Rank 2 mage

The dust had cleared, and Havien was standing silently with his left eye glowing white. He had a trance-like expression on his face, as he seemed lost to another world.

'Potential Gaia, so it unlocked in a critical moment of deadly crisis. Right now, in this high-tier world, this feeling of wielding a gaia is more clear than ever. It feels like a switch has been turned on, like you are now using a part of yourself you did not even think you had.

Plus, I'm pretty sure I broke through to rank 2 the moment the gaia awakened. The Potential gaia, being awakened, increased my potential and talent in the path of a mage. I already had limitless potential through my multiple cores, but now, it has increased even further. I can't imagine my own future now, being the absolute prodigy I now am.

Luckily, My 9-core system works just as intended. I have 7 affinities of fire, water, wind, earth, light, darkness, and space. The central and the first one, surprisingly, has become the 'host' of the Potential Gaia, while my 9th and the last one, has become the host of the Abyssal Gaia, even though it's doubtful if I would ever awaken it again. For now, it's an elemental-less magic core only.

Now, back to the shitty old bastard. I have learned rank 2 magic spells in advance, so it should be no problem in giving him a surprise.'

In reality, Havien did not have to do anything to give the old man a surprise. He was watching with his jaw hanging.

'Are my eyes playing tricks on me? What in the world is this? A 4-year-old rank 2 mage?"

Havien looked into the eye of the old man with undisguised killing intent. For him, it is no longer a spar, but a true battle. He dashed forward faster than ever with his improved body enhancement, but just as he was going to land his punch, for which the old man was more than prepared, he disappeared.

Instead, a punch came from the blind spot of the old man, making contact. He took two steps backward and looked at Havien as he said,

"So you have chosen the space element. I can tell by your use of the rank 2 spell, blink. It's a rare and powerful element, but just as hard to practice. However, with your capabilities, I am sure that you will become a fine space mage."

The old man tried to walk away from the spar now, but he heard Havien call out from behind him,

"You wanted to see my true potential, didn't you? It's not over, old man. I still have a lot to show you.

'Dark magic: Curse of blindness'

The old man felt his vision going blurry for a few moments. He started to dispel the curse as soon as he figured out what was going on, but the few moments it brought, were enough for Havien to blink in front and chuck a fireball at the face of the old man.

'Rank 2 dark magic: Curse of blindness and a rank 2 fire magic: Fireball. It has been three elements by now, just how many elements has he chosen? Furthermore, I can't feel the dilution of elements, It's as if every element he uses is a solely dedicated element.'

Havien was not done, he had a few more moves left up in his ally,

'Earth magic: Rock bullet. Wind magic: Gust.'

Havien formed a few shards of sharp rocks and threw them at the old man, at the same time, he gave them a tailwind with the gust, increasing the speed, thus increasing the momentum.

The old man's attention was already diverted by the fire magic which he had used his instincts to negate the damage given to him, but soon he found himself being barraged by a salvo of super-fast earth bullets. He tried to dodge the bullets, but he found his legs bound by something wet.

'Rank 2 earth magic: Rock bullet, rank 2 wind magic: Gust, and rank 2 water magic: Water bind. No doubt about it, Havien Crimsonwhite has practiced all elements without suffering the penalty of element dilution. He has done what the generations of legendary mages thought was impossible, all at the age of 4. No, perhaps he is that young, he was not bound by the common sense of the world and his talent allowed him to find a way?' The old man pondered while silently suffering the rock bullets. He was not injured in any way due to his high rank, but a rank 2 hitting him when he was using the powers of a rank 6 was amazing enough.

Sure enough, Havien showed his final affinity by casting a rank 2 Light magic: Flash, and blinding the old man to punch him square in the stomach. Despite his high rank, The punch was an overcharged body enhancement one that made him wince in pain.

After this, Havien backed off before calmly saying,

"Now, we're even."

Just as Havien stated this, Harmond walked in the middle of the stage saying,

"Now that the spar is over, why don't we relax and have some tea, Sir Raymond?" Harmond said fearing that things may go out of hand at the rate at which stuff was progressing.

"Sure, before that, let me introduce myself to the little brat. My name is Raymond, and I am the Vice Head of the Magic Association. Your father had called me to teach you about magic, and I came because I heard that you succeeded in forming your mana core on your 4th birthday.

Initially, I did not believe it, but after seeing your absolutely monstrous talent, I had no choice but to believe." The old man, better referred to as Raymond, took a deep breath before seriously saying to Havien,

"I am a frank person, so I will not mince my words. I want to groom you as the next head of the Magic Association, as the seat is currently empty. To become the Head of the Magic Association, there is a rule passed down since long ago, that the Head must have the power of at least a rank 8 mage. I, myself, am a rank 7 mage, so I'm unqualified to take that position, but I believe that you have the potential to do it.

So, will you come with me to the headquarters of the magic association?"

Raymond seriously asked the child while looking into his eyes. The child in question, Havien, had a maturity that was seemingly impossible for his age, but Raymond credited that to the fact that Havien awakened very early and was influenced by mana. It wasn't rare for natural awakeners to be mature beyond their age.

Havien thought for a second before replying, "Yeah, sure."

"Ah, I knew it. Geniuses like you tend to walk their own path- Wait, What?!"

"Woah, why are you surprised? You are the one who asked."

"No wait, I mean are you sure? Don't you want to forge your own path like the protagonists of the stories?"

"No, why would I want to reject your offer to forge my path? I'm not like the protagonists from the stories who would reject an easy path out of their own pride. I don't have a grand purpose nor do I have something I must fulfill. My older brothers can take care of the territory and I can still be there for my family when they are in a crisis.

I just love magic, and right now what better place is there to hone my craft than the center of the magic world? Of course, the magic association will spare no efforts to nurture me, right?"

Raymond went silent for a second before bursting out laughing. He never expected the genius prodigy to be such a carefree person. While smiling, he said to Havien,

"I swear on my mana, I guarantee that the magic association will not be stingy with resources when nurturing you. There, happy?"

Havien was pretty surprised, he never expected a high-rank mage like Raymond swear a mana oath. Mana oaths are absolute oaths of a mage that would disperse the mana core of a mage when broken.

"Well then, let's not dilly-dally any longer. I'm sorry Harmond, but I am too busy to take out time for some tea. I'll make it up to you in the future." Raymond replied to Harmond who had been sidelined during this whole conversation.

"Oh, I don't mind at all. Rather, I'm happy that Havien found something he wants to do. From the day he started practicing magic, I saw how enamored he was with it. It was to the point of showing complete disinterest in other things. And whatever Havien said is true, I have my eldest son to inherit my position." Harmond now looked at Havien before speaking,

"Havien, I want you to know that whatever you might become in the future, you will always be my son. You are always welcome here when the times get tough. Now, go and say goodbye to your mother as I'm sure you will be gone for a few years now."

Havien smiled for the first time since meeting Raymond. He was sure that his initial judgment was not wrong. Harmond and Alesia were good people. In the future, he would try his best to help them whenever possible.

After saying his goodbyes to his mother, during which she cried a lot, Havien headed off to the Magic Association along with Raymond.