Well, now that I'm actually in a new world, I have one mission: *learn magic.* You'd think that'd be easy for a baby, right? Not quite.
*Tap tap tap* (yup, that's my very intense two-week-old crawling skills in action).
So, during my daily (unlicensed) tours of the place, I stumble upon this room. Now, don't get me wrong, this house has a *whole* library, but this room? This room is different. Smaller, cozier, and—best of all—*packed with magic books.* A hidden jackpot.
Not saying the big library doesn't have magic books, but it's got a *whole mountain* of books, and I'm not exactly sprinting through bookshelves at this age. *This* room, though? Much easier. Plus, it has a certain *"don't tell grandpa I found this"* vibe that I'm totally digging.
So now, I crawl my way here whenever no one's watching. No big deal.
*Bam! Thud!* (Yep, I whacked the book with… something, and down it goes).
"Hehe, *book acquired!*" Let's see what's in this thing…
*Mana… used for magic… blah blah blah…* Ugh, boring! But I've gotta read it. *I will become the MC!* Mana, elements, sword…
And then, suddenly, I feel myself being lifted. *Yoo, what the—*
"Young master! You shouldn't be here! Sir Master would be *furious!*"
Ah, yes, that voice—that's Rose. My nanny. I think I've mentioned her before, right? I had my suspicions at first, but now that she's holding me up in this light, I can see it clearly… she's not human. She's an elf. And yep, she's been my nanny since day one. She's taken care of all the feeding, washing, and playing. You might ask, "Where's my mother?" Well, even she needs breaks from baby duty sometimes.
Rose… she's a little *strict,* but—
"Aww, young master~ You wanted to read a magic book?" She gives me a hug, all sweet and soft, but with that firm nanny grip.
And next thing I know, my face is squished into her… uh, *elven mountains.*
Thanks to a little skill I picked up in my past life (*eavesdropping*, obviously), I can actually hear my parents talking in the room next to mine. It seems like that room's some kind of… conference room? Discussion room? Anyway, once or twice a week, my grandpa and parents meet in there to talk. And talk. *And talk.* Which would be fine, except *I can't sleep on those days.*
Through all that eavesdropping, I've managed to pick up a few interesting details—like the fact that Rose isn't just some hired help. Nope, her entire family has been serving ours for *generations*. Apparently, her mother (also a *baddie*) is the nanny for my parents, while her grandma serves my grandpa. Gotta love elves; they hardly age, which means even though Rose's grandma is *way older*, she actually looks more beautiful. Elves get more beautiful the older they get, which, let's be real, is kind of unfair.
But anyway, back on topic. This isn't some "enslaved to serve the family" situation. It's this long-ass history thing—our families go *way* back, all the way to some ancient pact or whatever. And so, Rose's family has been with ours for *ages*.
Well, "nanny" doesn't really suit her, so I prefer to call her the *baddi—* I mean, *battle maid*. I get that this is a world of swords and magic, but Rose? She's like a perfect little weapon wrapped in maid frills. I swear, she's got the whole *perfect body, strong as hell* thing going on.
And get this—she doesn't even use a normal weapon. Nope, she has this bendable... *thing* (it's some kind of magic weapon or something) that she hides so well in her maid uniform you'd never even know it's there. But when it's time to throw down? Oh, she's ready.
But the worst times? *Splash, splash!* (Yep, that's me, flailing for dear life and trying to escape.)
"Aww, little master~ Look over here!"
"Young master~"
"Cutie!"
Yeah… group bath time with the maids. I mean, I *guess* I don't mind… but seriously, *why the hell am I here?*
That day, I made a shocking discovery: apparently, women have these built-in *drowning prevention balloons*. Like, *for real*. And here, 90% of the maids are non-human—elves, half-elves, dwarves, you name it.
But that still doesn't answer my question! *Why am I hereeee?!*
"Awww~ come here, little master~"
"Over here! Touch me~"
If I'd been in my old body that day, I would've had a *huge* problem. I mean, I was on the verge of a *nosebleed*, man! And to top it all off… no towel. I'm just here like everyone else, *completely* uncovered.
"Aww~"
"Aww~"
What the heck? Are they messing with me? They're *definitely* messing with me! They're practically *suffocating* me with their… ahem, *elven mountains.* For real, it's like a maze of… well, I'll just say I'm grateful I'm not a perv or stuck in my old body!
If I'd been in my old body, they *wouldn't* have gotten away with this! I'm just saying—there would've been backshots. *Ahem.*
Anyway, after the bath, Rose put me in the crib. Thank god, it wasn't a conference day! I needed some peace after that chaos.
*Poof!* (Throwing my pillow down dramatically).
That's it. I had made up my mind! I was going to escape the baby prison, read some magic books, and figure out how to become the *MC*.
*Thud!!* (I intentionally fell onto the pillow. Nailed it!)
*Shit...* That didn't really work as well as I thought.
No matter! I had a plan. I was going to that book room. Magic books, here I come!
*Tap tap tap... Tap tap tap* (My crawling skills, slowly but surely).
I finally reached the door.
*Creekkklklk...* Yep, it was unlocked—*faithfully*.
My little journey to magical knowledge was about to begin.
After that little adventure, I made a *huge* discovery.
So, here's the thing I hadn't known until now: The reason I *hadn't* been named was because of a whole ritual thing. Apparently, kids up to the age of 5 or 6 go through something called the *Naming Ceremony*—a special ritual that involves *four* priests. They pour their power into the toddler (lucky me, right?). This ritual unlocks a hidden seal everyone has, revealing a *leveling screen* or system.
Yup, you heard that right. A leveling screen.
This screen opens up when you touch your chest over your heart and chant *"Open!"* The kicker? Kids don't get named by their parents. *Nope*. Their names are chosen by the *leveling screen* itself. It even picks out some wild stuff—like, it's possible for a kid to get its mother or father family name.
The family name has its perks, though. It gives you specific *boons*. Sounds cool, right?
But wait, there's more. The screen has a tab called "*Level*," which works like any game. The more knowledge, power, wisdom, and strength you gain, the higher your level goes. But if you mess up, like, *really mess up*, the lower your score drops. And no, there's no *limit* to how low it can go. But hey, not like anyone has reached *that* far yet.
There's also a "Skill Tree" tab—just like it sounds. It's where you manage your skills. You can have *infinite* skills, but the skill the skill tree helps you power them up. Every level-up gives you one skill point with a 50% success rate. Some other tabs are like "Titles" or "Jobs," but the one that *really* matters is "Affinity."
This tab shows if you've got any special talents. Things like swordsmanship, magic, healing (called *yang magic*), or even scholastic abilities. If you have a magic affinity, the tab will show what type—fire, water, wind, earth, and so on. It's a lot to explain, so I'll save that for later (because, honestly, too lazy).
And then there's the time-warp that followed.
*Woosh* *Shish*...
It feels like a ton of time has passed...
But—what? It's still night?
I've been studying for *hours*, and it's still dark outside? *Come on!*