"So, what should I do?" Gwen's trembling lips asked for an answer.

By now, her eyes were moistened by her devastating evaluation. The pitiful gaze she cast made the instructor feel guilty, and he felt his iron fist shaken. After all, the girl's future is meaningless, if not bleak.

But Crystal didn't lie.

Whatever it presents in its conclusion, it is the poor witch who painted it for her fate.

"You should be able to cast basic spells without any problems," the teacher tried to soften her confusion with a subtle tone of voice, and the lack of affinity also meant that you had no real drawbacks when visiting different schools, so you could be a utility mage, maybe a machine operator?"

The girl's thin, fair face showed a creepy look of despair, indicating that she was desolate.

"Look. He glanced at Yue and Elvis, her classmates still congratulating her. "You're good friends with the firefighting girl, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir," Gwen replied, still struck by her ordinariness.

What's the point of being deprived of her perfect life, only to be thrust into a mediocre role in eugenic apartheid? Gwen couldn't help but think of the musings of an old bard: debauched boys are mortals of the gods like flies, and they play with our wings. Is it possible that she will be pulled out of the pinnacle of Sydney's life and sink into this depressing canyon of despair? If there is a "movement" in it, it must be at her expense.

"I'll write you down as a calling, because you have access to it. It's also the cheapest and most time-saving training, but from now on, it will be just you. The school will of course provide what we can, but ......"

The teacher's expression told her more about what she didn't need to know. The school didn't care about listing her as a junior student. All lower grade students are given the same resources until they are able to stand out in some way. She will decorate the place like a decoration in a sea of nameless faces.

"Thank you, sir," Gwen finally replied, unsure whether her mentor had helped her or prolonged her pain.

The teacher nodded, scribbling down her new classification in a notepad.

Gwen Song - Level 1 Evocation.

"Good luck. ”

The rest of the students passed the exam quickly.

Junior mages are assigned to their respective schools of magic.

Gwen is in the second shift.

As she promised, she was in Yue's class. To their surprise, the new darling of the grade, Elvis Lindholm, was also included in the second class.

Thankfully, Deborah was in Class 3.

Gwen looked around and saw some familiar faces, and they were blind to her. The snub is unpleasant. Her unique family drama over the past two years has meant she has had little time to make friends. Now, however, she has bigger problems, such as that she is a wayward soul that has been stolen from time and space and then deposited in a fragile body at an inopportune time.

She is one of 30 students who are able to arouse people's interest. After all, it's a staple food for all mages. In addition to this, there are even rarer mages, various renunciers, several shapeshifters, two low-affinity soothsayers, one low-affinity spellcaster, and so on.

The experts who emerged were:

Yue, a fourth-level fire summoner

Jasmine, the second layer of ice arouser

Owen, a second-level earthen magician

Jurgen, a second-class water magician

Patrick, a first-class water magician

And, of course, there is the crop credit of the crop, the second-degree biological cancer Ivey.

The whole thing seems ridiculous to Gwen, whose old world is driven by the basic principle that everyone gets a fair sauce bottle.

If a person wins the genetic lottery, that's all well and good, but what about names? What about people like her who are so poor? Are they destined to never get the sun's rays?

She wanted to say something sarcastic, to express the unhappiness and frustration of her chest cracking, but she was struck by another revelation of an epiphany.

Humanity is not alone in this world.

There has never been a major war between humans in this world. This great war was fought against the invasion of the undead, who witnessed nearly 20% of humanity's land being taken by dead magical creatures. On the contrary, the Second World War took place in the 70s and was triggered by the awakening of an ancient dragon. In that war, humanity lost a large number of cities and fortresses, effectively cutting them off from the Pacific Ocean and isolating humanity to city-states.

Over the past three decades, while several cities have been filled in and stabilized with barriers, humanity has never escaped an existential crisis devastated by an attack from an unknown world.

In fact, her current residence, the frontier city of Sydney, is such a port of call for land reclamation.

The coastal areas of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, which had been defeated in the 1940 Coral Sea War, were returned to human rule by the wizards of the British Commonwealth, led by British, Chinese, and American expeditions. Thus, refugees and volunteers from the Commonwealth and the Micronesian diaspora reunited the city.

As with all borders, supplies are restricted. Maintaining the shield barrier is a priority for all cities. The remaining barren resources are channelled into the urban system for redistribution.

When Gwen undertook her primary exams, she did not show any particular talent for magic and had to go to an ordinary school to study basic theory and preparatory courses, which was a major disappointment for her mother, who had thought she was a child prodigy.

Her older brother Percy, on the contrary, had something special and registered a mana signature, at the age of 10. He is currently studying at the Sydney Magical Boys Academy, a "selective" government institution.

In short, this means that she will lack resources, which makes it even more difficult to get out of mediocrity.

In the Old World, Gwen wasn't a good student either, but that didn't stop her from believing she would do well. There are always benefits to networking, taking risks, and seizing the right business opportunities.

However, in this world, Gwen felt her internal organs shrink.

What the hell is she going to do?

In fact, everything in this world depends on some kind of knowledge or love for magic. Even the wealthiest people serve a particular house, family, or faction. It is almost impossible for a person without talent to be self-sufficient.

"Gwen!" a familiar voice woke her from her nightmarish introspection.

It's Yue.

"We are all woke up!!, the elated Asian girl happily hugged Gwen's arm and tucked Gwen's bony elbow between the pillow piles. With a level 4 affinity, her friend has a bright future.

Is it possible to make a living by magic?

Like all clickbait rhetoric, the answer is "no."

If she gave up the spell, she would be an inconsequential woman, an ant working in a hive of indifferent activities. Without background and pedigree, she will be transparent. Her only value is to have a beautiful face in the crowd. When these creatures come to the city, she will huddle in the bunker with other civilians, waiting to die or be saved.

What kind of stupid life would that be? Who aspires to be cannon fodder and go with the wind?

Feeling Yue pressing against her cold body, Gwen suppressed a sigh. She hugged her friend and stole some of Xiao Yue's warmth.

Gwen told herself that it was stupid to give up so soon. Haven't all these years taught her? She's not the first girl to run away from home. If she could go on her own at the age of 16 and succeed, she would definitely be able to go again. Isn't that what Blue Eyes said? If I can do it. Where will I go?

What if life gave her lemons?

She's going to make lemon sorbet and lime pie!

She had to work until she vomited blood. No one is born an archmage. As they say, this path is three-quarters of risk and reward, and one-quarter of talent. If she's dead, hell, maybe she'll wake up in her bed by the bay and go home!

A plan began to take shape in her mind.

"I agree, Xiaoyue, it's going to be great," Gwen said to her friend, who was already daydreaming about the upcoming semester.

"Yes!" Yue smiled from ear to ear, not caring at all about the cold and jealous expression, not at all caring about the guilt that stained Ge Wen's forehead.

"We're going to be a dynamic combination!Black Thorns Wake Up Sisters!" Yue said happily.

"Dynamic duo!" Gwen echoed, engulfing her pride.

Newly formed classes slowly aggregate into the groups they specify. Now that the aptitude test results have been assigned and documented, the course will revert to the new configuration within a week.

Boarding on campus is a must for students majoring in spells.

This weekend they went home to sort out their parents' notices. For Gwen, the ordeal smacked of excesses and dictatorship. If parents deprive the state of a much-needed body, they will be severely punished.

With a sense of ambivalence, Gwen says goodbye to a reluctant little Yue and returns home to deliver the baby, which she thinks is bad news.

When she boarded the tram again, Gwen realized that the day was still young. Since it was not yet noon, she decided to take the opportunity to do some academic research on her current situation.

She took the tram to the National Library, north of Hyde Park. As a student of magicians, her new ID card allows her to have limited access to closed resources for magical knowledge. Gwen didn't know where to start, so she pulled out a few rudimentary books to dispel some of her ignorance.

In the past, she had been a troubled high school student, although college soon saw her academic talents blossom. She quickly skimmed through the necessary dossier and found herself familiar with the knowledge. What's more, she can't trick her long-term memories into regurgitating the information she needs. Therefore, the reading of basic knowledge is the fuse that promotes the decade of education.

When new knowledge and old knowledge are painfully combined, she realizes that she is in a difficult situation.

First of all, in this world, spells are closed. Aside from the first few layers of magic, there is little information about effective training methods. In a world where there is no Wikipedia or encyclopedia, knowledge beyond the high school syllabus is well limited. In this world, the knowledge of higher education is only available to those who are meritocetically accredited.

In the Old World, she could search for the theory behind nuclear fission in five minutes. In this world, she had better go to college first and then learn level 3 magic.

All in all, there are 9 levels of spells, categorized into spells, rituals, and strategic rituals. Due to modern spell laws, elemental affinity directly affects the effectiveness of spells. In addition, magical phenomena are transformed by soul and meta-magic, creating a large number of spells that are almost impossible to record.

By the same standard, professional education comes in the form of masters and apprentices. In Gwen's current situation, the instructions given to the masses are only used to produce the fodder mages necessary to fill the gaps in the battle line. Even if one is fortunate enough to hire a master, few mages are willing to pass on their craft in secret to anyone other than the rightful heirs.

Still, Gwen continued reading.

Witchcraft is a manifestation of magic.

Spell casting is done through spells.

Spells, consisting of two parts, auditory and bodily, are used to trigger the memory programs necessary for the formation of arcane energy.

The source of the mage's power is their astral soul, which is seen as their own astral body in deep meditation. Astra's body's affinity for a particular school of magic manifests itself as Siegel.

A person's signal shapes the mana of the Elemental Gate. From fire, water, and earth, to more exotic forces like dust, magma, and even radiation.

Thus, a spell begins in the form of primordial spiritual energy or mana released by the astral body. The mage's elemental affinity is replenished through the Elemental Gate. At the same time, summoning shapes energy as it passes through the mage's mana pipeline, leaving the body with a desired phenomenon.

The process is simple in theory, but the problem is that as the number of spell stacks increases, the complexity increases exponentially.

There are a little more first-level spells than a one. Level 2 spells have three spells. There are nine third-level spells and twenty-seven fourth-level spells. Each exists with a highly complex mindset that must be conveyed fluently through the correct pronunciation. If the spell fails, the mage will be burned with mana. Normally, failure causes dizziness and nausea, and the higher the spell, the caster may be incapacitated. In extreme cases, the caller can become an idiot.

In this way, the complex phenomenon is incredibly challenging to manifest, as the mana requirement is proportional to the risk of failure and self-harm.

Gwen tries to imagine an archmage using old-world algorithms to calculate numbers, casting the legendary ninth layer of spells.

6561 mantra with no failure or pause in spirit.

Pythagoras! she took a breath of cold air.

No wonder there are only a few such people in the world. More than a dozen mages out of 5 billion humans are capable of becoming mysterious supercomputers.

Gwen read on. There is a section about the affinity of the school of magic.

It seems that mages are inherently closely related to special forms of magical phenomena. The most common arousers are adept at releasing energy. Magicians are best at condensing and summoning objects and creatures. The renouncer can create solid matter as an obstacle.

Anyone attempting to use a magic school, where one of the mages lacks affinity, will need to be over-focused, with the risk of burning mana.

On the other hand - to have a Siegel - a genius mage is often innate, making calling a magic school almost second nature.

Gwen closed the book in despair.

That's why her mentor told her that she could only be a practical mage - a third-rate healer, an observer of a summoning camp, a controller of levitating transport, and an operator of the divination department.

That's because she doesn't cast spells in the heat of battle.

When she flipped through another primer book, she saw that the page in front of her had a Cantrip on it—something so simple that it didn't even need a Sig. These simple mantras are called incantations.

She closed her eyes and began to chant.

"Hand of the Sorcerer!"

In her mind, she felt the flow of mana through her body, stinging her skin as they passed through the pipes of her body.

She imagined a hand, an invisible star-like limb, holding up the book she was reading.

"Mom! Gwen's moment of calm was interrupted by the cry of a child.

The heavy book fell on her lap.

She was still in the library, and the faint glow of mana from her rash actions caused a commotion. One child stared into her wild eyes and pointed a stout finger at her face.

"Samuel!" the mother withdrew the child's hand. "It's rude to point fingers!"

She turned and looked at Gwen with a scared, apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry, Miss Mage," she chanted in a trembling voice.

"Very well," Gwen replied immediately, blushing across her face.

"Miss, please don't show any signs in public places. A voice came from behind them. It was a librarian, and his face was full of displeasure.

"I'm sorry," Gwen apologized that it wouldn't happen again. ”

"Thank you, ma'am!" the woman apologized again.

Even a worthless mage like me would be so scared, Gwen thought sadly.

The world is a two-tiered dystopia. Here, the mages are nobles, and the non-magical population is serfs. This is the difference in their natural endowments. She wondered what compelled the mages to live next to the nameless nobility?

While both the mages and citizens agree to abide by the metaphorical Magna Carta, it goes without saying that the mages occupy an irreplaceable position.

Aristocracy based on a genetic meritocracy?Gwen shuddered. The wet dreams of eugenic scholars.

Again, her altered memories remind her that when survival is in sight, handing over power to a small elite seems natural, without a doubt.

When the creatures of the wasteland come, a team of battle mages can defeat a hundred monsters. A mage can eliminate a hoard in a massive attack. A mage can deal with a normal-level magical beast. They're more akin to the nuclear deterrence of the Old World in Old Vancouvency. They have preserved the balance of the world and the fragile peace.

Gwyn thought sourly, "If you don't go to our human metropolis, we won't nuke your monster graveyard." ”。 Become a mage in a world ruled by magic.

The aptitude test was a watershed moment when Schrödinger's cat was finally released. Most of the time, the cat dies. Sometimes, cats are still alive. Once on a blue moon, out of the picture was a displaced beast.

But until then, all children are idiots.

"Ping!"

An announcement echoed in the library.

"We're closing in ten minutes......"

Gwen closed the book. It's time to face reality.