POV- Now Infant Guy

I awake again to find myself alone and staring up at a stone ceiling which is surprisingly low. The world no longer feels as bright as it did before, but it's just as cold. I am on a mattress made of straw held up by a steel bedframe. There is nothing else in the room as far as I can see, but my vision is still limited and it is very dark. I close my eyes and begin to piece my thoughts together. It seems like I am an infant now, but I have memories of dying... As well as memories of all of my life's occurrences in perfect clarity. More perfect than it had been even while I was in that life, as I can remember the smallest details which date all the way back to when I was born the first time. My death and rebirth are fuzzy though.

I try to recollect my mother's face, or that of the other people that were in the room during my birth, but I come up blank. Being born is very disorienting. Anyway, I can't think of anything useful that would explain why I'm in this dark and damp place. It's only a tiny room, I think, and no one seems to be looking after me. I can't move very well, but It seems the ceiling, walls, and floors are solid stone. Well, there's not much I can do about that, so I ignore it and focus instead on what to do with this new life.

This new life... I obtained it while I was mourning my brother, that surely isn't a coincidence? By getting this life, he must want for me to live a better and more honorable life. So, I make some rules for myself: To not be cruel to those weaker than myself, always help others if possible, take the high route whenever I can, never be arrogant or overconfident, and use whatever power I have to protect rather than for my own personal profit. I think that brother would be proud of me after hearing such convictions, and the thought makes my heart swell a little. This time, I would do well. I won't hold grudges, and I will forgive no matter what. And I'll do so well people will can me a saint. I giggle a bit at the thought.

Wait, giggle? I really am a baby, huh? I can't do much like this, but... if I want to become someone who protects and helps other people whenever I can, I can't be weak. I have the advantage to train my body, soul, and mind. Where should I start? I consider the idea of "magic", which the messages spoke of, but I didn't really understand it so it could be dangerous. I think I'll leave that for later. For now, I'll just lift my arms and legs slowly and turn in small wiggles to strengthen my body. It's not much, but as an infant hardly a day old, I tire quickly.

+1 wisdom

Huh? Oh... I can gain those kinds of boosts just from thinking? Interesting...

THREE MONTHS LATER

I found out a lot of strange and interesting things since I was born. Even though I still haven't left this room, apparently, my hearing is incredibly advanced compared to that of a normal person. I can hear things so well that I can use it like sonar to develop a little mental map of my surroundings (the castle I am currently in the basement of). Everyday, a servant brings me one large meal and some water. They never speak to me, or look at me when they leave behind the tray, and it makes them more comfortable if I pretend to be asleep when they bring it, I found. At first I couldn't understand why this was, but through my super hearing, I have listened carefully to many conversations and I understand the language fairly well. It's a bit of a rough understanding, but it's still amazing in only three months.

The people call me "Ruksha" which is something like monster or abomination I think. I suppose there must be something horribly wrong with me to make them act like that. I soon understand a little more when I accidently spilled my water on the stone and as it stilled, I caught my own reflection.

Two words to best describe my appearance were "inhuman" and "beautiful". As I looked into the reflection I saw the most mysterious kind of baby. I had the face of an infant, but my eyes were bright gold, and had cat-like pupils that were filled with incredible intelligence and power. I had incredibly sharp fangs, in fact, all of my teeth were sharp as they could each easily tear skin. My ears were pointed at the ends, but that was covered by my mysteriously long (about chin length) hair which was a black so deep it seemed to absorb all light.There was a gold-colored gen encrusted into my forehead, which emitted a weak light, and finally, I noticed a short reptilian tail of only about two inches attached to my tail bone.

But it isn't only my appearance that is strange, I can also walk already, at only three months of age! I wonder what kind of super baby I am, since I am about the same size as any other three-month-old. I decided that some of the strangeness could be attributed to all of my blessings. The speed of learning languages and my ability to walk might be a result of the "growth" and "learning" blessings. Well, it's only a guess, so I can't be sure. Overall, I understand the fear, I am a truly frightening child. But there isn't much I can do about it at the moment, so I just keep to my tasks of gathering strength and information.

Since it was nighttime, there is no one to listen to, so I finally decide to ponder the mysteries of magic. There wasn't anything like it where I used to be from, so I found it to be something very foreign to me at first. Now, I think I should try some of the things I remember from those light novels my brother loved so much. If I recall you had to do something like: find your mana pool. I guess I just need to identify my magic. I sit up on the bed and close my eyes, blocking everything out with ease. Being alone helped increase my focus a lot. I spend a long time sitting like that searching for something in vain. When nothing happens, I change tactics a little. I think about the void that I was in after I died, that feeling of power that filled me. Suddenly, I find myself in the void again, but there is no panic or fear, just warmth. I pull the warm towards me and envelop my body with it.

*DING*

Skill: Meditation (Beginner lvl. 1) learned!

*DING*

"Soul of the Goddess" leveled up! (Beginner lvl. 2)

*DING*

Congratulations! You have started on the "basics of magic!"

Hmm... I take a couple minutes to discover that the meditation technique increases magical power and technique the more it is used, the better the increase is. The Soul thing leveling up made it so I had 10% control, but I'm not sure what benefits that has yet. The last message didn't really do anything or help me out in any way, which was a little disappointing, but now I had more things to do: increase my magical capabilities, train my body, enhance my senses, and learn more about the outside world.

The future looks bright.