Editing/Standardisation: kubor04
Formatting/Extras: APM
Original Translation: Blastron
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I focus my will, feeling the magic that fills my body. By practicing this technique, I was able to gain the [Magic Power Perception] skill. Thanks to my continued study, I’ve been able to feel the circulation of mana as it flows within me, almost like the rushing of my blood. With my [Magic Power Operation] skill, I increase the rate of circulation. Steadily, the magical power begins to move faster and faster. I concentrate a part of it in my palm. I focus on amplifying the rotation of the magical power in my hand more and more, until enough energy accumulates that it transmutes itself into a high-energy form. To complete it, all I need to do is shape it into a spell.
However, I won’t do it; or, rather, I can’t do it. I slowly return the accumulated magical power to the rest of my body, and let it slow to its natural state.
When the magical power inside me has calmed, I open the eyes that I had squeezed shut in concentration. Before me, I see Anna, looking at me nervously. Standing next to her is Klevea, but it doesn’t look like she’s noticed anything strange.
“This is dreadful,” says Anna. “Don’t you mean amazing?” asks Klevea. “‘Amazing’ doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of this. Looking at their raw practical skills alone, the princess is already as skilled as any beginning mage, and his Highness’s skills are surely intermediate-level! Both of their mana capacities exceed what mine were at that age.”
They may be whispering, but many months of straining my ears to try to learn the language of this world gave me the [Auditory Enhancement] skill, so I can hear it just fine.
“That’s what you’d call genius, right?” asks Klevea. Anna nods, gravely.
Genius, huh. I’m really not a genius at all. Granted, I was born with an above-average mana capacity, but it’s really thanks to my consciousness from my previous life. Thanks to that, I’ve been able to practice ever since I was born.
I may be a very young child on the outside, but I’ve got the mind of a high school student. The life of a baby is extremely simple, so I wound up with a lot of free time on my hands. Whenever I started to get bored, I worked on training my magic. Anna, ever the excellent teacher, had given a thorough explanation at one point. It was far too difficult for a child to understand, but a high school student like me had no trouble at all.
Thanks to that, I learned the skills [Magic Power Perception] and [Magic Power Operation] very quickly, and by now I’ve leveled them each up to level five. This is the results of my constant diligence.
Ordinarily it would take a person a very long time to accrue this much skill. I, however, am a baby, and since having magic has always been a dream of mine, I was able to devote all of my free time to practice. Now, I possess a magical talent that far surpasses any other child my age.
Say what you will about me, though, the true genius here is my little sister Sue.
I look over at Sue, sitting next to me. Just by copying what I was doing, Sue figured out how to manipulate magical power just like I did. Compared to me, her manipulation is weak and her circulation is slow, but even still, she can move and mold mana quite well.
Manipulating magical power is no easy task. Until I acquired the skill, it was practically impossible. To start with, I come from a world where magic does not exist! I had to suppress all of my instincts that were telling me that magic wasn’t real.
I hear that, in general, magical talent manifests itself only as early as five years old. (By the way, a year here is 411 days.) Nobody’s ever heard of people able to manipulate magic since birth, apart from me and Sue.
I’m a reincarnated soul who kept the memories and faculties of an adult, which let me practice as much as I wanted. Sue, however, is different. Sue was merely mimicking me. Just from that, just from watching me and following along, she achieved an unheard-of level of control over her magic. Now that is something worthy of calling genius.
To be perfectly honest, I’ve been uneasy about the future ever since I was born. With Sue’s raw natural talent, it’s obvious that she’s destined to become someone great. I, however, was a perfectly ordinary high school student in my former life, with no special talents to speak of. I may have a lead now thanks to being reincarnated, but once Sue really starts to sprint, she’s going to catch up and even overtake me immediately, and my pride as an older brother… no. That’s not yet set in stone, and it’s still a long ways away. I’m going to do all that I can to keep blazing ahead to widen my lead by as much as I can.
“Umm, why is doin’ magic bad?” I say.
Anna has prohibited me from doing magic. All she’s letting me do is practice [Magic Power Operation]. Apparently, if you’re good at manipulation, when you acquire a magic skill for a given elemental attribute you can start doing real magic immediately. Knowing that doesn’t do me any good, though, since I don’t have any attribute skills and have no idea how to acquire them.
“My prince,” says Anna, “there are several reasons, but the most important is how dangerous it is. Magic is a very powerful force! Because it is so dangerous, it’s long been decided to not teach magic to anyone until they reach the proper age.”
I understand what she’s saying, but I can’t agree with her. I may look like a child, but on the inside I’m well above the proper age! The only one who knows this is me, though. There’s nothing I can really do about it, but I’m still impatient.
“Next, we would want to use the [Gem of Appraisal] to determine your elemental affinity. Learning magic you are not suited to can be a very difficult process.”
[Gems of Appraisal] seem to be magic items capable of showing you the specifics of your stats. Simple ones can apparently be purchased cheaply, but a much more advanced one is required to show elemental affinities. Only the upper echelons of society can acquire a [Gem of Appraisal] of that caliber. Of course, the Royal Family has one, but I have yet to be appraised.
“My prince, I am sure that you will become a world-class magician, even if you don’t hurry. So, let’s not get too full of ourselves, right?” “Okay!” I reply.
There’s no way I could possibly get too full of myself. After all, I’m still terrified that my younger sister is going to race right past me. It’s still not a good idea to be too reckless, though. Now’s the time to build a solid foundation, to perfect my basic magical abilities. So, I shall continue practicing my manipulation skills.
APM - Translation 