Unusual

My parents recovered soon enough and agreed to call me Linus. They told me it is a beautiful name.

Naturally, they also asked me how I could speak already.

I told them I just copied their words. Luckily, they are gullible enough to believe a child, especially their own.

It unnerves me how quickly they got over their suspicion, but it helped me in the end.

I asked for a tour of the house, and my mother gladly obliged. It has been a week since I was born, and Iris has only just recovered from the pregnancy. She wants to hold me and take me everywhere by herself.

The house is better than I initially thought. The 2nd floor has a room for my parents and a small guest room next to the room I woke up in.

The 1st floor has a living room, a kitchen, and a library.

Iris likes to read in her free time and has collected a substantial number of books over the years. I looked around and spotted a few encyclopedias that I'd use to obtain information later on.

There's a small garden behind the house that Athan uses for training...I think.

...

They treated me like an infant, so I wasn't allowed to go outside the house until a few months passed.

When I was finally carried around the city, I was greeted by a pleasant surprise.

The information that Z sent to my brain was incomplete. In Anastasios, the use of Spirit is as common as walking.

I can easily tell when someone is using Spirit, or not. It's as if their aura is calling out to me, urging me to reach out and grab it, making it my own.

I'll be able to check if that's a Blessing's perk when I turn five years old. That's essentially a child's 2nd birth. They're taken to a temple where a priest taps his staff on the ground and reveals the child's Spirit.

It took me two months to learn how to properly read without my mother's help.

A few people, mostly my parents' friends, came to visit and were surprised to see a year-old boy reading a book about the world's politics.

Regardless, I have learned a lot.

Syracruse has 7 cities.

The main city is Alder, where the Royal family and the crown reside. 

The King appoints five nobles to rule over five cities that border the country. These cities are the main strongholds in case an invasion takes place. 

Anastasios is the only city not ruled by aristocracy. 

Adventurers start as bronze rank, and work their way up - Silver, Gold, Platinum, Adamantium. The adventurers in the top two ranks come together to form a council that rules Anastasios from the shadows. 

Although, most Platinum and above adventurers are retired Knights, or talented nobles who didn't want to join the Knights. As a result, the aristocracy ends up having some influence anyway.

I began thinking about what Z had told me. This world had remained stagnant for over 400 years. That was when the First War ended...

He wants me to change the world, even an idiot would deduce that. 

Well, he never told me how to change the world, so I'm just going to do what I want. 

There's a few things on my mind. I do eventually want to join the Central Academy and work on building an army to challenge the aristocracy. But there are some cogs I need to move before that. 

A plan began forming inside my head as I pretended to read the same book for hours. 

I intentionally left the plan full of holes. The minute details can be ironed out once I gain more information and see the entire world with my own eyes. 

The biggest obstacle though, is the Monsters.

According to 'Syracruse for Dummies', there are an uncountable number of species of Monsters. Most of them reside in Teras, the Demon country. 

Teras used to be ruled by a Demon King, who was killed by the first Five Heroes. After that incident, the inside workings of Teras are unknown. 

From time to time, say every 15 years, a horde of Monsters emerges from that country to attack every living being on the planet. This phenomenon is called Stampede. That is why Knights and Heroes are still needed. 

No one knows how those Monsters are born and can grow in size so quickly. Every time someone tries to get close to Teras, a poison fills the air and kills them. It's a true mystery.

I can't expect any plan to go smoothly if a Stampede is going to occur so frequently. 

The King thinks it's better to hold and prepare for the attack that we know is coming, instead of invading an unknown place to deal with the source. That's why the Knights aren't allowed to leave the country.

I do want to explore the outside world, so I'll have to become an Adventurer. The thing is, the youngest adventurer ever was 17 years old. And I have to enter the Central Academy at 16. 

Meaning I have to convince them to accept me as capable enough to defend myself when I'm 12 years old.

I have to build trust and connections.

A tough task, but not impossible. 

...

Another year as passed, and I am now two years old. My 'training' starts today. In translation, that means a child gets to swing a stick around.

Athan was standing behind me, explaining how to swing the stick around. 

"First, you need to make sure your posture is correct so you don't hurt yourself. Always swing away from you." 

I think he was 'dumbing' down the instructions for a kid. Iris was looking through a window with a nervous expression. I'm holding a stick so thin I could break it in half, what is she worried about...

Once I got the signal to proceed, I swung. I also took a step in the same breath and tumbled forward onto the ground.

Well, I never swung a sword in my past life, so I'm not surprised. 

The training went on for about two hours before my father had to leave for work. He works at a field owned by the current Guild Master. I'm told they're friends, and Athan gets paid a decent amount. Well, he has his savings from when he was a successful adventurer, so I'm sure we'll be fine.

By the end, I was able to take 3-4 swings without falling. This small body is quite annoying and gets tired easily.

Iris came out to say goodbye and bring me back inside. 

"One more, mother? Please?" I asked.

"Eh...well, I don't see a problem with one more..."

Dear mother, your child is manipulating you. Be stronger.

I wanted to take another swing because I wanted to try out calling forth my Spirit. 

An inkling inside me told me that it would work. So, I focused on my chest, gathering energy. When I felt something dense, I scattered it across my body. 

A spark, followed by a flow. I could feel it. 

White spots decorated a black canvas, and followed where I wanted them to go.

Then, I tried guiding them to the stick I was holding. 

I felt ants crawling on my arms and onto the stick. But as soon as they made contact, I felt the entirety of my Spirit disappear. 

Thinking I had botched it due to lack of concentration, I took a swing of defeat to throw the stick on the ground.

But...my swing turned into a slash and slightly scorched the earth.

It was weak, extremely weak, but I noticed it. 

The weapon never made contact with the grass, and it was cut nevertheless. 

The stick never hit the ground, yet there was smoke clearly visible to the naked eye.

As I held my mother's hand, and walked back inside with a tired expression, I mentally face palmed myself.

That damn God...he made me unusual.

I can influence the Spirit outside my body.