Chapter 2 – A Mother’s Surprise

Two years had passed since Kranos arrived in this world. He had tried to convey his meaning to his new mother that he wanted to visit the royal library, but of course, she couldn’t understand him at all; that was to be expected. After all, who would understand what a baby was trying to pass across?

He knew that there was no way he could pass his message, so he decided to focus on strengthening his body. In these two years he had confirmed his guess that this was a world of magic; there were different elemental spells and the like. There were even creatures evolved from magic called magic beasts, more terrifying were demons that grew by devouring humans and other magical creatures.

These were the bits and pieces of information he had gathered from overhearing his parents’ conversations. With that thought, he decided to mimic the meditation techniques he observed from his mother in order to absorb mana and enhance his body.

Unfortunately, there is no way to control time; it seems that my goal of finding that antique was wasted. Why did I even think that was possible? How could there be a way to control time? Kranos sighed as he gazed outside. Even though at the start he couldn’t control time, sooner or later he will! Thankfully this was a magical world, as long as there was magic, anything was possible…

Through the transparent window, Kranos saw snow gently falling, blanketing the earth in white. The air was cold, causing Kranos to shiver slightly in his fur-clothed sweater. He could hear the guards whispering as they marched around, it was clear that surviving in this world would undoubtedly be very difficult. At least I retained the memory and knowledge of my past life, with that, I can train efficiently and adapt to this world quickly.

He continued his mana absorption— his cultivation, as he would like to call it. A few hours passed when a middle-aged woman stepped into the room. Without turning around, Kranos could tell it was his mother from her unique fragrance. He smiled faintly as she lifted him into her embrace, he didn’t resist.

Anna looked at her son with affection; she had come to notice something unusual about her son—his intelligence. She didn’t believe it at first, dismissing the thought, but after observing him more carefully for a while, she came to the conclusion that first was the fact that he had rarely cried or made things difficult for them since he was born.

Aside from that, the second reason was that whenever she sneaked up on her son, she would catch him practicing the cultivation techniques that she usually displayed. As a mother, she was pleased with having a son like him; he will definitely have a good aptitude for cultivation and awaken a wonderful element!

After doting on her son for a while, she passed across the good news to him; she didn’t know if he could understand her, but she felt that he could. “Son, although you are barely two years old, you have displayed remarkable intelligence. So, I invited a teacher for you. He will teach you how to read and write; he will also tell you more about this world.”

Kranos’s eyes lit up at her words—this subtle change was noticed by his mother, who nodded in satisfaction inwardly. It seems like he can understand me! After telling little Kranos the good news, she spent the rest of the evening telling him some stories about her adventure in the outside world before placing him on the bed when she noticed his eyes looking sleepy.

…

The next morning arrived quite quickly, and Kranos woke up excitedly and rushed up to his mother, perfectly displaying the traits of a 2-year-old child, even though inwardly he felt quite calm, neutral even. He recalled what she said yesterday; today he would finally learn the true history of this world.

After bathing and eating, his mother carried him in her arms as they walked through the estate, and as they walked, Kranos couldn’t help but gaze at everything with curiosity. Even though he had walked here a couple of times, he couldn’t help but feel fascinated by the environment every time he came here.

Everywhere was slightly noisy. Some guards that weren’t busy were playing chess and checkers. Some were busy gossiping about the latest happenings in the Aloria kingdom… It felt quite lively.

As soon as the guards saw Kranos and his mother, they immediately took a respectful stance: “Good morning, Third Young Miss!” Their voice sounded thunderous.

Anna nodded at them in response, signaling them to continue what they were doing as she and Kranos made their way toward a larger building.

Soon they reached a slightly larger building. “Son, this is where you will be studying for the next few years,” Anna advised as they stepped inside. The building was devoid of people except for a middle-aged man who was standing behind a counter.

Kranos scanned the surroundings and realized that the place was filled with books… there were so many that he couldn’t count them. Is this… the royal library? Kranos was stunned. To think I’d gain access into the royal library this easily? He couldn’t help but gawk at how much knowledge was hidden in this library.

“Son, this will be your teacher for the next few years,” his mother gestured towards the middle-aged man.

So he’s the one? Kranos mused inwardly, looking at the middle-aged man with dark brown hair; his pupils were a shade of dark blue, and he looked quite like a refined scholarly man.

“Good morning, Miss Anna,” the man greeted in a polite tone.

“Morning, Luke, How have you been?”

“I was fine—until I learned I’d be teaching your son. Now I’m starting to feel cooked,” Luke replied with a smile while glancing at Kranos.

Anna chuckled; she could understand what Luke meant, but she didn’t take it seriously.

“Well, I’m leaving my son in your care. Take good care of him–if I find out something happened to him, hmph!”

“Alright, alright, you don’t have to be so terrifying,” Luke broke out in a cold sweat. Just like I said, I’m cooked! He cried inwardly.

“Good,” she said, turning to Kranos. Seeing him gazing intently at the bookshelves, she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Son, be a good boy, okay? Learn all that he will teach you; Mama will give you a big surprise the better the work you do is.”

Kranos didn’t reply; well, he couldn’t; he hadn’t learned to speak the language of this world. He simply looked at her with his bright, silvery-white eyes. His mother seemed to understand what he was trying to convey; smiling, she turned around and left.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep