Today is my birthday, and I still had my morning training session with my father.

  “You never stop surprising me day after day, Maki. Your skill with dual swords has already surpassed Alejo’s, and you’re close to forming the last column to complete your cube.” My father’s smile is as contagious as ever.

  I have practiced daily until exhaustion. That accelerated the formation of my cube; it should be completed in about a month.

  “Thank you, Father.” I don’t know how to respond to his praise. It’s difficult to accept compliments about my talent—all of my skill comes from the experience accumulated in my previous life.

  “Don’t be shy, son. Show more energy. Today you turn eight years old, and after almost a year you’ll be able to see your siblings again.”

  My siblings, huh? Sers is in his first year at one of the best academies in the Marquisate. Ritmo finished the academy last year; he went for a year to the city of Count Weri to receive both theoretical and practical tutoring in that territory. He got that great opportunity by becoming best friends with the Count’s second son.

  “Yes, I’m very happy to see them after a year.” Both treated me very well during my childhood. I love them as much as the other members of my family.

  Sers is the spitting image of my father—both have messy brown hair, green eyes, and a muscular build. Ritmo, on the other hand, has the same hair color as my mother and the same green eyes as Sers. My own hair has a reddish tone from my paternal grandfather. I haven’t met him yet; he’s still alive, and my family avoids talking about the topic.

  “Go on, kid, take a shower and get ready for breakfast. We won’t be able to eat with you today, but from lunch onward we’ll be together as a family.” My father pushes me lightly on the back with his palm.

  Everyone wanted to finish their responsibilities as quickly as possible so we could be together at lunchtime and catch up.

  I said goodbye to my father and went straight to my room. After a relaxing shower, I changed into my birthday clothes and sat meditating in my room. I had read in a book about the benefits of having a healthy mind—it accelerates the learning process and helps control nerves in desperate situations.

  Knock knock knock

  Who could be knocking on my door? Everyone should be busy until an hour before lunch.

  Before I could get up, someone opened my door—it was my brother Sers.

  “Hey, how’s my favorite brother?” Not only does his physique resemble my father’s, his energetic attitude is very similar as well.

  “Hi, Sers. It’s been a while. I’m good… I think. I thought you’d arrive later. How have you been?” I try to respond as friendly as possible. Even though I know him from my memories, this is actually the first time seeing him.

  “What’s with that cold answer? No hugs? Nothing?” I could see his smile widen after his words. Sers has always liked teasing me for being cold at times.

  I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “Sorry, Sers. I missed you too.” I get up from the bed and give my older brother a tight hug.

  We talked about how his life at school has been going. As always, he focused on meaningless things like jokes, funny situations, and his friends. Although I wanted to know about his academic life, it was comforting to hear about his daily life—it shows how much he’s enjoying this last year.

  “It’s almost time. We need to hurry.” We lost track of time talking. If we hadn’t checked the wall clock, we might have arrived late to lunch. In this world, days last twenty-six hours—two more than in my old world.

  Sers ran off to change into his clothes for my birthday party, and I headed toward the main table for the celebration.

  When I arrived, I could see four people already seated and waiting. I recognized everyone’s faces; there was only one person I hadn’t seen for almost a year.

  “Hello, everyone. Sorry for the delay. I was talking with Sers and lost track of time.” I apologize before taking a seat.

  My brother was the first to speak, as if the four of them had coordinated this moment. “Hello, Maki. It’s been a while since the last time. I see your rapid growth isn’t just physical.”

  Sers can be considered a physical attacker using an axe, and Ritmo took the path of a mage like my mother. He has always received praise for his sensitivity to mana.

  “Hi, Ritmo. How have you been? Was the trip long?” I deliberately avoid his comment about my growth. After talking with Sers for hours, I realized how many stories had accumulated over a year apart. Today I want to laugh, enjoy myself, and have fun with my family. I’ll avoid talking about my growth or training as much as possible.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Ritmo didn’t push the topic further, and we continued exchanging questions and answers. Our parents and grandmother began to join the conversation. Sers appeared shortly after, and lunch began.

  We talked for hours after lunch. The main hall was lively. I can’t remember the last day I laughed so much, felt so excited, and learned so much at the same time.

  The conversation centered around the three siblings—how our daily lives were going. There were some funny stories from Sers, and Ritmo also contributed by talking about what he learned in the Count’s city without being boring.

  Eventually, Ritmo couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer and asked, “Maki, how did you advance the formation of your cube so quickly? You’re one step away from completing it, right? Just because I can’t feel even a trace of mana in your body, I’d think you already have a complete cube.”

  Sers looked at me in surprise—probably because of his relaxed attitude, he hadn’t noticed my cube.

  “You’re right. I can feel his cube is almost complete. How did you do it, Maki?” Sers focuses his gaze on my cube and then lifts his eyes. Both of them are looking at me, confused and intrigued.

  “I told you, son. After the tenth column, it’s impossible to hide the obvious.” My mother had warned me when my tenth column was forming—people would easily notice the cube forming in my chest.

  “That’s not the only impressive thing about Maki. His talent with weapons is on another level. I can say with confidence: Maki is among the top three weapon fighters in both towns—purely in skill.” My father’s comment landed like a bomb. I could see my brothers’ curiosity growing even more.

  “I’d like to give a response with lots of foundations and complex explanations like you’re expecting, but that’s not the case. According to my parents and grandmother, I have talent using willpower, and I’ve been training hard every day.” I don’t really know how to explain it, and I don’t have the full answer myself.

  “Just talent and effort?” Sers was the first to doubt my response a little.

  Ritmo thought about it more. “Sers, it’s not that simple. At the academy, you’ve surely met people with exceptional talent and others with less. The latter have to work twice as hard to reach their goals. If you combine both, you get what they call geniuses in academies and society—outstanding people who surpass others of their age and even older.”

  “Maki, are you a genius?” Sers seemed to grasp the point easily. At a prestigious academy, you probably see examples like this every day.

  “Me? A genius? I don’t know. I haven’t been able to directly compare my abilities with kids my age, and honestly, I’ve never considered myself a genius.” I can’t think of myself as a genius when my sword skill comes from my past life, where I had talent and effort—but I never thought of myself as a genius.

  Ritmo asks my grandmother, possibly the person with the most experience and knowledge in the room. “Grandma Rita, do you consider Maki a genius?”

  My brothers waited for my grandmother’s answer as they watched her, while my parents seemed immersed in their own thoughts, reflecting on Sers’s question.

  “I couldn’t directly declare: Maki is a genius. I’ve seen his magnificent talent with the sword, and I’ve witnessed the ridiculous growth of his cube. All this time, I’ve thought of Maki as a prodigy.” My grandmother touched her chin, seriously considering her response.

  “What’s the difference between a prodigy and a genius?” I asked. I’d never thought there was a difference; I always assumed they were the same.

  “Both are very talented people. A prodigy is someone who exceeds their limits through effort and dedication, while a genius is born breaking natural limits.” My mother gave a simple and clear explanation, as she always does.

  “Can you give me an example, Mother?” Sers has never been shy about asking questions. Everyone in the room understood the difference in their own way, and an example would help solidify the concept.

  “An example? Hmm.” My mother took a few seconds to organize a good one.

  “Let’s suppose the limit of a certain skill, like magic control, is one hundred. Some talented people, with little or no effort, can understand the skill much faster than others. The others must work harder and dedicate twice the time, but in the end, they reach the same level of understanding. On the other hand, a prodigy could quickly control the skill and surpass that 100% through effort and dedication; and a genius would be born with the ability to control the skill beyond 100%.” My mother’s example was so simple and clear that it made me understand how big the difference is between all types of people.

  If I categorize them, it would be: People without talent and without effort < People with talent and without effort ≤ People without talent and with effort < People with talent and effort (the so-called prodigies) ≤ Geniuses.

  “Celes’s example is perfect. I just want to add something. Talents come in different sizes. Someone could be considered talented in a small town or city and be insignificant in the royal or imperial capital. I’m not completely sure about this, but prodigies are not necessarily better or worse when compared to geniuses.” My grandmother’s comment made me think even more about the topic. I know I’m better than 99% of the people in this town when it comes to sword skill—but will I be considered talented in this world?

  “Son, don’t overthink it. You’re very talented. I can say it with confidence: you’re a prodigy.” I can’t see my own expression; I must have been deep in thought, which led my father to say those words.

  “Your grandmother and we are people who have lived through thousands of experiences and met thousands of people. I can also assure you—your talent is something I’ve never seen directly in anyone.” My mother’s words quickly give me confidence.

  “Thank you. I’ll try to improve every day.” I give a sincere response from the heart. I need to get better at responding to praise.

  They hadn’t placed any expectations on me, but their eyes were already shining with curiosity about my future. The weight of the backpack was slowly growing.

  “A prodigy in our family—not bad. Maki, even if you’re talented, you won’t be stronger than your older brother.” Sers was the quickest to accept everything and made a comment to lighten the mood.

  “For my part, I’m looking forward to seeing how far you’ll go, Maki. It’s comforting to know about your talents. Don’t feel pressured—but perhaps everyone’s future depends on you.” Ritmo commented seriously, smiling. That triggered a chain reaction—everyone started smiling.

  We talked until dinner time, then went for a walk and resumed the conversation sitting at a table in our garden, where we could feel the cool summer breeze. We ended up talking late into the night. Today has been a wonderful day—thank you all for this birthday.