"So Young master, how do we do this?"
Sebastian and Naell around noon went to the Northern Grassy plains that were under the protection of the Beryldot estate. It was Naell's idea since precautions were still needed as they would be dealing with the flow of mana. They both seated down facing each other as Naell smiled seeing Sebastian's curious gaze.
Naell was wearing a white kimono while Sebastian was with his usual butler attire.
"Well, Elder I will explain first what we will be doing today."
Sebastian nodded and gestured to Naell to continue.
"Before we start, I would like to say. I cannot explain how I thought of this Elder."
At that point, the mood became serious but was easily expelled by Sebastian's reply,
"So I just need to trust you? Hohoho, do not worry it is the duty of the teacher to trust his student."
"Thank you Sensei. I hope from now on you will just call me by my name."
'Not only did Naell resemble Alicia. He also got his personality from his father.' Sebastian happily thought. He then says,
"Naell, let us begin."
That brought, yet again, a smile on Naell's face.
"This is based on the source that I cannot name and the studies that I have gathered. Sensei, what do you know of mana core?"
Naell was actually dealing with two things when he started the question. First, because he was transported into a world he had read, he was certain that he could awaken. Second, Naell over the course of his stay in that world, read books about the fundamentals of aura and magic. He had formulated a theory on his own based on his understanding.
Back on Earth, Naell was actually a bright student, but because he was surrounded by intelligent and studious people, he was outshined. Not to mention, he had no time to study since he had to provide for himself, and the only leisure he could get was in reading fantasy books that he found interesting during his free time.
"Well Naell, I recall that upon awakening, that person's mana will be determined by the color of his mana core."
Sebastian continued as he further recalled the theory behind the colors of mana.
"The core's color determines the purity of one's mana. The purer one's mana, the more magic they can handle, therefore, the stronger the mage is."
Sebastian added on,
"That is why newly awakened mages will have a Violet mana core. If they are talented enough, they will advance to Indigo. Noble kids that are mostly trained in mana filled places, find themselves awakening a Blue mana core."
"The rarest of the rest are the kids who are talented enough that at their awakening are able to reach the peak of a Green mana core, resulting to them reaching the Yellow mana core at an early age. Orange and Red would consider them as a Grand mage..."
"...But do you know the epitome of them all?"
Sebastian then got sentimental as without waiting for Naell's answer he said,
"The pure White mana."
"Your mother, Alicia is one of those that possess white mana from birth. I... was lucky enough to have been her teacher and now, lucky enough to be the one guiding her son. Thank you, Young master." He stood up and bowed down showing true gratitude towards Naell.
Naell as to reply stood up while patting Sebastian's shoulders.
"That is Naell to you, Sensei." Naell smiled with a big cheeky grin. They both laughed and sat at the ground. They then continued their conversation like nothing happened.
"Then based on that statement Sensei, 8 colors are said to represent the cores of one's mana as the colors of mana are also 8."
Sebastian nodded to agree with that statement.
"Yes Naell, a person's core and mana color are represented by the 8 colors."
Sebastian passionately continued,
"That is why, some spirits are not strong enough to produce a mana core, resulting in a void described as black. It was fundamentally explained as to why some people cannot feel the flow of mana. Even if all humans have mana, not all of us, can have a mana core."
Sebastian then saw Naell grinning more cheekily than before.
"But Sensei, I think it is only one."
"What do you mean Naell?"
But Naell's answer shocked him the most.
"Sensei, mana cores are always white, to begin with. The varying colors of mana are a result of the many spirits of the world."
As a former captain of WCF, Sebastian had access to a lot of things including a thesis on why a core's color differs depending on one's purity.
Sebastian's overly passionate statements were used even in school, because the color black was a representation of void or the so-called missing mana core.
Sebastian then recalled the face of his student, Alicia grinning like her son, Naell. He could not help but feel nostalgic.
"Sensei, mana cores start from the clearest color. But worldly spirits have different colors of mana."
Sebastian then thought deeply before he could ask quietly and seriously,
"Are you saying upon awakening, one has a way to filter the color of the mana in their core?"
Sebastian thought as sweat dripped from his face.
'If what Naell is saying turns out to be the truth, not only will it be phenomenal, but it can also lead to war!'
"Sensei, before mages can awaken themselves, different colors of mana are penetrating the person's body. Which over time, result in impurities that block the mana core from even achieving awakening."
Naell then closed his eyes as though he was thinking deeply.
"Sensei, that is why nobles who have access to facilities that are filled with less tainted mana, tend to not just have the superior color of mana at their awakening, but also have a higher chance of awakening. Those kinds of places have fewer impurities."
'Although blue should actually be the first color upon awakening, not the darker ones.' Naell's thoughts by then were purely based on the primary colors.
Sebastian was actually massaging his forehead with both hands upon considering Naell's words were not entirely impossible.
'Nay, they are very possible.'
"Then wouldn't the awakening part still be determined by chance to feel the sensation of mana?"
"Actually Sensei, the tingling sensation of mana that could be felt upon awakening is actually a person's mana core filtering itself of impurities. The darker the color of mana the person is always interacting with, the less the chances are of that person awakening."
"Ahh but Naell without the ability to filter..." But before Sebastian could even finish his sentence, he saw Naell open his eyes. He met his almond gaze that was full of depth and mystery.
"Fundamentally Sensei, it is true that void is not a color of mana, but a combination of colors resulted as black. If that is the case; violet, indigo, and some of the claimed colors of mana are also just a combination of colors..."
"..."
"...In other words Sensei, we all possess the ability to filter our mana core, but because of impurities or the abundance of colors, some mana cores are so darkened they could no longer awaken."
Sebastian was now looking at Naell in a completely different light. Primary colors were not a thing in that world. The new Naell that humbly believed he was not that smart (but actually was quite bright on Earth), thought of these when he first read the book--- the book that at that point had almost decayed in his room upon his arrival.
'Because of the abundance of colors and the ignorance of primary colors, mages are rarer than martial artists, but I'm sure it is the author's fault.'
Sebastian was at a loss for words as he began to understand the concept Naell had given him.
'I cannot even imagine how smart and deeply Naell thinks.'
Sebastia could not stop thinking about the organization that was well known within the continent. The leading professors of magic were led by the bright red mage also known as the [Wizard of Books] Wisdell Wigence, founder of The Renaissance of Magic.
Silence once again filled their surroundings as Sebastian was deep in thought.
"Sensei?"
Sebastian upon hearing his name glanced at the voice that was calling him. He then came with the realization that the voice who had called him, was no more than a 15-year-old boy.
"Hohoho" Sebastian could only laugh for thinking how Naell, the bad seed of Beryldot, with a little--- hard beating turned out to be the newfound treasure of the family.
"Sorry for that Naell, It was just hard to process. But know this, all that you have said, are possible."
"Right?" Naell replied slyly as he thought that he had a knack for scamming.
"Hohoho" Upon seeing Naell nodding happily, Sebastian couldn't stop himself from laughing again out of embarrassment, due to the fact that he got overwhelmed by the kid he always treated as his grandchild.
Sebastian let out a fake cough and asked,
"Moving back to the topic, how can we awaken you Naell?
With that question, Naell smiled cheekily once again.
"Well first, Sensei try feeling my mana core." As he said that, Naell closed his eyes again bowing his head slightly to look more serious.
"Hmmm, Naell even if a mage doesn't sense the mana core, mages can feel the person's mana just by feeling the flow of mana in that person's surroundings. A person that has his/her mana voided has surrounding mana scattered like a rocky river, whereas mages' and their surrounding mana are somewhat like a serene ocean waiting for the storm."
"Oh, that's why." Naell recalled how Sebastian easily noticed that he was not a mage last night.
"I'm really glad to have you as a teacher, Sensei. You are very knowledgeable but please do try sensing my mana core."
"Hohoho" Sebastian's laughter came with a bit of sadness as he said the following,
"As you said, Naell, I do think your mana core---" Sebastian was so surprised that he could not continue his words. He felt Naell's mana core which seemed black outside, yet he could feel the nostalgic mana inside.
"...This is Alicia's mana!"
"I do not know with others Sensei, but my advantage lies directly with my heritage."
"Do you mean to tell me Alicia's mana formed inside your mana core?"
"That is what I was hoping actually. Theoretically, my mana core should have some mana from my mom!"
At a second glance, Sebastian noticed Naell's mana core outside looked more grayish than black. But when he looked further inside, he was even more surprised as the core was also grayish but with it, was the imbued pure white mana of Alicia.
"Sensei, I still believe that luck plays a vital role for a person to awaken at an early age. A person might be exposed to the darker color of mana thus making his core irredeemable."
Sebastian nodded.
"Or by luck Sensei, that person's parent is a mage making manual awakening possible!"
Sebastian finally understood what Naell was trying to say.
"So Naell, basically, because a child of a mage will never have a pure black core inside, it is possible for them to awaken?"
Naell then smiled and nodded.
"Naell, how do we do this?"
"By the studies I have read in the library!"
Sebastian kept his skepticism to himself as he began looking seriously. He then asked,
"How did you learn all of this?"
"From the source that I cannot name."
Sebastian knew what Naell meant. Starting from now, what they would be doing were things Naell would not explain. So he nodded and said,
"Hohoho, let us start."
"Thank you Sensei." Naell bowed down once more as they started.
"Sensei, please examine my mana core again."
Naell then breathed deeply as he began concentrating.
After that, Sebastian once again activated his magic and began concentrating to visualize Naell's mana core.
"What should I do Naell?"
"Sensei, please locate the white mana inside my core."
The surroundings then turned silent as to match the concentration of the two.
"I have located it. Should I reinforce it with my magic?"
"No, the opposite Sensei. I want you to control the flow of that white mana and spread it outside my core. That should activate my core and revive its filtration--- enabling me to awaken."
Sebastian flinched at the process that seemed to be logical yet hasn't been heard of in the history of magic. He then began focusing on getting the white mana, as he was spreading it outside Naell's mana core. He felt that the white mana was cleansing the core outside making it whiter than the grayish appearance it had.
Sebastian could hear Naell's groaning as the process continued. But Naell kept saying to continue.
What surprised Sebastian the most was that the white mana instead of thinning out was actually getting thicker.
Naell's body began glowing. Sebastian took a few steps backward and stopped his magic when he saw the leaking white mana from Naell.
"This is the process of awakening!'' Sebastian knew that when a person was on the verge of awakening, the flow of mana in their body seeps out and creates harmony with the outside spirit.
The area was filled with blindingly, white mana that grew brighter by the second, and what followed was the unconscious body of Naell, as the light in the surroundings disappeared into his body.