If this was indeed a fantasy world, there had to be a system. A "cheat skill" or a status window was the standard kit for any self-respecting reincarnated soul. I decided to test the theory. I raised one arm, palm open to the air. Since I still couldn't speak properly, I screamed the command in the silence of my mind.

  Status!

  To my amazement, it worked. Shimmering letters and numbers manifested in the air, weaving themselves into a holographic display.

  Name: Unknown | Race: Human | Age: 11 Months | Sex: Male | Level: 1 HP: 2 | MP: 5 Strength: 1 | Vitality: 1 | Agility: 1 | Intelligence: 75 | Luck: 9 | Magic: Earth Magic | Skills: Assistance Voice, Basic Skill Collector, Basic Appraisal | Spells: Stone Bullet

  "Wow... it actually worked!"

  I scanned the data. I was nameless, which was depressing but expected. My physical stats were pathetic—perfectly normal for a baby—but my Intelligence was a whopping 75. I suppose the system recognized my adult consciousness.

  The real problem was my HP. At 2 points, I’d be dead in two hits from... well, anything. Maybe even one. But then I saw the "Magic" section, and my otaku spirit soared. Earth Magic. It felt appropriate—maybe a lingering connection to the "Earth" I had left behind.

  I didn't quite understand how the skills functioned, so I experimented. Assistance Voice: Activate, I commanded internally.

  "Hello. I am Assistance Voice, your personal guide." A neutral, clear voice echoed in my mind.

  Whoa! Hey, what exactly can you do?

  "I announce every update to your status and provide explanations for basic world mechanics and skills."

  Incredible. Okay, explain my skills to me.

  "Very well. [Basic Skill Collector] allows you to adapt one skill from an enemy, which can then be permanently learned by consuming skill points. [Basic Appraisal] allows you to view the stats of living beings, though it is currently limited to G to F-rank monsters. These skills are intended to function in tandem: use Appraisal to identify a target's abilities, then use Collector to choose which one to acquire."

  A combo skill! That’s broken... I love it.

  One more thing, Voice. What does 'Stone Bullet' do?

  "Stone Bullet is your primary offensive spell. It condenses mana into a stone sphere roughly the size of a fist and launches it at high velocity."

  It was exactly what I needed. With these tools, I had a fighting chance. I needed to leave the altar, but looking over the edge, I realized it was a long way down for someone who could barely crawl. I sat back on the ceremonial cloth, contemplating my next move, when something caught my eye in the distance.

  Between the thinning trees, a pale shape was floating toward me. My instincts screamed. I scrambled into a sitting position, watching the creature approach.

  It was a monster—roughly the size of a basketball, pale green with a sickly yellow tint. Its surface looked wet and translucent. As it drifted closer, I saw bulging, pupil-less nodes that served as eyes. A jagged crack at the bottom of its form leaked a thin, acrid smoke.

  "Stay calm," I whispered to myself. "Time to play like a pro."

  Appraisal!

  Name: Gas Spore | Race: Monster (G-Rank) | HP: 1 | MP: 1 | Stats: STR: 1 | VIT: 1 | AGI: 3 | INT: 1 | Skills: Death Burst, Lesser Levitate, Poison (Low), Fungus Gas (Low)

  "Warning: Danger is approaching," the Voice chimed.

  I didn't waste a second. Skill Collector: Activate!

  Adapt [Lesser Levitate]!

  "Success. [Lesser Levitate] has been moved to your learnable skills list."

  Now for the counter-attack. I thrust my hand forward, pointing at the floating fungus. I visualized a stone—dense, heavy, and fast. A warm current surged from my chest, flowing down my arm like a river of heat. It was the strangest, most exhilarating feeling I’d ever experienced.

  This... this is magic!

  Mana gathered in my palm. A pebble appeared, then grew with a grinding krrrk-krrrk sound until it was a solid, jagged stone.

  "Stone Bullet!"

  Fwhoosh! The projectile tore through the air. SPLAAK!

  The stone buried itself in the spore’s center. The monster erupted in a shower of greenish fluid and a cloud of poisonous gas, its remains sizzling as they hit the ground.

  "Target neutralized. 2 Experience Points gained." "Level Up!" "You have gained 2 Status Points and 1 Skill Point."

  "Yes!" I wanted to pump my fist, but I settled for a smug grin. If that thing had reached the altar and exploded, my 2 HP wouldn't have stood a chance. It was a literal glass cannon.

  Status check.

  Updates: Status Points: 2 Skill Points: 1 Learnable Skill: Lesser Levitate (Cost: 1 Point)

  Since I couldn't exactly engage in a fistfight as an 11-month-old, I dumped both status points into MP to increase my "fuel." Then, I spent my skill point on the new ability.

  "Congratulations. [Lesser Levitate] acquired." "Effect: You may levitate up to 3 feet above the surface. Cost: 1 MP per minute."

  Perfect. I didn't need to climb down the altar and risk breaking my neck anymore. I could just float.

  Current Status: Name: Unknown | Level: 2 HP: 2 | MP: 7 | Skills: Assistance Voice, Basic Skill Collector, Basic Appraisal, Lesser Levitate Spells: Stone Bullet

  "Alright," I thought, looking out at the vast, dangerous world beyond the altar. "Let's see what else this place has to offer."

  Now it’s time to test it.

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  “Levitate.”

  For a split second, nothing happened.

  Then—

  Woah!

  My body suddenly lifted off the cold stone surface. The sensation was unlike anything I had ever felt. There was no wind beneath me, no visible force carrying me upward. I was simply… floating.

  “Bwaa—!”

  My body rose and began to float. How do I control this?

  I flailed instinctively, and my tiny body tilted sideways in midair.

  Okay. Calm down.

  I stopped panicking and tried to focus. The skill description said I could levitate up to three feet above the surface. That meant control must be mental—just like casting magic.

  So instead of moving my limbs, I imagined moving forward.

  Slowly.

  Carefully.

  My body drifted ahead.

  It works.

  I felt a strange connection between my thoughts and my position in space, like invisible strings responding to my will. When I imagined lowering myself, I began to descend. When I pictured stopping, I hovered in place.

  I experimented, shifting left, then right. Up slightly. Down again.

  After a few awkward adjustments, I guided myself over the edge of the altar and slowly descended until my small feet touched the ground.

  I’m free.

  The moment my toes met the soil, I released the spell.

  “Levitate off.”

  My body dropped the last inch and steadied itself.

  “Okay… okay… this is good.”

  I checked my MP and it dropped from 7 to 5

  It cost a lot of mana, so I think i will just used it for emergency.

  Now that I had mobility, I could think about survival.

  I crossed my tiny arms in what I hoped looked thoughtful instead of adorable.

  First, food.

  Second, shelter.

  Third… clothes. And cleaning myself.

  My expression darkened.

  Food seems impossible.

  How am I supposed to find milk in a forest?

  I looked down at my small body.

  This is a serious problem.

  I think there are only two possibilities.

  First—if there’s a skill that allows absorption of nutrients directly.

  Second—if I find a village nearby and someone takes me in.

  The second option depends entirely on luck. And judging by my current situation, luck doesn’t seem to be my best choice.

  Shelter might be more realistic. Now that I can move, I could search for a cave, a hollow tree, or some kind of structure.

  But the bigger issue…

  How do I change my clothes and clean myself?

  I stared at my tiny hands.

  These things are useless.

  If I could just control my surroundings…

  As if the world wanted to answer my thought, something shifted in the grass nearby.

  Rustle.

  I froze.

  Another presence.

  A small shape emerged from behind a tree stump. It was about the size of a cat, with a thin, goblin-like body and grayish skin. Its fingers were long and twitchy, and its yellow eyes gleamed with mischief.

  It wasn’t holding anything.

  But suddenly, a small rock near me lifted into the air.

  What?

  The rock hovered, then shot toward me.

  I barely reacted in time, stumbling backward by using levitation as a support in a short time.

  “Appraisal!”

  Name: Minor Trickster | Race: Monster (G-Rank) HP: 3 | MP: 3 | STR: 1 | VIT: 1 | AGI: 4 | INT: 5 | Skills: Lesser Mage Hand, Minor Sneak

  So it’s using telekinesis.

  Perfect.

  “Skill Collector: Activate.”

  Adapt Lesser Mage Hand.

  “Success. [Lesser Mage Hand] added to learnable skills list.”

  If I can learn that, I can manipulate objects without touching them.

  That solves one problem.

  Meanwhile, the invisible force grabbed another twig and flung it.

  “Hey! That’s not fair!”

  “Warning: Hostile action detected,” Assistance Voice announced calmly.

  “Yeah, I can see that!”

  The creature grinned as more small objects began floating around it.

  Fine.

  If you want to play like that—

  “Stone Bullet.”

  Mana surged through me again. Krrrk… krrrk…

  The stone formed quickly this time.

  “Fire!”

  Fwhoosh!

  SPLAK!

  The projectile struck its chest. The creature collapsed instantly.

  “Target neutralized. 2 Experience Points gained.”

  Good. Low HP monsters are my favorite.

  But before I could celebrate, my stomach made a faint, hollow noise.

  Right. Food.

  As if summoned by fate again, another creature appeared deeper in the clearing.

  This one was stranger.

  It resembled a plump, mole-like beast with smooth, pale skin and no visible mouth. Instead, faint glowing lines pulsed along its body. In front of it lay a fallen fruit.

  The creature didn’t bite it.

  Instead, a faint aura surrounded the fruit. The glow transferred from the fruit to the creature.

  The fruit shriveled instantly.

  What?

  “Appraisal.”

  Name: Nutrient Leech | Race: Monster (G-Rank) HP: 2 | MP: 2 | STR: 1 | VIT: 1 | AGI: 2 | INT: 2 | Skills: Nutrient Absorption, Minor Digestion

  It absorbs nutrients without direct contact.

  My eyes widened.

  That’s it.

  That’s exactly what I need.

  So I used Skill Collector to adapt its skill: [Nutrient Absorption]

  “Success. [Nutrient Absorption] added to learnable skills list.”

  The creature noticed me and began to absorb from another fallen berry.

  “Sorry,” I muttered. “But survival comes first.”

  “Stone Bullet.”

  Krrrk… Fwhoosh!

  THOK!

  The stone struck its side. The monster twitched once—then went completely still.

  I should have felt relieved.

  Instead, a sudden wave of exhaustion crashed over me. My vision blurred, and my body swayed as if I were about to fall asleep on the spot.

  “What… is this…?”

  Is my mana drained?

  That’s when it hit me.

  I didn’t realize my other skills were consuming mana too—not just Levitate.

  This is bad.

  My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the grass. The cool earth pressed against my cheek as darkness crept into the edges of my vision.

  “No… not now…”

  So this is what happens when MP hits zero?

  Just as I was about to lose consciousness completely, a familiar voice echoed clearly inside my fading awareness.

  “Target neutralized. 2 Experience Points gained.”

  “Level Up!”

  “You have reached Level 3.”

  “You have gained 3 Status Points and 2 Skill Points.”

  The words cut through the haze like a lifeline.

  Level up…

  A faint warmth spread through my body, pushing back the suffocating fatigue little by little.

  “I’m… still alive…”

  For a moment, I simply lay there in the grass, breathing weakly, staring up at the sky.

  “That was way too close,” I muttered to myself. “Note to self—stop spamming skills like an idiot.”

  If I passed out in this forest, something worse than that mole would find me.

  And next time…

  I might not wake up.

  After a while.

  Status Check.

  Status Points: 3

  Skill Points: 2

  Learnable Skills: Lesser Mage Hand (Cost: 1), Nutrient Absorption (Cost: 1)

  I didn’t hesitate.

  Spend 1 Skill Point: Learn [Nutrient Absorption].

  Spend 1 Skill Point: Learn [Lesser Mage Hand].

  “Skills acquired.”

  Now for stats.

  HP is dangerously low.

  I allocated 2 points to HP.

  1 point to MP.

  Updated Status:

  Level: 3 | HP: 4 | MP: 8

  Much better.

  Still fragile.

  But no longer one-hit material.

  I looked at the shriveled fruit left behind.

  Time to test.

  “Nutrient Absorption.”

  I focused on the remaining berry nearby.

  A faint warmth flowed through me as the berry dimmed and shrank. I didn’t taste anything—but a subtle fullness spread in my stomach.

  It works.

  No breastfeeding. No milk required.

  I stared at the shriveled fruit on the ground.

  “This is convenient… maybe too convenient.”

  But fruits alone won’t be enough. Even I know that a growing baby needs protein. Nutrients from berries can’t sustain me forever.

  “Can this skill work on meat too?” I wondered aloud. “I seriously hope so.”

  If Nutrient Absorption only works on plants, I’m in trouble.

  That left me with one logical option.

  “I guess I’m going rabbit hunting.”

  The words sounded ridiculous coming from an eleven-month-old body barely tall enough to see over tall grass.

  Still, survival comes first.

  “But before that…”

  I raised my tiny hand and focused.

  “Let’s test my other new skill.”

  Then I turned to a small pebble beside me.

  “Lesser Mage Hand.”

  The pebble trembled… then lifted into the air.

  I grinned.

  Now I can move objects. Clean myself. Change cloth. Maybe even set traps.

  I think I'm all set, at least my chances of survival is increased from zero.

  Come to think of it… why do all the monsters I’ve encountered feel like they’re not just coincidences?

  I frowned slightly.

  It’s almost as if they showed up carrying exactly the skills I needed.

  “That can’t just be random… can it?”

  A strange thought crossed my mind, so I immediately pulled up my status window again.

  Status.

  My eyes scanned the numbers more carefully this time.

  And then—

  “Hahaha… no way.”

  There it was.

  Luck: 9.

  “I didn’t even notice that before…”

  So that’s it.

  It wasn’t pure chance. The monsters I met weren’t just random encounters—they were opportunities. And somehow, my luck stat had been quietly influencing everything from the start.

  “I guess I’m not completely doomed after all.”