Gold.
A child’s toy crown was coated in it. Probably just plated, but it was enough.
Gold was a symbol of wealth to most, but for me, it meant something far more important.
It meant mana.
A Mana Stone.
I stared at it.
Seris, the girl who had been showing me her toys nonstop, noticed my gaze.
She tilted her head, then smiled and passed the crown to me. "Friend?"
I held the crown carefully, almost reverently.
Seris didn’t seem to mind. She watched my expression with interest, her eyes glittering. Then, while I was focused on the crown, she leaned forward and hugged me tightly.
I didn’t push her away. My mind was completely focused at the ’toy’ in my hand.
’I need to take this Mana Stone from her.’
She thought my silence meant approval and kept smiling.
Her giggles echoed softly as she showed me more of her toys, but my mind was elsewhere.
How could I keep the crown without raising suspicion?
It wouldn’t be a big deal for either of our families.
Both had enough wealth to treat gold like a toy material.
Still, there was the problem of appearances. If I held onto it when they were leaving, someone would definitely try to take it back.
And someone did.
When Elira and Seris stood up to leave, the servant accompanying them reached for the crown in my hands.
I tightened my grip around it.
’Do I really need to cry for this?’
I wasn’t proud of the thought, but I was running out of time.
If I cried, maybe they’d let me keep it to avoid making a scene.
After all, it was just a toy in their eyes.
But still—
’Dammit. How many times do I have to sacrifice my dignity in this life?’
The servant didn’t back off, gently tugging at the crown. I didn’t let go.
Right when I was preparing to bawl like a real baby, Seris’s soft voice interrupted.
"Let him have it."
Everyone paused.
Even I looked at her, surprised.
Elira blinked, then laughed lightly. "Oh my, Seris. Are you sharing your toy?"
Seris nodded with a very serious face, like she was making an important royal decree.
Elira smiled, then gave a small nod to the servant. The servant took the hint and stepped back.
"It was a good idea to bring Seris here," Elira said, turning to my mother with a smile. "It’s the first time she’s opened up this much."
"Maybe it’s because they’re similar in age," Lyra replied, her smile warm as she looked at me. "Seris is giving you a gift. Shouldn’t you give her one too?"
It was a casual comment. Parents said things like that all the time, never really expecting their child of my age to understand.
’She’s right. I should give her something.’
If I wanted Seris to keep bringing toys like this—especially ones with gold—then it was in my interest to become her "good friend."
"Gugu?"
I said and reached for the pendant around my neck. It had an amber stone. I tugged on the string, then clumsily waved it in front of Seris.
Her eyes widened a little. She stared at the pendant, then at me.
Both mothers blinked.
Elira tilted her head. "Did he just... give her the pendant?"
Lyra looked just as confused. "It almost looked like he understood us..."
"I think he did!" Elira leaned down and kissed my cheek. "What a smart little boy."
I didn’t flinch. I was still focused on Seris, who accepted the pendant with both hands like it was a treasure. She hugged it to her chest, and smiled.
"Come again," my mother said.
"I will. It’s clear Seris likes his company. It’ll be good for her to spend time with friends instead of just toys."
So Seris had a bit of an antisocial personality too. That worked in my favor.
After they left, my mother picked me up and carried me toward my room. The golden crown was still in her hand.
She glanced at it, then at me.
"It’s not nice to take toys from others," she said softly.
She wasn’t scolding me. Her tone was gentle. But the meaning was clear.
’Sorry, mom. But I’m going to keep doing it.’
I couldn’t exactly ask for gold from my parents. Not at this age. Not when I wasn’t supposed to be able to talk or even understand them properly.
After she tucked me into the crib, she stayed for a while, humming under her breath.
Normally, she’d play with me a little longer. But I faked sleep, hoping she’d leave and get back to her work.
Eventually, she stood up and left, quietly closing the door behind her.
As soon as I heard the latch click, my eyes opened.
’Time to do alchemy.’
The toy crown sat on a low shelf, where my mother had placed it.
I took a deep breath, then carefully rolled over and dropped down from the crib. It wasn’t easy. I wasn’t strong enough to walk yet, but with my current Dexterity stat, crawling and controlled falls were manageable.
I crawled across the wooden floor, reached the toy, and dragged it to the center of the room. I made sure the area was clean, having no dust, no scraps of cloth or wood.
Contamination was dangerous in alchemy, even with something this basic.
’I have the [Core Ingredient]. Now I just need a [Catalyst] and a [Medium].’
Gold was a famous Mana Stone. It didn’t need complex processing. I could use my own body as the catalyst. And for the medium...
I glanced around, then crawled to the side of the crib.
There was a sharp corner on one of the lower beams. I pricked my finger against it. The sting was sharp but manageable.
A droplet of blood formed.
I crawled back and used it to draw on the floor.
Runes.
Three concentric circles. Four linking lines. A modified triangle at the center, wrapping around the toy crown.
Anyone walking in would’ve thought I was trying to summon something unholy.
’My blood doesn’t have mana, but it has life force. At this age, it’s especially rich in it.’
It was enough. Just barely.
I sat in front of the formation and began the chant.
"Gugguguggaahahaa."
The pronunciation didn’t matter. It sounded like gibberish to anyone else, but the System would recognize the Invocation Phrase.
My finger throbbed where I had drawn blood, but I ignored it.
For a few minutes, nothing happened.
Then, slowly, the runes shimmered.
The blood began to wriggle.
Lines that were motionless now pulsed with energy.
I felt a heavy weight press down on me, like something was being pulled from deep inside my chest.
That was the cost of being the catalyst.
The runes began to spin.
They circled the toy crown, wrapping around it like ribbons of red light.
The crown shimmered.
The gold began to dull.
Its luster faded, and the surface rippled like water.
A faint glow—barely visible—rose from the toy. It looked like mist, faint and golden.
That was mana.
Class Alchemist gained.
+3 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence
I ignored the system prompt for now, and looked at the mana.
Before the mana could disperse into the air, I clenched my jaw and used a basic Mana Breathing technique.
One I had developed in my previous life, simplified for emergency use.
I inhaled sharply.
The mist flowed toward me. I opened my mouth slightly, drawing it in. I could feel it slipping past my teeth, tingling against my tongue, before vanishing into my chest.
It wasn’t a lot. But it was something.
I collapsed backward, panting.
The crown in front of me looked the same, but it had lost its shine. Its value was gone. But to me, it was a treasure that had already paid its worth.
I smiled faintly.
’Finally. After months... I’ve absorbed my first bit of mana.’
Grinning, I opened my status.
’System, show me the details of new class, and what else I’ve gained.’