STEP
STEP
STEP
Footsteps echoed through an empty hall like a soft drum in an empty stadium. The footsteps were quick yet soft, like those of a child's footsteps.
"Are you sure that just walking is enough exercise?" a voice asked, resounding in the empty hall.
But the voice was met with silence as there was no following voice that answered the first one.
But the one who asked the question wasn't disappointed; instead, he nodded his head as if he were being answered for his question.
The boy had long silver hair that swayed around as he walked. His amethyst eyes shone with determination, and with his fists clenched, he looked like a man ready to face his bully for the first time.
Of course, it was none other than William! It had been a few weeks since he had been able to see the mark, and two weeks ago, he celebrated his third birthday with his family.
He was wearing a neat white shirt that was neatly tucked into his little brown trousers, looking like a gentleman who could woo the hardest of women.
Anticipation filled his heart as he walked to the end of the hallway.
CLICK
With a little difficulty, he reached for the handle of the door at the end of the hallway and opened the door.
Immediately upon stepping out, William's skin felt refreshed as a cold breeze brushed against his face.
SNIFF
He took a deep breath, inhaling the pleasant scent of roses and various other flowers. His amethyst eyes shone like jewels under the morning sunlight, falling on him.
"My baby, you are here!" A soft voice filled with affection and love exclaimed softly from a distance.
William turned to see the woman to his right. She had hair as black as night that was glistening under the sunlight; her bright amethyst eyes, similar to those of his, met his gaze.
A small smile bloomed on his face as William ran toward his mother.
"Mama!" he exclaimed as he hugged her legs.
"Fufu, my baby!" Ara said as she crouched down, hugging her son. Her soft hand ruffled his hair as she rubbed her dumpling-like cheeks against his.
"Hehehe!" William giggled at his mother's actions. Even though he could think and act like an adult, he didn't want to do that.
'I want to experience what it's like to be a child!' he mumbled inwardly as he looked at his mother, 'I want to see her smile more!'
"Mama! I want to walk around the garden today!" Wikkiam said as he jumped in excitement, like a kid getting his first toy.
But his eyes, though, his eyes said another thing as they shone with determination and resolution.
This was the exercise the voice said; as William is still a kid, he can't do heavy exercises yet.
[That's correct; although you need to exercise, it's more like tiring out your body than just pushing your body to its limits!]
The voice said in his mind, remembering how William, at first, wanted to do heavy exercises and wouldn't budge for anything.
[It took a lot to convince you otherwise!]
The voice exclaimed with a soft anger in its tone, blaming William for the work it had to do.
'I am sorry! I was just too excited!' William muttered inwardly, trying to justify his actions.
[Anyway, your goal for today is to do ten rounds around this garden!]
The voice stated, giving him the goal for today.
William nodded his head slightly and didn't argue much with the voice. 'I can get closer to my mother!' he thought to himself while he extended his little hand and caught hers.
Ara smiled at her son as she stood up. They both began to walk around the garden, taking in the pleasant smell of the flowers and herbs surrounding them.
They both walked in silence as William watched the chirping birds in a distant tree. He could see the butterflies flying around from one plant to another.
CHUCKLE
He chuckled as his sight caught two squirrels fighting over a nut that was on the root of a tree.
The garden they were in now was situated at the back of William's mansion. More than a garden, it could be said to be its own little forest; apart from a few plants that were near the mansion, the rest of the garden was filled with trees that rose a hundred feet into the sky.
The mother-son pair was about to leave the plant area when William left Ara and ran off to the side.
Ara watched her son run toward one of the flower plants with an amused smile on her face.
William, upon reaching the plant, sniffed its flowers, making sure they smell nice.
He carefully plucked off its flowers and ran back toward his mother.
"Mama, here!" he said as he stretched his hands out, showing her the flowers.
The smile on Ara's face widened as she took the flowers from her son and sniffed at them.
Immediately, a pleasant, sweet, yet tangy smell filled her lungs, refreshing her.
She took her son's hand in hers as she said, "These are really nice, thank you baby!"
She pulled her son closer and placed a kiss on his cheek as a thank you.
"Hehehe!" William giggled in response; he very much liked his mother showing him love.
They both stayed there for a while before they continued on with their walk.
He spent the rest of the day with her, asking her many questions and pleading with her to tell him more about the adventures, which were his all time favorite.
Only after the sun had set, leaving the world in momentary darkness, did he return to his room.
And even though he walked more than ten rounds around the garden, he didn't feel an ounce of tiredness in his body.
[That's because you were with your mother! Otherwise, you would have crawled back to your room right now!]
The voice said in his mind, making William nod in reply, "I agree!"
CLICK
He closed the door behind him and walked toward his bed.
THUD
He fell on the bed with a soft thud, almost bouncing on it.
[Alright, it's time to continue with the wind mana!]
The voice said seriously, erasing a hint of easiness in its voice, sounding like a strict teacher teaching his student.
William nodded his head and closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them again; a brief flash of light glinted across his eyes as William's vision changed.
In his vision, the empty room in front of him was now filled with black particles that were floating around lazily.
William didn't stop training his vision to see the mana after he could understand what made wind mana; instead, he doubled down on his training, and now he can see the mana in the air without taking much effort or closing his eyes.
[There is still much to improve! You cannot close your eyes even for a moment on the battlefield! A moment is all it takes for your death!]
The voice reminded him, leaving no room for William to boast around.
TSK
William clicked his tongue at the voice, 'pessimistic!' He complained inwardly as he looked around the room.
Although William could see the mana in real life, it wasn't the only thing he could see.
William's sight caught a green light darting around the room. It hit the various objects and paintings adorning the wall before bouncing off, like a ping-pong ball across the table.
He watched the wind mana for a while before losing interest and closing his eyes.
Blackness greeted him the moment William closed his eyes. He didn't panic but looked around the void, as if searching for something.
"Ah! There it is!" he exclaimed as he saw something at the end of the void. He floated toward it, and soon his vision caught the silhouette of a bident glowing in soft green light.
[You are still at the base stage!]
The voice commented, still continuing with its pessimistic tone.
"I know," William admitted, "and I plan to change it."
He mumbled as he got closer to the bident. It wasn't clear yet, and the only thing that would help one differentiate from the void in the background was the soft glow of green light, marking its borders.
He remembered the image of the bident etched on the wind mana and began to twist and morph the light to resemble it while also adding in more details, like the sharpness around its edges and the curve of the blade.
[The more details you can add, the more you advance!]
The voice sounded in a neutral tone as it carefully observed William's movements, making sure he didn't make a mistake.
William didn't reply for a while as he bent the silhouette into a curve similar to that of the original.
While William was shaping the bident in his mind. The wind mana in the room began to swirl around him, forming a little whirlpool with him being the center.
The wind mana entered his body from between his brows, traveling around his body, treating his sore muscles and invigorating him as a whole.
This was the reason why the voice made him walk. The wind mana, while he morphed the bident in his mind, would travel through his body, healing his injuries while also morphing the body itself to accommodate the mana in it.
William continued his training for a few more hours before he opened his eyes. Sweat trickled down his body, making his shirt and trousers stick to his body.
William scrunched up his nose at the unpleasant smell emanating from his body.
[It's common for the body to expel toxins that have accumulated in your body either through food, the air you intake, or through your parents' blood!]
The voice explained, trying to make William a little more comfortable with the disgusting smell; after all, he had to experience it almost every day for the next few years.
"I know that making my body a perfect vessel for various kinds of mana means expelling many impurities! But it's still disgusting, and what should I say to the maids if they ask what happened?"
William whined and complained to the voice, imagining the maids, or worse, his mother, asking him what had happened for him to smell so badly.
[Well, I have a solution for that!]
The voice said, making William's eyes go wide, "Really? What is it!?" he asked with excitement; as long as he could hide what he was doing, he would do it.
[Just say that you shat in your pants! You are a child, so they will believe you!]
"Noooo!"