-Back to the present-
Desmond's gaze shifted between his father's handsome features, reminiscent of the charismatic protagonists in Japanese novels, and his elder sister, a stunning beauty akin to their mother. In that moment, realization dawned upon him, and he understood.
"Hi there, my little boy," Bastian cooed, cradling Desmond in his arms and pulling funny faces in an attempt to elicit laughter. However, Desmond remained silent, his eyes fixed and unblinking.
Should I cry or laugh? he pondered. His father's face failed to evoke any amusement; instead, a surge of unsettling memories flooded his mind.
"Huh? Honey, what's wrong with our baby? Why isn't he reacting?" Leona's bewildered gaze darted between Bastian and the unresponsive Desmond.
"What are you doing, honey?! Get the maids! I need to prepare a healing spell myself!" Panic laced Leona's voice as she fretted, her weakened condition preventing her from snatching the baby from Bastian's arms.
Bastian, sensing his wife's distress, swiftly placed the baby back beside her, as if Desmond was about to devour him. He hurriedly called for assistance, summoning the crew to notify the maids of the situation.
Meanwhile, Desmond began to grasp the challenges of being a baby. Unable to force himself to laugh or cry, he realized he had to try, for the sake of his next life.
Is it an "uwu" or a "huwaa"? Maybe both? Ugh, let's go with all of them, he mused. Eventually, a resounding cry reverberated throughout the room. However, the expressions on his parents' faces grew more distressed.
"What's happening now?! Why does his crying sound so peculiar?!" Bastian turned around, his gaze fixed on his wife, who emitted an icy aura.
"What have you done, honey?!" Leona cradled her baby in her arms, a mixture of concern and terror etched on her face as she noticed the crimson hue of Desmond's face.
How embarrassing! Desmond wished he were deaf, sparing himself the shame of his bizarre wailing.
The situation quickly devolved into chaos. While his parents frantically attended to him, Desmond, mentally exhausted, found solace in slumber. Comfortably nestled in his position, he slept soundly throughout the day.
...
The next morning, as the sun rose and cast its radiant rays through the room's window, the intense light startled Desmond, momentarily blinding him. A wave of warmth washed over his body, compelling him to open his eyes.
Desmond stared in astonishment at his surroundings. The sunlight, streaming through the small windows, directly bathed him. He felt as though his body had been sun-dried for an eternity.
"My lady, look! He's alive!" The voice reached Desmond's ears, and he couldn't help but turn his head to the side. He beheld his mother's pale face, streaked with tears.
"My baby!" Leona dismissed the maid with a gentle push, rushing to her child. Her lips moved silently, murmuring incantations. A magical circle materialized out of thin air, hovering above Desmond.
The magic circle emitted a vibrant green light that enveloped Desmond's body, instantly refreshing his overheated form. As the soothing energy coursed through him, he felt a peculiar resonance igniting deep within his core.
What in the hell just happened? Do they think I was already dead?! Desmond was in a state of shock, unable to wrap his mind around the bewildering scene before him.
Not only had a mysterious circle appeared, revitalizing his body, but they had also assumed he had perished simply because he had slept through the day?!
An overwhelming surge of information bombarded Desmond all at once, leaving him in a daze. Amidst his confusion, he overheard snippets of his parents' conversation, catching phrases like "leaving" and "the border." In the face of this bewildering situation, Desmond knew there was only one course of action.
"System, scan the surrounding area," he commanded, hoping for some clarity. However, the subsequent display on the screen momentarily furrowed his brow before a wave of relief washed over him.
[ERROR | Reason: System still upgrading]
[Time Left: 5 seconds]
[Time Left: 1 second]
[Upgrade Complete!]
[Creating a Task.
Used 1 Slot
Status: Working 0%]
[Working 50%]
[Status: Completed]
[Saving to Database …]
[Data Saved!]
A screen materialized in front of Desmond, presenting a mini-map complete with a blue dot symbolizing his current location. But this time, the surrounding terrain was depicted in shades of blue, suggesting the presence of water.
Upon closer inspection, Desmond noticed a few tildes marking specific areas on the map.
The blue terrain signifies water, and the blue dot represents my location, he deduced.
After a cursory examination of the map, Desmond's attention shifted to the system upgrade.
"An upgrade. System, can you display any changelogs or provide information about new features?" Desmond inquired.
[Change logs: (new function) Spell list || (updated) Status information]
Gazing at the translucent screen, Desmond was slightly taken aback. Thankfully, he possessed basic knowledge gleaned from the novels he had read and some familiarity with technology.
However, the more he used the system, the more curious he became about its creator and the privileges that granted him access to such a system.
For now, let's set that aside and explore the new feature: Spell list, Desmond commanded.
The presence of the spell list function must have been triggered by witnessing his mother's magical display.
To his surprise, however, the screen remained blank, save for the words "Spell list" displayed at the top. It seemed he needed to acquire spells for this function to become functional.
Moving on to the final option, Desmond focused on the status update.
[Scanning Host Body…]
[Scan Complete!]
[-Status-
Name: Desmond
Gender: Male
Age: 1 day
Race: Human
Class: None
Occupation: None
Unique Energy: 0.27
[NEW!] Strength: 0.36
[NEW!] Agility: 0.36
[NEW!] Stamina: 0.36
[NEW!] Trait Effect:
Selfishness (Unique) (Self-Growth)
- Increase Strength, Agility, and Stamina +20% during battles
- Increase Unique Energy Gathering Rate +0.003
- Decrease effectiveness of shared abilities by 10%]
Wow, that's a lot of new updated stats. I even have information about my trait effects now, he mused.
When he examined the values of his new attributes, such as stamina, agility, and strength, he wondered whether they were default values or based on his current capabilities.
Desmond, curious about the modifiers "Unique" and "Self-Growth" associated with his trait, sought further clarification from the system to ensure his understanding was accurate.
"System, can you provide an explanation regarding the traits Unique and Self-Growth?" Desmond queried, seeking a clearer understanding of their significance.