"Alright, Ash, you ready?" Leon asked as he sat in front of Ash. He just thought it was a good chance to teach Ash that rewards require effort, so he was planning to just make the 'test' easy. But after hearing the reports from the maids that he had been studying diligently, he decided to test how much Ash had learned, as well as his intelligence.
"Yeah!" Ash answered enthusiastically.
"I'm just going to ask simple questions." He started, "How was this world first formed?"
"Goddess Valkyrie created it in the beginning of everything."
"Correct. How did humans gain the power of magic?"
"Their ancestors, ancient beings who had no advantage over the others, discovered magic to survive. It's a power special to their kind."
"That's right. Why do elves have long lifespans?"
"Because of their natural affinity with nature, they can bond with spirits, who are immortal, granting them a longer lifespan."
"Yes. Now tell me, how do the six tribes maintain their peace with each other? Why has there been no conflict over these hundreds of years?" This topic was not commonly discussed, resulting in little information on it. Leon asked this question to judge Ash's analytical ability.
"…It could be that the power of all kingdoms is equal, so every one of them keeps the others in check. Or there might be a non-aggression pact between the kingdoms." Gathering the information he had, he managed to gather these two outcomes.
"…" Leon was stunned. Was this level of intelligence common for a one-year-old? 'Absolutely not!' Was his son a genius? That was the most probable answer for what was happening currently. "Ash, I can get you a bunny, but can you accept a request of mine?"
"What is it?"
Leon knew, with this intelligence, becoming a spirit mage was no problem for him; however, "Train in the sword." As much as he was just Ash's adoptive father, he still wanted to see how much of a genius his son was.
"The sword? Really? You'll let me?" Ash asked, surprised. Both the bloodlines he had and wanted to unlock leaned more towards ranged combat. He had been wondering how to fix this weak point when Leon suddenly came with his offer.
"Of course! However, you'll have to wait till you're older. How about three years old?"
"Sure!" He quickly agreed, afraid Leon might rescind it, worrying about the still one-year-old Ash. Simultaneously, a quest appeared,
[Finish Leon's sword training. Reward: 10 SP]
'That's quite a lot.' Ash thought. After all, usual quests would only give 1-5 SP.
"Alright, alright, I'll have someone send the bunny to your room. Now go eat your lunch."
"Alright!" Ash said as he ran out of the room again.
"Ha… That kid has no concept of noble manners although he's a genius." Leon said as he shook his head and followed him out.
---
After lunch,
Ash was back in his room, staring at the oblivious bunny in a cage. He was thinking about how to drain it of its blood without being found out by anyone, obviously, or else they would think of him as a psychopath. Then he decided he would act at night, when everybody was sleeping.
That night, he snuck into a kitchen, took a knife and bowl, and slipped back into his room.
Cutting the rabbit's neck, precisely into its artery, he held it upside down over the bowl.
Drip. Drip. Blood dripped out of the rabbit's neck. The whole process only took a few minutes. And although the amount of blood gained was not much, perhaps only half a cup, it should be considerably enough for his quest.
Staring at the bowl of blood in his hands, he hesitated a little. Though, immediately after: Gulp, gulp. He drank it all. 'Blech, that was the worst thing I have ever tasted.' Almost vomiting, he forced himself to swallow it again, forcing the liquid down his throat.
For a moment, he felt nothing. Then,
[Raw blood consumed. Bloodline quest: Vampire (Lvl. 1), completed. Rewarding 100 SP. Unlocking skill: Blood Survival (Details), Blood Sucking (Details). Level 2 quest: Suck the blood of an intelligent creature.]
He felt a change in his body, and shortly after, he fell unconscious.
When he awoke, it was still dark; it seemed dawn hadn't broken yet.
He first checked his physical condition, 'Everything seems to be normal.' Then he decided to check out the skills he had received before he passed out.
[Blood Survival: You can survive by consuming blood. (Passive)
Blood Sucking: You can actively drain a living creature of its blood. (Active)]
'Well, it's nothing special, but I guess it's better than nothing.' Then he seemed to realize something, 'Wait, I have skills for just being a level 1 vampire, but what about my level 7 elven bloodline?'
[Skills:
Spirit Summoning: Summon a spirit (Grade scales with bloodline purity level.)
Archery: Shoot things with extreme precision.
Sight-Casting: Able to perform any spirit magic spells that have been seen once. (Mana not yet unlocked.)
Multi-Casting: Able to cast multiple spirit magic spells at the same time. (Scales with bloodline purity level. Mana not yet unlocked.)]
'Wait, why didn't I know of these skills before?'
[You didn't ask.]
Although he was annoyed, the system was telling the truth. And most of the time, he got information from the system when he actively asked the questions. 'At least it was only one year. In addition, I have no use for the skills right now as a one-year-old kid. So I guess it's fine.'
The next day,
[Hatch spirit egg and bond? Cost: 100 SP]
Dripping a drop of his blood, 'Yes.' Ash thought in his mind before waiting patiently.
Crack! The egg opened slowly, and a lynx cub appeared. It was midnight black in color, with streaks of white lines on its body.
"…A lynx?" It was a pretty good result for Ash. Then he thought, 'It's name… It resembles the night sky so…' "Lunaris."
With that, he continued his life as an ordinary but not-so-ordinary child, showing just enough intelligence to keep his status as a genius. During this time, his father took the chance to hire a tutor to teach him both studies and proper etiquette.
With this lifestyle, a few years passed quickly…