Calista was gone, muttering her way out of the village like a defeated villain in one of my old light novels. The hut felt lighter, the air less charged with elven snobbery. I could finally breathe and experiment.

  That night, after Nora and Oliver tucked me in, with extra kisses from Nora, still riding the "my little genius" wave , I waited until their breathing deepened into snores. The Elderwood bracelet was snug on my wrist, but my Second Ring was humming beneath it, a secret battery ready to unleash.

  First test, Oliver's axe, leaning against the wall like always.

  I focused, channeling mana into [Analysis].

  A glowing panel materialized in my mind's eye:

  Nice. Details galore. No more "wood is wood" nonsense.

  Next: my sleeping parents. I aimed at Nora first.

  Same for Oliver. Figures. Can't punch above my weight yet.

  Finally: myself. I turned the skill inward.

  Gabriel's gifts stared back at me like forgotten loot in an inventory screen. I'd been so focused on survival I hadn't even tested them properly. primordial gloss, that sounded like gold.

  I crawled over to the axe, grabbed the haft , it , was heavier than it looked for baby arms , and activated primordial gloss on the first rune , a jagged line near the blade.

  Nothing.

  I gritted my teeth, poured every scrap of mana from my new Ring into it, focusing like my life depended on it.

  A small window popped up:

  One down. I shifted to the next rune, a looped symbol beside it.

  Window:

  And... blackout. My core emptied like a popped balloon. The world spun, and I collapsed in a heap.

  I came to with my cheek pressed into cold dirt and the taste of dust in my mouth.

  Before I could even open my eyes properly, two enormous shadows fell over me.

  “VIVIAN!”

  Nora’s shriek could have woken the dead. She scooped me up so fast my head whipped back, clutching me to her chest like I was about to vanish.

  “What in the Mother’s name were you doing out of your crib?! Wandering around in the dark like a little ghost and then just, falling asleep on the floor?!”

  Oliver was right behind her, face pale, rubbing the back of his neck. “My fault, Nora. I should’ve latched the crib tighter. What kind of father lets a one year old roam the house at night? Could’ve rolled into the hearth, or hit his head on the table leg…”

  Nora’s eyes welled up. “It’s my fault too! I should’ve woken up the second he made a noise. We’re terrible parents, Oliver , terrible!”

  The scolding started immediately and did not stop.

  While she carried me back to the crib:

  “...wandering off in the middle of the night, do you know how dangerous that is? You could’ve hurt yourself, you could’ve...”

  While she changed my diaper ,again, just in case,:

  “...and falling asleep on the cold floor? You’ll catch a chill! What were you even doing out there?”

  While breakfast:

  “...we’re going to put bells on the crib rails, and a latch, and maybe a little gate...”

  While we walked to the healer’s hut, with me on her hip and Oliver trailing like a guilty dog:

  “...and if you ever climb out again, young man, you gurgle loud enough to wake us, do you understand? Promise Mama!”

  I just blinked innocently and let her hug me tighter. They had no idea I’d passed out from mana depletion, not from some toddler midnight adventure. To them I was just a reckless baby who’d escaped his prison and conked out mid escape.

  Honestly? Their panic was kind of heartwarming.

  But inside, I was still riding the high.

  I barely noticed. I was buzzing. Syntax of Creation was the key , the ultimate rune decoder. I'd be reverse engineering artifacts, crafting custom spells, becoming the OP protagonist who solos dragons with a finger snap.

  Then I tried to recall the runes.

  Sharpen... something about edges? Molecular what?

  Bind... links stuff?

  The details were fuzzy, gone like smoke. Not etched in my brain , just a temporary flash.

  Baffled. The skill wasn't a knowledge implant; it was a damn dictionary popup that vanished after use.

  Two runes, and my entire Second Ring mana was gone? I blacked out from two words?

  And what good is a dictionary without grammar? I knew what "sharpen" meant, but not why it was positioned before "bind," or if flipping them would explode the axe, or any rules like stroke direction or material compatibility.

  Hell, there was probably a rune dictionary book somewhere gathering dust in a library. But this was my only tool for progress.

  First step: record the info before it faded.

  I needed ink and paper.

  Alicia had them.

  I toddled to her desk, pointed at the stack of blank parchments, then at myself.

  Alicia leaned back, amused. "Oh? You want the hut's account book? Or the herb manuscript I'm drafting?"

  To clarify, I mustered my best toddler voice: "Blank. For Vivian write."

  Alicia burst out laughing, eyes twinkling with that manipulative glee. "Blank paper? For you? Prove you deserve it, little one. Learn to read and write first, no?"

  Smug mode activated. I already knew the language

  "Key," I said, nodding like it was obvious.

  Alicia scooped me up, still chuckling, and plopped me in Lily's lap. "Lily, teach him the alphabet too."

  Lily blinked. "He's only one! He can't "

  "Look at that face," Alicia said, pointing at my beaming grin. "He wants it."

  Lily sighed but caved. She grabbed a slate and charcoal. "Okay, Vivian. First letter: A."

  I repeated it flawlessly. Then grabbed the charcoal to copy.

  My hand wobbled. The line zigzagged like a drunk worm. The curve looked like a squashed potato.

  Try two: snapped the charcoal.

  Try three: illegible scribble.

  I stared at my chubby, uncooperative fingers.

  Curse these baby hands.

  Curse Gabriel for not including motor control in his S-ranks.

  Curse myself , how dumb do you have to be to forget you're stuck in a toddler's body?