When he woke up the next day, he immediately noticed that the world had changed. The colors were brighter, the birds chirped an elegant melody, and his mom had cooked a fragrant breakfast, his mouth watered a little with the last.

Yesterday he was too exhausted to notice it, but his perception had truly improved. The difference was almost like a transformation.

Like always, his mother came when she noticed that Rydel was awake.

“Dear you are ɐǝʍɹɓ puʍɾ.” Thalia said with a little smile. He looked stupefied at her.

“Come bꞁʞꙅ Ꮈbwꙅ your father.” Thalia said while picking him up. They went to the dining room where his father was already waiting with a hungry expression.

“Hey, how Ꮈbbꙅ b|ʞ ɘɿɒ buddy?” Edyrm affectionately greeted them.

He truly wasn’t imagining things. He was able to understand a few words. Is this because of his improved spirit? It could also be due to his improved perception, him being able to read better their intentions. So many unanswered questions.

That same night when he was alone in his room, he tried to understand more about what he had accomplished. He relaxed as he observed the moon. He let the moonlight flow, the light crawled above him making his appearance more ephemeral. He looked at his hands, he was covered in a mantle made of the night sky with little white fireflies gently floating around.

It was mesmerizing. He was one with the night, if he used this when sneaking around nobody would notice him. The drawback was that he couldn’t use it during the day.

He tried experimenting with other shapes with little success. He couldn’t do a moonlight lance or bolt, at least not yet. He could concentrate the moonlight in a specific part of his body to make it denser though. It didn’t give him more protection but it made him even more difficult to see.

He was excited about meditation today, if he has achieved early proficiency in just a couple of months it surely can’t be that difficult to master.

He still didn’t know what a Daodrop is, but it sounded a little lackluster. He hoped that it was just the system trying to sound mysterious. For now, he’d have to become a full-time monk.

With all this pondering of the Dao, Rydel was little by little becoming a wise sage, he could almost feel a white beard growing. He nodded at himself in admiration before returning to meditation.

Rydel spent the next few days gathering snippets of information when his mother took him out. They lived in a secluded village in the center of Leoheim Forest. Approximately one thousand elves were living here and without exception everyone was from the Elphyra Clan.

The system was also something that everyone shared. One of the neighbors boasted to mom that her kid was able to unlock his system at the age of eight. To unlock it, any of your attributes must reach at least one point. It was supposed to be a great advantage as you have more time to prepare for The Trial. They didn’t discuss The Trial per se though.

Rydel didn’t know if the system didn’t exist back on Earth because he was currently in another dimension, or humanity was truly lacking. He didn’t like to remember about his past self, so he skimmed over the matter.

They weren’t as safe as he believed either. The core region of the Leoheim Forest was filled with high-level beasts. It was because they were Forest elves and had a natural advantage, as well as their Grand Elder’s protection, that they could live here.

This situation also came with some perks though. They were far away from civilization, so they didn’t have to worry much about politics. They could enjoy the natural resources nearby if they were strong enough to take them from the beasts. The Elphyra Clan was a sanctuary in the middle of a danger zone.

Rydel couldn’t go exploring yet, as being eaten by a beast is not how he dreamed his ending. Besides, Thalia was always eyeing him like a hawk.

‘Sigh, I will have to grow up so people can hear about my epic feats. I’m a humble guy, just slaying a few dragons here and there is good enough.’ Rydel thought with anticipation.

***

Months continue to pass like this. Rydel learned how to walk when he was six months old, and he could strut in his home two months after that. Thalia almost died of a heart attack when she saw the little daredevil trying to run. On his first birthday, he surprised his parents by thanking them for everything they’d done for him.

It wasn’t until he was 4 years old that he was allowed more freedom and he could go to the little garden behind their home to play alone. Rydel checked his progression.

Name: Rydel Elphyra

Age: 4 years

Race: Forest Elf

Class: ---

Daodrops: Dao of the Moonlight (Early)

Vitality: 0.5

Strength: 0.4

Dexterity: 0.4

Endurance: 0.5

Perception: 11

Spirit: 20

He couldn’t do anything about his more physical stats, that’s just a matter of time. If things kept progressing like this, he would hit the one attribute mark at the age of 10. He thought that his spirit would have skyrocketed by this point but he had hit a bottleneck in his meditation sessions. He hadn’t been able to gain a single point in the last year.

Playing games with his father can only take him so far with increasing his perception. He couldn’t become obsessed with the attribute points either, finesse is more important than raw power.

He has tried to replicate countless times the spiritual hand that his mother used, but he didn’t know where to start. It isn’t like he could suddenly sense some type of energy inside of him.

Rydel’s greatest dream in his past life was to travel around the world unrestrained. Even now, it still hasn’t changed, but after repeatedly seeing the kind of beast that the elite squad hunted, he was determined to become strong too.

He briefly looked at the sun and grasped it with his hands.

“Who knows I might even reach the stars one day.”

“Firefly! The food is ready!” Thalia shouted from inside their home.

“I’m coming” Rydel grumbled but obeyed nonetheless. “And don’t call me firefly, I’m not a baby anymore!”

“You will always be my little firefly” Thalia ruffled his hair warmly. He merely responded with a gaze that promised violence. Of course, she smiled even wider.

“Little buddy you better accept it, your mother can be really stubborn when she decides on something.” Edyrm sighed with regret.

Now it was his mother's turn to glare at Edyrm with promised violence.

“Time-out! I don’t want to fight a battle that is already lost.” Edyrm surrendered without hesitation and she harrumphed.

“Rydel” Edyrm said with a stern expression.

“Y-yes?” He responded, it was rare to see his father like this.

“Once you are 5, you will start going to school. You will have to socialize with kids of your age. This year we are quite lucky, you are going to have lots of classmates.” Edyrm said.

He panicked a little. He truly can’t relate with the other kids so he had spent these last years alone or with his parents. It seems he'd have to face reality once more.

“Of course, I am super excited to meet new friends.” Rydel replied with a stiff smile. “How many are we going to be?”

“Four” Edyrm replied with pride and glee.

“Just four?” Rydel responded unsure.

“Hey, kid! Four is a lot! When I was your age I only had one classmate” Edyrm said.

“And I didn’t have anyone my age, everyone was older.” Thalia added.

“But… don’t we have like hundreds of clanmates? Why don’t they all plant a little elf?” Rydel innocently asked.

“Let’s just say that the plant that we told you about is very difficult to raise, you need to fertilize it with lots of love so it can bear fruit.” Edyrm said without any shame.

“So that’s what you are doing at night when mother shouts at you to give her more love!” Rydel responded without hesitation. They at least had the decency to blush.

‘Making my parents uncomfortable sure is a nice hobby.’ Rydel thought with inner schadenfreude but didn’t let it show in his face.

“Anyway! We will teach you extra classes of manners and how to conduct politely when you are with your teacher.” Edyrm rapidly changed the topic.

“Okaaay.” He lazily responded while he ate his food.

***

As his fifth birthday approached, he learned all types of basic elven customs. From how to properly greet someone in every situation to how to eat without embarrassing himself.

He hadn’t made any progress in a while, but a school is a good place to discreetly ask about the system. He wasn’t going to hide his abilities forever either.

He didn’t want people to think about him as a one-in-a-million years genius. But unlocking his system when he was 6 or 7 years old can make his proud heart beat with the excitement of every compliment that he is going to receive.

The day to start school eventually came. He was being accompanied by his mother. The school was located in the center of the village, next to the main square.

The square was where everyone gathered and there were always people coming to hang out. He found it weird when he first came here. Even if there were about fifty people, they weren’t making many noises, as if they purposely tried to muffle their voices.

His mother later told him that it was because adults had higher perception, so raising your voice is considered rude and disrespectful. The square was still in the middle of a forest, so it was a roughly delimited terrain where you can encounter some trees, it was packed with colorful flowers and herbs.

The school itself was like a big detached house with three floors, a backyard, and a wooden fence; it resembled a fairy house. There were already people waiting inside, Thalia immediately greeted the other parents and they started gossiping. Rydel was left alone with the kids, under the encouraging gaze of his mother, he resigned himself.

Rydel truly wished that he was reincarnated as twenty-year-old in the body of some noble scion, his only mission to conquer the hearts of a few princesses. However, his dreams wouldn’t become reality any time soon, and so he now had to attend school.

He looked at the other three kids. They were two girls and one boy. The two girls were twins, they seemed to be 5 years old too. They were about 90cm tall, 10cm shorter than him. They had brown medium-length hair and brown eyes. They were quietly whispering while playing among themselves.

The boy was also 5 years old. He was about 95cm tall. He had green short spiky hair. He had a face that was about to cry, like he was suffering the world's greatest injustice.

Rydel stood at one side waiting for the teacher to come.

It's not that he didn’t want to socialize. He just wanted the teacher to have a good first impression of him, Rydel tried to convince himself.

They only waited for five more minutes for the teacher to arrive. A wizened elf walked into the room leaning on a cane. He was so frail, it seemed like a strong wind could blow him away, nevertheless, he walked with confident and strong steps.

Rydel instincts showed him the menacing illusion of a venus flytrap trying to lure him into its teeth-filled maw. He instinctively took a step back, the old man’s gaze zeroed on him in an instant.

“This year we have some interesting students.” His teacher had a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.