If it was anyone else that wanted to do this, especially with Atticus's current rank, such actions would be impossible to take.
It was completely unlike the ethereal cloak art. Back then, Atticus simply had to mimic the natural mana signature in the environment, adjusting it with every change in mana density.
But now, Atticus would have to mimic the exact mana signature of another individual. Even if it was for a slight second, it was still an incredibly difficult task.
Copying another individual's mana signature was more challenging than mimicking the natural mana signature in the environment due to the unique and personalized nature of individual mana.
Natural mana in the environment was more homogeneous and predictable, making it easy to mimic.
On the other hand, each individual possessed a distinct and intricate mana signature that was a reflection of their unique magical essence.
This signature was influenced by factors such as one's personal experiences, emotions, and innate magical abilities.
Replicating this specific and personalized mana signature requires a higher level of precision and finesse, a level of mana control that some one of Atticus's rank couldn't even dream of achieving.
After years of practice, Atticus, with his exceptional high intelligence, could easily adapt to changes in the natural mana environment by adjusting his mimicry to match the fluctuating mana density.
However, copying another person's mana signature involves capturing the nuances of their magical essence, making it a more intricate task.
Even a slight deviation in the replicated signature could be easily detected by the magical barrier.
Atticus focused on his palm in contact the mana barrier, closing his eyes he entered a state of deep focus.
...
Back inside the academy's control room, every operator present currently had their mouths open in shock as they beheld the spectacle occurring in front of them.
"Just how did he find it?" one of the operators asked, disbelief coloring his expression.
The rest of the operators also mirrored his expression. They were all truly shocked, and they honestly weren't to be blamed.
Ever since the academy was established, they had been using the same curriculum to test their first year students with very little deviations.
And ever since then, never had any student ever discovered what Atticus had just found so quickly before.
It had been just three weeks into the academic year, and he had already found it!? And the most baffling part of all of this was that he had found it so easily!
It was as if he knew exactly where he was going.
"Should we report this?" one of them asked with slight confusion.
This was the first time that this had ever happened. The academy had never forseen that such a situation could ever happen that they hadn't even put any protocols in place.
Isabella smiled while looking at the screen, "No, leave it for now. Even if he found it, there's a mana barrier there for a reason. Let's just wait and see what will happen," she instructed, her eyes not leaving Atticus on the screen for a single second.
Many of the operators in the control room would see her obsession with Atticus as some kind of crush.
But only those who knew Isabella well would know any better.
Sure, Atticus was incredibly handsome even at his young age, but he was just 15! Far too young for her. She wasn't no pedo.
Besides that, Atticus wasn't even her type. She preferred cute and shy guys. And from what she had witnessed watching his actions these past three weeks, Atticus was anything but shy.
Isabella had only one feeling towards Atticus, and that was curiosity. She was insanely curious about him.
His strength, his confidence, his intelligence, they were all glaring.
She wanted to know, how could a 15 year old have all these qualities at the same time?
After the massacre the top three in the rankings showed three weeks ago, they had all expected them to struggle a bit with organizing their division, and truly, Zoey and Kael did, but what about Atticus?
He made everything seem as though it was a game. He practically organized his whole group in one day! More than one thousand youths, it was simply shocking.
Established his dominance from the start, provided the facilities and equipment that his division members would need to focus on getting stronger, planning multiple steps ahead for the future that he should know nothing about.
He was only doing exactly what was necessary as though he had foresight and knew everything that would happen in the future.
It was shocking, very shocking seeing a 15 year old do all of these things.
The academy had made sure to limit the information each division had by only giving them very subtle clues.
It was one part to prepare them for the future; during wars, you would mostly have to work with little to no information. It was better for them to get used to these things earlier.
The other part was simply to test their intelligence.
And seeing the fact that Atticus, on the very first day, had been focused on increasing the strength of his division members, it was clear that he had caught on to all these subtle hints and had acted accordingly.
'What a frightening mind,' Isabella thought with a smile as she observed Atticus on the screen.
"What is he doing now?" one of the operators asked, seeing Atticus placing his palm on the mana barrier and closing his eyes.
Isabella too tilted her head slightly to the side, gazing at Atticus's actions with slight confusion. 'What is he trying to do?' She thought to herself.
....
Meanwhile, Atticus, completely oblivious to the fact that he was being watched by Isabella and the other operators, was diligently trying to focus.
Thanks to his remarkable intelligence, he possessed an extraordinary analytical capacity that allowed him to dissect and comprehend the intricate details of the mana signature contained in the mana barrier.
There was just one problem; it required a considerable amount of time.