Mana core

As soon as I reenter the meditation state, I see the glittering particles again. They're so beautiful and magical; I can't help but smile."Oooh, I'm seeing mana again!" I whisper excitedly.The glitter dims slightly as I speak, but I focus on maintaining my breathing—slow and steady—keeping my mind calm and my gaze fixed on the mana particles. Gradually, the lights grow brighter again.Eris's mana glows vividly, even more so than earlier.Could she be actively channeling it this time?"Alright. I'll move my mana to different parts of my body. You tell me where it goes so I can make sure you're actually seeing mana," Eris says"Yes, that's a good idea!" I nod."Alright, here goes.""Nn!"Eris takes a deep breath, and I watch as a stream of shimmering mana flows from her heart to her right arm, branching out like a glittery tree."Right arm!" I say confidently.Eris's eyes go wide. "It's… correct?""Hihi, of course!" I grin, proud of myself.But she still looks a bit skeptical. "Alright, again." She shifts her mana to her left arm."Left arm!""That's… correct too!" she says, clearly amazed. "How about this?""Left leg!""And now?""Belly!""And now?""Both right arm and left leg!""And now?"Her mana travels up to her eyes, making them glow in the dark."Whoa! Your eyes!" I gasp, awestruck. "They're beautiful!""I can't believe it… you did it!" Eris gasps. "You passed the test. You actually broke the record, Felicia—you're a genius!""Yeaaaaaaahh!!!" I cheer. "World record, heck yeah!"With this, the first step of learning magic is officially complete! Easy-peasy!"Eris, what should I do next?" I ask, brimming with excitement."Hmmmm… how about trying to see your own mana?""Right!""This time, let's see how fast you can do it!"Once again, I'm pumped.Eris explains that this next step is actually the hardest for most beginners. Since my mana core has never been trained, my own mana is faint—like a wisp of smoke, almost impossible to sense."There are four stages to growing the mana core," she adds.As she continues, I also recall the four stages I read about in the book earlier.Stage 1: Formless Core / Invisible Core - As the name suggests, the core hasn't yet formed into a solid shape, but it begins to concentrate in the chest area. With practice and training, this energy condenses further until it forms a tiny ball, about the size of a small fish egg, marking the start of Stage 2.Stage 2: Enlarging Core - In this stage, the core begins to enlarge. Slowly and steadily, it grows until it reaches the size of the heart.Stage 3: Pulsating Core / Waving Core - At this stage, the heart-sized core will emits waves of energy each time the heart beat, synchronizing with the heart beat. The pulses can be so intense that even non awakened people can hear and feel the pulsation of the mana-core.And lastly, Stage 4: Rebirth - By initiating the rebirth process, which can last from a few days to a few months, the core gradually compresses back to the size of a small fish egg, restarting the stages from Stage 2. The person initially weakens but slowly regains strength and can grow exponentially, becoming far stronger than before. Rings appear on the core's surface, marking the number of rebirth cycles it has undergone.The highest number of rings ever seen in a person is seven, belonging to an SS-ranked adventurer. This means her core has been rebirthed over seven times.From what I'm seeing, Eris's core seems to be at Stage 2, the Enlarging Core. But having a Stage 2 core means she's at least a D-ranked adventurer!"Eris, are you sure you're just an E rank?""Ah, about that… I just advanced a few weeks ago, but I've been too lazy to take the rank-up test," she says with a shrug."Hmmm…"That makes sense.But….Is my eyes deceiving me?Can a Stage 2 core be this bright?Wait, could it have rebirthed?I don't know. It seems too impossible. After all, a person with a rebirthed core should be at least an A-ranked adventurer. And besides, I don't see any rings on her core…I guess my eyes are just a bit too good, making the light appear brighter than it should."Alright! Time to form my own mana core!" I announce excitedly.However… there's a small problem."You don't have to keep looking down at your chest like that," Eris giggles. "You'll get a neck cramp!""But… erm… how am I supposed to see my own mana core then?""Just leave it to me."As she says this, her eyes begin to glow again, mesmerizing me with their deep, dark amethyst color—enchanting and intense. As a catgirl, Eris' awakened sense is also visual! She can sees mana the same way I do!"Oooh, that's perfect!" I say.With Eris' help, no more awkwardly straining my neck!"Oh, and by the way," she adds with a grin, "the world record for Stage 1 completion is two hours. Think you can beat it?""Hehe, watch me!" I say, my determination blazing.I take a deep breath, do a light stretch, and sit up straight.Once my mana core forms, I'll finally be able to use magic! I can't help but wonder… what kind of magic will I have?