A flash of green entered Michael's eyes as the man's singular green ring appeared near the cuff of his shirt. The shock was so great that he almost forgot to extend his hand to meet the man.
"L-Likewise." He replied, grabbing the outstretched hand.
Swiftly and unexpectedly, the tutor pulled on his hand, using the head of his cane to raise the cuff of Michael's sleeve, revealing his three orange rings.
"Oho?" The young tutor said, his hazel eyes shining. "Your rings are such a deep orange, your mana purity is outstanding," he commented with praise.
Michael felt a little flustered and managed to pull back his hand after a small struggle.
"Forgive me, Michael. I was quite curious as to why Lord Winterborne wished for you to be included in the tutoring, but my curiosity is now sated." He added, flashing a crooked grin.
"I am Charles Gray, third-year student at Arcadia Magic Academy." The man said, bowing with a charming grace that made his actions earlier appear out of character.
Arcadia Academy!? That's the best academy in the nation! Michael exclaimed inwardly.
But what was more surprising was the fact that Charles was a green ringed mage at such a young age. Not only that, he was also the tutor for the Winterborne family.
Michael stared at the young man for a little too long, causing Charles to let out an awkward cough, "How about we get started? I want to see how much you know before Melody arrives."
"Of course…" Michael replied reflexively.
Charles walked over to one of the desks nearby and leaned his cane against the chair before turning to face him. "Let's start out with some mana exercises," he said, holding out his hand.
Michael felt the air shimmer atop the young tutor's hand before a green ball slowly began to form. What started out as motes of light, turned into mist before solidifying further, looking more like a liquid.
This green liquid swirled atop his hand, the sphere hovering and spinning slowly in place.
"This is my mana, powered only by my will without any spell incantations," he explained, his hazel eyes locked onto Michael.
"Go on, try it yourself."
Michael marveled at the display in front of him. This wasn't just a parlor trick, there was some serious mana control required to pull off such a thing.
The problem was, he had no clue how to replicate what he was seeing.
Usually, through spells and incantations, the mana would move according to set instructions via the incantations. Thus, as long as one knew the spell and incantation, they wouldn't need to manually control their mana, only the output.
Michael usually followed the incantations for the chore spells he knew, rarely putting any additional thought on how to manipulate his mana. This wasn't because he was lazy, but because as a white-ringed mage, that's all he was capable of.
But that was no longer the case.
Michael closed his eyes and visualized the mana in his body. Like all mages, his mana was located in the magic circuits otherwise known as the meridians, a vein-like organ that acted as a means of transportation for the mystical mana.
It had access to every part of his body, but most importantly, it was linked to his inner palace and rings upon his left wrist.
Michael sent out a tendril of will from his soul, stirring the mana within his meridians. At his insistence, the mana was rounded up and directed towards his outstretched hand.
Opening his eyes, the young boy focused on the spot on top of his palm, seeing the air shimmer slightly. Orange particles rose into the air like motes of light, their color as deep as the setting sun.
However, the moment this orange mana left his body, it became incredibly difficult to control. A deep frown settled on Michael's face as he saw the unruly mana wander off, completely cutting his connection to it.
"Concentrate Michael," Charles spoke, his voice calm. "Imagine a pair of invisible hands shaping your mana into a ball, keeping it in place."
Hearing his words, Michael let out a small breath and did as he was told. With his eyes never leaving his outstretched palm, he visualized his hands scooping up the wayward mana and bringing it together.
A pure white light emerged from the palm of his hands, its light blinding.
"W-What the hell are you doing!?" Charles shouted, his voice panicked.
Michael quickly retracted his hand, his heart thumping in his chest. He didn't know what he'd done, but from the sound of the tutor's voice, he had probably done something dangerous.
Charles stepped forward and grabbed Michael's hand, his gaze locked onto the boy.
"You fool! What are you thinking?"
By now, Michael was filled with shock and confusion. "What? What did I do?" he asked meekly, shrinking back.
"You exposed your soul, you idiot. You should never open your inner palace, let alone remove your soul from your body." Charles said, his hand gripping Michael's tightly.
"But I didn't?"
"There is no point in lying to me, Michael. Just because I am only a little older than you, doesn't mean I am naive," he said, "When the soul is exposed outside the body, it shines like the sun. You can not hide that."
But my inner palace was sealed…
However, seeing the serious expression on the young man's face, Michael didn't dare retort. Instead, he waited for his next instructions.
"Now… Your soul should only ever remain confined within your inner palace. The only exception to that rule is when you ascend a major realm." Charles explained, finally relinquish his grip on Michael's hand.
Michael's ears perked up and he listened closely.
"Since you're an late stage Ember mage, you will ascend to an early stage Crimson mage soon and acquire your first red ring. At this time, your soul will be nourished by the advancement of your mana."
Michael froze, the revelation stirring something inside of him.
Mana can enhance one's soul?
His thoughts moved back to when the dead mage's violet mana had attacked his own soul, corrupting it. While the pain had been torturous, ever since that day, his soul had been pure white.