73 A Different Path

"I still can't believe it. Are you really fine, baby?" A man attentively looked at his daughter's vitals as she sat up on her bed. Body temperature, blood pressure, normal breathing patterns, she was in perfect health from a normal person's standpoint. But that was what both excited and worried the man and his wife who was preparing to call the doctor on the side.

"Yes, daddy. I think so?" Emilia who was about to say, 'I swear', hurriedly swallowed her words and pretended to act like a normal ten-year-old kid. She felt it awkward to do this, but the memories from her younger self did make it easier to act as a normal child would act. After all, she was a child just yesterday.

She was still in her bedroom, sitting up on her bed while her parents watched over her intently. She hasn't even changed out of her yellow, banana pajamas before she was being checked up by her parents. Her mother had her own sleepwear on while her father only wore his boxers. They seemed to be too focused on their daughter's circumstances to care.

"You look beautiful today, mommy! And daddy is handsome today too!" She was happy to finally interact with her parents again, but she had forgotten how overprotective they were when she was younger. What she did recall, was that her parents were weak to compliments.

'I see. That's how it is.' When the two heard their daughter's words, they quickly thought of a possibility.

They were still asleep. It made sense, their daughter was in perfect health, she was giving them compliments and their hearts were feeling quite full right now. This was definitely a dream, a very good dream.

"Oh, honey. You look pretty today, too! Look at you!" James couldn't help but be happy at how cheerful his little baby was today. Even if it was just a dream, he wanted this dream to last forever. He didn't care about his back and hurriedly raised Emilia into the air as if she was five years younger.

"Carefu- Oh, never mind." Meanwhile, Lane was visibly worried about James for a second before holding back her thoughts. Since it was a dream, she'd rather not spoil her dream husband's happiness. But it all changed when James quickly placed Emilia down and placed a hand on his back.

"Ahh! Ah. Ah. It hurts. Wait, it hurts?" James who was looking at his cute daughter's puzzled face and his wife's rather worried expression quickly pinched Lane in the cheek with little force.

"Ow! What's that for, you dummy!" Lane quickly took her revenge and pinched James' waist in retaliation. This ended up with the couple playfully flirting with each other in front of their daughter.

"Pfft. Haha." The two were already in a flirty mood when it suddenly clicked in their heads. Their daughter was laughing while they could experience pain. This wasn't a dream, this was reality.

But then again, their current circumstances were pretty drastic as well. In fact, it could be considered as impossible to happen since, in Emilia's parents' thoughts, nothing really happened to cause this. Who would believe that their bed-ridden little girl would suddenly have her consistently bad health turn to normal in the span of a night?

What's more suspicious was that she wasn't just healthy, she even seemed to be an example of peak health. It was as if her body that was dying, for the lack of a better word, suddenly found the will to live. A miracle that Emilia's parents, James and Lane Halsey, had longed for all these years.

"Honey! This isn't a dream, is it?" James embraced Lane with tears in his eyes. He couldn't believe his own thoughts because he had already experienced this before, multiple times. But those times always ended one way, with him waking up.

"Babe, I think it's real. I think our baby girl is finally fine!" Lane wept in James' arms as the two shared a moment together. Their embrace didn't last long as they took Emilia into their arms and the three shared a group hug together.

'Oh, mom and dad. What happened to you two?' Emilia's eyes scanned his parents' faces and she couldn't help but tear up as well. She could still remember the fresh faces of these two from when she first arrived in the past.

The two were only in their thirties, James was thirty-seven and Lane was thirty-five years old. But while the two could be considered in their peak, there were already traces of white streaks on their hairs. A proof of their deep care that caused Emilia's heart to ache. They deserved better, and she would make sure they get better.

....

'Toph, what's my status?' Zel, having left home to go to a nearby store, inquired while trying to familiarize himself with his body. He walked out of the house wearing a pair of black shorts and a white hoodie, simply sporting some flat slippers on his feet. He just wanted to have some time alone so he could properly assess his situation.

Those looking at him walk from afar were bothered with how strange that young boy was walking. He would walk normally, then immediately walk with only one foot moving, hopping around like an idiot. Then he'd start walking normally again, before hopping once more, but this time, he used his other foot.

Sometimes, he would stop moving and bend down and try to reach his toes with his hands. Although he could force it, there was some resistance from the back of his legs. A sign of his flexibility being too low, and training was needed. There was nothing worse than an unhealthy body when handling mana. In mild cases, those who have unhealthy bodies won't get to exercise their full potential.

Meanwhile, in more serious cases, the body was more susceptible to overreaching and exploded from the stress caused by mana. It wasn't something that can be done by just anyone, especially children like Zel and Emilia. It was why they only let young Charles and little Tina practice using their abilities until they were tired. Too much strain would cause more harm than good for their young bodies.

(Here, my Lord.) Toph's voice rang inside Zel's head as the ring on his finger trembled. Her new home might have less space provided for her, but she was now seeing much more than she could ever see in the Tower. Zel had allowed her access to his whole body, so she could sense what he senses. The trust given to Toph was so great that it was scary, but this only made Toph want to prove her loyalty and effectiveness to Zel further.

"Brrr." A sucking force came from the Ring of Eternity that made Zel's body shiver. His face couldn't help but turn pale from the sudden absorption of mana, but he didn't feel too dizzy to cause any disturbances. Soon after the incident, a screen appeared on Zel's vision while the mana core in his chest spun once while pale, white energy swirled around in its inner most center.

[Basic Status:

Name: Zel Huertazuela   Gender: Male

Race: Human   Age: 10 Years Old

Physical Body Grade - F  Mind Palace Grade - F

Soul Grade - B-   System Functionality Grade - F

Time Energy: 2/550  Mana: 20/1000

Kingdom Points: 0   Dimension Points: 0

(Synchronization: 13%)]

'This is way more powerful that I thought, so the dizziness is because the body had no mana. Not because it couldn't handle mana?' Zel wondered about the possible reasons for his increase in initial stats. But then he recalled that the system wasn't just improved in its functions, it was also made personally for him.

'Toph, what's the situation in my mind palace?' Zel was now wondering if his mind palace was also left in a better state than he thought it would.

(It's as you have hypothesized, Lord Tiger. The space is unstable and needs time and mana to stabilize. You would need to use some of the stored crystals to speed up the repair. Would you like me to compile an estimated cost and time requirement based on the most efficient option?) But unlike the pleasant surprise he got from the system and the mana core, his assumptions regarding his mind palace was still accurate.

"Alright. Get it done." Zel was still stretching his body while walking, pushing his arms out gently while bending his neck at multiple angles. Popping sounds came from all over his body while he felt some points feel better. Nothing beats a good stretch in the morning, and it usually ends with a signal. "Yawn. Alright! I'm ready!"

(Generating Report Progress - 1% - estimated time to completion: 5 minutes, 12 seconds)

The screen on Zel's vision moved to the side when he doesn't focus on it. But when he asked Toph to do something for him, and he wants to see it for himself, they become centered and he could read the contents on the screen. Convenient intelligent managers are so handy that Zel was mentally patting himself on the back for his decision to create Toph.