My first trip to the park very quickly turned into a disaster, not only for me but also my Father, who was repeatedly attacked by Cinyah for laughing at my little explosive stunt.
Cinyah scooped me up before I could even react to the pain spawning from my destroyed left hand. Then, before I could even let forth a single cry or tear, a bottle of orange liquid appeared in her hand, which she proceeded to pour on my hand expertly, coating every inch of the mass of mangled flesh and bone.
I silently watched my bloody hand wiggle a little, making distinct popping noises as the bones slid carefully back into alignment, and then the skin stitched itself back together. I was stupefied by this magical liquid that was capable of rapidly regenerating my skin as well as mending the broken bones. While the pain was intense, it was still within my manageable threshold, allowing me to remain calm and observe Cinyah’s careful actions.
Cinyah, however, was far from calm. One of her hands was wiping away the goo coating my hand while her other kept patting and rubbing the top of my head.
“Shhhh, see all better; Mommy made it all better.” Cinyah repeatedly kissed my hand while observing me for signs of distress or pain. But to her shock, I appeared completely fine.
With a look of curiosity plastered on my childishly plump face, I just kept staring at my now fully healed hand. That’s about the time that it all clicked into place in my mind. ‘Ah, THAT’S RIGHT. Potions are a thing here too. But, I wonder how much that potion cost. Wait, are we rich? If Mother can whip out a potion on command, does that mean we have money?’ Thoughts and questions began to rapid-fire in my head.
Coming back to reality and noticing the look of worry on Cinyah’s gorgeous face, I did the only thing I could think of at that moment.
I lightly patted her cheek, put on my best smile, and said with my small squeaky voice. “I ok Mommy.”
Hearing my words, Cinyah melted like the doting parent she was. My plan worked flawlessly; Cinyah’s attention pulled away from my injury and changed into pure joy at my casual use of the name “Mommy.”
Once Cinyah was sure I was ok, she began beating on my poor oaf of a Father. He continued laughing as if I didn’t just get seriously maimed, even while absorbing the oncoming onslaught of slaps and backhanded hits.
The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur. After the explosive event over sometime later, I overcame my antisocial habits and proceeded to interact with other children, much to my mother’s joy.
To be honest, the only reason I sucked it up was to show gratitude for the beating she gave Rikard, who was now sporting a massive lump on the side of his head.
When the suns in the sky began to slowly lower into the horizon, I was buckled back into the floating torture device, and we went home.
PARK TRIPS WERE ADDED TO MY ITINERARY since I had seemingly gotten along with the children. Unfortunately, Cinyah would call up the other neighborhood moms every couple of days and set up playdates in the park, much to my dismay.
Life went on for another couple of months until I heard Cinyah yelp in the bathroom one day.
I was sitting on my playmat, constructing the most glorious spaceship out of building blocks, when I heard her yelp in surprise, followed subsequently by loud sobs and crying.
The noises went on for some time before I heard the sink turn on, and the sounds of retching followed soon after.
Putting two and two together, I broke out into a wide grind, jumped up, and started doing a little dance. The timer had officially begun. However, I wasn’t too worried about being spotted doing my terrible impersonation of an Irish Jig since it was clear to me Mother would be in the bathroom for a while.
Brandon had finally been conceived and formed in our Mothers womb. I didn’t bother devoting any thought to when it had happened; all I cared about was getting prepared. I had learned quite a bit about the world of Vinestra, and it was time to start compiling my gathered information. Finishing up my dance, I plopped my butt down and continued building my spaceship. This was only for appearances, though. My hands may have been moving, but I was devoting zero brain cells towards its construction.
As soon as he was born, I needed to make a quick and efficient method to bring Brandon up to speed in both levels and knowledge. I already had a lead in the level department, but there was no helping that. So the best I could do was offer him what I knew.
Later that night, at dinner, Cinyah tearfully confirmed my theory. She told Rikard that she was once again pregnant. Not only that, but she was already three months along.
While the two of them were lost in their conversation, I was grief strickenly looking at my mana cycle count on my Status Panel.
The last few months hadn’t been going well for me. The act of cycling my mana through my Codex and into my body was becoming increasingly more difficult.
‘To date, I have only been able to make 50 complete cycles, which is a far cry from what I had expected. Not gaining XP is going to set my plans back even further. OI TOBS YOU GOTTA GO EASIER ON ME HERE’
-There are currently no new Quests-
Tobs’s response only made my anxiety spike further.
Several days had gone by without me finishing the daily quest, and my XP suffered for it.
: Level: 3 :
: Essence(XP): 1625/5000:
: Distribution: 1 Per All :
: Mana Codex Tier: 0 (Proficiency= 50.0%) :
: Mana Cycles: 50 (Proficiency= 50.0%) :
: Mana Circuit Tier: 0 (Proficiency= 50.0%) :
If I had completed the daily quest, I would have had an extra one thousand XP. Unfortunately, I was at an impasse; each revolution I made caused more and more resistance to build up.
The first few cycles were a breeze, like opening a faucet and letting the water flow, but after each successful attempt, that flow became a trickle and eventually stopped altogether.
So I was now behind schedule when it came to leveling up.
My existential conundrum was suddenly destroyed by a giggling Cinyah who had pulled me from my highchair and twirled me in a circle while holding one of my hands as if we were dancing.
“My little Cynrik, you’re going to be a big brother.” She cheerfully sang while dancing around the house with me.
After dancing around with Cinyah and eventually Rikard, who was just as excited as she was, it was finally my bedtime, and I was tucked into my crib with a song and a kiss goodnight.
But like every night, it wasn’t sleepin time; it was thinkin time. I had spent the last year adjusting to my new body and life to formulate a plan of attack for the future, and step one had been completed.
For the most part, I had figured out Tobs and its inner workings to some extent. Now all I could do was bide my time and wait the remaining six months for Brandon to arrive finally.
Unlike the previous year and four months, which consisted of drifting in and out of insanity due to my bear nemesis, being locked in an infinite loop of eating, sleeping, pooping, and constantly being fussed over by my parents, the last few months of Cinyahs pregnancy sped by at lightspeed.
Finally, the day came where screams and hollers echoed throughout the halls of our home, signaling it was time for the arrival of my brother.
In a flurry, I was scooped up by Rikard as we rushed to our family’s hovercar and brought to the hospital alongside a pale and noisy Cinyah.
While all this chaos was ensuing, I felt both nervous and excited to see my brother again.
Finally, one year and ten months after I arrived in Vinestra, Brandon, or should I now call him Brance, was born into the world at precisely 3:45 am.
Sitting on my Father’s lap as he nervously rubbed on his fingers, we heard the cry of a newborn baby come into existence. Rikard jumped to his feet and began cheering; I, on the other hand, was utterly distracted at that moment as Rikard tossed me over and over again into the air. The reason was simple.
-Gods’ Benefit installed-
-You have unlocked Legacy Tier Skill: Sibling Mind Link-
-Legacy Skill: Sibling Mind Link-
-Due to The Two Hosts being Reincarnated by way of a God’s Relic, you can speak telepathically to each other.
-This skill has no cost and is meant to be a form of communication between the two of you.-
-This Skill has an active range of 25 Meters-
-The higher the Users Mind Stat, the further the range can be extended-
Without waiting any further, I activated my new Legacy Tier Skill.
[It’s About damn time you showed up; it’s been boring as shit without you, Brandon, or should I call you by your new name, Brance?] I couldn’t help but smirk at the casual response that came into my mind.
[I…HAVE…ARRIVED!!!]
END OF PROLOGUE