My hands were tense, and my spine stiffened in preparation. This would be a difficult fight. I was unarmed, unable to walk, and unable to speak, but that’s okay. My opponent only had a sword, a full set of armour, and the ability to walk while carrying both. We were evenly matched.

I kept up my masterful deception of being a baby by falling to my side. The impact was lessened by the room’s enchantments, but the execution was flawless. I lay on my side and wiggled my feet helplessly.

“You…” William lowered his sword. “… are terrible at improvising.”

Wow. Ouch.

This guy went straight for my weakness.

I gurgled and jabbed my hand angrily towards him. How dare he insult me like this. There will be a reckoning.

“There is no need to hide. Jackson provided enough hints to clue in my father.” William waded towards me, not a shred of dignity lost as he sailed towards me in full armour. “You are intelligent. It is not obvious, but I have been hiding my intentions since my first night. It is easy to spot for an expert.”

I paused from my wriggling. Jackson. The man in the silver mask. He’d noticed something wrong. I should have realised it when he’d first come into our house. I thought my disguise was perfect.

William stopped in front of me and stared without a shred of emotion.

He crossed his arms. “Most would consider it an honour to have unlocked [Wisdom] as their first skill. Each of us rises to the top of our generation, the advantage of knowledge and foresight in a young body.”

Wisdom. He’d mentioned that before. I flipped myself onto my back, the most comfortable position to think, and the cogs in my mind turned. A baby that was intelligent and didn’t act at all like a baby. If it was because of the system, then a skill called Wisdom made sense.

He thought I had it too.

He wasn’t a reincarnator, he was just a really smart baby. I put a hand to my chin and frowned.

Should I be hiding my intelligence from him?

I needed more time to think. This wasn’t a job for baby me. This was a job for adult me. It was time to think about consequences and responsibilities.

Priority one: should I tell this person that I’m intelligent?

Consequences? I’m not sure. I didn’t know enough about this world.

I stared up at the emotionless baby. William was a stranger draped in metal and wielding a weapon, but he was also a baby.

I wasn’t going to trust a baby with my secrets. That was insane. It doesn't matter how common or uncommon intelligent babies are in this world, I can’t imagine giving up an advantage. I went over the conversations in my head that I’d listened to since coming to this world.

Jackson said the entire country was watching William’s progress. Did that mean there were people with unsavoury interests in play?

William had talent, and a bright future. A baby from a rich family that could already converse with adults. People in my world had killed and kidnapped others for less.

William seemed to be safe. He was also accompanied by a man swathed in riches, who was greeted by a silver masked employee of Zodiac. We lived in different worlds.

My parents couldn’t fend off kidnappers.

William was also playing dumb and acting spoilt in public to disguise his intelligence. If he did that, why shouldn’t I?

My head hurts.

Thinking logically, and concentrating past my emotions, took a lot of effort. It was easier to rest and allow my biological urges to take control. Otherwise, I would begin thinking about my situation… about everything that I’d witnessed.

I forced the thought out of my mind. There was an immediate problem to focus on right now. There was no logical reason for me to tell William that I could understand him. So I won’t.

He can guess all he wants, but I’ll admit to nothing. I felt a rush of relief as I made my decision. There was still too much to explore, and there was time to do it. Marv would teach me magic, and I would be able to walk in no time. Once the five year period ends and my mana is measured I'm sure I’ll be able to train as a magician.

Okay, now I can go full baby.

I rolled back onto my legs and let out a squeal of delight. William took a step back, surprised. I ignored him. It was time to explore.

This room was magic, and that meant new things to learn about the world. The walls were the first point of contact. I bumped my head into one, and I bounced off harmlessly. It was like trying to hit dough. I banged my hand against the wall, trying to activate whatever magic was making it turn soft.

There were no symbols to be seen.

I’d only seen symbols when Jackson and Indra had activated ‘rituals’, and my skill only shot out dirt, no symbols to be seen. I’d have to ask about it later.

I looked around, there wasn’t anything that looked remotely harmful. It was strange. Jackson had seemed so sure we couldn’t hurt ourselves, but babies should never be left alone.

Was there someone in here watching us?

I turned towards William and the baby froze. He’d been following close behind me, watching my every action. He still had his armour, and my target lay at his side.

I grabbed at the edge of his sword.

William couldn’t react in time, but before my skin hit the weapon a gentle orange light surrounded my hand, caressing it and moving it out of harm's way. I stared in wonder at my hand, moving it experimentally. It was fine.

I tried grabbing the sword again.

Orange light flooded the room, centring around my body now. It lightly dragged me away from the sword. Its touch was as gentle as a feather. This time I saw the source of the magic. It had come from above us.

I went on my back again, staring up at the source of the light. There was a stone there. A single block covered in glowing symbols. The orange magic returned to the source, and the symbols stopped glowing.

A magical nanny. I stared up at the device. A whole ceiling dedicated towards keeping children safe. The walls and the floor were as soft as rubber, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t hurt myself. This was amazing.

“A standard addition to most households.” William looked at me as though I was crazy.

Your household maybe. Definitely not mine. I had to stay in a cot all day, and sleep in dirt. I ignored his prompts and waddled towards the middle of the room. There wasn’t a single toy here.

What was a child supposed to do?

“Most of us are forced to meditate. Our parents want us to unlock the skill, but it’s tough since we can’t visualise it from people just sitting on the ground.” William once again interjected. “That’s why they stick us in an empty room with nothing else to do.”

This time he caught my interest. Meditate?

That sounded like a good skill to have. I laughed at the image of babies and younger kids trying to sit still. A child wouldn’t be able to imagine what emptying their mind was like. Adults could barely do it.

Skills were still a curiosity for me. It had been two days since I’d received mine, but others apparently had many skills. There had to be a way for me to unlock them.

It was something to think about.

William eventually got bored of following me around, as I knew he would. It was impossible for a baby to keep their attention on one thing, no matter how intelligent they were.

I’d seen a few things about him that he probably wouldn’t want me to notice. He scratched his belly when he was uncomfortable, and he clearly missed his father. He was smart, but I don’t think he had memories like I did. It was a different kind of intelligence.

“Young master.” Letitia’s voice called out, interrupting us.

We turned our heads towards the entrance and the door to the nursery opened. The group was still together, Jackson and Master Wilhelm taking charge, chatting happily with each other. Jackson had loosened up his attitude since he’d left.

My father was the odd man out, hanging out on the fringe of the group as they’d talked. He walked over to me and swept me up in his arms. I wriggled into a more comfortable position, cautious to keep up my act in front of William’s father.

Master Wilhelm caught up with William. Then he turned towards me.

“I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.” Master Wilhelm shook my hand. He turned towards my father. “You both absolutely must come to my son’s second birthday.

My father almost fainted on the spot. “It would be an honour, Master Wilhelm.”

“I will personally make sure you both receive your invitations.”

William nestled into Letitia’s hands and gave me a long stare. I hadn’t convinced him, but it didn’t matter now. I wouldn’t be seeing him for a while. We made our way back to the teleportation room to see them off, my father insisting on it.

The teleportation crystal powered up and sent purple mist across the room. I gave the Wilhelm’s a tiny wave, but they were already gone.

Marv promised to come to pick us up the day after next. He wasn’t able to have us accompany him every workday. I could respect that.

I lay in my cot with my father by my side.

“I bet that man’s shiny coat surprised you, didn’t it?” My father let the weariness of the day show on his face. “And his talking baby. Whew. I’ve seen a lot of new things since you came along.”

I wrapped his hand in my own. He smiled and looked around the room. The dirt pile had grown, and the puffer was resting on its nest.

“I suppose I could have given you a better life.” He mused to himself, and his shoulder hunched. I let out a gurgle and slapped his arm. He just smiled. “Don’t worry champ. We're simple folk. If you do your best then that’s enough for me. A magician in our family is already amazing. Your mother was ecstatic.”

I didn’t give him a childish giggle this time. The light of the room dimmed when the door closed, and I was left alone with my thoughts. It had been a long day.

I slapped my hands against my cheeks to wake myself up.

Alright. I had seen magic in action. Underneath the beauty of the flames and the wonder of seeing my dreams come to life, it was unnerving, but I’m not the kind of person to stay down and let life throw me around.

I pushed down my instincts, and the roiling emotions that came with being a baby. It was tough, but I wouldn’t lose to my physical urges. I was better than that. My hands grew clammy, and I could feel my body fighting against the commands my brain was sending it. It hurt to think complicated thoughts.

I would force myself to get used to it.

It had been fun acting like a baby, but it was time to face reality. I didn’t have as much time to lay back as I’d thought.

There were people that could throw balls of fire. Living walls deflected attacks from all angles. I’d met a baby that could beat me in a fight and adults were already catching on to my intelligence.

I was woefully unprepared to tackle this world and its issues. That would be expected for a normal baby, but I’m not an ordinary baby; I had the ability to think, and time to grow; skills could be learned, and my spells could be improved. I needed to start training.

It’s time to become overpowered.