It appears as if I have been abandoned. I always knew that woman was a good for nothing. Abandoning her baby at a mere 1 year old, unconscionable.

I’m not particularly broken up about it. I don’t require her help to eat any longer, so I’m good.

It’s just me and Gramps now. I don’t know the exact relation, but I can only guess with my still improving language skills. He doesn’t talk much, so my practice is pretty much nil now. Previously, I only got practice when the woman went on some tirade and was yelling at the old guy, so it’s not a big loss.

Now, my free time is divided between being completely alone in the house, and watching Gramps working out in the fields. He generally carries me out there, sits me nearby, and gets to work. It’s not a bad partnership. I don’t cry, or poop myself, and he gets to work. If anything, I can act however I want, and he probably won’t notice. That’s all the reason I need to stop pooping myself. It wasn’t so bad when I couldn’t move, but now, I can walk. And thankfully there is a stream nearby, because their excuse for toilet paper isn’t going to fly for me.

Hopefully, Gramps doesn’t tell anyone about his one-year-old baby who walks himself to the nearby stream and wipes his butt. It might generate odd stories. I have a feeling the old guy was relieved to not have to deal with this issue though, so this partnership is formed on even grounds.

My progress so far is adequate. It’s only been 15 months, but I think I’m ahead of my age group.

LV: 20 Experience: 3,585/4,166

Health: 100/100 Stamina: 80/80 Mana: 120/120

Vitality: 10

Endurance: 7

Strength: 7

Dexterity: 6

Senses: 13

Mind: 34

Magic: 12

Clarity: 14

Free Points: 190

Skills: Sense Mana (LV10), Meditate (LV14), Mathematics (LV15), Expel Mana (LV3)

My newest skill addition, Expel Mana, gives quite a lot of experience compared to the others. So far I’ve noticed three different levels of skills, but I’m not sure of the significance.

Expel mana was not an expected gain. I was thinking something like Manipulate Mana, or Control Mana would be the skill I gained, but I’m good with any sort of improvement. I wanted to interact with my mana in some way, to gain another skill that would lead me towards being able to use magic.

With Meditation being my primary skill, at least in my mind, I generally use controlled breathing to help enter a relaxed state. During one session, I noticed bits of mana moving in and out of my lungs while breathing, and my attempt to influence this led to gaining the Expel Mana skill.

This was an incredible gain, because now that I can combine Mediation, Sense Mana, and Expel Mana I can work on three skills at once. However, the biggest gain was the information that stats can improve through organic growth, because my magic stat has been improving much faster now that I have Expel Mana. It must be like some sort of magic muscle that is being worked while using the skill.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I’m nothing if not efficient, and being able to train three skills at once, while improving at least one stat, has made me quite happy. I’m in the midst of preparing a preliminary plan on improving all my other stats as well. I don’t know much about them at this point, but there must be some correlation between my Earth knowledge and improving these stats. Not to mention the plethora of fictional training methods I have stored away inside my head.

However, for now, improving my physical stats is a good bit away. Growing baby bodies aren’t good at weightlifting. So, I’ll be content for now with sitting here on this beautiful hill, gazing out at a vista of mountains and forest, watching Gramps plow into the field down below.

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Gramps POV:

This year is turning out to be quite the haul. Great rain and good weather have allowed my crops to perform above average this year. Even the earth seems to be in a good mood, as I haven’t come across nearly as many rocks this year that ruin my equipment and cause extra work.

I suppose this is life’s way of balancing out, after my good for nothing granddaughter left, and burdened me with a child of one year.

Taking a quick break, I rest my hands on the end of the plow and shift my weight to ease the discomfort in my back. It’s not easy being this old and still farming this much land. Thankfully, my high skill levels and good physical stats keep me going. I glance over at the top of the nearby hill, where my great-great grandson is sitting, in an odd posture. His eyes are closed and his hands are on his knees, his legs in a cross leg position.

I’ve grown accustomed to such strange sights, as he doesn’t behave like any child aught to. In the beginning he was a perfect example of a newborn. Cried a lot, pooped a lot, slept a lot. However, as soon as he could crawl, he was doing his business outside, and washing in the stream. I can only be thankful that I don’t have to help him, with my granddaughter being gone now, but I still didn’t believe my eyes the first time I saw it.

I couldn’t help but go back inside to laugh until I cried afterwards, watching a little boy like that try to clean his butt off in the stream, with such a look of disgust on his face that I still crack up thinking about it.

He’s an odd one, though, that’s for sure. Thankfully for me, he keeps quiet, behaves, and pretty much takes care of himself while I work. I’m not sure what I would do with him otherwise, with this new crop coming in soon. I don’t mind it, it beats having wimpy and whining children, like in the village. And like that good for nothing I no longer have to worry about.

My only son lost his life in a war, a few years back, and his wife got killed by some disease sweeping through the city. That left him to take care of his granddaughter, which he was glad to do. Either she was having trouble dealing with her emotions of her parents passing, or something else, but she was about as wild as it got. She hated the small village life, stuck her nose up at everything, especially farmers. Somehow my profession wasn’t snooty enough for her.

I guess that daughter in law of mine really was secretly a snob. I always suspected, but that boy fell in love so quick, probably right into the claws of that vixen. Convinced him to give up farming and join the military, where he could work his way up and become an officer.

I tried to tell my son, but he wouldn’t listen. That boy had no reason to be in any sort of military. He was soft, not in a bad way, but just not cut out for that cutthroat environment, rife with petty politics and political maneuvering. I still felt like I didn’t do right by my son, letting him go off and join up in the nearby city like that.

That’s why he’d be much more careful this time around. My son may not be around, but that’s not going to stop this little boy I now have from growing up and living a peaceful life.

Looking back over to the strange sight of a small child sitting completely still, he saw him looking out over the farm. They made eye contact.

He could have sworn he saw the child nod his head slightly, before closing his eyes again. What a strange boy. Whatever the case may be, it didn’t matter to him. That boy was his, and he’d take care of him, come wind or rain.