Starting from zero: growing up with knowledge from another world

Chapter 1

It's finally the morning of my 5th birthday. I woke up feeling quite excited; birthdays aren't celebrated much in this world outside of the nobility, but, one's 5th birthday is celebrated because one gains their first skills with their baptism. I did some stretches before skipping the rest of my usual morning stuff because it was a special occasion.

"Good morning Kaede," I said, waking up Kaede who was sleeping at the edge of my bed. Her three kittens are now a bit over a year old, but still very much kittens with their high amounts of energy for playing, and overly curious nature.

*Yawn~* <Good morning Cero.> Kaede responded while stretching, only to lay back down.

I smiled at Kaede before leaving my room, trying not to disturb her anymore. Coming into the kitchen area, I saw my dad sitting at the table, while my mom was still preparing breakfast, "Good morning Mom, Dad!" I loudly greeted my parents while heading towards them.

"Ou, mornin', ready for your big day?" says my dad with his usual vigor.

"Good morning, did you get enough sleep?" responds my mom, glaring at my dad a little for being his usual self.

"Yeah! I got plenty! I can't wait for my baptism!" I say energetically while turning to go clean myself up before breakfast. If I were to skip cleaning up, my mom would surely scold me, even if it is my birthday.

After enjoying breakfast, with a bit more bacon than usual, we all finish getting ready and head out of the house. Walking between my parents, we head towards the church. I don't usually get to go out this early in the day, so it was a bit of a shock seeing so many adventurers, carts, and other people moving around, looking busy.

Walking for a while longer, we arrived in front of the church. It was a stone-built building, with a sloped roof, somewhat old European in looks but not quite the same. The difference is mainly the lack of steeples and clear glass. All of the glass I have seen so far was tinted in some color or another, they likely haven't figured out how to refine clear glass yet.

Inside the church, my parents told a nun what we were there for and she led my parents to wait in a room while taking me to another that had statues of, presumably, gods of this world and a pulpit with one statue centered at the back of it. The nun took me in front of the statue and had me kneel in a prayer pose, facing her in front of the god's statue with my eyes closed. She then placed her right hand on my head and muttered something under her breath.

At that moment, I felt like a bright light exploded in my mind, and a warmth washed over me, starting from where her hand touched my head. I guess this is the baptism skill, though I had no idea it would be this intense. What felt like a few minutes at least, but was probably only a few seconds later, my mind calmed, the warmth faded, and I thought I heard 'sorry' in a distant-sounding voice in my mind.

"With that, you should now be able to see your abilities and skills in your mind by thinking 'status'. If you have questions about what you see, you can ask me, or your family, but you shouldn't speak of your abilities and skills in public." The sister says to me with a calm smile before leading me back toward my parents.

Upon entering the room my parents were in, the nun said to my parents, "Thanks for waiting, the baptism has been completed without issue." After which, my parents gave their thanks plus a donation before the nun exited, closing the door behind her. It is not required to donate money when receiving a baptism although it is generally considered good manners for those that can afford it.

A few seconds after the door shut before my mom said, "Have you checked your status? Do you have any questions? Depending on what kind of skills you received, different opportunities will be available to you in the future."

"She's right, if you don't have the right skills, no one will want to waste their time training you. They could just as easily find someone who received skills that will give them an advantage in that job. So, if there is anything you want to do, we'll help you with it, if you have the right kind of skills." My dad adds.

"I haven't looked yet but I want to be an adventurer. I'll look now." I say and chant 'status' in my mind.

Name: Cero
Level: 1
Age: 5
Race: Half-Elf
HP: 68 /68
MP: 94/94

STR: 18
VIT: 16
DEX: 23
AGI: 27
INT: 39
MND: 31

Special Skills:
Unlimited Potential (Unique), Perfect Memory (Unique), Language Comprehension, Spirit Vision, Concealment 1, Oracle 1

General Skills:
Detailed Appraisal 1, Housekeeping 3, Etiquette 6, Acting 6, Calculation 7, Cooking 4

Magic Skills:
Precise Mana Control 4, Alchemy 1, Barrier Magic 1, Earth Magic 1, Wind Magic 1, Fire Magic 1, Water Magic 1, Neutral Magic 1, Light Magic 1, Dark Magic 1, Plant Magic 1, Space-time Magic 1, Taming Magic 1, Magic Detection 1

Combat Skills:
Unarmed Combat 2, Sword Mastery 2, Body Control 4, Stealth 3, Trapping 2

Crafting Skills:
Drawing 3, Architecture 6, Woodworking 3, Compounding 1, Blacksmithing 1

What is this insane list of skills... I see, it appears to be a mix of knowledge and experience... My brain nearly shut down upon seeing my status for the first time, but I slowly began to digest what I saw.

"Um... it looks like I can use swords and magic, I even have the mana control and magic detection skills," I say after some thought.

"Oooh, that's great! I can start teaching you how to fight." My dad was so excited to hear I could use swords that he raised his voice without thinking.

"Dear..." Though she spoke in a normal tone of voice, it felt like the temperature dropped a few degrees. "I believe it would be wise to teach him proper techniques, slowly and properly, so that he doesn't gain any strange habits, like a certain someone. I will be teaching you the basics of magic, and having the mana control and magic detection skills will be very beneficial. All of that can wait though, today we will celebrate." My mom sounded excited while talking about my future magic studies but a bit frosty when speaking to my dad. Good luck, Dad; I'm sure you will survive the sermon you will likely receive later.

We left after that discussion and stopped by the market on the way home. I guess meals are going to be rather extravagant today, it seems like my parents are happy about the skills I received. Rather than saying 'received', it's more like 'earned', seeing as how the skills are at least mostly a mix of knowledge and experience gained up until baptism. I'm just a bit abnormal compared to other children because I have knowledge from another world, plus my solo playing (training) paid off.

Arriving at home, my mom went to prepare for the special lunch and dinner we would be having, and my dad turned around, saying he would be back in a little bit. My mom told me I could go outside and play, or something until my dad gets back, so I went out back and called out to see if Sylphy was nearby.

Sylphy appeared almost immediately after I called out for her. "It's strange hearing you call out for me, did something happen?" She says while moving to sit down on my shoulder.

I sat down against a tree near the house and told her about my baptism and status. Asking her questions about some of my skills and if she could teach me about others in the future. While talking about that, I was also activating my Concealment skill to hide all the abnormal parts of my status. Even though my Concealment skill was only at level 1, it seems the appraisal skills that can be used on people are rare and difficult to improve, so it should still be able to help.

From what I learned, most of my skills are very straightforward, while some are beyond what one would expect; for instance 'Spirit Vision' can help one see the flow of mana in nature when the skill is practiced to a higher level. Precise mana control is actually an evolved skill, which is to say I got so good at controlling my mana, even without that skill, that I received the higher form of the mana control skill showing how delicately I can control my mana.

I also learned that I have a fair amount of rare and extremely rare skills, so I will have to be sure that the wrong people don't discover that. Hopefully, I can raise the level of my concealment skill quickly. Among my rare skills, the ones that could cause me the most problems would be my unique skills, language comprehension, oracle, and space-time magic.

Space-time magic is, for the most part, considered a legendary magic of the past, seeing as how no one has been able to use it for hundreds of years. The reason for that is that people do not have a deep understanding of the concept of space and time. Though it seems like the degraded skill 'Item Box' is only considered uncommon because there are documents showing research results on how the skill functions, not to mention, anyone who has seen the skill would sooner forget who they are than the magic skill that can make traveling far easier, not to mention transporting materials from subjugation requests.

I definitely need to keep my space-time magic skill hidden from others. It would be better to practice in secret, rather than let my dad find out... he's far too likely to let a secret slip, especially when bragging to young adventurers.

An hour or so passed by while I was talking with Sylphy before I was called into the house, my dad had gotten back home at some point in time. Walking into the house, I see both of my parents sitting at the table, waiting for me to arrive, with presents sitting on the table. I quickly ran up and sat down at the table, wondering what it is they got me.

"Well don't just sit there, the presents are for you. Go ahead and open them." My dad urged me on, looking more excited than me. I don't know if my dad will ever grow up, even though he must be in his 30s, he still acts like a young boy.

Not having to be told twice, I immediately grabbed the first package and began opening it up. Upon opening the package, I see an obviously dulled dagger, the kind used for training rather than the kind a commoner might be seen carrying around with them, or the kind a scout would use to protect themselves in close combat.

Having guessed that the dagger is to be used for my swordsmanship training considering that it looks more like a short sword in my hand than a dagger. I expressed my gratitude to my dad before moving on to the next present. Inside was a set of sturdy-looking clothes, obviously made to handle rough playing or training. I, of course, thanked both of my parents for the new clothes before moving on to the last package, which was fairly long.

Inside the last package was a short staff, though I couldn't tell if it was made for training children or for a dwarf mage to use. Obviously, I was quite excited about the gift, especially after using Detailed Appraisal to find out that it was made of Treant wood and quite high quality, definitely not something a kid would use for training normally.

"Thank you! I will now be able to train to be an adventurer when I grow up!" I exclaimed while holding my gifts.

"We're glad you like them, now go put them in your room and make sure to take care of them in the future." Says my mom with a gentle, motherly smile. It's obvious that they had checked out possible gifts beforehand and just went to get them after hearing what skills I received.

I carefully carried my gifts to my room and set them in their new homes, where I could quickly and easily grab them should it ever prove necessary for me to do so. It sucks that there is not much in the way of games or toys that a child can play with, especially ones that the average person can afford. Perhaps with the dagger I received, I will be able to carve wood into toys, or perhaps use plant magic to slowly shape wood, or rock, to the shape of some decent toys.

I went out to the living room and started playing with the young celestial cats while my parents were in the kitchen area, preparing lunch. Unfortunately, there aren't any other kids that live close by, so I don't have any friends I can invite over, meaning it will just be my parents, pets, and Sylphy celebrating my birthday with me. Though that isn't a big deal, because I don't have to worry about what other people might want to do, and instead can do pretty much whatever I want.

The rest of the day passed by without much fuss. Both lunch and dinner were amazing, I got to eat some foods, I had not had before, and there was plenty of it. Then, after going to bed, with daylight fading to night, I had Sylphy teach me about barrier magic before almost immediately trying to create a sound barrier. Thanks to my Earthly knowledge, it only took a few times before I successfully created a sound barrier.

After deploying the sound barrier, I learned a fair amount from Sylphy and practiced multiple skills, especially my space-time magic. By the time I decided to end my skill practice, I had gained a fair amount. It seems that what was preventing a lot of my skills from leveling up was my lack of experience.

The results of my training:
Barrier Magic 1 → 2
Concealment 1 → 2
Detailed Appraisal 1 → 2
Space-time Magic 1 → 2
Magic Detection 1 → 3
INT 39 → 41

I was able to gain a lot on my first night because I was finally able to put my knowledge into practice, plus I had an excellent teacher with an abundance of knowledge and experience in this world. The early levels tend to be easy enough to level up as well. I imagine it will become a lot more difficult in the near future, as my experience begins to match my knowledge, and the levels get higher.

I then practiced my mana control before going to bed, just like on a normal night. It seems there are 3 ways to improve one mana capacity, first is increasing one's intelligence stat, second is to constantly use up and recover your mana (this is the slowest way), and lastly, raising one's level will give a qualitative increase to all stats, this is obviously the fastest way. Improving your vitality stat will raise your HP and stamina. Improving your agility stat will increase your stamina, and speed, and along with dexterity, will increase your flexibility as well. Dexterity aside from affecting your flexibility also affects the ease with which some skills are improved.

The next morning, I woke up at the usual time and did my usual routine while wondering what kind of training I was going to be doing to learn magic from my mom. After breakfast, my mom started working to get everything done for the day so that she can start teaching me magic. While Mom was busy, I was out back practicing short-range teleportation then I began practicing sword swings with the training dagger I had gotten yesterday so that I wouldn't use up my MP before learning from my mom.

Having gotten sweaty while practicing sword swings, I wiped myself off with a wet cloth before taking a rest. About an hour passed while I rested and played around a little bit before my mom came out of the house, having finished with the chores.

"Alright, before you start learning how to use magic, first, we need to get you to be able to feel the mana in your body. Since you have the mana control skill, once you can sense it, you should have no problem learning how to cast spells." My mom says while looking and sounding like a professional teacher.

"No problem, I can already feel my mana! What's next?!" My enthusiasm was on full display with my loud reply.

"Eh?! Since when did you learn how to feel your mana?!" Mom replied, completely wide-eyed.

"Since you showed my magic before!" I said smugly with my chest puffed out.

"I never thought you would have already learned how to feel your mana, back when I showed you magic for the first time," my mom said while slightly deflated and looking a little ponderous "I guess we can move on to learning the basic spells then. Since you're only 5, you won't have much mana, but you should still be able to attempt casting each spell twice. I'll show you each spell once, and then you try using them afterward. If you have any problems, I will help you fix them."

Then Mom showed me basic magic for each of the elements she can use: Ignite, Water, Wind, Rock, Light, Grow, and Float. They were Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, Plant, and Neutral magic respectively. I watched her cast each spell while using Magic Detection to sense approximately how much mana she was using for each.

"To make it easier, you should go grab your staff first. Depending on its quality, a staff can reduce the mana needed to activate a spell, and even enhance the effect of the spell. Staffs can also be used in close-range combat if a monster or someone manages to get in close." Says my mom, back to her giving off a teacher-like aura again. She also told me I should chant whatever words help me envision the spell I am trying to use until I get used to casting magic.

I already had my staff in my item box since this morning, so I said "Item Box", and pulled the staff out, causing eyes of my mom to once again go wide.

"You didn't say you had that skill yesterday, so that was quite the shock. How did you know how to use it?" Wondered my mom, looking at me a little suspiciously.

"I was so excited about the magic and sword skills that I must have forgotten to mention it. I saw people using the item box skill while we were out, so I already knew how to use it." Technically what I said wasn't a complete lie, I really was excited to have magic and sword skills, and I really did see other people using the item box skill before. Though what I used was not the item box skill, it was space-time magic, so I glossed over the skill name while responding.

"I suppose that does make sense, I think I was quite excited back when I got baptized and first saw my status." Murmured my mom while remembering her past.

I proceeded to try each of the spells she showed me, without the chant obviously, and I managed to cast each spell successfully, though they seemed a little unstable.

"You're quite talented to be able to cast on your first try, especially without chanting an incantation, but your imagination was a bit lacking. You need to solidify the image in your mind before casting. I won't let you slack off and waste that talent, it could save your life in the future." Says my mom not letting me enjoy the feeling of succeeding on my first attempt at these spells.

Listening to what she said, I closed my eyes to focus on the spells. The space-time magic spells I created exhibited an effect but didn't create phenomena, so it was easier to cast them by just recalling my understanding of space and time from my Earthly knowledge. After changing how I imagine the magic from an idea to a solid image in my mind, I recast the spells. This time I was able to get a passing grade from my teacher (mom).

Once I got a passing grade, my mom taught me about using meditation and breathing techniques to recover mana faster, then had me practice that while she went in to make some lunch. After eating, I again read a little before taking a nap. I have read most of the books my parents own, so I had to use neutral magic to get a new book down to read. The one I got today was about alchemy, so I put it in my item box instead of putting it back on the shelf.

Waking up from my nap, I once again practiced magic with my mom. According to Mom, I need to use the magic over and over again until it becomes second nature, only then will we move on to other spells. Then, after practicing and resting/meditating again, I read a bit more before

my dad got home.

As soon as Dad got back, he immediately wanted to start teaching me swordsmanship. I learned that while my dad is good at teaching, he is more of the show, don't tell, kind of teacher. His method of teaching does work for me, only because I have knowledge of different styles of swordsmanship from Earth though. Thanks to his teaching, I was able to put my knowledge into practice, which helps quite a lot, since there is a big difference between knowledge and practice.

We had dinner like usual, but instead of an adventurer story geared towards a child, I was told, practical knowledge in story form. Then, before going to sleep, I pulled out the book on alchemy, created a dim light with magic, and read a bit before practicing mana control. As it turns out, alchemy in this world is rather diverse. With alchemy, you can create potions for instant recovery of mana or health, and at the same time, you can use alchemy to make magic tools, though it seems that making magic tools requires a lot more work, materials, and additional skills.

After a few months of studying and training my status had grown quite a lot, and I had started learning more kinds of magic as well, including attack, defense, and healing magic. My current status looks like this:

Name: Cero
Level: 1
Age: 5
Race: Half-Elf
HP: 77/77 (up 9)
MP: 130/130 (up 33)

STR: 22 (up 4)
VIT: 24 (up 8)
DEX: 29 (up 6)
AGI: 32 (up 5)
INT: 59 (up 20)
MND: 38 (up 7)

Special Skills:
Unlimited Potential (Unique), Perfect Memory (Unique), Language Comprehension, Spirit Vision, Concealment 4 (up 3), Oracle 1

General Skills:
Detailed Appraisal 5 (up 4), Housekeeping 4 (up 1), Etiquette 6, Acting 7 (up 1), Calculation 7, Cooking 4

Magic Skills:
Precise Mana Control 5 (up 1), Alchemy 3 (up 2), Barrier Magic 2 (up 1), Earth Magic 3 (up 2), Wind Magic 3 (up 2), Fire Magic 3 (up 2), Water Magic 3 (up 2), Neutral Magic 3 (up 2), Light Magic 3 (up 2), Dark Magic 1, Plant Magic 3 (up 2), Space-time Magic 3 (up 2), Taming Magic 1, Magic Detection 4 (up 3)

Combat Skills:
Unarmed Combat 3 (up 1), Sword Mastery 3 (up 1), Body Control 4, Stealth 4 (up 1), Trapping 2

Crafting Skills:
Drawing 3, Architecture 6, Woodworking 3, Compounding 3 (up 2), Blacksmithing 1

I was able to raise my compounding and alchemy skills by creating the necessary tools using earth and plant magic. Most of my magic skills rose to 3 within a month, but haven't gone up since then. Barrier magic is more difficult to get used to because mana naturally wants to diffuse as soon as you release control over it, so I haven't been able to improve on that much. Concealment was raised by changing by having Sylphy use detailed appraisal on me while I focused on the concealment, I still can't hide my stats from her though.