Three days later, Robin finally woke up from his long sleep and found a young child sleeping next to him—Ann. As he moved to sit up on the bed, Ann rubbed her eyes. Suddenly, she opened them wide with excitement, and she jumped towards him, giving him a big hug.
"Robin! You're finally awake!" she shouted.
One of the servants stationed by Robin's room opened the door to confirm. "Your Highness, you're awake! I will go inform the Queen and King," the servant said as they rushed off.
"Ann, how long was I asleep?" Robin asked.
"Three days," Ann replied. She then began explaining what had happened after he fell into his long sleep. "First, everyone was shocked by your transformation. The Queen was furious, and many doctors were summoned, but no one could explain how your change had happened. They could only conclude you might be some divine child or a saint of some sort."
Robin burst into laughter as he recalled how, in his previous life, people often created personas for divine children, saying they were sent to cleanse the world cause of wars.
In this world, it made sense for people to view Robin as some sort of divine child, especially since skills were such rare and exclusive powers for the natives.
"Robin!" the King and Queen shouted as they burst into the room and rushed to hug him.
"Never do that again," the King said to Robin, his voice serious but filled with relief. He continued, "Your mother made me sleep in the guest room and eat with the soldiers!"
"Robin, I heard what you did," the Queen said, her expression showing no satisfaction as she looked at him.
Robin met her gaze with a hint of nervousness. "Mum, Dad, I'm sorry, but…" he began.
"No buts!" the Queen cut him off, her tone firm. "I want you to promise me you won't do anything like that again. And I also want you to explain how you were able to grow so quickly—and if anything else unusual happened."
Robin had to come up with something quickly, as there was no logical way to explain Skills or the system he had access to. After a moment's thought, he began, "That night, I was terrified of losing you, Mom and Dad. My emotions became uncontrollable, and suddenly, I started absorbing dark mana strands. I call this power... 'Gluttony.' I couldn't think of any other solution—I couldn't lose you two. The more I absorbed, the more my body started to grow…"
Robin knew his explanation sounded crazy, but he could only hope they would believe it. The King and Queen were stunned that such a power existed.
"So, will this always happen when you absorb mana?" the King, Lion, asked.
"I'm not sure," Robin replied, "but I think I've reached my limit."
The Queen sighed, looking at him with a mix of worry and affection. "You're growing too fast for your age. How will I keep up with you at this rate? And your hair—it's far too long now. Go sit over there; I'll cut it for you," she said, ruffling his hair gently.
Ann, who had been watching silently, could hardly understand any of what was happening.
Robin used the term "mana" rather than "energy" because mana was the only force known to most people. While they used energy in various forms, they couldn't interact with it as directly or precisely as Robin could. For them, energy was classified by its effects, like Healing Magic or Fire Magic.
Robin stood up from his bed, momentarily forgetting that he was half-naked. His body appeared remarkably refined, as though he'd been training for years.
"You lucky brat. It seems you've also reached the level of a Silver Knight, but for now, don't do anything reckless," King Lion said, placing a royal robe around Robin's shoulders.
As Robin walked, he noticed his body felt heavier than usual, as though he were carrying extra weight. The Queen and King observed his unsteady movements.
"Robin, it seems you haven't fully adjusted to your strength yet, so avoid any physical activities for now. You might hurt yourself or someone else," Lion cautioned, watching him closely.
Robin nodded and sat down in a chair near a large mirror on a cupboard. The Queen began cutting his hair with a pair of scissors brought in by one of her attendants. In his mind, Robin silently said, Are you there, Malsa?.
"Yes master am here." Malsa answered. Robin was very relieved, "Show my stats also explain the changes." Robin requested.
—
[ System Panel ]
Level: 2/12
Energy: 20000/20000 [ overloaded ]
Energy Types: Life Energy/ 1 /2000, Dark Energy / 2 / 20000
Skills: Healing Magic, Gluttony
Body Level: Silver Knight
Mana Level: Junior Mage, Magical Circle 2
—
Malsa began explaining, "Master, your body contains far more dark energy than needed. Please avoid using any skills or mana connected to dark energy for now, as this could harm you in unpredictable ways. Also, I won't process any new energies until this issue is resolved."
"How long will this take?" Robin asked.
"This will take up to three months," Malsa replied.
Now Robin had no way to measure time in this world and assumed his mom might know. "Mom how do you measure time." Robin asked. The Queen smiled, sensing Robin's curiosity. "In our world, we measure time by our twelve moons," she began. "Each moon represents a month and completes its cycle in the night sky before the next one takes its place. That's how we know a month has passed."
She continued, "Each day here is 32 hours long, divided into four parts of eight hours each. We call these parts the Morning Watch, Midday Watch, Evening Watch, and Night Watch. And every month has four weeks, with eight days in each week."
Pausing, she added with a soft smile, "The moons guide our seasons too. Whenever three moons align, a new season begins, celebrated with festivals to mark the year's flow."
Robin's hair was now neatly trimmed, and the Queen looked proudly at her work. Armed with the information she'd shared, he decided to ask Malsa if it could track time for him—also a good way to test Malsa's capabilities. Suddenly, a timer appeared in front of him, giving him a new sense of direction as he thought about his next steps.
—
[ Time Remaing… ]
3,072 hours
—
Robin pondered whether he should start training with the soldiers, but then he suddenly remembered something. "Mom would love to see the farms," he said.
"Why? If you're looking for fruits, the farms aren't performing well. I'm not sure you'll find anything," the Queen replied.
"When we were in the forest, I noticed there were a lot of flat lands. Why not farm there?" Robin suggested.
The Queen shook her head. "That's true, but you haven't explored the area well enough. There are many monsters in the forest, and no one really knows how deep the forest mountains go. Your father and the soldiers have tried to eliminate as many monsters as possible, but they keep coming back. They're just being pushed to the corners," she explained, almost forgetting she was speaking to a six-year-old child in the body of a teenager.
"Wait! I don't want you to go monster hunting, or else…" she added, feeling a twinge of worry.
Now Robin had something to focus on. Although he didn't fully understand the gravity of the food situation, he was determined to start something. Being the ambitious fellow he was, he thought about building his new business empire in this world. Meanwhile, Lion had already stepped out of the room to continue with his kingly duties.