The following month, after the old woman named Lilith's visit, Grey showed some rapid improvements from crawling and walking to reading and writing. This made it easier for him to gather some information about this world and the things that make it different from the previous one.

Firstly, he and his parents live near a forest in a house made of acacia wood with a bamboo roof, away from society. They're living a normal, common life away from trouble. Although they live far away from what they called "town," Grey always heard his parents' discussions about it and its people, causing him to be more intrigued by this new world.

Also, after reading some books that his parents had bought for him, he discovered the existence of mana in this world and its different usage from what he knew. After researching and digging up every book from his parents' closet, he finally managed to compile everything that he needs to know.

In this world, something like mana exists and is awakened through a process called "Spirit Fusion." During this process, a mana spirit fuses itself to an unborn human soul called a "host," triggering a phenomenon called "spirit marking." This mark's appearance is a sign that the merging was successful, and this mark will act as a key to access and draw power from an unknown dimension with a plentiful supply of mana.

However, Grey seemed to not possess this kind of unique mark, and he couldn't use magic. He was born without one and was still asking why, until he came up with an absurd solution after a technique from his old life suddenly occurred to him.

"If this spirit thing is similar to how magic works in my world, was it actually possible to forcefully awaken my magic?" He had an insane idea. It was an unnatural method for which he is yet to be tested. His mouth suddenly formed an eager smirk before he quietly closed the book he had been staring at for awhile.

Grey has been sneaking out of his bedroom whenever his parents are asleep in order to secretly study inside this small library prepared by his mother. He has been doing this ever since he could manage to crawl out of his crib.

"Honestly, I couldn't stand the idea of needing any spiritual interventions to awaken one's magic." He whispered to himself, letting out a sharp sigh before crossing his legs and getting into the lotus position to meditate. "Let me try a different approach."

In his previous life, there's a method similar to Spirit Fusion called [Zect] in order to trigger a soul process that grants access to a person's mana pool located inside the soul. If his assumptions are right, the "spirit fusion" also has the same logic of basically pouring potent mana into one's soul through heavenly interventions.

In [Zect], the process is almost identical to spirit fusion; the only difference is that the mana used to trigger a magical phenomenon was obtained by absorbing the natural mana in the atmosphere and just reusing that mana to produce magic. The absorption of mana could be done through intense focus and long meditations that make the consciousness remember the existence of mana in its surroundings.

Grey was unsure; however, his curiosity fueled his wondering mind. "If I would be able to use magic in this world, then maybe I could find the answer I was searching for."

"Live his life differently," were the demon's last words, and for the time he spent in this place, Grey looked for the meaning of those words, to the point where he started questioning the life that he lived in his previous world. asking himself a lot of questions like, 'Why would a demon tell me to live differently? Did I go the wrong way? or perhaps I've been living a lie?' Those questions kept on tormenting him as he dove deeper into his consciousness. His mind started feeling empty as his thoughts drifted away from reality.

However, despite having an intense focus, Grey still failed to feel the mana particles in the atmosphere. What's going on? "I can't feel magic around me." He suddenly started breathing heavily in an unstable rhythm before he completely lost focus and snapped back to reality.

"Damn it... hah... hah." He grumbled, panting heavily as sweat dripped from his premature body. 'This is harder than I expected. Maybe staying in hell for a long period of time got my senses used to its high density mana. That must be the reason why I can no longer sense any low amount of mana in this kind of atmosphere.' He thought as he tried stabilizing his breathing.

"Well, I guess I just need to focus more." He closed his eyes once again and started meditating intensely. He went deeper into his consciousness until his mind was completely emptied; everything around him feels like nothing. He couldn't hear a thing, and it feels exactly like he's in the dark void again.

'With this method, it'll be easier to sense the particles since they're less dense in this world.' His focus became more intense to the point where his mind could process any idea in the blink of an eye.

Soon after sitting there for 20 minutes, he started to notice the tiny white particles scattered around him. Little by little, seconds by seconds, more particles started appearing and started forming a vapor-like atmosphere. Grey started breathing in and out in a stable rhythm, slowly collecting the small particles that were building up in the atmosphere while being careful not to lose focus.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

The first step of awakening using [Zect] is to fill the soul with mana until it reacts on its own. The time Grey needs to spend using Zect to trigger this magical phenomenon is most likely uncertain since it depends on how much he can meditate every day.

'With my current state, it'll most likely take roughly about five to seven years, but it's better than nothing.' He thought.

Meanwhile, outside the small room, two people are on their knees while peeking through the partially opened door. "Our son is really weird," whispered the father, Edward, who was looking all worried.

"Yeah, what is he doing?" Emily whispered back a question, narrowing her eyes as she also stared worriedly at her son, Grey.

They both wake up after hearing some weird noises: grumbling, whispering, and panting. They thought their son had started going through puberty, so they hurriedly went to the study room, where the noises were coming from, and stumbled upon this scenario.

"Is he sleeping while sitting?" Edward had a puzzled look on his face. "Or perhaps he's sitting while sleeping?" He said it with a thinking face.

Emily whispered, "Those are the same things, Edward." She looked at him and let out a sigh. "I really thought our son was sleepwalking, every time he went out of our room." She buried her face in his palm. "Turns out he was just studying and sleeping in the other room." She let out a long sigh before standing from where she was kneeling. "What a weird child..." she whispered before heading towards their room. "Edward, let's go to bed, you're going to hunt beasts tomorrow." She said before entering the room.

On the other hand, Edward was still sorting through his thoughts. At first, he thought he was just too shocked that his son was growing up so fast. But for him, that wasn't simply the case. 'Grey was born with intelligence, and he's been acting strange lately. Who knows what he'll attempt to do at such a young age?' He knows that he shouldn't be thinking about these possibilities, but he was too scared that his son might encounter some difficulties caused by his lack of magic.

Although Emily might disagree with him because of his son's age, Edward finally came to one conclusion. 'Forget the hunting; I'm planning to teach Grey how to swing a sword.' He sorted out his thoughts before following Emily to their room.

The next day, Grey found himself waking up not on his small bed but lying back on the rough surface of the wooden floor inside his mini library. "Ughh!" He groaned early in the morning, feeling the pain on his back, probably from lying on the rough floor. Upon realizing that he wasn't in his usual bed, he quickly got up and rubbed his eyes. The sun shining through the window brushed his hair with its warm touch. 'Did I fell asleep last night?' He wondered, getting on his feet, looking at the slightly opened door with his blurry eyes. He blinks a few times before flipping the door open and then stepping outside. Walking a few steps in the corridor, he was already expecting to see his parents in the kitchen.

The moment Grey stepped onto the kitchen floor, as expected, he saw his mother cooking some nicely brewed soup while his dad was on his usual newspaper reading routine, sitting in the dining area.

"Good morning, mom, dad." Grey greeted them before pulling a wooden chair and sitting together with his dad. He glanced around at the usual scenario in the kitchen.

"Morning..." They both responded in sync.

"How was your sleep last night?... Uncomfortable?" Emily quickly asked, gazing at his son's face with a worried expression.

"Yeah, kind of." Grey replied with an awkward smile, scratching his head while avoiding eye contact.

His father immediately put down the newspaper, tapped on his shoulder, and looked at him. "Maybe you shouldn't tire yourself too much. I know you wanted to be a mage despite finding out that you didn't possess a spirit mark. But please, don't go pushing yourself too much." Edward said with a heartwarming smile.

"Of course, dad, don't worry." Grey replied, redirecting his eyes away from his father and avoiding eye contact. He knows that keeping them away from his malicious activity was the right choice. Especially if his parents are the most paranoid persons he has ever met. 'I can't tell them that I'm trying to forcefully awaken my soul. Knowing both of them, they might collapse out of excitement.' Just thinking about these possibilities makes him very worried and uncomfortable.

Emily is almost finished serving the food when Edward decides to bring up the discussion about training Grey to use a sword. At first he was having a hard time uttering a word, "Ummm, dear... I have something I've been meaning to tell you since last night." He said with an awkward smile, scratching his chin, and avoiding eye contact by looking at Grey.

"What is it, dear?" Emily quickly replied with a curious look, raising one eyebrow.

"A-Ahhhhmmm... I wanted to tell you that..." Edward inhaled deeply and said, "I wish to train Grey how to use a sword." He uttered it quickly.

Grey was startled upon hearing the suggestion. He quickly pointed at himself and said, "Me?" while looking at his dad with confusion. He completely forgot that his parents weren't aware that he could already wield a sword... in his previous life.

"Yeah..." Edward replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"That's fine with me," Emily sincerely replied while smiling blissfully.

'What an unusual reply.' Both father and son are thinking the same thing as they smile awkwardly in front of their beloved Emily. For them, it was indeed surprising for her to agree, especially if her son is only four months old and can barely walk.

At that moment, the air was filled with nothing but awkward silence until Grey decided to speak up. "Really?" He asked, looking at his mother and tilting his head.

"It's fine, really. I've been thinking the same thing ever since we found out that you can't use magic." Emily responded without any worries across her face. a sign that she was telling the truth.

"Well then, let's start your training today!" Edward said, almost yelling while he grabbed his son's head and started rubbing it.

Suddenly the atmosphere changed, until they took another look at Emily. "You two should finish eating your food first." She angrily spoke, widening her eyes.

"Y-Yes..." Once again, both father and son responded in sync while thinking, 'What a scary woman.' They dumped the food in their mouths and swallowed it without even chewing.

And so, starting that day, Grey started learning—more like trying to recall the feeling of holding a sword. Days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months; his father was always worked up about waking him up at 4 a.m. in the morning just to run around their backyard. It was quite bothersome for the child, but he knew he couldn't complain; after all, this is the new life he will live from now on.