Author's Note: Sorry for the late release, people keep me busy for no reason. I tried using tables, but didnt find the best one to use. i was trying to change the background color to grey and make it look like the stone slab but couldnt. i didnt want to use the blue tables, since it didnt feel right with me. i'll update with the actual tables if i can find a way to make it correctly. Also i dont think i'll able to post a chapter tomorrow, i'm going to comicon near my place. good night and sleep tight

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Friends

Getting [ Gravity Magic ] was a surprise, I didn’t think it would actually work so well. I have a better grasp on how this world works or better said I’m beginning to understand its fundamental laws. I may not have learned the [ Elemental Magic ] but having a rare magic in your arsenal always helps. But how would I be able to attack using it. I don’t have any understanding of using gravity in the field of offense.

Hmm….wait, that might work. I could simply increase their weight and immobilize them. But I don’t think that’ll be enough as I won’t have any strength to kill them. I know what my [ Status ] indicates and I clearly understand this is still a child’s body. My basic attacks won’t have affect on them even if I use [ Enhanced Defense ]. Since attacks require some sort of force or impact to deal damage. It’s common sense that even a large boulder won’t hurt you if it simply stays still.

Could I use [ Gravity Magic ] and increase its weight to a level its internal organs can rupture? That could be possible. I test by applying my [ Mana ] to a small pebble as I throw it towards the sky and use [Gravity Magic] by increasing the mana near the string between the pebble and the earth.

The pebble fell too fast, I couldn’t notice its speed. I repeat the same experiment on a still rock and waiting for it get crushed under the pressure. I keep increasing my mana output on the rock. Although I keep increasing it, the effect disappears after a while. While I observe using [ Mana Sight] to understand the problem, I check the base of the rock and it’s immersed in to the ground for about 5 cm.

When I repeated the experiment, I understood that it failed because the mana in the earth which pulled the rock towards it, became less. So the more mana I use to increase gravity on any object, it’ll stop working since the other side’s [ Mana ] dissipates. Is it my [ Mana ] which is causing the earth’s mana to breakdown?

Hmm…I think I understand. Basically you can’t increase the attraction between two objects any more than necessary, as either sides energy which is causing this pulling will reduce since the other side can’t handle the increase in energy. It’s also due the fact that the gravitational pull isn’t similar to that of a planet. Having a round shape and making use of its poles, the gravity is affected by the altitude. But this world’s gravity may as well won’t change since it’s a constant amount of [ Mana ] creating the gravitational effect. If there’s any dissipation in the [ Mana ], there’s no north or south pole to immediately fix it.

All of this is baseless gesture, I’d have to check the effect of [ Gravity Magic ] at higher altitudes. But this basically means I can’t be certain [ Gravity Magic ] can actually be used as a form of attack. I think at best I could make a monster be fixed to the ground but we’re back to where we started.

I suppose I’ll use the other method then……though it has its risks without proper investigation. No, I’ll use it either way in order to conduct the investigation. Hope my body won’t get damaged by doing this. I’ll start with that tomorrow, for now I’ll return.

I check my [ Status ] to see any changes.

…..why has [ Mana ] decreased to 300? It was somewhere near 800 when I started, so why has it reduced to less than half? Does [ Gravity Magic ] use so much [ Mana ]?

This is worse than using [ Gift of Time ]. By the time I actually do anything, I would’ve fainted just from the mana loss.

Although I am happy learning new [ Magic ], when it actually does more harm than good you don’t really feel happy about getting it.

There’s still a few hours, before it’s nighttime. When I was returning, I see Sara carrying a huge basket full of fruits on her head with a cloth shaped like a small turban to support the basket’s weight. She spots me and after reaching me spots the basket down. She doesn’t look pleased. Does she think I skipped out on the work? That’s quite mean Sister, when it’s you who drives such a young boy to work.

“ If you’re done with feeding them, go to Uncle Guez’s house and retrieve the another basket.” (Sara)

“aww…. “ (Orian)

“ Stop wasting time, the faster you help me with this, the faster you can go play. There’s no other work after this other than helping Mother from tomorrow when Father leaves for the city. You need to know where Uncle’s house is anyway, so stop by at his place. He’ll be really happy to see you.”(Sara)

Sara says with a sighed expression. I suppose being the only one to do this would drive anyone mad. Even though I’m a small kid, I still have enough intelligence to understand the problem of others. She probably feels jealous that I have more free time to play while she works. But I won’t tell her that. I don’t have a death wish. I know how scary older siblings can be. I remember a friend of mine talking about how scary his older brother was whenever he was found gambling.

“ Fine, I’ll go get it.”(Orian)

Sara nodded and picked up the basket and placed it on her head. She’s quite strong. She’s considerably stronger than me considering the age gap. Despite how much she works me, she’s a responsible older sister and reliable too.

I already knew the location of Guez’s house, but I listen to when she’s telling me the directions. She returns home while I go to his house. I reach his house and knock on his door. There’s no response. Is he outside not at home?

After a while, the door unlocks and I see a Girl slowly peeking at a small gap from the door. Who is she? Why is she here? Why is she so cute to look at?

My mind starts running wild as I watch her. She has black hair and it’s grown quite a bit. She’s almost the same height, but she seems a little taller. How old is she? In a low voice she begins to speak.

“umm……..who are you?” (…..)

Ahhhhh…..what a cute voice. She must be an angel.

I’ve never seen someone like her, even on all the planets of previous universe. What a useless universe! Not having an angel like this.

Wait … calm down…..no matter how she looks, she’s still a little girl. Don’t tell me I’m a pedophile? No, I didn’t have something like that in my previous life. Is it because this body is still that of a child, I feel like this? That would explain it. Maybe it’s love at first sight.

“umm…can I help you?”(…..)

Ahhh….how amazing. Stop. Alright, calm down Orian. First impressions are important here. I can’t stay standing like an idiot.

“ is Uncle Guez here?”(Orian)

“Father…. Do you have some business with Father?”(….)

Guez….is her father. So does that mean she’s my cousin? I wonder if marriage between cousins is possible in this world. She’ll be very beautiful in 10 or so years. Wait, why the heck am I thinking about this right now? Calm down, don’t forget what you need to accomplish. Marriage won’t allow me the freedom to explore this world. At least I can enjoy falling in love. Let me introduce myself atleast.

“umm….I’m Sara’s little brother, Orian. She sent me here to get the extra basket that was left over here.”(Orian)

Hearing me say that, she gasps and looks at me from head to toe.

I don’t mind being stared at. But please do understand my feelings.

“ So you’re Sister Sara’s brother. She told me you were 1 year old now. My name is Gina Dahric. Father has gone out for now. He won’t be back for a while. Wait here, I’ll go and bring you the basket.”(Gina)

Ah…Gina. Such a sweet name. I nod at her suggestion and wait outside. Although I wanted to be asked to enter the house. So Dahric was mother’s last name before she got married. So many customs are certainly clashing here with the previous world. I wait outside and after a few minutes I see the door opening again. I can hear the sound of someone gasping for air. It was Gina. She was out of breath and she was dragging the basket and covered in sweat.

No no no, you shouldn’t expect a girl so cute to be doing this much hard work. Sara’s just too strong.

“ here you go ….huff ….huff”(Gina)

I take the basket and hold it over my small shoulders. It’s a little smaller than the one Sara was carrying, but still heavy. It shouldn’t be too much hard to carry it. No no, there’s cuteness in weakness.

“Oh right, Gina. Are you not an year old, yet? Do you still have to stay in the house?” (Orian)

“Uh?!.....no it’s not that at all. I’m 2 years old now. But I don’t have any friends outside, so I stay and watch over the house. I try to do some cooking here and there when I can though. Father doesn’t stay much at home.”(Gina)

“ Well, I don’t have any friends either. How about you play with me from tomorrow? We’re not that far apart from age. Sister won’t play much with me.”(Orian)

Seize the opportunity when you see it.

“umm….i don’t mind. But …..you don’t mind being friends with me?”(Gina)

“Nope, I don’t.” (Orian)

“ Well, alright then. See you tomorrow, Orian”(Gina)

I am calling back to base, mission cleared. An alliance has been established. And we can further good relations in the future.

I’ll think about this later in the future. Who knows, maybe I could take her with me on the adventure? But it’s best not to expose someone to danger. I can decide about this, much later anyway.

I return home with the basket and Sara pats my back for it. Even I’m happy today too sister, so I don’t mind if you work me to the bone.

I remember her telling me, we won’t have any work after Dari leaves for the city. Does that mean I can spend the whole day with Gina tomorrow?

“ You seem to be in a good mood today. Anything nice happen?”(Sara)

Huh? Is it that obvious? I don’t really want to tell her though. This Sister of mine, so nosy.

“It’s nothing. When’s dinner?”(Orian)

Sara looks at me suspiciously. No matter how much you ask me I won’t budge. You’ll only tease me. It’s too obvious.

“Ooh… not bad. I thought you always acted weird. But looks like you’re quite normal. I can make a guess what it is. But I’m not interested anymore, so I’ll let it slide.”(Sara)

I break out in cold sweat. Women have really good intuitions, either in the older world or this one. I smiled awkwardly and go inside. Dinner’s ready, I finish up and head to bed. I try to sleep near the higher concentration of mana as usual. But there are only a few for now.

I wake up normally and check my [ Status ] and all the [ Skills ] I’ve learned are displayed with [ Mana ] having increased again. But I didn’t exhaust it completely, this time. That means my mana capacity increases with more mana I spend every day. There’s still time for breakfast and so I got outside for training. If the training method I thought of yesterday works, then I won’t have to rely on [ Gravity Magic ] to be a source of damage. But today I’ll need to use it carefully for the training itself.

It’s the method that tribe in my previous life had used. Although I don’t have the heavy equipment required to train myself with. I can train using [ Gravity Magic ] instead. I can use it to slowly increase the weight on my body and train my muscles. The technique they used couldn’t be done on a child’s body, but there was a method to improve on the technique to train the muscles which actually improved strength.

If I can make my body stronger, coupled with [ Enhanced Defense ] I’m sure I can handle at least one monster by myself. I could learn to use a bow, but it’s too risky if others found out. Not to mention, if your location is discovered then using a bow is useless.

I needed to be versatile. No matter what position I end up in, to somehow be able to survive through it. The training itself needs to be carefully designed, otherwise I’ll just end up hurting myself.

So I began readying my [ Gravity Magic ] in the desolate place I use normally. I make sure the mana strings on my body are attached to the earth’s mana. I don’t know how much I can apply before the mana connecting my body and earths would dissipate after certain extent. But I think that would be still far away. I had been to planets with varying gravity after all. One planet had 5 times higher the normal gravity, I had to train with a few others in artificial gravity to endure it. The guy’s who I had trained with started puking at 3 times the gravity itself. It was because they didn’t know how to maintain the body’s balance, which muscles to use and the proper positions to maintain.

The tribe used methods such as power lifting to actually improve their physical feats. The movements with the heavy equipment, would be perfected movements for lifting heavier weights. I had used it and even at a older age my body sufficiently grew stronger. Handling planets with higher gravity became much easier.

By training this body , when growth rate is highest I can gain strength to protect myself. I wonder which will reach its limit first, the earth’s mana or this body.

And it started, I increased the mana flow at five different points in the body. The posterior glutes, the lower part of the abdomen to maintain the balance, the centre of gravity of the body and the top part of middle of shoulder bones to maintain my head’s position. I remembered the smaller parts perfectly. I knew which muscle had to trained for the whole body to reap benefits. I increased the weight on them as little as possible and began training. Running in the correct manner, standing still while holding tight all the muscles and squatting and getting up. I would also end up donning [ Enhanced Defense ] , so the body would become used to this sensation when training as well. It also make my body feel a bit heavier though.

This would be the training I put myself for the next 10 years also slowly increasing its difficulty. It was harder than I actually had imagined. I had to maintain, the [ Gravity Magic ] as well. It was a pain. Both my [ Mana ] and physical stamina would get rapidly consumed at start. I took breaks until I recovered and after enough training head home to have breakfast.

I check my [ Status ].

[ Skill: Mana Mastery Learned ]

[ You have learned how to use mana effectively. Controlling and skillfully holding mana, you have learned how much exact mana is required to successfully use Magic.]

[ Unique: Gift of Time ]

[ Backtrack: Can secure your future experience and return them to the present time. ]

[ Ability 2: By enhancing your thinking ability, you can think with a speed where time would not seem to move. ]

[ Mana: 113 ]

I seemed to have learned to use [ Mana Mastery ]. I think it’s because of using [ Gravity Magic ] like that. Does that mean I reduce the amount of mana I need to spend on [ Magic ]? This is useful. So does that mean, I’ve been carelessly wasting mana even though I didn’t need to. I’ll note this down. Learning to implement how much mana was needed is important. I could also use it on [ Enhanced Defense ], but I don’t think it will need much changes to how much mana needed to be used.

So after training, if I am left with that much [ Mana ], I don’t think it should be a problem. It’s like killing two birds with one stone. It seems [ Gift of Time ] gave another ability.

Is it due to calmly analyzing the situation every time? If I can get more time to think in an emergency situation, it’s always helpful. I think I remember using this already, I did feel it weird since time hadn’t passed even though I was drowned in thoughts. Hope this doesn’t happen when I go sleeping again.

I suppose I should name it the same way as before.

Hmm..........ah. [ Chamber ] would work.

[ Ability 2 has been named Chamber ]

[ Gift of Time ] sure has useful abilities. But I shouldn’t be overly relying on them.

I bid farewell to Dari as he heads out of the village. I go with him, towards the gate. A large wooden gate remains closed and a few hunters go along with the carriage. It seems Guez will also be heading to ensure the carriages safety. I see Gina nearby also giving her regards. They won’t be back for 4 days, it is quite long for a member of your family to be away. You can’t help but wish for them arrive faster.

Gina has a sad expression, but smiles as her father is about to leave. I heard about it from Sara that Gina’s mother had died during child birth so whenever Guez leaves she would be lonely. Don’t worry, Guez. Your most trusted will make sure Gina stays happy.

There’s also another boy here. One of the hunters here must be his father. He has a lonely look on his face. I can guess which one of them here is his parent. Now that I look closely, I don’t think he was playing with the other kids when I checked for the past few days.

As the gate opens and the carriage starts moving, few hunters depart with Guez and Dari. I should note these timings. The number keeps will be lesser and I can easily access the forest. But I’ll refrain until a later date. Until I’ve confirmed I’m strong enough.

I should sometimes go with Sara and Guez since the parts of the forest nearer to the village are safe. I can only hope to catch some pigs again.

After they left, the gate closed again. Sara left heading back home, to help Olivia with chores. She also smiles back as she sees me looking at Gina. Could she be a good wingman if she tried? Thank you, Sara. I’ve misjudged you.

I really wanted to spend time with Gina alone playing, exploring or talking. But the boy is still standing with a sullen look. Was he in the same situation? If it’s only me and Gina, it won’t really be fun as we could easily come into arguments on what to decide. I don’t mind doing whatever she wanted to do.

But having a male friend will make it easier for communication. And since I won’t leaving for 9 more years, a few more friends in this village wouldn’t hurt.

I go and try to engage a conversation. He looks at me and Gina.

“ Hello, my name is Orian Mellinus and this is Gina Dahric. What’s your name?”(Orian)

“…..”(…..)

“…….Targ Livigt”(Targ)

Ahh…he seems nervous. Is it his first time making friends? I think we should be able to talk since we’re all in a similar situation.

“ Your father, also went out along with the carriage?”(Orian)

Targ nods. He looks at me and Gina again.

“ Do you want to come play with us? I just became an year old a few days ago and having a few more friends would feel better.”(Orian)

“…me too. I’m an year old now”(Targ)

I smile and put my arm around him.

“ Let’s get along.”(Orian)

And thus I made one more friend. We went around the village and played until night came.

“Thanks, I had fun today. Let’s play again tomorrow” (Orian)

“ Me too.” (Targ)

“Same here.” (Gina)

Both were smiling happily. I returned home after parting with them. I told Olivia about how I made friends. Sara was looking with disinterest. Completely tired, after having dinner I went to bed.

-------After 6 months -------

It’s been a few months after I met Targ and Gina. I’ve been continuing my training without harming my body. My food consumption rate has increased. By controlling [ Gravity Magic ] on my body every day, I’m now able to move my body at a higher weight. Since I’ve been slowly increasing the weight on the particular muscles, the rest of body is also seeing a lot of changes.

Most of the muscles on my back are neatly developed and Sara’s pat on the back hardly fazes me now. My legs have shown great improvement and I can easily walk. At this point I can wear [ Gravity Magic ] permanently on my body as long as it’s lesser than the current level I train at. I do this, so I don’t accidently release my actual strength. People won’t notice such changes if they keep watching the same thing every day.

My mana capacity has been steadily increasing. I can’t use all of it now and faint since others would get suspicious.

According to checking on how gravity works, I think my body is currently handling at 3.4 times the normal weight for morning training. I was able to estimate this by checking the volume of muscle gain with its density. If I had to make a guess, this body has more muscle density than my previous one before shifting to the clones. This was thanks to [ Backtrack ] , I made sure to check when I was getting tired to make sure I didn’t hurt myself during training.

My [ Skills ] haven’t improved much though. But my [ Physical Attributes ] have really risen along with my growth. My height has increased a little though.

After I’m done training I go hang out with Targ and Gina, help from time to time with Sara’s chores. Targ tries to race against me often trying to beat me at whatever he finds challenging. Physically Targ has the advantage and he easily beats me at most games. He might also be growing stronger since he looks at me like a rival. My body is still 3 times heavy right now, you know. Don’t get too cocky.

Gina tries to stop us from competing, but I don’t mind doing it. This at least keeps training fun for me. I don’t have the mental aptitude to train like a muscle head for no reason. Targ gets injured easily though, he falls down quite often. Gina treats his injuries while sighing. Sometimes I see him blushing in front of her. So much for being a brother.

Targ has too much of a hot headed personality and Gina is kind as usual. She’s too beautiful. I wish these 9 years would pass quickly.

I don’t see their lonely faces anymore, so Targ and Gina have been definitely happy.

------------Day of return-------

As usual I wake up every day, and check my [ Status ].

[ Status ]

[ Name: Orian Mellinus ]

[ Age: 1 year 6 months 4 days ]

[ Race: Human ]

[ Growth: 8 ]

[ Skills ]

[ Language Comprehension ]

[ Equipment Builder +1 ]

[ Unique: Gift of Time ]

[ Exploring ]

[ Organizing ]

[ Mana Sight +3 ]

[ Enhanced Defense +4 ]

[ Gravity Magic +1]

[ Mana Mastery +1]

[ Strength: 114 ]

[ Intelligence: 105 ]

[ Resistance: none ]

[ Endurance: Equipped Enhanced Defense +4 ]

[ Agility: 150 ]

[ Mana: 3211 ]

My [ Mana Mastery ] improved , when I started using less mana on [ Mana Sight ] while still producing the same results.

I think my body has increased by leaps and bounds. I didn’t think I’d improve this much though. [ Growth ] has increased to 8, so I think it depends on time.

I could easily crush rocks with my hands and I could fling pebbles almost like bullets. I think with this I could survive the forest. Since some monsters are easily killed with just arrows. I suppose I would need to learn their weakness so I can have guaranteed safety.

I suppose that concludes what I need to do today. I can’t go to the forest today, even though I’m strong now. It’s because the hunters are returning along with Guez and Dari. They’ll be more of them today. So I’ll wait for my next chance. I go along with Sara and see Targ and Gina at the gate already. This has happened so many times already, but we always wait here hoping everyone returns safe without any problem.

The gate opens, Targ and Gina are awaiting their parents return. The carriage is back and everyone seems to be here.

…..wait

The count is off by 1 person. Is anyone missing?

I check all of them, Guez and Dari are here and so are all the hunters…… except one.

Where is Targ’s Father? Did he stay in the city for some errand? What happened to him?

My sight slowly goes towards the carriage and I see the wheel is bent a little. The Griffons also look injured, they have a few scratches. Guez hand is covered by a cloth. Did he get injured somehow?

Targ , his face seems anxious like everyone’s here. But their faces, the ones who came back, all I can see on their faces is horror, fear and tears. What happened here? Why did this happen?

This was only the beginning of my days of strife to come.