Worse

Do you know how most reincarnation stories write thousands of words on how they hate being a baby, or just skip over their experience as a baby entirely, simply saying that it wasn't a fun experience?

It's even worse than they say, much, much worse. When you're a baby, for the first four months, you can't even see properly. Thankfully, I was still completely out of it when I was born, but a couple hours later, I'm trying to look around, and all I can see is bright light a fuzzy shapes. On top of that, I can't really move properly, all I can do is wobble and wave my weak-ass limbs. To top it all off, I can't even stay awake for longer than an hour. At the very least, I can spend my time cultivating.

Skip forward a month, and I can see things that are within around a foot of me, I have to focus on them to see them properly though. I can't make out colours yet. I can now wiggle my limbs with slightly more force. Disappointing.

Skip forward two months, and my eyesight is finally that of a normal human beings! I no longer have to curse those shitty reincarnation protagonists that can make out every detail of their parents a minute after they're born. Gone are the days where I can't even see anything outside of my crib! On top of that, I can also use my weakish limbs to pull myself into a proper cultivation position using the crib, and keep that position by leaning on the crib. This body's have noticed and while I can't make out what they're saying (stupid fucking baby ears), I can tell that they're concerned.

Now I know what you're saying. 'Why are you doing weird things in front of your parents?' Unlike shitty reincarnation protagonists, I don't have an Oscar, or harem protagonist levels of luck. I can't just avoid things like that if I want to cultivate enough magic to go to Hogwarts by the time I'm 11.

Now for some exposition on cultivation. There are 100 levels of magic total, not that wizards know that. The first 10 levels are muggles and squibs. Muggles are incapable of using any form of magic, and don't have any resistance. Level 6 is a squib, a person who has enough magic to activate stronger magic items, such as portkeys and the Floo. Level 11 and above are actual wizards. Anyone at that level or above will be invited to Hogwarts when they're 11. Level 11-20 people are at the level of a magical student. Level 21-30 people are at the level of a magical adult. 31-40 are well trained adults. 41-50 are at the level where they start calling themselves Lords. Dumbledore and Voldemort are both at level fifty. My brain refuses to provide any information past that level.

Every ten levels of cultivation, there's a bottleneck that makes it difficult to progress. Wizards simply let their life progress and their magic grow naturally, hence why there are only two people in Britain who are at the fiftieth level. If they knew you could cultivate magic, the wizarding world would be far stronger.

Magical cultivation depends on your technique, and the level of magic in the surrounding area. Muggle locations are sparse in magic, while magical locations are more magical. Wizards have the ability to slowly take in magic passively, hence why they grow stronger with age. I myself have a basic cultivation technique, and have no idea how to get a better one.

My technique is based on posture. I need to get into the meditation stance, and remain in it perfectly for it to work well, otherwise, my progress will be very slow. As a baby, cultivation is not too difficult to find time for, since it's really all I can do other than sleep, so my level is already 3. When I grow up, it'll be much harder to find time for with social expectations and work piled onto me.

Now that the exposition is done, skip forward another three months, and I can now crawl, and sit up without help. While moving around is nice, I can't spend my time cultivating, as I need to keep my body strength at or above normal baby levels. I can't go around calling myself a cultivator if my body is weak, can I? Not that I will, because that would be dumb. My ears work now, and I can understand what this body's parents are saying. Thankfully, they speak English. I'm currently listening to their nearby conversation while I pretend to sleep while actually cultivating.

"I don't think it's natural, Jim, he's always up in that legs crossed meditation position. I thought it was cute when he did it once , but he's doing it all the time. Now he's doing it less because he can crawl, but..."

My mother pauses, as if she doesn't know what to say.

"I know, Elle, we've had this conversation before. Multiple times. He's a healthy boy, and if he has a habit that others don't, he's already above the lambs of society. It's nothing to worry about." My father is the kind of person who doesn't like how people listen to everything they hear on the radio, or believe everything they read. He thinks being weird means you're above the pack. I'm pretty sure he was bullied in school for being different. My mother sighs and leaves, and my father follows.

They seem like nice enough people, but they'll never replace my Mom and Dad as mom and dad. I have no particular attachment to them. Elle and Jim Penn are my new(ish) body's parents, so that makes me William Penn. Thankfully, my first name is the same as that of my old life.

Parental exposition done, skip forward six months. I can walk now. My firsts are always the quickest possible for a baby, so maybe Domain Guy left me something other than the ability to cultivate. Speaking of, I haven't advanced in cultivation at all. I don't have time to. I'm either moving around or sleeping. My parents seem to have forgotten about that little quirk of mine, so now my mother is more fond of me, and my father is less so. Boring.

Skip forward two years, I'm now fully capable of using a potty. No more humiliation for me (repress the memories! Repress!) I have gone outside for short walks with my parents multiple times now, and they've decided that I don't need preschool, my mother being jobless, or, how she likes to put it, a housewife, she can take care of me when my father is at work. I've reached the cultivation level of six recently. It's going to take longer for the next one.

Three years later, and, unfortunately, I'm right. I'm now six years old, and I'm at cultivation level seven. My cultivation speed is ungodly slow. Something needs to be done.

I hear a loud ping to my left, and turn to look at the source of the noise. I smile.