My Bugged System Made Me Too OP!-Chapter 22: Who did this to her?

It wasn’t large.

But it was noticeable.

His smile faded.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Lia... what’s that mark?" he asked quietly, lifting a hand and reaching toward it.

The moment his fingers got close, she reacted.

Quickly, she shifted her head and let her hair fall over that side of her face, covering the mark.

"You don’t have to worry," she said hurriedly. "I... uhh, fell down."

Her voice wavered.

She avoided his gaze.

Instead of looking directly at him, her eyes flickered to the side. Then back to him. Then away again. The movement was restless, and filled with unease.

"I was running home..." she continued, words stumbling over each other. "And fell... yeah, fell and hit my head on, a... you know... a stone."

There was an awkward pause at the end.

Noah stared at her.

His brows furrowed.

’What a bad liar.’ he thought.

He had gotten enough injuries to recognize the difference between scrapes from tripping and those from attacks.

’That is not a mark you get from falling down.’ he thought, a dark glint flashing across his eyes. ’Someone... attacked her.’

The realization settled heavily in his chest.

Slowly, he lifted his gaze.

He turned to look at their mother.

She was arranging bowls on the table, her back partially turned toward

She didn’t seem to know about the wound on Amelia’s face.

Or at least, she hadn’t noticed yet.

Noah’s jaw tightened slightly.

’I haven’t been paying her much attention these days...’ he thought, feeling a bit guilty.

He had been consumed with his own struggles. His own frustrations. His own silent battles at the academy.

And while he had been drowning in those thoughts—

Something like this had happened to Amelia.

But who...

His eyes returned to the side of her face, hidden beneath strands of dark hair.

Who did this to her? 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

That mark on her face lingered in his mind like a burning ember.

His thoughts twisted and turned, trying to imagine who could have hurt her.

He clenched his fists lightly, the tension in his shoulders growing as a wave of anger surged through him.

’I’ll surely find whoever did this... and make them pay,’ he thought, gritting his teeth.

Then, forcing a softer expression onto his face, he bent slightly to match her height and smiled gently.

"Ohh... you should be more careful then," he said, his voice calm but carrying the warmth of reassurance. "You don’t want to get hurt again."

Amelia blinked at him, still adjusting her hair to hide the mark, her dark eyes wide and nervous.

She nodded quickly, and for a moment, there was a small pause as if she wanted to say more but couldn’t find the words. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she turned her gaze to the floor.

Noah’s mind wandered as he watched her.

Unlike him, Amelia had never been enrolled in the magical academy.

She was only sixteen years old, and during the last awakening ceremony, she had failed to manifest any affinity.

There had been hope at first, the excitement and anticipation of discovering something powerful within herself, but it had come to nothing.

She had returned home quietly, the disappointment settling heavily over her like a shadow, and had since lived in the quiet frustration of not being able to cultivate magic.

Becoming a magus wasn’t something anyone could simply choose. It wasn’t a matter of effort alone. The academy didn’t admit people based on desire. It didn’t matter if someone wanted to practice magic or dreamed of wielding power.

The path of a magus was reserved only for those whose bodies and mana aligned naturally with the energies of the world.

Only about sixty percent of people were born with such potential. Only they could awaken an affinity and cultivate their mana.

The remaining forty percent—those unfortunate enough to fall outside this selection—would always remain ordinary humans.

They could never channel magic. They could never cultivate their bodies to awaken the raw potential that only a select few were capable of.

And Noah’s mother and sister, he realized, both fell into that latter category.

They were ordinary humans in a world where magic decided everything.

He alone in the family had awakened his affinity. And not just one—he had two. Ice and lightning. A rare dual affinity that even many academy students could only dream of achieving.

Yet, even with this advantage, it hadn’t helped much. His mana core foundation had been weak, fragile, and small.

Before the system, the difference between him and a normal human had been almost negligible.

Even with two affinities, he could barely channel the mana within his body talkless of actually casting a spell.

He had been a magus in name alone, a label without the substance, a shadow of potential trapped in a weak body.

Until the system arrived and changed everything.

Amelia’s eyes shifted from his face to his uniform. The blue jacket, neatly fitted; the black pants; the black and blue shirt beneath.

Her lips pursed slightly, the expression both wistful and envious.

"You’re going to the academy again..." she said softly, almost whispering, but there was a hint of jealously in her voice.

Noah’s gaze lingered on Amelia for a moment longer, catching the wistful expression in her dark eyes.

He knew, deep down, that her heart had always yearned to walk the path of a magus, to awaken her own affinity, to wield the same power he now possessed.

But reality had been cruel, and her dream was crushed before it could even begin.

Noah’s lips curled into a gentle, reassuring smile.

There was nothing he could do to change her situation, at least not yet, but he could let her know that he would still be here for her.

Without saying a word, he turned toward the small round dining table, his uniform brushing softly against his legs as he moved.

Within minutes, the small meal was finished. He stood, wiping his hands carefully on the edge of his uniform before stepping toward the door.

He turned briefly, offering a small wave to his mother and Amelia.

"Bye, Mum... Bye, Lia," he said softly, his voice carrying both warmth and determination.