In what felt like the blink of an eye, David’s first birthday arrived. The days had flown by, spurred on by a small incident in his crib. One morning, the maids discovered faint scorch marks and water stains on the wall beside his sleeping form. They were tiny, barely noticeable, but it was enough to send a wave of alarm through the entire household. A quick investigation revealed traces of magic; someone had cast a spell in the young master’s room. Though the event was minor, his mother reacted as if David had survived a botched assassination. The number of maids on duty was doubled, security was tripled, and David was summarily moved into his mother’s room to sleep for the foreseeable time. David thought it was a ridiculous overreaction, but he overheard the maids whispering that the small incident had become the talk of the entire nation. Magic investigators quickly determined that four different spells had been cast simultaneously, all originating from a single source. No big deal, David thought. But then he learned that possessing mana of multiple elements was considered exceedingly rare. A dual-element user was hailed as a genius. A wielder of three elements was a talent of transcendent proportions. But all four elements? That was the stuff of legends. Somehow, a once-in-a-thousand-years prodigy had apparently snuck into the youngest son of the Vanderbilt family’s room and cast four harmless, 1-star spells. The entire scenario made no sense. It was then that David decided to be a little more careful with his magic. Who knew how they would react if they discovered that the caster was not some mythical intruder, but a baby? Soon, the fanfare died down. Since nothing was stolen and no one was harmed, the authorities eventually chalked it up to an unusual natural phenomenon. His mother, of course, couldn't help but brag to her friends about how her son had been ‘blessed’. It was fascinating to watch her change so quickly. One moment, she was sick with worry; the next, after the investigators mentioned a natural phenomenon, she was all smiles, spinning tales of how Administrator had personally blessed David with a divine talent. David decided he would tell her the truth when he was older. [Technically, she is correct. Administrator did bless you with this life and all your powers.] Yeah, but she didn't need to know the specifics. Now she would be insufferable, bragging about it at every opportunity. Case in point: during his first birthday celebration, she greeted every high-profile guest with David in her arms, introducing him personally. She was a broken record, repeating the same lines of praise about her son until the words lost all meaning. Thankfully, his father intervened before David’s irritation could curdle into a tantrum. If it wouldn’t cause a massive commotion, David would have climbed out of the stroller and left the party himself. But he had to play the part of a baby, so he remained still, staring up at his mother’s beaming, boastful face. While he was trapped, he decided he might as well gather more mana. He was careful to draw in only a minuscule amount, not enough to arouse any suspicion. Before long, the effort and the boredom tired him out, and he began to drift off. But just as he was about to fall into a deep slumber, he caught a peculiar snippet of conversation between his parents and a guest. “I have to hand it to you, Vanderbilts. You’ve made a fine-looking son,” an old man’s voice rumbled. “All thanks to my genes, of course,” his mother replied with a light laugh. “Though, I suppose my husband contributed some of his better traits.” “Hmm… yes. I must admit, I am envious of your lineage. What say you to an arrangement that would benefit both our families? As you know, my own daughter was just born.” “I’m listening…” his mother said, her voice laced with interest. Time passed. David was now five years old. He studied his reflection in the mirror, a handsome young boy with his mother’s brilliant gold hair and his father’s sharp jawline. He raised a small hand and cast a spell. A blob of water, larger than his head, materialized in the air before him. The amount of elemental mana in his body had grown by leaps and bounds. He could now conjure enough water to fill his bathtub with a single spell—a feat he’d only ever seen accomplished mages perform. At five years old, he could cast spells with the power of a man in his mid-twenties. But perhaps the most significant improvement was his control. The water was no longer a simple blob; he could stretch, contract, and reshape it at will. If he wanted, he could even command the water to bathe him in an instant. But that, of course, would arouse suspicion. “Young master, I’m coming into the bathroom!” Beatrice’s voice called from the hall. She entered carrying a large, heavy bucket of water. Beatrice was one of David’s personal maids, the one tasked with helping him bathe. If David were to use his magic to wash himself, she would find it suspicious immediately. The tub was still empty, after all, and she was only just now carrying the first bucket. “Hahhh… this is so inconvenient,” David muttered in disappointment. Every time he needed a bath, Beatrice had to haul buckets of water from the well in the backyard, making the trip at least five times to fill the tub. “This is what I hate about living in the middle ages,” he thought. “I took the faucets in my old world for granted. If only I knew how they worked, I would build one myself…” But he’d never been much of a student, so the mechanics of modern plumbing were a complete mystery to him. [Would you like to learn how a faucet works?] HelperBot-9000’s timely suggestion startled him. His personal AI assistant wasted no time. Information flooded his mind, a direct download of diagrams and principles that granted him an immediate, intuitive understanding of plumbing mechanics. “This… I can… I can build this!” [Would you like step-by-step instructions on how to build a faucet?]

Chapter 5: A Prodigy Awakens