The discovery that Naro could gather points from something as simple as listening to footsteps came as a huge shock to him.
Before, he thought that points were only accrued if a meaningful action was occurring.
Breathing and moving certainly counted as simple actions. But could it really be considered listening if all he did was hear a random noise?
Naro had assumed that he could only get listening points if he tried to understand a conversation, or did something comparable. Because of this, he stopped trying to gather listening points when he left the room.
Now, this idea was turned on its head.
If the requirements for something to be considered an action were so low, it seemed that the 'intent' behind his actions mattered far more than the 'object' they were applied to.
In fact, Naro was not sure that it was even necessary to have an 'object.'
Could he gather points from listening even when there was nothing to hear? As long as he strained his ears, would it be considered as having the 'intent' of listening?
It also was beginning to seem that all of his basic senses were suitable targets for gathering points.
If this was the case…
Naro stared up at the person who was carrying him. He began to scrutinize the features that were visible to him at his angle.
It counted!
Naro felt a small thrill run through his tiny body.
What about smell?
There were no strong odors, but he exerted his nose anyways, trying to analyze what small traces could be found in the air.
He did not have much success smelling anything, but still…
It counted!
What about taste?
Naro had yet to eat anything in his new life, but he did have a mouth. There were no teeth yet, but there was a tongue! He focused his taste buds, attuning them to the saliva in his mouth.
For a moment, he did not feel any points accruing through his intuition. He focused harder.
Even though Naro had been conducting an experiment, he had not stopped gathering points from the original sources.
His arms were still flailing. He focused his attention on the sensations around his hands. The soft blanket's contours wrapped around his limbs. It gave him a relaxing feeling when he moved around in it, but it also felt tight. His hands were constricted.
Naro knew that he had probably not found all of the 'simple actions' for which he could accrue points, but he could no longer split any of his focus to look for the rest.
He was already gathering points for the five senses, along with moving and breathing. Rapidly switching between seven different actions was very taxing on his mind, even though they were each easy to perform individually.
However, even though he was not actively trying to think about it, Naro already could vaguely guess a few more of the 'actions' he could use to gather further points.
Breathing was technically a type of body movement, but it was distinguished from the generic 'moving.' Therefore, there were likely other, more specific body movements that were also classified differently, each with points that could be granted unto themselves. However, they likely required a particular 'intent' to be differentiated from 'moving.'
This was something he could explore later.
Naro continued to focus deliberately on his senses. His multitasking was becoming increasingly easier.
Then, he came to a sudden realization that stopped him cold. He paused, in the middle of a movement.
I am not being taken back to the bedroom. Where am I going?
Naro had been carried for some time already. Initially, he assumed he was being returned to his mother, but this did not seem to be the case. The bedroom was in a different direction, and would not have taken so long to get to.
Looking around, it seemed that he was being moved through a long hallway.
He did not recognize it from before.
In addition, the person who picked him up, whose face he was studying, was not one of the two people he originally guessed to be his parents. Of course, there was a chance he guessed incorrectly earlier, but his intuition told him otherwise.
Naro was not being held by his father.