This question had been on his mind for a while now. Wallace looked up to this marvelous magic engineer who had made a huge contribution to the advancement of modern magic.

Aeolia Schien, he created the 4th generation and started the 5th generation of mana artifacts. A genius in his era dubbed as the greatest magic engineer that had ever appeared. He came from an impoverished background but established his name due to his intellect.

Wallace clearly remembered the story of this engineer. His death was filled with mystery. Even though there had been a funeral for Aeolia Schien, it was revealed after a few years that all was fake or just an act.

His body was never really found. Because of this, all the events in his life or any information about Aeolia before his death were brought to light and were revealed to the public. Apparently, Aeolia even left some words before the day he 'died' that was still being argued up until now.

As Wallace thought reached up to this point, Percival confirmed his suspicion.

"Mhm... That's right. Ross is a member of the Schien Family and a direct descendant at that. He isn't from the branch family that is here in Tanza City but from the main family in the capital."

Wallace was somewhat aware of the difference in the status of children that came from a branch or main family. Resources, education, wealth, and even the environment would be different. The financial support coming from their main family would allow them a better standard of life.

For Ross to be an elite student of this Academy should be a normal thing. It would be a disgrace in the reputation of the main branch if even with ample resources given, Ross were to still be unable to reach high standing in the class.

Wallace confirmed some more information from the headmaster before he left.

***

After he arrived at his apartment and settled in the small living room, Wallace withdrew the 2 memory crystals he obtained as a reward from the last mission he had.

Each memory crystal had a size of about a man's fingernail. It was a blue crystal that radiated with purple light from time to time.

He observes the crystal before a piece of information appeared.

[ Law of Mana Force and Conservation ]

[ Elemental Mana Dynamics ]

It didn't have further description because once he consumed the crystal, all information is contained within would be a part of him anyway.

"Normally magicians are only capable of consuming 2-3 memory crystal. If more than that, it would be detrimental to the human's brain and would result in mana deviation."

Wallace was obviously hesitant of consuming this crystal as he had already received 3 of such crystals before. He was a bit worried that he would suffer some side effects.

"Mhm... Pathfinder, are you sure this is okay?"

Wallace asked this to the pathfinder within him hoping to get clarification. There was no one else he could ask about this after all.

[ The user's body has already gone through transformation upon assimilating with the Pathfinder Tool. ]

"So, there shouldn't be any issues. Right?"

The Pathfinder did not answer anymore so he understood that he could indeed consume the memory crystal now.

Wallace did not hesitate anymore and consumed both crystals that night as he gritted his teeth to endure the pain it gave while forcefully implanting the information that the crystals contained into his brain.

***

In a high rise building in the center of Tanza City.

A teenager was silently gazing at the busy street filled with lights coming from vehicles, stores, and others below.

He had lustrous hair like an onyx stone and his keen black eyes seemed to be pondering over something.

He was Ross Schien. A proud member of a prestigious clan in this country.

As time passed, the phone rang beside him and as if expecting the call, he didn't check the caller display before picking it up as soon as it started ringing. It was his uncle as he expected.

"Ross, will there be a problem getting in the top 3 in your class? I heard there's someone in your class that was recently doing a very good performance."

For the upcoming competition, there would only be 3 participants each year. Being a 2nd-year student of Artifact Forging Class 1, Ross had to outperform the top students in his class to be able to participate in the competition.

There was Tracy Guilford, who had a very strong foundation as her family possessed unimaginable wealth and legacy. Mark Halevey is a son of a Prime Minister, anyone could just imagine the resources he could get on a daily basis for his training. And now there was Wallace Ravencroft who was accumulating praises giving him a chance to be able to participate in the coming competition.

Ross was aware of his abilities, although he admitted that he couldn't beat the skilled Tracy, he would have a chance to beat Wallace or Mark as long as he persevered.

The Twelve Magic Academies Competition of the country was very important not only because of the rewards that the participant could get, but also the prestige that would be given to the person. Those who were able to top the competition would have a guaranteed bright future along with their family.

"That's right. There's Wallace in my class who's most likely aiming to participate in the competition. I've already made an investigation on his background... there shouldn't be a problem outperforming him including Mark in the coming months. As long I complete that mana artifact."

Ross did not deny the existence of Wallace as a possible threat to his participation. But even though that was the case, he was still confident in his abilities.

"Alright then, you make sure that you can participate."

"Yes, Uncle."

"Right, the thing you've requested will still take a week before it arrives. Just be patient in the meantime."

Ross ended the call with his uncle and sighed like he was tired just from speaking with him.

Ross observes his room filled various materials. At the center of his table was an open laptop containing a design for a mana artifact.

A short sword emitting different elemental power was being shown on the screen. Ross closed the laptop and sighed.

"I'll have a long night with me."