“Haah… Haah…”

Dust, breathing heavily, leaned against the pillar.

Right now, her mind was still vibrating with the electrifying sensations she had just experienced moments ago.

‘It’s inside… My own… older brother’s body…’

The lingering feeling still remained on her palm.

Using her own magic to awaken her older brother’s magic.

For Dust, who was trying magic opening for the first time, it left a strong impression in many ways.

‘I did it. His first time! Plus, he even thanked me at the end! Ahh… I’m so happy. Thank god I asked Father to set this up.’

Looking at it simply, it could be seen as just a part of education, and even among mages, the act of magic opening was generally viewed in a very businesslike manner.

However, for Dust, whose affection for that person was at its peak, it felt incredibly significant.

It meant she had pulled the person, who was originally walking the path of a Paladin, into the world of mages.

And naturally, this was interpreted by Dust as having gained even a slight upper hand in her rivalry with “that lowly girl” that was like a thorn in her side.

‘I will never let it be taken away… That lowly girl who doesn’t even know where she came from doesn’t suit my older brother at all! If it’s not ‘me’ then it has to be ‘that person’!’

While harboring such thoughts, Dust tried to calm her excited heart.

As her intense excitement subsided, her attention began to shift towards the situation she had just felt.

‘But… what on earth was that? My older brother’s magic… I felt something slightly strange about it…’

Questions naturally arose in Dust’s mind.

It was the unusual sensation she felt when she awakened Santana’s magic.

According to what she had heard from her father, those who used magic opening typically didn’t feel anything special.

While they could feel a weak, pushing sensation as the other person’s magic began to awaken right after, it was usually very faint.

However…

At the moment she awakened Santana’s magic, what Dust felt wasn’t of that kind.

‘It wasn’t a pushing sensation. It felt… like it was momentarily sucking my hand in… What could that be?’

From a standpoint of affection, it didn’t feel bad at all, but as a mage, it raised a significant question.

However, honestly, Dust couldn’t clearly articulate or interpret that.

After all, this was her first experience in performing magic opening on someone else.

Moreover, the situation of her older brother Santana was far from ordinary.

It was a case of awakening the magic of someone who already had a considerably high aura, not an ordinary person.

If his aura had been even slightly stronger, Dust would have prioritized ‘precautions’ at that point, but since time was tight and her father said this level wouldn’t incur any significant penalties, she proceeded.

Therefore, there were countless comprehensive variables at play, and it was highly likely that even if something strange occurred during the magic opening process, there was no need to be overly concerned.

‘Still, there is that uncomfortable feeling… but, it shouldn’t matter. After all, my older brother will be learning magic from me from here on out.’

Even if there were questions, she could gradually figure them out as she watched closely from the side.

Thus, with a rich sense of anticipation for the ‘training’ with her older brother starting tomorrow, Dust began to feel happy once more.

*

A sensation, as if enveloped in warm steam.

Focusing all her senses on that, she slowly moved her teeth.

Starting from her chest, a current of power gradually flowed, wrapping around her whole body.

Focusing it all into one point… and then slowly spreading it out again.

Expansion and dispersion. Then again, focus and collect.

Repeating that process several times until she felt it was sufficiently natural.

And finally… at the moment her stamina reached its limit.

“Whew…”

Along with a strong sense of fatigue,

She slowly pulled back the magic flowing through her whole body and let out a deep sigh.

The sensation of all the power that had been flowing from her fingertips to the tips of her toes returning into her body.

Watching that, Dust, who was standing next to her, nodded slowly and spoke.

“You did well. Your growth is indeed fast, Older Brother.”

“It’s all thanks to you. Really, thank you, Dust.”

“…Umm…”

As she heard the words of gratitude from him, Dust began to blush slightly out of embarrassment.

At first, it felt relatively awkward, but seeing her like this made him feel that this younger sister had quite a cute side to her.

Moreover, thanks to her unexpectedly decent ‘education,’ he was rapidly acquiring the basic knowledge needed as a mage.

However, despite this, his current situation wasn’t very favorable.

‘Even considering that my progress is fast, the conditions are still quite unfavorable. Although I’m not strong, I do have aura in my body… And most critically, time is too short.’

Awakening magic and learning basic spells could be done in a few weeks if talent supported it.

In reality, thanks to the bloodline he inherited as the famous Count Turun’s son, his growth speed was relatively fast compared to ordinary mages.

However, the issue was that serious growth and training for magic only began after completing the basic course.

‘My level in the basic course is rank 0… Once I finish and reach rank 1, that’s when the real hard and lengthy stuff starts…’

Once he passed the basic stage and moved to the intermediate level, wizards would be classified according to their magic power and operational proficiency.

There were a total of 12 ranks.

Among them, ranks up to 2 were classified as novice mages, and ranks up to 5 as intermediate mages, while ranks up to 7 were classified as advanced mages.

And beginning from rank 8, they were classified as high mages.

And,

Unlike the foundational stage, which could be completed in a few weeks, progressing in practice to raise these ranks required a minimum of several months to several years, even for geniuses.

Furthermore, since magic is highly influenced by talent, ordinary mages with generally average talent would typically reach a maximum of ranks 5 or 6 even after spending eons practicing.

Under such conditions, high mages at rank 8 were extremely rare even within the Sacred Empire.

Right now, one of the strongest mages in Bohemia, Count Turun, was an advanced mage of late rank 7.

General Tilly, one of the strongest mages in the Empire and who would soon march here, was a rank 9 high mage.

Moreover, the Dust who was teaching him right now had already reached rank 4 at the age of 17.

In other words, for him, it meant he had a very, very long way to go as a mage.

‘In the meantime, I’ve been foolishly playing the role of a Paladin, and here I am just finishing magic opening… The road ahead is looking quite tough.’

Though it wasn’t his choice, he couldn’t help but feel irritated about Santana’s useless actions in the original work.

‘Honestly, the Paladin nonsense contributes nothing except for Cazerose…’

In other words, given his current abilities, taking action as a mage on the battlefield that would occur in a few weeks was nearly impossible.

It was somewhat disappointing given that he had learned magic.

However, honestly, it didn’t matter much. After all, he knew that what he needed to do in this war was a role far more important than just swinging a weapon.

Of course, that didn’t mean he would participate in battle as a Paladin, claiming his magic was still incomplete… that was obvious.

To turn this war, which was destined for defeat, into victory, adding one or two novice mages or mediocre Paladins wouldn’t be of much significance.

In order to fundamentally overturn this, along with magic training, there was one more thing that he absolutely had to secure at this point.

‘A war is not fought alone. Sure, there are top-tier monsters that can single-handedly destroy a country, but those creatures won’t come out for this war. Therefore, what ultimately matters is how to utilize the troops given to me.’

Rank 12 mages could single-handedly bring down a nation, but apart from one, their area of activity was certainly defined.

There would be no reason for such otherworldly beings, who hadn’t shown a shadow in the original work, to suddenly appear here.

Ultimately, what mattered now was not just his personal capabilities but also how the army moved.

Recalling that fact, he hurriedly began to move toward somewhere as soon as the training was over.