Time crawled by under Unn’s care. As I feared, I was not able to attend the funeral; I couldn’t even voice my complaints. For the first several months, Unn would just plop the fucking ball by me to drain my <Mana> and energy. After practicing relentlessly for a few months, I was finally able to deal with it much to Unn’s chagrin. Once the orb was no longer effective, she made me practice <Iron Skin>, <Manifestation>, and other forms of <Physical Magic> until I passed out. Unn refused to teach me actual <Spells>. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that as I drastically improved from her lessons, but I really wanted to know how to cast <Spells>. I could passively maintain <Iron Skin> for hours now and manifest several knives at once.

Unn watched me like a hawk to make sure I didn’t slip the bangle off. Apparently, <Death Magic> is dangerous. Once I was able to slip the bangle off with ease, she began putting these blasted <Talismans> around my crib whenever she wasn’t in the same room as me. Whatever they were, they suppressed my <Magic> almost completely.

It was hard to tell how much time passed, as I didn’t get to see outside much. By my best guess, I was roughly three. I’d like a bed instead of this fucking crib. I stood there, trying to reach one of the <Talismans>. The damn thing is barely out of reach. I had a few moments before Unn would be back. There were some footsteps outside the door, and I immediately returned to just standing. Unn entered the room, giving me an odd stare.

“Good morning Ash.” Unn stated.

“Good morning Unn.” I replied.

“Did you try removing a <Talisman>?” Unn asked.

“No.” I lied. Keep it simple, act like a toddler. I hope I’m close enough.

“Really?” Unn probed.

“Really.” I insisted.

“Lying is bad Ash.” Unn lectured. How did she know?

“What’s lying?” I probed.

“Not telling the truth.” Unn answered.

“What’s the truth?” I inquired. I can play this game all fucking day. Unn glared at me before letting out a long sigh.

“Is the sky yellow?” Unn asked.

“What’s the sky?” I probed.

I could almost see a vein beginning to pulse in her forehead. Unn walked over to me, lifted me out of the crib, and walked over to the window. She lifted the blind up, sending light cascading into the room. That’s a bit bright. The streets were crowded, and the buildings were cramped. It looks almost like a slum. I wanted to walk around. There were no other attempts on my life. Unn did occasionally go on day trips, and she came back smelling like lemon cleaner. Might be safe to walk around.

“Do you see that? That’s the sky.” Unn informed me, pointing at the sky.

“It’s blue!” I chimed.

“So, the sky is blue. That is true.” Unn explained.

So true is blue?” I checked.

“No. Me saying, ‘the sky is blue’ is true. Me saying, ‘the sky is yellow’ is a lie.” Unn clarified.

“But the sky is blue.” I retorted. Mwahahahaha.

“Ash, I know you know what I am saying.” Unn snapped.

“I don’t know.” I replied.

“You’ve always been oddly cognizant of what is around you.” Unn grumbled.

“Cog-ni-scent?” I sounded out.

“You know what happens around you.” Unn clarified.

“Why?” I probed.

“Why are you intentionally annoying me?” Unn checked, looking at me quite sternly.

Would a normal toddler be scared in this scenario? I never dreamed my ability to act like a toddler would be relevant. A small portion of my brain was screaming to ask about Aut and where he was buried. How much would that freak her out? For now, I needed to try and act more like a toddler. If I fucking knew how.

“<Spells>!” I demanded.

“Because I don’t teach you <Spells>?” Unn snapped.

“Yes!” I answered.

“So you lied about trying to reach the <Talisman>?” Unn checked. Never admit to the crime, but how is she so confident?

“I don’t know.” I told her.

“This kid is a forling natural.” Unn muttered.

“Natural?” I probed.

“I know you tried reaching for the <Talisman>.” Unn informed me.

“No I didn’t.” I lied.

“Why are you so insistent on lying?” Unn checked.

“What lie?” I probed.

Unn was giving me an incredibly complicated expression. She was not as annoyed as I expected. I don’t understand her. Her gaze was something I didn’t recognize. What expression is that? We stared at each other for a few seconds as Unn debated how to proceed. What is she thinking? Unn took a deep breath.

“I can’t have you lying to me Ash. Why do you feel the need to lie?” Unn asked.

“It’s stuffy.” I grumbled.

“You dislike your <Magic> being suppressed?” Unn checked.

“Yes.” I answered.

“Your <Magic> is dangerous.” Unn replied.

“It’s <Death Magic>.” I retorted. Unn looked surprised.

“Do you know what death is?” Unn checked.

“End of life. No more life.” I told her.

“I can’t risk you using it on someone.” Unn informed me.

“I won’t.” I stated. On another kid. I think if my life is in danger, she won’t mind me using it.

“Why would I trust you not to use your <Magic> if you won’t even tell me that you tried removing the <Talisman>?” Unn challenged.

How does Unn know? I looked above the crib, not seeing anything. Scanning the room gave no obvious answer. The only <Talismans> I can see are the suppression ones. There was nothing that gave it away. How did Unn know?

“Someone doesn’t know how I know?” Unn teased.

“How do you know?” I probed.

“Look at your crib.” Unn informed me.

I looked at it. There’s just plain black with a geometric white pattern. I traced my finger along the pattern a bit. It clicked. She hid <Talismans> in the pattern. Is it a <Talisman> if it’s painted like this? Unn began laughing as I studied the pattern.

“Why show me?” I checked.

“Because you are getting a bed today. Anything else?” Unn taunted. I’m not as sneaky as I thought.

“I did try and remove the <Talisman>.” I confessed.

“I know.” Unn confirmed.

“Can you show me <Talismans>?” I requested.

“Maybe. Not what I wanted you to practice first.” Unn replied as she lifted me out of the crib.

“Practice what?” I inquired.

“You’ll see.” Unn said.

She took my hand and escorted me through the orphanage. Where are the other kids? They might have been at class or something. I was brought to the courtyard, where there was a punching bag set up. What’s this for?

“You need to learn to punch.” Unn told me.

“Why not a sword?” I asked. I’d like to be a swordsman. That would be cool.

“I think your talent lies in hand-to-hand fighting.” Unn answered.

“Why?” I probed.

“Catch these.” Unn directed.

Unn tossed a ball at me, which I caught. She threw another at me, which I caught with my other hand. So? I set the balls down not understanding her point. Unn then began tossing several at me, making me pivot to catch them with each hand. After a few minutes of that, I successfully caught them all. So?

“I noticed with the ball that someone is ambidextrous. You also have good hand-eye coordination.” Unn explained.

“Am-be. Am-be-dex-truss? Core. Core-dee.” I stammered. Act like a toddler. No toddler would know those words. That’s weird, I was left-handed in my last life. Did that transfer into this life?

“Ambidextrous means good with each hand. Coordination is how well you move.” Unn lectured.

“Okay.” I stated.

“Now, do what I do.” Unn told me.

She took a fighting stance, which I replicated. As soon as I replicated it, Unn shot to my side, fixing where my feet and arms were. She relaxed, then back into the fighting stance. I tried again. Unn corrected my stance again. We did it numerous times, with Unn correcting how I was standing each time.

“Good. Good. Now, onto punching. Align your first two knuckles with your arm. Keep your wrist straight. Try throwing a punch.” Unn instructed. I threw a quick punch.

“Chin down a little more. Rotate your hips. Keep your other arm tucked in a little more.” Unn told me.

“Like this?” I probed, doing a quick jab.

“That’s great Ash! That’s a jab. When you step in and use the hand in the back of the stance it is a cross or straight.” Unn added. I did a straight as she stated.

“Good! Now, do jab, straight, jab, and straight with your right, left, right and left fists.” Unn lectured.

She’s confident I understand. Not sure a normal toddler would. She might teach me <Magic> if I do this. I did the combination like Unn directed. She made a repeat gesture. I did it again. Unn did a little clap before moving me to in front of the punching bag. I did the combination on the bad, which barely deflected from my punches. The bag felt like I was moving a mountain.

“I’m going to do some work, you keep going.” Unn informed me while summoning her paperwork. <Magic> is so convenient.