Chapter 5: Toma at Three Years Old

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Time passed, and I turned three.

Walking had become much more stable, and I made sure to walk every day as much as I could.

Of course, I hadn't forgotten to use my skill to level up either.

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Name: Toma
Race: Demigod (Human-God Hybrid)
Information: Male, 3 years old, healthy
Title: Apostle of ×××
Rank: G
Attribute: Divine
Blessing: God of Transformation (Unawakened)
Level: 20
Skill: Transformation, Level 1
Life: 58 (232)
Stamina: 63 (254)
Mana: 68 (274)
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Around the time I turned two, my abilities, which had been limited to one-fifth due to my age, increased to one-quarter. With my mana reaching 68, I could now transform things beyond just food.

Lately, I’d been exercising in the mornings and, after lunch, playing in the forest on the estate, digging in the dirt.

You might think playing with dirt sounds like a typical child thing to do, but naturally, I was using my skill for it.

While gnawing on some soybeans, I would transform the dirt into iron and then back into dirt. Doing this drained my mana completely, making me sleepy.

There were small animals in the forest, but no predators, so I would just lean against a tree and nap.

After sleeping for about an hour, my mana would fully recharge, so I would repeat the process—playing with dirt, then sleeping.

At night, I also made sure to use up all my mana before going to bed.

Such were my days, but unwelcome guests have a way of showing up.

"Hey, you!"

Jaiz suddenly barged into my room, pointing at me.

Jaiz was clearly eating well. His belly was sticking out, and despite only being eight years old, his face was greasy. He probably weighed five times more than I did.

By the way, I currently weighed around 14 kilograms.

"What do you want?"

I was reading a book. I didn’t want to be disturbed.

"I order you to be my sparring partner! Follow me!"

He still didn’t understand that practicing against someone weaker wouldn’t help him improve with either sword or spear. For Jaiz, it was enough to just have someone to hit.

"I'm reading, though."

"Shut up! Come with me now!"

I had no choice but to follow.

If I didn’t, he would harass my mother next. He really was the worst.

The training grounds of the marquis’ house were large, about a hundred meters in diameter, circular in shape.

As soon as Jaiz appeared, the soldiers training there made way for him.

"Hey, you! I’ll personally give you a lesson!"

"No thanks."

"Here I come!"

He didn’t listen to a word I said.

Without warning, Jaiz charged at me.

I blocked his heavy-handed downward strike with my wooden sword. The sound of wood clashing against wood echoed. Because of the weight difference, I was pushed back, and Jaiz’s wooden sword struck my shoulder.

"Ugh."

As the wooden sword dug into my shoulder, Jaiz twisted his face into a crooked smile.

"Take this! And this!"

Jaiz, in high spirits, launched a flurry of attacks.

I carefully avoided the strikes that would have been fatal, and for the others, I either blocked them with my wooden sword or took them on my body.

Any ordinary three-year-old would have been seriously injured by now.

But to Jaiz, we children of concubines were no better than slaves, so he didn’t have to think about things like that.

After five minutes of swinging his wooden sword, Jaiz started to run out of breath.

Because Jaiz had no stamina, this is where it ended.

I was left with bruises all over, and a few spots where I was bleeding. None of the wounds were severe, but that didn’t mean they didn’t hurt.

"I’ll let you off with this for today," Jaiz said, panting heavily like a comedian delivering a punchline, and threw his wooden sword to the ground.

I picked up the wooden sword Jaiz had used and returned it to the box along with my own.

The soldiers, who had been watching from a distance, resumed their training once I left.

Most of the soldiers were commoners. They never knew when they might become Jaiz’s next target, so they didn’t intervene. I didn’t expect them to, and it didn’t bother me.

As I was walking back to the annex, my mother came running toward me.

"Mother, what’s wrong?"

"Did Jaiz-sama... do it again?"

"It was just sword practice. The injuries aren’t that bad, so don’t make that face."

My mother looked like she was about to cry.

That alone was enough to give me a reason to strike back at Jaiz.

But if I hurt him, my mother would be the one who suffered the consequences. I couldn’t let that happen.

Frustration welled up inside me.