Sieg, the son of the Duke of Lieber, was an excellent mage hailed as a once-in-a-century genius.

He never grew complacent with the talent he inherited from his prestigious dark magic lineage, which had lasted since the kingdom's founding. He continued his diligent studies, and everyone—including himself—believed without a doubt that he would eventually rise to the pinnacle of kingdom mages: the Grand Court Mage. As if to confirm this, he had even received an informal promise of appointment from the royal family upon reaching adulthood.

The appearance of a mage hailed as a once-in-a-millennium prodigy was a complete bolt from the blue.

A commoner, the son of a bag maker, discovered during the mana measurement all citizens undergo at adulthood. This young man named Nico, born like a mutation from parents entirely unrelated to magic, produced a value that far surpassed Sieg's mana capacity, shattering the measuring stone to pieces. Sieg hadn't even known that those stones were capable of breaking.

Nico was immediately taken under the wing of the royal family. He successfully deployed a high-level barrier three times in a row—a feat that Sieg could only manage once. In terms of magical precision and skill, Sieg, who had trained since childhood, held the advantage. However, mana capacity is innate and cannot be increased later.

The public, and the royal family, praised Nico's multiple barriers—which were crudely formed and full of distortions and flaws upon close inspection—more than Sieg's single, beautiful barrier that maintained its strength without a single fray.