Chapter 23: Far Beyond the Limit

8 years old, Level 2 Mage, promoted in 3 days.

No matter how one looked at it, these were not normal numbers.

The old man's eyes were filled with shock.

Meanwhile, the other staff members in the promotion hall and the waiting candidates also began to whisper among themselves.

Lu Cang complained silently in his heart.

If Chichen hadn't dragged him out for drinks, this progress would have been even faster.

Speaking of which, more than half of the last few days had been spent in a coma...

"Lord Iz."

"He is too young; we fear we cannot preside over his promotion ceremony..."

Iz nodded slightly. "I know."

He then turned to look at Kumironi.

"It should be fine to let Kumironi preside over the ceremony, right?"

The old man bowed respectfully to Kumironi.

"Of course, there is no problem."

Kumironi gave a light laugh. "Then I shall overstep my bounds."

The old man added, "But the records..."

Kumironi nodded. "Yes, I will follow the standard procedures."

The old man breathed a sigh of relief. "That is good, then."

Promotion ceremonies followed standard procedures. This was mandated by law.

Kumironi skillfully took over the old man's position, stood at the podium of the ceremony host, and announced: "A mage's promotion ceremony must satisfy the requirements of three aspects: mana capacity, elemental affinity, and spell control, and must also possess at least one proof of combat experience."

"The first test will measure your total mana capacity."

News that Izparut seemed to be promoting to a Mage Saint had spread.

More and more people gathered around the promotion hall.

However, when they saw that the one being promoted was a child, they felt a sense of disappointment and turned to leave.

But then, a sudden thought struck them...

A child?

How the hell could a child appear at a promotion ceremony?

Damn.

Looking closely, they saw it was Kumironi presiding over the ceremony.

So, they turned back around.

But upon turning back, they found themselves facing a wall of people; the spots they had originally claimed had long since been taken by others.

"This little guy..."

"Isn't he the one who treated us to dinner the day before yesterday?"

"Oh, oh! I remember, Little Lu Cang, right!"

"I heard that on his first adventure, he soloed a Tier 2 dungeon!"

"Really?"

"He's Izparut's personal disciple, how could it be fake?"

"Holy crap... that's badass. If only my kid could be as successful as him."

Lu Cang's mouth twitched slightly.

He had expected to be watched, but he hadn't expected so many people.

*Iz, oh...*

*Actually, I wanted to develop in low profile. By making such a big scene, you're making things very difficult for me.*

Lu Cang placed his hand on the crystal ball before him.

Testing mana?

Kumironi announced: "A mana value of 5 is passing, 10 is excellent, and 20 is perfect."

*20 is perfect?*

*It seems 20 is 100 times the base mana.*

Lu Cang placed his hand on it and released his mana...

*Bang!*

The crystal ball instantly cracked with fine fissures!

*Hey... don't play out this classic trope right now. Don't let it shatter and then show a zero. I'm in front of so many people.*

Although he didn't want to be too flashy, he didn't want to be treated as a failure either; he had some dignity to maintain.

Fortunately, the crystal ball only cracked slightly. It didn't explode into pieces.

The number finally appeared...

And it was a number that rendered everyone speechless.

【Mana Value: 10,000】

How much?

How many zeros?

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, grandpas, grandfathers!

Ten thousand?

5 is passing, 10 is excellent, 20 is a perfect score...

And you're at ten thousand?

The entire promotion hall fell into a dead silence.

Such a terrifying number had only appeared once in recent years.

Well, there had indeed been one other time in recent years.

But looking back thousands of years prior, not a single instance had occurred.

Oh.

Lu Cang roughly understood the meaning of this number.

This value was likely the multiplier of mana immediately after a mage's awakening.

20 was equivalent to 20 times the initial mana value.

Most mages, when moving from Level 1 to Level 2, hovered between 5 to 10 times their mana.

A very small number of mages could train up to 20 times their mana.

This was the absolute limit of most high-quality [Mana Enhancement Spells].

As for 100 times...

That only appeared during mana tides, also known as the [Limit Mana of a Level 1 Mage].

10,000 times.

Only the Mana Void could reach such a level.

*Eh...*

*He said 20 is perfect, so I thought 20 meant the limit of a Level 1 mage's mana.*

The noisy venue was left in total silence.

Kumironi, however, showed no sign of surprise.

Shock was reserved for everyone else.

As the ceremony host, her responsibility was simply to carry the ceremony forward.

"Next is the elemental affinity test."

"Sensing five elements is passing, sensing eight elements is excellent. Beyond that number, we only distinguish the degree of affinity for each element."

"The first element... Fire."

It was still the crystal ball test.

*Does this test... have no originality?*

Thinking this, Lu Cang still placed his hand on the crystal ball.

A burst of intense flame ignited on the crystal ball.

This symbolized complete affinity with the fire element, capable of perfectly sensing any presence of fire elements.

"Freak..."

"Damn, is this even human?"

"Being able to sense 70% of fire element presence is considered a highly talented fire mage."

"Is this guy sensing everything?"

Full affinity with the fire element was merely the beginning.

Lu Cang continued with the next elemental test.

Ice element—Full affinity.

Dark element—Full affinity.

Water element—Full affinity.

Wind element—Full affinity.

...

Having spent all afternoon reading yesterday, Lu Cang had a general understanding.

Not every mage was an all-rounder capable of learning all spells.

The vast majority of mages possessed a particularly strong affinity for only one element.

Elemental affinity could be cultivated through training—for example, using dark crystals to sense dark elements—but it would only rise slowly from 1%.

It became increasingly difficult the further one went, requiring more effort and resources.

Until the final 90%, which was virtually impossible to increase.

Therefore, mages with strong affinity for a certain element would eventually choose to specialize in that direction.

With higher affinity for an element, their control over those spells, their learning speed, and even the power of their spells would be superior.

Ultimately, this led to the distinction between Fire Mages, Ice Mages, and Lightning Mages...

But the Lu Cang before them...

Every element, upon testing, was in a state of 100% full affinity.

100% across all elements.

A perfect multi-element mage.

This time, even Kumironi showed a hint of surprise.

If they hadn't tested him, they truly wouldn't have known that Lu Cang actually possessed perfect affinity for all elements.

"100% across all elements!"

In the promotion hall, even the head ritual elder couldn't help but tremble.

He had originally felt a sense of regret for not being able to witness Iz's promotion to Mage Saint.

It seemed, instead, he was witnessing the birth of a new elemental monster.