The following weeks, training continued without pause, and all of the students had entered the first circle’s initial stage with relative ease.

  In his room, Calum was staring at the system.

  ____

  [NAME: CALUM WARDEN]

  [LEVEL: 1]

  [MAGE CIRCLE: FIRST CIRCLE (MID-STAGE)]

  ____

  And today after four whole months, he had finally reached the first level.

  He leaned back against the wall, a bit of frustration simmering beneath his calm exterior. If it had taken him four whole months just to reach the first level, how long would it take him to reach the tenth? What about the hundredth?

  He really needed to do something about this.

  The fastest way was to kill living beings and take their souls as experience. But what could he kill inside the academy, where higher-circle mages were present? Not to mention the Headmaster—a fourth Circle Mage.

  Too risky.

  With a disappointed expression, he closed the system window with a thought.

  Just then—

  John entered the room, looking upset.

  Calum glanced at him. "What happened?"

  John sighed. "Edrin's house is taking them out to Wizard Town."

  Calum's eyes narrowed. "You're thinking about Mimi?”

  John nodded with his head.

  Calum sighed in irritation.

  (Here I am dealing with a serious problem, and this fool is upset because his crush is going somewhere without him.)

  Then suddenly an idea came to Calum’s mind.

  “Did she tell you why they’re going to the town?” he asked.

  John nodded. "Their professor fell sick. They're going to visit him."

  Calum stood immediately and moved towards the door. "Follow me."

  John's eyes brightened. "You're going to help me?"

  "Maybe.”

  Soon, the two of them arrived at Professor Gazeff’s office.

  “Hm? You want to go to the wizard town?” Professor Gazeff asked, sitting back in his chair.

  Both nodded.

  Gazeff folded his arms. "Calum, if you want to leave the academy, you'll need a badge from the Headmaster. With that, you can enter and leave freely.”

  Calum replied with a chuckle, “I know that, but do you really think that old man will give it to me like it's a candy? Those badges are for professors.”

  Professor Gazeff laughed at Calum’s words, “haha, true.” while John remained silent.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Over the past few weeks, Calum and Gazeff had grown closer—almost like friends. After the fight during the assessment, Gazeff had taken a special interest in Calum, believing he possessed exceptional talent.

  Calum smiled “Professor, why don’t you give me your BADGE?”

  The room went silent.

  Gazeff's expression shifted. "What?”

  Professor Gazeff’s eyes widened. From the beginning John and Calum entered his office, he had sensed something was off.

  His voice turned cold. "You brat. Do you even understand what you're asking for? And why would I give it to you?”

  John froze, unsettled by the sudden shift. Meanwhile, Calum kept smiling, looking almost innocent. “I understand, Professor. And about your second question… I heard the students who failed are being taught by another professor now.”

  John swallowed nervously, while Gazeff stared at Calum for a long moment, then leaned back in his chair.“Cheeky little bastard.” he cursed.

  Calum laughed.“We’re not going to cause any trouble, professor. We’re just visiting a sick professor with others…. We’ll be back before nightfall. If anything happens, you can say you knew nothing.”

  Gazeff tapped his fingers on the desk, eyes fixed on both of them.

  “You’re still in the first circle,” he said slowly “The wizard town isn’t a playground. Even second circle mages disappear there sometimes.”

  SILENCE

  Finally, Gazeff stood up from his chair and reached into his coat. He pulled out a worn badge and placed it on the desk with a dull thud.

  “You have to return before sunset,” he said coldly. “If you’re not back by then, I’ll personally drag you back by that thick neck of yours.”

  John’s eyes widened in disbelief and Calum picked up the badge, bowing slightly.

  “Thank you, Professor.”

  Gazeff waved his hand.

  “Get out before I change my mind.”

  The two of them stepped out of the office.

  As the door closed behind them, John grabbed Calum’s arm, his face lighting up.

  “You actually did it…” he said, half laughing and half in disbelief.

  Calum laughed along with him.“Come on, let’s go with the others.”

  The two of them hurried to join the group waiting at the gate.

  Edrin looked at them and shook his head. “It’s not possible. The guards won’t let you through.”

  Then one by one, the other students showed their permission slips and were allowed to leave.

  Soon, it was Calum and John's turn.The guards blocked their way immediately. "No permission, no exit.”

  But when calum took out Professor Gazeff’s badge and held it up for them to see. “You can confirm it with Professor Gazeff himself.”

  The guards paused for a moment as they studied the badge. Then stepped aside, allowing the two to pass.

  The two of them walked through the gate and caught up with the others who looked at them in surprise

  Mimi turned to John “How did you get through?”

  John winked at her. “It’s a secret, hehe.”

  Soon, the group climbed into separate buggy, pulled by horses. And all of them headed towards the wizard town.

  By late morning, when they arrived, the streets were packed with people moving in every direction. The shops had all kinds of shapes and sizes, each trying to catch the attention.

  Edrin waved the group together. "Stick close. Don't wander off unless you want to risk getting expelled." As the group began following Edrin and the buggy driver, Calum leaned toward John and whispered, "I'm going to take a quick look around the town.”

  “What?” John's eyes widened.

  “Go with them. I’ll be back before sunset.”

  Before John could argue, Calum changed direction and quietly separated from the group.

  John watched him for a moment, then turned and followed the others.

  After he separated from the group, Calum found himself in the middle of the market. And wandered here and there. This wasn't like the market near the academy. Here, the goods were specialized.

  Herbal plants in small pots. Caged magical beasts. Shelves full of colorful potions.

  He stepped into one potion shop and looked around.

  Potions for hair growth. Skin care. Minor injuries.(Useless.)

  He left. Hours passed like this.

  By afternoon, he still hadn't found anything useful and ended up sitting in a quiet alley, head down, thinking.

  (There has to be a way to accelerate the system's growth without drawing attention. Think, think.)

  While he was in a deep thought, the alley looked like no one there. But in the shadows, five pairs of eyes were quietly watching Calum's figure with mischievous smiles.

  Calum who had already figured out what to do now smirked and called out.

  “Come out. I know you five have been following me for a while.”

  Hearing this all were a bit surprised, how did he know we were five or we followed him but right now they couldn't care about it and everyone stepped out from their hiding spot.

  Calum glanced at them, seeing they were thin, dressed in torn clothes—beggars. But the small knives in their hands gave off a threatening presence.

  One of them—the leader—stepped forward, pointing his knife at Calum. "Oi, little rat. I know you have money. I saw you entering those potion shops."He grinned. "Hand everything over, or I'll cut your guts out."

  The other thieves laughed behind him.

  Calum only looked at them.Then smiled.

  (This is my lucky, lucky day.)

  Suddenly, a metallic sword appeared in his hand.

  “ Huh.” The thieves froze for a moment, thinking if he was a higher mage. But then they looked at his small figure and laughed.

  "Little brat thinks he can scare us!" And rushed at him.

  A middle aged beggar lunged first.

  But the moment Calum moved. The sword flashed, and his head fell to the stone floor, rolling away.His body collapsed a second later.

  Seeing one of them didn’t even have time to scream. The laughter died instantly.

  Before the second man could react, Calum closed in. Two strikes followed—both arms dropped to the ground, and the man collapsed, screaming until his voice faded in silence.

  A third beggars tried to flee. But Calum moved instantly, cutting his legs, leaving the man crawling desperately, before collapsing face-first into the dirt.

  The fourth man who seemed to be the leader, his eyes widened, knife in his hand

  shaking, uncontrollably.“This—this isn’t—”

  Calum was already in front of him.

  The moment Calum's sword went in.

  The man froze with his mouth open, then slowly folded his body forward, blood soaking his clothes as he collapsed.

  Now only one was left.A young man, barely seventeen. He dropped to his knees immediately, knife clattering to the ground.

  "I'm sorry! Please! They forced me! I didn't want this!”

  Calum stepped closer and pressed the sword tip into the boy’s thigh. Then twisted.

  “Aaaaah! Aaaaah!” The boy screamed, tears streaming down his face.

  Then did—Calum spoke calmly.

  “Answer me. Are there more beggars like you here?”

  “Yes! Yes!” the boy cried immediately. “Many!”

  "And you're all First Circle Mages?"

  "Yes!”

  Calum's eyes gleamed.“Hmmm. Why are first circle living like beggars in wizard town?”

  The boy sobbed as he spoke his story.

  “We were academy students… We failed once. Just once. And the next we were immediately expelled.”

  He wiped his face with a shaking hand. "Higher-circle students opened shops or got work. But those of us at the First Circle... no one accepted us.”

  Hearing this, Calum felt a surge of satisfaction.

  “ Really, umm, i mean Where are the others?” he asked.

  The boy stopped crying for a moment, eyes flashing with hope….not because he thought Calum was going to

  help them but he believed with his other friends they could kill him.

  “I can take you to them,” he said quickly. “ Our base. Just—just promise you won’t kill me.”

  Calum nodded. “ Lead the way.”