"No point waiting for these legs to catch up—let's see if it really works from right here."
Without hesitation, he began kicking his legs with deliberate rhythm, his tiny feet thumping repeatedly against the soft blanket and the padded edge of the mattress—a motion that would appear utterly innocuous and endearing to any observer, yet resonated as a purposeful endeavor within his reincarnated spirit.
[You are kicking. Qi-Blood +0.01, Leg Muscle Strength +0.01, Kicking Proficiency +0.01]
The response came immediately, a subtle warmth coiling through his calves and thighs like muscles long dormant finally stirring to life after a deep winter's sleep, the sensation of real, tangible strength beginning to build with each repetition.
He kept the motion going without pause, his legs pistoning faster now as a quiet exhilaration welled within him.
"No way—it actually feels different already. Even these silly kicks are building something real? This system's got some serious potential, and I'm tapping it from a crib. Not the hero pose I imagined, but it'll do."
A touch of wry amusement tempered his wonder, a soft inward chuckle at the irony of his circumstances. "Back home, I'd be hitting the weights for this. Here? Leg day starts with blanket punching. Life's full of surprises."
But even as he savored the revelation, a thread of intellectual curiosity tugged at him, compelling a broader examination of the ritual's enduring legacy. He paused the kicks just long enough to summon his full status with a quick mental flick, eager to quantify just how far the immersion had truly advanced his foundation.
Status window
[Name: Ronan Blackwood]
[Age: 2 months]
[Bloodline: Blackwood (Awakened Stage 1), Voidmere (Unawakened)]
[Title: None]
[Traits: None]
[Blessings: None]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 10]
[Mana: 10 (Unlocked)]
[Vitality: 10]
[Qi-Blood: 5]
[Constitution: 10]
[Skills: None]
[Condition: Healthy]
[Potential: A]
[Honour Points: 100]
[You are kicking, Qi-Blood +1, leg muscle strength +1, kicking proficiency +1]
As more and more promptsappeared, Ronan clearly felt a surge of strength in his legs. But then his eyes landed on his blackwood bloodline which have been awakened.
"0001, can i know what the blackwood bloodline is?" Ronan asked in his mind.
[The Blackwood Bloodline is rooted in the mysterious life-force known as Umbral Essence, an ancient mana vein that flows beneath the Ebon Grove. It grants dominion over shadow not as mere darkness, but as living energy — perception, concealment, command, balance, control and intimidation]
[There are 5 stages of blackwood bloodline awakening—
1. Umbral Sensitivity— The Blackwood can instinctively sense shifts in mana and movement through darkness or obscured regions. They see outlines through shadow and feel approaching danger like tremors through roots.
2. Veilcraft— Shadows can be bent, thickened, or shaped into simple forms — useful for silent movement, cover, or disorienting illusions. Many Blackwood scouts are unmatched spies. The dead can be awakened, merged with shadow and darkness and follow user's command.
3. Ebon Veins
Their blood fuses with Umbral Essence — granting faster mana recovery in low light and resistance against mental interference or illusion-based attacks.
4. Umbral Step— Allows instantaneous travel through shadow within a limited radius. Each jump leaves a faint distortion — like ripples in dark water — revealing the path only to those of the same blood.
5. Eclipse Sovereignty— Temporarily converts a large area into the "Black Domain" — all light, mana, and sound are absorbed; the user becomes a living silhouette of death, controlling every shadow within the domain. Only those with divine light or pure souls can withstand its pull.
"Woahhh, this is too op.... How can I increase stages of my bloodline?"
[By increasing your mana capacity, and learning to use your mana previously. And then when you have enough mana and pression, you can infuse mana inside your blood to make it blend with the bloodline genes and making it reveal and get more stronger]
[Normally it takes years to get that much mana, but in your case, your body is kind of strange. It absorbs things that can be absorbed so much faster without any side effects]
[This is my speculation, but your other bloodline "voidmere" should be more powerful then blackwood. As in the sword grave manor, you were absorbing energy from the pool like a blackhole, it's not possible for anyone, and your body is too weak to handle all those energy]
Ronan was stunned while hearing the explanation "does this mean my mother possesses more powerful bloodline then a duke family?"
He thought deeply, but then he realised he can't get his answer now. So better not think about it too much, when the times comes he will ask his mother directly.
And then he started focusing on the new attributes, He was quietly thrilled and started kicking even harder.
When he tired of kicking, he switched to waving his arms.
[You are waving your arms, Qi-Blood +0.01, arm muscle strength +0.01, waving proficiency +0.01]
When his arms grew tired, he switched to twisting his body, moving all his muscles to achieve a full-body workout.
Almost another month has passed like this.
Ronan's body had become much stronger, able to sit up on his own from the crib, no longer having to lie there just looking at the ceiling.
Normally, newborns need around 7 months before they can sit up by themselves.
But he is only just over 4 months old and already able to do so. And offcourse thses were not hidden from his mother Seraphina. Not that Ronan wanted to hide these things from his mother. Not in his past life and not in this life.
But Ronan was expecting to see the shocked face of his mother, but the truth is unexpected, she was not that shocked at all and but more happy to see the growth of her child
At just the age of 3 and half months, he was able to crawl on the ground. As there are many prodigies and Geniuses in this world who can do these things. But she knows that her child is not weaker then them.
"Mother really is hiding something. She should have been shocked by seeing my crawl at the age of 3 and half month. But she is not showing a little bit surprise, like she was expecting me to grow this much?." Ronan mind races to think of any possibility of his mother's secret.
"Does mother know about 0001 or does she have connection with my past life mother?" Ronan mind keeped racing, trying to find the answer to his questions.
"But when 0001 who have been created by the will of this world doesn't know about my previous mother, about my promise and my duty."
"When you grow up, mommy will teach you secret techniques. The things you won't be able to learn without mommy. We are special my little baby..." She said gently while caressing him softly.
"Special? Is this related to voidmere bloodline?" Ronan immediately thought.
"Is my mother a super strong being." Ronan thought and a star showed in his eyes as he started admiring her.
Seraphina looked at her child looking so curious and cute and started laughing not knowing what is he thinking.
"May the void bless you my child. Remember the void is our companion my child, the void will protect you." These words struck Ronan hard, his body started tingling, like his body have connection with the void.
"What is happening? What does void have to do with anything here?" At this point, Ronan stopped thinking any further, as he realised no matter how much he think, he won't be able to uncover all the mysteries, not now. When the times comes he will know or even ask his mother when he grows up.