A Mana Core blossomed inside almost everyone around the tender age of ten.
However, not every Mana Core blossomed in the same way. The vast majority of the population, upwards of 95%, though some scholars argued the percentage was even higher, developed an ordinary Mana Core, which took on a standard spherical shape.
This left a rare 5%, or perhaps even less, who awakened a Prismatic-Shaped Core. A Prismatic Core was any core that deviated from the ordinary sphere; it could manifest as a triangle, a lozenge, a perfect cube, or any other geometric variation.
The standard spherical Mana Core allowed for an ordinary, reliable control and weaving of mana. It was perfectly functional. However, extensive study had proven that Prismatic-Shaped Cores enabled a vastly superior magical output and much tighter control over spell weaving. They were typically larger, possessed a greater capacity, and, most importantly, allowed the mana within to 'spin' at a highly accelerated rate. This translated directly to faster spellcasting. While casting a spell rarely took much time to begin with, at the very least depending the person's experience, the innate capability of a Prismatic Core to spin mana fractions of a second faster could easily mean the difference between life and death on a battlefield.
It was rare for anyone to awaken a Prismatic Shape. Yet, based on the reaction of the Veritas Sphere, the Grandmaster immediately realized that all three of the sisters standing before him possessed exactly that.
Having overseen this exact process countless times throughout his long life, Brian knew what he was looking at. While this Veritas Sphere he brought was not an precise diagnostic tool, the Grandmaster's keen, experienced eyes did not lie.
Of course, his shock was not simply because he had never encountered a Prismatic-Shaped Core before. He had met many such prodigies over the decades. No, his disbelief stemmed from a much more complicated biological reality.
All three of these sisters had been born to a Witch.
Consequently, they possessed innate Witch channels running through their bodies, existing entirely separate from the standard channels required to flow and spin mana from a Core. Historically, it was widely accepted that these two distinct systems could hardly coexist within a single body. It had long been proven that the Mana Cores within a witch's body tended to be stunted, significantly smaller and weaker than those of ordinary humans.
This was simply because a witch's physiology was inherently incompatible with manipulating magic through a traditional Mana Core. For a witch, a Mana Core was not a tool, it was a hindrance. This was exactly why witches, despite possessing Cores, almost exclusively relied on their innate Veins to craft spells. Tapping into a Mana Core was slow, cumbersome, and inefficient for them. It went against their very nature.
When Brian had first agreed to travel to the Rubenhart Estate, he knew he would be attempting to teach standard magic to three young witches. Because of this, he hadn't thought it necessary to conduct a thorough, intense examination of their Cores. He had assumed Ulrich merely wanted him to teach them the basics, simple, easy spells that their incompatible bodies could manage without too much strain.
He had initially found Ulrich's request rather odd. Why force witches to learn standard magic? But upon reflection, he assumed Ulrich simply wanted the girls to refrain from channeling magic through their Witch veins, a logical precaution given they currently resided in a kingdom that loathed and hunted witches. Brian had privately thought Ulrich should have considered the political ramifications twice before so blatantly adopting the girls, ultimately writing the decision off as a rare moment of guilt or regret over what the Count had done to their village.
But looking at the shattered Veritas Sphere, Brian finally understood.
He didn't know how, but Ulrich must have somehow sensed the terrifying talent lying dormant within these girls!
Setting aside the presence of the Prismatic Cores, the reaction each of the girls had provoked from the Veritas Sphere was unique, something Brian had never witnessed in all his years of study.
Airam's light had fractured into four distinct beams, the brilliant radiance darkening at the very ends into an eerie shade of black.
Esther's light had shattered into eight beams, burning with the purest, most unblemished shades of white and gold he had ever seen.
And finally, there was Hermione.
When Brian's wide-eyed gaze landed on the puzzled middle sister, his throat worked around a swallow. He had counted twelve individual beams. The light had shattered into a perfect starburst of a rainbow, no, it possessed even more colors than a natural rainbow, her spectrum of affinity was terrifying to say the least.
He had never seen a reaction of that magnitude in his entire life.
Based on this brief glimpse alone, he could confidently deduce that all three sisters possessed the potential to become Grandmasters of Magic, easily standing as his equals.
No, that wasn't accurate perhaps. It was far more terrifying than that; the intensity of the sphere's reaction suggested their ceiling was higher.
Especially Hermione.
Given proper instruction, she had the very real potential to reach the title of Archmage, placing her among the pinnacle of magic. Perhaps she could even ascend to the legendary rank of Grand Archmage.
No.
Brian gave his head a sharp shake to clear the dizzying thoughts. He needed to conduct another examination immediately, and this time, he required far superior tools!
He was holding three unpolished diamonds in his hands! Or, rather, Ulrich was.
"Please excuse me, I need to speak with the Count for a moment," Brian said, hastily clearing his throat before turning on his heel and marching off toward the estate.
"W—What?" Hermione gasped, her face instantly falling into an expression of disappointment.
"Maybe we did something bad...?" Esther asked nervously, wringing her hands together.
"Hermione did shatter the sphere, after all," Airam pointed out dryly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I—I didn't do it on purpose!" Hermione protested, her cheeks blazing with embarrassment.
Meanwhile, the assistant mage who had been left behind stood awkwardly in front of the three girls. She might not have possessed the same depth of assessment as Grandmaster Brian, but she had definitely recognized that these three were anything but ordinary.
She found herself wondering how on earth witches could possess Prismatic Cores in the first place. Based on everything she knew of magical biology, it made no sense. It was completely unheard of!
The main reason why Witch Mana Cores were so naturally stunted was that the 'Witch's Tree' required too much physical and spiritual space within the body. The Witch's Branches and Veins, the biological equivalents of a human's mana channels, took up an immense amount of room and worked on an entirely different physiological logic. Comparing a standard Mana Core to a Witch's Tree was like comparing a small stone to a massive, upside-down oak; the scale and structure were not remotely the same.
It was beyond confusing; it was biologically shocking.
Simply having an ordinary, stunted Mana Core coexisting alongside a Witch's Tree was known to be a painful burden, though the resilient biology of witches somehow made it survivable. But a Prismatic-Shaped Core boasting cleaner, significantly larger channels, crammed into the same body as a fully developed Witch's Tree?
Was it even physically possible to survive such a thing?