The Greatest Sinner

<So I'll be Draven's only student, great.>

There is nothing wrong with a teacher having more than one student at a time. A good mentor can give time to each of them. But the option of being Draven's only student Evan liked much better.

"By the way, how should I address you now, teacher Draven?" Ask Evan.

Draven thought for a while and then answered, "No need, you can just address me by my first name, I don't like all these formalities and I think you do, too. Except you shouldn't address the other teachers by their first names, I hope, you understand it."

Evan nodded: "What time is it? Have I overslept the ceremony?"

He didn't know how long he had slept. Evan wouldn't want to miss such an important event as the admission ceremony.

"It's ten in the morning, it's still three hours before the admission ceremony, so there's quite a bit of time left. By the way, what are you going to ask the head of the Academy?" Draven said calmly.

He wanted to know what Evan was thinking about and advise him to choose a suitable award. Arabella could fulfill many requests, but not all. For the same reason one must choose the prize wisely.

Evan thought about it and simply answered, "Honestly, I don't know. Asking for a Magical Artifact or a "Catalyst" would be too trivial."

"Not just trivial, but very stupid." Draven said harshly.

"Why would it be stupid?" Evan understood that asking for the "Catalyst" was quite expectable, but he didn't understand why it was stupid. If a magician had the right weapon or artifact, it could save his life in times of need. Moreover, the magician would become stronger.

"It's simple, since you're at the level of the "Star without Ends", you can't use "Catalysts" above rank zero. A little later I'll teach you how to determine the rank of items and tell you more about it." Draven said calmly.

"So, if my scythe were a "Catalyst" one level higher, I wouldn't be able to use it?"

Technically, the "Reverse Death' was not a "Catalyst", since not all of its components could conduct mana. You could, of course cast a spell using a regular stick, but in that case, it would take a lot of mana and it would be very weak.

Evan's scythe had three components capable of conducting mana at a good level: the "Cave Troll Crystal", the "Horn of the Sacred Deer" and the "Bloody Perversity".

Draven quickly replied, "Well, it's ambiguous. For one thing, if you use a "Catalyst" rank higher than your power, you definitely can't cast spells with it."

Draven sighed and continued: "For example: since you're a newbie magician, until you reach the "One-Pointed Star", you can't use a weapon of the first rank one, only a weapon of the zero rank."

"I see, but if the second rank weapon gets in my hands, shouldn't I arm myself with it? Yes, I won't be able to cast spells with it, but the materials it's made of are clearly of much higher quality than my zero rank weapon. It will be sharper and more durable."

Evan was pleased with his weapon. The "Reverse Death" was an excellent scythe of quality materials. But, from Draven's words, he realized that his weapon was of only zero rank.

"No, in your hands such a weapon would be no different than a piece of rusty iron. The thing is, all weapons, except zero-rank weapons, are the "Catalysts". Since the materials from which they are created are at least of the first rank, which means that each of them conducts mana." Draven calmly replied.

"I get it, even if I'm not going to cast spells with high rank "Catalysts, I still need to be at a certain level to use them. I need to infuse some mana and then the weapon will show its power." Evan said slowly.

"You're grasping all on the fly. Yes, you're right, it's all about mana, or rather concentration. Until you reach a certain level, there's no point in having high ranking Catalysts."

"I assume the situation is the same with Magical Artifacts, am I right?"

Draven nodded affirmatively.

<I see, so that's why there's no point in asking the head of the academy for a Catalyst or a Magic Artifact. Hmm, but what should I ask for? I need something non-material>.

"Draven, I won't ask the head of the Academy for a weapon or an artifact, but what should I choose then? Maybe there is something of interest in the Academy itself? I'm new here and don't know anything yet."

"Hmm, before I answer that, Evan, tell me what interests you?" Draven asked seriously.

"What do you mean?" The young man asked puzzled.

"Well, maybe you're interested in alchemy, blacksmithing, formations, monsters, beasts, whatever."

Evan wondered. He didn't really know the exact answer to that question. He was interested in magic, but it was too broad and imprecise an answer. Suddenly Evan realized what he wanted to do at the moment.

"I think at this point I'd like to learn more about this world. I don't want to dive in and study every area of the world thoroughly. But because of my past, my knowledge of the world is very limited." Evan replied calmly.

"Evan, sorry for asking, but I would like to know about your past. I won't say I need it to understand you better, to be honest, I'm just curious."

The young man nodded and told Draven everything that had happened to him. Naturally, he hid some details that no one should know about.

After a while, Draven nodded and calmly said: "I see, your life hasn't been pretty good until recently. You're lucky you got noticed by Zak."

"Оh? Do you know Zak?" 

Evan was surprised that Draven knew Zak. Mossy Vulture was a decent distance from "The Last Moon" and Evan didn't think Zak was such a famous person.

"Of course, he is one of the four strongest men in Mossy Vulture. Moreover, our Academy is not that far from this town, so it's no surprise."

"Draven, so what would you advise me to ask the head of the Academy anyway?" 

"Hmm, there are two ways to learn more about the world. The first is to travel, but that's what you'll do when you do your Academy assignments. The second is the library, and I think that's perfect for you. You'll gain the knowledge you need and learn more about magic. I'm sure it's just what you need."

"Is it forbidden to enter the library?" Evan didn't understand why he should ask the head of the Academy for such a thing. He was sure that every student could spend as much time in the library as he wanted.

"Both yes and no. It all depends on your rank. Since you just entered the academy, as an apprentice you will have the first rank. That means you can only visit the first level of the library and not all sections. Some sections you can get into only by paying "Moon Coins," and some require a higher rank. Draven said calmly.

"I see, then, I guess I've decided what I'll ask for as a reward."