I was now one year old, having survived the most dangerous period for a child in medieval times.
With more teeth coming in, my understanding of the language getting better, and my control over my body steadily increasing, I was truly starting to feel like a normal person.
On the topic of understanding the language, with my mother continuing to read to me at night, and me practicing my writing with paper and ink during the day, I was also beginning to understand how to write.
As of now, I could read and write most words just by sounding them out and remembering the alphabet, but it was slow, it didn't feel natural yet, and there were a few weird rules that I still had trouble remembering, but I was getting there.
I had also learned more about myself, other than my name, after taking a look in my mother's hand mirror.
It seems that I had inherited my father's dark-brown hair, while also taking my mother's red eyes.
I still looked like a toddler right now, so I couldn't tell, but I hoped that I would inherit my mother's good looks and father's rugged handsomeness.
And finally… I had also learned what year it was.
It was the year K406 of the Armoured Dragon Calendar, and I had been born on the fifth day of the year K405, practically the start of the year.
So I was only two years older than Rudeus… well, I would need to check if he was even here in this world.
But regardless, it was very fortunate news, as that meant I could trust most of what I knew from the main story… hopefully.
I still wasn't completely confident in knowing Rudeus' year of birth.
Either way, while the knowledge was extremely useful, it wouldn't matter too much if I ended up getting killed before I could use it.
And so… it was time for me to ask my mother for something yet again.
As it turned out, unlike most of the residents of the Sword Sanctum, my mother was a magician.
A healer, to be more exact. And quite an amazing one, from what my father explained.
So let's just hope she would be as open to her child learning magic as Zenith was… especially since I didn't have a magic book to learn from, unlike a certain someone.
"Mother?" I asked.
"Yes, Vince," she said, having finished dusting the windowsill.
"Can you teach me magic?" I asked, attempting to use the cutest face I could.
A bit shameless, yes… but this was worth it.
Her eyes widened in surprise before her lips spread in a small smile.
"Are you interested in my magic?" she asked.
"Yep!" I answered.
Her smile widened.
"I see… and what about your father's swordsmanship?" she asked, crouching down to my level.
"It's good too… but I'm too young," I said, shaking my head.
"That you are, and the same goes for magic," she said, sighing as my smile fell at her words. "But… well… I suppose showing you a spell won't hurt."
My smile immediately returned.
Taking a seat at the table, she picked me up and placed me on her lap, dragging over a basin so it was close to her feet.
"Now, this is the most common first spell to learn, as it's not only useful for survival, but it's also less destructive and easier to control," my mother said, extending her hand outward as I began to focus hard on her words. "Let the great protection of water be on the place thou seekest. I call a refreshing burbling stream here and now. Water Ball."
Her chant was calm and steady, and as soon as she finished, a ball of water suddenly formed right in front of us.
It remained floating in the air for a few moments, the shape subtly morphing, before my mother eventually relinquished control, the ball instantly falling into the basin with a splash.
"Thankfully, I was planning on washing some clothes today anyway," she said, adjusting her hold on me. "So, little Vince… do you want to try?"
I nodded my head rapidly, unable to stop my smile from spreading in a mix of excitement and amazement.
After all, how could I not?
This was magic. Actual, real magic.
And so, with her words replaying in my mind, I extended my hand as I concentrated on my body, wanting to sense the mana in my body as I cast the spell.
"Let the great protection of water be on the place thou seekest…" I said, a warmth beginning to sprout in my chest. "I call a refreshing burbling stream here and now. Water Ball."
The mana began to spread down my arm and towards my hand before suddenly fading, and as I opened my eyes, I saw… nothing.
A failure.
"It's alright darling. That is only natural," my mother said, gently patting my head.
It was obvious that she never expected me to be able to cast any spell… but I wasn't going to let that stop me.
Still… I had failed.
I guess it wasn't as easy as I had thought.
Rudeus had done it so easily on his first try… but that must have been possible due to his natural talent, as well as that Laplace factor.
Nevertheless, I had felt it. The mana. So… it wasn't impossible.
What had gone wrong? It was going fine until it left my body.
But I didn't exactly focus on it… that must be it.
If it was as simple as saying the words, then anyone could be a magician.
I needed to focus, control the mana, use it to my will… and probably use my imagination as well.
Once more, I closed my eyes and began to chant, the image of a clear, burbling ball of water pictured in my mind as I did so.
"Let the great protection of water be on the place thou seekest," I chanted, feeling the mana once again snake down my arm and towards my hand.
Last time, I had simply let it do its thing, but that wasn't enough.
This time, I actively focused on the mana as it flowed, willing it towards my hand.
"I call a refreshing burbling stream here and now. Water Ball," I finished.
The mana gathered in my hand, and instead of letting it fade away, I pushed it outwards, willing it to exit my palm as I instinctively felt it change.
It wasn't just mana anymore… no, now it was water.
And as I opened my eyes, the proof of my focus was laid bare, a floating ball of water hovering right in front of me.
I felt my control rapidly decline as the ball then fell into the basin with a splash, and as I looked up at my mother, I was greeted with a face of utter shock.
But then, my eyes began to close, and I felt the familiar pull of sleep assault my body.
Ah, right… Rudeus had passed out after a couple tries, and not only was he two years older than I am right now, but he also had his Laplace factor… so it was no surprise that I would pass out after this.
Well… at least I knew I could do it.
Magic… how amazing.
—
As I awoke from my unintentional slumber, I was greeted by my mother's worried face as she stroked my head, gently running her hand through my dark-brown hair.
It seems that I had been resting on her lap.
No wonder it felt comfier than normal.
"Are you okay, Vince?" she asked as I blinked open my eyes.
"Y-Yeah… just feel tired," I replied.
"I see… but to think you could cast magic…" she muttered, stroking my head with a small, subdued smile. "You really are amazing, Vince."
I felt my cheeks warm a bit at that.
After all, I was a former nineteen-year-old in a baby's body, so getting praise for being advanced felt a bit… embarrassing.
But regardless, when it was a pretty woman saying that, and one that showed me such love, I couldn't help but feel happy at the compliment.
"But despite how proud I am, and your incredible skill… no magic until you've had your first birthday," she sternly said, pressing her finger on my nose with a frown. "To think you would pass out from one spell… no wonder they recommend waiting until that age to start teaching it."
So no magic until I was five… that was a bummer.
But since it was her saying it, and purely out of her motherly worry… well, there was only one response.
"Okay, Mom!" I accepted.
—
Of course, I had been lying.
Well… kind of.
A couple of months had passed since I had learned my first magic spell, and just as I told my mother, I had not practiced magic for all of those days.
But… at night… well, that was a different story.
After my first time trying magic, I would create a water ball before bed, putting it in the water jug in my room before I passed out for the night.
I didn't necessarily want to go behind my mother's back, but I needed to train as much as possible when I was still young in order to increase my mana capacity.
And it had worked… for the most part.
My capacity had certainly increased, as I could now generate ten water balls before passing out, but my growth rate was nowhere near as fast as Rudeus' was, which had practically been exponential growth.
Although, that was to be expected, since I didn't have that Laplace factor, which granted immense magic power and potential at the cost of a weaker or absent battle aura.
But it wasn't only my pure mana capacity that had increased, but my skill as well.
Of course, by that I meant chantless casting.
As soon as I got a feel for the normal chant, and how the mana moved and reacted, I began trying to replicate it using my own willpower.
As it turned out, it was… much harder than I had expected.
If I had to explain it, a chant gave the mana a pathway and clear programming for what to do, so even if you had to push the mana yourself, it would still be quite easy.
But for chantless magic, you had no guideline, having to simply control the mana the entire way, which required quite a bit of focus.
A good way to explain it would be to use mathematics as an example.
With chanting, you had the formula laid out for you, so all you had to do was input the number into the right variable, and you got the answer.
Without chanting, however, was like doing math without a calculator… and without knowing the formula… and sometimes without even being sure the numbers were even real.
A difficult concept to grasp.
I had to guide the mana step-by-step, and every mistake meant a failed spell.
It was frustrating, illogical, and complex. Something that Rudeus' internal monologues happened to skip right over back when I had read about the process.
But thankfully, after some practice, I could do it, and I was able to move and reshape the water ball as I pleased as well.
My control quickly collapsed once it went away from me, but… I guess that would have to wait until later.
More importantly, another issue with my magic was the fact that I only could generate water.
From the basic water ball spell, I learned how mana needed to be tuned in order to get the effect, and could generate water as I wished, but without that initial guide… I had no clue what to do with the other elements and effects.
Of course, I could ask my mother to show me other spells, but that would quickly arouse suspicion.
But I didn't exactly want to wait for another four years to learn more about magic…
Maybe in a year or so, when I was able to cast a bunch of spells without passing out, she would be more comfortable letting me try magic again.
And besides, like she had said when she taught me the spell, water was the best element to train in, as it was easier to control and caused less destruction, so for now… this would have to do.
—
It was nearing the end of the year, and while it snowed all year here in the Sword Sanctum, the seasons did affect the temperature, as well as how late the sun set.
With it being winter, the sun set quite early in comparison, and nighttime was simply… amazing.
I had always been interested in stars, but having grown up near the city, I could only ever see the brighter ones during a cloudless night.
It would take a road trip to the middle of nowhere to even have a chance of seeing the Milky Way, and unfortunately… I didn't get that chance.
But here… the night sky was simply mesmerizing.
With no light pollution to speak of, the sky was littered in an unfamiliar blanket of stars, and while most of this world's residents didn't think much of it, I was amazed each time I looked up, with the pleasant scent of the seaside breeze wafting through the air.
I wonder… were there things like constellations in this world too?
There must be at least a story or two, right?
But either way, if there wasn't… then perhaps I should make some.
Anyway, ignoring my stargazing, I had grown quite a bit over the year.
I could now easily stay awake for most of the day, having finally grown out of my infantile lethargy that kept me asleep for hours on end.
And I could finally read and write now.
Technically, I had been able to for a few months, but now it felt natural, where the letters easily formed in my mind whenever I thought of a word, and vice versa for when I was reading.
Of course, I couldn't consider myself completely finished on my quest for fluency, as some words I had still not come across in conversation or reading, such as this world's word for sex, but that knowledge would come naturally over time.
Instead, with this new milestone, as well as the longer time I could stay awake, I had found myself with a new issue plaguing my day…
Boredom.
At night, I had my magic training, and I could still handle practicing my reading and writing for an hour during the day, but that still left most of it empty for me.
My mother, understandably, still didn't want me going outside without one of her or my father, and I could only do basic chores around the house, so I wanted- no, needed, to find something else.
And that brought me to now.
"What did you say, son?" my father asked as he put down his drumstick.
"I… want to start training in swordsmanship," I asked, feeling my confidence waver a bit.
It was only natural.
Even though he was nice, he was quite a scary-looking guy, and this was practically the first time I had requested something from him… other than asking for him to take me along when he left the house, of course.
Thankfully, after hearing me restate my question, instead of getting annoyed or angered, he broke out into a wide grin. Probably the biggest smile I had seen on the man up until this point.
"Swordsmanship, huh? Haha! Now that's quite something!" he said with glee.
Yes, my father loved swordsmanship.
Though, it was to be expected.
As I had learned a month ago, after asking my mother about swordsmanship and its ranks, my father was actually a Sword Saint.
Paul was probably just as strong, if not stronger, with his three styles… but it was still amazing regardless.
To be given the chance to learn under him, and in the home of the Sword God Style no less… I could only hope that I had enough talent in swordsmanship to make use of this blessing.
"So does that mean…?" I asked.
"Ah, well… unfortunately, not yet," my father answered, leaning over to pat my head as my smile faded. "Your body isn't developed enough. You probably couldn't even perform a proper swing."
Ah… he was right.
While my coordination had gotten better, and was much better than the average two-year-old… that was quite a small bar to clear.
But…
"Then… could I start developing my body?" I asked.
That seemed to give my father pause, as he suddenly leaned his head back in thought.
"Hmm… while it might be too early to do much, if it's just running and body weight exercises…" he said to himself before turning to my mother. "What do you think, Leah?"
So Leah was her name…
"That… should be fine. As long as he doesn't push himself, that is," she replied.
"Of course," he said, turning back to me. "Then, do you want to join me for my morning training?"
"Yes!" I replied.
He simply gave me another smile.