…

After his parents had left, Fate once again fed his ambition to break the bottleneck on his stamina stat, which would make a huge difference in how much he could work before succumbing to his own body.

-The fact that I’m a baby is pretty inconvenient for the ‘Witch’ and her plan. I’m a baby with barely any power, in a house that will keep tabs on everything I do, and it’s a house where my own mother is suspicious of me.

Fate thought that things would have been much simpler if the ‘Witch’ had just reincarnated him into a child’s body. A child with no parents wouldn’t exactly be the best for living comfortably, but it would have been better for mobility and building achievements.

-I get that she’s giving me time to train and decide my path before I grow up, but I can’t even gather mana without severe consequences...and…

Fate: “Jwacb iff so scary!”

Fate was proud of himself for being able to pronounce words clearly, even if it was only two of them. However, the fear of Jacob occupied his mind constantly and pushed out many of his other thoughts. Jacob had been the only one who had always been in the room and took care of him, but he exuded an aura that did not suit someone who looked as old as he did.

-He always has on a smile, but the feeling I get from him is terrifying! It’s almost like he keeps coming into the room while planning my death then stops midway!

That wasn’t even the eeriest part of the feeling Jacob gave off. For Fate, it was much more terrifying that there was a second aura accompanying him whenever he came.

-I have it figured out by this point that the second feeling I feel coming from him sometimes is my mother. She’s suspicious of me and I’m not sure if any of the servants can use magic.

During his past six months of training, he had become able to tell vaguely where a magic-user was in the vicinity.

-Even if I can’t hold much mana, I can definitely see dark spots. It’s almost as if someone tore the mana away from that little bit of the world...and I can definitely see that when she’s around.

He had seen it from a distance away from the room and had been able to confirm it on the one occasion where he had heard her talking to a servant.

-I wasn’t able to see the mana return to the empty space until ten minutes after she left. It was like some sort of black hole. But I can’t see that pull around Jacob and I haven’t even gotten a chance to try it on Father.

Indeed, it would look quite suspicious if during that meeting he had pulled a magical book out of nowhere and had his eyes darting around the room like some sort of scared animal.

-No use pondering it until I get the chance. I need to know exactly what the house’s situation is in order to set up my plans for the future. Better get to stamina training!

Fate sat up in his crib, ready to resume his training.

(For those who are wondering ‘how can he train stamina, I thought his crib was rebuilt.’......just read)

Fate bent down with his knees angled down and his body weight supported by his elbows.

-Even though I haven’t gotten out of the crib, I can still do simple exercises. The one saving grace of not being able to get out is that I don’t have to put in the effort to go outside the crib to workout.

Fate raised his knees and propped himself up on his toes, his elbows supporting the weight of his small body.

-If I recall correctly, my record is 31 seconds without having to rest. Which if I’m being honest isn’t impressive, but it’s beyond what I would think a toddler to be capable of. I guess if 31 seconds of planking is what I can do with 2.95 stamina, then ...my previous life’s stamina was around… 18?

Essentially the people of this world were guaranteed to be stronger than in Fate’s previous life. It was almost as if every person was like a fine wine, only getting better with age.

-I guess I would be jealous, but since I have to fight the magical ‘do-gooders’ who are supposed to be destined for greatness, I’ll have to be strong or have some way to kill them. The ‘Witch’ wouldn’t have chosen me for anything else...except maybe my stunning good looks ...ha ha ha! Oh my sh*t, that would be the dumbest thing to pick somebody for!

Even though he was internally laughing because of his own ridiculous joke, Fate held in a laugh and kept himself steady. It had been 17 seconds, but he was already beginning to lose his focus and laughing wouldn’t help him stay planking, not in the least.

18...19...20...21...22

The seconds ticked on and Fate’s strength continued to wane.

Fate: “Witle moor…!”

And on…

27...28…

-29!

『【Stamina】has increased by 0.0025!』

-30!

『【Stamina】has increased to 0.0025!』

-31!

『【Stamina】has increased to 0.0025!』

-32!

『【Stamina】has increased to 0.0025!』

Fate: “U..gg..u.hhhh!!!!”

-33!!!

『【Stamina】has increased to 0.0025!』

Fate couldn’t hold out any longer, collapsing on his bed with his 【Stamina】now resting at 2.9625. This was the problem with training in a toddler’s body. It was pushing his frame to be stronger, but not necessarily having the ability to handle such strength.

-I guess...I tried...and I still have enough energy to stay...awake, but I...didn’t make it to the point! Guess since I’m tired out and it won’t matter what I do since I’ll still look like I have a fever, I’ll train my magic ability.

It wasn’t as if physical training was the only thing Fate had done within six months, but a lot of endurance was necessary to handle even the slightest amount of mana.

-In the end...I’ve only been able to get...a little more than a third... of a single point. Even though I’ve learned to use the book to find magic users, I still can’t...scoop more than a finger’s worth into my body or manifest any phenomena.

Without skills or a guide, Fate could only try to gain and control mana with odd ideas and the use of his journal.

-Without this thing, I would have never... been able to see mana in the first place, much less absorb it. Though the backlash is a... large issue.

To put it in the vernacular of a person who doesn’t know what they’re doing with their life or just in general, Fate was ‘winging it.’ One might have thought that he would’ve blown himself up by now, but somehow he had not.

-Welp, my energy is coming back so I got a little more ‘pep in my step’...except I can’t get out of this crib to walk around so the step doesn’t apply he...Whatever, practice magic!

……………………………

Agatha: “What should I do in a situation like this?”

Agatha was groaning to herself over the current course of events. Her husband had invited his old teacher to ‘educate’ it.

-If it learned anything from that psychotic old fool, it’d be gibberish, how to waste your life, or worse...his destructive lust for alchemy.

‘Sir Sherworn’ had managed to turn himself into an elderly alchemist with the stature of a child in a horrible ‘simple mistake’ as he had put it. Three of his apprentices, who genuinely sought wisdom from him, were horribly injured and were still in recovery. However, ‘Sir Sherworn’ didn’t care in the least and simply shrugged it off with the words, “I have gotten a few steps closer to my ultimate goal and I have created a formula for size alteration, what need has a genius like myself for such miserable failures!?”

-Their families toil day in and day out so that those apprentices, their family members, recover. That quack hasn’t even sent a single Lun(The currency of Lunaria) their way...It’s proof enough that alchemy has warped his mind to the point that not a single life has value except his own. If blasphemy had a form, it would be his!

Though Agatha didn’t care extensively for the common people or for most people in general, she, as a former priestess, knew that what ‘Sir Sherworn’ desired veered into the realm of insanity far before possibility was in sight.

-I do not want it to grow up on the teachings of such a maddened fool, desperately throwing everything away in order to confront one’s own mortality.

Agatha: “I will teach it, but only to the extent that it not, embarrass this house or myself any more than it already does with its very being!”

Agatha had steeled herself that she would teach it to respect her and to stay out of her way. She would teach this child to be a ghost in her life, while she gave birth to children she would truly love.

-Though the fact that I gave it a name is troubling and more so, one that does not honor the goddess...What possessed me to give it a name, especially one like Fate?

Agatha: *sigh* “It is of no consequence…”

She would try to teach the child to respect her above all else and to never interfere in her life as much as possible. This was Fate’s teacher. This was her intent and underlying ambition.

……………….

Fate: “...”

-Nobody seems to be around...I think…

Before Fate glowed his journal, his surroundings pitch black. He was back in trance gazing at the background while studying the dim bubbles floating by. Fate observed no pitch black spots, which meant no magicians and he did not hear a single creak from beyond the door.

-I had to make sure. Otherwise, I might’ve been nearly caught like last time.

The ‘last time’ Fate was referring to, had been eight days prior when Jacob had walked in on a trance session and had created a powerful *snap!* that shocked him out of it. After, Jacob popped in more often to observe what Fate had been up to that day. After five days though, he gave up on finding out and resumed his regular schedule.

-I kept on guard and didn’t try to raise my mana for three days, until today! I seriously thought he had figured something out...That was definitely not one of my finer moments.

Fate observed how the strange bubbles of mana moved, only visible due to the glow of the journal. It was like looking at a lava lamp. The bubbles twisted, bounced off of each other, came apart, and floated away.

-I miss Earth. I always used to stare at the lava lamp in my grandparents’ house until I fell asleep. I just watched the bubbles move and the light change colors...I wonder if time passes the same here as it does on Earth? If it does...then my grandpa will be gone before I even become an adult again.

Fate sadly pondered and moped, but his moping was interrupted when a large bubble, twice the size of himself, appeared over his head.

-Holy crap! That bubble is huge! From what I’ve learned, the bigger ones are the good ones to scoop from. The mana is less dense and scooping small amounts becomes easier than with a smaller bubble.

Over the last few months, while training his mana, Fate had been testing if there was an easier way to absorb mana in the bubbles without the backlash. So far, it appeared that the larger the bubble was, the easier it was to get mana and vice versa.

-But even then, the backlash has still been enough to give me a nosebleed and leave me unconscious for a few hours...not to mention the pain.

Even though he had thought that and suffered through the pain, Fate still persevered.

-It’s not an Isekai if there isn't magic and I’m not about to let those asshats get an advantage over me!

Fate let his energy flow out and dig into a small edge of the bubble, scooping the edge out bit by bit. By this point, although Fate didn’t have enough grasp on mana to manifest any supernatural phenomena, he was now able to reach further and articulate his energy’s movements. This made it much easier to grasp parts of the mana bubble, without drawing in the whole of it.

-Just gotta focus...think of it as a claw machine game that I can win…!

The edge of the bubble emerged fully separated from the original. Fate quickly dragged in the small bubble, which was quickly becoming denser.

-If I let it stay out long enough, it becomes just like the other small bubbles and I can’t absorb it as easily!

The small, half compressed bubble shot into Fate like a bullet, causing terrible pain akin to a double charlie horse with a fever!

-Son of...b*tch!!!

Fate: “G...www….uuuu.hhhhhh!!!”

『【Magic】has increased by 0.12!』

-I’m genuinely...happy-y...a-b-b-bout...the increa..! But...t-this...hurt-t-t-ts…!!!!

Fate promptly passed out, the journal disappeared, and all was silent.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fate’s Current Stats:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Name: Fate
• HP: 9.5/9.5
• MP: 1.7/1.98
• Level: 0
• Race: Human
• Age: 6 months old (18+ years old)
• Job: None
• Previous Jobs: None
• Titles: 【Familiar of Fate】

--------------------------------

• Stats:
  • Strength: 2.850
  • Endurance: 3.075
  • Wisdom: 3.5
  • Intelligence: 1.0 (Knowledge of this world is low)
  • Stamina: 2.9625
  • Agility: 1.9
  • Fortune: 1.0
  • Magic: 0.47

---------------------------------

• Passive Skills: None
• Active Skills: None
• Unique Skills: None
• Equipment: Fate’s Journal(Soul-bound)