Sevs thought the purpose of the training world was to ensure that your build was suited to your real-life aptitudes rather than to teach divers how to play. To achieve the singularity and ascend, a player must reach synchronicity with their avatar. That synchronicity had to be more complete to them than with their own body. At least, that was what the training guide said. If Sevs was unable to even get past the training world with a DEX build, then there was no way it was going to work overall for him. But just doing well in a main world was not enough. More than once, he had been counted among the top players. Before long, he was struck with the red letters proclaiming him unsuitable for ascension.

Despite his understanding of the necessity of the tutorial processes, Sevs wished that it was skippable. The first several levels were excruciating. There were no ways to speed them up. There were no actions available to gain extra EXP. You were forced to wait on the passive experience. Where each day, you received 1/360 of the next level.

Unless you were pretty unlucky, then it would go smoothly. You would spend your time learning how to walk and talk. These things were not nearly as hard to pick up as for a newborn. Even with a new, young, and small body, it was still odd. It was probably comparable to a person who had severe brain trauma and had to learn how to walk again, just for everything. Your knowledge persisted, but the functions to use and organize that knowledge needed to be built again.

Sevs let out a sigh of relief as he zoomed to his new home. As long as it took, each play-through of the tutorial was different. A different family and different circumstances really shook up the tone. And it made you appreciate the new world. This time, he was in an upper-middle-class family with both parents around. That was very lucky; facing ending a play-through early or taking a job at level 7 was never fun. Ending a play-through was always unpleasant and usually excruciatingly painful.

As Sevs merged with the new avatar, he felt his mind meld into the baby. It still took control not to panic as his memories started to get all hazy as the crystallized patterns of his mind were lost. With some mental effort, he focused on the fact that it would all come back.

The avatar opened his eyes, and Sevs caught the first look at his new parents. They seemed happy and pleasant enough this could be the play through…

***

For the first couple of levels, there was not much to remember. Nothing notable happened. The first few years mostly consisted of the things babies usually do. That is to say, not much. Once Sev had learned to walk, things became a little more interesting.

Around that time, his memories became clear and more accessible again. That was always an odd feeling. As he toddled around and explored the playpen, he started to remember. Who he was and why he was there.

The memories did not come seamlessly. Sevs's understanding was quite fuzzy. If you have ever tried to explain a complex concept to a young child. You might have some idea of what the level of comprehension was.

Lucky Sevs had done this enough that the memories of what to do were pretty ingrained. If he performed particular actions, his memory and body would develop faster. So with the determination of a stubborn child, Sevs set about grinding his mental faculties.

***

“I know I should be grateful. But honestly, I'm a little worried.”

“Your son is very special. It is normal to be concerned. There are many things to worry about, and it’s normal for mothers to fret. However, he is ahead of his peers right now, but that might change. It’s really too early to say. Once he has more interactions with other children, we will see.”

“I hear you… But it’s hard… You know. The other day I left him in the living room while making dinner, and somehow he had turned the speakers on.”

“Kids do like to fiddle with things. That's pretty normal.”

“I know, but how many three-year-olds are listening to Motzart and sitting in the center of the carpet in a lotus position. It looked like he was meditating… I have no idea where he learned that from. Gave me the chills it did”

“Hmmm. Now that is odd.”

“That is not the worst of it even.”

“Oh?”

“I think I saw him reading my copy of Catcher in the Rye the other day…..”

Sevs leaned away from the door. This conversation was not totally new to him. It was probably time for him to tone it down a little. When he had gone too far with the exercises before, it hadn’t really been a good experience. A couple times, he was shipped off to some university as a prodigy. Which he was not. Just having all the knowledge but not the skill meant that a few years into the college-level curriculum he capped out. This made it easy to complete the tutorial, but really only for INT builds. Once he was studied by the government. That was a play-through he had ended early intentionally. With a shudder, Sevs brought his attention back to the here and now.

While this dilemma was not new, it was a bit earlier than normal. Maybe, Sevs had got more perceptive parental figures. Or the other times the System had been compensating for his INT build. Either way, he would need to back off on the grinding. It was unfortunate but not entirely unexpected.

Sevs clasped his little hands in thought. Well. Maybe. There might be another way. He was going for a change after all. Maybe he can try to use his little child-like enthusiasm to his advantage. With that, Sevs began to plot. How could he convince everyone around that he was special but not in a way that would get him studied but also allow him to train?