The formation of a Spirit Node was a milestone for Drax as far as his stay in Xenithia was concerned.
He could access his status, but that was not the best part.
He could now start training in mana and learning how to control magic.
Had he started doing that before acquiring a Spirit Node, it would have been more detrimental than it would have been advantageous to him.
To absorb and manipulate mana without a Spirit Node was a reckless move and could trigger deathly side effects since no organ could contain mana except a Spirit Node.
The Spirit Node was the storage site for mana, and the Spirit Veins that stretched out from it, in a similar fashion to the heart and blood vessels, were the channels that carried the mana.
Freya and Drax were done with the naming ritual and both exited the Hall of Lanterns, returning to the surface.
While they were at it, the young half-elf took a moment to assess himself through his system.
Fortunately, the information was only visible to him and he could communicate with his thoughts.
Hence, there was no fear of Freya finding out.
'Status window…' he mentally instructed.
The familiar resplendent screen appeared with the requested information from Drax.
—––
< Status Window >
Name: Drax Manawyn van Elenor
Race: Mixed [Half-elf, Half-dragon]
Mana Points: 500/600
Health Points: 180/180
Skills: [Universal Tongue]
Magic: Fire Magic // Tree Magic // Healing Magic
< Stats >
Strength: 90
Agility: 90
Intelligence: 98
Dexterity: 90
—––
Drax blinked furiously as he noticed the numbers attached to his person.
From experience he knew one thing for sure — as far as systems were concerned, the higher the numbers, the better for the host.
Drax was, however, not surprised since he expected such numbers.
From the moment he got to know that Freya's breast milk added a value of one stat point to every one of his stats, Drax followed it up.
As he couldn't see the window until now, he had to keep a mental record of these numbers and now he was looking at them, he was satisfied.
'This means that my progress stagnated when I was about three months ago. Tch!'
Drax was disappointed with this realization.
He didn't think it was this bad.
After he turned three months old, his daily quest stopped appearing and he was basically drinking Freya's breast milk because it was the most natural thing to do and the only food he could have.
Drax deduced that his body had grown used to the milk, and it was no longer adding any remarkable value to his growth, and thus, nature took its normal course.
The only other times he began receiving stats boost came when Freya started to read him stories but it was almost insignificant compared to what he was used to.
Nevertheless, Drax was more than satisfied seeing his stat in the 90s.
'But my appraisal placed me on the same level as a 2-Star Sorcerer. Even though my dragon mother says I'm close to the 3-Star rank and my stats are in the 90s. That's crazy!'
Drax seemed to have experienced a light bulb moment as they returned to the castle.
He was so utterly lost in thought that he paid no attention to the words which Freya was muttering.
'That is just crazy! How strong are people in this world?'
He was beginning to get a grasp of his reality.
While he was very impressed that he was starting on high grounds, he also realized that there were higher grounds to be reached.
Drax's face turned deadpan and he sighed.
On the other hand, he didn't know much about the magic aspect of this world yet and found solace in the possibility that it might not be as bad as he assumed it.
"What is it, honey?" Freya asked her little boy as she held his soft finger and moved her body in a slow dance rhythm.
Drax shook his head.
Freya looked at him curiously and glanced at his stomach.
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
Drax flowed with Freya's words and nodded his head while rubbing his tummy.
Freya giggled at Drax's cuteness as they stepped into the castle with the magical door shutting behind them.
"Let's go and join the others. They must be waiting for us."
"Okay, Mother!" Drax cheerfully exclaimed, expressing his excitement.
*********
'Just what is taking her so long?' Alucard wondered as she sat at one end of the dining table along with the other staff of the castle as everyone waited for Freya and Drax to arrive.
Alucard looked across, singling out one of the staff to send on the errand of fetching Freya.
"Coletta…" the Dragon Queen called the most senior cum chief of the servants.
Madame Coletta stood up without any hesitation and turned in the direction of the Dragon Queen as she bowed in deference.
"Lady Alucard."
Alucard was about to speak when her ears tingled.
She picked up the sound of footsteps headed in their direction. Other than that, Alucard could also sense Freya's mana signature and a second tender one along with it.
'That must be the baby's,' she thought.
With a hand gesture, she ordered Coletta to have a seat and not worry about the errand anymore.
"They are here already."
Everybody's eyes turned to the entrance as soon as Alucard spoke and in tandem with this, Freya entered the dining hall.
Immediately, the younger elf servants rose to their feet and began to sing with rhythmic claps following.
The older servants and Alucard stood up afterwards.
The Dragon Queen smirked and fixed her eyes on the little elf.
'So the mana was his after all.'
🎶
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you—
🎶
Freya raised her hand and stopped them, causing silence to fall in the hall and surprise to beam from their faces.
The Elf Queen cleared her throat.
"Before you continue," she spoke. "Allow me to introduce my son. Your prince and heir to Avalonia, Prince Drax Manawyn van Elenor."
A round of applause followed the introduction before Freya led the singing of the birthday song.
She locked eyes with Drax and uttered the lyrics in the most melodious tone of voice with the others backing her up.
🎶
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Drax…!
Happy… birth… day… to you
🎶