My Bugged System Made Me Too OP!-Chapter 14: Bigger core
Noah let out a slow breath and leaned forward slightly, his gaze returning to the lower half of the interface.
If leveling up could push him forward like this, then there was no reason to stop now.
He carefully scanned the list of quests again, his eyes moving from one line to another.
[Channel your mana through your mana veins.]
[Reward: 20EXP]
[Penalty for failure: None$&@?]
His eyes settled on it.
Channel your mana through your mana veins.
A faint crease formed between his brows as he read it again.
’I should be able to do it now... shouldn’t I?’ he thought. ’Channel... my mana through my mana veins.’
It was something every apprentice magus was taught from the beginning. The foundation of all progress.
Without properly channeling mana through the body, one could never never stabilize their core, never advance.
And that had always been his problem.
His mana foundation had been painfully weak.
Even when he tried to circulate his mana, it felt thin and unstable, like trying to guide a weak stream through cracked earth. It would disperse too quickly or lose shape before completing a proper cycle.
He had attempted it countless times.
But no matter how much he focused, his mana refused to flow properly. It would flicker and fade, or circulate halfway before collapsing.
That weakness was what made advancement impossible for him.
Without proper circulation, his core never strengthened.
Without strengthening his core, he remained stuck.
But now...
He inhaled slowly.
His mana reserves had increased.
His stats had risen.
His rank had advanced.
Maybe things were different now.
He exhaled quietly and shifted his position on the bed.
Carefully, he moved his legs and folded them beneath him, settling into a lotus position.
The old mattress dipped slightly under his weight, but he adjusted until he felt stable.
He straightened his back, allowing his shoulders to relax.
Then, slowly, he lifted his hands and rested them on his knees.
He brought his middle finger and thumb together on each hand, forming a small circle, while the other fingers extended naturally.
It was the basic hand sign they were taught during meditation training.
He closed his eyes.
’Remember what they taught you in class...’ he mumbled inwardly.
His breathing steadied as he recalled the instructor’s voice.
He focused inward.
At first, there was only darkness.
Then—
Almost immediately, he sensed it.
At the center of his chest.
His awareness sharpened instinctively.
There, deep within him, was a spinning mass of energy.
His mana core.
It rotated steadily, humming with quiet power.
It glowed a bright golden color, warm and radiant, casting light into the inner darkness of his perception.
Noah’s breath hitched.
It was huge.
At least five times larger than he remembered.
Before, his core had felt small and faint, like a fragile ember barely holding its shape.
Now, it was solid, and far more stable than he never imagined.
It spun with a steady rhythm, releasing waves of mana that pulsed outward in smooth intervals.
He gasped softly.
’That’s... my mana core...?’ he thought, barely holding back the urge to gasp in shock.
He had never felt it so clearly before, never seen it so vividly within his own awareness.
It no longer looked like something on the verge of collapsing.
It looked powerful.
His focus sharpened further.
As he observed it, he noticed something else.
Floating beside the golden core were two smaller orbs.
They hovered calmly, each radiating its own distinct presence.
The first was pale blue.
It emitted a cold, icy aura that spread gently through his perception. The air around it seemed to shimmer faintly, as though frost lingered at its edges.
The second orb was a lighter shade of blue, almost silver.
Tiny electric sparks danced across its surface, flickering in short bursts of crackling energy. It vibrated faintly, carrying a sharp, active presence.
Noah didn’t need anyone to explain what they were.
He knew instinctively.
They were his affinity orbs.
Ice, and lightning.
They floated beside the golden core like loyal companions, connected yet distinct, each holding its own power.
His heart beat faster as he observed them.
For years, he had only been vaguely aware of his affinities. He knew he possessed them, but he had never perceived them so clearly within himself.
Now, they felt actually real.
Noah kept his breathing steady as he continued observing the scene within himself.
The golden core rotated calmly at the center of his chest, radiating waves of energy outward in smooth pulses.
As he focused deeper, allowing his awareness to expand beyond the core and the two affinity orbs, he began to notice something else.
Countless thin, transparent lines stretching outward in every direction.
They branched out from the mana core like an intricate web, spreading through his chest, down his arms, along his spine, and into his legs.
They extended upward toward his neck and head, weaving through every part of him.
Mana veins.
His attention sharpened.
They all originated from the golden core in his chest.
From there, they passed directly through the two affinity orbs—brushing against the pale blue and light blue spheres—before continuing their spread across the rest of his body.
It was like watching a vast network of luminous pathways connecting everything together.
The veins were not as sparse or colorless as he remembered them.
They were golden.
The same rich golden hue as his mana core.
They shimmered faintly, semi-transparent yet clearly defined, glowing softly as mana flowed through them.
The sight left him momentarily stunned.
’The mana veins... are so many.’
He had known, in theory, that the human body contained many mana pathways.
Every instructor had emphasized how important it was to strengthen them, widen them, and stabilize them through proper circulation.
But seeing them like this—so clearly and so vividly—was different.
Before, his mana veins had felt narrow and fragile, like hair-thin lines barely capable of carrying any significant flow. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
Even when he attempted circulation, he could sense how easily the mana would disperse, unable to complete a full circuit properly.
His mana core back then had been small as well.
Barely larger than a button.
It had glowed a dim, weak yellow, flickering uncertainly whenever he tried to draw more energy from it.
That fragile, flickering core was nothing like what he was seeing now.
Now, the core was massive by comparison—dense, radiant, stable. It pulsed with steady confidence, no longer threatening to collapse under strain.
The difference was staggering.
It almost felt like he was observing someone else’s inner world.
