Cycle of Destiny

Chapter 1 The Holy Mage's Apprenticeship

When the news spread that the Holy Mage Odel would be taking on apprentices at the Orion Magic Academy, the entire academy was in an uproar.

This so-called Holy Mage, also known as the Archmage, once ventured alone into the Dark Cave and slew a demon. He was the founder of the Orion Magic Academy, single-handedly elevating the status of magic and mages, and is widely recognized as one of the most powerful beings on the continent. For many magic apprentices and even the academy's teachers, Ordell was like a lighthouse guiding them through the sea of ​​magic. Almost all the advanced mages in the academy had received his guidance and inspiration; even the current dean had grown step by step under his tutelage. It can be said that without him, none of the mages in the academy who had reached the intermediate level or above could have achieved their current level of success.

However, although he was the one who allowed magic to take root and flourish in these top mages, he never officially took on a single apprentice, not even once. Even after founding the academy, he declined the invitation to serve as its honorary dean and quietly left Orion.

But this time, it was such a great pioneer of magic who was going to publicly recruit disciples at the academy—such sudden news naturally caused a stir and heated discussion throughout the academy.

Everyone longs to be that lucky one. Newly enrolled students hope to stand out with their outstanding talent, as they are not yet qualified to compete with others in magical skill; established mages who have been in the academy for some time look forward to their rapid progress being noticed, so that they can soar to great heights; even the high-ranking mages who are already famous in the academy hope to take this opportunity to become disciples of Archmage Odel, fulfilling one of their wishes.

Ambitious people feel a surge of joy as they climb higher, like a spring that never stops flowing; even those who think they have no chance of being selected are still paying attention to this grand event, adding a few ripples to their mundane days—the event may not concern them, but that doesn't stop them from finding their own enjoyment in it.

If most people waver between "being chosen" and "not being chosen," then Harry is undoubtedly the one whose wavering is the greatest. He is a strange mix of the two extremes of "least likely" and "most likely."

How should we understand this? If you had walked into the academy two years ago and asked, "Who at Orion Academy of Magic has the best chance of becoming a mage's apprentice?" Harry's name would have been among the top answers. But if you were to ask someone else now, and ask them, "Who is least likely to be chosen by a mage now?"—the question is completely reversed—you would be surprised to find that Harry's name still appears frequently in the answers, firmly holding its place.

The Arcanos Empire is located in the southwest of the Arcanos continent, and the Orion Magic Academy is situated on the empire's southwestern border. The academy's predecessor was the Orion Province, half of which was covered by dense forests, teeming with countless magical beasts; the other half, though a plain, was fertile land, once a treasure trove for agriculture and horse breeding. Historically, Orion warhorses were renowned, even attracting the attention of neighboring countries whose military forces disguised themselves as merchants to steal foals in an attempt to improve their warhorses—though the empire saw through their scheme and ultimately failed.

Compared to the scorching sunlight of the central provinces, the sun in Orion is gentler, so the grapes grown here, while not overly sweet, possess a unique and delicate fragrance. Wines made from these grapes are a frequent guest at banquets of the nobility in the capital, commanding high prices. As for the area known as the "Dark Forest," it is a paradise for magical beasts. The meat hunted there is tender and has a unique flavor. Although difficult to transport and preserve, making it hard to serve on the tables of other provinces, those who have tasted it invariably praise it highly. Furthermore, Orion is also a major wheat-producing region. Although the cultivated area is not large, it is sufficient to supply the province's needs, and it even exports grain to neighboring provinces year-round.

Every year, the capital city receives a large amount of tax revenue from Orion. It could be said that, if it weren't for the lack of mineral resources, this land would be a gift from the gods to the Akanos Empire—if that catastrophe hadn't happened later.

However, all that beauty vanished completely forty years ago. The main area affected by the "Fake Cholera" was the province of Orion. Although the panic was eventually quelled, the scars it left behind are still etched on this land to this day.

Large numbers of commoners and nobles perished in the plague, turning the once prosperous land into desolation. The land, as if cursed, could no longer sustain life, and harvests of vegetables, fruits, and grains plummeted. The barrenness of the land prevented the migration of people from other provinces; strong warhorses could no longer be raised here, grapes lost their former sweetness, and the harvested wheat could barely feed the extremely small population.

The Dark Forest remained the Dark Forest, but this time, what the Empire remembered was no longer the delicious taste of monster meat, but the nightmare of being constantly sucked blood like mosquitoes. In the past, Orion had the capacity to maintain a standing army of 50,000, with an additional 20,000 stationed at the forest's edge to defend against the beast tides. The province's abundant finances were sufficient to support this army's expenses. However, after the famine, the local legions were rendered ineffective, and the Empire was forced to station 20,000 infantrymen there. Not only could it no longer receive a single gold coin from Orion, but it also had to allocate additional funds from the national treasury to fill the enormous funding gap for these 20,000 infantrymen.

The once-favored paradise instantly became a forbidden place that everyone avoided. How easily beauty and joy could be overthrown and destroyed makes one sigh at the capriciousness of fate.

However, this sigh eventually came to an end. More than a decade ago, the holy mage Odel entered the palace; when he emerged, the palace announced that the 20,000-strong army would be withdrawn from the Orion province and transferred to the east. Odel himself, on the other hand, gained ownership of this land.

People speculated that the holy magician must have used his exceptional eloquence and skillful use of magic after being refused to persuade King Arcanos XV to grant him a vast province. As for which of the two played a more significant role, wise men would remain silent.

Although he was somewhat embarrassed, Emperor Arcanosnos was actually relieved. After all, with powerful enemies surrounding the empire, being able to reclaim 20,000 troops out of thin air was always a good thing. Moreover, he hadn't offended this holy mage; perhaps he had even gained a bit of goodwill from him. As for that damned Dark Forest… that was his problem to worry about.

The following year, the Orion Magic Academy was officially established, and the Orion Province officially became the Orion Magic Academy. And that damned Dark Forest was transformed into the most suitable training ground on the continent to hone future mages.

Of all the ponies Orion Academy has bred over the years, Harry is undoubtedly the most enigmatic. He once attracted attention with his astonishing talent for admission, but his subsequent series of utter failures left a legendary mark on this magical sanctuary.

Harry was of medium height, but his bulky build and clumsy movements made him appear exceptionally short and stout. He had brown hair, and his already small blue eyes looked even smaller with the fat piling up on his face; coupled with the double chin typical of overweight people—the first thing you'd think upon seeing him was: has this guy eaten too much? After failing to obtain his knighthood at the Knight Academy, he came to this land alone, embarking on his own magical journey.

Initially, Harry was the envy of almost all the students because of his outstanding magical talent.

Magic, in essence, is the art of perception and magical power. And a magician is an artist who possesses both perception and magical power—neither of which can be lacking—and is capable of wielding magic.

Of the two, perception is far more important than magic.

If magic is a gift bestowed upon magicians by the gods, then sensitivity is the key to unlocking that gift. In other words, in most cases, the level of one's sensitivity directly determines whether an ordinary person is qualified to learn magic.

Simply put, sensory perception is a magician's ability to sense the omnipresent magical elements in nature through mental power and concentration. It's a bridge built between humans and elemental energies; once you cross this bridge, you can witness the greatness of magic. This is an inner perceptive ability that allows a magician to "touch" the power of various elements flowing in the environment, such as water, fire, and wind. The stronger and more frequent the "touch" of a particular element, the more it foreshadows a magician's future magical direction. The more sensitive you are to this "touch," the stronger your sensory perception talent.

Interestingly, this crucial talent is almost entirely innate. Some people are lucky enough to be born with it, while others are unlucky and destined to be forever barred from the mysteries of magic.

Harry's luck was clearly off the charts. At the time, he was still at the Knight Academy in the capital. During one of his outings, he stumbled upon a magic recruitment event. He decided to give it a try and participated in the sensitivity test—the results astonished the magician conducting the test. The magician then relentlessly urged him to study magic at Orion. For no other reason than that the results were simply too… well, how should I put it? In short, it all boils down to one word—"good!" Yes, Harry's magical talent was that good. To put it more bluntly: this teacher wasn't unfamiliar with young people with high sensitivity, but one this high was probably beyond even the headmaster's reach. Perhaps only the Holy Magician Odell possessed such talent in his youth.

If "one" is the minimum standard to enter the realm of magic, then a genius in the general sense would probably reach "ten." What astonished the testing wizard was that Harry's perception score was a staggering "twenty." With such talent, cultivating a powerful wizard would be far too easy; even standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a holy wizard one day wouldn't seem like a pipe dream.

The wizard grew increasingly excited, pulling Harry aside to expound on the mysteries and sublimity of magic. Unfortunately, he spent more time studying magic than interacting with people, and his explanations were not easily understood, leaving Harry somewhat bewildered. Furthermore, his time outside was limited, and before he could fully comprehend the explanations, he had to rush back to the Knights' Academy. Therefore, Harry wasn't entirely clear about the extent of his talent, only vaguely sensing that he might indeed possess some potential for learning magic.

As Harry was leaving, the testing wizard was flushed and extremely anxious. Fortunately, he had fulfilled his duty well, and seeing that he couldn't stop him, he shouted loudly at Harry's retreating back, "Whenever you want to come to Orion—the academy's doors are always open for you!"

A year later, Harry left the Knights Academy and entered the gates of the Magic Academy.