When Aron woke up the next day, he asked his mother to take him out of the hammock and went to clean himself in the morning.
His father said he was going to build a room for him on the left side of the living area.
He mentioned that the room would be finished about a week before the Harvest Festival.
Based on Aron's calculations, there was still more than a month left until the beginning of autumn, so it would take a while.
'A room just for me… I'll finally have a bit more freedom.'
After his father left, Aron went to talk to his mother, who was in the kitchen.
"Mama, can you teach me how to read?" Aron asked.
"You already want to learn how to read?" Sabrina looked at her son in shock.
'An eight-and-a-half-month-old baby who just started walking already wants to learn how to read and write… how absurd,' Sabrina thought.
"Do you know what I was doing at your age?" she asked, looking at him.
The question caught Aron off guard.
'Good question… probably didn't even know how to talk yet?'
"No, mama was do-ing (doing) what?" Aron asked.
"I don't know, I don't remember."
"But I was probably crawling around and babbling things no one could understand," she said, looking at him with a proud smile.
"And it's 'doing.'"
"But to answer your question: no, you're still too young to learn how to read and write. Go play around the house."
'Plan A failed.'
"But I already expwored (explored) the whole house," Aron said with a sad face, pouting slightly.
Sabrina crossed her arms.
"Then what do you want? No going outside and no learning how to read."
'Alright… time for the real mission.'
"Mama, continoo (continue) the stowy (story) from yesterday," Aron said, full of expectation.
Sabrina sighed.
"Fine, fine… that's something you only learn when you go to the academy. But it won't hurt to tell you now. Just after I finish here, okay?"
"O-kay (okay)," Aron replied as he wobbled toward the living area.
'Mission accomplished.'
…
'Do children really grow this fast…? No, my boy is just different. Could it be because of me and his father?' Sabrina thought as she looked at her son.
A little later, Aron was struggling to climb onto a chair when his mother arrived and placed another chair in front of him.
"Well, where did we stop yesterday?" Sabrina asked.
"Wen (when) the dungeon makes more fwors (floors)," Aron said.
'That's right. I want to understand these dungeons better.'
"Ah, yes."
"Dungeons have two main forms of protection. When a dungeon becomes level 1, it gains a certain degree of self-awareness."
'Self-awareness… so they're almost living beings.'
"After that, it begins creating monsters according to the characteristics of the core that formed it."
Aron raised his eyebrows slightly.
'Interesting… so the type of mana defines the dungeon's ecosystem.'
"For example, dungeons that create fire-type monsters don't create water-type monsters."
"Animal-type dungeons also don't create humanoid or elemental monsters."
'Makes sense… opposing elemental systems would be unstable.'
"A dungeon always has two characteristics. It can be elemental or non-elemental."
"What does that mean? It means it can absorb mana from a single element—and in rare cases, two—but never opposing elements."
'So water and fire together would be impossible… it would probably destabilize the core.'
"Or it can absorb pure mana, without any elemental trait. That type of dungeon is the most common."
"Every dungeon has two mana reserves: one used to strengthen the core and another used to create monsters."
'This is starting to look like an energy system.'
"The reserve used to strengthen the core can be used to create monsters, but the reserve used to create monsters cannot strengthen the core."
'Interesting… a one-way flow.'
"On the first floor, monsters can reach up to level 20. On the second floor, up to level 40."
'A clear progression of power.'
"And so on."
"Any questions?" Sabrina asked.
Aron shook his head.
'No… everything's clear for now.'
"Alright. When a person reaches the final chamber of a floor, they face what we call a Boss."
'Classic.'
"It's the strongest monster on that floor."
"If it's a level 1 dungeon, you need to defeat it for the dungeon to enter a state of stasis."
"That state lasts one or two days before it starts creating monsters again."
'So dungeons are renewable resources…'
"In dungeons, there are not only monsters but also resources such as ores, herbs, and materials obtained from slain monsters."
"That's why kingdoms go to war."
"Dungeons are one of the most important resources in the world."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"What I'm going to tell you now is a secret."
Her tone became serious.
"You would only learn this from someone with decision-making power in the world or from someone of high rank in the army."
'Huh?'
"And under no circumstances can you tell this to anyone else."
Aron nodded.
"The first level 1 dungeon ever completed killed more than a thousand people."
'A thousand?'
"When they finally reached the core, instead of destroying it, they erased its consciousness and took it. Part of the mana accumulated inside the core was transferred into the body of the person holding it."
"And that's how what we now call Awakening happened."
"When a core loses its consciousness, it continues absorbing mana from the environment, but much more slowly."
"When a person who hasn't awakened yet touches a core without consciousness, the core releases a large amount of mana into their body."
"That mana isn't theirs. It's more like a loan to create a connection with the universe."
"And it's that connection that grants a class and a projection with your information."
'A system interface… interesting.'
"But it consumes a huge amount of mana."
"After awakening someone, the core takes a long time to recover that mana."
"Also, only level 1 dungeon cores have this ability."
Aron lifted his head, curious.
"Level 2 cores can't be used to awaken people."
"They're used for something much more important."
She paused slightly.
"Class Ascension."
'Ascension…?'
"When someone has already awakened and has a class, a level 2 core can strengthen that connection with the universe."
"That allows the class to evolve."
'So classes can evolve… that changes a lot.'
"But level 2 cores are extremely rare to form naturally within kingdom territories."
Entire wars have started over a single level 2 core—especially the rarest ones."
"Any questions?" Sabrina asked.
"Will I awaken?" Aron asked, full of excitement.
Sabrina smiled.
"Of course, my love. After turning five, everyone can awaken."
"But not everyone can afford it."
"A core without consciousness absorbs mana a hundred times more slowly than one with consciousness."
"Besides being expensive to awaken, leveling up is much harder and more dangerous."
"It took me three years to have my first ascension and reach level 33."
She leaned closer and smiled.
"But my baby doesn't need to worry about that."
"Mom has a core without consciousness saved just for you."
'Wait… what?'
"But isn't it pwobibited (prohibited)?" Aron asked.
"Of course it is."
"But my baby will keep it a secret, won't he?" Sabrina asked with a smile.
"I will," Aron replied in a heroic tone.
'Interesting… so my mother isn't an ordinary person.'
"I knew it. My baby is the best," Sabrina said before picking him up and hugging him tightly.
"Now let's take your father's lunch and eat with him."
She placed him on the ground and went to the kitchen.
"Mama, what about classes?" Aron asked expectantly.
Sabrina stopped and looked at him.
"I'll tell you when we go take lunch to your father," she replied.
'This world is more complex than I imagined.'
'There are several different races. I've heard about them in fantasy books before… I even played some RPG games in my past life.'
'But I never thought I'd be reborn into a world that had all of this,' Aron thought as he waited for his mother to finish packing the food.