Buffs, Books and Baby steps

Over time, I got used to navigating the labyrinth. It wasn't just a confusing maze of rooms; it was more like an obstacle course designed to test my patience. Through a lot of trial and error, and with my new-found 'skills', I'd managed to map out the best route to the study.

During my labyrinth expeditions however, I'd come across several strange occurrences. If this were a game, I'd call them buffs and debuffs. Some were irritating while others were oddly beneficial.

Buffs like:

Enhanced Neuroplasticity [constant buff] - the affected user's learning is much quicker than normal.

Care and Attention [conditional buff] - when adults see the affected user, they are forced to stop what they're doing and immediately give you love and affection.

Care and Attention was nice every now and then—especially from Silvia—but it was the Enhanced Neuroplasticity that really made a difference. My brain was essentially on overdrive, letting me learn things at a speed I'd never thought possible.

It seemed like the sudden influx of my previous knowledge, memories, and experiences into such an underdeveloped brain stimulated it to develop faster than usual in order to compensate. I suspected that the neuroplasticity would only really show its full effectiveness when I started my formal education.

And then there were the debuffs:

The Crying Curse [random debuff] - affected user bursts out crying whenever this debuff activates.

Shaky Legs [random debuff] - forces the affected user to collapse when trying to use the sitting or crawling skills.

Pee Body [random debuff] - the affected user will pee themselves whenever this debuff activates.

Anytime the debuffs procced it was an instant run ender. The worst thing was how they would often chain. Pee Body leading to Shaky Legs and eventually the Crying Curse... just thinking about it brings back awful memories. The worst memory being from 2 months ago.

At that time, all three debuffs procced at once and superman Glyffe had to pick me up, calm me down and change my pants. Thankfully that was a onetime thing. Since then, only at most two of the debuffs have procced at once. 

Another thing I noticed is that my dad's name was not Glyve but Glyffe. My mini baby ears had misheard the 'v' sound and mistaken it for the 'ff' sound.

Surprisingly, I had accurately made out the name Silvia. If I had made it out wrong again and her real name was actually Silffia - then her name would be a little too reminiscent of a certain silent bodyguard elf.

I still hadn't gone outside just yet - my body was quite frail and I needed all the nurturing I could get. Usually, Silvia would stay home and take care of me while Glyffe went out, did the shopping, exercised and did whatever else he did. I couldn't know.

They rarely reversed the roles where Silvia went out and Glyffe stayed home though it did happen from time to time.  Admittedly, that was my own fault, because I made such a scene whenever I was left with Glyffe.

It wasn't intentional - it was just the crying curse... Okay, maybe it was a little intentional. Glyffe was just so much less understanding and comforting than Silvia. Sometimes you don't want to be spun around and thrown in the air, you know?

Plus, it was just so easy to cry with this baby body. Like a genius child actor, I could flick a crying switch at any time. It wasn't hard to take advantage of that when I needed some attention.

As of late, Silvia had caught onto to my fake crying and would frequently exclaim "Reno, not again!" when she noticed. In that sense, maybe I'm not the genius actor I thought I was.

Reno. Reno Frostworth. That was my name in this new world. A nice sounding and fairly cool name if I do say so myself.

I still didn't know what I looked like in this world because, while I knew there was a mirror in the bathroom, I also knew I was still too small to reach it. It still wasn't time for my face reveal - not that I had any subscribers to appreciate it. 

Something else I realised was that they were definitely speaking a foreign fantasy language. At least it was nothing like anything I'd ever heard on Earth. It also didn't help my baby ears still weren't very developed yet.

I'd managed to decipher quite a few words like "not, okay, dinner, come, ready, again" which was impressive considering the circumstances. Still a lot to work on in terms of language though.

During these nine months, I also came across my first big decision as a son. My first word. 

Specifically last month, I was sat in our library, a book lay flat opposite me and I was reading away intently. Then, suddenly, I felt a familiar sweep and flew off the ground accompanied by a sweet voice.

"Reno dinner's ready," Silvia spoke jovially. She caught me off guard.

One second, I had been trying to decipher the words of the books from afar and the next moment Silvia's face was strangely close to mine. Being caught by surprise like this I let out a sudden cry.

"Mama."

Not my proudest moment calling a young woman that as a fifteen year old adolescent but a moment to take pride in as a 9 month year old baby. I had managed to say my first words and all it took was a moment of surprise. I did always know I was a mama's boy.

What I didn't expect, however, was Silvia's reaction. Her face froze in shock and her smile stiffened slightly. Her dazzling azure eyes glistened and small drops of water condensed deep in the corner of her eye.

Droplets of water fell slowly onto my navy-blue baby clothes as I watched Silvia cry for the first time in my life, her tears falling like raindrops. Then her face bloomed into an even wider, brighter smile, which only accentuated her beauty.

Unfortunately, Glyffe wasn't in the house at the time - probably shopping. After hearing what happened earlier, a strange situation unfolded where Glyffe started trying to get me to call him 'daddy'.

Now as shameless as I might be I wasn't that shameless. Unluckily for Glyffe I wasn't about to call a grown man daddy - my pride was still a little too much for that. 

Glyffe was surprisingly persistent since learning I had said 'mama'. He would often pick me up randomly throughout the day and say, "Hi Reno, I'm your daddy! Can you say daddy?".

I shuddered internally at the thought but I couldn't let him know I was secretly a fifteen year old reincarnated into his son's body. I had to think of something fast.

Glyffe had begun to suspect me for always crying when he picked me up. He began routinely spinning me around in an attempt to get me to stop crying. To his surprise, it worked. And it worked really well.

I despised being spun like that. I might've loved roller coasters in my past life but being spun around like that left a very sour taste in my mouth. After a thorough, in-depth analysis, I determined a blow to my pride was the best case scenario here.

Eventually, I caved in under the pressure of being spun constantly – finally calling him papa a few weeks later. Glyffe couldn't contain his joy and spent the entire week laughing like a drunken fool. But that's a story for another time.

It was a blow to my pride but the concession was ultimately necessary - he was my dad in this world after all.

Like this I'd been getting closer to my new parents and adapting to life as a baby. And that's how I spent my first nine months since my reincarnation.

Some time had passed, and I was now two years old. Having grown physically, many of the challenges I faced nine months ago were a thing of the past. For instance, the random debuffs had finally worn off.

Take the dreaded Crying Curse, for example. I could control my tears, and mastery of my bladder was in sight. I guess you could say potty training was only a hop, skip and a flush away.

Bad jokes aside, it was a relief to feel more in control of my day-to-day activities. Having your body act unpredictably wasn't enjoyable - and I'm sure everyone would agree.

The most noticeable improvement, at least to me, was my leg strength. I had even unlocked a new skill: Walking. With this ability, I could now... well, walk. It's an ability most people take for granted, but I definitely wouldn't.

Being able to walk made my daily activities much easier; trips to the house library became smoother and took less meticulous planning.

Since I was able to access to it more often, I had now visited the library dozens of times. Having scanned through my fair share of the books within, I'd uncovered a frightening truth about a large portion of the books.

They were empty.

Yes, you heard me right - empty. Well, that isn't quite the full story. Less of empty and more of blank. Completely blank. It seemed like many of the books were there simply to provide paper for letters, maps or anything else.

Drawing in the blank books was surprisingly fun - much more than I would've expected. While it wasn't great for learning about the world around me, it was certainly enough to amuse me from time to time. I guess my age in this world affected the things I enjoyed too.

Among the heaps of books, a few stood out - the honoured ones you could say. Though I couldn't read this foreign language very well as of right now - I could tell those eleven books were bestsellers.

From the eleven books there was: eight fairy tales, one about civilization and another about other races.

The fairy tales spoke of mystical lands beyond imagination: great heroes embarking on epic quests, strange floating continents defying the law of gravity, and forgotten islands shrouded in the mists of time.

There were disappearing cities, breathing jungles pulsing with life, frost volcanoes erupting with bursts of icy fury and cursed citadels steeped in dark legends. These stories were so vivid they felt surreal, even to a seasoned fantasy light novel reader.

Even though I referred to them as fairy tales, each author insisted the stories were based on reality in some way. Truthfully though, that seemed so ridiculous, I considered them pure fiction.

The book about civilization featured detailed maps and portraits of the great kings of old. It delved deeply into our continent's ancestral history and how it shaped the world of today.

Comparatively, the book about other races differed. It outlined their race's continents and their ancient history and what that meant for humans as a race.

There was even a section on the unique traits and quirks of different races and how humans should interact with them if given the chance. Just in case of culture shock or something similar.

These books were a nice find as it just about confirmed my suspicions of this being another world. I mean normal earthlings wouldn't have books which were this detailed on fantasy races and ancient magical empires, right?

I couldn't be sure how to read a lot of the words in these but using the pictures was a good first step. Learning to read books in a completely foreign language was a tall task - so any bit of progress was worth celebrating. 

I mentioned there were eleven books, but only described ten. That was intentional as the eleventh one was slightly special compared to the rest. 

It was a grimoire.

At least what I thought was a grimoire - it was probably just a beginner magic textbook.  Something like "A Beginner's Guide to Magic" if you will.  I mean it looked aimed towards kids from the vivid colour palette.

If I ever went book shopping, the author 'Asim Clevio', was one to look out for. His grimoire was perfect to learn the alphabet from, because of the clarity of the text. I was hoping it would eventually teach me magic too.

I think it covered the basics of magic and some common beginner spells—at least, that's what Silvia said when I asked her about it. My current ways of passing the time included reading lessons with Silvia, napping, and flipping through the library books. To wrap up the day, Silvia would usually read me a bedtime story as well.

While it initially felt awkward to be read a bedtime story at my age, I got used to it. Plus, it reminded me of when I was much younger back on Earth with my real parents. Those were fond memories I'd gladly relive.

The bedtime stories were usually selected from one of the eight fairy tales mentioned earlier. Eventually, Silvia worked her way through all eight, only to start over again on the first book the next night. It felt like an endless loop—an 'Endless Eight,' if you will.

I had a personal favourite from the eight fairytales. It was titled,  'Legend of the White Dragon'. It told the story of a lonely dragon who started off as a little koi fish in a small pond. One day, a human boy saw the fish – along with other fish - caught in a trap and vowed to save them.

The boy, kind-hearted and brave, dove into the crystal-clear waters without a second thought. The little fishes flapped helplessly in the tangled net, floundering in desperation. Ripping through the net the boy comforted them softly,

"You're all free now."

All the fishes but two left immediately. One of the fishes who stayed was the little koi who couldn't bear to leave without thanking the boy.

"Thank you for your kindness human, I will never forget this!" The koi fish spoke in earnest, his true feelings on display for all to see.

"Any time!" The boy grinned in reply, clearly happy he made a difference. Just then,

Plop! Plop! Plop!

The sound of a fish bobbing up and down caught their attention. The boy and the koi turned towards the source - it was the other fish that stayed: a cuttlefish.

"Don't mind me you two!" it bubbled, cheerfully splashing about, "I'm just a cuttlefish that loves diving!" it continued joyfully. "But yeah, thanks for the save kiddo."

For a moment the boy, the koi and the cuttle were silent – then they all began to laugh together.

The story continued from there to follow the rest of the koi fish's growth and his journey to becoming the legendary white dragon. After many lucky chances and much perseverance, the koi fish leapt over the dragon gate, becoming a real dragon.

Now that he was a real dragon, he searched endlessly to repay the young boy but alas, it was to no avail. Disheartened, he decided to look for the cuttlefish that loves diving – perhaps he knew where the boy was. Unfortunately, that search came up short too.

It's said the dragon swore to protect humanity from then on to repay his debt to the young boy. Apparently, while on his travels of saving humans, he unknowingly ended up saving the young boy who was now an old man.

Quite a cliché story, right?

It wasn't the first time I'd heard a story like that, but this one resonated with me. I had always thought being eternally grateful was a burden, but the dragon saw it differently. To him, it wasn't a burden, but a gift - a way to share his newfound purpose with others.

Even with humans planting traps to harm his kind, he managed to see the good in them and forgive the very people that trapped him. To have the ability to exact revenge but choose not to - an upstanding character.

Unfortunately, in all likelihood this was a story told just for kids to learn to forgive others - completely fictional. Regardless, anytime Silvia read Legend of The White Dragon it was always a goodnight. 

Silvia had her own favourite of the five. "Tale of The Sky Empress". A tragic love story of a young girl, from a world in the skies, falling down to the human realm.

The story tells of a young man who met a homeless girl on a familiar street. His town wasn't particularly large, so he often saw the same faces. But this encounter was irregular—not something his regular town had seen before.

The middle of the street, broad daylight, amidst a cascade of feathers lay a girl - unconscious. In a classic boy meets girl story the young boy found himself taking care of her and eventually taking a liking to her. He soon realised the girl had amnesia.

Over time they grew closer and before he knew it the boy found himself feeling a way he never had. He was in love. And like wildfire the love spread rapidly between them. A couple was born that fateful night.

And then they lived happily ever after.

Well, that's what you'd normally expect from a kid's fairytale but the story goes on.

On that fateful night, a couple was born - but not one destined for fortune or favour. Slowly the girl began to regain her memories, creating a conflict between her two identities.

She realised she had to return. Due to a curse placed upon her race - the sky people - she couldn't leave her world in the skies for too long. This wasn't her rightful place. But with her wings injured from the fall she couldn't fly again. Not without help.

With no way to contact anyone to help her, she was trapped. A nightmare she couldn't wake up from. Tossing and turning, the young man made a critical decision. Left with no choice, he forcibly cast a supremely powerful wind spell, in hopes that it could return her to her rightful place in the skies.

They made a pact to see each other as often as possible. The girl promised to let the boy onto the sky island - a place previously reserved only for her people. In return, the boy vowed to show her everything the human world had to offer. They swore to honour their agreement, binding themselves with an oath made beneath the stars.

Once he cast the spell, he watched her soar into the distance, masking his true feelings with a smile as she joyfully flew away. Filled with excitement to return to her royal kingdom, she arrived in high spirits. However, upon her return, she learned a harsh truth: sky people and humans were forbidden to be together.

She couldn't believe it. Rather, she didn't want to. Taking matters into her own wings, she secretly planned to return as soon as she could. Weeks later she returned to the human realm, only to find her partner had died shortly after he cast the spell.

The young girl, the sky empress of the world, could only return helplessly to her sky island, shrouded in deep melancholy. Legend says the world's storms are her way of venting her anger at life's cruel unfairness.

By this point in the story, Silvia was always crying. She loved this story a little too much. I was almost certain an anime studio like Jhibli or Nufotable in my old world could adapt this story into a cinematic masterpiece - it's a shame neither Silvia or I would ever see it though.

I could tell this story meant a lot to her - she had been reading it since she was a child. Her mother used to read it to her just like she was reading it to me. In that sense, it was a cherished family tradition.

In fact, I was sure she had memorised the entire story and could confidently recite it from memory. The only thing she wished to correct was the ending - specifically the girl's reaction to the young boy's death.

Silvia knew the boy didn't want to cause her such pain. He made the best of a difficult situation. He loved her completely and wouldn't want her to vent her anger by sending storms to humans so frequently.

Of course, this story seemed even less plausible than the legend of the white dragon. Mainly because it just seemed like an etiological myth - a myth which describes why the world is a certain way. Something like Prometheus stealing fire to explain how humans obtained fire in my old world.

I mean how could there possibly be continents in the sky? And one completely undetectable to humans? I mean how would that even work? What sort of magic could possible hoist someone from the human world to this realm in the skies anyways?

The story raised more questions than it answered, but I wasn't one to dwell on it too deeply - tragedies weren't really my thing. I preferred stories with a satisfying ending where reflection was encouraged.

Either that or an inspiring story where the main character constantly defies all odds to emerge victorious—something like The Heroic Tales of The Paladin Hero. This book was Glyffe's favourite.

It told the story of a knight captain in the military who was deeply in love with the princess of his time. He was willing to do anything to win her hand in marriage. Tragically, the princess fell gravely ill with a devastating sickness.

The court physicians - lacking any means to deal with this terrifying illness - were powerless to help. In desperation, the king summoned a world-renowned figure, the great alchemist Synthio. Synthio declared that he could create a cure - but only if he could obtain certain magical materials from cursed forbidden lands.

This put the king in a difficult position; he couldn't, in good conscience, send his men into death traps, even for his daughter. After all, he was a virtuous king. That's when the knight captain - who would later be known as the Paladin Hero - stepped forward.

With a small brigade of his most trusted men, the knight captain dove headfirst into unfathomable dangers - determined to save the princess.

They journeyed past twilight fortresses and crystal caverns, across bloodstone deserts and weeping plains, through shattered realms and labyrinths of forgotten dreams.

What was meant to be a mere few years of travel became an odyssey of a lifetime. A saga filled with endless dangers, heart-stopping thrills, and unrelenting trials.

From trading with elusive elves and bargaining with drunken dwarves, to braving torrential waterfalls and escaping erupting volcanoes, their journey was nothing short of legendary.

After reaching the final forbidden land – The Abyssal Forest - the knight captain and his men fought off a multitude of monsters, coming out victorious after a gauntlet of treacherous battles.

Soon enough, the final treasure and the one the princess needed most - The Evernight Flower – was spotted. Know to only grow in extreme darkness, the Evernight Flower was rare even in the Abyssal Forest.

On that day, the men witnessed something that no one in history could claim to have seen. Before their eyes, the Evernight Flower bloomed.

A wilted blossom slowly transformed, petal by petal, until it unfurled into a magnificent full bloom. The flower radiated a soft, purple, ethereal light that enveloped the surrounding grey trees and pools of ash, illuminating the forest like a starry night.

Its light was a beacon of hope to the great brigade, offering a priceless dream. And yet... the real nightmare was still to come.