[Core: Starburst | Rough Cut]

[Mana Purity: Dark | Turning]

[Elemental Affinity: Air, Medium 25% | Water, High 42% | Earth, Low 18% | Fire, High 55%]

[Skills: Mana Control, Mana Weaving, Mana Reading, Rune-Script Writing, Rune-Script Reading ]

Lily stared at the screen floating before her. The script was wavy yet still clearly readable, written on what appeared to look like glowing transparent aqua glass.

“What--”

“High affinity for opposing elements,” Rupert interrupted as he scratched his chin. He seemed… impressed? “And with such high affinities for them I can see why you are claimed to be a prodigy.”

Lily tried to pull her hand off but it seemed to be stuck to the device. She looked down and saw the weaves Rupert placed into it had wrapped around her hand holding it down. The runes were hoving slightly off the glass, floating through the threads and projecting the nonsense onto the floating screen.

“Why am I stuck to this thing?” Lily spat. “And what is that?” She pointed to the screen.

“This is fascinating!” Mel cried out, her feather scribbling everything she could. Lily sighed seeing her friend was obvious to her discomfort, falling into her researcher mentality.

“Don’t record what is written on the slabs, Melony,” Rupert directed. “This is, in a literal sense, your friend’s magic. A direct reading of what some philosophers have claimed to be the caster’s soul.” He gave Lily a smug look. “As long as the reader is projecting your records, you cannot let go of the device. There is no imprinting, just direct reading. All information projected has always been held in utmost confidentiality, unless the caster wishes it to be shared.”

“Oh.. .okay,” Mel slumped like a dog who didn’t get a treat. Lily giggled despite herself.

“You can record it if you want, Mel. Only for you, though,” she glared at Rupert who just shrugged.

“Can you give a quick outline?” Mel asked, inflating again in excitement.

Rupert smiled as well and started to point at the different parts of the screen. His hands glowing as mana was actively being cast.

“The Core section here indicates a person’s core. It will detail the cuts you give it, detail any specialties that have been made, and notify you of any damages to the core. Though I pray to the gods that you will never have to deal with that last problem.”

He stood up and moved around the desk, a few extra strings extending into an artifact that appeared to be a fancy bowl. It lit up and the images of a rough rock appeared to be floating above it.

“Illusion array,” Mel marvel.

“Just so,” Rupert laughed. “Good for research if you have a delicate artifact, or items which are not… easily accessible.”

“Like a person’s core,” Lily leaned back into her chair as best as she could. Rupert apparently did not have to be near it to keep it activated, though she was still stuck. The device couldn't even be lifted by her. .

“Exactly,” Rupert confirmed. “We classify a core’s cut like a jeweler classifies a precious stone. Not only is it easier to categorize, but it also helps visualize their function. “ The floating stone shifted into what appeared to be a rectangular gemstone. “For example an enchanter might have an Emerald cut, meaning the weaves through it will be thicker and hardier, but at the same time the mana will be less flexible.”

Thick strings expanded out of the gemstone, waving around in a slow and clumsy manner.

“The weaves made won’t be as malleable when the spells are tied off. Important for enchantments for rings, clothing, and other accessories.” The weaves slowed and hardened after a knot was made from the gemstone. “The longer the enchantment lasts the stiffer the mana is. So if the weave is ruptured it is easier to redo the enchantment than attempt to repair it.”

By the end the mana strings snapped and the entire illusion broke apart, leaving just the gemstone floating in the center.

“Enchanters are specialized mages,” Mel began. “I don’t remember ever having a class with them. Is the core the reason?”

“Exactly so,” Rupert confirmed.

“I don’t understand,” Lily jumped in. “I never decided to make a starburst cut. Why is my core like this?”

Rupert sighed and glanced at the large tome on his desk. Lily followed his gaze but the illusion array flashed, catching her attention. The rectangular gemstone in the illusion shifted, transformed into one that was circular. The gemstone reminded Lily of an eye, but the pupil was missing. Light seemed to sparkle inside it as the gemstone turned, and each fragmented section that touched the edge had extremely small strings slowly extend out.

Rupert was watching her as she focused in on the illusion. Lily narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Was he trying to distract her with the flash? What was in that tome? Lily might have to find some time to do some research herself, it seemed. Perhaps after dark when everyone was asleep.

Rupert started talking once the illusion stopped changing, completely unaware of Lily’s growing plans.

“Every general student who was not pre-arranged to have the special studies are grown to have a starburst cut. These give the caster the ability to use thinner strings of mana, unlike the Emerald. The thinner strands add flexibility and depending on how many facets the caster is able to carve into their core, which also give the ability to use pull out more strings as well.”

“How many cuts are there?” Mel inquired.

“Most of the known cuts are just documented in name only. The only cut we still have the full process of making is the Starburst cut, which is why it is the general cut. There are a few with broken records, like the Emerald, Pearl, and Pentagon, but the steps to fully cut your core into them are lost.”

“Why would you want to get a broken cut?” Lily asked. If there was just one cut that was fully documented, then why chance the others? It sounded like a foolish thing to attempt.

“I read that a few select upcoming mages choose to do those broken cuts in an attempt to learn the lost steps,” Mel added.

Rupert nodded. “Yes. Those students typically decide to do so with their families. They live at the University for the rest of their life and have dedicated their entire selves into their study.”

“Why would they do that?” Lily asked.

“For the glory of their family. Pursuit of knowledge. Gaining fame in the Kingdom and going down in history. Their reasons are their own, but in the end all the researchers work together for the advancement of magic. That was what the Founder wished, and that is what we strive for.”

Lily gagged internally. It sounded like sacrificing your children in the attempt to bludgeon progress in a magical research. Sure, learning new things was important, but doing so in a way that potentially kills someone? Or cripples them for the rest of their life? That was going too far.

“Now, Lily,” Rupert started, Lily turned her attention back to him. “According to the recorder, right now you have only a rough cut for your core. So you have not reached your full potential. Eventually we all hope that you will get a Master’s cut, then you will become a Master Mage.”

Lily looked at the illusion and saw the rock return, but the parts of it were grinded down until it eventually was shrinking like previously. The steps went by extremely fast but she could tell it was a tedious process. She remembered her lessons, as well as the times some of her teachers helped guide her in meditations, scanning her body and helping move her magic.

She pondered. When did they start the cuts? Or were the cuts part of the meditation process. She had spent many hours every week in the meditation chambers working on what the instructors told her to do, but she had never truly examined what they said. She just followed their directions and did it.

Lily gave Mel a glance. Her entire thesis was on cores. Something about how they were composed and whatnot. Source of magic and then comparing humans and monsters together. Did she know about core cuts, though? The girl was rushing in her notes to record everything Rupert was saying, but she always did that. How much did she already know?

Lily would have to reexamine everything she had done already. Her only half understanding what she was doing might have led to mistakes, and Lily did not make mistakes. She had to be perfect, above the grade of everyone else. When it came to her core cuts, she might have to redo parts. The subject now feels a lot more complex than Lily initially thought.

Then again, complex stuff was Mel’s specialty. She loved these puzzles and Lily was sure she was dying for more info right now if the excited hopping in her chair had any indication. Lily will pick her brain later to choose her next moves.

“What about the Mana Purity section?” Lily pushed. “I know we have all had to meditate and purify our core. Heck, we have been doing that since we first learned how to touch our mana.”

“Ah, I personally would say that is far more important than the mage’s cut,” Rupert chuckled. “Though many others would debate about that statement, I will stand by it. The purity of a mage’s mana determines how strong their magic is. More bang for your copper, if you get the meaning. Every strand will be more potent, every spell will have a bigger impact. Your mana just works better.

Lily thought about that. Sure, she has meditated for years but through most of it she focused on the control of her mana. The impurities she pulled out were at best surface level ones and were easy to find, or at least they were according to Philip. For the past couple years he had locked himself away to study, seeming to abandon their games to explore the island and push the boundaries of what they were allowed to do. Though, in Lily’s case, she had backed off from that for more than these past two years.

But after Philip got serious and started to read and study, his skills seemed to explode. Lily could hardly believe it when he was first able to sculpt a full chair out of stone after just two weeks of study, using only one thread of mana! If she wanted to do the same thing she would have to use at least seven, mixing multiple attuned strands of water and fire to soften and harden the stone. But Philip did it all with just one string of earth mana.

Lily started to wonder if he focused on purifying. His magic was definitely potent, but he never seemed to use more than four strings at a time. Actually, Lily started to wonder, did he ever have a teacher to assist in his meditations? If the instructors were the reason her core was cut into the rough form, was his considered uncut?

How strong would he get if he got his core cut?

More questions for Mel later, and after they manage to find Philip again.

“In fact I am shocked that you are almost out of the dark grade,” Rupert continued as he scratched his chin. “You must have worked hard to get this far in your purification. Once your core is properly into the flawed cut stage you will be someone to watch for.”

“You said dark grade? There are different ones?” Mel dipped her feather to get more ink as she studied the screen some more.

“Did they stop teaching grades?” Rupert asked. “There are eight stages of purities. Black, which is how every mage begins. Then you get very dark, dark, medium dark, medium, medium light, light, then white. Each of those stages have three parts to it; early, solid, then turning. It was the scale that was made when the Reader was first introduced to help define a core’s purity. The scale can also be changed depending on how you color your mana.”

“You mean specialization?” Mel inquired.

“Exactly so,” Rupert cheered. “You are a very bright girl, Melody. I believe I will enjoy working with you in the future.”

“Please focus,” Lily chided. Melody looked away from the screen, her cheeks a bright red in embarrassment. Lily was starting to see similarities between the two. The only downside is Rupert was old and crafty, and Lily couldn’t trust him. Not yet, at least.

“But yes,” Rupert coughed, his lecture mode continuing. “Specialization fits into the caster’s Elemental Affinity. Many mages who have a very high attunement to one element might specialize in that particular one. Their mana changes to fit into said element, pulling more power out from their mana roughly a grade higher for spells using it. The downside is the other elements are much hardier to use.”

“You said I was strong in opposing elements,” Lily queried. “How does specialization work there?”

“Don’t do it,” Rupert bluntly stated. “Specializing in two elements is nothing but trouble. You don’t get the same extra power as those that focus on just one and the other elements are harder to use. Overall it is more of a downgrade.”

“Then what do those percentages mean?” Lily pushed.

“Those are how much of the element you actually use when you cast the spell. So for every thread of fire mana you cast, you are able to capture fifty five percent of the element you attuned into the mana strings.”

“Can the percentages be raised, somehow?” Mel asked. Her notebook was filled with scribbles.

“No. Those numbers are set from the day you are born. If you can improve them then nobody has discovered how yet.

“The final thing is your skills,” Rupert concluded. “Each one of these are focused purely on your magic. The Reader does not pick up other skills you may have, like reading, cooking, or even how strong you are. If it did, then these lists would get extraordinarily clunky and hard to read.”

Lily looked down at her hand, still woven into the reader. Rupert was going on in his lecture about skill. To summarize almost a half hour of his long winded blabbing, each was fairly easy to understand. Her Mana control was how well she can pull out her mana and attune it to an element. Her Mana weaving was how good she was at weaving her spells. Mana reading was her knowledge in how to craft her spells to do what she wanted. The final two were the basics in runes, for basic enchantments or magic circles for larger spells that cannot be weaved out at once.

In the end the screen did exactly what Rupert said it would. It summarized her ‘records’ and explained her current magical progress. But it did not go into too much detail. There was no explanation on how good her mana manipulation was, but you might be able to guess due to how far her cut was. The same went with how strong her spells could be when comparing the attunement and purity of the mana.

To read it on a screen and actually see her do it were two different things. Lily had memorized almost two hundred spells during her education, and crafted nearly a dozen custom spells which she had yet to show off. Despite her accomplishment, there was no indication of them on the screens.

If one just focused on the numbers then who knows what hidden advantages might be overlooked?

All in all, it really didn’t matter to LIly. After enough time passed she coughed and gave both Rupert and Mel a slightly annoyed look.

“I don’t know about how you both feel, but I’d love to have my hand back now,” She yawned dramatically. With an exaggerated tug she tried to let go of the recorder, but it remained despite her effort.

Rupert gave an apologetic smirk and flicked his wrists. The mana strings broke off his hands and rushed into the recorder. After a few moments it flowed through the runes and the device dimmed. Lily yanked her hand back again, this time managing to snap the strings which held her. A tingling sensation remained, and she gave Rupert a stink eye.

“Thank you for your assistance, Miss Lilith,” Rupert nodded. “It was a very educational endeavor.”

“I’m sure,” Lily sniffed. “If you’ll excuse us, though. We have other things to attend. I’m sure you are busy yourself.”

“Indeed,” Rupert chuckled. “You are excused. Charles must be at the edge of his seat in anticipation of your arrival.”

“I’m sure,” Lily deadpanned. She turned to Mel and noticed she was reviewing her pages of notes. She gave her a slight nudge to try and pop her back to reality. “Let's go, Mel.”

“Miss Melony will be staying a while, I think,” Rupert waved his hand and the illusion array shut down. “We have not checked her records yet. I am also interested to have a chat about her studies. As I mentioned, Cores are a very hot topic in certain circles.”

“I’m sure she has to work on her thesis,” Lily pressed. “Reading her records should be fine, but the discussion will have to wait until after her presentation after the graduation.”

“I am very informed on cores,” Rupert countered. He sat down at his desk and leaned back in his chair, stroking the large tome. Lily started to guess what information it contained.

“Her studies take priority,” Lily recountered. “The Student Council can’t have researchers influencing her work. For her to truly shine her work must be done alone, uninfluenced by others.”

“The ‘Council’ need not worry of me tainting her work,” Rupert confidently chuckled. “I will not give any input unless asked. I was more curious about her findings as it might help my own research.”

“Stealing her research before graduation will affect her adoption. I can’t allow that.”

“You have the honor of the Blackledges that I will not claim any of her work for my own,” Rupert swore.

Lily growled but she had no counter. The honor of ones family was one of the highest promises one could make, so he must truly mean what he says. But Lily did not like it one bit. The man was obviously trying for something.

If he does not want to steal her work, then what is the goal? How could Mel’s insights into a core be unique enough to warrant his interest? The man says he has a lot of knowledge on the subject, so that means his studies are effectively about the source of magic. Was it on Cuts? Or something else?

Perhaps he wants to integrate Mel to see if she was worthy of being adopted by the Blackledge household? If that was the case then it makes sense why he would want to pick Mel’s brain. If she showed enough potential and insight then she would become a great addition to the family.

This also was a slight concern as Lily assumed the Blackledges, or at least Rupert, was interested in Philip. Did they not want to adopt him? Or were they just using Philip as a bridge to get to Mel?

Mel and Philip are known to be good friends. Maybe not as infamous as Lily’s and Philip’s relationship, but a close second place. So getting close to Phlip would put the Blackledge’s in Mel’s good graces.

Gods, this Noble game is annoying.

Lily sighed and shook her head. She could not force Mel to leave so she should at least remain long enough to make sure she was not taken advantage of. She turned to her friend and saw she never broke out of her reviewing.

Lily leaned over and flicked Mel’s ear. The girl squeaked and bolted up. Her papers almost fell out of her hands but Lily pushed the stack against her friend to keep them in her grip.

“Its your turn, Melly,” Lily forced herself to smile. “Ready to be ‘read’ by the reader?”

“Oh… OH! Yes!” Mel cheered as she quickly set her pile of papers onto her chair.

Rupert was still leaning back in his chair, a grin on his face. It looked disgusting to Lily.

Rupert’s hands began to glow again. Since Lily was expecting it this time she focused on what he was doing. Strings of mana flew out, and Lily managed to see as there was an even number of each of the elements. They flew into the device and started to weave together. She peered closer, but most of the weaves were far too complex for her to follow. But the little she was able to see made her realize that there were only four braids flowing through the device. Each of the elements braided into each other, then into the runes, back out and into the next.

Soon the device glowed like before, and Blackledge gestured to it.

“Just place your hand on the Reader and we can get started,” Rupert reminded.

Mel excitedly placed her hand on the Reader. She was almost vibrating in excitement. Lily rolled her eyes and sat down in her chair to wait. The girl wanted to do this, why not let her?

The device flashed as Mel’s hand was tied to it and a screen flew up. It was different from Lily’s. The words seemed… blurred. Lily looked between Mel and Rupert, but only Mel seemed to react.

“It's so clear,” she breathed.

Lily focused and peered at the screen. The blurred words slowly came into focus. It must have been a safety measure so others could not easily take the information.

[Core: Starburst | Rough Cut]

[Mana Purity: Very Dark | Solid]

[Elemental Affinity: Air, Medium 32% | Water, Low 12% | Earth, Low 7% | Fire, Medium 22%]

[Skills: Mana Control, Mana Weaving, Mana Reading, Weave Mimicking, Weave Duplication, Weave Cloning, Rune-Script Writing, Rune-Script Reading, Rune-Script Harmonics, Rune-Script Multi-Facets, Core Carving]

Rupert let out an impressed whistle. “So many skills in Rune-Script. Were you thinking of being an enchanter?”

“N-no,” Mel blushed. “I had to learn how to read into the enchantments to understand a few of the older documents.”

“Right,” Rupert snapped his fingers like he remembered something. “Some old Scripters wrote entire documents in the Rune-script. Harder to crack the code, and only worth sharing with those who knew the language already.” He chuckled and sat back in his chair. “It was a different time with different worries.”

“Why are my affinities so low?” Mel asked. She was recording her stats on a sheet of paper on top of her stack.

“I wouldn’t say your affinities are low,” Rupert answered. “Yours are actually close to average, according to the records we found with the Reader. Lily’s just happen to be unfairly high.”

“I’m sorry for being awesome,” Lily retorted, though she did feel a little smug from the compliment. Magic came easier to her than others, so it seems her high affinity was one of the reasons. Good reference for the future.

“Awesome indeed,” Rupert sighed. “It is a shame they have already started cutting your core into the starburst. I think you would have been better to have the enchanter’s emerald cut. Or possibly even the Pentagon.”

Mel paused in her notes and looked at Rupert. “Pentagon… You mentioned that one before. What is that cut for?”

“Every cut is good for any type of magic,” Rupert replied. “But some are better than others at specific tasks. The Pentagon cut has been notable for the best summoners, Emerald for the best enchanters, Starburst for multi-casting flexibility.”

“And the Pear?” Lily added.

“The Pear has… not had enough study to place its best use.” Rupert finally opened his tome and flipped two thirds of the way through. Lily tried to get a glance at what was written, but it was like her eyes were veiled. When she glanced at the book the world blurred into abstract shapes. When she looked away everything returned to normal, but she felt a slight throb in her head of a headache.

Protective magic. Annoying stuff.

Mel was blinking as well, so she must have attempted to read the book too.

“Research I have gotten on the Pear cut theorizes that it is an enhancing type cut,” he places his finger and starts to quote. “The foundation of the pear is round with cuts resembling a mix between the Emerald and Starburst. The geometrical facets indicate that the strands are thicker, so they are not as flexible as the Starburst. Yet they are also smaller and more numerous than the Emerald, so it is doubtful they are unwieldy and harden like an Enchanter’s weave.” He places his finger and slides halfway down the page. “Ah, here it is. The tip of the pear narrows into what resembles a spearhead. Potentially the weave should be able to trail through the core and out the tip, condensing its power to greater multitudes.”

“You say all that like it has not been done?” Lily queried.

“Because it has not,” Rupert affirmed. “The cut itself has the least records in the Library. Very few have tried to attempt it, and none have lived.”

“Don’t tell me--” Mel gasped.

Rupert nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.” He closed his book and looked at the two girls. “Each of their cores became unstable and shattered. Nobody tends to live long when that happens.”

“That's horrible,” Lily cringed. “Why in the gods would they even try something like that?”

“LIke I said earlier,” Rupert leaned forward and placed his arms on the desk. “For knowledge and power. These experiments are done with the permission of the Caster’s family, their lives weighed and considered a worthy sacrifice in the pursuit of progress.”

Lily sighed and leaned back. Rupert turned back to Mel and the girl started asking more questions about different cores and their uses. Rupert develged not much more useful information, though. At least nothing which interested Lily after she heard of the dreadful practice of cutting them.

And they cut hers already. Into the ‘starburst’ cut. Everyone gets the cut, but they should have at least asked. Or told her of what they were doing.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Mel and Rupert seemed to have changed their conversation to Reader again, discussing her affinities and skills. Lily was also impressed at the amount of skills her friend had acquired, seeing she had twice as many as her.

She had learned only the basics, her focus on meditation and purifying her mana so her spells would be more powerful. Maybe that was a problem. Her focus was too dependent on just one part of her education. She needed to improve more on the theories behind everything, like Mel does. Maybe she could become more versatile.

She could read the weaves people do, but she could not mimic them. Maybe if she worked harder at mana reading she would get one of the [Weave] skills. From the conversation it sounded like that was the skill needed to copy someone’s spells quickly, unlike studying them and practicing like Lily did.

Eventually Lily was forced to excuse herself from Rupert’s office. He and Mel had turned off the Reader and were discussing Mel’s Thesis. Rupert was only asking questions pertaining to what Mel presented and Mel tried to answer. If she couldn’t she jotted a note or prodded at Rupert’s knowledge of the subject, but Rupert never added anything without being asked.

Lily gave a relieved sigh as she exited the room. It seemed that Rupert was actually trying to help the girl, so she had no right to interfere with the two of them as much as it frustrated her. And she had left Charles waiting long enough. She strode across the campus, the empty pathways eventually populating until she was close to the center of the Upper City.

The meeting with Rupert and the Reader was enlightening. Lily now knew she lacked. She was not good enough yet, so she will need to improve. Lily needed to become the best at the University and show off her skills for the best Adoption results. If she could get into a powerful family, she would help out her friends.

Lily wouldn’t let anything happen to them.