The amount of shock Aarav was feeling now was far beyond anything he had felt in his previous life. He felt like crying now.
'Is this what they call - Out of the frying pan and into the fire. After surviving an attack I fell into hands of child traffickers. Why is this world so hostile towards me ? It's has been only few hours since I reincarnated to this world and already been nearly killed and kidnapped twice. Is this the fate of reincarnators. Could it be that this world doesn't tolerate me ?' He had read many webnovels in his previous life to pass time and he remembers that in some novels the world is repulsive towards transmigrators.
'I hope that I am overthinking, if the world screws me over then where will I go ? The system ditched me too.'
'Damn this world.'
But Aarav was a person who is highly adaptable and he never gives up. In his previous life he was an orphan and struggled enough throughout his life to learn that if you don't give up there is a chance that you might survive but if you give up you will certainly die.
In this life he had parents and a system, he certainly wasn't going to give up like that.
'I will never give up. In my previous life I never felt parents love but this life I will definitely survive and meet my mother again.' After thinking for some time he made his resolve to survive and if there is a chance then save the little girl too.
He analysed the situation first.
The first thing Aarav accepted was the situation.
He was a baby. He had no power, no strength, no leverage of any kind. The system was shut down. His mother was somewhere far away, probably tearing apart half a continent looking for him. His body could not even hold itself upright without shaking.
These were facts. But panicking over facts was a waste of energy.
The second thing he accepted was the timeline.
That Man had said it plainly, to That Woman, without caring who heard: the buyers would not take children younger than three years old. That meant he had over a year, possibly closer to two, before anything dangerous happened. A year was a long time. He must think of something during that time.
The couple could have never imagine that the newborn child could understand them.
The third thing he accepted was that he was not alone.
There was the little girl.
She was a few months older than him, probably around one and half year old with dark black hair that fell in soft tangles around her round face and eyes that were a clear, pale grey, almost colorless in dim light. She was still sniffling at the corner of the room.
In the dim light he thought for a long time, but even after thinking for a long time nothing came to his mind. So he decided to plan later as his eyes grew tired and he was feeling sleepy. Afterall he was a baby, even though the system strengthened his body it is still weak.
Time, even for a baby, does not stop.
Days passed. Then weeks.
The snow outside the small house never seemed to fully melt. It only shifted, grew thin in patches, then thickened again as the season grew colder.
The house sat near the edge of a frost-bitten mountain, far from the grand cities of Pangea's Indra continent, far from crystal domes and urja-lit streets. Here, there were only tall trees, dark forest and the smell of cheap oil burning through the night.
Inside the room the little girl was fiddling with Aarav. Must have thought he was a toy. He was thankful that she wasn't violent with her toys, otherwise he didn't even have the strength to resist. He had observed that she could walk on her own although she stumbled more than she could walk.
As there were not many things to do, in his free time aside from thinking about escaping his only work was to observe this little girl. So he had observed many things about her. When she was happy, her whole face lit up. When she was sad, her chin wobbled and she didn't try to stop it. When something frightened her, she reached for the nearest solid thing and held on.
Lately, the nearest solid thing was usually Aarav.
He was not entirely sure how to feel about this.
He only bided his time drinking, sleeping, thinking about his situation.
One day when she was coming towards him, her weak legs gave in and she fell down. Aarav instinctively tried to move his body forgetting the fact that he was a baby now. Although he failed to move much something amazing happened. There was a little floating window in the corner of his eye.
[Strength +0.001]
Although it was very little, Aarav could feel his strength improving. He was surprised and tried moving again. After some time when he was growing tired,
[Strength +0.001]
'This could also happen ?! Damn system, why didn't it just explain all the basic functions. I wasted so much time. I don't even know if there any other basic functions. But it is still good.' While cursing system he also felt a bit happy as there is at least a little hope. As long as there is something hopeful he will grab onto it.
So next he made his little baby workout plan,
25 sets of leg up and down exercise, 25 sets of hand up and down exercise, 25 sets of head side to side exercise.
[Strength +0.001]
[Strength +0.001]
'Damn!! Life is hard for this little baby. There are so many things to do. This should be limit for now. I will improve my plan after my strength increases.' Aarav thought to himself as his eyes grew sleepy.
Days turned into a routine.
Morning — drink milk, endure That Woman's indifferent handling, lie still and observe.
Afternoon — let the girl do whatever she pleased with him, which usually involved poking, prodding, and occasionally attempting to use his stomach as a pillow.
Night — work.
The workout plan was humble but consistent.
Every night, without fail, in the dark when the house was quiet and no one was watching.
[Strength +0.001]
[Strength +0.001]
[Strength +0.001]
The numbers were small. Embarrassingly small. But Aarav had lived long enough in his previous life to know that small and consistent beat large and occasional every single time. He had nothing but time. He would use it.
The only disruption to this routine was the little girl.
She had, without asking, appointed herself his constant companion. She had also, without asking, given him a name.
"Aa," she announced one morning, pointing at him with one chubby finger like she was identifying a landmark.
He stared at her.
"Aa," she said again, satisfied, and went back to chewing the edge of her blanket.
He had no say in this. He accepted it.
What he could not as easily accept was how she kept waking up during his nighttime training. It happened three times in the first two weeks. She would simply sit up out of dead sleep, look at him with those grey eyes that somehow caught even the faintest light, and say nothing. Just watch him.
The first time it happened he froze completely and pretended to be having a random baby spasm. She tilted her head. He stared at the ceiling. She lay back down.
The second time he tried the same trick. She tilted her head again, this time with more suspicion.
The third time she didn't even question it. She just shuffled over, lay down beside him, and tucked herself against his side like this was a perfectly normal arrangement she had decided on.
He waited a long time before resuming his sets. Much slower than usual so as not to disturb her.
[Strength +0.001]
'This girl is going to be a problem,' he thought.
But he didn't move away from her either.
There was one afternoon when That Woman was in a particularly foul mood.
Aarav heard her before he saw her — the sharp clatter of something being knocked over in the next room, a muttered curse, heavy footsteps.
The little girl heard it too. Her small body went very still. Her eyes found the door.
That Woman came in, looked around the room with the expression of someone searching for something to be angry at, and her gaze landed on the two wooden cups the girl had been stacking near the wall.
"Who told you to touch those," she said flatly.
The girl said nothing. She was very good at saying nothing when it mattered.
That Woman kicked the cups aside and left.
The girl watched them roll across the floor. Her chin wobbled once. Then she got up, walked over, picked both cups up, and carried them back to the wall.
She stacked them again. Slower this time. More carefully.
Aarav watched her do it.
'Tougher than she looks,' he thought.
By the end of the first month his workout sets had increased.
Thirty sets of each exercise. Then forty. His arms still shook. His legs still felt like they belonged to someone else. But the shaking lasted a little less long each time, and the exhaustion that hit him afterward came a little later each night.
[Strength +0.001]
[Strength +0.001]
[Strength +0.001]
He started adding new movements. Slow crawling circuits around the room at night, hugging the walls, stopping whenever a floorboard creaked. Gripping the table leg and pulling himself upright, holding as long as he could before lowering back down. Pushing against the wall with both palms until his arms gave out.
It was not impressive by any standard. He was aware of this. He was a baby doing baby exercises in the dark and the numbers ticking up were almost insultingly small.
But he had a number now. He had a direction. He had proof that the effort was doing something even when it didn't feel like it.
That was enough to keep going.
Outside, wind moved through the dark trees. The house was quiet and the fire was low.