Dean Tongus turned, walking to a corner of the reception room, a gray brick wall with nowhere to go.

But he softly muttered a phrase, reached into a brick, and pulled out a special glass bottle containing a vibrant green potion, speckled with starry glimmers.

Hesitating, Tongus carefully uncorked the bottle.

The Emerald Element Potion, extremely rare and costly, required Aurelian Academy’s rigorous selection to minimize its use.

Tongus dripped a drop of Locke’s blood, taken from his right index finger, into the potion, shook it gently, counted seven breaths silently, and handed it to Locke. “Drink it now. After two hundred breaths, the potion’s optimal window passes, and accuracy drops sharply.”

“This potion costs five magic stones.”

“You must repay this testing fee yourself.”

“Not now, but when you have magic stones, you must settle it. In the wizarding world, everything is an equivalent exchange.”

“Nothing is free.”

Locke didn’t hesitate, took the potion, and drank it in one gulp.

Given his situation, Tongus had no reason to deceive him.

Instantly, his eyes felt cool, as if countless tiny worms were burrowing into his sockets.

He let out a muffled groan.

Within seconds of drinking, Locke’s vision transformed dramatically.

Tongus’s steady voice guided him. “Don’t panic, relax.”

“The Emerald Element Potion enhances your mental fluctuations, making your mind active.”

“For a brief moment, this activates [Elemental Vision], letting you see elements in the air.”

“The more elements you see, the clearer they are, the higher your wizard talent.”

“Your body may struggle to adjust to this vision. Tell me, Locke, what do you see?”

Locke looked up, discerning the materialized elements. His vision was filled with unevenly scattered, multicolored light dots.

“Many light dots. Most are cyan, then gold.”

“Some translucent, blue, red, and yellow dots, but they’re faint, sparse, barely there.”

Tongus nodded, noting Locke’s talent on paper. “No light patches?”

Locke shook his head.

Tongus’s quill paused. “Do these dots form shapes or orbit you?”

Locke shook his head again. The room was merely overlaid with colored dots of varying brightness, nothing more.

Tongus nodded, his eyes slightly disappointed.

“Your results confirm you have wizard talent, not the lowest tier.”

“Roughly lower-middle level.”

“Wizard talents are graded from 1 to 7. Level 1 talents see only faint halos after taking the potion. Level 3 and above see light dots.”

“Those dots are elemental entities, visible after your vision shifts to [Spiritual Vision] from the potion.”

Tongus explained occult basics: “This world is filled with four elements: wind, water, fire, and earth.”

“Seeing light patches means at least Level 4 talent, indicating high-density elemental clusters.”

“Level 5 talents see elemental vortexes.”

“Your talent is around Level 3.”

“It’s decent for Corfu Island. Most apprentices here are Level 1 or 2. Most wizard prospects are Level 3 or 4, average and unremarkable.”

“Level 6 or 7 talents, with effort and the right path, almost certainly become formal wizards. Level 5s have strong potential too.”

“Level 3 or 4 wizards face much harder paths to become formal wizards, needing effort and luck, and may never succeed. Level 1 or 2 talents have almost no chance, stuck as apprentices forever.”

“The colors you see reflect your innate elemental affinities.”

“Wind is translucent, water is blue, fire is red, earth is deep yellow. The cyan you see most is a composite element.”

Tongus softened his tone, growing kinder since confirming Locke’s talent.

Locke asked, “Dean, what’s a composite element?”

Tongus explained, “The four basic elements—wind, water, fire, earth—have mutual entanglement. When two or more combine, they form composite elements with unique properties.”

“The cyan dots are wood elements.”

“You’re closest to wood, suggesting your future development path.”

“You may excel in plant magic, as your soul naturally aligns with wood elements.”

“The second most common color, gold, is the gold element, a special composite of earth and fire. You’re also adept at gold magic and alchemy.”

“Based on wizarding world experience, a soul typically has one primary affinity, one secondary, and general affinities.”

“Your primary affinity is wood, secondary is gold, with general affinities for wind, water, fire, and earth.”

Tongus smiled. “Your talent is lower-middle, but your elemental compatibility is excellent. Your mind connects to all four basic elements, though weakly, meaning you can learn nearly any magic.”

“This will help when you leave Aurelian for the wizarding world, making it easier to choose a school.”

“Your talents lean toward white magic. I recommend [Four Seasons Garden], [Holly Tower], or [Alchemist’s Hut], renowned white magic schools in the wizarding world’s southeast quadrant.”

“They suit you.”

“Or Aurelian’s parent institution, Virdantia University, a comprehensive magic academy with plant, alchemy, and gold magic wizards.”

“But you must pass their entrance exam.”

“If you fail, it’s moot. Two years from now, a wizard ship arrives at Corfu Island. Before then, join my society and study with us.”

“If your progress lags, you’ll only join minor or niche wizard organizations as their student.”

Pass an exam?

Locke was about to ask if it required a score when his vision abruptly changed.

The elemental particles seemed to scream, scattering as if frightened.

Wood and gold particles vanished, replaced by dense black particles, followed by prominent fire particles, with the other three basic elements nearly absent.

Locke frowned. “Dean, can someone have a second primary affinity?”

Tongus replied, “Affinities reflect a soul’s temporary alignment with elements.”

“They can shift with growth or environment. Advanced potions can even enhance specific affinities.”

“Don’t dwell on it.”

“But typically, a soul doesn’t have two primary affinities.”

Locke understood instantly. His soul’s fusion with the original’s not only boosted his mental strength and granted wizard talent but also gave him two primary affinities.

Locke asked, “Dean, what do black particles represent? They feel negative.”

Tongus said, “Oh, you saw a bit of dark energy elements? That suggests minor talent for necromancy or curse magic, but since you saw few, it’s unimportant.”

“I won’t record it.”

Tongus explained, “These are black wizard talents. If you aim for white wizard organizations, such minor talents could be a hindrance.”

“With wood as your primary and gold as secondary, there’s no need to note your low dark element affinity.”

“Conversely, if a student targets black wizard organizations, I’d advise against recording low light element affinities.”