For days after his birth, David's entire world was the ceiling above his crib. It was an endless, unchanging landscape, broken only by the slow rotation of the painted wooden birds hanging from his mobile. He’d often heard that reincarnation stories skipped this part, fast-forwarding to a time when the protagonist could at least move. David, unfortunately, was experiencing every last, boring second.
A gentle voice cut through his stupor. "How's my dear baby boy?"
The words were clear. Perfectly, impossibly clear. A moment ago, her voice had been a soothing but incomprehensible murmur. A notification pinged silently in his mind.
[Sufficient linguistic data has been gathered. For your convenience, all speech will now be automatically translated.]
HelperBot-9000 was proving to be a literal godsend. To think it had been listening to the muffled conversations of maids and butlers beyond his door, patiently deciphering an entire language on its own initiative. If the AI was this intelligent, it might just make up for the cosmic joke of being dropped into a medieval world.
The best part was, he hadn't even asked it to.
"Isn't my David just the most adorable thing? Tell me he's adorable," his mother cooed, her face filling his vision.
"He is, madam," a second voice, a maid's, chimed in dutifully. "The young master is the most handsome boy I have ever seen."
So, his name was still David. He couldn't say he disliked the coincidence.
A hand reached down, and her fingers gently pinched his cheek.
"Madam, you might have hurt him," the maid said softly.
"Oh, silly me." His mother laughed, a light, airy sound. "It's just, he's so cute I can't help myself."
David didn't mind her overbearing affection. She was his mother, after all, and in the first few days of his new life, she had watched over him constantly. She could have easily passed him off to one of her many maids, but she had taken on the duty herself.
"Why don't you come meditate with me?" she murmured. "Who knows, maybe you'll be a genius with the Earth element like me…"
Lifting him from the cradle, his mother settled on the floor, crossing her legs and placing him comfortably on her lap.
She tickled his sides, drawing a gurgle from him.
"My dear David," she whispered, "I'll teach you everything there is to know about magic when you're older. Hmph. Your father wants to hire some stuffy old tutor, but that’s completely unnecessary. I can teach you everything myself."
Her playfulness suddenly evaporated. Her smile faded, and she closed her eyes, her expression becoming serene and focused.
Suddenly, the air itself seemed to shift. Motes of moss-green light, each no bigger than a grain of sand, materialized around the room. They drifted lazily at first, then began to swirl around his mother in a gentle vortex, drawn to her like iron filings to a magnet. One by one, they touched her skin and vanished, sinking into her without a trace.
What was she doing? What were those things?
[Those are particles of Earth-element mana. She is gathering them and storing them in her lower abdomen.]
Mana gathering. Of course. It was a classic technique from countless fantasy stories, a way to build a reservoir of power. And seeing it for real… it was mesmerizing. The sight was, without a doubt, the most incredible thing he had witnessed in this new life.
His mother remained that way for the better part of an hour, the silent storm of green motes continuing to flow into her. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked slightly drained but content. With a soft kiss on his forehead, she placed him back in the crib and quietly left the room.
Once she was gone, David's mind was still reeling from the display.
Could I learn how to do that?
[Analysis complete. Mana gathering technique acquired.]
[Initiate mana gathering?]
Yes. Absolutely yes. If he could summon those enchanting particles himself, the endless hours in this crib would no longer be a prison. He could pass the time and build his power simultaneously. It was the perfect solution.
[Downloading theory… complete!]
A torrent of information flooded his mind—concepts and feelings, not words. Without conscious thought, he closed his eyes and followed the new instinct blooming within him. It was a bizarre sensation, like suddenly discovering a new limb, one designed for the sole purpose of interacting with the unseen world.
Slowly, the room came alive with particles of every color. Shimmering motes of sapphire blue, fiery crimson, and brilliant silver joined the familiar mossy particles, all swirling into existence around him.
If green was Earth, then blue must be water, red was fire, and silver was air. The four cardinal elements.
[Correct. The ambient mana in this location consists of these four primary elements.]
Focusing inward, David created a vortex deep in his gut, a spiritual hurricane that began to pull on the glittering dust. The particles accelerated, streaming toward him from all corners of the room and sinking into his infant body. As they gathered in his abdomen, he felt them condense, coalescing into four minuscule, distinct points of power—one green, one blue, one red, and one silver.
If I can absorb all four, does that mean I can use all the natural elements?
[Affirmative. Furthermore, this may not represent the full extent of your capabilities. It is probable that other, rarer elements exist which are not currently present. You may possess an affinity for those as well.]
So Administrator hadn't cheaped out on his reincarnation package after all. He was one of those all-element protagonists from the stories.
The thought was exhilarating, but the process was utterly exhausting. Only a few seconds had passed, yet his tiny lungs were already heaving, gasping for breath.
[Commencing automated mana gathering during periods of rest.]
David's consciousness faded. He fell into a deep sleep, but the silent, colorful river of mana continued to flow into him, sinking into his skin as he dreamt.
Later, his mother returned to check on him. As she entered, she paused, a slight frown creasing her brow. The ambient Earth mana in the room felt… thin. Weaker than usual. She dismissed it with a mental shrug as a natural fluctuation, never suspecting that the tiny, sleeping boy in the crib was the one who had drunk the air dry.