The morning sun beamed softly over the white walls of Dorothrel Academy, bathing its ancient towers in golden light. But inside the Ritual Grounds, the air was anything but gentle.
A dense, expectant silence had gripped the students.
They stood in rows, lined like chess pieces, facing the raised altar at the center. On it stood a high-ranking magus wrapped in silver ceremonial robes, his eyes like shimmering mana crystals. His voice echoed across the marble tiles as he raised a hand.
"From this moment on, your lives will never be the same."
His tone deepened, a mix of reverence and command.
"The ceremony you are about to take part in is the legal method sanctioned by the World Magic Authority to awaken your mana core. A Level 1 core—your beginning, your birth into the magical world."
He raised a small, glowing orb—the Mana Induction Pill.
"Those who awaken outside these chambers, through black-market resources or rogue rituals, are not recognized by the law. They are known as Undergrounds. If discovered, they will be hunted."
Arin, standing in the third row, felt the words settle heavily in his chest.
"So… like what I almost became."
One by one, students stepped forward and were handed a pill. Arin accepted his in silence.
The ritual field branched into dozens of Mana Chambers, built with sacred stone and sealed by ancient glyphs. Inside, the air was thick with pure, floating mana—waiting to be drawn in.
Inside his chamber, Arin sat cross-legged.
He swallowed the pill.
At first, nothing.
Then, everything.
Mana from the chamber surged toward him, flooding his veins with a tingling heat. His heart raced. He felt his body react as the mana gathered at the center of his chest.
The vortex began spinning.
But then something strange happened.
Where most students would feel a single point of energy coalescing into one core, Arin felt two.
His body trembled slightly.
One spun clean and bright—white. It pulsed with elemental purity, chaotic yet balanced. Within it danced the essence of wind, earth, and something… almost holy.
The second formed in silence—black. He couldn't describe it. It wasn't evil. It wasn't even cold. It just… was. Calm. Silent. Deep. Deeper than the void.
"What the hell is this…?"
He opened his eyes briefly, beads of sweat on his brow. The chamber's measuring crystal overhead was starting to pulse erratically. If he allowed both cores to be fully seen…
He didn't know what would happen.
"I can't afford to stand out. Not here. Not yet."
He focused on the white core.
Compressing wind. Folding earth. He sealed off the rest. Bit by bit, he pushed the black core down, letting it sink beyond detection.
The overhead crystal calmed.
It shone a soft mix of green and pale silver.
"Earth and wind affinity from a beggar?" a proctor noted outside, checking his tablet. "Stable. Average purity."
When Arin stepped out, no one paid him any attention.
Others were still inside, still forming their cores. The field was buzzing with whispers as bright-colored affinities emerged: red for fire, blue for water, gold for light, and even rare dual-colored flashes.
Lireya emerged to fanfare. Her blue core nearly shook the crystal dome. Kael's fire affinity was so strong it cracked the barrier slightly.
Arin walked past them all. Quiet. Boring. Forgettable.
"I wan't to keep a low profile and move forward. There is no use in standing out in front of these nobles and geniuses."
That night, sitting alone in his dorm, Arin stared at his chest—not physically, but inwardly.
Both cores glowed faintly.
White.Black.
Two paths. Two natures. One hidden from the world.
"Earth and wind is what they'll know me as.""The rest… will wait."
He let out a breath.
Tomorrow, the real academy life would begin.