Mana gathering

It had been a few days since his birth, and all Michael did was lay in his crib all day long.

Usually, novels and anime would skip this part of the reincarnation or have a time skip to the time when the protagonist could actually move around a bit. But Michael? He was stuck experiencing every boring second of his new, mundane life.

The only form of entertainment to keep him occupied was the spinning birds installed on top of his crib.

That wasn't nearly enough.

"How's my dear baby boy?"

What the…? Why can I suddenly understand my mother's words?

[I have gathered enough data to form a rudimentary understanding of their language. For your convenience, I have automatically translated their words into something your brain can understand directly.]

Having ChatJK1 by his side turned out to be a literal godsend. If the AI was this intelligent, it could help him figure out the world faster, and perhaps it could make up for the fact that God had thrown him into a medieval world.

The best part? It was that he didn't even need to ask the AI to do that for him. It must have listened to all the maids and butlers talking outside his room and decided to decipher the language all on its own.

"Isn't my Michael just the cutest? Tell me he's cute," his mother cooed.

"Yes, madam. The young master is the most adorable child I've ever seen," the maid next to her replied dutifully.

Michael was surprised to find that his name in this world also turned out to be Michael. He didn't mind the coincidence.

His mother reached down to his crib and pinched his cheeks.

Ow! Michael cried internally.

"Madame, you may have hurt the young master."

"Oh, silly me. It's just that my baby is so cute, I couldn't help myself."

Michael didn't mind his mother's overbearingness. She had given birth to him, after all. In the first few days of his birth, she had watched over him without missing a beat. She could have passed him off to her maids, but she insisted on caring for him personally.

"Why don't you come and meditate with me? Who knows, maybe he'll be a genius with the Earth element like me…"

His mother then lifted him from his cradle and sat cross-legged on the floor before placing him on her lap.

Then, she tickled his sides, making him squirm.

"My dear Michael, I'll teach you everything there is to know about magic when you're old enough," she said proudly. "Hmph. Your father says he wants to hire a tutor, but that's unnecessary. I can teach you all by myself."

Once she was ready, she closed her eyes.

Her previous playful expression gave way to one of deep concentration.

Then, something incredible happened.

Suddenly, Michael saw strange moss-green particles, each no bigger than a grain of sand, appear in the room.

These blobs of floating particles slowly swirled around his mother's body before eventually seeping into her skin.

What's she doing? What are those things?

[Those are individual Earth-element mana particles. She is gathering them around her body and storing them deep in her core.]

Michael immediately recognized this technique from fantasy anime. If he wasn't mistaken, this was a form of exercise or technique for mana cultivation by drawing mana for later use.

He was mesmerized by the sight. This was the most fascinating thing he had seen since being reincarnated in this world.

For a good hour, his mother meditated by herself, gathering all the Earth elements into her body until she finally opened her eyes, looking slightly drained.

She then smiled at him, kissed his forehead, and placed him back in the crib before leaving.

Even after she was gone, Michael was still reeling from seeing mana in action.

Can I learn how to do that?

[Analysis complete. Magic gathering theory obtained.]

[Would you like to start gathering mana?]

Of course, Michael said yes. 

If it meant that he could see those enchanting particles again, it would completely solve his boredom during this baby phase.

He would be accomplishing two things at the same time. He would be increasing his strength while also keeping himself entertained while staying in his crib all day.

[Downloading theory… complete!]

Suddenly, Michael felt a surge of information flood his mind.

Without even thinking about it, he closed his eyes and instinctively started meditating—just as his mother did when gathering mana.

He didn't know how to explain it; it felt like instinct. It was as if he had gained another arm that only had the express function of gathering mana. 

Gradually, the entire room began to glow with particles of different colors.

There was green, blue, red, and silver, each floating around the room like tiny specks of dust.

If green is Earth, does that mean blue is water, red is fire, and silver is air? That's the basic element in most fantasies.

[That is right. The elements available in this room are made up of the four main elements.]

Michael closed his eyes and concentrated on his body, creating a sort of vortex or tornado deep in his abdomen that pulled all the particles in the surroundings toward him.

Slowly, every single elemental mana seeped into his skin, gathering in his core.

Gradually, he realized that four minuscule pebbles had started to form in his body, each having the same color as the four elemental mana. 

Once these pebbles had formed, the different kinds of mana automatically sorted themselves into their respective stones and continued to grow.

If I can absorb all four, does that mean I can control all the natural elements?

[Yes, that is right. However, that may not be the extent of your abilities. There is reason to believe that there are other elements in this world—ones that are not currently present in the room. You may be compatible with them as well.]

It seemed that the God hadn't been stingy on his blessings. Right now, Michael had become like the main characters in anime, those who could master every element.

This is good, but it's exhausting.

Despite having only started doing it a few seconds ago, he had already started to feel breathless.

I'm tired…

[Commencing automatic Mana absorption during sleep.]

Michael closed his eyes and let fatigue take over his small body before drifting into slumber. Even in his sleep, mana particles continue to seep into his skin.

Later, his mother entered the room. She noticed the usual abundance of Earth element mana had lessened but dismissed it as nothing more than a coincidence, unaware that it was her son who had absorbed it all.