'Why?'
I didn't know, but what I did know was that the current me was incapable of finding out that truth, and rather than dwelling on these things, I must focus on how to deal with the upcoming crisis.
Based on what was written in the novel, I understood that my mother was a love-sick, brain-dead woman who was completely hooked by that perpetrator; he had long been eyeing her and harboring resentment towards my father.
It was as if the fate of me and my family was already set in stone from the moment my parents joined the guild, Silver Fire.
'And here I thought that this time I would have a stable, peaceful start.'
Just thinking about it made me sigh.
While I wasn't someone who would blindly believe everything written in that novel, the scarcity of information left me with little choice, and naturally, I wouldn't risk my future on uncertain details.
I had to assume the worst-case scenario and plan carefully based on it to avoid letting the plot repeat itself for me, but things didn't end there; I had to also think about the future.
'If I recall correctly, my mother will take me away secretly on my fourth birthday, and that will be the best opportunity I will have to escape her clutches. But once I somehow escape from her, then what?'
Lost in thought, my contemplation reached a dead end, and my little brows furrowed.
I understood that without any identity, strength, or place to go, I would be like an open vault, waiting to be robbed. Then, my fate would not be much different from Lunar's in the novel.
'But how do I overcome this situation? What should I do? Where should I go? Orphanages are impossible; most of them are shady, and there's no guarantee what would happen there, but there's also no other place I can remember that is suitable for me.'
Once independent, I would require a new identity, a secure dwelling, a mentor to train me, and then the support of a strong person or family who would be willing to invest a lot of resources in me.
Furthermore, to use future knowledge to secure all the opportunities for myself, I would need to grow up as fast as I could and be capable enough to snatch those opportunities before others could.
'Even to manipulate and exploit people for my own benefit, I need a legitimate identity to approach them. But where do I get such an identity?'
I immersed myself in deep thought, fully aware that finding an instant solution to my predicament was unlikely.
Therefore, I was not dejected; instead, I continued to contemplate daily with a calm mind, gradually recalled bits and pieces of detailed information from the novel, and then compared them with my current situation, trying to figure out a solution.
Time flowed steadily, and it was several months later that I, on this particular day, finally devised a feasible plan that, if executed well, would benefit me immensely in the future.
'That's it.'
I cheered in my heart, feeling like a huge burden had fallen off my shoulders.
'Letting her adopt me is the best choice.'
There was no possibility of saving my current family, so I directly abandoned them in my heart, and although I felt pity for my father, that was it.
'Weakness is an original sin. If you are not strong, your life will be at the mercy of the strong.'
That was why I would do anything to become the Eternal Sovereign, but I knew that to achieve my goal, I had to seize every opportunity, so this time I wanted to turn this crisis into a fortune and establish a solid foundation for my future.
Still, letting that woman adopt me would not be easy.
'I am now one and a half years old, and I still have about two and a half years left. I have to awaken my mana at all costs, learn to use my characteristic psychokinesis, and then find a way to somehow get to 'that woman's' house.'
The typical age for a normal person with a talent for mana to awaken in this world was about 8–10 years, and while there were cases of some geniuses' pre-awakening, that was an extremely rare scenario.
Even the pre-awakening through external means by rich people for their kids was done when the child was at least 6-7 years old and had the basic mental maturity to operate mana.
'Fortunately, I am more than a hundred years old and also have the experience of handling 'Aura' from my previous life in the world of Swordcraft.'
However, even with these advantages, pre-awakening mana proved easier said than done, especially without the aid of expensive drugs and considering my body's below-average talent.
It took me a whole year to just sense the mana floating in the air and another half a year to convey my will to these tiny grains of mana and make them move.
Nevertheless, no matter how hard I tried, I wasn't able to attract these grains towards myself, but I wasn't disappointed either. I had long anticipated this outcome, and my heart was stable like an immovable mountain.
I sat cross-legged on my bed and continued to focus.
In the passing months, while I maintained a facade of a normal life, cleverly allocating time to practice in my room, another six months elapsed.
Finally, on this particular day, my diligence paid off as a single grain of mana in the air collided with my body, getting absorbed in it.
'Success!'
The first collision was like the beginning of a chain reaction, because after that, the same phenomenon happened over and over again as the drifting grains of mana gathered around me and infiltrated my body little by little.
With beads of sweat on my forehead and the slow pace of the mana grains caused by my below-average talent, I persisted without pause.
'Continue...'
I fell deeper into concentration, pushed myself to the limit, and forced the mana grains to move steadily inside my body.
It took me hours, but before the first morning sunlight could illuminate my room, I was finally able to complete the first circulation of those mana grains throughout my body.
Nonetheless, I didn't stop and continued my actions until I heard a mechanical, gender-neutral voice in my head and multiple blue, translucent, mobile-game notification-like screens appeared in my vision.
[You have successfully 'awakened' your 'Mana']
[The condition is met.]
[A status window is created.]
[Characteristic detected]
[The Characteristic is successfully unsealed.]
[Congratulations on a successful awakening!]
[You can check your status window by simply calling 'status window']
The notification screens and the status window that appeared in front of me weren't cheats like those protagonists had in novels back on Earth, but were actually messages from the Abyss that everyone received once they awakened.
Of course, no one in the world knew about this fact, except for the protagonist and a few other people at the moment.
As for why?
That was a topic for later.
For the moment, I chose to call my status window.
"At last! Status window."
———[Status]———
➤ [Identity: Lunar White]
➤ [Race: Human]
➤ [Path: N/A]
➤ [Strength: 2]
➤ [Agility: 2]
➤ [Physique: 2]
➤ [Mana: 1]
➤ [Spirit: 34]
➤ [Rank: N/A]
➤ [Characteristic: Psychokinesis]
——————————
Looking at the floating status window that appeared in my vision, I barely suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out.
The status window was short and simple, reminding one of something out of a game, and there wasn't much on it since most of the things weren't activated or achieved.
Compared to the average stats of an ordinary adult male that were around 8, even my stats, except for the Spirit, all looked shabby, but I didn't care.
The most important things that I needed for the time being—Mana and Psychokinesis—were finally available to me.
Nonetheless, there weren't many emotional fluctuations in my heart; even the initial excitement had waned. I knew that awakening mana was only the first step in the long, arduous journey toward my goal, which had just begun.
'There's not much time left; I have to learn to use Psychokinesis to the best I can.'
My eyes had an eerie calmness, but the corners of my lips curved into a hazy smile.
'I hope you'll enjoy the surprise gift I have in store for you on my birthday, Mother, hehehe.'