Since the idea of obtaining thunder affinity had taken a place in my mind, I decided to do everything to obtain it, even though I knew it wouldn’t be easy. Thunder was a volatile and dangerous force, but I wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. I needed a plan, even if it meant starting with the basics.
First, I began by simply focusing on the energy around me. I spent a few hours each day standing outside during the early morning and late afternoon, when the air felt charged with the faintest hint of electricity. I would close my eyes and breathe deeply, letting the natural energy seep into me. It wasn’t much at first, just the subtle feeling of the wind brushing against my skin or the crackle of static in the air, but it was a start.
Next, I practiced grounding myself, literally. I found a spot with solid earth beneath my feet and stood with my legs apart, arms outstretched. I would focus on the sensation of the earth below and try to sync my heartbeat with the rhythm of the world around me. As I stood still, I imagined the connection between the earth and the sky, the same way a tree’s roots connected it to the ground while its branches reached for the heavens. I had heard that understanding the connection between the ground and the sky was key to harnessing thunder, as lightning bridges that gap.
Then, I tried something more active. I would stand in place, raise my arms to the sky, and picture myself drawing energy from the air. I couldn’t create lightning, but I tried to focus on the feeling of potential energy building in my body, like the stillness before a storm. My fingers would tingle with the sensation, and I’d hold the position for as long as I could, trying to sense any kind of charge in the air or inside me. Even if nothing visible happened, it felt like something was stirring within.
These exercises made me feel like I was making progress, but they were also taking most of my free time… Still, I only realized that I was truly making progress after rubbing my hands against each other and then suddenly touching the pan which my mother used to cook food… I clearly felt the static there.
‘I was starting to think that I would have to try to be hit by a lightning bolt, but I guess that won’t be necessary. Or maybe it will if these simple exercises don’t show enough progress.’
It seemed logical to me… nothing was like almost being killed by the element to increase one’s affinity toward it. I didn’t suffer any deaths in that white room while being electrocuted, so I couldn’t confirm that.
In any case, around the time I was almost two years old, the atmosphere in the village began to get tense and after using Hearing Enhancement for so long, I could hear pretty much anything that was said outside.
“Mommy, Am I going to where Daddy is?”
“Yes, if you work hard, you can join him soon enough. If you show progress, then we all will be able to live together.”
“Yay! I can’t wait.”
I heard similar conversations all over the place… most of the women seemed happy while saying that, but others not so much. Some of them avoided the question altogether. I tried to connect the pieces of the puzzle to understand how things worked when it comes to families here, but I still didn’t have a clear picture.
‘Maybe it is about time for me to ask her about this…’
Ellenessa was cooking lunch right now, and she appeared to be in a good mood, but she always showed a difficult expression when she heard people talking about that. A lot of kids were getting ready to leave the village for reasons unknown to me so far.
“Mama, where is papa?”
Asking that question was really difficult… Maybe my mind had gotten a bit softer after such a long time away from that room, but now I couldn’t help but feel a bit bothered while trying to sound like a proper child.
“Do you still remember your papa? That is surprising… I suppose you want to see him, right? Well, he is fighting very far away from here, so he can’t come for now.”
“Why?”
“Well, it is a very complicated thing… You need to grow a bit more to be able to understand it. Ah, don’t pout like that… Well, you do look smart and since you have a lot of mana for your age, perhaps this won’t be a waste of time.”
I wasn’t pouting. If anything, frowning would be more accurate, but I wasn’t sure if kids around this age would have such control over their facial muscles.
“Things are like this, Ai. We need people to defend our land. Papa is defending the land from danger alongside many others. People strong like your papa are mainly born from those who were strong as well, but just being strong isn’t enough. They need to show results in order to be able to live normal lives with their families.”
Well, I already had an idea of that in my head. I needed more details, and it looked like she was able to understand while looking at my face.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Your papa’s papa is also someone who worked away from his family defending the land, and after working harder than his siblings, he was able to live with his family. Sometimes, that doesn’t happen because… the people fighting go to a very far away place and they can’t return. Those who work hard and can return obtain the chance to have their own friends that fight following their orders. Someday, you will have to compete with your other siblings, too.”
So, sometimes people die, and sometimes after lasting long enough, those soldiers receive benefits to live with their families… It seemed like a pretty militaristic society. Still, to think that I would have siblings… I couldn’t imagine them being kids that Ellenessa had, so that guy had a bunch of wives? Or perhaps concubines?
‘I am starting to get the gist of this place… it is worse than I thought. Regardless, it looks like my new father and many others think women are like Pokemon and want to catch’em all.’
“You don’t have to try too hard, okay, Ai? Just stay alive and good things will happen to you.”
Ellenessa patted me on the head with a forced smile. I also had some issues with the wording that she chose… staying alive was a difficult thing for me to listen to after experiencing that white room. Naturally, if I had to choose between staying alive or not, I would choose the first option. However, the issue that I had was with my agency over my own life in this world…
I nodded at mother’s words and then she resumed cooking the meal. I didn’t learn everything that I wanted, but I learned enough. Worrying about the future was something that couldn’t be avoided, but it was better to focus on what I could do. That proved to be the right option.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
The Treasure Mind of Steel’s proficiency reached level twenty.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Mind of Steel Lv 20 - Magic, Willpower, and Endurance + 02
Lv 01 - (Languages Understanding Lv 35)
Lv 05 - (Focus Mastery Lv 15)
Lv 10- (Enhanced Vision Lv 08)
Lv 15 - (Enhanced Hearing Lv 03)
Lv 20 - (Turn an action into a skill.)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
List of Compatible Actions:
Meditation
Earth Affinity
Water Affinity
Fire Affinity
Wind Affinity
Lightning Affinity
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
It looked like my guess was right… Affinities were skills too, maybe it was because they involved many things that improved the proficiency of the element. I couldn’t help but sigh in relief when I found Lightning Affinity there. I put a lot of work on that one, after all. In any case, I choose that option without hesitation.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Lightning Affinity - Lv 01 - (00/100)
Your connection to the lightning affinity sharpens the more you feel and use it. You can control the magic with more ease as the skill progresses.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
It was a simple explanation, since it was another passive skill. Regardless, I had to start working from here. There was no time to rest or celebrate.
I kept doing the same exercises, and that slowly made Lightning Affinity receive proficiency… It was a really slow process. I wondered how I could generate electricity or feel it in a world like this that would improve my proficiency. I was doing that, while standing at the entrance of the house, but soon my focus ended when I saw a bunch of kids leaving their homes with their families… but only the kids were carrying simple bags.
‘I don’t like this…’
This was the reality of this world… Maybe it wasn’t my place to critique how things worked, since it probably has been working like this for a while. Still, seeing kids becoming cog in a machine that worked for war… it didn’t sit well with me.
I still didn’t like the idea of being forced to take over this world. I didn’t even know why yet, but the idea was starting to look more appealing if I could break this cycle. After thinking for a bit, I realized that I was getting soft and sentimental… Maybe soon enough, even if I keep working hard, I will be sent to that white room once again in order to be put in my place or something. However, that didn’t happen.
Several months passed and soon I became three years old… life in the village sure was peaceful, but I reached a point that I wasn’t making much progress anymore. Even though I had a decent amount of mana, I couldn’t do anything with it yet. In a whole year, Lightning Affinity also only leveled up twice.
‘I should increase my vitality and then try to get hit by a lightning bolt… I can’t think of any other way to make progress with this fast enough.’
As I stood there, questioning my sanity for entertaining the idea of intentionally getting struck by lightning, my thoughts were interrupted by an unfamiliar figure approaching the house. The man was tall, his face partially hidden beneath the shadow of a wide hat. He carried a large bag slung over one shoulder, its contents moving with every step he took.
I didn’t say anything, just watched him silently, unsure of what to make of his sudden appearance. Before I could decide whether to speak or retreat inside, my mother appeared at the door. Her expression shifted slightly as she noticed the man, but she didn’t seem surprised. It was clear she recognized him. In any case, he delivered the bag and then left.
“Ai, your papa sent you a few things.”
That felt hard to believe… all this time, I could only think that he was trying to catch more women for his collection. He seemed to be the type… or maybe it was only my bias. Staying two years away from one of his wives and sons wouldn’t make his image improve, after all. Regardless, mother soon took a wooden sword and shield from the bag and handed them to me.
“It belonged to your papa! Isn’t this great?”
I wasn’t sure of that… They looked brand new.