Eight months passed in a flash. Although I was a new infant, I had essentially mastered all the skills of a baby. Crawling was the first skill I maxed out, starting with rolling over. From the second month, I diligently tried to roll over. Fortunately, the bed at home was large, and there were many people looking after me. Otherwise, I would have fallen off the bed and onto the floor a long time ago.
By the fifth month, I had learned to crawl, which seemed a bit earlier than an average baby, but it was also the result of my hard work.
This house was very large, feeling like a castle. Although I could only move within a few rooms, I could command the maids who looked after me.
I'd have her carry me, directing her with my chubby little hands, and wander around. Through the glass in the room, I could see a large wall outside, similar to a medieval castle wall. My room seemed to be in a very high place, and I saw a large city outside the wall.
It spread out in a circle, and the castle I was in seemed to be at the center of a large city.
This kind of development was perfect. I didn't want to be the son of a blacksmith in some small village, or the child of a hunter in the deep mountains.
Since I've transmigrated, why suffer when I can enjoy? A life free from worries about food and clothing, with people serving me—how satisfying is that?
There were really many servants in this house; five were assigned just to attend to me: four maids and one male servant. Their daily job was to stay by my side, taking care of all my eating, drinking, and bodily functions. Not having to hold in my poop, being able to go whenever I wanted, peeing whenever I wanted, and just crying out three times when hungry to immediately get delicious milk.
Speaking of which, it makes me angry. This family seems to have a curse. All the women in the family have small chests. None of them are well-endowed. There are also many young girls wearing maid outfits walking around. My mother, Aria Prodia Greratt, seemed to give up on breastfeeding me after the first day when she couldn't produce milk. She probably figured it wouldn't work and became disheartened.
It's fine if she doesn't breastfeed; to be honest, I'm not interested in fried eggs anyway. But for such a wealthy family not to even hire a wet nurse, I can only drink second-hand milk every day. It's truly infuriating. As a baby, my biggest hidden benefit is gone.
My vocal cords don't seem to be fully developed yet; I can only make a few separate syllables like "ah," "hmm," "ha." Although I've diligently studied the language here, I can't speak it because my vocal cords aren't ready.
I would direct the maid to tell me stories by pointing at the storybook with "ah ah ah," having the prettiest maid read to me. She probably thought I liked the illustrations. She would tirelessly tell me the stories. This way, I matched the pictures with the stories and listened to people around me for eight months.
I have mastered the language here, understanding the basics is no problem. I've also learned many characters, though I don't need to read them yet.
My parents are both very busy people. I only see them when they wake up in the morning and when they come home at night. It seems they have countless balls to attend, though these events have nothing to do with me.
Everything in this world was new to me, but my body was still small, making it impossible to experience these novelties, until this day, eight months later.
On this day, Annie, the prettiest maid, was routinely holding me and reading a storybook.
"The Demon God Laplace, having lost his memory, launched the Laplace Campaign 500 years ago, pushing humanity to the brink of extinction.
When the day of the decisive battle arrived, the last remaining Asura Kingdom on the Central Continent fought with all its might against Laplace's grand army. At this time, seven heroes led the Miris Holy Knights and the re-allied Beastmen in a surprise attack on the Demon God Laplace's location.
After a fierce battle, four heroes died. The three heroes who survived and were later known for killing the Demon God—the Dragon God Urpe, North God Kalman, and Armor Dragon King Perugius—successfully sealed the Demon God Laplace."
At first, I thought it was another children's fairy tale. While I was diligently memorizing the characters, I suddenly paused. Perugius, isn't that a character from the novel Mushoku Tensei? I also remember Dragon God Urpe and North God Kalman. Have I transmigrated into the world of the novel?
Since that day, I've especially loved looking out the window, trying to figure out if this was indeed the novel world I knew. If so, that would be too interesting. Swords and magic—this was a world I could only dream of before.
One day in mid-October, I finally confirmed it. I saw a small black dot in the sky through the window. After waiting for two hours, I didn't even need to make a confirmation. Annie, who was holding me, shouted loudly, "Look, Young Master, it's the Sky Fortress Chaos Breaker! How lucky, the last time I saw this Sky Castle was five years ago!"
The Sky Fortress Chaos Breaker—I was also stunned. This was indeed a world of swords and magic.
Now that I've confirmed this is the world of Mushoku Tensei, I can't just keep lying around on the maid's chest. As a modern young man, now that I'm here, I must experience the local characteristics.
Moreover, I remember that the amount of magic each person possesses in this world is accumulated by continuously exhausting their mana when they are young. Both the practice of chantless magic and the total amount of magic are related to whether one diligently practiced when young.
I don't know if I'm on the same timeline as Rudeus. But starting to work hard now is definitely not wrong.
At 10 months old, I could already walk. Holding the maid's hand, I toddled into the study. The study was filled with various books, at least two to three hundred. This world has no printing, so books are very expensive. This can be considered a convenience brought by my family environment.
In the maid's arms, I searched for a long time and finally found a book titled "Basic Magic Instruction." When the maid Annie saw that I wasn't holding a storybook, she was about to put it back and find another one. Fortunately, I was strong and held onto the book tightly with both hands, insisting on reading it. She couldn't argue with me and began to read "Basic Magic Instruction" to me.
As I recall, magic in this world involves using one's imagination to channel mana from the body to release spells.
For example, Water Ball involves imagining the steps of water formation and then creating a ball of water in one's hand, which is then launched. The idea is simple, but the actual execution is certainly another matter.
No rush, let's start with chanted magic. Although I still stammer and can't speak clearly, understanding the meaning is enough. After Annie finished reading "Basic Magic Instruction" to me, I stood there, mumbling, "May the great blessing of water descend upon the place you seek, and a cool, shallow stream appear here—'Water Ball'!"
The moment I finished the incantation, I felt my blood flow rapidly. From my feet to the top of my head, because my body was still small, this flow was exceptionally fast and continuously intensified until I finally felt that my blood had gathered all of a strange energy in my body into my palm. After spreading my fingers, a Water Ball about the size of a basketball appeared 5 centimeters above my palm.
I felt my body continuously pouring that energy into the Water Ball, growing from the size of an egg to the size of a human head. Finally, when I felt there was no more of that strange energy left in my body, the Water Ball stopped growing and plopped onto the ground.
A wave of drowsiness washed over me. My eyes blurred, and I lost consciousness. The maids around me initially watched me cast magic with smiles, thinking I was a child posing and playing. But when the Water Ball appeared, their mouths dropped open, and they showed expressions of disbelief.
"The Young Master can cast magic at such a young age! He must be a divine child!" No sooner said than done. The Water Ball plopped to the ground, and I fainted. Fortunately, Annie reacted the fastest. She picked me up, preventing my face from making intimate contact with the floor.
Two hours later, I slowly woke up. Not only were the maids present, but also my parents, whom I usually only saw in the mornings and evenings.
My parents hadn't seen that I had woken up yet; they were still discussing.
"Husband, is it a good thing that Dorin can cast magic at such a young age? Fainting after casting one Water Ball spell must be due to running out of magic, right? Will this affect the child's body?"
"Don't worry, my dear. My former magic teacher, Anthony, once taught me that normally, using up all your magic won't put too much strain on the body, usually only causing unconsciousness. In severe cases, it can lead to hair turning white, but that can also be reversed. You see, our child still has beautiful red hair, which means there's no major problem."
"But, Husband, Dorin can cast magic at such a young age. Could he be a divine child?"
"I'm not entirely sure about that. I plan to inform Father about this; only he can decide."
Hearing about Grandpa, my mother's expression visibly stiffened, and she showed fear and disdain.
Then Father comforted Mother, "My dear, don't worry. Although Father has a strong personality, he is still very good to his family. If you don't like him, then when we meet later, just pretend to be sick and avoid seeing him."
"Alright, I'm more worried about Dorin's health. I hope he can grow up healthy."
The matter passed like that. Although my parents discovered that I could use magic, it wasn't a particularly serious matter. The result was that I was speculated to be a divine child.
But in a sense, I am a divine child. After all, I've read the plot of Mushoku Tensei, so I can be considered a divine child with foresight.
However, this matter still needs confirmation. The novel I read was the web version of Mushoku Tensei, not the official version, so the plot might have changed in the official version. Also, I need to confirm if this timeline is the one where Rudy transmigrated. If not, then my advantage as a prophet will be gone, and I'll just have to live earnestly on my own.