# Chapter 4: The Beginning of a New Journey
Eight months later...
"Status."
A transparent blue window popped up in front of my eyes.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Ash Nightlock
Level: 1
Class: None
HP: 12/12
MP: 8/8
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Vitality: 1
Intelligence: 1
Wisdom: 1
Luck: 1
[SKILLS]
None
[TITLES]
None
I looked at the numbers and at the little hands attached to my body.
Every attribute, including my Intelligence, was 1.
Come on now, surely reading all those books and getting all worked up about fictional characters' emotions and actions for thirty years would have done something?
Looks like it didn't.
I tried to sit up properly, but my body swayed and I fell sideways onto the bed.
Great, a thirty-year-old man defeated by gravity.
Still, I had more important problems right now.
I was alive and, despite the circumstances, living in a fantasy world where magic was a thing and mysterious system windows appeared left and right whenever they felt like.
That was much better than my previous life, even though I was currently inhabiting a body that made it hard to do much of anything.
I dismissed the window just as the door opened to reveal my mother.
"There you are, my little Ash!"
My mother came to the bed and picked me up.
I was still getting used to having such a beautiful woman as my mother.
She looked like a character that would grace the cover of a fantasy light novel, not someone I should be worrying about if I got enough nutrients during the day.
"Have you been a good boy?"
I smiled.
Her face immediately melted into a soft, warm expression.
"Oh, look at that smile!"
She hugged me tighter, stealing away the last of my dignity.
Mother sat down on a chair beside the window as she continued talking to me.
I could understand everything she said, thanks to the mysterious language proficiency I had somehow gained earlier, but replying was a whole other matter.
No matter how much effort I put into forming a sentence in my head, my mouth only produced baby noises.
It was frustrating, but I had no choice but to be patient.
After a while, Mother adjusted me in her arms and began to feed me.
I turned my eyes to the wall.
Dignity could wait.
Once I was done, she patted my back and held me close to her shoulder.
Her heart beat steadily, and I let my eyes drift shut for a moment, listening to its rhythm.
In my previous life, the only being that had shown any affection for me was Kuro, my black cat.
I had been alone most of the time, wandering around in a dull, repetitive routine with not much else to it.
Now I had parents that cared for me and my life had taken a turn for the better.
The thought made a strange, warm feeling bloom in my chest.
I closed my eyes and was thankful for the second chance I was given.
"Let's go see Velvet, shall we?" Mother said.
My eyes flew open immediately.
Velvet was the daughter of David and Marie, the couple that took care of our household.
She had been born the same day as me, and I had somehow developed a strange bond with her.
I still had no idea what it meant, however.
Mother carried me out of the room and into a bright sitting area where David and Marie were waiting for us.
David's black cat ears twitched as he noticed us.
I still found those ears pretty fascinating to look at.
They moved freely when he moved them, and sometimes I wondered if they had anything to do with the fact that he could hear me.
I would find out eventually.
"Lady Nightlock," Marie greeted my mother with a smile. "Young Master Ash seems to be growing well."
"He certainly is. He's becoming more active every day."
David leaned forward to get a good look at me.
"And how is our young master today? Have you come to visit little Velvet?"
I gave him a small smile.
His ears perked up.
"Look at that! He's happy to see us!"
If only he knew how much effort it took to feign the expression of a healthy, happy child.
Mother sat down beside Marie, placing me close enough to the little girl in her arms that I could see her clearly.
Velvet had soft hair and beautiful violet eyes that looked at me with curiosity.
I tilted my head at her.
She tilted hers at me.
I blinked.
She blinked back.
An amazing conversation, indeed.
Then Velvet reached out for me.
I stretched my arm out, struggling a bit to move it properly.
Our fingertips touched.
Ding!
I almost flew out of Mother's arms.
Another blue window appeared before my eyes.
[BOND DETECTED]
Target: Velvet
Bond: Soul Echo
Rank: 1
[BOND EFFECTS]
Proximity Bonus: +30% shared experience gain
[RESONANCE PROGRESS]
Mana Sense Fragment: 12%
I read the message several times, absorbing the information.
A bond?
With Velvet?
The proximity bonus was nice, but what was this 'Soul Echo' business?
I tried to concentrate on the words, hoping that more information would appear, but nothing else did.
Of course.
The system had a talent for doing things like this.
Before I could investigate any further, a faint violet spark flew between our hands.
It vanished the moment it appeared, however.
I looked at the spot where it had been.
Velvet merely smiled.
"Look at them," Mother said warmly. "They seem to like each other already."
"They've always been calm together," Marie said.
Always?
I looked at Velvet again.
Had this connection existed from the moment we were born?
Was the strange light somehow related to us being bound somehow?
I couldn't say for sure, but the system notification was probably not a coincidence.
Whatever this connection was, I intended to find out.
For now, however, I had another problem.
My body was still incredibly useless.
I couldn't walk, talk properly or even fully understand how magic worked, and if I wanted to investigate the mysterious system I would soon have to improve my physical abilities.
Fortunately, I had plenty of time.
Or so I thought.
---
Over the following days, I experimented with what my new, tiny body could do.
In particular, I wanted to see how I could move without immediately dying.
It wasn't as easy as one would expect.
My arms and legs rarely responded to my commands, and crawling around on the floor was much harder work than I would have ever expected.
Several attempts later, I collapsed on my backside on the fluffy carpet.
Still, I was persistent.
Eventually, I managed to crawl a short distance without falling.
Ding!
[SKILL ACQUIRED]
Crawl Lv. 1
I stopped in surprise.
Then, I looked at my hands and the distance I had crawled.
I grinned.
My first skill!
It wasn't much of a skill, not at all, but it was a start.
More importantly, it suggested that if I continued to do things the system would recognize as useful, I could gain skills like this.
If the same principle applied to magic, then practice would eventually make me proficient.
I immediately began crawling again, albeit with better control.
It wasn't much, but it was enough to encourage me.
My status window might suggest that all my attributes were 1, but I wasn't planning on leaving them that way for long.
---
A few days later, I found myself sitting on my bed when another notification appeared.
Ding!
I opened the window.
[QUEST UNLOCKED]
### Path of the Nightlock Heir
Objective: Awaken basic mana control before reaching the age of two.
Reward:
First Stat Point Allocation
Hidden Skill
Condition: Complete the objective before the deadline.
I stared at the window.
I only had until my second birthday to awaken basic mana control.
That left me with about sixteen months.
The deadline didn't seem so bad until I remembered that I was an eight-month-old baby who had trouble sitting up on my own.
And what exactly did it mean to awaken basic mana control?
Was I supposed to meditate?
Visualize mana?
Try to move some mana around?
The system didn't say.
I sighed and dismissed the window.
At least I had something to work towards now.
I could spend the next sixteen months learning everything I could about mana and testing out whatever method I could manage.
The reward would be a hidden skill, and if I managed to complete the objective, I would get my first stat point allocation.
Depending on what the system was like, that could give me a nice advantage.
I wasn't going to waste the opportunity.
My previous life had been full of things that I never followed through on, and I was determined not to do the same now.
First, I would master mana control.
Then, I would learn more about the bond and find out how it worked.
It was a big plan for a baby who couldn't walk yet, but everything has to start somewhere.
---
Later that day, I met Velvet again.
She was sitting on a soft blanket while Marie watched over her.
Her violet eyes shimmered with happiness as soon as she saw me.
My mother placed me beside her.
Velvet immediately reached out for me.
Our fingers touched, and a faint blue light flickered between us.
This time, I watched the light carefully.
It vanished, leaving a strange warmth in my hand.
For a moment, I thought I felt something else as well.
A flash of blue.
A strange feeling of recognition.
A memory that didn't feel like it belonged to me.
Then it was gone.
I looked down at my hand.
A faint blue sigil had appeared for a moment before disappearing.
When I looked at Velvet, she was looking at me curiously.
Her eyes suggested that she, too, felt something that she couldn't quite understand.
Neither of us could say what had happened.
We were babies, after all.
Instead, Velvet tightened her grip on my hand.
I did the same as best I could.
Perhaps the Soul Echo bond was more than just a bonus.
The strange lights, the resonance progress and the warm feeling both of us had just experienced were all connected somehow.
I still had no idea how.
But I had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time.
I smiled at the little girl beside me.
Whatever happened next, it seemed like Velvet would be a part of it.
And with a bond that let us share experience, it could be beneficial for both of us.
Not that I was thinking about that while holding a cute baby girl's hand, of course.
I was perfectly rational.
Mostly.
I looked towards the window as sunlight spilled across the floor.
I had a new family, a new world, a mysterious system and a quest with a deadline.
There was a lot for me to learn, but for the first time since my reincarnation, I had a goal to work towards.
My journey had only just begun.
To be continued...