***

Without a calendar and a clock, the passage of time was almost an abstract thing. Tao tried to count the days but soon got bored and eventually gave up. The only evidence of the passage of time was the changes in nature. Flowers bloomed, the leaves of the trees turned golden, and the vegetables in the garden outside the house ripened.

It seems that I have been here for four or five months, maybe more... If autumn is starting now, then I was born in spring, Tao reasoned.

He had set himself the goal of not talking or walking before the age of six months, but unfortunately, this proved too difficult.

"Say 'Mama'! Say 'Mama'! 'Mamma'!" - Sofra repeated over and over, playing with Tao.

At first, he just laughed, but as time went on it became tiresome. Eventually, Tao couldn't stand it.

"Mama!" he responded, to silence the woman.

Seeing his mother's surprised face, Tao realized that he had made a mistake in the infant's behavior, but water had already spilled. Recovering from her surprise, Sofra insisted on asking her son to repeat this word and later told others about it. Of course, the neighboring women did not want to believe and wanted a demonstration. Tao considered pretending not to understand, but when he saw how proud and happy his mother looked, he gave in. Although no one looked angry not everyone expressed such blind joy as Sofra.

The second mistake was about physical abilities. Since magic training usually ended in unconsciousness, Tao decided to spend some time exercising beforehand. It was very tiring not to be able to control his body, not even just to stand up. After some time, Tao achieved his goal of being able to stand up on his cradle. He couldn't leave it, as the cradle was about a meter above the ground, but he still felt happy about this achievement.

But once again, Sofra managed to annoy him. The mother began to hold her son up in the air by his armpits, forcing him to support himself on his own legs. At first, he made no effort to stand and fell to the ground on his bottom, hoping that the woman would give in. Apparently, mothers had an absurd ability to repeat the same tedious action over and over, no matter how pointless it seemed.

You want me to stand? Okay! Tao thought angrily and leaned his feet on the ground.

Once again Sofra expressed her joy and surprise and proudly told others about it. When Indres returned home and heard the news, he was more reserved than his wife, but still looked happy and even patted Tao's head. People began to call him by name, which meant "blessed" or "gifted". Perhaps in this world, it meant genius.

When the father was away for several days, the mother took the children to bed with her at night. Although it was not unpleasant, Tao lost the opportunity to practice magic. He considered sneaking out of the bedroom while his mother slept but realized that he was not yet strong enough to safely crawl out of bed and climb back in.

This prompted a new experiment - trying to activate the magic without saying the words aloud. Although at first Tao was able to summon magic only by saying words out loud, later he was able to do it in whispers. There was a possibility that it was not obligatory to pronounce the words.

When the father was at home and wanted to spend the night with his wife, the children slept in the other room. Tao used this time to learn the other magic that his mother demonstrated. He did not want to burn his cradle or freeze it, so he was very cautious. It turned out that fire magic did not produce fire, only a hot spot at the end of the finger. When Tao brought this spot close to a small piece of cloth, it immediately started to smoke, so he stopped the magic immediately.

Something like a magnifying glass that concentrates sunlight into a single point, I'd say, Tao concluded.

The magic that froze the water was harder to understand. When Tao summoned it and held his hand in the air, he felt something coming out of his palm, but nothing special happened. When he risked bringing his other hand closer, he felt a slight chill, but not strong enough to explain the rapid freezing. The wooden frame of the cradle was not much affected by the magic either, only the surface became slightly colder when Tao touched it with his palm. But when he let the magic work on his saliva, it froze instantly.

Seems like, it only works on liquids... but it probably doesn't affect water in the human body... or is that because it's my body? But to try it on others... maybe a fly or a spider... Tao's mind began to consider less ethical experiments.

Summon light, light a fire, and freeze water - these were the only three magics his mother used regularly, so he couldn't learn more for the time being. Tao had noticed, however, that the kitchen also contained a sort of primitive chemistry set, which his mother sometimes used to process various plant or animal ingredients into liquids, ointments, and powders. When Sofra did this, she sometimes used magic, but with more complicated words and gestures. Mother never kept Tao by her side during this work and did not allow her daughter to go closer, so he could not see and repeat it well. From the outside, it looked like a witch's ritual or an alchemist's transmutation.

Sofra didn't do it for fun. All produced things were stored in a large, locked cupboard in the bedroom. When a stranger, not a neighboring aunt, came to visit his mother would usually give this visitor something from the big closet and exchange it for a gift of food or metal coins. Apparently, she earned money this way. Tao judged that Sofra was not a real doctor, more like a pharmacist or something like that.

If it was impossible to learn something new, he had to concentrate on what he already knew. As with light magic, Tao also tested the duration and intensity of flame and ice magic. It turned out that the same principle applied to all magic: with effort and concentration, the effect was stronger and lasted longer.

Tao was almost caught one night. It turned out that his mother was in the other room smelling smoke from a burnt piece of cloth, and began to look for its source. Luckily, Tao managed to lie down and pretend to be asleep when his mother came into the children's room. Although Sofra found nothing suspicious, Tao decided not to burn any more items indoors.

He also discovered that he could summon more magic with time. If on the first night, Tao could only summon light magic in the palm of his hand about 10 times before he felt sick, a month later he could do it 20 times, and in better quality and for longer. Apparently, like physical abilities, magical abilities improved with practice.

Every time Tao summoned magic, he felt something in his head, in his mind. It was hard to describe, but somehow the sensation reminded him of a time in his previous life when he was in a hospital and he felt a fluid being pumped through a vein in his arm. As soon as the magic wore off, the strange sensation disappeared without a trace. Tao tried to balance his concentration, maintaining the effect of the magic, while at the same time trying to pay attention to the sensation. He also had the impression that the magic was not coming from the void but was being "pulled out" of his body, concentrated in the skin of his palm, above his palm or fingers.

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Tao was prepared to learn magic by staying awake all night and sleeping during the day, but this was not necessary. Despite gradually being able to summon magic more times, within a few hours he was drained. The physical exercises also tired him quickly, so most of the night was spent sleeping.

On the one hand, this was not a bad thing, as it allowed Tao to continue learning the local language, culture, and living conditions. He listened attentively to conversations nearby and observed his surroundings when he was carried out of the house. Tao learned that he lived in a village of several hundred people, as far as he could tell. The village was surrounded by a wooden fence, and at the gate were guards armed with spears, shields, and bows. He saw a variety of animals, similar to cows, sheep, goats, and dogs in the previous world, but not completely identical. Foodstuffs and ready meals were different. True, in his previous life Tao had never left his home country, so he could not claim that there were no similar foods on Earth.

When Indres returned home, he usually brought dead animals. The spear in the man's hand and the bow and arrow behind his back indicated how he obtained these animals. His father was probably a hunter by profession.

Tao noticed that many of the men had a dagger in a sheath on their belt, while the children often played with wooden swords, spears, and shields. There were no guns or anything of the sort anywhere to be seen. Perhaps in this world, or at least in this culture, they had not yet been invented.

Hmm... maybe I could become an inventor? Tao considered.

He didn't want to introduce weapons into this world that would make wars more terrible, however, so he resolved to be careful with inventions from his past lives.

In general, walks outside and visits from other people were infrequent. Most of the time, Sofra was busy with her various jobs and only played with the children when she took a break from work and in the evenings. Unlike Safia, who was allowed to walk around the room or kitchen in the presence of adults, Tao was still put in a cradle with a few toys. Sometimes he pretended to play with them so as not to worry his mother, but mostly he felt bored to death.

To entertain himself, Tao sometimes invoked the magic of light by sliding his hand under the blanket and saying words in a whisper. He could only do this if his mother was doing something louder. When Tao tried to summon magic without sound, just moving his lips, it never worked, no matter how hard he concentrated.

But Tao discovered something else: by focusing his attention, he could move the power of magic in his body by thoughts. When Tao invoked magic and focused his attention on the sensations in his body, he could perceive a faint movement in his head and arm. Although he could not summon magic without words, when Tao focused his mind on repeating the movement in his body, he felt a reaction. It was not easy and required great concentration, and the sensation was not clear and easy to understand. It was something like trying to move mist or smoke in a certain direction by waving your arms while the mist strived to return back if you stopped.

Tao didn't truly know what the practical significance of this was, but he hoped it would help him understand magic better. Besides, he had nothing better to do anyway.

With time, the ability to move magic within the body improved, and even became more pronounced than when the magic was summoned. Tao discovered that he could direct it to a specific arm, leg, or any other part of the body, concentrating it in greater quantities.

How much magic can I collect in one point? Tao thought of a new experiment.

He began to concentrate the magical power in his palm, at one point, imagining that he wanted to create a magical ball of energy, just like in the popular manga. Visually, there was nothing to see, but Tao could feel the power moving, like blood in the arteries. The insides of his palm began to churn, encouraging him to continue. It was difficult to concentrate the force at one point, like trying to squeeze a bigger ball into a smaller one, but the squirming sensation was gaining strength, confirming that he was making progress...

Suddenly, Tao's palm began to bleed. He freaked out and released the force. The blood continued to run down his arm, soiling his clothes. Tao felt pain as he moved his fingers slightly, confirming that the injury was not simple.

Damn it, I won't be able to hide it... Tao felt panic.

At first, he wanted to think things over carefully, but the pain in his palm took hold, and the blood didn't stop flowing. Tao did not want to start his new life as an invalid, so he decided not to hesitate and cried loudly to get his mother's attention. As could be expected, she became very worried when she noticed the bloody hand. Sofra took Tao out of the cradle, washed off the blood, and examined the wound. She anointed it with a strong-smelling ointment and bandaged it. The pain diminished, the bleeding subsided, and although it was still painful to bend his fingers, Tao was able to move his hand freely. He felt relieved and even smiled gratefully at his mother. Sofra seemed quite confused by what had happened and carefully checked the cradle and Tao's toys, trying to understand what could have hurt her son.

The incident did not end there; in the evening Sofra told her husband everything and showed him the wound when it was dressed. Tao saw that the inside of his palm had turned a deep shade of crimson and purple as if he had received a kind of bruise. Indres also seemed to be perplexed by his son's injury.

“It looks like a gerena,” he said softly, touching Tao's palm gently with his finger.

“Tao is a baby, it's a nebero! Maybe it's hahote trosen, or nahikrmate?” Sofra objected.

“I don't know... I don't like it, siriko panate like gerena... Maybe selesti knows. I'll go and tell him tomorrow.”

“Soverati seari! Tao veneti was serent... how did this sate happen!?”

Tao still didn't understand many of the words, but it was obvious that the injury looked like something familiar. They didn't want to believe it could have happened to Tao though, probably because he was a baby.

It was because I was trying to use magic... probably at my age children can't do that and get injured like that, Tao was forced to conclude.

He also didn't know who this 'selesti' was that his father promised to bring tomorrow.

That night, mother took Tao to bed with her, as if worried that he might get worse. Tao didn't mind, he decided not to use magic for the time being.

It turned out that selesti was an old man with a long, grey beard. Tao remembered him from the evening when he discovered that he was reborn in a different world. The grey-headed man had summoned the light during a village celebration. Although now his clothes were not much different from those of the other villagers, the man wore a chain around his neck on which hung a silvery metal article, decorated with colored stones or crystals. It resembled a star with many rays and looked quite valuable.

Tao got the impression that his parents were treating this man with more respect than other guests, so he became even more nervous when his mother sat next to the old man with her son on her lap. Tao resolved not to show his anxiety and diligently played the part of a normal, silly infant.

Sofra began to tell the old man what had happened while he listened, studying Tao's face. Then he asked her to remove the bandage from the wound. Studying the wound, the old man furrowed his brow, then pressed a finger lightly on his palm. The wound was tender and hurt, though not too badly. Tao decided to react according to his age and raised his voice, but not too loud. The man let go of Tao's hand while his mother began to comfort him.

Tao's parents and the old man continued to discuss what had happened. The word "gerena" came up again, although it did not seem to be considered the cause. Sofra started asking for something, asking for help. The conversation continued, with Indres also getting involved; it looked like Tao's parents agreed on something with the man. Then Sofra again extended her son's hand towards the old man. He raised his palm over Tao's tiny hand, and with his other hand, he cupped the star-shaped trinket on his chest and closed his eyes.

The man's voice became different - deeper, even superhuman as if processed in a sound-mixing app. He spoke in an impressively solemn way, like a priest in a church. If Tao had experienced something like this in the previous world, he would have thought he had met a charlatan. Here the situation was different: the light came out of the man's hand and completely covered Tao's wound. The hand was warmer overall, but the wound area seemed pleasantly cooler and a little itchy.

A minute later the light disappeared and the old man lowered his arms. Tao looked down at his palm and saw that the wound was lighter, closer to a natural skin tone. When he flexed his fingers, he hardly felt any pain.

Magical healing... Tao was amazed.

It was far more impressive than lighting a flame or freezing water. He had no idea what else magic could do.

His parents expressed their gratitude to the old man, not only with words but also with a gift of money. If he didn't have to play the role of an ordinary infant, Tao would thank him too.

He was determined to continue his magic experiments. Despite the possibility of injuring himself, Tao could not ignore the power that was welling up in his body. He wanted to harness it and control it. To master the elements and also to learn how to heal wounds.

To gain a power he could only dream of in his past life.