Chapter 3: Parent's Pride

It’s been three months since I was born into this world. After some considerable effort, I can somewhat control my body now. Even though I can’t walk or crawl, I can move my head and eyes to observe my surroundings. My mother is always with me, along with another maid who takes care of my less-than-pleasant needs. I suppose it can’t be helped since I am a baby, but that doesn’t mean I can just accept it. It feels extremely mortifying. I was one of the leading scientists in my world, with the highest recorded IQ. Gah… Grow up fast, you useless body…

Anyway, let’s set aside my embarrassing situation and focus on something I couldn’t wrap my mind around. One day, my father came to me with an ancient-looking old man. The old man regarded me as if I were an intriguing specimen he couldn’t wait to examine. It was terrifying, and I started crying before I knew it. Now I understand how my lab rats must have felt when I approached them. Sorry, lab rats. It seems I’ll be joining you soon… But the old man didn’t make a move. He just stood there like a statue.

“[Do it, Lorvak],” he said in a voice that grated on my ears.

Hmmm??? Wait a moment… I felt something different. Yes, his words were in a different language, but I could somehow understand them. It felt as if my brain were translating the language automatically. *Sigh* At least I can understand them, but I have a feeling that won’t be enough. That language is entirely foreign to me. I can speak almost all the languages on Earth, but I’ve never encountered this dialect before. What’s going on here? Where is this place? Before I could ponder further, I saw my father move.

My father exchanged a look with the old man and took me in his hands. He gently lifted his hand, which immediately started glowing with a pale yellow light. I was baffled by the sight. How did he do that? I don’t think this world is advanced enough to produce bio-fueled LEDs, which were multi-utility entities in my world.

He laid his hands on my chest, and that light was absorbed into my body as if my body were a sponge soaking up water. I immediately felt as if I were floating on clouds. My body felt light and strong, as if I could do anything with that energy. But that sensation vanished just as quickly as it came, leaving me craving to understand the workings of that energy.

*******Lorvak's POV*********

Today, we will test Azalon’s aptitude for Spirit Energy. An Elder from my family came with me to assess my son and record his aptitude in our family records. We entered the room where I thought my son was sleeping. To my surprise, he was not sleeping but looking around his room as if he had discovered something interesting.

It’s been like that ever since he learned to move his eyes and head. He looks around with eyes sparkling with intelligence. Sometimes, I feel that my son, who is only three months old, is an experienced person trying to find his purpose here. But then I look at him, and he gazes at me with those midnight-black eyes, and I forget everything as a wave of love swells in my heart. I have a feeling my son will become an extraordinary figure in the future. He will take my family to unprecedented heights, and I feel pride when I look at him. Is this how parents feel when they look at their children?

He looked at us—or more accurately, at the Elder who came with me. His expression changed drastically, and he immediately began bawling as if his life were in danger. I almost laughed out loud but managed to hold it back at the last moment. It would have been an insult to the exalted Elder if I laughed at the sight of my son being afraid of him.

“Do it, Lorvak,” the Elder said in a rasping voice.

I immediately took my son in my hands and concentrated my Spirit energy into my hand, which glowed with a pale yellow light. Azalon stopped crying and looked at my hand, and I swear I saw an intelligence in his eyes that shouldn’t be there. I dismissed that feeling immediately, thinking it was just my imagination running wild. I then channeled my energy into his body to see how much he could handle.

Some might think this is dangerous and that his body could be at risk. However, Spirit energy is not harmful. Everything is born with a Spirit; there are no exceptions. When someone injects Spirit energy into a being, it resonates with their Spirit because the Spirit is a manifestation of one's soul, formed from Spirit energy. Moreover, I am taking extra care to inject him with the mildest energy I can produce.

His body absorbed my energy as if it were a desert soaking up rain. Not a single strand of energy leaked out. I was astonished and dumbstruck. True, it was a small amount of energy and the mildest, but not leaking a single strand… I was surprised and immediately elated. I channeled more of my energy, this time with a slightly more concentrated hue.

He absorbed it completely once again. This happened two more times before his body began to glow lightly. That was the sign that his body had reached its limit and needed to refine the energy before absorbing more. This is the fundamental cycle of Spirit energy cultivation.

Azalon fell asleep in my arms with a content expression on his face. I felt proud that my son has such high aptitude for Spirit energy. I gently laid him in his cradle and turned to look at the Elder. He nodded lightly, and we moved back to my chamber to discuss Azalon.

“Elder, what do you think of Azalon?”

“He has the highest aptitude I have seen in my lifetime. But I have a feeling it’s not that simple. Even though he can withstand high quantities of energy, if he cannot refine that energy into Inner Energy, it will be a waste. We can only hope his comprehension ability will be as high as his resilient body.”

“You are right, Elder. I was a bit impatient.”

“Don’t worry, Lord Lorvak. Everything will proceed according to the Spirit World’s ways. We can only hope for the best.”

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My body feels incredible. The energy within me gives me a sensation of floating high above nine clouds. I try to observe the energy to analyze it, but in a moment, it splits into ten parts. Eight of them move towards my chest and disappear as if absorbed eagerly. One part, with the most concentrated energy, moves towards my abdomen, just below my navel, and then disappears like the other eight. The last part, with a mere 1% of the total energy, was left within me, dissipating before I could even react. I was astonished by this phenomenon.

I was left with more questions than answers. What is that energy? How did my father do it? Where did it go? Why did it divide into different parts and get absorbed? Is there something wrong with my body? Hmmm… Questions, questions… As a research scientist, I feel this is worth investigating… Yosh, Let’s do it.