18 Awakening (2)

Natalie brought Nathan out of his thoughts. She still had more to teach him. She pointed to the cube on the table before continuing.

"This is an Awakening Cube. This is used to tell the talent levels of an individual. It does this by dragging out the mana or ki that is already stored in your core when it is formed to read before it is put back inside your core.

These objects are expensive so most commoners will not have them. This is something only the rich, nobles, or powerful have access to. Thanks to your mother's clan, I am able to get these but this is also a secret.

I know you are very smart for your age so I am trusting you with these secrets. Most would be afraid but as your mother, I know just how capable you are. So make sure to not let anyone know of my clan or anything I tell you today unless you can trust them completely.

This means not even your father. He is a good man and one that I love but he is a soldier first in his heart whose loyalty is to his nation before his family. If he learns of my family, he will try to get me to convince the rest to be involved in these affairs."

Nathan silently agreed. Phil was a good man and an alright father in his eyes but he could also see the fault in the man. He had seen it in the eyes of many who he had battled and fought alongside.

Those who did not care about who they were fighting or why. They felt a debt to their nation or planet and were willing to battle to the death, steal from others, or lie to their own families in order to repay that debt.

Nathan would never condemn a person like that though. Even though he hated the idea of serving another and slavery, he did not care about those who acted as slaves or servants of their own free will.

He nodded silently to his mother to show his agreement. She smiled in return at her son.

'This boy is such a blessing. So smart at such a young age. He will become a fine man. Hopefully, he will even return to the family and bring it to new heights.'

"Good. We will talk more about my personal matters later. For now, we need to check your attributes. Pick up the cube and hold it in your palm with your fingers flat."

Nathan did as he was told. The cube seemed to be made of glass or a class like substance. It was both light and heavy at the same time with most of its weight being in its core. He waited for further instruction after he took his time to check the cube.

Natalie looked proud of her son.

'Good. He does not just take objects and obey but thinks on his own as well. This will serve him well in the future.'

She pulled out a long, silver needle that looked extremely sharp on the end that was in the air.

"Now I am going to prick all 5 of your fingers before you close your hand and try to make a fist. Since your fingers are small, they will not reach the top of the cube but that is fine. Just move them until they touch it."

Nathan did not make a face like he was nervous or afraid of the need so Natalie stabbed into his fingers quickly. Once he was sure that all of them were bleeding, he placed his fingers on the cube.

As soon as he did, a bright silver light filled the room and he felt as if something was being pulled from inside of him and into the cube. The feeling felt both natural and unnatural to him.

The process lasted a few minutes before it stopped which made Natalie happy. The longer the process goes on, it usually meant better talent.

When the process was over, the cube lost its luster but projected a screen above it that could be read from both sides so the person administering the awakening test and the child who had just awakened could read it.

The screen read as:

[

Core Type: Ki

Core Color: Purple-Grade

Innate Spell: Tundra Aura

]

Reading what the screen said, Nathan only understood both lines but did not understand why the room was filled with silver color and why he saw some silver energy enter the cube. The innate spell was also something he did not expect to see. He decided to ask his mother for clarification.

"Why is my ki silver even though it is a purple grade? Does the grade just determine talent level and not color?

What is with the innate spell? I thought that was only for magical creatures."

Natalie came out of her shock and looked at her son like he was a mixed prodigy and a monster. These would make the schools fight over him.

"No. Your color of ki is supposed to reflect your level of talent. So if someone has yellow grade talent, they would have a yellow aura. For you to have a silver aura, that is completely unique.

As for the innate spell, no need to worry about that for now. Just know that you are considered a prodigy that does not come around more than once every thousand years or so."