Julian POV:
I felt like my body was burning and ants running all around my body but it only lasted for a short time.
By the time I managed to open my eyes, I found my head on father's lap.
Looking around I found two baskets with two babies near us.
One had black hair while the other had ash-colored hair.
"Oh you are awake, "Father said gently running my head.
"What happened to me ?"I asked since this experience was something very new to me.
"Your body grew to allow magic to flow. It is something called Mana awakening.
It happens naturally to everyone around the age of three but since your body started creating mana very early no wonder you had an early awakening." Father gently explained.
"Does this mean I can use magic now?" I asked
"It's too early.
Unless you awaken your magic attribute, you cannot use magic.
Don't worry about it too much, I will guide you through that.
Now that's done, see the two baskets in front, they are your new brothers the silver-haired one is Asta and the black-haired one is Yuno.
Be sure to take care of them
"Yes, father! " I said.
Seems like I was born a year ahead of the main timeline.
I tried sensing mana around my body and surprisingly it was easier than before
Now I can feel mana flowing through my entire body, especially in my abdomen where the mana core was being formed.
******************
Time went on for Julian trying to feel mana through his body and trying to influence the flow which showed great success.
To increase his control he started various exercises like keeping leaves on some parts of his body and focusing on those specific parts.
Unfortunately, water walking or tree walking was not possible since his body didn't have enough mana yet.
Things like these went on for the next four years while unknowing to Julian, a bird kept an eye on him.
*********
It was a lovely afternoon
Father walked around the church in a happy mood with some letters.
He was truly happy as his dream of having an Orphanage and raising children was coming true.
He didn't have to worry much about Asta and Yuno as Julian was coming out to be a good influence on them.
Out of the three boys, only Yuno was like a normal child while Asta and Julian turned out to be different. Just like Julian, Asta was very active and constantly running around everywhere.
With their constant paying came injuries too.
Fortunately Sister Lily from the Capital came to reside with them who was an exceptional healer.
Just like Father Orsi who was an orphan taken by Sister Theresa, sister Lily too was an orphan taken under her wing.
In a way, both Orsi and Lily were similar people who had their dreams based on helping children.
"Yuno, Asta come here" Orsi called and handed him a letter, "go deliver this to the neighboring village since you were going to play there today, I will Julian to pick you back"
They often went there with Julian to play with other children so they knew the way.
Asta took the letter and immediately started running.
"Wait for me !" Yuno shouted before running after Asta.
"Now when will Julian come back? That kid spends most of his time near the demon skull, I hope he doesn't get influenced by it" Father muttered as he looked towards the Demon skull in the distance.
The bird that was keeping an eye on the Church heard what Father said and began flying toward the Skull.
Julian POV:
I am close to forming my mana core.
All these years I have explored every corner of the village the only place suitable for forming a mana core is the demon skull, with mana sensing and some testing I figured that the demon bones can suppress mana and help me form the core without wasting mana.
Forming the mana core involved gathering fragments of mana running around the body to the abdomen and forming a spherical storage
After countless hours of meditation, today is the day I will complete the process.
I was sure that this would lead me to find out about my magic nature.
I closed my eyes directed all the mana within my body toward my abdomen and forced it to compress to become an orb.
Drops of sweat formed on my forehead as I could feel that I was near.
=====
Mana core unlocked
-Magic attribute unlocked
-Mana control increased
-Mana points increased
====
As soon as the notification popped up, every drop of mana within my body disappeared into my abdomen and took the form of a black sphere of mana followed by a shockwave of flames covering the entire Demon Skull illuminating the surroundings even more.
Even denser mana began flowing through my body starting from the mana core acting like a second heart.
I focused on my palm as a ball of yellow fire began floating above it.
So I unlocked Flame magic…..
Just the type of magic I wanted.
Remembering the power of Mereoleona's flame magic and characters from my past life, Fire Magic had endless potential.
I focused more as more fireballs formed around me and began rotating. I moved my hand as they started to rotate around me and finally turned back to mana covering my palm.
Is this what they call reinforcement magic ?! Doesn't seem that hard almost as if it was instinctual.
I have seen people struggling with mana control but it doesn't seem that difficult. I guess trying to feel and control Mana for all these years showed results.
Since I felt more in my body, I decided to check my status.
===================================
NAME: JULIAN
AGE:5
RACE: HUMAN
MAGIC: FIRE
MANA CORE: BLACK
BODY POINTS:10
MANA POINTS:25
==================================
My mana almost doubled, no wonder I felt something different.
I focused on enhancing my body points too by doing physical exercises and different activities but seems like 10 points is the current limit at my current age.
I continued to experiment with my magic completely losing track of time and the weather as snow began to fall from the sky.
I only realized that it was night as Father came to look for me.
He seemed shocked to see my play with fire but his his expression soon turned to that of worry.
"Julain go pick up Asta and Yuno from the next village. I sent them long ago but they haven't returned yet. It's making me worried."
"Okay Father but what about you?" I asked
"This snowfall might turn into a snowstorm, I have to help the villages with the crops so I can't go right now"
Fair enough
"I will be back, " I said before began running towards my destination.
Mana erupted from my legs and formed a layer around it as my speed increased.
This was something I figured today after experimenting that reinforcement magic increased the strength of my limbs to a degree that I can exert all my strength freely without working on the injury.
By the time I reached the village all the excitement I had about magic turned to anger.