Activation

It has been ten months since I was reborn into this world. This period has been somewhat peculiar – not exactly difficult, but also not easy. Life as a baby is incredibly simple; the routine is basically sleep, eat, and... well, other needs. What really challenges me is the boredom. Even with the rewards from the lottery, I still spend long periods with not much to do.

During these ten months, I've kept myself busy learning the language of this world, which will grant me more autonomy when I am older. Another task has been performing good deeds, the "Good Deeds," but being a baby, my options for that are quite limited. However, I've learned that the better the good deed, the more positive energy I receive, which makes me eager to explore more once I have a bit more freedom.

Additionally, I've been putting effort into practicing rune and talisman creation. Of course, I still can't actually create talismans, as I don't have enough materials or energy to simulate the process. Being from the elite gives me certain privileges, but the toys and rewards I've received so far are nothing exceptional. They are more geared towards testing intelligence than providing fun or learning.

The place where I can truly practice freely is my Spiritual Ocean, specifically the "Spiritual Field." The soft ground of this field allows me to draw the runes with some ease, and I've made reasonable progress in my learning.

Another interesting discovery has been my ability to take objects I'm touching into my Spiritual Ocean. It's like a spatial ring, a powerful and practical storage tool. I haven't tested the limits yet, but if the limit is my Spiritual Ocean, then I have an enormous storage space.

But perhaps the most important part of these last months has been accumulating positive energy. Without missing a single day of Good Deeds, I've already accumulated 24 units of positive energy, all dedicated to constructing the "Great Talisman Formation." At first, I was a bit hesitant about whether I could focus solely on the "Absorption" rune, but by carefully controlling it with "High-Level Control," I realized I could channel the energy to activate this rune with relative ease.

And today, I am finally about to complete this part of the formation. With the twenty-fifth unit of positive energy in hand, I positioned myself before the formation book, observing the golden absorption rune floating around it. As I brought the energy closer, I saw the rune absorb its golden light. For a brief moment, it illuminated the Spiritual Ocean and then... remained silent. No activity.

"Will the rune only work with the complete formation?" I ask myself, feeling a slight rising irritation. I floated around the rune, trying to analyze if I had made any mistakes, but nothing concrete came to mind.

"It can't be a mistake. This rune was created based on the instructions of the book itself; the chance that something went wrong is practically null." I shake my head, dismissing this possibility. "And if it was the positive energy, the rune wouldn't have even been completed." I continue trying to find an answer, struggling against the discomfort of not fully understanding how the rune works.

"In the complete Talisman formation, there are supposed to be the Absorption, Storage, Refinement, Purification, and... Automation runes..." — suddenly, an idea shone in my mind. "Of course, that's it!"

"Automation... For this Absorption Rune to work autonomously, I need the Automation Rune. Without it, the energy absorption won't be continuous. This means, for now, I'll have to operate it manually." This understanding brought some relief. Now I knew what the next step was: to figure out how to control the Absorption Rune.

I approached the rune and tried to use the Analysis skill, but the information was vague: "Absorption Rune: Can be used to absorb the energy of the heavens and earth." No manipulation methods were revealed.

I touched the rune, but my fingers simply passed through it as if it were made of air.

"In my memories, there's no indication of how to manipulate this rune, but I know many runes respond to energy." Based on that, I directed the little positive energy I had left, which barely made up one unit.

As soon as the positive energy touched the rune, I felt an intimate connection, as if I were holding a remote control. And as though I had pressed a button, the rune began to spin slowly.

"It worked!" — I couldn't contain my satisfaction. But I noticed that the positive energy was being consumed rapidly, and a slight sense of weakness spread, similar to the complete use of the Analysis skill.

"Concentration. I need to activate the rune precisely." I directed all the remaining positive energy toward it, and then I felt an almost immediate change.

In my physical body, I was lying in the crib, at night, surrounded by toys, while some maids went about their tasks quietly in the room. From my Spiritual Ocean, I could feel everything around me.

Suddenly, a new energy began to flow toward me, something distinct from the positive energy, yet with an equally fascinating strength. The sensation of a flow moved through my body toward the Spiritual Ocean.

Soon, the positive energy I had been using to activate the rune was exhausted, and the rune stopped spinning. In front of it, a fragment of bluish energy appeared.

"So, this is the energy of the heavens and earth?" I looked closely at the floating bluish mass, impressed by the amount absorbed in such a short time — more than double the positive energy I had used. Even so, I realized that much more would still be needed to stabilize this energy to reach "one unit."

"Impressive... This energy is different from positive energy, less potent, but still special." Smiling, I tried to touch the energy, but it had no effect.

Suddenly, I realized something alarming. "The energy is dissipating... Not too quickly, but it will soon disappear." The function of the Storage Rune became clear to me. It was specifically designed to prevent this dissipation.

I applied the "High-Level Control" and felt the bluish energy respond to my command, halting the dissipation.

"Using high-level control for too long will exhaust me... I need to decide how to use this energy." Slowly, I guided the energy toward the rune, which began to spin again, absorbing energy from the heavens and earth once more. I noticed that, fortunately, the absorption was more efficient than the energy cost of activating the rune.

I continued manipulating the rune until I felt deep exhaustion. The rune finally stopped, and in front of me, a small orb of energy, the size of my head, formed.

"This amount... It's close to one unit of energy. It took about three hours of continuous absorption, but now I'm exhausted." I carefully controlled the orb to prevent it from dissipating.

Thinking about its applications, I concluded: "I can use it to create a talisman or try to transfer it to my physical body. However, the more prudent use would be to invest this energy in the formation to complete it. With the formation active, I'll be able to store and automate the absorption, and eventually reach Xiantian energy."

I hesitated for a moment to decide which rune was more important, but that doubt didn't last long. I determined that the "Automation" rune was more essential at the moment because I can only absorb one unit of energy from the heavens and earth per day before exhausting myself, and any energy gained will be used in the formation.

Storage will only be useful after completing Automation, which will be able to store the energy absorbed, preventing excessive strain on my body and perhaps even allowing me to absorb more than one unit of energy per day.

As soon as the formation absorbed the energy from the heavens and earth, the book emitted a blue glow, and a line began to extend, just like when I created the Absorption Rune.

"Well, looks like I'll have another long wait." I sighed, thinking about how, since my rebirth, I've spent almost all my time accumulating energy. "Will I ever experience something beyond this?