Chương 41: Chapter 40: Balance of Discoveries

Over the next several days, Ren's stormy mind calmed down. If the worst ever came to happen again, if the loops claimed him once more, he now knew that the best way forward would be to inform his family about just what was happening, convince them to help, and then get to Little Yara as quickly as possible. Hadrik remained an important piece, yet no longer one he needed to be concerned about personally. Tessa becoming a Treasurer for the kids remained important too.

It would help keep them occupied, help spread the news, and keep them away from the danger, if nothing else. And despite all his advancements so far, the best Ren himself had to offer all the people dear to him was information. Memorizing everything he needed to help them all get through the painful steps faster joined his bucket list of things to try. A crib wizard he might still become. But he would be a responsible one! … Probably.

Unreasonably, the first day after Hadrik sent out the messenger, he had been worried that something unforeseen might happen, that the goblins might attack early. Or any number of other things could go wrong. He didn't know! But when it didn't, with his family and the village settling into a routine of preparations, he focused on his own training instead. And keeping Tessa occupied. Not that she would be inclined to agree with his baby self, oh no!

His sister quickly took responsibility for Balance training with alarming enthusiasm, and immediately turned it into a serious game of The Floor Is Lava. Folded blankets became thin safe paths, cushions became unstable islands, and the bare floor between them apparently meant death. Ren had to cross without stepping outside the route, then repeat it while turning, crouching, and briefly balancing on one leg. Whenever he completed the course, Tessa rearranged it. …

By the third version, Ren suspected the lava was learning, as he found himself ending in a sitting position more often than not. But it made Tessa happy, and as humiliating as it might have felt all those months ago… he was a baby now. And got kind of good at it too! What an unbelievable achievement, becoming good at being a baby! But it was one nonetheless! Especially since accepting reality and his own limitations made his family safer, and his training more effective. He got used to it already.

And with the System, it was just a temporary limitation too! … Hopefully. Ren then decided the training was still not effective enough, and added stretching before and after each physical session. At first, the work felt less like training and more like discovering all the directions his body disliked being pulled. He reached toward his feet, opened his hips carefully, stretched his arms above his head, and held each position until the tightness eased. The System eventually rewarded both efforts.

[Hidden Attribute Unlocked: Balance] [Balance: 3] [Skill Unlocked: Flexibility] The effect of both of those unlocks was immediate, and Ren never knew just how much he was missing out on before he got them. Like coming out from under water, the sharpness of all his moves suddenly improved. Triads were amazing! Tessa celebrated both of the unlocks as though she had personally bullied them into existence. … Which actually wasn't that far from the truth. Huh.

"I knew the lava challenge number 13 would work!" She was counting?! … Ren wasn't sure why that surprised him. But at the same time– How many more could she even come up with if his sister actually tried? He already knew Tessa was smart, and he did use her help in all his loops so far… But she really had the inclinations to become a really mean and cute task master! Another piece he would need to keep in mind for future loops. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent.

Report any sightings. Small as she was, his sister was proving to be invaluable to speeding up his personal growth. The physical work continued after that, although it steadily lost priority once he unlocked the missing pieces. Ren kept enough of it in his routine to preserve the gains and see whether the new pieces developed together, but most of his attention returned to the wand and patterned ball. The unlocks made his routines cleaner nonetheless. [Skill Level Increased: Flexibility Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2] [Skill Level Increased: Flexibility Lv. 2 -> Lv. 3] Quick, useful progress. Just not the progress Ren wanted most. Most of his attention went to the wand. Over the next couple days, he returned to it whenever his mana recovered, pushing against the resistance in the first section until his control failed or his reserves ran dry. The exercise itself remained the same, but Ren had learned how to deal with it better.

He wasted less mana getting the pressure where he wanted it, pushed deeper with each effort, and reached the same depth sooner each time. [Skill Level Increased: Mana Manipulation Lv. 5 -> Lv. 6] After that, the difference became easier to feel. The resistance still stopped him, but it no longer felt fixed in place. A careful push moved it a little farther, and the next attempt started closer to where the last one had ended. By the third morning, Ren had already emptied most of his mana twice before trying again.

He gathered what had regenerated, pushed through the familiar section, and kept the pressure steady. The resistance shifted. Ren held on, pushing all of his Focus into the practice, letting it work its wonders. He couldn't think of anything better to use that limited resource on. His mana moved deeper into the wood until Mana Sense caught the first charm waiting just beyond it. And then he reached the first charm!

The embedded presence seized the strand and pulled it through so suddenly that Ren nearly lost his grip on the wand. Mana rushed beyond the point he had been fighting toward and entered the second section before the resistance caught it again, even stronger this time. Ren froze. There was still a barrier ahead of him, stronger than the first had been, but the route through the first part of the handle no longer felt sealed to him.

For as long as his mana remained inside, a narrow passage ran through the first section and into the second, no longer hindering him. The charm activated, and formed a tunnel through! However, it quickly became clear that his Master was devious and built repetition into the device! He still needed to reach that point on each try, but– It also let him focus on getting through an even harder section once cleared, without needing to keep his mind focused on pushing through the early resistance constantly.

With this revelation, Ren's already high opinion of Yara grew once more. His little Master was too clever! A few repetitions later he was rewarded for his efforts. [Skill Level Increased: Mana Manipulation Lv. 6 -> Lv. 7] Every time he ran out of Mana, his focus shifted to the patterned ball. It progressed more slowly, partly because Ren kept giving the wand first claim on his Mana and Focus. In his mind literal mana resistance training would let him shape up the fastest. The finesse could lag a little behind.

He didn't dare neglect it regardless, and still worked through the first pattern whenever his reserves were too low to fight the wand's resistance. The route had become familiar by then. Ren could sense the line running beneath the carvings, guide his mana under the false crossings, and anticipate the turns before reaching them. And finally, during one such attempt, the pattern sharpened beneath his awareness until the entire route sat clearly inside his senses. [Skill Level Increased: Mana Sense Lv. 7 -> Lv. 8] Ren guided the strand through the final bend. A faint click came from inside the ball, and the outer layer loosened beneath his hands. He twisted it carefully, and the wooden shell separated into curved pieces, revealing the next puzzle underneath. Ren did his best to observe and uncover the secrets of this new puzzle right away. The new pattern resembled the first only in purpose.

Instead of broad curves and false crossings, the active path flowed around the inner layer in repeated bends, changing direction so often that Ren had to turn the ball several times just to follow where it went. The line zigged across one section, folded back through another, then zagged around a narrow loop before disappearing beneath his thumb. [Skill Level Increased: Observation Lv. 8 -> Lv. 9] … Apparently just figuring out where every line went was enough for the System to reward his efforts.

Those training tools were really something else! Ren didn't wait, and went on to trace the beginning through Mana Sense. His first attempt failed at the third change in direction. Repeating the effort yielded the same result. He stared at the ball, then set it beside the wand. Interesting as the new layer was, the wand remained the greater priority. It put the most pressure on his abilities and resources. And if he was right, his frequent emptying of Mana and Focus should help him grow their stats too.

Would it result in vaster pools, or higher regeneration? He did not know, but either would mean more or better attempts. And that meant faster growth! Or so he hoped. Ren began paying closer attention to the recovery itself. Whenever his mana emptied, he rested and followed the gradual return of warmth beneath his skin. He compared how sleep, deliberate Resting, food, and inactivity affected the rate.

He tracked how much mana returned before Focus recovered enough for another careful attempt, then adjusted the order of his training to waste as little time as possible. The repeated attention eventually produced another result. [Knowledge +1] Ren stared at the message with immediate satisfaction. The improvement in regeneration was very noticeable when he tested it across repeated recovery periods. Each pause returned a little more value, and the day held one more useful attempt than it had before.

His Focus still lagged behind, but nothing in life was ever quite perfect. The pauses also gave him something he never realized he was missing, having been stuck in a baby body for so long, with limited ways of communication, and all of them focused on trying to convey a warning. But now he could just… talk. About anything! Recreationally! They gave him time to finally talk with his family. And Ren couldn't be more excited.