Speaking of studying, it was also really hard for Leo to even get out of his crib.
No, it was impossible! With how fragile and weak his current body is - sitting, much less crawling, was frustratingly unrealistic.
He had yet to even explore their house! He was held captive within the confines of his own crib.
So he then wondered to himself-
"I can't waste my time idling around here in my crib, I need to do something. Something that would make me stronger no matter how small!
Then suddenly, as if his wish was granted, the trees outside his window suddenly rustled.
Until it intensified enough for Leo to identify it as -
"Was that an earthquake?"
Luckily for him, he was wrong that it was an earthquake, as that would kill him with his feeble body.
But then suddenly, a loud and menacing noise so deafening resounded in the air, causing even the air to tremble before its power.
Something that would kill him in ways worse than an earthquake ever could.
"What the f*** was that?!?"
"Where's the maid that takes care of me? We need to get out of here now!"
Leo was scared shitless. He had read about monsters in his novels, but the thought of experiencing it firsthand was a different story.
Especially as the weak and vulnerable child he currently was.
It inflicted him with a feeling of mortality, knowing that even a wisp of breath from the owner of that roar would kill him before he even knew it.
Just moments after he said that, the maid frantically rushed in and promptly went to Leo, evacuating the room with him in hand.
"I never would have thought that the first time that I would get to explore our house would be when we're under a threat."
With that thought aside, he looked around and saw that there were items on the floor, furniture everywhere, and some papers that were scrambled about, probably because of the monster.
As the maid firmly held Leo, she suddenly muttered some incomprehensible words.
For the very first time ever...
He saw it in action, the very thing that kept him on edge back on Earth.
Magic.
However, she only finished what seemed to be 'chanting' when they fully made it out house.
She conjured a massive wall of earth that rose from the ground with great speed the moment she got the monster in her sights.
As it was quite massive, tall, and wide enough, it bought enough time for both the maid and Leo to get away safely.
"Amazing... So THIS is magic!"
With Leo's excitement aside, he caught a glimpse of what the monster looked like before it got blocked by the massive wall of earth.
It was about the size of a 3-storey building, adorned with scales that seemed rough, and eyes that gleamed with ruthlessness.
It was a giant serpent!
The colossal serpent emitted a piercing cry, causing shivers to course through Leo's body - a chilling reminder of the peril he had narrowly escaped.
Although the world was unfair, wouldn't it be too unfair if he were to die before even getting to touch magic?
gulp
Shrugging off his fear, Leo observed everything he saw with great caution and interest, as it would finally give him some idea of how to start his journey with magic.
And the maid seemed to be somewhat capable as a mage, seeing her expression now become calm - a great contrast to her slight panic earlier.
The maid once again chanted something incomprehensible for Leo and ran with astonishing speed, which surprised him.
"Was that wind magic? or perhaps something that enhances the body?"
Leo thought to himself, as all he could do was observe for now.
Shortly after that, they soon reached the outskirts of what seemed like a forest.
"Wouldn't there be more of those in the forest..?"
"Also if she ran away, doesn't it mean that she couldn't take care of that giant serpent? What if we encounter something equally dangerous here? She's insane!"
Leo stressed as he imagined that there would usually be even more in forests.
"Haha… It's not like I can speak, the least that I could do is probably put my trust in our maid."
With no choice, they now entered the denser part of the forest, which was dark and a bit eerie.
Although the maid didn't seem enough to take care of that giant serpent, she seemed to be capable enough as a mage as she breezed through the complex path with ease.
Suddenly, exhaustion hit him, and slowly he fell asleep. Although he was only getting carried around, being dragged around everywhere still had an impact on his small and adorable body.
After some time, Leo resurfaced from his fleeting slumber that lasted about an hour.
As Leo saw the light in front of them, they eventually reached the end of the forest, and what stood before them astonished him.
Before them stood an imposing and robust wall, rendering the maid's earthen barrier as insignificant as a mere ant, likely impervious even to the most formidable of sieges.
"Looking at these walls… it seems that war is commonplace in this world."
Leo thought to himself as he braced himself for what the future had for him.
The maid was about to say something when a mage cut her short, probably asking us what we were doing as it gave us a questioning look.
They talked for a bit, which took no less than minutes, and the mage, who was probably patrolling, had an expression of worry.
Some time later, they headed inside the city after passing through a gate and some checkpoints, and what greeted them was a moving crowd.
The bustling city square was alive with activity - vendors selling goods, traders haggling, and merchants maneuvering their carriages through the crowd.
Amidst the lively chaos, figures adorned in elaborate and expensive attire exuded an air of sophistication, sharply contrasting with the ordinary city dwellers meandering through the crowd.
As he glanced at the people that smelled money, he then thought -
"These people… they aren't just rich, they're probably nobles!"
"What I'm inside of isn't a city, it's a kingdom… This world follows a monarchy system with a king or queen ruling them!"
Leo thought to himself as he tried to make a wry smile as he remembered the typical nobles in every novel.
"I hope at least some of them are nice enough."
After some walking, they eventually reached what seemed to be an institute for magic.
It was enormous, enough to call that Giant Serpent a joke as it was about 10 times more massive.
The maid made her way inside and was greeted by a female mage on standby. She got in contact with the mage and told her of our purpose.
The mage made a worried face but made her leave shortly after.
After waiting for what seemed to be about just minutes...
Leo's mother hurried towards them, her eyes glistening with tears, and swiftly embraced him, taking him away from the maid's care.
There were no words, just Leo being in his mother's warm embrace. Leo could feel her mother's tears falling on his small head.
Weeks after that incident, the kingdom dispatched some mages to eliminate the giant serpent on that very day, which somehow unknowingly made its way within the vicinity of their home.
Leo couldn't help but assume that his father, being a part of the military, would have been consumed with anger upon hearing the news. The idea of witnessing his father in action, defending their home, seemed thrilling.
However, Leo overheard conversations revealing that his father was deployed to the North of the kingdom's borders, bound by duty and unable to leave his post.
Leo also wondered why their house seemed isolated but left it at that for now.
"What's more important is that I can now crawl around! And my parents just let me wander around the house hehe."
After some wandering around, he found himself in his mother's study. It was filled to the brim with books that seemed incomprehensible to him.
At least for now…
"Well sh*t. I thought that the language barrier wouldn't be a thing since I could understand them, but I didn't think that they would have a different writing system."
All that was left for Leo to do was learn how to read and write, and everything else would fall into place.
"I have a system with me… but it doesn't seem to be sentient, and my beginner's quest has yet to start."
sigh
Suddenly, his system flashed a panel in front of him, as if waiting for him to say that.
[System Prompt: Host Leo Ignacius have reached the required amount of physiological growth.]
[System Prompt: Host Leo Ignacius has unlocked 'Inventory'.]
[System Prompt: Beginner's quest will now be available.]
"Finally! That took some time. I was growing bored from just watching my stats."
Excited that his beginner's quest was now available, he can finally get on the track of magic!