Chapter 2: Nice to Meet You, Mr. Parallel World

Six months had passed since I reincarnated into another world, and I understood a little more about this place.

First, I was born as the second son of a Baronet family, named Mars Bryant.

My family consisted of:
Father: Zeke Bryant, 21 years old. A handsome, brown-haired mage.
Mother: Maria Bryant, 20 years old. A beautiful, brown-haired mage.
Older Brother: Ike Bryant, 3 years old. A red-haired mischievous rascal.

My father Zeke and mother Maria made a name for themselves as Dungeon adventurers. They presented the King with an item of immense rarity and were elevated from commoners to the rank of Baronet.

In this world, there were places called Dungeons. Monsters lived there, but if you proceeded deep enough, there were treasure chests. Monsters dropped magic stones and occasionally materials, and the treasure chests sometimes contained items of very high value.

Monsters apparently appeared outside of Dungeons as well, and recently, their numbers seemed to be increasing.

Both Zeke and Maria could use magic.

I had tried appraising them, but perhaps because my Heavenly Eye level was too low, I couldn't see detailed stats.

All I could see were Name and State.

Ike was at the height of his mischievous phase and was obsessed with sword fighting.

Even now, he was swinging around a stick.

As for me, I had recently started on solid food.

This body seemed to be exceptionally capable. I couldn't speak yet, but I could vaguely understand what people were saying.

And best of all, though I was still wobbly, I could already walk.

Learning to walk was progress, but there was another major development.

It was this.

(Status Open)

【Name】 Mars Bryant
【Title】 -
【Rank】 Human - Commoner
【Level】 1
【HP】 1/1
【MP】 10/10
【Strength】 1
【Agility】 1
【Magic】 1
【Dexterity】 1
【Endurance】 1
【Unique Ability】 Heavenly Gift
【Unique Ability】 Heavenly Eye
【Unique Ability】 Lightning Magic
【Special Ability】 Swordsmanship
【Special Ability】 Wind Magic
【Special Ability】 Holy Magic

The day before yesterday, my maximum MP increased.

When I first checked my status, my max MP was 5.

Using Appraisal—one of the abilities of the Heavenly Eye—consumed 1 MP. When I used it five times, my MP hit 0, I felt a wave of fatigue, and I lost consciousness.

When I woke up next, my max MP had become 6.

I wondered if using my MP until it hit 0 would increase it, so I kept using the Heavenly Eye, losing consciousness each time.

Every time I woke up, my max MP had increased. Rinse and repeat.

Also, in this world, chanting "Status Open" apparently didn't reveal your state, luck, or talent levels for magic or swordsmanship.

Just as the Demi-God said, I had to raise the level of the Heavenly Eye and use Appraisal to see those.

I planned to eat breakfast, use the Heavenly Eye to Appraise, deplete my MP, and then go to sleep again today.

I wobbled my way to the living room and sat around the table with my family of four as usual.

The staple food of this world seemed to be bread; it was served at all three meals.

I'm definitely a rice person, I thought, as Maria fed me bread softened in milk.

Conversations like this were common at the table:

"Mars really is no trouble at all. He can already walk, albeit shakily, in just six months. And it feels like he vaguely understands what we're saying."

"You're right. It was so hard with Ike, but Mars is so low-maintenance I actually get worried. I'm sure having Ike nearby is providing good stimulation for him, though."

"Mars is amazing! He's different from other babies."

They were praising me.

I was the type who thrived on praise, so I felt the urge to work even harder. Once I finished eating, I started walking to strengthen my legs and back. When I got tired, I used the Heavenly Eye to drain my MP.

I would become independent quickly and work hard for my family!

I couldn't be a good son in my past life, so I had to make up for at least two lifetimes' worth this time around.

Another six months passed. It had been one year since my reincarnation.

I hadn't slacked off a single day. I walked—or rather, ran—around constantly, and I could speak a little now.

As for my MP, since I depleted it multiple times a day, the capacity had increased significantly.

Because I spammed Appraisal, the level of my Heavenly Eye rose, and it now displayed detailed information.

The Age category had been added, and I could now see talent values as well.

The good thing about the Heavenly Eye was that unlike "Status Open," I could appraise other people.

To distinguish it from "Status Open," I decided to call the Heavenly Eye's function "Appraisal."

My Appraisal results looked like this:

【Name】 Mars Bryant
【Title】 -
【Rank】 Human - Commoner
【State】 Good
【Age】 1
【Level】 1
【HP】 2/2
【MP】 872/873
【Strength】 1
【Agility】 1
【Magic】 3 (+2)
【Dexterity】 1
【Endurance】 1
【Luck】 30
【Unique Ability】 Heavenly Gift (Lv MAX)
【Unique Ability】 Heavenly Eye (Lv 3) (1→3)
【Unique Ability】 Lightning Magic S (Lv 0/20)
【Special Ability】 Swordsmanship B (Lv 0/17)
【Special Ability】 Wind Magic A (Lv 0/19)
【Special Ability】 Holy Magic C (Lv 0/15)

Maybe because I kept exhausting my MP, my Magic stat had gone up by 2.

Being able to visualize the results of my effort made me incredibly happy. It made me want to work even harder.

However, I currently had one problem.

Appraisal only consumed 1 MP, so it took forever to deplete my MP.

I wanted to use magic, but I didn't know how.

I tried randomly chanting 《Thunder》 or 《Lightning》, but there was no sign of activation. I really needed to learn how to use magic properly.

During the meal, I decided to ask Zeke and Maria.

"Howe do I uze majic?"

Surprised that their child, who had just turned one, asked such a thing, they looked at each other.

"You know about magic, Mars? And why do you want to use it?"

"Cuz I wanna uze iyt."

"...I see. You can probably use it, Mars. But even Ike, who is four, can't use it yet. When Ike learns, we'll teach you together, but you lack something called MP, so I don't think you can learn it yet."

"When will nii-san leearn majic?"

"When Ike turns six, we'll perform the Rite of Appraisal as an aptitude test. How about we have you take the aptitude test then, too, and you can learn magic from there?"

Two more years... I really didn't want to waste two whole years.

So, I asked one more question.

"Wchat is holy majic?"

When I asked that, Zeke and Maria looked at each other with even more surprise than before.

My brother Ike was fascinated by our conversation.

"Where did you learn that word?"

"I saw it in a dweam when I wasz sleeyping."

"Honey... maybe Mars has a talent for Holy Magic. If he's a Holy Mage, it would explain his rapid growth. We have to teach him early and drill the dangers into him strictly. It's too rare; we don't know what might happen."

"You're right. Mars, Mom and Dad are going to discuss this, so go to sleep early today. We'll talk again tomorrow."

"Yaa I'll look forward to tomowwow. Night."

"""Goodnight."""

Incidentally, my brother Ike's status looked like this:

【Name】 Ike Bryant
【Title】 -
【Rank】 Human - Commoner
【State】 Good
【Age】 4
【Level】 1
【HP】 5/5
【MP】 3/3
【Strength】 2
【Agility】 2
【Magic】 1
【Dexterity】 1
【Endurance】 2
【Luck】 10
【Special Ability】 Swordsmanship C (Lv 0/15)
【Special Ability】 Spearmanship B (Lv 0/17)
【Special Ability】 Fire Magic C (Lv 0/15)

He seemed quite the martial type.

By the way, normally, 【Special Abilities】 are inherited from the parents to some extent.

Father Zeke had Earth Magic, and Mother Maria had Water Magic special abilities.

The Bryant family seemed to be far from ordinary.

Thinking about that, I used the Heavenly Eye with full force to deplete my MP, spamming Appraisal before going to sleep.

I hoped they would teach me magic tomorrow.

When I woke up in the morning, I wobbled into the living room.

"Morning."

""Good morning.""

Zeke and Maria replied, but it seemed Ike was still asleep.

"Mars, about yesterday. First, we're going to check your magic aptitude. After that, we'll decide whether to teach you magic."

Zeke started, then took two crystal-like objects from a bag on the table.

"This is an Appraisal Crystal. It's a crystal that allows you to appraise your own abilities. Maria, go wake Ike up."

Told by Zeke, Maria woke Ike and brought him over.

"Ike, try touching this crystal and saying 'Status Open.'"

"Okay. Status Open."

Then, Ike's status was projected onto the crystal.

However, it wasn't as detailed as my Appraisal.

【Name】 Ike Bryant
【Title】 -
【Rank】 Human - Commoner
【State】 Good
【Age】 4
【Level】 1
【HP】 5/5
【MP】 3/3
【Strength】 2
【Agility】 2
【Magic】 1
【Dexterity】 1
【Endurance】 2
【Special Ability】 Swordsmanship (Lv 0)
【Special Ability】 Spearmanship (Lv 0)
【Special Ability】 Fire Magic (Lv 0)

Seeing this result, Zeke and Maria exclaimed,

"Amazing! Ike has aptitude for Fire Magic on top of Swordsmanship and Spearmanship! I want to have Ike train in magic too! Becoming the Knight Commander isn't just a dream!"

"Yes! It's no exaggeration to call him a prodigy. Let's raise him properly."

Ike didn't seem to understand exactly what was being said, but he realized Zeke and Maria were happy because of him, so he looked delighted.

"Next is Mars. Try saying 'Status Open.'"

"Status Open."

【Name】 Mars Bryant
【Title】 -
【Rank】 Human - Commoner
【State】 Good
【Age】 1
【Level】 1
【HP】 2/2
【MP】 877/877
【Strength】 1
【Agility】 1
【Magic】 3
【Dexterity】 1
【Endurance】 1
【Special Ability】 Swordsmanship (Lv 0)
【Special Ability】 Wind Magic (Lv 0)
【Special Ability】 Holy Magic (Lv 0)

"Wh-What is this...? MP amount 877...? That's more than five times what I or Maria have as mages..."

"MP starts at 1 at age one, increases by 1 at age two... He shouldn't be able to use magic until age five when his MP hits 5 at the earliest. But with this, he can already use it... And he can use Wind Magic in addition to Holy Magic... The saying that Holy Mages are too loved by God to use other magic was a lie, then."

"One thing is certain. Both of our children are abnormal."

It seemed I really was blessed with considerable talent.

Plus, I had 5 MP from the start. Maybe that was a reincarnation bonus too.

I wouldn't sit on my laurels with this gifted talent; I wanted to work twice—no, three times as hard as anyone else.

Here, Zeke murmured with a troubled face.

"Hey, why do neither of them know Earth or Water Magic when they're our children? Surely... no, that's impossible."

"Honey. They are undoubtedly our children. I swear to God, there is no way they are anyone else's."

"Well, yeah. We did it that much, so of course they're ours."

"Will you teach me majic?"

Since the conversation had derailed, I asked again.

"Ah. But before that, you have to make one promise. Holy Magic heals people's injuries and sicknesses; it has high rarity and value. If bad people catch you, we don't know what they might do. So until you become an adult... no, until Dad and Mom say it's okay, you must absolutely never tell anyone you can use it. Okay?"

"Okey."

"Alright. First, I'll teach you the basics."

"Ya. What do I do?"

"First, focus your consciousness on the tanden, a spot a little below your navel. A person's magic power pools lie there. Focus on circulating that magic power through your body. It'll be hard at first, but if you can't do it, you can't use magic even if you have the talent. So do your best."

"Hmm, I got it."

I answered and focused my consciousness. I immediately found the pool of magic in my tanden.

However, I couldn't circulate it throughout my body.

After struggling for about ten minutes, Maria gave me some advice.

"Try visualizing it flowing like blood from your tanden."

Mobilizing all the knowledge from my past life, I formed a vague image.

Then, seemingly able to circulate the magic, my body grew a little warm.

"Ooh. Impressive. To think you can do it already."

"Indeed. Just being able to speak this much at one year old is amazing enough, but perhaps Mars is loved by many things..."

"I can circulate it now how do I use majic now?"

"Ah, right. Actually, Dad can only use Earth Magic, and Mom can only use Water Magic. Since we can't use Holy, Wind, or Fire Magic, we'll buy grimoires for you later. Dad will read the grimoires to you, but Mars, you need to learn to read and write too."

"Okay. I got it. I'll do my best."

"If Mars is practicing magic, I'll practice magic too!"

Ike, who had been watching me the whole time, started practicing magic circulation as well.

Zeke and Maria watched our magic practice happily.

There probably isn't a parent alive who isn't happy to see their children trying their best.

I'll work hard for the sake of filial piety!