Atticus's entire focus was on his palm in contact with the mana barrier, trying to dissect and comprehend the intricate details of the mana signature contained in the mana barrier.
During this analysis, he meticulously fine-tuned his own magical output to mimic the specific signature.
Atticus stood with his eyes closed, not moving a single inch for more than 30 minutes.
And just when it seemed that nothing would happen, suddenly a burst of mana radiated from Atticus's core, immediately engulfing him.
It was very similar to when Atticus was using the ethereal cloak art, but if one were to look closer, they would be able to see a glaring difference between both mana natures.
Using the ethereal cloak, just like the environment, the mana enveloping Atticus would be as free and adaptable as the natural mana in the environment.
But the mana currently enveloping Atticus wasn't as friendly and adaptable as the environment's; it was completely volatile. It was as though it was actively repelling anything that didn't have the same nature/signature as it.
But Atticus could only successfully replicate the mana signature for a brief moment. The reason lied in the dynamic nature of magical signatures, which are not static but constantly influenced by the individual's emotions, experiences, and state of being, even when the individual was hundreds of miles away.
Atticus's intelligence allows him to grasp these intricacies momentarily, but sustaining the accurate replication over time becomes progressively difficult as the target's magical essence changes.
As soon as the cloak of mana enveloped each part of his form, Atticus immediately took a large step forward.
And as though the earthen wall in front of him wasn't there in the first place, his body simply phased through it, leaving the small clearing.
…
Back in the control room, Isabella's smile widened as she gazed at the screen displaying Atticus.
'He copied the mana signature of the barrier,' her heart raced as she figured out what Atticus had just done.
A first-year student of the academy, a 15-year-old boy, perfectly replicated the mana signature of another individual contained in a barrier for a split second and used that to pass through said barrier?
If Isabella were to tell this to anyone, even her closest friends without backing it with concrete proof, there was only one question they would all ask her: Is your brain functioning properly?
And they truly shouldn't be blamed for reacting that way.
It was just too mind-boggling!
It was history-making!
It was generation-changing!
'Just what did the Ravenstein family birth this time around,' Isabella thought. Her initial curiosity about Atticus couldn't help but subtly tilt to fear.
Magnus had been a monstrous talent, Avalon had been one, but with what Atticus had just done, he could not even be classified as a talented youth or even a monstrous talent anymore.
Isabella had seen a lot of talented youths come and go in the academy, but Atticus was basically a new species she had no idea how to handle.
"Oi Oi Oi, is he even human!?"
Isabella's thoughts were interrupted by the frantic mumbling of one of the operators.
Out of everyone in the room, it was only Isabella that was currently smiling.
The rest of the operators all wore somber expressions on their faces, many not believing what they had just watched.
"Hey, is it not about time we reported and stop this. He's not supposed to find this location this early,"
Upon hearing the operator's suggestion, Isabella's expression didn't change. 'No way,' she thought in her head.
There was no way she would allow it all to end now after they had come this far.
"Let's wait and see," Isabella simply said.
Many of the operators' eyes widened as they heard Isabella's orders, one of them immediately voicing his disagreement,
"It's too dangerous! The beast in there is a maste-"
But his voice was cut short as Isabella suddenly turned and gave him a cold stare.
The operator suddenly froze, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he felt shivers down his spine.
They all knew this side of Isabella all too well.
There was a reason, despite the fact that Isabella plays and treats all of them fairly, none of them still dared to cross the line.
And it was because they all knew too well; she could become a demon in human skin at any moment's notice.
The last time someone got under her skin, well, let's just say he wasn't going to be getting under another person's skin until the end of his life.
"I said leave it. The artifact he's wearing is not a frigging decoration. His life won't ever be in danger, so just shut up and watch," Isabella coldly stated, removing her gaze from the operator who was already shivering in his seat.
She focused her attention back on Atticus, not minding the tension that had appeared in the air.
Suddenly, the door of the control room slid open to reveal a group of men walking into the control room.
Many of them had looks of exhaustion on their faces as though they had already anticipated how boring the next few hours would be.
"We're here! You can end the shift," the man standing at the forefront of the group suddenly declared.
But unlike the exaggerated happy responses he was expecting, all he got was complete silence.
'What's happening?' he wondered.
None of the operators were even focused on them; their gazes were all on a large screen displayed at the top.
The new entrants followed their gazes to see what they were watching, and their mouths couldn't help but open wide when they saw where Atticus currently was.
After that, no one spoke anymore. They all simply focused their gazes on the white-haired boy on the screen.
…
As soon as Atticus crossed the mana barrier, he found himself inside a pitch-dark space.
It was so dark that he couldn't see anything, even when he tried waving his hands in front of his face.
'This level of darkness can't be normal,' Atticus pondered. It was very unnatural seeing a darkness of this intensity.
Regardless of how deep down a cave was, even if there was no light source around, one should be able to at least perceive faint outlines or shapes after your eyes had adjusted to the darkness.
But this darkness was different.
No matter how long he stood, he wasn't able to see a single thing.
'Too bad my perception doesn't come with night vision,' Atticus thought with a hint of humor.
Atticus's perception could unfortunately not let him see at night. His vision was exceptionally better than most people, but this was only if he could see.
Deciding not to waste any time, Atticus instantly released a mana pulse from his core, enabling him to feel every single thing around him.
And what he felt was shocking, to say the least.