Evelyn wore a shimmering gold and silver gown. The dress hugged her slender body, showcasing her explicit beauty, and behind her were the elder elves.
Although they were called elder elves, all of them had the appearance of a human in their late forties, with pointy ears.
The elders were bowing in front of Elena and Orion when Evelyn walked towards her son.
She stroked Orion's cheeks before asking. "Are you ready, sweetie?"
"Yes," Orion replied and everyone walked towards the spot where Orion would form his mana core.
While walking towards the place, Orion looked around to see what the sacred grove was all about, and to his surprise, it was actually a breathtaking and beautiful place.
It was a circular clearing, surrounded by towering trees that seemed to stretch up to the sky.
Their trunks shimmered and glowed, allowing everyone to feel the strong magic within the grove.
The air was also filled with the sweet scent of a blooming wildflower, filling everyone with a sense of calm and relaxation.
At the center of the grove was a huge magic circle glowing on the ground and covered with a soft, velvety moss that looked as soft as silk.
Standing on the magic circle, was Hilda, dressed in a beautiful green dress that touched the ground.
Unlike the usual platinum blonde hair of the forest elves in the kingdom, Hilda's hair was different.
She had green hair and a similar color of eyes.
She wasn't a forest elf like most elves, instead, she was a nature elf with a strong affinity towards nature magic.
She was also the elf who was with Evelyn the night Orion arrived in this world.
"Please, your Highness, step forward," Hilda beckoned to Orion and he did as he was instructed.
He was the only one walking towards the magic circle, while Evelyn, Elena, and the elders stood behind and watched him from a distance.
While Orion walked towards the magic circle, the tall towering trees surrounding the magic circle seemed like they were leaning towards it, almost as though they wanted to witness what was about to happen.
The moment one of his feet stepped on the magic circle, it glowed even brighter than before, and a huge gust of wind blew into the forest.
Orion and Hilda sat down on the magic circle and crossed their feet, assuming the lotus position.
"Your Highness, please close your eyes and calm your nerves," Hilda instructed him on what to do.
Orion closed his eyes and carried out her instructions.
Although Evelyn had taught him everything he needed to know about forming a mana core, Orion decided to listen closely to everything Hilda had to say.
The fact that he had an idea of what to do made it easier for Orion to remain calm while he listened attentively to Hilda's instructions.
After noticing that Orion was relaxed, Hilda then began to guide him further. "Close out the sounds around you and try to feel the magical energy flowing within your body."
Orion followed her instructions and slowly, he began to feel the magical energies within his body.
It took him a few minutes but Orion was able to visualize the tiny magical particles that filled up his entire body.
'This must be what mama meant by my body reaching a threshold,' He thought to himself then he began to slowly pull the magical energies towards his navel where they were slowly compressed to form a mana core.
Orion could now visualize the mana core within his body. The mana core was like a crystal with multiple facets.
Each facet signified the different aspects of the mana core available to him.
However, the mana core looked like a dark crystal in a dark hollow space within his body.
The moment he was done compressing the last bit of mana in his body, he could feel one of the facets in the mana core slowly glowing brightly until a prompt suddenly appeared in his mind.
[Congratulations to the host, you have successfully awakened the first aspect of your mana core 'Elemental energy'.]
Orion read the words displayed on the screen and his lips widened in a smile but he wasn't done just yet and this was merely just the beginning.
He knew he had to awaken the second aspect of his mana core as well if he wanted to achieve his goal and to do that, he had to fully comprehend what the first aspect of his mana core was all about.
Orion calmed his mind even further by breathing steadily before returning his focus to his newly awakened mana core.
Mana networks suddenly began to sprout from the mana core, spreading across his body to ensure a uniform flow of mana within it.
The mana networks were like veins and now that Orion had awoken the first aspect of his mana core, he could willingly draw mana directly from his surroundings and he could also control and manipulate mana.
This was all thanks to his mother's teachings.
Last night, Evelyn had carefully explained the steps he needed to take and the first step was to compress the impure mana in his body to form a mana core which would then be refined in the mana core.
Once the impure mana was refined, the pure mana began to circulate his body through his mana veins, strengthening his bones and muscles which surprised Hilda who was seated in front of him.
She knew Orion would be equally as talented as his mother and aunt, but Hilda hadn't expected Orion to understand the intricacies of mana compression at a ridiculously fast rate.
Normally, it took most elves at least six hours to unlock their mana core.
Be it a high elf or a forest elf, it took everyone at least six hours to awaken a mana core. However, right now, it wasn't even half an hour yet, and Orion had successfully awakened his mana core.
Hilda's lips instinctively stretched into a smile.
She never imagined the prince would do something as remarkable as this, but her eyes suddenly widened once again when she noticed what Orion did next.