Feeling a weight on his chest, Yan opened his eyes to see what it was.
What greeted him was the sight of a stunningly beautiful woman, asleep by his side. Her long silver hair was spread across the bed, and her skin glowed softly under the morning light.
Looking at his mother, who slept peacefully, Yan couldn't help but silently admire her.
"You're so beautiful, Mom," he whispered, gently caressing her hair.
Feeling her son's affection, Helena almost purred like a cat.
Opening her eyes, she looked at him with a mischievous smile.
"Good morning, my dear... You really are the best pillow."
"Oh heavens... so my dear mother only brought me to her room to be her pillow?" Yan replied with fake sadness.
"Yes, my dear. And what do you plan to do about it?" she teased, with a touch of playful villainy in her tone.
For a moment, they stared at each other in silence. Only love and affection filled their eyes.
"Haha... alright. Today is a busy day. Let's get up," said Helena, ending their little game.
Agreeing, the two got up and went to wash.
As they went downstairs and headed to the kitchen, Yan realized that everyone was already gathered for breakfast.
"Sorry for the delay," he said, noticing that Diana and Alice were also waiting for him.
"It's all right, Little Yan. Now sit down and eat with us," said Diana, unconcerned.
After breakfast, they all moved to the training room.
Watching the attentive faces around him, Yan found it all a bit exaggerated.
"Why does it feel like I'm about to do something grand? I'm just going to transfer mana to my core..."
Helena, noticing her son's nonchalant tone, felt like pulling his ear.
"Yes, yes... but this is an important milestone. And it's crucial that nothing goes wrong," she reminded him.
"Enough talk. Now sit cross-legged and follow my instructions," said Diana. As leader of the Mana Users Guild, her experience was unquestionable.
Yan obeyed, sitting down and taking a deep breath to stabilize his mind.
Seeing that he was ready, Diana began:
"Now that you can use mana, make it flow through your entire body. It's not hard."
He followed the instructions. As soon as the mana ran through his muscles and veins, a warm and comforting sensation surrounded him.
'Mana really is something supernatural…' he thought.
The women watched him with amazement and admiration. The first time they tried this process, it all seemed more complex and strange. But Yan made it look easy.
"Now, look inside yourself. You'll feel your mana core at the lower part of your abdomen. Direct the mana there," Diana continued.
"When you visualize it, it'll be black. That's normal for a core that's never been activated."
Yan did as instructed. However, something was wrong. His core wasn't black. It was transparent, almost crystalline, with strange symbols engraved inside it.
The more he looked at it, the more natural it felt.
Directing mana into the core, Yan saw it glow. When the light faded, the symbols had disappeared.
With more mana, something new happened.
Veins of energy extended from the core, branching throughout his body.
Observing more closely, Yan noticed some of these branches heading toward his heart. When that happened, he felt the organ beating strongly, like a drum.
New veins continued to spread from both the core and his heart, until a golden glow began to manifest.
The four women watched in wonder. They had expected something unusual to happen with Yan, but the scene before them was worthy of reverence. Golden veins covered the boy's body.
The sound of his heart beating intensified, and an even stronger light shone from the left side of his chest.
'I know this isn't normal… but the more mana I direct, the more of these veins appear. I want to see how far this goes,' he thought.
And so he continued. The core and heart worked together, spreading veins until Yan lost count.
Finally, feeling it was enough, he stopped. His body returned to normal.
Breathing slowly, he opened his eyes and saw their stunned faces. He just gave them a cheeky smile before getting up.
"I'm fine," he said before anyone could ask.
*Sigh.*
"So? Is your core full already?" Helena asked, slightly tired.
"Yes. Honestly, it wasn't difficult," he replied with a smile.
The women sighed, mentally exhausted.
"Okay. I know you're all curious about something. I assume you saw my body glowing, right? Let's go to the living room, and I'll explain it better."
Already seated on the couch, trying to digest what they had heard, they looked at Yan strangely.
"Haha... don't look at me like that. I don't know the origin of this either. I just followed my instincts. And in the end… it all worked out, right?" Yan said, lightening the mood.
"Yes… you're right. But what if something had gone wrong? What if you got hurt, little brother?" said Aurora, worried.
"That's true, Yan. If something had happened to you… I don't know what I'd do," Helena added.
Seeing the concern in his family's eyes, he realized he might've been a bit reckless.
Standing up, he hugged them.
"Sorry for worrying you. But I truly felt that nothing bad would happen to me."
Hearing him acknowledge his carelessness, they forgave him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Then, Alice clapped her hands, drawing attention.
"Now that you've activated your core and filled it, it's time to start gaining experience by fighting weaker dimensional beasts."
Yan nodded, confidence radiating from him.
"Finally... my hunt begins."
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