"Sigh, I didn't even feed you yet. I'm sorry, my dear."
Rose looked at him with sad expression, probably feeling like a bad mother.
She started pulling down the cleavage of her t-shirt.
And Rei? Well...
'Ah... Maybe I'm in Heaven?' He wondered. Right now he felt like the luckiest man alive.
Her black bra hides the treasures that could cause a World War to break out.
'Honestly, it might not even be an exaggeration, given her level of beauty.'
Rose pulled her bra down, so Rei had a full view of her right blossom. Sadly, he couldn't enjoy it much before...
"There," she smiled and put her nipple in his mouth.
He immediately felt a calmness he'd never felt before. All his worries disappeared and only the sweet taste of milk filled his mind.
He sucked greedily for a few minutes, until he fell asleep yet again.
Difficulties of being a child.
-------------------
The next morning he woke up near his sleeping mother, wrapped in some cloth, like a cocoon.
But he felt differently.
'Strange, my thoughts were never this clear before, it's as if I started processing information faster.
And `mana` became much more vivid.'
It was decided in Rei's mind to call those islands in the air 'mana'. It is easy to understand and can be changed later.
'I need to experiment.' A crazed glint appeared in his eyes.
His obsession is deeply integrated in his mind. Mana is a possible method to achieve power, freedom and above all, happiness.
Rei desires to live a life on his own terms. It became his biggest dream from the moment he became aware of how the world works.
The Earth only had political and financial power, which, although very powerful, only gave limited privileges.
Personal strength is very different, it can't be taken away, and can offer virtually unlimited amount of freedom.
And so, it became one of his goals in this life, becoming the strongest being in the Universe, and maybe even beyond.
'I can't draw conclusions about those changes yet, insufficient evidence.'
He looked at his mother to be sure she was asleep, and felt speechless ones again.
'Fuuuck, how can anyone be that beautiful?' Rei enjoyed the view for a few more seconds before remembering his goals,
'later, first - experiments, don't get distracted.'
If he could, he would've slapped himself on the face, but he can't really move at the moment.
It took all of his willpower to turn his head away from the goddess beside him.
'Don't think about her, don't think, no distraction. I am a rock, just a smart rock.'
It was barely a day and he was already going insane!
'Okay, I can feel mana pretty clearly, but how do I control it?'
The `feel` of mana is hard to describe; he can't see it per se; it is projected onto the world by the `feeling` itself.
At least that's what he thinks after closing his eyes and still feeling mana. Experiments are needed to truly determine it.
He tried to just imagine the movement of mana, like a current in the river, to give it general direction.
He tried, and tried, and tried.
Pushing mana in many different directions, different parts of mana islands.
He even tried to move his hand a little, just a tiny bit, to physically affect mana, but it yielded no results.
'Hmm, so it's probably not just my imagination at work; it's not the way to control it. But what else can I do?'
He can't access the feeling of mana to control it. Or maybe he just didn't know how.
'Sigh, of course it won't be that easy.
Hmm, but how should I call that `feeling`? Mana feel? Ugh... Mana perception? Mana sense?..'
Rei was never good with names, besides, it didn't really matter right now.
'Yeah, sure, mana sense it is. Easy to say and remember.'
-------------------
His mind was already tired, and it had only been around 20 minutes of experimenting.
'Being a baby is annoying.' He rolled his eyes, before trying to control his mana senses again.
In 20 minutes nothing happened, as if that feeling was just an illusion.
It's like trying to control a beating of heart.
Sure, you can feel it, you can even slightly influence it, but only indirectly, through hormones.
And with mana sense it's even worse, he had an instinctive feeling that he can control it somehow, but how? He didn't know.
Imagine a door without a key. You know it can be opened, but with what key?
-------------------
It has been 3 days. His mother didn't leave him for event a moment. She didn't even go to the bathroom!
'Some magic shit probably.'
Maids only brought her food and water. What's interesting, is a shock on maids' faces when looking at Rei, as if he isn't supposed to exist.
It wasn't a disgust or envy, in fact their expressions quickly changed to the ones of adoration.
Some even asked if they could pet him! He is not a dog! Hello?!
What was even more outrageous was his mother's agreement to such a request!
He was angry, definitely! And he didn't enjoy their soft hands and sweet aroma one bit!
'Fuck, why am I enjoying it so much? In my defense, they are all incredibly beautiful!'
Yes, as if his mother wasn't enough, all the maids were gorgeous as well!
Granted, his mother is still slightly above them, but it's like comparing a flawless blue diamond to a perfectly cut sapphire.
The difference is almost negligible.
And it's not like everyone in this world is like this. He saw some people outside through the window.
And they were pretty average.
'Something is definitely wrong with this family. Well, it benefits me in the end, hehe.'
His smile is not something a child should have.
He always was perverted, and he had no issue with that.
'Well, experiment time.' His mood soured a tiny bit.
Despite being a patient man, not seeing any result at all did not feel great.
His mana perception has grown a tiny bit, and his thought speed increased with incredible speed.
But his experiments didn't yield any results so far.
Rei closed his eyes and bring all his mind to just finding the source of his mana senses.
He was already pretty accustomed to it. And this time, finally something happened.
"Cough." He spit out blood BUT, he saw it, the disturbance in mana. He did it, it was a disturbance caused by him, he was sure of it.
A massive headache attacked him, he almost fainted, but something was stopping him.
He heard screams—his mother's—though they were muffled, distant.
He felt her soft, yet surprisingly strong, embrace, but his limbs refused to respond.
In the end, the headache triumphed, and Rei succumbed, his mother's screams and sobs the last sounds before darkness consumed him...