3

*FWOSH*

The loud song of wind flew past me at increasingly fast speeds. My vision was blurry, impeded by the tears I couldn't stop.

The nighttime sky hung over me, darkness with little bright stars. In all my life, I never thought much of the sky…but now I couldn't help but compare the sky to my life, my horrible life.

Everything feels horrible, num, yet incredibly painful. The world is harsh, school is harsh, home life is harsh, and I just don't wanna do it anymore.

I was born and raised in a strict Japanese household with parents who cared more about my grades than my presence.

If I didn't come home with good grades, they wouldn't even acknowledge me, and when I did, they would only give me a compliment or two before completely disregarding me.

School life wasn't much better. I was bullied and cursed by the gods with a frail body that didn't allow me to participate in sports or gain muscle easily.

I was bullied harshly, and even when I tried to stand up for myself, my bullies would just knock me down and carry on.

My parents didn't care; they never cared, and I was forced to carry on.

My life is dark, dull, and empty, and so is the sky.

The only exception… is the few bright lights overhead. The stars, whispers of hope.

I have a few friends, friends I care about, friends I wouldn't want to hurt…but I don't think I can stop them from feeling any pain.

In the end, I'm selfish, and the pain I feel now surpasses the pain they'll feel once I'm gone.

I looked down at the bright lights underneath me, city lights, cars driving by, and all the people below.

The people that were screaming for me to come down, to keep trying, to enjoy what life has to offer.

My heart beat a bit faster. Perhaps if even one of those people had seen me walking home, said hello, and asked how my day was going, maybe I wouldn't have been in this situation; maybe I could have truly changed my life for the better.

But now…it was too late.

My one shining light turned on me, and now my world is black.

A small, depreciating smile danced on my lips as I stood over on the edge of the building: my loneliness, my depression, and all my pent-up tears. I was just a step from never feeling those cruel curses again.

And that thought pushed me and motivated me.

I took a step forward, and my body fell.

Screams echoed beneath me; the people gathered on the sidewalk shouted in terror, yet I didn't care much for them, not anymore.

Dead at sixteen years old, a tragic tale all too common. In the end, the most important part of my life was my death. Every day I lived had been completely needless, all thrown into one statistic.

Yet I couldn't bring myself to care. I was free for the first time in my life.

I closed my eyes and let gravity do the rest.

—

Darkness is what comes after death.

A shame, with the way my life had been, I had turned to several different religions to ease my pain, to make me feel something beyond the emptiness that remained in my heart and mind.

The one I had turned to the most was Christianity, mainly because there was an all-loving God who died for me.

In my heart, there was nothing more enduring than sacrifice.

But if Christianity had been real, I likely would have suffered for the sin of suicide.

Though, that would be better than my current existence.

Let alone with nothing but my thoughts in complete darkness.

My loneliness, my pain, and all my horrible experiences… they're still here with me.

Nothing changed, only I no longer have a body to move-

Or maybe I can?

Suddenly, I felt myself moving, describing the feeling as nearly impossible. Everything was warm, wet, and genuinely uncomfortable, but I could definitely feel myself moving.

I didn't know how long things felt that way, but sooner or later, I felt my head leave the warm, wet place, and then I felt a soft touch gently ease the rest of my body out.

The process definitely took at least a dozen minutes, but for me it felt like hours.

By the time it was all over, I had realized that I was smaller—much smaller—small enough to be held in another person's arms.

"Zuuk frey tyren!" A masculine voice shouted with a mixture of joy and worry.

"…Lysh lon brola, ven rekka." The soft voice of a woman sang out through haggard breaths of exertion.

My heart began to beat faster as the dots began to connect.

My weight was shifted from the arms of one person to another, and a warmth enveloped me. Soft round orbs pressed down onto my torso and legs as I opened my eyes for the first time.

Breathtaking. Those were the first words that came to my mind when I looked into the blue eyes of the blonde-haired woman who was holding me.

"Lash yak la theat ven, Law."

"Hic ven!" The man shouted again, and I turned my little head to look at him, jumping for joy.

A soft giggle escaped the woman holding me, and my eyes locked back onto her warm blue orbs.

Reincarnation could be the only explanation for what has happened to me now… but I remember everything about my past life.

How the hell is that possible? And why couldn't whatever god that sent me here take that shit away?!

My eyes narrowed as I suddenly felt exhausted. Sleep was calling to me, and even as I tried to fight it, my eyes grew heavier and heavier.

The woman just smiled softly down at me, and the man approached and took my small hand in his.

"Hil ven yarl locen, il lok!" He beamed a wide grin at me, and that was the last thing I saw before my eyes grew too heavy for me to keep them open.

— Law Greyrat (Six Months Later) —

I sat on the floor, my legs growing colder by the second as I remained in the long staring contest with the older boy in front of me.

Green eyes stared into my blue with no small amount of disdain.

My older brother, Rudeus, didn't seem to like me very much.

Since the day he first saw me, he didn't like me, which is a shame honestly, but it is what it is.

Rudeus is one year older than me, or rather about nine months. Our parents, Paul and Zenith, got straight to work once he was born with no real issues.

I was getting a grasp of the language here and knew some words, the names of everyone in the house, and most of the house's layout.

A new life meant another chance, and while I would rather not have my old memories, I can see that there are some positives to them.

Even without fully knowing the language, I knew I was destined to be a genius in whatever field I pursued as the years went on.

And instead of just looking forward to my future and blurring out my present, I actually have good parents who spend a lot of time coddling and playing with me.

It may sound incredibly desperate, but I don't care. All I ever wanted was someone to love me, someone who cared.

And now I have three of those people.

My mother, Zenith, is better than my old mom in every way. She's more beautiful with silky blonde hair and blue eyes, she's patient and judging by the way she makes others laugh, she must be funny as well.

A true mother.

My father is handsome, with blonde hair and green eyes (good for me, I'm destined to be a lady magnet), a hard worker, and a goofy father. The kind that makes faces at me, hoping it'll get me to laugh—it never does, but it's the thought that counts.

A good father.

Then there's the family maid, Lilia, who has red hair and purple eyes. She's beautiful as well and very caring. She's not a woman of many words, but she's very considerate when caring for Rudeus and me.

A fantastic maid.

Life… this life is much better than the other one.

In this one, I have something to live for and wake up for every day.

And it feels great.

I was snapped out of my personal happiness when a sharp pain hit my forehead.

I winced and gripped my forehead before shooting my eyes toward the culprit.

A smug grin was on Rudeus' face, and he was clearly proud of what he just did.

I knew our relationship wasn't going to be the best, but flicking a six-month-old baby?! Are we serious?

Well…he's only a year old, and I'm stealing our parents' attention, so maybe he's just jealous.

I got onto my knees and started crawling away, content with going anywhere he wasn't at the moment.

As I did, I ended up coming across the bane of my six-month-old existence.

Stairs.

I had been downstairs many times before, but it was because someone had carried me. Going down as I am now was very dangerous.

I couldn't quite walk consistently yet, but I could take a couple of steps. But honestly, even if I could, going down these stairs wouldn't be easy even if I could walk.

I needed to go down carefully.

"Hm!"

I turned around to see Rudeus standing behind me with the same smug smile, and I blinked at him.

There was no way he could go down these stairs, even if he is almost a year older than me.

Though… the way he was smiling at me seemed like he thought otherwise.

Well, if he wants to try…

"Bah," I said, moving aside to let him pass.

He held his head higher, and his smile grew into a grin as he took a step forward. He looked down the stairs and paused.

I remained watching him for half a minute, and all that time, he hadn't moved.

A cheeky smile came to my face.

He can't do it either!

"Bahahahaha!" I laughed, making him turn his head to me. A deep sneer, unfit for a child, was directed at me, but I couldn't stop laughing.

All that pomp, and here he was, cowering like a little bitch! I was aware of the hypocrisy, I killed myself, but I don't care.

"Enough!" He said with an angry babble. His cute little fists were clenched, and seeing this cute little boy so angry only made it all funnier to me, though I held my laughter in and let him try.

He took a cautious step down, and upon getting both of his feet on the step, he grinned confidently.

He took another step, then another, and another, and eventually, he had made it past halfway.

And when he went to take another step-

*BANG*

I cringed at the sight of his body falling down the rest of the steps. All it took was a small mistake, an undershot of his step for him to go tumbling down.

"WAAAAHHHH!" He cried out at the pain, and I gotta admit, I actually felt bad.

"Luat fulak zonoa?!" The voice of my father rang out as he came around the corner and looked up at me, my wide eyes met his for a moment before he picked up Rudeus and ran up the stairs to grab me in his other hand before taking us back down.

When he got back down, I could see how worried my mother and Lilia were as they looked at my crying older brother.

Paul put me down on one of the chairs and took Rudeus over to our mom, who took him with care and shushed his cries.

Falling down the stairs as an adult was one thing, but as a little boy… our bodies just weren't as strong yet.

He didn't look too bad off besides the lump that was forming on his forehead.

Still, it hurt to see the little guy like that.

— Zenith Greyrat —

She squeezed her eldest baby tight in her arms. She hadn't known how the two managed to explore out of their room, nor why they thought going down the stairs was a good idea, but both of those points were irrelevant at the moment.

Her baby was hurt and he needed help.

"There there, Rudeus, mommy has you now."

The boy's cries died down a bit, but it was clear he was still in pain. There was a bump growing on his forehead that made it pretty clear he hit his head bad.

"Shhh." She gently stroked his hair out of his face. "Mommy will make it better."

She gave Paul a look which he froze at and offered her a nervous smile, one she didn't return.

She had a feeling that this was his fault somehow, and even if it wasn't, she would make it his problem!

He was entirely too calm!

Zenith placed her son down on the table and held out her hand over Rudeus' forehead.

"Let this divine power be as satisfying nourishment, giving one who has lost their strength the strength to rise again! Heal!"

A soft green glow radiated from her hand and sprinkled over Rudeus. The bump on his head began to lessen until it wasn't there anymore.

All the while, Rudeus stared up at her with wide eyes.

A soft giggle escaped her at his surprised face.

"What's wrong my baby boy? Surprised by how cool your mom is?"

Rudeus remained in the same spot, utterly mesmerized.

"Very nicely done, Lady Zenith." Lilia bowed, and Zenith smiled at her friend. She could tell her a million times that she needn't call her lady, and Lilia would persist. She was a true maid, through and through.

"I hope you learned your lesson, Rudy." Paul walked over and placed his hand on his oldest son's head. Zenith was just about to scold her husband until she saw his shit-eating grin. "But you're gonna grow into a fine man if you can take that much and keep going, yes, you'll make an excellent swordsman."

Zenith smiled at the two and crossed her arms under her bust.

"Last I checked, we agreed Rudeus would learn magic, no?" She argued, and Paul shook his head.

"No, Rudeus is my son, my first born son, he's gotta learn the way of the sword, just like Law will."

"That's not fair though." Zenith puffed out her chest and narrowed her eyes at her husband. She didn't miss the way his eyes gravitated toward her breasts.

Paul would never change…not that she wanted him to.

"Of course it is." Paul stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. She knew what he was doing, he was going to use his irresistible charm to convince her! "You can always teach our daughter, what do you say we get working on our little girl right now?"

"You're an idiot." She whispered out as a strong blush took over her face. She found herself lost in her husband's twinkling green eyes.

And just like that, she folded, just as she had so many times in the past.

"I'll be whatever I need to as long as I get to stay with you." Paul sweet talked, only furthering her love and lust for the man.

"Lilia, take care of the boys."

"Yes, Lady Zenith." The maid bowed and Paul scooped her up in a princess carry. She didn't offer even the slightest of fights as he carried her all the way to their room.

— Law Greyrat —

Lucky bastard.

I watched as Paul ascended the stairs with Zenith in his arms.

That woman was so unbelievably beautiful, and if he weren't so goddamn handsome, I'd question how he ever managed to pull a dame like that.

Though it seems like his looks aren't all he has, he's quite the sweet talker.

I turned my attention back to Rudeus who was still sitting on the table, but now it seemed like he was lost in his head rather than surprised by the revelation that magic is real.

And what a revelation that was!

I had read my fair share of manga in my last life to take my mind away from my lonely life, and I'd come across some isekai manga here and there.

To think that I'd actually end up reincarnated in another world… a world of swords and magic.

I've seen my father training with the sword before, but he hadn't done anything that screamed superpowered. Maybe he just hadn't shown anything like that?

It was clear magic is real in this world, and I knew what my next course of action would be.

Learning magic.

Rudeus pushed himself off the table and ran over to Lilia who he reached up to. Lilia looked down and offered a small smile.

She reached down and took him in her arms before moving over to me and doing the same. She then walked us upstairs and took us to our room before leaving and closing the door, making sure it was shut before she carried on with her business.

Rudeus and I looked at one another and after a few seconds passed, both of us nodded.

Learning magic was more important than whatever beef we had, so it was time to form a temporary truce.

74Chapter 2

— Rudeus Greyrat (One Year and Six Months Later) —

"Can you read it?" Law asked, leaning over his shoulder, making Rudeus scrunch his nose up.

"Of course I can!" Rudeus couldn't stop his grin from forming. Sure, he couldn't actually read every single word, but he could read enough to understand it! This was it, his chance to learn magic!

"Read it to me," Law demanded, and Rudeus ignored him. The brat could figure it out himself. "I said read it to me!" He demanded, and Rudeus turned around, giving the smaller boy a look that said, 'leave me the hell alone.'

Law narrowed his eyes and took a step before winding back his leg.

"Argh!" Rudeus shouted in pain as his little brother's foot connected against his back. "What was that for?!"

"Read it." Law demanded with angry eyes.

Rudeus snarled at the boy. Siblings were always little gremlins, whether they were older or younger.

A dark look came over the oldest Greyrat child as he thought back about his past life.

His siblings had kicked him out, forced him onto the streets, and to his death.

His little fists clenched in anger. Siblings truly were the worst, and they were not to be trusted.

Why couldn't Law have been born as a cute little girl? That way he could pamper her and she could develop a loving relationship with him. Yes, that would be the life, perfection incarnate.

But instead, he was stuck with this prickly toddler.

"Fine." Rudeus relented, and Law smiled before taking a seat beside him.

He really didn't want to read to him, and he was tempted just to make up words as he read to him; that way, Law would never learn magic… but the kid wasn't an idiot. In fact, Rudeus was about eighty percent sure that Law had been reincarnated in this world just like him.

Which only pushed Rudy further away from him. If his little brother was truly from his world, then sooner or later, the topic of their past lives would come up, and the last thing Rudeus ever wanted to talk about was his last life.

Back when he was a shut-in NEET that hadn't gone outside in twenty years for anything.

Rudeus shook his head, disregarding those dark, cruel thoughts, and focusing on what was in front of him right now. His chance for a new life of wonder and adventure: magic!

He began reading the book aloud, skipping the words he didn't know and trying his best to absorb the information as he did.

By the end, he felt he had a relative understanding of what he had to do.

Based on what the book said, casting magic wasn't even that hard, it really just depended on one's magic reserves and their ability to remember the incantations.

A smug smile came to Rudeus' face as he stood up and extended his hand.

"You're doing it?" Law asked with a tilt his head but Rudy just ignored him.

The older Greyrat eyed the book for a couple of seconds before speaking.

"Let the great protection of water be on the place thou seekest. I call upon a refreshing burbling stream here and now. Water Ball."

A bubbly ball of water appeared in Rudeus' hand, and both of the brothers stared at it, absolutely mesmerized.

Rudeus couldn't believe his eyes, to think it'd be that easy!

The water ball fell to the wooden floor, leaving a damp spot.

"Get that sheet, now!" Rudeus ordered his little brother, and for once the little brat obeyed, quickly getting up and rushing over to the large white cloth that covered some furniture and grabbing it to clean up the mess he had made.

The mess he made practicing magic!

Rudeus looked at his hand in silent fascination.

As Law cleaned up the water on the ground, Rudeus moved over to the window and climbed up so that his hand was reaching outside. As happy as he was, he didn't want to make a mess and get in trouble.

He closed his eyes as his hand extended out of the window.

He imagined feeling his mana and the process of making water. He recalled the jolt that went through his body as he made the water ball just half a minute earlier.

The way his mana pulled from his feet, through his legs, up his waist and through his torso, before going through his hands and out of his fingertips-

Rudeus' eyes shot open to see a ball of water just at the tip of his fingertips. The sheer surprise of seeing a water ball made him fall backward and the water splashed on his waist and crotch.

He…hadn't even said the incantation. So how did water appear?

"Did you just…" Law blinked his wide eyes as he looked down at Rudeus.

The green-eyed Greyrat paused for a moment before nodding his head and pushing himself onto his feet.

He looked down at his hands and kept silent.

Skipping the incantation was huge, it provided an incredible advantage when it came to fights, and a mage that could cast magic without incantation could probably best a swordsman, even in close quarters, or at least that's what he believed from his experience in RPGs.

All of that being said, the book doesn't say anything about wordless magic…so could it potentially be taboo?

What if he gets labeled as a heretical child, a spawn of demons or something like that and thrown into a terrifying institution?!

No, he couldn't risk that!

"Hey Law-" Rudeus started before pausing at the sight of his little brother holding out his hand.

It was at that moment when Rudeus remembered that his brother couldn't read the contents of the book by himself.

Law was clearly trying to cast the spell anyway, the same way Rudeus had done it.

Law struggled to do it, his head was going red and beads of sweat were falling down his forehead by how much he was trying to force it.

Rudeus frowned and walked over to his brother. He placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping Law from overexerting himself.

Law looked up at him in confusion and Rudeus looked down, thinking about the best course of action.

It was clear that Law was smart enough to figure some things out on his own, perhaps due to him potentially being a reincarnated person. But casting magic was not something he was capable of, at least not at the moment—not without Rudeus help.

Which means, Rudeus could use him.

Law wanted to know magic, and Rudeus wanted to grow and learn more about magic. If they both start off young, both can learn the most and share their learnings with each other.

Rudeus wouldn't fully bring himself to trust his little brother, not after what he went through in his last hour of his past life, but he could understand the value of working with him, if only temporarily.

"Why did you stop me?" Law frowned. The boy wasn't exhibiting childlike anger, it was just clear annoyance at being interrupted.

Rudeus studied Law's face for a few more seconds before he forced a small smile.

"You need help with the incantation again, don't you?"

Law's frown deepened. "No, you just skipped the incantation."

Rudeus nodded, and it was at this point he realized he had the upper hand over his foolish little brother. Reincarnation or not, it was clear Rudeus was smarter.

"Yes, I did, but I was able to do that because I felt what it is like to use magic." Rudeus explained with a smug smile.

Law paused as he fell into his thoughts, considering what he had been told, and Rudeus knew he had seen the bait, all he had to do was jiggle the hook a bit and wait for a bite.

"Then read it to me again." Law demanded and crossed his arms. Rudeus considered asking the blue-eyed boy to ask nicely, but that would just be unnecessarily causing more animosity between them.

"I will, but I want something from you."

"What? Why?" Law raised a brow.

"Because magic is pretty important, don't you think? If I don't read the book to you, it'll probably take you another year before you learn how to read enough words to understand the incantation."

"No, I can learn faster than that!" Law crossed his arms, and Rudy nodded, realizing he may have undershot the boy's intelligence.

Rudeus was almost one hundred percent certain he's a reincarnation now.

"Yeah, you may be right about that, but it'll still take you some time. All you have to do is promise me a few things and I'll teach you everything I know so far."

Law stayed quiet for a half a minute before nodding, agreeing to the terms that had been set.

Rudeus turned his head so that his brother couldn't see his face and grinned madly.

And just like that, Law had taken a bite on the hook, it was just time to reel him in.

"First of all, I want you to promise you won't speak about wordless magic."

Law tilted his head in confusion. Rudeus blinked at his little brother with narrowed eyes before they widened in realization.

"Wordless magic means skipping the incantation." Rudeus explained and Law's eyes lit up for a moment as he nodded.

"Okay, easy." He shrugged.

"Next, I want you to share anything new you learn about magic."

"Okay."

Rudeus grinned, happy with how easily this was going.

"Last, I want you to learn the sword seriously." Rudeus crossed his arms over his chest and Law raised a brow. "I want to see how a mage compares to a similar level swordsman. Something tells me our father won't be a good test dummy."

"Okay, that's even easier." Law agreed, and Rudy smiled. Rudeus already knew Law was interested in the sword, he had spent more than half a day watching Paul train outside, and their father enjoyed his son's fascination.

"Then we have a deal." Rudy held out his hand, and Law shook it.

"Rudeus, Law, are you both in here?" The door opened and standing in the doorway was Zenith who eyed the two boys fondly before her eyes fell on Rudeus, specifically his crotch.

"Oh dear, did it hurt so much that you couldn't hold it?" Zenith asked in a baby voice and walked over. The blonde haired woman picked up Rudeus much to his surprise and stroked his hair. "Lilia! Rudeus had a little accident!"

The red haired woman walked in and eyed Rudeus who looked at her with wide, embarrassed eyes, then at the wet spot just below the window.

"…Understood, Lady Zenith."

She didn't say another word as she started her duty, cleaning up the wet spot she thought was piss, all while Zenith comforted him.

Rudeus glanced down at Law with tearing eyes to see the boy grinning like an idiot!

This wasn't fair! He was too old to look like he wet himself!

— Law Greyrat (Six Months Later) —

My body dropped to the ground as I let out pants of exhaustion. I had pushed myself too far.

"Are you done? You lasted longer today than usual." Rudeus hummed uncaringly as water balls continued to drop in the near-full bucket.

Six months had passed since I casted water ball for the first time with the help of Rudeus, and in that time, we learned a bit more about magic.

One important thing we learned is that magic capacity is not determined at birth, with enough repetition and hard work, one can increase their mana pool.

Unfortunately for me, it seems my potential in magic and mana capacity was significantly less than my older brothers.

Rudeus was like a raging storm while I was like a cool shower. He barely ever got tired when he used magic, and I would drop after a few water balls.

Of course my mana pool has grown in the time we've been training, but I doubt it's even as large as Rudeus' when we first started!

Seriously, that guy is just built different.

Water balls continued to drop until suddenly Rudeus dropped and fell onto his back. The boy let out a huff of exertion before sitting back up.

"You've made good progress." He said with little emotion, and I nodded to myself.

I knew he didn't actually care much about me, it was obvious enough, but he wasn't wrong. I have made considerable progress since I first started. I even managed to pick up wordless incantations after the first couple of months.

"So have you." I returned the praise, attempting to perhaps forge a bridge between us. He disliked me since we first met, and while I didn't appreciate his attitude toward me, I've already experienced having my family barely care about me, and I'd rather not have a repeat of that.

"Hm." Rudeus hummed and stood up. He looked out of the window and stared down at the people outside.

I stood up, carrying my tired body over to the window as well and climbed the ledge so that I could see outside.

Unsurprisingly, Paul was training, and Zenith was gardening. To Zenith's clear annoyance, there was a group of women gathered around watching Paul train.

This was a very common occurrence.

To say my father is handsome is an understatement, he and my mother are absolutely stunning, but one attracts more attention than the other.

Paul is a flirt and a ladies man, on top of being an excellent swordsman. He is the type of guy women dream of, and I'm sure he's taken advantage of that fact more than a few times in the past.

As he swung his blade in precise, graceful movements, I found myself mesmerized by his skills. The blade was incredibly interesting and looked very powerful and fun to use.

Paul said he would teach me and was even going to start a few months ago when I expressed my interest, but mother had shut that shit down instantly. In all honesty, I don't blame her, I'm only about two and a half years old, so I'm still very young, and I doubt there are even swords my size.

With my mother denying me any sword training, and my father not being dumb enough to go against her, I settled for learning magic with Rudeus in the meantime, and practicing with sticks when I really wanted to play pretend.

*FWOOSH*

*SPLASH*

My eyes widened as I watched a ball of water smack against Paul's face.

Rudeus quickly ducked down, and not wanting to be blamed for the act, I ducked down as well.

When I did, I was Rudeus looking at his hand with quiet excitement.

"You launched it?!" I asked with no small amount of surprise. He nodded slowly as his grin began to grow.

We had spent so long trying to figure out how to actually launch the water ball, but we couldn't figure it out.

Rudeus held out his hand and aimed it at the bucket. A water ball formed and flew forward before splashing in the bucket.

"…"

My jaw had dropped as I slowly turned back to Rudeus who looked incredibly proud of himself

He pushed himself to his feet and kept shooting out water balls, first out of his palms, then out of his fingers. It was clear he was having a lot of fun with his newly acquired mastery over magic.

"So, how did you do it?" I questioned with undisguised interest. He looked at me, his grin slowly morphed into a smirk as he wagged his finger.

"Praise me!"

"Yes yes, very good, now how did you do it?" I stood up and placed my hands on my hips. My words seemed to have satisfied my selfish older brother.

"Alright, my dear servant, I, the great and humble Rudeus Greyrat will offer you some sagely advice."

"You mean dirty and perverted." I whispered under my breath but I was certain he heard me judging by how he suddenly choked.

Rudeus was without a doubt someone who got reincarnated. The shit he did was just too odd for him to be a normal baby.

Going into all the strange shit he has done would take forever, but merely mentioning his acts of stealing Lilia's underwear, sniffing them, wearing them on his head, and staring at her breasts with a goofy ass smile would be enough to put him as a reincarnation.

"Anyway, to properly launch magic the steps are: create, set size, set firing speed, activate."

I widened my eyes at that. I hadn't thought that an order on casting magic mattered, but apparently it does if we haven't been able to fire it until following that precise order.

To be honest, I had been setting the firing speed before the size, which is probably why it didn't work this entire time.

So I have nothing but my own foolishness to blame for my delayed progress.

I held out my hand and followed Rudeus' directions, and true enough, a water ball flew from my hand and into the bucket. I let out a breath of exertion and smiled at my older brother who returned it with one of his own.

We had finally cracked the final code in our beginner magic.

We played around with firing water balls for another half an hour before Rudeus walked over to the book and flipped through it.

"I think we're ready to try some intermediate magic now!"

I eyed him like he had lost his mind and just cursed his bullshit mana pool.

I'm fucking exhausted. The sheer thought of trying intermediate magic right now made me feel sick so I quickly waved him off.

"You got that, Rudeus." I pushed myself to my feet and prepared to excuse myself. "I'm beat."

"Huh? Alright, though this just means I'm gonna get further ahead of you," He grinned victoriously, but I just shrugged.

In truth, I've spent so long training magic and have worked so hard. Harder than even Rudeus, I've pushed myself to the point of exhaustion and then some, just to try and close the gap between us, and even after all that work, it hasn't been enough.

I'm not giving up now, but I know for a fact that reaching Rudeus' level may never be possible. He could just put in a little bit of work and his mana pool would grow a lot larger, while I only get small increases.

My best chance of matching him is by learning the sword and using magic to boost me in that field.

"Have fun." I said and waved as I walked out of the room and into the hallway. I made my way downstairs because I wanted to watch Paul train.

Sure I couldn't train myself, but maybe I could pick up a thing or two from watching him.

As I was prepared to go outside, I caught sight of Lilia cleaning the floor.

I smiled at the sight. I didn't really understand how we could even afford a maid, but didn't think too much about it. Besides, Lilia was less of a maid and more of a family member in my opinion.

"Hi, Lilia." I greeted as I walked over to her. She was on the ground, wiping the floors to keep them clean and shiny.

She looked up for a moment, her purple eyes meeting my blue ones with a small amount of interest.

"Master Law." She lowered her head out of respect. I didn't really like when she did that, but I knew stopping her wouldn't be possible.

She went back to cleaning, and I just stood there, with a nervous frown. I had wanted to talk to her, maybe strike up a conversation or learn a bit more about her, but it seems she doesn't want to be bothered.

"I'm going outside." I said before turning and walking away.

"Enjoy yourself." She said quietly behind me, and I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

Lilia definitely understands something isn't right with me and Rudeus, but especially Rudeus. All the times he's done pervy shit to her has left her on her toes when she deals with both of us.

A shame honestly, she's a nice woman.

I opened the door by pulling a chair for me to stand on, then made my way outside.

I hobbled down the steps and into the open yard where my father was swinging his sword.

My eyes momentarily locked onto my mothers back, but I disregarded her after a few seconds. I'm a man on a mission after all!

I stumbled further into the yard and Paul caught sight of me. He eyed me with confusion before a small smile took root on his lips.

"Whatcha doing out here, Law? Come to watch your old man swing this thing around again?" He grinned and I nodded.

"Well then, sit back and watch, hopefully you can pick up a thing or two while you're at it!" He winked at me and continued swinging.

""KYAAA!"" The three women watching him cheered and I completely ignored their existences. As cool as it seems to have a group of attractive grown women so close, the sword is much more impressive.

I watched closely, admiring every swing of the blade, every step he took, and all the ways his body would twist with his movement. The only thing I couldn't see well from my seat on the steps was my fathers breathing, which I assume was pretty important in swordsmanship.

I'd have to ask him about it later, maybe at dinner.

*BOOOOOM*

A loud noise rang from the house as pieces of debris fell down on my little body. I covered my head, attempting to shield myself from damage.

Within an instant, Paul was covering my body with his. He picked me up and carried me over to Zenith who immediately started fussing over me.

"Are you okay, Law?!" She worriedly asked as she grabbed my chin and began inspecting me for cuts and bruises.

"Mmm." I nodded with a bead of nervous sweat running down my brow.

I looked up at our house to see a massive hole in the second floor.

…Rudeus.

That kid was going to be a monster, but I'd be damned if I let him leave me in the dust!

— Law Greyrat (One Month Later) —

Our family sat down at the table and started our breakfast.

I took a bite of the food and side-eyed Rudeus who was eating happily with a glint of excitement in his eyes.

I let out a sigh and continued eating.

After Rudeus' little spectacle, Zenith had grown excited at Rudeus' potential and had demanded they hire a magic tutor to teach him.

Paul had rejected the notion, saying that it was better if Rudeus became a swordsman, and then Zenith argued that I was already more aligned to the sword and he had a son to teach.

Of course… While that was true, it also over looked my experience in magic. Which I ended up mentioning, merely to spite Rudeus and cause some conflict. Payback for nearly injuring me in that little stunt of his.

So our parents got back to arguing, and while that wasn't my intended result, I was just happy Rudeus was gonna have a bit of a harder time.

Call me a dickhead, I don't care.

Eventually Lilia proposed an ever better solution. She suggested that both Rudeus and I can learn magic from the tutor, but we made time to also learn the sword, and all parties agreed to it.

That had happened a month ago, and our tutor was supposed to arrive any day now.

Did I actually think I could keep up with Rudeus when it came to magic?

Yes, yes I did.

Why? Because I realized I'm not actually as far back as I thought I was.

In truth, Rudeus just has a fuckton more mana than me, but our magic itself is around the same level in terms of power.

What I mean is that his mana pool is larger, but his mana output is similar to mine. Of course he can increase his output with less strain to his mana pool than I can, it isn't as much of an advantage.

We're a lot closer than I thought, and that only filled me with more motivation for the future to come!

When Zenith and Paul had posted their need for a tutor, our mother had tested both of us, and to my surprise, I had more potential in magic than I thought, and my mana pool itself was larger than some of the mages she had met in the past.

To be honest, I shouldn't have been so surprised by my own potential. I'm not even three yet and I can already use Intermediate magic.

Most adult mages can't even cast Saint Level Magic, I wasn't quite sure when I reached that level but I believed that I would reach it sooner than most.

Rudeus may be a once-in-a-generation talent, as Zenith referred to him once she learned of his goliath level mana pools, but I'm a genius in my own right.

*KNOCK*

A couple taps rang from our door, and all of us looked at the entrance to our house.

"Is he here?!" Rudeus questioned with excitement, and both Paul and Zenith smiled at their eldest son's enthusiasm.

"I don't think anyone else would knock this early, it must be." Paul grinned as he scooped Rudeus up in one arm and me in the other.

I just let myself be picked up, by this point I was used to it, plus I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the attention from the guy. He's the only good father I've had.

Zenith opened the door and stepped out, and Paul followed after her with both of us in his arms.

We all paused and looked down at the blue-haired girl that was standing in front of our door.

"Greetings, I'm Roxy Migurdia, I saw your post for a tutor and I would like to express my interest."

Nobody spoke for several seconds as I examined the girl.

Blue hair, blue eyes, and a small petite frame. To top it off she was wearing a large witch hat that made her look the part of a magician.

In all honesty, if she had black hair and black eyes, she looks like she would have fit in perfectly in my second year class, or maybe one below in a first year class. She just looks so young.

"She's so small!" Rudeus observed aloud, which made the tutor, Roxy, narrow her eyes at him.

"You're one to talk." She jabbed back, and Rudeus looked surprised by her retort.

Sometimes I can't tell if Rudeus is smart or an idiot. Or maybe he's a smart idiot?

"We're glad to have you here, Roxy." Zenith smiled at the smaller girl. "I'm Zenith, this is my husband, Paul Greyrat, and my two sons, Rudeus and Law. I hope you can get along with them and teach them well."

I was genuinely surprised by how kindly my mother spoke, especially after Roxy just gave Rudeus a verbal jab, even if it returned fire.

Roxy widened her eyes before turning her head away as if she had started feeling sick suddenly.

"Yup, you hate to see it. Two idiot parents hiring a tutor thinking their kids are destined to be powerful mages. Such a cruel world we live in."

Zenith's eye twitched at that and I knew our blonde mama was about to lose her shit.

"Um, excuse you?!"

Roxy realized that we could hear her and quickly waved her hands in front of her.

"Oh; I'm sorry, I just don't think your boys could properly grasp magic theory!" She explained quickly.

"Well, I think you'll be surprised. Why don't you test them to see where they're at, then come back to us later." Zenith gave a knowing smile, and Roxy let out a defeated sigh.

"Very well, then let us begin." She said as she walked down the steps.

"Wait, we have to do it outside?!" Rudeus looked toward Roxy with surprise.

"Naturally, where else would we do it?" The blue-haired woman stopped walking to look at my older brother. I narrowed my eyes at Rudeus as he hugged our father. His hands were clinging tightly to his shirt as if letting go meant death.

…What the hell is up with him? It's just the yard.

Paul put us down and pat Rudeus' head. "Everything's alright, Rudy; go ahead; we'll start your sword training right after, okay?"

Paul's words didn't help Rudeus at all. Instead, I think it made things worse for him.

"You two enjoy yourselves." Zenith waved and walked back inside. Just before the door closed, I watched Paul grab a handful of her ass before vanishing behind the door.

I let out a jealous sigh. Two newly weds in love. I don't blame them, if I ended up landing a girlfriend in my last life, I would have taken her and run away from home.

A dark look came over my face as I began to remember some of the nastier times in my life. Those assholes really didn't give me a break.

"Let's get started." Roxy eyed us from afar, snapping me out of those dark thoughts as I rushed over to her.

She looked down at me with a nervous bead of sweat.

"Your name is Rudeus?"

"No, Law, that's Rudeus, my older brother." I pointed over at the green-eyed boy who had still not come down from the steps.

"Oh, I see…and how old are both of you?"

"I'm two and a half; he's three and a half," I informed her, but unsurprisingly, my words didn't seem to make her feel any better.

"Even better, I'm not training kids; I'm training toddlers." She facepalmed.

"We know magic, though," I admitted, making her raise a brow.

"And pray tell, what do you know?" She questioned and both of us noticed Rudeus finally making his way down the steps, albeit very shakily.

Seriously, what is wrong with him?

"Both Rudeus and I can cast up to Intermediate Water Magic." I placed my hands on my hips and grinned at her with pride.

Roxy looked at me with slightly widened eyes before it was replaced with a neutral expression.

"We'll see."

So she doesn't believe me…

I guess both of us have even more potential than Zenith let on.

If a magic tutor doubts it, then there's a chance our level of progress in magic may be unheard of, which would be an incredible boost to both of us. If we stay at this pace, we can be the greatest mages in the world!

Or at least that's what I'd like to hope…

As Rudeus stopped beside me, Roxy observed both of us for a moment before she tapped her staff on the ground.

"We'll start off easy with a water ball. I'll go; both of you pay close attention."

Rudeus and I nodded, and she took a step away from us.

"Let the great protection of water be on the place thou seekest. I call upon a refreshing burbling stream here and now. Water Ball."

From the tip of Roxy's staff, a water ball formed and blasted forward. It slammed hard against a tree, snapping it in half.

"There, can you two manage that?"

"Yeah, but you shouldn't use mother's trees as target practice, she put a lot of work into them." Rudeus wanted, which made Roxy's face heat up in worry and embarrassment. She quickly ran off and pulled the tree back into place, all while grunting out an incantation.

With a green glow, the tree was as good as new, and actually seemed to blossom a bit, so I guess it ended up better than before.

Why doesn't mother just use her healing magic on her trees if it speeds up their growth? Maybe she thinks it's cheating?

I'll have to ask her later.

"There, all is well." Roxy let out a breath and looked at the two of us. "Well, oldest first."

Rudeus nodded and stepped forward. He stayed quiet for a moment, and I could tell he was thinking. I eyed Roxy silently, and with only a bit of effort, I think I knew what had Rudeus taking his sweet time.

We still don't know if wordless incantations are taboo; we didn't ask Zenith because we didn't want to potentially out ourselves by telling her.

Hopefully Rudeus is smart enough to understand that if we're not gonna tell our own mother, we shouldn't tell our new tutor.

Eventually, Rudeus began his chant.

"Let the great protection of water be on the place thou seekest-" A stray puff of wind suddenly struck us, and as if instinctively, both of our eyes locked onto Roxy's skirt as it came up just enough for us to sneak a glimpse of the promised land.

Rudeus shot the water ball out, and it hit the wall just beside our mother's tree.

My eyes widened as I looked back at him.

"You fool!" I whisper-shouted, and he looked at me in confusion before realization struck him.

He had blown our cover just to sneak a peek at some panties! How irresponsible! Would I have done it? That's not important! What's important is that he sold our bag, and now it's time to hope she didn't notice it!

"Was that good?" Rudeus asked with a nervous look.

"Huh, oh yes, but you cut the incantation short, do you always do that?" Roxy raised a brow with unhidden interest.

We're cooked.

"Um…actually, we usually just… skip the incantation altogether." He finished in a quiet voice.

What the fuck does he mean we?! How dare you drag me down with you!

"Oh… I see." Roxy stumbled and pulled her hat over her face.

Is she alright?

"Looks like you both… may be worth teaching after all." She said with a devious smile and a glint in her eyes.

Both of us looked at each other and our nervousness turned into relieved smiles.

We were worried for nothing!

Curse you, Rudeus, for throwing me under the bus and striking the fear of God into my heart!

— Later —

Our first lesson had come to an end rather quickly. Within it, Roxy had just told us a bit more about magic theory. The basics of magic theory were rather simple and stuff we had already grasped from reading Zenith's book.

Magic can be cast through incantations or magic circles, though the latter method is mostly out of practice nowadays. That being said, there is a way of casting magic without either, which would be wordless magic.

It took Rudeus half a minute to learn it, while it took me a couple of months.

Beyond the basics to magic casting, there are also ranks of magic within the world, which is something we didn't know. It starts at beginner, then Intermediate, Advanced, Saint, King, Emperor, and finally, Divine, or God class magic. Both Rudeus and I knew up to Intermediate because the spell we cast, Water Cannon, is an Intermediate level spell. It's also the highest the book had to offer.

In the grand scheme of magic, Rudeus and I aren't very far along, in fact, we're practically still beginners. But I guess Zenith's words were true when she said our potential is out of this world.

Surprisingly Roxy is over forty years old, yet in all the life she's lived thus far she's only a Saint Level Water Mage. Meaning Rudeus and I aren't too far from her level.

That was pretty much all we learned from her during our lesson. The rest was just filling in some blanks on things we hadn't fully grasped yet and polishing a bit on what we did know.

Once our lesson was over, Zenith invited Roxy in for dinner and offered her a room in our house, which Roxy reluctantly accepted.

Dinner was fun with another person at the table, and we even had a mini feast to celebrate her arrival.

Once we were done eating, Paul remembered that he had forgotten to train Rudeus in the sword, but he just shrugged it off and told the poor guy that they'd train the next day.

I could tell that Rudeus was both relieved and terrified of what was to come.

It didn't really take a genius to tell that Rudeus wasn't the kinda guy that liked swords, but it also didn't take a genius to know that Paul was an adamant man, and when he wanted his son to do something, that boy was going to do it.

Rudeus and I made our way upstairs for bed, and neither of us spoke to each other as per usual.

The next day we woke up bright and early (as instructed by Paul) so Rudy could begin his sword training.

At the moment, he was still a bit too young to properly train in swords, given that he was only a measly three years old, so for the time being, he would only be learning to get the hang of swordsmanship through repetitive practice.

As we made our way outside, we stumbled upon our father standing in the yard with his hands behind his back and his eyes closed.

"Rudeus, Law, both of you have come."

Both Rudeus and I deadpanned at the sight and shared a look at one another.

"...Yes, we have, Father." Rudeus spoke first.

"Good, your blade awaits you. My firstborn." Paul hummed and nodded before turning around so that his back was facing us.

Rudeus gave me a look that told me this was the last thing he wanted to do, but nonetheless, he made his way over to the wooden sword that was carved with his size in thought. The mini sword fit perfectly in his little hands. He lifted it and inspected it for a moment before he turned and made his way toward Paul.

"Before a man can become a swordsman, they must become acquainted with the sword, they must form a genuine relationship with their sword, and they must let their sword become one with themself." Paul walked around until he was just in front of Rudeus. His eyes opened, and he gave the green-eyed boy a wide grin. "So it's time you acquaint yourself!"

Paul unsheathed his own blade and held it out.

"Repetition is the best way to grow close to your sword."

Rudeus deadpanned again as Paul looked at him expectantly. My older brother let out a sigh before striking the air once.

"You have to be steadier, Rudy! And more power!"

Rudeus nodded and struck the air again. "You need more power!"

It was clear Rudeus was starting to become pissed off, but he continued striking, all while getting corrected by Paul. Only when he delivered a suitable strike did Paul tell him to repeat that same strike, only for Rudeus to fuck up again.

As my older brother continued to swing his blade, Paul turned his attention toward me.

"I could not get a wooden sword carved for your size, not after hiring Roxy and getting Rudy his sword, so you'll have to use his until we can get you your own." Paul offered me an apologetic smile, and I just shrugged in response.

I didn't expect him to even allow me to train yet, considering Zenith didn't want me wielding a blade at my young age.

"But…try and keep it a secret from your mother, okay?" Paul added with a nervous smile and I nodded with a deadpan.

Yup, that's about what I expected, he didn't tell her he was going to train me too.

Well, I'm not gonna complain. I wanted to learn the sword anyway, and the sooner I start, the better.

After about five minutes, Rudeus grew tired. His little arms were forced to push themselves to their limit, and now he was thoroughly exhausted physically.

"Well, Rudy's out." Paul hummed with a frown. His finger tapped his chin in thought before he side-eyed me. "Your turn, Law."

I stepped forward and over my brother's exhausted body, and picked his wooden sword.

It felt heavy in my hands, and the hilt was thick, but not too thick for me to wrap my hand around it.

The difference in our age really shows now that I have a grip on the blade made specifically for Rudeus, but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't wield it or anything.

"Go ahead and start where your brother did. Show me how you swing a blade." Paul encouraged me.

I nodded and bent my knees a little bit. My right foot was placed a bit ahead of my left as I loaded my back foot for extra momentum.

I had spent so much time watching Paul and practicing his stance that it just came naturally to me at this point.

I brought the blade up to about head level before striking down, then looked at Paul.

To my surprise, he was standing there, wide green-eyes looking down at me with surprise.

"Again." He ordered after a moment of silence, and I nodded. I repeated the action, striking down with a good chunk of power, while also keeping the blade steady. "Well would you look at that."

I raised a brow in confusion at his words. I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, at least I don't think I was? Rudeus just didn't have the correct stance, which is why his slashes didn't have any balance or power to them. I however just did what I'd watched Paul do a thousand times.

"Law, you have the potential to be a great swordsman!" He grinned and roughly ran his hand through my hair.

His words filled my chest with a wave of pride. I looked over to where Rudeus was sitting down, catching his breath, to see him staring at me with a blank face. There was no hate in those green eyes of his, merely indifference.

"Keep going, Law." Paul ordered with a giddy smile, and I continued. "I'll have to talk to Zenith later, it'd be a shame to hold him back." Paul whispered to himself, but I still heard it.

After about twenty or so minutes, Roxy came outside and ended up seeing me training with Paul while Rudeus sat on the steps to our house.

Paul made Roxy promise not to tell Zenith, and the poor girl had no choice but to agree.

Since Rudeus was supposed to do sword training in the morning with Paul, Roxy took me aside to offer me some more magical guidance so I wouldn't be on my own doing nothing.

"Do you like sword training?" Roxy asked me as we took a seat outside.

I looked over to where Rudeus was "sparring" with Paul. More accurately though he was attempting to strike our father while the older man just hit his attempts away.

"I do, it's fun." I admitted.

Roxy hummed in understanding. "Well that's good. Wordless magic can be very powerful, more so in the hands of a powerful swordsman I'd say."

I smiled at that. I actually didn't know what I wanted to do in this life, and I don't think I will for a long time, but becoming a magic wielding swordsman sounds pretty cool! The best of both worlds.

"Do you know any magic swordsmen?" I leaned back and looked at her with child-like interest.

She crossed her arms under her non-existent bust and let out a hum as she fell into thought.

"Not personally, but there are many across history."

My eyes lit up at that. If history remembered the names of some magical swordsmen, then it must be a reliable pathway to power.

"I see…that's great!" I grinned and stood up.

My mind was made up, though in truth I was gonna do it already.

I was going to train in both the sword and magic and surpass my brother!

Doing so in the sword wouldn't be too hard, but magic would be damn near impossible—still… I relished the challenge!