When the two of them finally entered the Regarden Magic Academy, Elfie instantly ascended the tower at record speed, becoming the youngest Magia Vander in history. The girl got a scholarship straight to the finish line, all because she was the genius who created brand-new original spells.
Sadly, that left Will at rock bottom.
But Elfie knew about their past. She knew about the power inside of him, and she was fully confident that he would meet her at the top. Before she left, she gave him a pair of goggles to remember her by.
By the time he reached his final year, some of his peers, like Sion, were bullying him. He only had a few supporters: Colette, Rusty, Headmistress Cauldron, and Professor Workner, who was actually willing to go the extra mile to help Will graduate. This man even gave him the familiar Kiki, with a jewel on its head that allowed him to track Will, which was quite needed, especially during the dangerous dungeon dives he was venturing into.
To graduate from the academy, students need enough credit in dungeon combat, in writing, and lastly in spell work, which unfortunately is the one where Will has zero. But Headmistress Cauldron saw potential in Will at a young age, and he spent years trying to prove her right by relentlessly leveling up, becoming one of the academy's strongest students.
Known as a grinder both academically and physically, Will mastered monster anatomy and magical patterns, which allowed him to dominate the threats that usually overwhelm ordinary students. A perfect example is when Will killed a sentinel in the dungeon to save Sion's life, proving to his biggest bully that he is actually a beast.
However, Will was in his final year, and honestly, he was cursed. Not everyone on the faculty supported him, especially Professor Edward, who saw his dream of climbing the tower without magic as reckless, dangerous, and insulting to everything magic stands for. In his own weird way, he was trying to protect Will. And so he tried to fail him.
Edward gave Will a private lesson. Being behind in his class, Will was offered one final chance. If he could land a hit against Edward, then he would pass.
However, Edward had completely underestimated Will. Because mages rely on mana detection, and Will has zero mana, Edward struggled to properly perceive his movements. Even after covering the arena with darkness with his cloak of shadows, Edward was shocked when Will used his insane speed, reflexes, and battle instincts to slip into his blind spot and land a clean strike.
So in trying to get him expelled, the professor only helped him level up even further.
Will would also gain the recognition of Iris, a watcher of the Magia Vander, whose job was to scout students at the school for the tower. All of this led into the Grand Festival, where the entire academy finally started to realize just how strong Will really was.
Will didn't even enter the Crown Race for glory. He entered because Julius Reinberg had disrespected the dwarven tavern he worked at, and that had hit deep. Will has huge respect for marginalized people like the dwarves, since he understands what it means to be looked down on. So Julius's insults pushed him to enter the competition.
Julius himself is an academy golden child and Iris's prodigy, often compared to Elfaria, and seen as a candidate to be her successor. So their battle in the competition was insane.
However, before that bout even took place, Sion, who was supposed to be on the same team as Will, decided to throw hands, because he felt insecure about a sword being stronger than him.
That term comes up constantly. Mages with mana who practice magic are called wands. Those who rely on their physical prowess are called swords.
And so Sion challenged Will by summoning a flame falcon guardian, an advanced-level summon, only for Will to respond without hatred, accepting him as a rival after understanding his desperation. All of this happened before Colette broke it up and sent Will toward the main arena, where Julius was waiting.
That fight went pretty much the way you would expect. Will didn't even take it seriously.
Julius started using El Glaciar Futsal, a collection of Elfie's original spells, including the same ice clones she had used during Will's childhood. This is magic so advanced that Julius, up until this point, is the only person who has ever replicated it. But this was not a moment where Will felt like he was being pushed. To him, this magic was child's play.
Julius summoned eight clones. Will remarked that he had been tackled by ten of them as a child, by a two-year-old Elfie. Later, Will would even teach Julius how to better optimize the spell by having one clone continue the action of another, showing his incredible knowledge of how this magic works.
Regardless, with Julius's ego pretty much thrown in the trash, Will landed one last attack and beat his opponent. Only for Wignall to come in and win the Crown Race while nobody was looking.
But that didn't matter. Will had proved, in front of the whole student body and the other scouts, that he was not going to give up on his dream to reach the tower.