It had been about four years since Nova was born.
Compared to when he first arrived a helpless, crying baby he could now move his body properly. Or at least, to a decent extent. He could speak, and he could finally understand what people were saying.
That was how he learned his parents' names: Akio Lythe, his father, and Mira Lythe, his mother.
But they weren't the only ones in the house.
There was also the maid, Melissa.
Currently, Nova was in the house library, balancing on a stool and trying desperately to reach a book on a high shelf.
Their home was a two-story building, fairly large and well-furnished. You could say they were a cut above the average villager.
"Finally, I got it."
Nova sighed with relief as his small fingers hooked around the spine of the book.
He had tried many times in the past to reach this specific one. Why this book? Because the front cover read: 'Basic Foundations of Magic.'
After spending four years in this world, and utilizing the intelligence from his past life, he had easily mastered the language and learned to read.
His mother used to read him storybooks to help him sleep, which helped, though he never explicitly asked her to.
"Now, let's get reading."
Nova sat down in a lotus position, crossing his little legs. He placed the dusty book on his lap and flipped it open.
In this world, everyone possessed mana. However, the amount varied from person to person. Some didn't even have enough to light a candle.
'I wonder if I have this mana too,'
Nova thought as his eyes scanned the pages.
The book explained that to create magic, you needed imagination. The more advanced the magic, the harder the visualization and the more mana required.
"So, the book says to use magic, I have to sense the mana stored in my chest, bring it toward my hand, and cast the spell."
Enthusiastic to try out his newfound knowledge, he jumped up from his sitting position.
He closed his eyes and tried sensing the mana. Fifteen minutes passed. Nothing.
But he didn't give up.
He raised his hand, squeezed his eyes shut, and imagined a roaring fireball. He focused on the sensation of heat.
He felt something gathering in his hands.
Suddenly, he felt a comfortable, warm burn on his palm.
He opened his eyes. He was surprised to see a real flame hovering over his hand, though it was no bigger than a pinky finger.
A grin slowly escaped his lips.
'With this, I can conquer the world. I don't need to live my life like I did in the past—scrounging for scraps.'
His happy grin slowly twisted into something else. The expression of a maniac.
"Hahahahahahaha..."
"Young Master, it is time for dinner."
His evil laugh was instantly cut short.
Standing at the door was a woman with brown hair, brown eyes, and an amazing figure—Melissa, the housemaid.
"O-Oh... Okay, I'll be there soon," Nova stammered, startled. He wasn't sure if she had seen him laughing like a villain.
"Okay."
Melissa turned and left the library.
'The Young Master is definitely possessed by something,'
she thought to herself as she walked down the stairs to the dining room.
This wasn't the first time she had caught him doing weird stuff.
He would try to touch her chest whenever she carried him as a baby, or she'd find him sneaking around the house like a spy.
'But that laugh today... that was the scariest one ever.'
***
Weeks passed.
Nova could now create a small fireball and a water jet using his imagination. It was more complex than it looked.
For the water jet, he had to mentally compress the water into a tiny drop and release it with force though it not yet strong enough to pierce anything.
For the fire, he simply added more mana as fuel to make it grow.
One afternoon, he stood on a stool looking out the window, watching his father train in the scorching sun.
Swish. Woosh.
'Doesn't he get tired? Oh no, he spotted me.'
"Hey Nova! Why don't you leave the library and come train with me?"
'Is he alright? Who asks a four-year-old to train? Especially in this sun?'
'I bet he is just joking... right?'
Clack.
The sound of the front door opening saved him.
Just as if God was answering his prayers, his mom walked out.
An idea immediately popped into Nova's mind.
"Okay, Dad! I will come and train with you in this blazing hot sun!"
he shouted loudly.
Then, he looked toward his mother with big, innocent eyes.
"How can you ask our newborn baby to do such a treacherous thing?"
Mira snapped at her husband. "He is only four, after all!"
'Good, Mom, let him know,'
Nova thought. 'Though calling me a baby boy might have been a little harsh.'
"I started training when I was only three!" Akio countered. "And Nova is already four."
'Who trains a child at three? I am sure that is child abuse,' Nova murmured to himself.
But Mom came to the rescue once again.
"You are not doing that with our son. Why don't you take a break, Akio? We will all go have some snacks."
'Snacks. Now that is what I want to hear.'
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A while later, all of them were sitting in front of the house, enjoying the snacks. Melissa was there too; she was treated more like family than a servant.
"Dad, can you tell me about monsters?" Nova suddenly asked.
Even though there were no books in the house that explicitly discussed monsters, Nova had noticed signs that they existed in this world.
He had heard neighbors whispering about them.
Akio was surprised, but quickly readjusted his expression to a serious one.
"Well, monsters are ferocious beasts that lurk around and eat bad children."
Nova looked at his mother first to see her reaction, but she was too busy munching on her snacks to care.
Then he looked back at his father with disdain clearly written on his face.
'Does he think I am an idiot? Fine, I will play along.'
"Dad, I would like to grow stronger and kill all the monsters in the world," Nova said, forcing his voice to sound even more childish and heroic.
"Even if some children are bad, that doesn't mean they should be eaten by monsters, right?" he continued.
He stood up, looking determined.
"So, I have chosen the path to become the strongest person in the world"
Everyone froze. They looked at him in shock—especially Melissa.
'With that, I can focus on getting stronger while hiding my goal to conquer the world.
Why would I want to become stronger because of monsters eating bad children? Who cares?'
That was Nova's thought.
His parents smiled genuinely and seemed proud of their determined son.
*
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*'
[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
What do you think about Nova learning magic?
I want us to quickly get to the action part.