"As for you, you have the heart of a mage. You wish to seek the truth of the world and understand existence. Lucky for you, the world appears to be willing to accommodate your wish. You have been blessed with high talent, high intelligence, and extreme self-confidence with a healthy amount of ego."

"As such, you will awaken only Pinnacle Elements. Space, Time, Order, Chaos, and Aether shall be your five choices. Your primary and secondary are up to you, yet I don't think you will have an easy time mastering any of them anytime soon with how high up they are."

After Darius finished speaking he waved his hands lightly. "Go ahead and proceed as I have outlined."

His students didn't dare tally, quickly using the scrolls and choosing to awaken the elements Darius had selected for them.

Once they experienced the unique feeling of awakening and gaining affinity with the elements, they displayed expressions of marvel and excitement.

Henceforth, they were Amateur mages!

This thought filled their hearts with a bevy of emotions, and they couldn't help but gaze at their Master and teacher with gratitude.

Darius chuckled. "Why are you looking at me like that? This was the easiest part. We shall now discuss the fundamentals of magic and the nature of elements."

For the next three hours, Darius proceeded to give them a long lecture about the true nature of magic as well as the nature of the various discovered elements so far. With their heightened Intellect, it was not a problem for these young lads to remember everything they were being told.

Darius only stopped when one of the Maidbots that were created by him to manage his Mage Tower came in to bring him some tea.

He took a sip, leaving the young minds to reflect on his teaching for a few minutes before he cleared his throat and spoke.

"That will be all for today. Follow the Maidbot upstairs to your new living quarters and make sure to familiarise yourselves with rules of the mage tower through the HoloBraces."

Darius snapped his finger as another Maidbot brought a silver tray with 5 HoloBraces placed on top. The apprentices excitedly took one each and placed them around their wrist, marveling as it connected with them.

They also grimaced slightly when it priced into their arms and connected with their nerves, but the awe of hearing Miranda speak to them directly in their minds made them forget any pain they had felt.

"Your schedule for the next month will be to wake by 6 am, have breakfast, and arrange yourselves here by 8 am for a 3-hour lecture on the fundamentals of magic."

"You will then have lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon with my servant Gunner, learning the ins and outs of physical combat. Just because you have chosen to walk down the path of a mage doesn't mean that you can neglect your physical capabilities as - and I can assure you of this - it will be your biggest weakness."

Darius chuckled here. "Though I must warn you, Gunner is not a soft fellow. He will grill you, so be prepared for it. If you find his lessons to be too strenuous, just keep in mind, they may very well save your lives one day."

"After that, you will have dinner, then private study till 9 pm. During this time, you may do whatever you want, but I would advise you to read the magical tomes that I will provide to increases your mental acuity, as well as the basic spellbooks of your selected elements."

Darius tapped his armrest. "Don't worry about things like insomnia or oversleep. As Miranda is connected to your nerves, she can induce sleep and gently wake you up on time, allowing you to train your bodies to adapt to this schedule."

"Before you go to select your rooms, you may ask any questions you have now." Darius prompted.

The five fellows shared uncertain looks before Ash asked. "Erm, does that schedule start today?"

"No, today is exempt. You have the afternoon and evening free, so you only need to be present for meals. Tomorrow is when everything will officially begin." Darius answered calmly.

Reina then raised her hand. "What about our friends and family? Can they visit us and can we visit them?"

Darius rubbed his chin with an amused smile. "Most mage towers adopt the rule of closed learning. In other words, while you are under my apprenticeship, you're to not leave the tower's premises without my permission or there are special circumstances."

"Your family can visit you, but they likely won't as they should understand the importance of hermitage to a mage in training. Just take it that you are in a form of boarding school for a long while. Adapt your minds to solitude and focus, as those are crucial to any mage." Darius added seriously.

Jonathan then asked. "Is there anywhere we can train our learned basic spells?"

Darius nodded. "There are many training and testing rooms on the third floor where you will be staying. You can use them at any time, especially during the evening before bed."

James also pitched in his question. "How long is our afternoon training with Sir Gunner?"

Darius realized he had not specified the hours and was pleased by James' observant nature. "3 hours after lunch for the first month. That should give you a short period of rest before dinner, so use that time to wash up and treat any bruises before then."

"Speaking off, if you have more serious injuries ask Miranda for where my other servant, Xela is. She will be able to patch you up."

Anthony then asked with a slight frown. "Master Darius, how long will our apprenticeship last?"

Darius smiled despite the question being a bit tactless. "The average period of apprenticeship is 5 years, which is why apprentices are normally accepted at ages like yours. By the time you graduate from my tutelage, you should have come of age."

"However, it also depends on how quickly you mature. Most towers allow graduation once their apprentices have reached the Journeymen stage within that 5 year period. Some strict and high-class ones only do so once one has reached the Adept stage."

"As for my tower, well I can confidently state that I'll provide you with the best resources Faust has to offer, as well as the most knowledgeable teacher, as such I will only allow you to call yourself my graduated apprentice once you've reached the Master stage." Darius concluded with a thin smile.

The breaths of the fellows caught as they felt their hearts quiver. Only Anthony remained steadfast, believing in his own talent, yet even he was a bit pressured by Darius' high standards.

Darius waved his hands. "You are dismissed. See you tomorrow morning, my dear students."