Lady Viola, so you're a mage!"
Viola was pleased with Reyn's reaction. After demonstrating her skill, she asked:
"Lord Reyn, do you know what schools and specializations mages have?"
"Three schools, eight specializations?" Reyn replied uncertainly.
Mage was the dream profession for all Superhumans, but mages kept to themselves, shrouded in mystery. Ordinary people knew little about them.
Academy instructors often mentioned mages but weren't mages themselves and knew only basic terms. They couldn't explain what mages truly were.
Viola was mildly surprised:
"Lord Reyn, it turns out you're not entirely ignorant of magic."
"I heard it once from an academy instructor. He mentioned some famous mage professions, like All Souls Mage. But I don't know the exact schools and specializations," Reyn said, realizing he'd accidentally revealed his academy education.
A smile flickered in Viola's eyes.
"Your instructor was right. Mages are indeed divided into three main schools and eight specializations."
She then explained the mage profession's structure in detail.
The first Superhuman profession among humans was mage.
Originally, ancient sages tried imitating elven wizards' magic. Later, with inspiration and the Goddess of Magic's aid, they gradually perfected the magic system, making it one of the strongest Superhuman professions.
Traditional wizards divided into eight schools based on spellcasting methods and effects. Mages, however, split into three schools by soul-merging methods.
These were: School of Law Seals, School of Soul Management, and Combat School.
Followers of the School of Law Seals boosted their spiritual power by merging with magical seals.
A magical seal's essence was the element. Mages extracted mystic elements from demonic souls, formed magical seals from them, implanted them into their own soul, then used spiritual power to activate the seals and cast spells.
The School of Law Seals had four specializations: Elementalist, Arcanist, Psionic, and Dark Mage. All were advanced professions requiring corresponding elemental affinity.
Of these four, Elementalist was the most common.
Over half of all mages were Elementalists. In turn, Elementalists specialized in different spell types based on individual elemental affinity, yielding nearly ten Elementalist varieties—a complex system.
Arcanists wielded arcane magic and had the highest talent demands among the four, appearing extremely rarely.
The other two, Psionic and Dark Mage, were also scarce, as their seals were hard to find and power growth slow, so few mages chose those paths.
Next was the School of Soul Management. Its adepts used demonic souls in combat.
Soul Management mages ignited soul flame through meditation and built a "Soul Gathering Tower" in their soul to nurture and strengthen complete demonic souls.
When needed, demonic souls from the tower provided combat power.
The School of Soul Management had three specializations: Shapeshifter Mage, Mage of a Thousand Spells, and All Souls Mage.
These three represented distinct combat styles.
Shapeshifter Mages, also known as Transformation Mages, let demonic souls possess them, gaining transformation abilities and casting spells in new forms. With multiple possessions, their physical and magical prowess far exceeded the souls' originals. Their style was incredibly versatile, adapting to nearly any condition, making them extremely hard to kill.
Mages of a Thousand Spells, as the name implied, mastered vast spell arrays.
Of course, a thousand was hyperbole, but it captured their trait: they truly knew countless spells.
Mages of a Thousand Spells also nurtured demonic souls in the Soul Gathering Tower but favored elementals, spirits, and aberrations.
These three demonic soul types naturally possessed many spells and rare, powerful casting techniques.
Mages of a Thousand Spells cast by letting souls possess them and could instantly swap possessions, mastering all spells from their tower's souls and combining techniques for unpredictable effects.
If needed, they could summon all tower souls at once and unleash a spell barrage on foes.
The final School of Soul Management specialization was All Souls Mage.
Thanks to Cards of All Souls' popularity, All Souls Mages were so renowned that nearly everyone knew of them. Even non-card players had heard of this Superhuman profession.
Some ignorant folk even thought all mages were All Souls Mages.
In reality, All Souls Mages were just one branch of the School of Soul Management, possibly the mightiest.
All Souls Mages resembled summoners. They could temporarily empower themselves via possession but primarily summoned from the Soul Gathering Tower. Using spiritual power, they materialized demonic souls and controlled them in battle.
All Souls Mages sought to expand demonic soul numbers, combining types for various combat goals.
Besides tower-nurtured souls, All Souls Mages could crystallize demonic souls for portability.
Since soul crystals resembled cards, they were called soul cards.
All Souls Mages infused spiritual power into soul cards to summon similarly.
Tower-nurtured souls were "internal," card-summoned ones "external."
Internal souls could be recalled anytime, their remaining spiritual power reforming their bodies. Even if killed, they could revive after nurturing. External souls vanished permanently if killed, as one-use resources, their spiritual power lost forever.
Despite this, bolstered by soul cards, All Souls Mages became one of the strongest mage specializations.
Known demonic souls divided into sixteen major categories, each with hundreds of sub-types. Unique-property souls were countless.
All Souls Mages were experts deepest in demonic soul diversity. They nurtured and empowered them, summoning unique combos for any battle.
Thus, various All Souls Mage schools emerged, called soul card combinations.
For example, the popular "Menagerie" specializing in demonic beast summons, or "Legion" calling humanoid demonic souls, or "Swarm Hive" betting on numbers, and so on.
Each combination of soul cards represented a distinct summoning path.
Mages of All Souls passionately collected soul cards. Many alchemical shops specially crafted various soul cards, sometimes selling entire sets of pre-assembled combinations at a higher price.
All Souls Cards was a card game that simulated battles between Mages of All Souls.
Only, players' cards couldn't summon real demonic souls.
Viola herself was a Mage of All Souls, so she explained it in great detail, with a note of pride in her voice.
Finally, Viola moved on to the School of Battle Mages.
Speaking of the School of Battle Mages, she smirked. It was the smallest of the three schools, with only one specialization, simply called Battle Mage.
Reyn had never heard of Battle Mages before and immediately showed keen interest.
"Battle Mage!"
"Just the name of this specialization sounded impressive."