Overcome with glee Donis didn't even care that he had caught something disastrous. He couldn't care less that he was dry-heaving every other breath, or the fact that he could barely contain his bowels. He was overjoyed at the wonderful vision that was the [EXP] bar clearly showing his progress in absolutely everything.
His family all rushing hurriedly, trying their best to keep Donis from getting worse. He had a high fever and his family thought he was probably delirious because he wouldn't stop laughing. Korrin and Morissa were dumbfounded at the sight of their clearly beet red baby gurgling with joy. It's as if the babes spirit could never be brought down. It gave Korrin an odd sense of pride.
[Inspect 2/5] – [1,300/40,000 EXP]
[Immune System 2/20] – [533/2,000 EXP]
[Breath Training 2/10] – [9,220/10,000 EXP]
[Pain Resistance 3/50] – [2,450/4,000 EXP]
And the one he was looking forward to the most, his overall level.
[Level:1] – [500/5,000 EXP]
'Huh.. I didn't actually expect to have gained so much experience. It looks like I get one hundred [EXP] every time my abilities level up too,' Donis thought. Not the most shocking revelation, but it was welcomed. He had found a way to level up without potentially killing monsters and putting himself in mortal danger.
His mind now momentarily satisfied has gone back to its usual fervour of training. He has decided against actively drinking more mud water, though. Even with the [EXP] bar, levelling up won't be easy. It just fulfilled Donis's need for visual validation that he was indeed progressing.
'Hmm.. My breath training is about to level up, I'll focus on that for now. System, can you change the numerical value of my [EXP] to show percentages?' thought Donis. While the exact value is nice and all, percentages are easier to understand at a glance. This to Donis was just a preference too, nothing more.
The next six months weren't much of note to Donis. Outside of his [Breath Training 2/10] hitting it's next level, nothing had progressed much further. His [Immune System 2/20] had went from 37% to 68% after fully healing from his self inflicted illness. He was bored. No new quests had popped up, no new skills to be understood or gained. Even his sisters had calmed down. Until a day in the middle of the Sunas season, Donis's first birthday had finally arrived.
The house was abuzz with life and the ever growing fanaticism of Donis's mother for her baby boy. She was almost casting after-images of herself while running between different counters in the kitchen, preparing the best confectioneries that she could make. They had been preparing for this day all week! Morissa in no way would let this joyous occasion pass without some sort of celebration.
Donis was lost in a train of thought as the events around him unfolded. In the fragmented memories, he held no concept of love. This didn't bother him much, but now he was showered in it daily by these people he has come to call parents. It's not like he was growing overly attached to them, but Donis mused that maybe due to his still developing baby brain, he might have gotten more used to the idea of having parents.
He has yet to truly accept them, but he wasn't going to refuse them of their advances to cradle and baby him. Being quite literally pampered had its perks. After being set down on the ground once more, Donis began walking around the house haphazardly. His strength not quite up to par with what he had wanted to get out of this baby body. Yet he still quickly arrived to his favourite place in the house.
His father's study was a beautifully and meticulously kept treasure trove for Donis. The map on the wall behind his father's chair showed him the planet they were on, subtly betraying to technological or at least the exploratory power of the inhabitants of Erazar. To have a detailed map was either a commodity, or a luxury. Donis couldn't really figure out which yet, as his father did seem well off, but nothing to truly give away their wealth.
After studying the map for many days, it was imprinted into Donis's mind. They were on the planet Erazar, in the continent of Erazaria. He thought the planet may have been named by the original inhabitants of Erazaria. Donis had nothing to really go off of, but it was just an idea that made sense to him. There was another continent with large country sized islands floating around it called Almousia.
Unfortunately that was the only information he could truly infer from the map. He had no idea where on either of the continents he was right now. The room donned a mysterious shroud of frustration to Donis. It was full of information, but Donis had access to the most minute amounts. He had to piece information little by little when his father would bring home different trinkets.
This was a slow trickle of information that Donis lapped up greedily. Using [Inspect] on everything. So many questions had started piling up in his mind that he was starting to become overly frustrated at just how different this world truly was. His father had brought in many items that glowed, or hummed, or even emanated an aura of its own.
Each and every time his father received such items, he would go into his study with some tools that Donis had never seen before. Korrin would usually emerge after two or three hours each time, with the item being under a cloth, or in a sack of some sorts. That is until one day his father received a pendant.
[Essence of Protection –
Rare –
Effects: Elemental Protection Intermediate, Physical Protection Basic]
-[100 EXP] Gained-
-[Inspect 2/5] Level Up! Mid way Upgrade Available. Do you Wish to View the Options? Y/N-
Donis was visibly excited. 'Exp, inspect level up and an upgrade?? YES,' Donis spoke, unable to hold back his excitement. He was almost giddy in anticipation, finding himself addicted to the euphoric feeling of gaining new skills.
-[Inspect] has Reached the Halfway Point. The Options it can Upgrade to are as Follows.
[Greater Inspect], [Ocular Inspection], [Sage Inspect].
Which Does the [User] Choose-
Donis read over these names and was perplexed. Greater inspect probably just increased the amount of info, but wasn't ocular inspection already what he was doing? Donis willed the [System] to cascade a window with an explanation underneath each skill upgrade.
[Greater Inspect: Information to the [User] cannot be obstructed, or tampered with unless the other being Inspected also has Greater Inspect.]
[Ocular Inspection: The [User] can now see currents of mana, patterns in enemies, and mana generated by other beings.]
[Sage Inspect: The [User] will have a profound and an intricate understanding of each and every object that has been scanned by Sage Inspect.]
'Holy shit these are overpowered,' was the only conclusion Donis could come to. There was so much to consider in these three upgrades. There is no safe option here for Donis to even fall back to if he couldn't make a decision.
Donis decided that it wasn't the best decision to decide immediately. He closed the status window and began pondering the ramifications of each ability. He was currently sitting down in the kitchen beside his mother, no longer playing with his toys. He sat there with his hand up to his chin lost deep in thought as his mother slowly closed in.
Picking him up suddenly she blew raspberries into his exposed tummy. Donis was forcefully ripped out of his thoughts, he began shouting out of shock. To Morissa they were the sweet sounds of a baby enjoying the fast twirls his mother was dancing in. A picturesque image of a mother and child.
"Making such a serious face! It's far too early for such a beautiful boy to be making such a sour face, don't turn into Korrin just yet sweetie!" Morissa cooed mockingly towards Korrin who had just walked through the door at the sound of Donis shouting. His face turned from a mild worry to a complete blank stare, feeling a mild aura of contempt emanate from his wife.
"Morissa, I don't make a sour face that often.." Korrin said sourly. With a snort Morissa patted Korrins shoulder and assured him she was joking. Trying to steer from the growingly embarrassing conversation, Korrin informed Morissa that he was going on a small work trip to a town a day away to work on a military item. He couldn't say what it was, but that he'd be paid handsomely, and be back in two days.
Donis couldn't pick out everything, but he'd been fervently learning the language they spoke. He still didn't know what language it was, but he was making progress. Able to pick out most of the conversation, he knew his dad was leaving for work. Wanting to be taken with, he jumped out of Morissas hands and ran to Korrin shouting, "Dad, take me!" Korrin kneeling down to Donis put on his best comforting smile he could and gently told Donis that once he was five, he'd take him to where he works.
"Donis sweetie, you're still too young for me to take you, I hope you understand but what I do is dangerous for kids!" Korrin said, making a large X with his arms. Donis understanding his father's intentions, backed down, but not before making a small scene to show his displeasure. "Kids, what do they know of danger," laughed Korrin, looking up at Morissa. "Like father like son, they always say," sighed Morissa, kissing him.
After a tumultuous week for Donis's mind, he had finally decided on the upgrade while once again sitting in his father's study.
'System, I choose [Ocular Inspection]'
With the thought finished, the familiar euphoric feeling of knowledge trickled into his mind. An odd sensation gathered around his eyes, slowly heating up. It first began with the world gaining a slight blue hue, then a few lights flickering into existence surrounding him. Then a tall being displayed a bright glow emanating from the depths of their person, even through the kitchen wall.
He could see the light white glow of people even through walls, giving him an almost surveillance like ability. He deemed the person like glow was his mother, as it was definitely her height, and she was the only parent in the house right now.
There were other unexpected changes in Donis's vision. He could see hot spots and cold spots. 'Did I just gain thermal vision?' Donis thought. With excitement growing, he let his little mind race ahead and come up with scenarios in which he'd use them in the future. Bandits cloaking themselves in some sort of mana dampening clothes and still being able to see them through their body heat giving them away. He was ecstatic!
But there was a small problem with it all. He figured out all of these by himself, but there was one thing he couldn't figure out. What does a red glow mean? It glowed brightly in the smithy outside the house.
-[Growth-Quest: Discover the source of the red glow. Reward: [25SP] + Variable Reward]-
Donis had read this quest over and over trying to figure out how the [System] deemed it a growth quest. Following the logic the quest [System] showed before, Donis concluded that the [System] knew what it was and determined it to be beneficial.
'The system would never put me in harms way, right?' Donis thought, uncertainty growing.
With his mother distracted, Donis began slowly walking out the front door. He had been allowed to play in the front garden for a while, as long as one of his sisters was with him. This time he'd try to sneak out and see for himself what this red glow was. It was enchanting, as if a beckoning whisper was forcing Donis to move forward.
The smithy was slowly beginning to envelop Donis's view entirely, the doorway now in front of him. He could hear a faint but an almost haunting humming coming from within. He pushed past his beating heart and closed in. He could see the intensity of the red glow concentrate into a smaller shape the closer he got. He peeked around the corner where the glow was the strongest, and saw it. With his throat tightening, struggling to swallow, a shallow rasp could be heard coming from the babe.
'A.. a dying bird?'
-Growth-Quest: Completed! Reward: [25SP] + [Soul Bond Summoning]-