Once changed and fresh, I began harassing the System once again for answers. After several weeks of just calling it “System” a few days back, I decided to name it instead of just referring to it as such. Unfortunately, due to my lack of naming sense, all I came up with was an abbreviated version of its full name, and thus “Tobs” was born.
But with a sense of irony not lost on me, ever since I had decided to start calling it with a nickname, Tobs would only respond to my questions with…
-User’s authority level is insufficient, Unable to answer the question.-
So all I could do it pout in silence.
Day turned into weeks and then months as my life in this new world of Vinestra continued.
As time went on, nothing much changed. Well, except for the fact that after being alive in my new body for seven months, I was finally, at long last, mobile.
“AH, HONEY, COME QUICK LITTLE CYNRIK IS DOING IT; HE’S CRAWLING!” Cinyah’s melodious voice rang out through the house, calling for Rikard to witness my glorious movements.
‘YES, PRAISE ME, MOTHER, PRAISE THIS LORD WHO IS, AFTER 7 LONG MONTHS OF BEING STATIONARY, ON THE MOVE, MUAHAHAHHA.’ I couldn’t help but grin ear to ear as I padded around the room at a snail’s pace.
While I was laughing menacingly in my head, in truth, all that was escaping my vocal cords were tiny giggles and baby noises full of excitement and joy.
To which I was met by both my parents mocking laughter. “Look at em go, Cinyah; our little boy is a genius. Our neighbor’s kids took several more months before they were crawling. But our little boy is even laughing and trying to speak to us.” Rikard stood beside Cinyah with his arms crossed.
Scoffing silently at my Father’s remarks, I couldn’t help but think ‘Heh, dearest Father, if only you know how foolish you sounded right now,’ out of the corner of my eye, I took notice of his appearance as he spoke words of praise towards me.
His muscular figure was clearly defined even though he was wearing a loose-fitting black t-shirt and grey sweatpants. I was tossed a casual glance at him but continued on my warpath towards our kitchen. Even with that slight momentary glance from the corner of my eye, I saw several new scars on his forearms, which only added to his collection of unseen battle tokens. Similar to the way Cinyah was beautiful, Rikard was a little too handsome.
Bundle that with his athletic stature and multitude of muscles and scars while being topped with aqua-colored hair and Glimmaring Emerald eyes and well-cut jawline; He was quite the sight to come across.
Since my hair was finally growing in, I saw how it turned out, and fortunately, I had my mother’s Black and Violet hair. As for my eyes, they were an Icy blueish-emerald hybrid of both Rikard and Cinyah. It seemed to be a perfect fusion of the features of both my new parents, and I felt overjoyed at this revelation; it’s not that I was unattractive in my past life, but if I grew up looking like Cinyah and Rikard, be a 10/10 dime piece.
Moving painfully slowly towards the kitchen, I was quickly thwarted by Cinyah, who scooped me into her arms and smothered me with kisses and praises.
“You’re going to be quite the handful once you start walking around you, my baby,” Cinyah cooed at me while lightly tapping my nose.
‘If only you knew Mother, If only you knew.’ Another grin broke across my face as I thought about my future adventures that would come to pass so long as I wasn’t confined to the floor on my hands and knees.
A few weeks later, I took my first steps, much to the delight of my parents, who continued to shower me with love and praise at how quickly I was growing.
Not long after, I finally said simple words in front of Cinyah and Rikard, or at least that’s what Cinyah and Rikard believe. Ultimately, I could speak fluently but chose against letting this little fact be known to my parents.
Before my first birthday, nearly a full year after being born, I finally hit level 3.
-You Have Leveled Up-
After completing my ocular exercise, I couldn’t help but jump up and down in excitement while standing in the center of my bedroom.
I had spent nearly a year doing the same repetitive quests time and time again, and finally, I had made it to level 3.
: Level: 3 :
: Essence(XP): 0/5000:
: Distribution: 1 Per All :
: Mana Codex Tier: 0 (Proficiency= 0.0%) :
: Mana Cycles: 0 (Proficiency= 0.0%) :
: Mana Circuit Tier: 0 (Proficiency= 0.0%) :
: STATS :
: HP 40/40 :
: Mana 54/54 :
: Stamina 20/20 :
: Stat Points- 32 :
: Strength- 4 :
: Dexterity- 4 :
: Agility- 4 :
: Intelligence- 4 :
: Vitality- 4 :
: Mind- 28 :
: Affinity- Dark-Tier 0 (Profiency= 0.0%) :
My heart sank as I looked at the amount of XP id needed to reach level 4. While I had been preparing myself for this massive increase, it was still disheartening. That’s 500 days’ worth of Daily Quest XP.
Standing there blankly staring at my Status Panel, a series of notifications rang out from Tobs.
-Your body has adapted to having Mana Infused into it-
-Your Mana Codex has Solidified-
– First Tier Mana Circuit Formed-
-Your Tier 0: Mana Breathing Skill has Evolved into Tier 1: Mana Cycle-
-New Daily Quest Available-
My anxiety about leveling up was instantly wiped away as I pulled up My Skill Panel First.
-Tier 1: Mana Cycling
-Due to your body adapting to having Mana fused with the Host, who can now Cycle it throughout their being to increase the purity and strength of the stored Mana infused with you.
-As your Mana Revolves through your body, it will become tougher to complete full Cycles.
-Each Cycle nourishes and strengthens both your Physical body and Soul.
‘Tsk, Seriously, now I have to Cycle Mana instead of just absorbing it.’ Closing my eyes and sitting cross-legged on the floor, focused on the Mana in my body. I searched for a unique organ that held my Mana. ‘According to all those novels and manga, there should be a little glass ball or something in my abdomen that contains energy.’
While focusing on the swirling energy I had become accustomed to feeling each time I used Mana Breathing, I took note of something different happening.
Typically when I would focus on the ambient Mana in the air with my eyes closed, it was no different than being in pure darkness. But, this time, instead of being met by the darkness of my eyelids, I was greeted by massive swirls of color, Not just from within myself but all around me.
A Multitude of colors appeared around my being. Reds, Blues, Greens, Yellows. Nearly every color I could imagine was swimming all around me. Every object seemed to be formed out of these small colored particles.
-New Panel Unlocked – Active/Passive Abilities-
-You have Gained the Active Occular Ability- Mana Sight-
-You have Gained the Passive Ability Mana Manipulation-
Utterly oblivious to Tobs notifying me of a new panel and two new skills, I continued to observe the myriad of colors flowing around me.
Mana wasn’t just in the air; as I continued to observe my surroundings with my eyes closed, I was able to see my own body. Well, more like I could see the Mana, which had taken the shape of my body.
Waving my hand in front of my still closed eyes came across as no different than my eyes being open. However, instead of seeing my pale skin, my arm seemed to be made of a translucent blackish, dark purple.
Clicking into place, I pieced all this formation together into a thought chain. ‘First, darkness affinity; since my body has been infused with Mana, this must be Dark element Mana. Second, upon further inspection of the rest of my body, I see something next to my heart.’
Continuing to focus further, I noticed a small object floating in the area near where my heart should be. It was a small crystalline object that was shining a very light shade of green; I recognized this object as an Octahedron, which resembled a 3d diamond-shaped stone.
‘MANA CORE!’ I screamed internally, only to be cut off by Tobs.
-Incorrect, there are no Mana Cores in this Realm. Instead, the Host has a Mana Codex, which operates the same way as the Mana Cores or Dantians stored in the Host’s Memory. All living beings on this planet can form Mana Codexes. By absorbing another creature’s Codex, the Host can strengthen and grow their own Codex.-
‘OI, look at you being all helpful Tobs, about time you gave me some tips.’ I chuckled softly at the expense of the now silent voice in my head
.
-Upon the Host’s mana pool reaching 50 points, the Mana stored within the Host’s body has solidified and fused, creating a Tier 1 Codex. Using the Tier 1 Skill: Mana Cycling, the Host, can Stimulate available Mana stored in the Codex and flow it through their body. The Codex will act in the same manner as the Human heart pushing blood throughout the body-
‘Excellent Feed me more info, Tobs; you’re doing great; keep it coming.’ Unfortunately, my comment fell on deaf ears as Tobs seemed to go back into its slumber.