Ascension Of The Failed Mage

"It's almost time…" Noir murmured as he waited downstairs for Ciara to show up.

He had taken care of things on his part, and he had some time to spare.

There were no seats available, so he stood— waiting by the door—while resting his back and his right foot on the building wall.

Noir had spoken to both Lorna and Galand about Ciara's unreasonable request. As expected, they were hesitant about the idea at first, but they eventually gave up any idea of resisting.

They must have realized that they couldn't go against their Young Miss, so the two decided to leave things to the young man.

After all, he was Noir.

The dark-haired man sighed.

He was no good with kids, and he had no idea what he would teach her. Noir had agreed to her request and put on a bold front, but the fact of the matter was that he was a bit nervous.

Yes, he had managed to rescue her from danger, and he had also earned the trust of her maid and Mage—even getting a temporary job to be her personal guard.

But, everything was moving too fast!

'Let's not lose sight of the goal…' Noir heaved once more.

He was sure to be rewarded greatly for his deeds, which meant he would not have to work for quite a long time.

This meant he could finally focus solely on his travels and reach his goal.

'The time spent here is inconsequential, compared to the benefits I'll reap.'

Because of this, Noir endured.

Noir's thoughts wandered as he waited for his potential pupil.

Lorna and Garland had headed to the Magic Institute's head office to report the unfortunate incident that nearly cost them everything, as well as to contact Ciara's father.

It was estimated that the Duke would come to the Institute in time for Ciara's exams, or at least a day after.

This meant Noir would soon get his reward and be on his way.

'… Good.'

Another implication of this, however, was that Noir had to teach Ciara as competently as possible.

He had to impress her father—as well as her examiners.

"For more rewards, of course…" He gave himself a light nod.

Still, Noir had to restrain himself so that he wouldn't overdo it.

"Wouldn't want to teach the young miss a 6th tier spell by accident." Noir remarked to himself, nodding even more.

"I'm here!"

Ciara's sudden, loud voice shook Noir back to reality. His eyes snapped open as he stared at the younger girl.

"O-Oh, You're early." Noir stuttered, acting surprised.

Ciara was dressed casually, at least as casually as she could.

It seemed it was a norm for nobles to include at least one regular cloth in their luggage, in case they needed to hide their identities whenever they ran into trouble.

Perhaps to simply mix with the locals as well.

She wore a white shirt and a fully buttoned leather jacket , tight brown pants, and black leather boots.

Ciara still looked classy with the high-quality materials she used, but she was currently in a commoner's attire.

"Hehehehe" The beautiful teenager laughed a bit.

"It's nice to see that you're feeling well enough to smile." Noir commented.

This statement caught Ciara off-guard. Contrary to how he looked, Noir usually said kind words, which made her flustered.

"W-well, I think I caught you smiling to— just now. I guess you're also capable of emotions after all." Ciara gave her comeback.

"Must have been your imagination."

"There's no way I mistook that!"

"Really? That's nice." Noir concluded flatly, resuming his blank expression.

Ciara gave a pouty expression, and her cheeks reddened a little.

"Follow me." The man's cold voice greeted her as he began walking.

"Where are we headed?" Ciara said, a bit nervous since it was only the two of them walking together.

"It's not far. I spoke to Galand, and he spoke to the Institute's authorities. They agreed to let us use a small hall for our session." Noir answered.

"Ohhh…"

Ciara was surprised by how far he was willing to go in order to help her with training.

"We're almost there."

"Oh, and what kind of exercise will we be doing." Ciara asked earnestly.

Noir paused for a moment, then he looked behind him.

Ciara's smile was brimming ever so brightly as she expectantly looked at him for an answer.

'What's her deal…?' He wondered.

Shouldn't she be recoiling from her tragedy? Why was she being so jumpy? Noir could not understand.

After staring at the girl for a little while—enough to make Ciara uncomfortable—he removed his gaze and continued walking forward.

Truthfully, he still hadn't decided on what to teach her.

"Jerk…" A soft whisper proceeded from Ciara's lips, but it overlapped with Noir's late response.

"Magic Exercise."

"Wha—?" Ciara said with a tone of disbelief.

"We're here." Noir quickly said as they entered a tall building.

"This building has several small halls, used mostly in training and meditative sessions. We'll be using one of them." Noir added.

As they walked ahead, Ciara wondered about the kind of training she would partake in. She steeled her resolve, however, since it was her decision to become stronger.

"Hmmm." Noir finally stopped at a door in the hallway.

He brought out something from his pocket—something called a Mana Key—and proceeded to open it.

The Mana key resonated with the door and it opened, causing the former to dissipate nearly instantly.

"A-ahh!"

The room that greeted the two was as large as Ciara's bed chambers at the guest house.

It was big enough to hold two people who would engage in simple training, but not large enough for a full-on brawl.

Ciara finally understood why it was meant for personal training.

"Now, take off your jacket. We'll begin now." Noir said calmly.

'Take off my…?' Somehow, Noir's statement struck a chord in Ciara, and something about it sounded inappropriate.

But, she did as he said.

"Before we begin, I need to know the current level of your ability. Show me your Status Window." Noir finally spoke.

"W-what? D-do you even know what you're talking about?" Ciara stuttered as she was flushed with embarrassment.

While she was determined to flow his instructions, there was no way she could positively respond to one this unreasonable.

In this world, there are two things one had to keep hidden—no matter the cost.

One's nakedness… and their Status Window.

It is one of the most confidential things recognized by society—personal to every individual.

Of course, there were cases when a person had to show their Status Window.

For example, when enrolling within the academy—or applying for a specified job. But, even then, the information was kept confidential and private.

A Status Window contains all the information regarding a person's level of power, competence and skill.

It would be considered naturally impossible to see another person's Status Window without their consent.

However, there existed certain Spells and Runes that allow one's Status Window to be forcefully seen—albeit rare.

"I understand that you may feel apprehensive about this, but I need to know your level of power before I can teach you anything." Noir stated bluntly.

"I can just tell you what you need to know, I don't need to show you everything!" Ciara protested.

Her stubborn eyes made it evident that she was not budging from her decision.

"Fine then. If you don't want to show me…" Noir sighed.

Ciara smiled in relief, calming herself.

'Maybe I overreacted a little…' Her thoughts trailed as she stared at the man before her.

Noir probably didn't know the implication of what he was insinuating.

The fact that he understood her apprehension, and respected her boundaries was also commendable.

'It seems I misunderstood him. He's not so bad after a—'

"[Force Reveal: Code-Status Window]" Noir's sudden voice interrupted her line of thought.

'E-eh…?' Ciara's eyes widened in confusion as she watched Noir slightly raise his hands directly in front of her.

Suddenly, her Status Window opened and he saw what he needed.

"What?! I told you I didn't want to. How did you even—!" Ciara gazed at her own status window, powerlessly watching, as Noir read through it.

"U… uuuu." Ciara could feel a mix of emotions inside her.

'Arghhh! Stop it!' She shrieked internally, using her hands to cover her body.

It really felt like she was being violated!

"Are you crazy? Why would you do that? Don't you know what you've done? Forcefully viewing another person's Status Window is a crime!"

Noir ignored her screams as he went through the panel in front of him.

"I'm the daughter of a Duke, do you know the gravity of what you've just done? I'm talking to you! Argghhh!!!" Ciara kept ranting as she yelled and complained.

She was close to tears, feeling frustrated because Noir didn't even bother to look in her direction—even when she threatened him.

It was like he literally didn't care.

He just ignored her tantrums and diligently observed her Status Information.

"STOOOOOOPPPP!!!"

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[STATUS WINDOW]

Name: Ciara de Versace Dunroe

Level: 15

Age: 15

Race: Human (Female)

Titles:

[Daughter of the Duke of R'Easton]. [Member of High Nobility]. [Survivor]. [P@$%^&*(!!X]. [Rare Bloodline Wielder (Rarest)]

Class: Undetermined

[Magic]

Mana Pool: 1,300/1,300

Mana Proficiency: 100

Magic Level: Tier 1

[Magic Type]

Enchantment: 0

Enhancement: 0

Spell: 100

Rune: 0

Bloodline Magic: [Affinity]

B.M. Status: Unawakened

[See More Information]

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"Haa… I see." Noir's suspicions had finally been confirmed.

"So that's why she was targeted."

Other than her being a member of high nobility, she had a Rare Bloodline.

'Nothing is more alluring to Collectors than possessors of Rare Bloodlines who can't use their Bloodline Magic.' His thoughts grew darker.

Still, there was something else that puzzled him.

This particular Bloodline Ability was similar—no, identical—to the one he had seen before.

'Is it mere coincidence, or could this be…?'