Chapter 3 - Lineage × Talent × Knowledge

Several days had passed since I discovered mana.

Yet, I still couldn’t convert it into magic.

I tried circulating mana throughout my body, imagining it flowing through my veins like blood, and meditated to enhance the resolution of mana, but none of the attempts yielded satisfactory results.

It’s strange.

According to the conventions of fiction, characters with the same appearance and abilities as the protagonist should be geniuses.

Am I fundamentally misunderstanding something?

For instance, is it possible that the organ responsible for transferring mana develops along with the growth of the body?

This body is still that of an infant, unable to even hold up its head.

Considering the rate of growth, it’s possible that manipulating mana is currently impossible.

If that’s the case, it would be a disappointing outcome, but the time spent facing mana wouldn’t be in vain.

I believe that this meditation will eventually become a valuable asset, so I will continue with my image training unwaveringly.

With renewed determination, I continued for several more days.

Yet, I still hadn’t achieved any results.

It’s frustrating, even though I’m just an infant.

After all, this is the slum district, and I never know when our safety will be compromised.

“kuro? I’m going to trim your nails, so be still, okay?”

Since my mother accidentally injured my skin during a diaper change, she became more cautious about her nails.

She keeps her own nails short, and she trims mine frequently.

“Yes. You did well! Good job, kuro. You’re such a well-behaved child.”

I was praised just for being quiet.

When I worked in the factory, no one ever praised me, even when I diligently perform my tasks.

Babies truly are amazing creatures.

Hooray for reincarnation!

…But this is not the time to let my guard down.

If I have both lineage and talent but can’t manifest my abilities, then the problem undoubtedly lies in my efforts.

I need to find a way to manipulate mana as soon as possible.

“Ah.”

I reached out to my mother.

“Here you go. It’s a reward. 【Cure】!”

Whether it’s trimming nails, breastfeeding, or burping, I constantly ask my mother for magic.

Since she realized that I wanted to see the magic’s light, she combined childcare with magic demonstrations at home.

“Kyakkyah!”

“kuro, you really love magic, don’t you? Oh, wait a moment, okay?”

She genuinely pays attention to me; she’s a good mother.

The reason why kuro-kun in the game became a delinquent remains mysterious.

Perhaps something unfortunate happened to him.

I’m not certain, but it’s always better to be prepared.

I want to protect my mother in this world by all means necessary.

Not only to protect myself, but that’s something I’ve come to think about.

“Um, I think it’s around here… Ah, there it is!”

My mother went a bit further away, rummaged through something, and returned holding something in her hand.

It was a long, thin rod-like object.

“kuro, it might tickle a bit, but please stay calm, okay?”

“Huh?”

My mother undressed me and pressed the rod-like substance against my heart.

(What’s happening?)

As an only child who was a virgin in my past life, I have no knowledge of raising children, but this isn’t a cultural practice in modern-day Japan, is it?

Is it some kind of local custom in this land?

“Here, like this…”

My mother pressed the rod-like substance against my chest, collarbone, shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, palm, and index finger.

Lines were drawn wherever the rod-like substance touched.

It seems it was something like a pen.

“There you go, it’s done!”“Ah?”

“Hehe, do you know what this is? It’s a magic circuit.”

What the heck!?

A magic circuit!?

“Ah! Ah!”

“Hehe, you really love magic, don’t you? Okay, kuro, what we have here is the source of magic, the magic core.”

Oh, so it has a name (surprised).

Well, of course it does (calmly).

“Starting from the sternum, clavicle, acromion, humeral head, humerus, radius, carpal bones, metacarpal bones, phalanges, proximal phalanges, middle phalanges, distal phalanges.”

While tracing lines, my mother chants a mysterious spell.

I think they’re probably the names of bones.

I recognize the sternum and clavicle.

I don’t know about the other bones, but they all connect from my right chest to my right index finger.

“Let’s visualize the flow of mana in this order. Hehe, but you still don’t understand words yet.”

I see… it’s the bones! The pathway for mana!

That was an oversight!

First, it was the sternum, right?

I’m pretty sure it’s the bone in the center of the chest, shaped like a tie.

I need to transfer the mana there… no, since the image of the magic core was fire, I should imagine the bone as a rope and transfer the fire-like mana…

“Oh!? It moved!?”

What the hell!

Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy!

I just need to transfer it to my shoulders, elbows, and fingertips, right?

“Eh? C-kuro! Have you already gained control over mana!?”

“Ah! Ah!”

There was a pale blue light emanating from my fingertips.

See, I do have both lineage and talent.

The only thing I lacked was knowledge.

Phew, now I can finally move on to the next stage of training.

“Amazing… kuro, you really are that person’s child.”

That person… Could it be my father?

My mother’s face as she strokes my head is filled with love.

“kuro, I’m sure you’ll become an amazing adventurer.”

An adventurer, huh?

In the first installment of the game series, “Rune Fantasy,” the story begins with the protagonist admiring their adventurer father and taking on the adventurer’s exam.

Will I also take on that challenge?

(…Wait a minute?)

I had assumed that kuro-kun’s appearance would come into play from the fourth installment, following the original story, but is that really necessary?

In the three previous installments, Shiro saved the world three times and grew both mentally and physically as a mature character.

If I were to confront such a hero who is still inexperienced but already overwhelming in strength…

(For example, if I take the exam at the same time as the protagonist and say, “That was Rune Magic! Could it be, Shiro!?… No, wait, who are you!?” Wouldn’t that be an exciting development?)

I’ve decided.

I’ll take the adventurer’s exam at the same time as the protagonist from the original story!

And I’ll stand out as a mysterious adventurer who looks just like Shiro and suddenly appears.

To do that, I first need to master mana manipulation!