A young boy wrapped in swaddling clothes appeared on the light screen.

His parents, dressed in somewhat tattered clothing, were happily playing with him, as if marveling at the joy brought by this new life.

“These are my parents. I wasn’t born in the Federation; I was born in a church kingdom within the Land of the Gods.”

“As one of the kingdoms under the rule of the Gods, the place of my birth might not be considered prosperous…”

“But under the potential threats from the Empire and the Fire Thief Cult, those Gods’ attitude towards ordinary people was relatively mild, and life could barely be described as peaceful and harmonious…”

The voice of the White-bearded Old Man rang out again, calmly explaining the scene displayed on the light screen.

After speaking, the staff in his hand once again lightly tapped the stage floor.

The image on the light screen flickered once more.

The infant boy in swaddling clothes also gradually grew up amidst the flowing scenes on the screen, becoming a little boy…

Accompanying the changing images on the light screen, the White-bearded Old Man slowly narrated his story.

“In the year I turned seven, a Fourth Stage mage came to the rural town where I lived, intending to recruit some mage apprentices.”

“All the children in the entire town, under their parents’ expectations, were sent to be tested to see if their spiritual power met the standard.”

The latest image on the screen showed hundreds of children, accompanied by their parents, neatly forming a long line…

“Fortunately, my spiritual power just barely met the standard, and I became a mage apprentice.”

“Unfortunately, among those children, seventeen had qualified spiritual power, and my aptitude was the worst among them.”

The scene on the light screen changed again.

A man wearing a mage’s robe was surrounded by seventeen delighted children…

“During my learning journey under my first teacher, due to my aptitude issues, I took many detours.”

“The other sixteen mage apprentices became First Stage mages within just a few years.”

“But I, hindered by my aptitude, remained only a mage apprentice no matter how hard I tried to meditate…”

The scene on the screen became that of a thin, weak teenager, excluded from the crowd, hanging his head, standing alone.

“At first, my first teacher still held a sliver of hope for me…”

“Later, his patience ran out. In the seventh year after taking me in, he shook his head and expelled me from his mage tower.”

“The reason was that he didn’t want to waste my youth any longer. By then, I was already 14 years old, and in the occupational system, being a mage wasn’t the only profession.”

“He tactfully suggested that perhaps I could achieve something in professions like a warrior…”

“Fortunately, he was a gentleman of good character and reputation.”

“When driving me away, he gave me two gold coins as start-up capital for me to pursue the warrior profession.”

The scene on the screen changed again to a thin, weak boy, tears glistening in his eyes as he walked out of a majestic tower…

“After being driven out of the mage tower, I didn’t return to that rural town but went to a nearby large human city.”

“I used those two gold coins to bribe a recruitment officer of a city library and became a contracted sorter for the library.”

“As a young boy, after studying mage knowledge for seven years, I had long considered myself a mage and had developed an extreme disdain for the warrior profession in my heart.”

“I was unwilling to become a warrior who only took damage…”

“During those seven years as a mage apprentice, I wasn’t completely useless. At the very least, I discovered my own minuscule bit of talent…”

“When I read books, I was quite focused. After mastering some complex knowledge, my spiritual power would grow slightly…”

“This was also the reason why I bribed that recruitment officer with the only two gold coins I had.”

“As someone single-mindedly wanting to become a mage, since my aptitude was insufficient, I could only choose to work a little harder…”

“Many people think becoming a mage requires talent, but this is actually a misunderstanding.”

“In reality, the strength of one’s spiritual power and the amount of knowledge accumulated are the shackles that limit a mage.”

“Remember, for a mage, knowledge is everything! Spiritual power is your bridge to all things!”

The image on the light screen changed once more.

A thin, weak boy sat in a corner of a rather imposing library, holding a thick book…

Under the control of the White-bearded Old Man, the images on the light screen began to flash rapidly…

That thin, weak teenager transformed into a gaunt old man, his hair having turned somewhat gray.

“I stayed in that library for 40 years.”

“Thanks to my status as a contracted sorter, even though I slacked off every day, I wasn’t fired.”

“That bribe of only two gold coins was the most worthwhile transaction I ever made in my long life…”

“During those forty years, I read two-thirds of the books in that library.”

“I almost understood most of the basic knowledge within the Land of the Gods.”

“And my spiritual power, progressing with the slight growth from reading each book, finally reached the threshold of a First Stage mage.”

“In the year I turned 54, I finally achieved my wish and became a mage.”

“Then, a dramatic turn of events occurred.”

“After becoming a mage, I used my spiritual power to look inward at my body.”

“I discovered that my warrior talent was truly excellent.”

“The energy floating in the air was almost constantly drilling into my flesh and blood!”

“I also found the reason why I couldn’t become a mage for so long!!!”

“That energy was being devoured by my physical body!!!”

“That’s why my spiritual power grew so slowly!!!”

“My spiritual power never devoured any energy at all!!”

“The reason I was so thin and weak was also because my physical body needed more energy!!”

“So! I could only rely on the most primitive method—reading books! to increase my spiritual power!!!”

“When I learned this truth, I was broken for a long time…”

“It took me a full year to pull myself together!!”

“And I was already 55 years old!! Still only a First Stage mage!!!”

“How ironic. If I had chosen to practice the warrior path at 14 years old, by the time I was 54, I might have already been a Legendary Tier warrior!!”

“Forty years is enough time for many things to happen…”

“This lesson also taught me a principle: a mage needs neither arrogance nor prejudice!!”

“A mage possessing arrogance and prejudice is destined not to become an excellent mage, only a foolish spellcaster…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep