"So, what should I do now?" He was confused, not knowing what to do in this dark room. He pondered, thinking about everything he could do, although initially he thought about sitting and reading the information provided by the system. However, he quickly dismissed that thought. "I mean, what kind of crazy person could sit still and read an encyclopedia for approximately 9 months?"
"I should have asked the system to create some simple games like Tetris," Al reflected momentarily on his foolishness for not thinking of this simple matter earlier. "Maybe I should stop thinking like a novel protagonist. They're foolish and abnormal, while I'm just an ordinary human."
Spending 9 months in a dark room would certainly be mentally torturous. Would he remain sane when he left this place? "Now I realize how bad my situation is, but at least I don't have to experience the feeling of being a fetus, right?" Al began to rack his brain and remembered that he was in his subconscious. Doesn't that mean he could control this dark room?
"I guess it's worth trying. First, maybe I can try to imagine a place I remember." He closed his eyes and imagined his surroundings transforming into mountains.
When he opened his eyes, he was truly shocked by the scene before him. "How is nothing happening? Isn't this my subconscious?"
'Is the subconscious different from dreams? I thought I could do what's called lucid dreaming here. I guess all I can do now is stay quiet and read the system's encyclopedia.'
"System..."
Suddenly, the system panel appeared from the void. "Let's see, isn't this system quite attentive? It makes its interface similar to Google, but its shortcoming is that it doesn't display important information upfront, which makes me have to figure everything out on my own." Al began tinkering with the system to learn how it worked and find the information he needed.
Time passed, and he finally obtained some information he needed. Among other things, he learned that he was now on the Continent of Valdoria.
The Continent of Valdoria is divided into four main regions:
Dunmarath – The Cruel Desert Lands
Dunmarath is a region filled with vast, barren deserts where temperatures can reach unimaginable levels. This region can only be traversed by those with extraordinary endurance. However, amid the blazing drought, precious treasures and ancient ruins hide great secrets from the past. Brave travelers often challenge the dangers to discover artifacts or knowledge buried in the sand. Here, only the strong can survive.
Valkarion – Home of the Silent and Mighty Warriors
Valkarion is a region shrouded in an aura of captivating silence and peace where great warriors reside. Valkarion has become a gathering place for martial arts masters. Many choose to isolate themselves from the outside world, living in endless meditation and training.
Sylvaris – Fertile Land Surrounded by Mountains and Tropical Forests
Sylvaris is a region full of extraordinary natural beauty. Surrounded by majestic mountains and lush tropical forests, this land is teeming with abundant life. Lush green forests, clear flowing rivers, and rare plants and creatures create a perfect ecosystem. However, the apparent peace in Sylvaris hides potential dangers in the form of fierce animals and poisonous plants that can threaten anyone who is careless.
Frostrath – Snowy Mountains and Warriors Who Master the Ice Element
Frostrath is a region located in the snowy mountains, where snow and ice dominate the entire landscape. Bone-chilling cold and howling winds between mountain peaks create a highly isolated world. However, Frostrath is home to warriors who master the ice element; they can control temperature and ice for combat or survival in extreme conditions.
The Forbidden Waste – The Forbidden Land Filled with Mystery
The Forbidden Waste is a highly restricted region where many people dare not enter. This place is filled with unpredictable oddities and dangers, and is connected to other mysterious dimensions. No one knows for certain what lies hidden in this forbidden land except for a few brave souls who dare to reveal that there exists unimaginable ancient power and dark creatures.
In this world, wizards are divided into two types: normal wizards and dark wizards. Normal wizards are those who use the mana around them to strengthen themselves, while dark wizards are those who make contracts with demons to gain power.
Both normal and dark wizards have 8 ranks:
Normal Wizards:
Apprentice → 2. Novice → 3. Magus → 4. Adept → 5. Sorcerer → 6. Enchanter → 7. Archmage → 8. Elder Sage
Dark Wizards:
Seeker → 2. Shade → 3. Necromancer → 4. Darkbinder → 5. Shadowmancer → 6. Voidcaller → 7. Witch King → 8. Dreadlord
However, dark wizards sometimes possess stronger powers than normal wizards even when they're at the same rank.
In this world, almost everyone can use magic, but that doesn't mean everyone is proficient in it. That's why some people choose to make contracts with demons to gain power.
Feeling satisfied with the information he obtained, he decided to explore the system's functions. He began searching for everything from Earth, but as he suspected, the system provided no information about Earth.
"It seems the system only provides information about this world. Let's look at the culture that exists in this world." He began exploring popular books in this world, culture, and other things he found interesting enough.
Al immersed himself in his books for a very long time. He read every book that existed in this world, learned about legends and folklore, in short, he read anything he found interesting to pass the time.
Like most worlds, this world also has many mythological and heroic tales. Stories of knights saving princesses, heroes saving nations, and many more. Al spent his time reading such stories, and from there, he began to form a picture of the world he now inhabited.
Unlike what he imagined, the concept of wizards and knights in this world was essentially the same, with the difference lying in how they used the magical power within themselves. Knights used their magic to strengthen themselves and their weapons, while wizards used large-scale spells and arrays to create powerful magic.
From these stories, he learned about the knight ranks in this world:
Apprentice knight -> Lower rank knight -> Middle rank knight -> Upper rank knight -> Hero
'Initially, I didn't think about becoming a knight, but I might try to become both a knight and a wizard simultaneously since their power concepts are the same. Unlike knights who use aura as their power source in other worlds, here they use magic just like wizards.'
He continued reading the stories of this world until suddenly, the room where he was began emitting a blinding light.
"What's happening all of a sudden?" He was startled and tried to cover his eyes with both hands.
"Darling... it's a boy. Our child... our child is a boy." From the side came the gentle voice of an exhausted woman.
"Our baby boy... look at him, he looks healthy and strong like me."
"Don't shout, dear, look, our baby is awake."
Al opened his eyes and was slightly surprised to see the figures of a man and woman before him.
"Look, darling, he has purple eyes like yours."
The first was a beautiful woman with blonde hair and purple eyes, looking exhausted with tears in her eyes. Al guessed that she was his mother in this world.
Beside her was a muscular man with many scars on his face. Unlike the woman, he looked rough and ordinary, completely bald, perhaps due to the large scar on his head.
"Ahh! Waaah!"
Somehow a whimper escaped my mouth, and I knew why – it was cold.
'It's very cold, I hope they notice soon, or I'll die.'
Hearing their child's whimpers, both parents smiled happily, realizing their child was born healthy. The man left for a moment, and when he returned, he was accompanied by a woman.
The woman brought a child-sized blanket and immediately wrapped Al in it, smiling at the adorable little baby.
"You can relax, your child has been born in healthy condition."
Hearing this, both parents smiled happily.
"Dear, give our little baby a name," the woman spoke softly.
"Of course, I've prepared a name for him. I'll name him Lux, which means light that illuminates this world and dispels darkness. What do you think?"
"That's a beautiful name. I hope he'll grow up to be a good child and illuminate our family with his presence."
[Previous content remains the same...]
--------------------------------------------- 3 years later --------------------------------------------------
Three years have passed, and I've lived like any other child – perhaps not entirely normal, as I've shown differences compared to other children. For instance, when I was 7 months old, I could walk smoothly, though I could have probably walked earlier but feared pushing myself and getting injured.
I could also speak by the time I was 1 year old, but I still limited what I said. I didn't want to be burned at the stake for speaking too early. I could understand what my parents were saying since birth, perhaps due to the system's help.
My parents felt that I understood what they said and was obedient unlike typical children, and they were happy about it. They often took me outside and proudly told neighbors about how smart I was.
And if there's one thing I must say about my parents, it's that THEY'RE FOOLISH. Just imagine leaving a child alone with the front door open. They also didn't cover the stairs, and most importantly, they often left sharp weapons scattered on the table or even the floor.
I guess it's not entirely their fault, like my father being exhausted after working as an adventurer all day and immediately dropping all his equipment upon reaching home. As for my mother, she's just careless, like forgetting to put things back in their place and often leaving me alone when busy with housework.
If there's anything to be grateful for, it's the fact that I'm their child. If it wasn't me, someone with experience from a previous life, as their child, who knows what might have happened.
I love my family, it's just different from what I requested from the system. Initially, when I saw my father leave after my birth, I thought he was going to buy milk, but contrary to what I imagined, he just went to call a nurse.
They love me very much; I realized this when I first grew my hair. They immediately sought help from healers throughout the city and even took me to church to check my condition. However, they all said that my condition was fine and I wasn't suffering from any illness.
I still remember my mother's gloomy face when she was very worried about me. She looked very depressed for days until a famous healer said that my condition was just caused by normal magical evolution affecting my hair color. Perhaps they thought that my low vitality caused premature aging, resulting in white hair. Although people here have diverse hair colors, I've never seen anyone with white hair.
"Lux, come down and eat!"
"Yes, Mom!" I quickly closed the book in my hand.
I walked to my bedroom window and opened the curtains to reveal the beautiful vast ocean view.
"As usual, this city is always bustling."
I enjoyed the view of the harbor and city from my bedroom window for a moment. This city is called Windmere, located in the southern part of the Sylvaris kingdom. Windmere is one of the largest port cities in the Sylvaris kingdom because its waters directly border the waters of Valkarion and Dunmarath. Thanks to this, the region is busy with inter-country trade activities.
After enjoying the city view for a moment, I quickly went downstairs to the dining room. "Good morning, Mom, good morning, Dad!"
"Good morning, son. Hurry and have breakfast before your mother gets angry," he said with a small laugh.
The person in front of me is my father, Grey. He has worked as an adventurer since he was young. My mother's name is Tia; like my father, she used to work as an adventurer, but since I was born, she became a regular housewife, which explains all her carelessness.
"Dad, what are you going to do today?" I took some fish from my plate and put it in my mouth.
"As usual, I'll go to the guild and do some missions. The city has been getting busier lately, so I might run missions to unload ship cargo."
"Dad, can you teach me magic?"
"Hmm..." my father pondered for a moment while furrowing his brow, "Looking at your behavior so far, I think you're mature enough and can learn magic."
"Really? So are we going to the magic tower today?" I was very excited about finally being able to learn magic.
"No need, your mother was a great intermediate-level wizard in her time. You can ask for your mother's help to learn magic," while pointing to my mother who was bringing other dishes.
"That's right, Mommy used to be quite a famous wizard," she said proudly.
"Really? Mom, please teach me magic!" I ran towards Mommy while hugging her legs.
"Wait a moment, Lux, Mom is carrying hot soup," she quickly put the soup on the table and lifted me into her arms.
"Mom, are we going to learn magic now?" I asked impatiently.
"Finish your food first, then Mommy will teach you magic," my mom put me down in my chair.
"Alright, Mom."
We ate together while chatting and joking. Although I wanted to learn magic right away, I didn't want to ruin this warm moment.
After finishing our meal, my mother immediately began teaching me magic. Although everything she said I had already learned from the system, I just stayed quiet and listened to her for now.
"Lux, before I teach you magic, you must promise not to use it recklessly," she said while looking at me seriously.
"I promise I won't use magic recklessly," I tried to look serious.
"Alright, then Mommy will teach you everything Mommy knows about magic. First, you need to be able to sense magic. Usually, people will naturally sense magic at age 10, but there's another method – by introducing magic into someone else's body to help them sense magical power."
"So what should I do?" I hoped there was other information I could get.
"You just need to close your eyes and try to feel the magical power," she answered.
"Alright, I'll close my eyes." I immediately sat cross-legged with my body upright, chest puffed forward, head lifted up, and relaxed like a yoga position.
"Are you ready? If so, Mommy will start transferring Mommy's magical power into your body."
While keeping my eyes closed, I said "I'm ready!" A few moments later, I felt a warm touch on my back. I focused more intensely on feeling my mother's magical power.
I could feel something like an electric current flowing through my body. It felt comfortable and warm. I tried to follow the electric current, and as I expected, it gathered in my chest. I tried to feel the accumulation of magic in my chest and attempted to pull all the magical energy toward it.
My efforts didn't yield any results, and worse, I didn't know what to do – which muscles to move or what to think about.
'This feels like trying to move your body when you're paralyzed and can't feel anything.' I tried using the breathing technique I'd often heard about, and surprisingly, the flow of magical power started flowing more rapidly toward my chest.
'I think I'm doing it right, but I still can't feel the magical power around me.' Suddenly my chest felt slightly hot. 'What's happening?' I began to feel like there was something in my chest, like growing a new body part that I could control. I tried controlling it and felt the magic from my chest slowly coming out. I tried directing it to my index finger and releasing it into the air.
Several minutes had passed, and I started to be able to absorb magical power from the air using my index finger. 'Too slow, let's increase the scale.' I began circulating the magical power to leave my body, and for a moment, I could feel the magical power in the air. Without wasting time, I immediately absorbed back all the magical power in the air into my body.
Tia's POV:
'What's happening? This child's magic flow suddenly moved abnormally.' I immediately sensed that the magic around us was suddenly being absorbed into my child's body.
'What is he doing? He's forcibly absorbing magical energy from the surroundings, but how is he doing it? Most wizards let their bodies absorb magical energy automatically, like breathing. Although some try to forcibly absorb magic, it's not very useful because the mana core needs time to process the magical power, and if someone absorbs more magical energy than they can hold, it will cause injury or even damage their mana core.'
I quickly used my magical energy to check if there was anything wrong with his mana core, but surprisingly, his mana core was fine and showed no signs of abnormality.
'I guess I can let him be for now, but if anything strange happens, I'll stop him immediately.'
Lux's POV:
I succeeded in absorbing magical energy into my body. When I put it into the mana core in my chest, I felt a bit uncomfortable and something bad might happen if I forced more magical power in.
I tried thinking of something else – storing the magical power in my body, but when I released control of the raw magical power, it suddenly disappeared and merged back with the air.
'I think I'm starting to understand it. According to what I've learned, magical power must be stored in the mana core to prevent it from disappearing, but doesn't that mean that once magic leaves the mana core, it will immediately disappear?'
I started releasing my magical power from the mana core and placed it in my stomach. 'As I thought, magical energy that has been processed by the mana core won't disappear if stored inside the body.' Knowing this, I immediately released all the magical power in my mana core and stored it throughout my body to nourish muscles, bones, and other organs while my mana core would process raw magical power to replace the magical power I used to nourish my body.
I felt very satisfied this time because by circulating magical power through the body, besides being able to permanently increase my body's strength little by little, I could also release magic directly from my body without having to release it from the mana core, making it more efficient and having a larger output.
I opened my eyes. Although I could absorb magical power without the meditation position, the absorption speed had decreased significantly.
"How did it feel to control magical power for the first time?" my mom hugged me from behind and placed her head right beside mine.
"It felt amazing!"
"Son, what were you actually doing earlier?" my mother asked curiously.
"Um, I just tried to feel the magical power, then moved it to enter the mana core in my chest."
"What? You can control magic?" she shouted with a surprised expression.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, it's just that our goal this time is to help you feel the magic, but you have succeeded not only in absorbing the magic but also in controlling it," she interjected with a confused expression.
"Is there a difference between absorbing magic and controlling it?"
"Of course," she replied with a sigh, trying to explain patiently. "Absorbing magic is like... taking energy from our surroundings, storing it within our bodies." That is the first step, the foundation of all magical power. But controlling magic is the next step. That means, after you absorb that energy, you can direct it, manipulate it, even use it according to your will. Like controlling the flow of a river after you've taken its water."
She shook her head. "I thought you were just a little different from other kids, but it turns out you are very talented in magic." She smiled while pinching my cheek.
My mom looked at my body from top to bottom. "Look, your body is very wet with sweat. Quickly take off your clothes and go take a shower."
I looked at my body and was shocked by the amount of sweat I had produced. "Okay, Mom, I'll clean my body in the bathroom." Feeling uncomfortable, I wanted to go to the bathroom immediately to clean my body.