Chapter 2 - Julius and the Bennett Household

The next day came and I woke up to a room filled with light and familiar colors. I slowly opened my eyes fully, trying to collect my mind while looking around the surroundings.

{Before anything else, let me assess the situation... Right now, I'm currently in the World of Eternia. I am laying on the arms of this beautiful young lady with long silver hair, long and pointy ears, and purple eyes who's currently wearing nothing as top, and a black pencil skirt as bottom. She also has a tail that's purplish black. I'm inside a room that seems befitting for someone who belongs to a prestigious household as it's quite spacious in here, there is a chandelier in the middle of the room, there are plenty of furniture in the room which seems to have been varnished or kept clean as the light coming from the windows bounces off from the furniture, and there is also a woman which resembles that of a maid ,which I've seen multiple times back in Japan, right near the door of the room. I think I am currently a newborn and I am supposed to have a class called Factotum which was said to be the Jack of All Trades, Master of None. And that guy also said that I am a mixture of all races. So that explains why this woman who seems to be my mother looks nothing like a human. She has a tail that resembles that of a succubus and ears that resembles that of an elf. The maid looks like a human though...? Oh, wait. She has long pointy ears as well. And as an added note, I, for some reason, can hear and understand what my mother and the maid is saying. Aren't babies supposed to start hearing things when they're at least months old?}

"Hey, Emma. Could you please get that red Recording Crystal that's on that table near the mirror? I want to show my husband our child." my mother asked as she placed me down on the bed, fixing her hair here and there and massaging her face.

"I shall certainly do so, Mistress. Here is the thing that Mistress has requested from me." Emma, the maid, replied as soon as she got the red crystal from the table.

"Hey now, I thought I told you not to be too formal when we're the only ones here. Also, call me Athelisia or at least Lisa like you always did back then." My mother said as she pouted at Emma, taking the crystal off her hand. She seems to have a close relationship with my mother before serving her like this, then.

"B-but Mistress, I can't-" Emma replied, only to be stopped by Mother's finger.

"No buts, Emma. That is an order. Even when Julius is here, you must do that."

" *sigh* ...Alright then, Lisa. I will do as told." Emma finally gave up, heaving a big sigh and doing a face palm, while Mother was cheering in the background, doing the V sign with her right hand.

"Now, that's better. Come, join us in the call with Julius." Mother said as she pulled Emma nearer to us, looking all ecstatic and jumpy.

As soon as she pulled Emma closer, she held the crystal on her hands and closes her eyes. A visible white circle that resembles a magic circle then appeared.

{Oh? There's magic here. So, this is similar to what I have read before. I have read too many Isekai RPG manhuas, novels and manga, enough for me to know what is currently happening.}

"Transmit" my mother said as she opened her eyes, and the red crystal started shaking. Moments after, a big bluish light that forms a square comes out of the crystal, continuously shining that certain area above the crystal with the said square light. It kind of resembles that of a tv screen, but without the tv. The figure of a buff man with brown hair and beard who's wielding a hammer, drenched from perspiration and not looking into the screen, then appeared on the screen.

"Transmission received. This is Marquess Alfred speaking. Who is this calling?" the man said as he continued doing what he was busy with. The sound of hammering metal can be heard from the transmission.

"Hey Alfred! I've reminded you multiple times already to look at the screen when you're answering the calls!" Mother shouted at the man which took the man by surprise, dropping the hammer he was holding. Soon after, the man started shouting in pain. "Ouch! The dang hammer had to fall on my toe. Tsk."

As soon as the man said that, he twisted his head and started facing the screen. "My dear wife Lisaaa, why'd you have to get mad like that? You know, that might make your face all wrinkly, destroying your perfectly beautiful face."

"..." My mother stayed silent for a moment of time, looking quite pissed off. "You're sleeping in the living room tonight."

"Nooo! Anything but that! You know I was just kidding, hon. Hehe, don't take it too seriously."

" *sigh* It's been a month since you've left home in order to finish the job order of 100 great swords. You haven't even seen your son yet, when he was already born 5 days ago. You wouldn't answer any of my calls. Hmph! Am we still your wives? Are you seeing anyone else other than us?" My mother said in an irritated way as she was pouting at Alfred, who seems to be my father.

"You know that I have to keep this up in order to make our march safe and to stabilize the economy. I was too focused on the creation of these swords that I didn't notice the calls. And no, I'm not seeing anyone else but you. You know how much I love you and brag about you, right? But, yeah. That's my bad. I'm sorry Lisa." Father bows as he was asking forgiveness from Mother.

"...Make it up to me later." my mother replied as she looked away, slightly blushing.

{I see... So my father is a Marquess who continues to work as a blacksmith. That makes my mother a Marchioness. That explains why the room of this house looks quite sophisticated. But, why did Mother say we?}

"Hahaha! Thanks! Now that's the woman I know and love! Anyway, my son was born already, eh? Let me look at the man!" Father said as he was smiling brightly.

"Here he is. His name is Julius, just as what we agreed on if he turned out to be a boy. Emma and I have been taking care of Julius for the past 5 days since his birth, but never once did he cry. He also starts making baby noises whenever he needs to pee or poop, and he always looks around his surroundings with curious eyes. It's like he knows what he's doing already, and is amazed by all the things around him..." Mother replied as she lifted me up and reminisces the days when I was just newly born.

{My mother is quite attentive about little details such as these. Quite intuitive as well.}

"That just goes to show how great out child will be in the future! Hahaha, that's my boy! Learning when to cry and when not to is the best trait of what makes a true man!" Father said with great pride, pumping out his chest. "As soon as I'm done with this work, I'll immediately go back to the house. So just wait for me patiently, okay? And thank you for everything Lisa. You too, Emma."

"Alright, we'll wait for you. I will help with the preparation of the food and I will cook all your favorite food. Emma will also prepare a hot bath for when you arrive. Make sure to wash up nice and thoroughly, okay? We don't want Julius to smell your afternoon stench."

"Ouch, you wound me, Lisa. Hahaha kidding aside, thanks for calling. I'm now motivated to finish this as soon as possible! I shall start working on these things again!" Father said with great enthusiasm, getting the hammer and started hammering again.

"Watch your father go, Julius. Soon, you might also be doing the same thing as him... Well then, let's stop disturbing him. Say goodbye, Julius."

I tried speaking with all my might but was not able to. I then tried raising my right arm and waving it.

"...! Fred! Julius is waving goodbye at you, look!" My mother shouted as she was so excited looking at my actions. Father stopped hammering and saw me waving my arm slowly.

"Woah! That's amazing! And he's still just 5 days old! Now that's my boy!"

"This calls for a celebration, Mistress! I shall prepare a feast as well for dinner. If he really can understand what we are saying right now, then he could probably learn as early as now." Emma said as she was equally proud as a parent whose child was recently deemed as a genius.

"Yes, let's do that Emma! Well then, farewell my dear. We'll see you later." My mother said as she blew a flying kiss towards him and waved goodbye.

"Love received! Hahaha! Prepare for a whole lot of flirting when I get back!" My father said as he also waved goodbye and went back to his hammering.

Soon after, the screen faded away and the magic circles surrounding the crystal also faded away. Mother took the crystal and placed it back to the table near the mirror again.

"Alright! Julius, if you understand what I'm saying, raise your left hand, reach for your mother's face and call me Mama!" my Mother said as she raised me up and put me in the level of her face.

I tried saying Mama, but I couldn't. Instead, I reached for the cheek of my mother using my left hand.

Mother then smiled so much and started tossing me high up. She continued doing so and Emma got worried. "Mistre- Lisa, careful! Julius might get hurt, you know?"

{This is quite fun, actually. The air passing through me feels quite soothing. The air I'm breathing is very fresh too, and it enters my nose freely without any resistance from my body or feeling any irritation... Is this air devoid of impurities and pollution? And, it's quite rich in Qi as well.}

As Mother continued to throw me up in the air while I kept giggling, my ability to breathe started to get hindered. All this air pressure from throwing me up and me falling down makes it hard for me breathe less. I have a bad feeling about this... Moments after, to my dismay, mother accidentally threw me in another direction while trying to spin around.

"Julius!" Emma shouted as she immediately ran towards to where my body was going to land.

"Wind's Embrace!" Mother shouted out words which sounded like a chant for casting magic. A large amount of wind appeared right below my body, making me stay afloat. Afterwards, her eyes turned red and the wind that was carrying me started moving towards mother. As I reached Mother, she heaved a big sigh.

"Phew, that was close. Sorry about that, Julius. Are you alright?" My mother asked me, expecting a reply from a baby that was just 5 days old.

I nodded to my mother and she started patting me while smiling. Emma, on the other hand, started trudging towards mother.

"What do you think you're doing, Lisa!? You almost hurt Julius with that! I told you to be careful." Emma nagged at my mother and started lecturing her about her tendencies of losing focus and control when overjoyed by something.

I tried saying something, but still I couldn't. I wanted to stop them, but I couldn't. My body cried instead.

"...Julius! What's wrong?" Mother asked as she frantically approached me.

I waved my arms around while making my breathing heavier. I wanted to convey that I want them to stop fighting.

"...I think Julius wants me to stop nagging you. Only a guess, though." Emma said.

I nodded 3 times and my mother's face became joyous again.

"Yeah, you tell her! Your mother was just happy because of you, Julius. Thank you from protecting me from that bully." My Mother said as she teased Emma.

I slapped my mother's cheek as hard as I could and slowly waved my head.

"Hahaha! I think Julius is also telling you that it was your fault too. Thank you, Julius." Emma triumphantly said.

"Alright, jeez. That was my bad, son... Anyhow, Julius. What you saw just before was magic. Are you interested in it? Do you want to study about magic?" Mother asked me.

I nodded in response to her question. After that, she told Emma that she will be back in about 5 minutes and to take care of me while she was gone.

"Don't worry, Julius. Your mother is just very happy to have a son like you. But... How could you have known about magic and how could you understand what we were talking about?" Emma asked as she started pondering over my weirdness, carrying me on her arms.

{Now that I think about it, it is kind of weird of me to respond with appropriate actions as a child who's just 5 days old. Well, I'll just explain that I had some knowledge with me when I was born. On a side note, Emma does not look like a maid at all. Of course, not in a negative and physical sense. She looks very beautiful and dignified to be a maid. Her long silver hair with black highlight which was braided to look neat and tidy, her dark eyes that had a small hue of purple, her modest body proportions, and her tall and slender figure just doesn't fit the image of a maid or a helper at all. Her glasses also fit her to a T.}

"Hm...? What is it, Julius?" she asked when she caught me staring at her.

I touched her face and her hair. I then smiled as much as I could while I was doing so.

"Are you saying that I'm beautiful?" Emma asked me.

I nodded 3 times in response to her question. I also tried raising my arms in an attempt to hug her, but all I could touch were her breasts.

"Aww, thank you Julius. You're quite a lady killer, huh? You're going to grow into a fine man like your father..." she said as she was smiling. Soon after though, her expression became that of an irritated woman.

"Actually, scratch that. Don't become like your father. He may not seem like it, but he's very popular with women. He might love your mother and I, but a lot of women are still fawning around him. It's never good to be popular with women. It will only entice jealousy and it may even tempt you to become a womanizer. I mean it's not illegal to have many wives, but emotionally, it is very hurtful to have another woman together with your husband." Emma explained while sighing and doing a face-palm.

While she was explaining all those and complaining, the sound of a door opening was heard and my mother Athelisia came inside dragging a cart with her. The cart has 6 books, a lot of papers, ink bottles and feather pens on it.

"You know it's not that bad, Emma. I mean, we're in the same boat. We love the same man. But never did he treat any of us better than the other. He treats us all the same. He married us both, too. But you insisted on acting like a maid in order to show respect for me. I really love that, but I don't like it when you reduce your happiness like that, you know." My mother said.

{Oh? Emma is really my mother as well? I guess that answered my doubts as to why both of them blushed when my father said those things...}

"Mis- Lisa... I did this because it really did seem unfair. Alfred already had you and he still insisted on marrying me as well just because we're best friends in the same academy who loved the same guy... Plus, we were on the same team." Emma replied, looking sullen.

"Emma, it's not unfair. You are a legal wife as well, have some dignity on that. Be proud that you're a mother of the Bennett household. Isn't that right, Julius?" Mother said as she smiled caringly and placed the book on the table near the mirror.

I looked at Emma straight into the eyes and giggled. I nodded many times. Tears then started flowing from Emma's eyes and she hugged me tightly and repeatedly said "Thank you, Julius... Thank you."

"Hey now, enough with the sad atmosphere! Here! I got these 6 books from the library. 2 of these books contain the basics of reading and writing. Another one contains the history of Eternia and the existence of races and classes. These 3 remaining books contain all the known information about the 3 classes and their respective Tier 1 skills." My Mother butted in as she explained what those books are about.

"...Lisa, why'd you bring all those books here? Are you going to read them all to young Julius?" Emma asked as she wiped the tears off her eyes.

"Yup! I'll start off with the basics of reading and writing. Since Julius can understand most of our conversations, then it may not hurt to try. I don't know how but Julius seems to have some knowledge about the language of Eternia. Either that, or he was born with the legendary passive skill of World Tongue – which is highly unlikely as it is so rare that only 1 out of 100,000 individuals can get that after birth." My mother said as she was getting the 2 books for studying. "And besides, while waiting for the afternoon to come, we can probably teach Julius a lot already. After that, Julius gets to rest as we prepare for Alfred's feast and bath before he gets back."

"Hm... That's true... It's going to be more productive that way. How are we going to divide the roles of teaching though? And what about the schedule for Julius' daily activity?" Emma asked.

"I will teach Julius about these 2 books now. During these lessons, I will also breastfeed him in case he gets hungry. With how Julius is, I think he might be able to finish these 2 books in a month or so. After that, all three of us will teach Julius about the book of history and other general knowledge that is important in this world. This will be a daily thing and I think by the time Julius becomes a 2-yr-old, he will be done with those. And finally, we will teach him in order. Alfred who's a Tier 3 Fighter will teach him the book about the Fighter Class in the morning since the most important thing for a baby or a kid now is to develop his muscles to move properly and to have greater vitality. In the afternoon, you will be teaching him about the Marksman Class since you are a Tier 3 Marksman yourself and improving one's senses is essential. While in the evening, I will teach him about the Caster Class, being a Tier 3 Caster myself, all for increasing his magic affinity. Of course, we must teach him the fundamentals and core topics first. Once he has mastered the level that we think is appropriate for him, only then should we start teaching him about the skills of each class."

"Hold up... I understand that the 3 books are needed. But, should we really teach him about the three classes? Aren't we going to focus on only 1? Is there a need to know about all the classes?" Emma asked, skeptical of the schedule Mother made for me.

"It is needed. Who knows which racial traits he'll inherit? He has a possibility of becoming a any class he wants since my husband is a half-human and half-beastman and I'm a half-demon half-elf. So, knowing all these will be very beneficial for his future. Just having the knowledge will serve as an advantage when competing against students with different classes, too." Mother explained, looking proud at how well-prepared she is.

"Oh, that's true... Well then, I shall prepare lunch while the two of you are busy. I will call you two the preparations are done." Emma said as she bowed and left the room with the cart.

Afterwards, my mother taught me many things. In a span of 36 incense sticks of time[3], I learned that the world of Eternia uses the language "Engurise" as the general language for all races. Each race has their own language and only uses Engurise when interacting with people from other races, except for the Human race since Engurise is their main language already. I also learned that the language system of Engurise is basically the same as English in Earth. Therefore, reading and writing for me will be a lot easier than I think it would be since I already took English classes online when I was still in Earth. It took quite a bit of time since I had to show mother that I can still catch up with the lesson. It is pretty hard to move and speak in this newborn's body.

Lunch time came and Emma called the two of us to eat. Everyone ate at the dining table while I was brought with them in a thing which I call a crib (It looks like one). After that, they started fixing the whole house up while leaving me inside the room I was in since I was born. My mother casted a spell on the large crib before she left.

{Finally, I am all alone now. I need to assess everything that has happened... So Eternia is basically Earth during its medieval times, only that magic exists in this world. There are apparently 3 classes namely Fighter, Marksman, Caster. Based on the name, fighter seems to be a melee-type attacker who focuses on the improvement of their body. Marksman is a ranged-type attacker who focuses on honing one's senses and reflexes. While Caster is a ranged-type attacker who focuses on magic. The Factotum class... I wonder what that is. Either way, for now, I should focus on training my body. Having this kind of body is something I haven't experienced in quite some time.}

I started trying to get up from my usual sleeping position, but I couldn't. When I mustered all my strength into my arms, I would lose that strength after a second or two just to roll on the crib. I do not feel any pain though. It might have something to do with the spell casted by Mother.

{So, I can't even train my body right now. What can I do, then?}

After thinking for a whole minute, I started to realize something.

{Wait a minute... I have cultivated in my past life. I still remember the feeling of cultivating and how to cultivate. And the air is quite rich in Qi. I should try cultivating for now, but what method shall I use...? Let me check something.}

I focused wholeheartedly on my soul and tried going inside the realm of my consciousness. It was a success. I then tried checking into the depth, and there I saw my spatial sea. I saw many books and treasures that I have kept within the spatial sea from my past life.

{Aha! I knew it! I still have the things I kept from my past life.! Now I have the best cultivation method for the mind, soul and body! I can read them, but...}

I tried taking the pills and treasures inside my spatial sea, but I could not bring them outside. I then tried manifesting the spatial sea door into the outside, but it resulted to my exhaustion instead.

{I see... It seems that I have to condense my Qi first in order to do take out the things in my spatial sea, just like I did in the past. All I can do know is read the books, but not take them. Alright then.}

I cleared my mind of all unnecessary thoughts and started meditating. I focused on the 12 primary meridians of my body, looking at the blood flow to see the structure of my body. I noticed that my ears were of the long and pointed-type and that I have 2 extra limbs slowly growing on my back.

{I see... So right now, I can deduce that I am a half-demon judging from those 2 extra limbs that may turn into wings and a half-elf judging from my ears. But isn't my father a half-human and a half-beastman? Does that mean I am a quarter of each race? OH! That explains why that guy in Yggdrasil told me that I will be a mixture of all races. Ok, now that I know these things about my body, let's try absorbing the Qi around me. I think I can do it, judging from how I can sense it.}

After focusing on the acupoints in my body, I tried to absorb the Qi around me. Slowly but surely, the meridians in my body started opening up, absorbing some of the Qi in the surroundings. Suddenly, a sound effect was heard. I slightly opened my eyes and saw a square-bluish thing in front of me which resembles a dialog box.

[STARTING KI ABSORPTION...]

[KI ABSORPTION SUCCESSFUL]

[ABSORPTION RATE: 1%]

.

[ABSORPTION RATE: 2%]

.

.

.

[ABSORPTION RATE: 10%]

[YOU HAVE RECEIVED 2 EXP]

[CURRENT EXP: 5/100]

[ABSORPTION RATE: 11%]

{Oh...? Ki absorption...? Absorption rate? Received 2 EXP?}

I lost my focus in my meditation and I completely opened my eyes, looking at the dialog boxes appearing in front of me. They won't disappear unless I interact with them, by pressing the X button on the top right of the dialog box. Suddenly, my body started aching.

{...! Ouch!}

[KI ABSORPTION INTERRUPTED]

[ABSORPTION RATE HALTED: 14%]

{...? What is this? Oh, wait. This is because I lost focus. I'll ignore that for now.}

Qi then started flowing through my blood stream and bones, and a nostalgic warmth enveloped my body. Soon after, I noticed that my senses were a lot more sensitive than before. I tried opening my eyes.

{Oh? It's this again.}

The impurities of my body got pushed out of my body, forming a layer of black smudge around me. The residual impurities in my body has been extracted. Again, there's a series of dialog boxes in front of me.

[KI ABSORPTION DONE]

[ABSORPTION RATE: 100%]

[YOU HAVE RECEIVED 2 EXP]

[CURRENT EXP: 20/100]

[YOUR BODY CURRENTLY HAS 100% KI. IT WILL NOW SLOWLY DEPLETE UNLESS CONDENSED.]

[STARTING KI CONDENSATION...]

[KI CONDENSATION SUCCEEDED]

[CONDENSATION RATE: 47%]

[YOU HAVE RECEIVED 2 EXP]

[CURRENT EXP: 28/100]

{Interesting... It's great that I can finally see the results, not just feel them. But... now I stink. I have stained the cloth of my crib and I can't remove these things by myself. Ugh... this sucks.}

Ignoring the layer of black smudge around me, I continued to let the Qi flow through my body, forming and toning my muscles and bones faster than before. After roughly 24 incense sticks of time have passed, I have fully condensed the Qi in my body, removed a fifth of the impurities that my body have, and partially opened all 12 meridians of my body.

[KI CONDENSATION DONE]

[CONDENSATION RATE: 100%]

[YOU HAVE RECEIVED 2 EXP]

[CURRENT EXP: 40/100]

[STARTING BODY TEMPERING...]

[BODY TEMPERING FAILED. UNDEVELOPED BODY FOUND.]

{Body tempering...? Did the system just try to temper my body? Automatic process... Interesting. I know it would fail since I still have the body of an infant, and that I haven't reached the bottleneck of Qi Absorption and Condensation.}

I then tried stretching my body and now, I can move my body parts a lot easier than before. However, the stench of these smudges is disturbing my focus. It is basically too smelly now.

{I can't continue with all these filth on my body. I'm feeling more sensitive due to this body of mine.}

Moments after, I heard footsteps coming closer to the room. "Julius! It's time for some milk. Here you... go?" my Mother stopped as she looked at my body, full of black, stinky stuff. "Disgusting! What happened to you, Julius? Let's get you to the bath right away!" my Mother said as she casted a spell on her nose, and carrying me downstairs into a room that resembles that of a large bath.

As we entered the changing room of the bath, she started undressing the diaper-cloth thing I had on my bottom and undressed herself.

{Oh shit! I know that I'm supposed to be a baby, but... seriously? I still haven't come into terms that this lady is my mother! I was an unmarried cultivator before! I still see her as a woman, you know!?}

"There we go... Alright, Julius. Let's go."

We entered the large bath. The water's temperature is quite warm, judging from the amount of steam there is; not too much, not too little. I tried clearing my mind with the method I use in meditating in order to distract myself from this voluptuous body in front of me. Mother then proceeded to clean my body thoroughly.

"Hm... This smudge is weird. Where did it come from? It's very sticky... And why does Julius look more vibrant now? His skin became smoother but firmer. He also became... taller or larger...? Impossible. I must be imagining things."

{Hm... mother's intuition is quite dangerous. I forgot how attentive women are towards minor details such as these. I should tone it down a little, just a little bit.}

After taking a bath, she brought me back to the room we were in before, breastfed me until I was full, made me burp and left the room again after changing my diaper-cloth thing. It's just a matter of time before my father comes back home and so I continued to do what I was doing before: expend the Qi in my body by creating a Qi layer of clothing on my body for protection until I'm out of Qi, then proceed to absorb the Qi in the surroundings again. It was sunset and I heard horse noises outside of the house.

"Honeys, I'm home! Phew, I'm finally done with all my work!" a familiar voice was heard from the outside. I wanted to stand up and look outside the window but I still couldn't control my body well. So instead, I used all the absorbed Qi in my body to sense the events happening outside.

"Alfred!" Both of my mothers (Lisa and Emma) came running and jumped towards the man.

"...!" The man looked around at first, alerted by something, then looked at the second-floor window that is at the farthest right of the house. He then laughed and hugged my two mothers tightly and kissed them on the lips while groping their butts with his big hands.

"You perverted husband of mine...!" Lisa said angrily, while trying to hide the smile and blush on her face.

"Wahaha! Don't take it out on me! I just missed you two so much! I have been handling steel all month long, and missed the feeling of your soft bodies. Wahaha!" My Father, Alfred, said while smiling at the two.

"...Fine. Just don't leave us again like that, okay?" Emma replied, while trying to keep her composure, lifting her glasses up.

"Hahaha! Don't you guys worry! I will not leave anymore. I have already decided to pause my blacksmith work for some time. I will focus on spending time with our son and teaching him, train him even, now that he's born. Where is that little guy, anyway?"

Both mothers pointed to the room where I am currently in.

"Ohya? You guys let him sleep in the training room's rest area of the house like I told you to, eh? So, that's why... That's great!" He then picked the two up on both of his arms and jumped directly towards the veranda of the training room's rest area which was located on the second floor of the house.

"Yo, Julius! It's nice to finally see you in person, my son! It's me, your old man!" he shouted as he put down the two ladies and approached me. He whispered to me "So, you know about Ki absorption and release, eh?"

{Ki absorption and release? Ah... That explains my doubt with Ki and Qi. It seems they're interchangeable or the same. He saw right through me, huh... Looks like my hunch was right... The Fighter Class DO indeed use Qi in fighting and improving oneself. But they call it Ki? Or maybe it's different... I'll check on it later. Then does that mean that the Caster Class uses mana, and mana is a whole different thing?}

"What are you saying to our child, Fred?" Mother Lisa asked Father.

"It's nothing, don't mind me. I just checked on our child just now just to be safe. I just felt something was off. It was definitely Ki I felt when the two of you went out of the house to welcome me. And the source of the Ki was coming from that room. Although faint, I was still able to sense it." Father replied as he pondered to himself. "Well, whatever. It wasn't hostile, so it definitely was not an enemy. Come here, my little boy!" He grabbed me with his strong and rough hands, gentle enough not to harm me.

I acted like a newborn baby that's impressed with my father's strength, giggling and touching his muscles on his arms while showing great interest in it.

"Wahaha! Your Father is indeed big and strong! Wahaha! Be proud of your father who is one of the 12 Tier 3 Fighters in Eternia! Wahaha!" my Father loudly proclaimed as he pumped out his chest proudly.

I tilted my head, looking confused at what my father said.

"It is as your father stated, Julius. In the whole world of Eternia, there are only 12 individuals who have reached the peak of the Fighter Class. Your father is one of them. And among those 12, only 5 are given a unique recognition for their overall strength, versatility and achievements done for the world. Although he isn't part of that list, he is still pretty strong." Emma said as calm and composed as ever, with a faint hint of a smile.

{I see... Judging from what she said, the highest rank of a class is Tier 3. And my father is unexpectedly one of them? But wait... Wasn't there a mistake? I think that guy in Yggdrasil said that something was missing from the magic circle that was encircling me.}

I clapped and showed my excitement as a baby.

"Of course, I cannot come close to your mothers, Lisa and Emma. They're both stronger and more popular than your dad!" My father proclaimed and brought my two mothers in front of me.

{Wait wait wait... So, my family is basically a group of powerhouses!? Clearly, something is wrong here... But, I'll take it. I will do my best in improving myself, then - under the guidance of my parents.}

After some more words here and there, my father finally went to the bath. We all ate dinner together as one family (Not me, I can't eat yet.) and my mothers cleaned the house. Finally, it's time for sleep. I was put to bed rather early so I just faked sleeping and tried concentrating again on Qi absorption and release until I was completely exhausted.

{Once I have removed all impurities in my body and made it so that Qi can pass through me without restriction, I will then start with Qi condensation.}

I started training my control over Qi circulation and repetitively did it until my body was at its limits. I was, however, disturbed by some noises I am very familiar with. The night sky was beautiful and clear, and all that was heard during the night were nothing but panting, gasping and bumping sounds coming from the room in front of mine resembling that of animals in heat.