I have to stop.
Seriously. I'm lying here, staring at the ceiling, and I realize I've been narrating my own life in my head like I'm a product.
The Infinite Skill lets me do this. The Infinite Skill helps me learn. The Infinite Skill...
I sound like a bad sales pitch. I can practically hear the capital letters. How many times can a person think the same branded phrase before it drives them insane? I'm four years old in this world, and I've already given my own brain a corporate logo.
I groan and roll over, stuffing my face into the pillow.
"You okay in there, Ren?" Miren pokes her head in.
"Just... thinking," I mumble.
"Well, think quieter. You're four, not a brooding teenager." She smiles, gone.
She's right. This is ridiculous. I need new words. My gift. My talent. My accelerated learning thing. That Annoying Glitch That Makes Me a Know-It-All Toddler.
Anything.
"Infinite Skill this, Infinite Skill that," I mutter into the pillow. "What about... The Aptitude? Ugh, too dry. Mastery Engine? Sounds like a machine. The Knack? Too simple."
"Ren, are you talking to yourself?" Toren's voice, from the main room.
"No!" I shout, then wince.
"Right. Get dressed. We're going to the market."
I tumble out of bed. The Big Brain? God, no. The Thing That Makes Adults Look at Me Funny? Accurate, but long.
You know what? Kaela would just call it "Ren's Weird Brain Thing" and be done with it.
Honestly, that's the best one I've heard all day.
The market is a wall of noise, smells, and motion. I'm holding Miren's hand, trying to just... be. But my brain—my Weird Brain—is already on autopilot.
There. A merchant using a cheap levitation charm. I see the gesture, hear the mumbled word, feel the sloppy pull on the ley lines. My mind just... files it. It's not even a choice. It's like breathing.
"Ren, focus," Miren says, tugging my hand. "Herbs. Not shiny things."
"Everything's shiny," I mumble.
A flash of red hair. Kaela. She's yelling at a merchant, her face red, her hands on her hips.
"That's robbery! My aunt gets it for half that!"
The merchant looks like he'd rather be anywhere else. "Your aunt buys in bulk, kid. You're buying one bottle."
"Then I'll buy in bulk!"
"Got bulk coin?"
Her face falls. "...No."
I let go of Miren's hand. "Be right back." I'm already slipping through the crowd.
"Ren! Tell this guy he's a thief!" Kaela demands.
I look at the bottle, the merchant, the price. My... talent... lays it all out. He's not cheating her. She's just five and doesn't understand economics.
"He's right, Kaela," I say. "It's a fair price for one. Just wait and add it to your aunt's next order. It'll be cheaper."
Kaela blinks. "Oh... Right. That's... smart."
The merchant looks at me, surprised. "Smart kid. You two related?"
"Friends," Kaela says, throwing an arm over my shoulder so hard I stumble. "He's the smart one. I'm the one who hits things."
"A classic combo." The merchant chuckles.
As we walk away, she punches my arm. "See? Your weird brain is useful."
"'Weird brain,'" I repeat, tasting the words. "You know... I like it."
"What?"
"Nothing. Branding."
"You're so weird, Ren." She's already dragging me toward the training grounds. "Come on, watch this."
She points to a girl with a dark braid, maybe eight or nine, drilling with a squad. She's good. Fluid. But my brain... it just sees.
"She's faking," I murmur.
"What? She's the best one!"
"She's compensating. Her left ankle is weak. See? She puts less weight on it when she pivots right."
Kaela squints. "How do you...?" She stops. "Right. Weird brain."
"Weird brain," I agree, grinning. It feels right. "Though 'Infinite Skill' sounds more... impressive, don't you think?"
"Sounds like you're trying to sell me something," she says, which is so painfully accurate I just laugh.
I find Miren at Elder Greenleaf's stall. They're talking about moonvine.
"...adjusted the water mixture," the old woman is saying. "A touch of diluted ley-crystal. Really brings out the properties."
My head snaps up. I look at the plant. I can see it. The magic isn't just on the plant; it's in it. Woven into its life. It's... elegant.
"Can I see?"
The Elder lowers the cutting. The second my fingers brush the leaves, I get it. The whole technique. The balance of water, magic, and sunlight. The timing. It just... downloads.
"Sensitive hands," Elder Greenleaf murmurs. "Your mother's gift is strong in you."
I just nod. If she only knew. It's not a gift; it's a recording device.
"Lost in your head again?" Miren asks as we walk away.
"Just... moonvine," I say.
She smiles that worried smile. "Of course you are. Sometimes I worry you're going to just... think yourself into a puddle, little one."
"Is that possible?"
"With you? I'm not ruling it out."
We walk for a minute. I have to ask. "Mama?"
"Yes, love?"
"Do you ever get tired... of being good at something?"
She stops. Right in the middle of the path. She crouches down, her hands cupping my face. "What brought this on?"
"I donT know. It's just... a lot. My brain. It's always on." The question comes out smaller than I meant it to. "What if I can't turn it off?"
Her expression... it's that look. The one that's equal parts love and terror. "Then you learn to rest inside the noise, Ren. And you let us help carry it." She pulls me into a hug, hard. "You're four. You're allowed to be overwhelmed. You're allowed to just be a kid."
I hug her back, burying my face in her tunic. She's right. But she doesn't get it. The Weird Brain doesn't have an off switch.
"Thanks, Mama."
"Always." She stands, pulling me along. "Now, let's go. I think your father promised to show you a new sword form tonight."
My eyes light up. I can't help it.
She laughs. "See? Still a kid, after all."
That night, Toren shows me the "River's Flow." A defensive form. All about redirection.
I watch him do it. Once.
Got it.
My brain has it, anyway. The theory, the philosophy, the exact pivot of the foot, the angle of the wrist. It's all there, perfectly clear.
And then I try to do it.
I fall on my ass. Not just stumble. I look like a drunken crab.
I get up, furious. I try again. My brain is screaming at my body: Pivot! Shift your weight! Use his momentum!
My body says: Best I can do is waddle and tip over.
The frustration is so sharp it almost makes me cry.
Toren is hiding a smile. "Problem?"
"I know it!" I snap, sounding exactly as old as I am. "My body is stupid!"
"No," he says, suddenly serious. "Your body is four. That's the part you can't learn fast, Ren. That's the part you just have to grow."
He crouches, putting one hand high above his head. "Your brain is up here." He puts his other hand near his knee. "Your muscles are down here. For you... the hardest part of training isn't going to be learning. It's going to be patience."
He's right. It's the most frustrating thing I've ever learned.
My Weird Brain can understand anything. But I'm still just a kid. I'm still trapped in this small, clumsy, weak-ankled body.
Understanding isn't mastery.
And for a mind that moves this fast, patience feels like a prison.