-6 months later-
I am now at the (Pristine-Sienna) level. I have also grown a lot in the past 6 months. Not only have I grown as much as a regular baby would, but I have also accelerated my growth with healing magic.
It looks like my theory about healing magic was correct. Healing magic did in fact accelerate normal body conditions and even at such a low level could make me grow almost 1.5 times as fast.
With all this new growth, my body is that of a 9-month-old. This means I can finally walk and talk without the help of magic. The first time I said a word to my parents, they were over the moon.
What was my first word you ask? Well, instead of choosing between mommy or daddy, I decided to go the neutral route of saying an equally easy-to-say word, "Happy." This way neither of my parents were disappointed I chose one over the other.
My first words had been a few weeks ago, and by now I was a frequent speaker. I still made sure to use easy words though. Imagine if a baby started talking like an adult from the moment its vocal cords developed, it would be mayhem.
It also helped that I didn't know the pronunciation of this language very well, and some of the mistakes I made to seem more like a baby were real. My grandmother was also very happy when I spoke my first words, but she also seemed a bit suspicious of me.
It was understandable, but also a bit tedious how I had to act so carefully around her. Acting had never been one of my strong suits, I was much more of a STEM kid. I wondered if my grandmother was worried that I was possessed or something, but I didn't think she would do anything.
While thinking about ways to fool my grandmother, my mind went down a rabbit hole. Was I too strong? I was only 6 months old yet stronger than most people on the planet. At this rate of progression wouldn't I be the strongest on the planet by 10? Well, that's an over-exaggeration, but the idea is there.
'Don't worry Alex, the road of cultivation is not that easy. There will be many bottlenecks and obstacles you will have to overcome.'
That wasn't very comforting. I would rather take the easy route, thank you.
'One more thing Alex, you just got a new quest.'
< ------ >
Daily Quest: What is a Mage without physical capabilities?
Details: You are now ready for your daily quests, Horray! These are quests you have every day. This daily quest will help you better your body and mind. Remember, the daily quests are all optional, but work to your benefit.
Requirements: 10 minutes of meditation, 10 modified pushups, 10 crunches, 10 meter run PS: You cannot use magic to help you with any of these.
Rewards: You strengthen your mind and body. 1 System Point.
Punishment upon failure: You will fail whenever met with a mental or physical challenge because you are too weak.
Time-Limit: Until Midnight.
< ------ >
'I would recommend you do this.'
It seemed easy enough and doable. It was probably to my benefit to do anyway, not to mention the extra bonus from the system. This was another thing I had yet to test out. Recovering from a workout with healing magic.
The quest was probably a bit much for me to do all at once, so I decided to split it up throughout the day. I did the run in the morning, which was actually very exhausting without magic to strengthen me, but I could heal the fatigue away.
Then I would do the push-ups and crunches, using healing to accelerate my growth, and finally meditation and bedtime for maximum effect. A downside of the routine was that I had to eat a lot more though, both the exercise and growth from healing magic took up a lot of energy and nutrients.
I was also put on a diet of food and mashed foot a little after my teeth came out. It was a horrible, incessant pain, but I had managed to suffer past it. I also explored the shop for the first time since I had gotten it.
I had forgotten to check it out until now. The first thing I noticed about the shop was the prices. Almost everything was over 100 points, but I only had 12 to my name. Browsing through the shop I could see why it was so expensive.
The shops contained all types of skills and proficiencies that could come in extremely handy. There were things such as pain and fatigue tolerance that would come in really handy, but there was also stuff such as cooking and calligraphy that could be used in everyday life.
The stuff here was pretty useful so I would make sure to complete the daily quest and save up points.
That was how I got into the routine of doing the quest, cultivating, reading, and playing with the maids and staff at the house. Mentioning the staff, I should probably introduce them. There was the butler and right-hand man of my father, Fred, a slightly older man who seemed very knowledgeable and wise.
Fred oversaw the state of affairs at the house along with the housekeeper, Linda, who was his wife. There was then the kitchen and gardening staff I had rarely seen and the maids. There were 15 maids in total in the house. I didn't know all of their names, but they all obeyed the head maid, Mia.
Mia was the "boss" of all the maids, but more of just like a manager. The staff, which included all maids, chefs, and gardeners, were then all under the command of Fred and Linda, who would be his substitute when Fred was busy. All these staff were then employed by my father, the lord.
There were many levels to workers in the manor. In general, all the staff was really nice and kind and seemed to enjoy their work. I had to commend them for being so skilled at their jobs.
It was with the help of all these people I was able to go out. Without them constantly watching over me I would have never been able to go out this early. Now I could go out every single day the weather was nice. I managed to explore a lot more of the estate this way.
I started going outside after I started talking. I was able to ask the adults a lot more about the world and current events. From what they told me it was a peaceful time with the only threats being the rare beast hordes.
After being cooped up in one room for so long, the outside was a nice change of pace even if I couldn't do anything yet. My young body could only do so much. It looked like a lot of waiting had to be done before true freedom.