Ever since I could speak, I had been curious about the strange energy that pulsed through me. That hidden power I had sensed as a baby—the warmth and the current running along my limbs—was more than instinct. It was mana.
At one and a half years old, I began practicing the simplest form of magic: sensing the mana around me. I sat quietly, eyes closed, focusing not on my body, but on the invisible currents that flowed through the room, through the trees outside, through my parents' very presence. At first, it was nearly impossible. I would strain for hours, only able to feel faint, almost imaginary pulses.
But I didn't give up. Not once.
Two months of practice taught me to detect the faint hum of ambient mana. By five months, I could not only sense it—I could pull it into myself, absorbing the energy flowing in the air around me. The first time I did it successfully, a thrill ran through me as warmth and power spread across my body. My small hands tingled. My feet buzzed. For a moment, I imagined I could jump to the ceiling and run across the walls.
Since then, I practiced every day, without fail. Two and a half years had passed since that first success. Every morning, I would kneel in the courtyard, closing my eyes, feeling the wind, the soil, and the trees. Every night, I would repeat the process indoors, drawing from the ambient mana that seeped through the roof and walls.
I knew that this practice was more than child's play. Absorbing mana into my body would accelerate the formation of my magic core. Soon, my core would awaken, and with it, my true potential would finally manifest.
My fifth birthday was only three months away. And I had a gut feeling—an intuition—that I would awaken before then. My heartbeat quickened at the thought. The idea of forming my own core, of finally seeing my personal profile, of having access to my elemental affinities and potential… it made me shiver with anticipation.
I often imagined the moment vividly. My small body glowing with energy. My heart becoming a core, spinning and pulsing with the raw power of my affinities. Lightning, fire, and light converging inside me like a storm, a promise of what I could become. And then, the personal profile revealing itself before my eyes: all the numbers, all the ranks, all the potential of Alex, reincarnated, chosen, and different.
Even though I had absorbed mana steadily for years, my parents still treated me like a normal child—though with careful caution. My mother would smile knowingly when I concentrated, and my father would lift me up onto his shoulders, jokingly pretending I was already too strong for my size. I knew better. I could feel it—the strength growing inside, the energy coiling, waiting to burst.
Some nights, I would lie awake, imagining what life would be like after awakening. Would I be strong enough to surpass my parents? Could I become a magic knight, mastering both spells and aura? Or perhaps even higher—a legend among the awakened, with skills and techniques that only existed in tales?
I clenched my tiny fists.
"This time, I won't be average," I whispered to the darkened ceiling. "I'll awaken. I'll grow. And when I do… nothing will stop me."