Trinity of Magic

After waiting for hours, it was finally their turn to enter the checkpoint. The guards, wearing heavy plate armor, eyed them critically as they approached. The guards' eyes momentarily paused on their weapons — Zeke's spear and Leo's saber. But after a quick glance, they averted their gazes.

Zeke wasn't surprised, as he could feel the aura of the guards. Their mana fluctuations made them out to be Grand Mages. Even after they noticed their weapons and Cores, they still ignored them, confident they wouldn't pose a real threat.

"Next!" a man yelled.

After exchanging a glance with his brother, Zeke approached first. The clerk's eyes fell on him and Zeke felt the surrounding Mana move, making it clear that the man was casting some kind of spell. With his [Perfect Spatial Awareness] he observed the Spellform being used. It was a Mind Magic spell Zeke had never encountered before, piquing his interest immediately.

"What are you doing?" Zeke asked, taking a step back.

"Relax, boy," the man said. "It's just an identification spell."

Zeke tensed upon hearing that. Identification spell? What was that? Didn't that mean his identity would be exposed? Zeke's eyes narrowed, as he secretly clenched his fist behind his back, ready to strike.

Still, his voice remained calm and cordial as he spoke. "I'm not familiar with such a spell. What does it do?"

"It must be your first time entering our country then?"

Zeke nodded.

"Then you have nothing to worry about. The spell is merely used to determine if you are on our wanted list. If you have never entered the country, there is no way it would find a match."

Zeke's body relaxed slightly and after a moment, the man's words came true. "All clear. You are free to proceed."

"I'll wait for my brother if that's ok?"

The clerk shrugged, clearly disinterested, as he motioned for Leo to approach. Zeke watched as the man used the same spell again on Leo. This time, Zeke focused intently on the procedure. He really wanted to know how this spell worked.

From the Spellform alone, the magic seemed too simple to have such a profound effect. He could probably master such a straightforward spell in a couple of minutes. But as it often was with Mind spells, casting the Magic was only opening the door — the true challenge came after.

Having studied a vast collection of Spellforms, Zeke had the ability to somewhat guess what a spell might do. However, what he found made no sense. From what he understood, the aim of this spell was merely to… compare things?

This seemed to be in line with what the man had said, as he had claimed to do exactly that. But how did it work exactly? There seemed to be no portraits or anything else to compare the people to.

With a confused frown, Zeke turned to the only person who might be able to figure this out. "Do you have any ideas, Akasha?"