New Skill

Naro slowly came to his senses. He was disoriented for a moment, as he tried to work his way through a mild headache that he had woken with. 

He saw that he was lying in some kind of basket, and from the vibrations, he could sense that he was moving at high speeds. His body was filled with a dull aching pain.

Where am I?

What is this strange bed?

After a moment, he remembered what happened. He was an infant, and he wasn't in a bed, but a cradle. The man who was not his father, the man who had taken him away from his parents and taken him into the carriage, was sitting just a short distance away. A few more details came to his mind, and a cold shiver ran through his body.

Specifically, Naro remembered that his intuition had been screaming that he was in danger. When he felt this before, he had pushed himself to the brink to accumulate enough points.

He had been desperately trying to get an ability that could save him.

Now, fate had made a mockery of him.

He had fallen unconscious due to the burden he had put on himself, and he could sense that his body was not yet fully recovered. The mild headache and the aching pain in his body were proof enough.

Was it worth the effort he had put in?

Naro was sure that he would have made more progress if he had acted at a reasonable pace and made sure not to overtax himself. Now, he felt dispirited, as though he had lost both his wife and the army.

He forced himself to regain his sense of urgency. There was no choice in the matter. If his intuition was correct, then the threat on his life could come at any time. Whether his actions would give him a lifeline was a separate matter. At the very least, he needed to try to save himself.

Naro quickly resumed his multitasking.

Breathing.

Moving.

Focusing his senses.

To his relief, his body and mind did not seem completely worn out, just a little tired. The dull aching did not go away when he moved, but it did not get much worse either. He continued to monitor his internal state.

Breathing.

Moving.

Focusing his senses.

As he sensed that he was fatiguing, he decisively stopped. This time, he would make sure to take breaks, regardless of how much pressure he was feeling to make progress.

While his body rested, his attention was focused purely on his senses and his breathing.

Breathing.

Smelling.

Seeing…

A thought came to Naro's mind. He had assumed that he had not achieved anything significant earlier, when he pushed himself to the point of unconsciousness. At least, he did not feel any different.

However, he had not checked the panel, so he did not know for sure.

Naro continued to accumulate sensory points, as he mentally chanted.

Panel!

 It looked similar, but Naro quickly noticed the difference.

'Sleeping' was added.

It seemed that he had accidentally made a small achievement when he pushed himself earlier, albeit in a roundabout way. He had learned that he did not need to be conscious to accumulate points.

Specifically, it seemed that 'sleeping' still counted as an action. He briefly wondered if the same was true for 'dreaming.'

Then, Naro returned his full attention to completing his 'actions.' He continued to switch his focus between breathing and exerting his senses.

Breathing.

Listening.

Touching…

After some time passed, he could sense that his body had recovered. It happened quicker than he expected, but he did not question it. He began exerting his body again.

Moving.

Breathing.

Seeing…