Chapter 3: Mana Perseption
In the bed, my mother was busy changing my younger brother, Arthur, when I burst into the room, catching her attention.
"Looks like little Alex has an endless reserve of energy today!" Alice commented, with a tender smile as she watched me crawl around.
"Yes, he's been restless all morning," Reynolds confirmed, with a soft laugh.
As I crawled closer to them, my mother picked me up in her arms affectionately, surrendered to my charm.
"I'm sorry, Mom, but I have things to do right now. It's not time for cuddles," I complained in my heart, trying unsuccessfully to free myself. Noticing my little actions, my mother continued to dote on me with even more enthusiasm until she finally set me down near my brother.
Determined to play with Arthur, I slowly crawled towards him while my parents watched tenderly. Arthur looked at me with uncertainty as I approached, and I could swear I saw a flash of fear in his eyes, but I ignored it.
Arriving by his side, I took his cheeks in my hands and squeezed them gently. I saw Arthur sigh in relief, but that only made him lower his guard a bit. I kept squeezing his cheeks over and over, even as he tried to defend himself with his limited mobility. I moved away just enough to avoid his reach and then resumed pestering him.
"Stop bothering your little brother," scolded my mother, as she pulled me away from Arthur and took me in her arms. When she took me, I could see Arthur's eyes shining as he watched her take me away.
"You can play with me if you want, little Alex," my father offered, taking me from my mother's arms and shaking me a bit before tossing me in the air, which made me quite dizzy.
Bump
Suddenly, a dull sound filled the room, and everything became silent. I felt an intense burning sensation run through my leg, quickly turning into sharp pain.
I wanted to hold back the tears, but the pain was too much... and then... I started to cry.
Woooooow
My mother quickly picked me up in her arms again and laid me on the bed, murmuring words as a green light enveloped my wound. In an instant, the pain disappeared, and the wound healed before my eyes.
<< Analysis. Extra ability [Low-Level Healing] has been analyzed. Would you like to integrate it? [Yes]/[No] >>
Upon hearing the voice of the [Great Sage], I couldn't help but be surprised, as I had forgotten that it would be so easy to learn another skill. Without much thought, I accepted.
" Tss, that hurt too much. I wish I could reduce the pain of being hit, because with my small body, every blow feels quite substantial," I thought, watching as the pain slowly disappeared.
<< Analysis. The host does not possess mana in their body, therefore not meeting the necessary requirements to use this skill.>>
<< Solution. It is recommended that the host tries to perceive the mana in their surroundings so they can form their own mana core and be enabled to use that skill.>>
"How do you know about mana cores?" I asked skeptically, as far as I remember, there hasn't been any opportunity for me to obtain that information.
<< Solution. The [Great Sage] skill has acquired certain knowledge from your memory regarding this world, for its own analysis.>>
"If I recall correctly, in this world, children from 10 to 13 years old awaken their mana cores, this is because their bodies slowly absorb mana particles from their surroundings. In light of this, Arthur realized that it was very similar to the way he absorbed Ki energy in his past life, so he decided to try the same, focusing on detecting the mana surrounding him."
"Fortunately, he managed to visualize tiny mana particles around him and absorb them into his body. With this act, he awakened his mana core at the early age of three, setting an unbeatable record on the continent."
"But apparently, I won't be able to try it until nightfall, as it would be strange for me to meditate now in front of everyone."
So the day passed; my mother strongly reprimanded my father for his actions, leaving him almost like a punished child in a corner, which I found quite amusing.
Until finally, night fell.
Noticing that my brother was sound asleep, I decided that it was the right time to try to sense the mana particles around me.
Moments after sitting down and trying to concentrate, I began to feel uncomfortable due to the unusual position. Nevertheless, I persevered until, finally, after a few moments, the voice of the [Great Sage] resonated.
<< Confirmed. Extra skill [Magic Sense]... successfully acquired. Will you use the Magic Sense extra skill? [Yes]/[No] >>
Without much thought, I quickly selected the [Yes] option.
After confirming, I noticed that all the particles around me were much clearer, and I could even sense what was around me without even opening my eyes, which was incredible.
After that, I tried to gradually push all the light particles around me to gather them in the center of my body. This process was noticeably slow, which made me understand why children took so long to awaken their mana core.
"If I continue absorbing this way, it will take me almost two years to finish generating this mana core. But even though this is quick, it would be quite uncomfortable to have to sit and absorb it for hours; If I'm not mistaken, Arthur could absorb mana particles on his own, so I should be able to do the same," I thought, while looking at the sleeping baby beside me.
"Let's try it."
Making that decision, in the following days, I tried to continuously absorb mana from the surroundings. I must admit that this was extremely difficult because only after 3 days, the notification I had been waiting for finally appeared.
<< Confirmed. Extra skill [Mana Rotation]... successfully acquired. Will you use the Mana Rotation extra skill? [Yes]/[No] >>
After confirming, I noticed that my control over the mana particles had increased considerably, allowing them to continue being absorbed by my body without the need for me to meditate.
This made me extremely happy because it was much faster, as although the amount of mana I gather unconsciously is less than when I meditate, it is worth noting that I can meditate for an hour or two, while if I do it unconsciously, I can do it 24 hours a day. The end result being that I can obtain almost a quarter more mana than I would in a normal day of meditation.
"Little over a year and a half more, I should be able to fully form my mana core," I concluded after quickly calculating based on the amount of mana I absorb.
Time passed, and almost a week later, Arthur finally managed to crawl. This made everyone happy, although I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be able to tease my brother in the same way anymore.
But as they say, when God closes a door, He opens a window.
I discovered that it was very easy to slip out of my crib without making any noise. So, at night, as soon as I noticed that my brother had finished his meditation in the neighboring crib, which we had to separate because we were already too big to share, I would quietly slide out of my crib and crawl to the kitchen, specifically to the sink.
After a monumental effort, I managed to climb onto the dining chair, from there onto the dining table, and then to the sink. Next, with great care, I retrieved a bottle I had stored in the system's storage and filled it with water. Once this daring task was completed, I returned the bottle full of water to its place and retraced my steps back (dining table, dining chair, floor, and room).
Upon reaching my room, instead of heading to my own crib, I approached my younger brother's. Taking out the bottle, I carefully spread the water near Arthur's diaper and gently wetted it, thus creating the famous "bed-wetting" scene.
Satisfied with my masterpiece, I put the bottle back in my storage space and, somewhat exhausted, went to my crib. I lay down and began to close my eyes.
"How difficult it is to be an older brother," I thought happily before falling completely asleep.
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