3 years old & the Beginning

Early Spring.

In the vast expanse of Buena village, as far as the eye could see, multi-colored flowers and newly grown leaves adorned the landscape like a holy land. The slightly chilly fresh air and soothing warm rays of sunlight transformed the small village into something ethereal.

Birds sang melodies from the treetops, and the gentle rustling of leaves whispered secrets of the season's renewal.

Children laughed and played in the meadows, their joy echoing through the serene atmosphere, as if nature itself celebrated the arrival of spring.

Yet, there was a single child who would only look from behind the fence of his house, never daring to venture outside. He was the older twin of the Greyrat family— Rudues Greyrat.

Even after resolving to follow his little brother outside, he couldn't bring himself to do it. The mere thought of leaving his house gave him chills and goosebumps, shattering his fragile resolve in seconds. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't summon the courage to stand by his brother's side—a brother who, even on his first time outside, showed no fear or childish emotions.

"Hah, this sucks," sighed the 3-year-old with brown hair and green eyes. He leaned on his arms, gazing wistfully at the beautiful panorama through the window.

Rudues Greyrat's Pov:

Who is the older one here?

Even though I'm a reincarnated person, my brother has already left me behind in his shadows this early... Although I don't know if he's also a reincarnated person, but from his mother-con like actions, it doesn't seem like he's a one.

Then, does that means he has a raw talent much higher than mine?

Damnit...

I thought I'll finally be able to show off myself to Xenos after mastering all those Beginner rank Magic spells, but who the heck would believe that he's mastered every single spell I've shown him!!

How stupid I was...

And what's the most outrageous thing was that it turned out be his first try! Curse this...

I should be happy for him, but this pain in my stomach isn't decreasing at all.

Ah, I'm jealous, so jealous of my own brother... What's wrong with me...

I'm pathetic...

Let's just forget it.

Ah, right. Now that I've turned three years old and my Mana reserves have reached a decent level, I believe it's time to start learning Intermediate-rank spells. It wouldn't bode well for my future if all I could do were to launch some puny water and fireball spells.

But how different can an Intermediate-rank spell be?

At most, I imagine it might completely overflow the bucket... but that's about it.

It won't destroy the studyroom, at the very least.

...

Near the edge of the Buena village.

There was a magnificent lake surrounded by lush mountains. The scenery was out of this world. The mountains were filled with endless trees, brimming with both flowers and new leaves. Flying squirrels and various birds drifted and played above the water.

However, this was just the calm before impending danger.

Pretty soon, all the birds and animals fled as if they sensed an unknown threat approaching.

Surprisingly, it proved true.

In a few moments, a huge boar-like monster with four arms—two large and two small—could be seen running towards the lake like a human. Its rough skin was bleeding from several spots, and one of its large arms hung as if broken.

Even from a distance, it was clear the monster was in bad shape. Seeing this absurd situation, even a novice adventurer would conclude that the predator was being preyed upon.

Roar!!!

The boar monster roared, its face morphing into sheer terror. For some reason, the roar also seemed like a last cry.

After taking one more step, the boar monster stopped. His body lost strength to move as his eyes lost their light.

In the next instant, his limp body fell.

However, before his body could touch the ground, his massive head unexpectedly came off like a ball.

Thud!!

A large amount of blood flowed from his severed neck, staining the ground red.

The cut was so clean and smooth that it looked like the work of a master swordsman. Yet, there was no swordsman in Buena village capable of achieving such a feat possible only at the Saint level.

After a few moments, a flying human—no, a child—could be seen drifting toward the dead boar. His speed was fast enough to shame the flying animals. In just a moment, he appeared and landed beside the decapitated boar.

"This bastard sure ran fast despite its massive size," said the boy with smooth blonde hair and azure eyes. His height was fairly tall, reaching the over-sized monster's knees.

After kicking the severed head into the distance, he sighed softly, "I would have killed this Terminate boar instantly, but doing that would have ruined my entire hard-earned meat... Well, whatever."

This boy was Xenos, the younger twin of the Greyrat household. Despite being only three years old, he stood over 100 cm tall, towering over the other children in Buena village. His well-developed muscles rippled beneath his fair skin as he moved, showcasing his remarkable physical prowess at such a young age.

Seeing that the dead boar was still bleeding from its neck, Xenos sat down on clean ground and waited patiently while enjoying the drifting clouds.

A few minutes passed, and finally, all the blood was pumped out of the Terminate boar. He stood up, approached the boar, and touched its skin with his hand.

In an instant, the atmosphere turned chilly as the temperature dropped sharply. When he removed his hand, the entire body of the Terminate boar had already transformed into an ice sculpture, glittering under the sunshine.

"Alright, time to move," afterwards, he muttered silently.

Controlling the wind with his magic power, the boar's body suddenly started to lift off the ground. Xenos also began to float as he directed the boar's body towards the secret location he had prepared long ago.

Even in his past life, he had a special fondness for having a secret place. It was a spot where he could be true to himself, unlike his current home, where he had to act like a naive child to hide his true identity. Besides, he needed a place to store his rations anyway, so a secret location was indeed a must.

Miko, huh... I still find it hard to believe there are blessed or cursed child in this world... And unexpectedly, I was put in the blessed child category...

Well, it's better this way.

Only Lilia knows about this...

Let's hope she won't tell my parents as she promised... I really don't want to be treated as an attention whore by everyone...

Flying over the forest region in an extremely fast speed while pondering, Xenos quickly arrived at his hidding location in a matter of seconds.

The place was an old-looking cave, overgrown with moss and bushes. Though the cave extended into the rocky mountain, it wasn't deep, only ten meters long. The entrance was massive, and the interior was spacious, filled with exotic plants. It was evident that the cave had been abandoned long ago.

Upon entering, Xenos didn't stop and headed straight to one corner. He placed his hand on the surface and broke through the fake wall he had placed there by utilizing the Earth Manipulation.

What lay before him was a vast cavern.

Without further delay, he stepped into the expansive cavern he had painstakingly carved out over the past months using the same Magic. Above, the ceiling sparkled with glistening magic crystals, casting a mesmerizing glow over the entire chamber. In one corner, pieces of wild animals and monsters lay encased in ice, preserved for future use. Across from them, a collection of meticulously arranged furniture and training equipments stood.

Floating behind Xenos was the iced-up boar, which he casually tossed into a designated area for leftover food.

However, just as he was about to close the cavern, something came to mind. In an instant, he hurriedly left his secret location. It didn't take long for him to return, but this time he had multiple ice-encased monsters floating behind him. They were Assault Dogs, subordinates of the Terminate Boar. Though they resembled wolves, they were merely oversized dog monsters. He had killed them patiently before decapitating Terminate Boar.

"Fourteen Assault Dogs and a single Terminate Boar... Not bad," he whispered before tossing them to the same spot.

Done with that, he suddenly threw himself upon the heap of different soft and smooth fur he'd collected by now.

Deep sigh...

Hmm, consuming monster meat proved to be much better than eating wild snakes, rabbits or ordinary animals...

It's really hard to believe how quickly my physique developed because of monster meat... Well, good qualities aside, it's taste is still worst, like I'm chewing some hard rubber.

After relaxing for some time, Xenos stood up and started to run inside the cavern. The space was as large as a football field, allowing him to easily tire himself out. By doing this, he had significantly increased his stamina. For strength and muscle training, he had made stone dumbbells of various sizes. While he rarely used them, he still included hundreds of push-ups, curl-ups, crunches or other exercises in his daily routine.

1 hour later~

Sweating all over, he sat down on the wooden furniture and cast a barrage of healing spells on his legs. Although he could have healed them while running, he had learned over the years that doing so reduced the rate of muscle development. As a result, he would first tire himself out and then, after some time, use healing spells to clear the accumulated lactic acid. Healing magic had many uses, but it couldn't recover the fatigue caused by overexerting the muscles. It could remove the pain and soreness, but one had to replenish their stamina through proper rest.

"Now lunch time!" he spoke in low spirits. From his voice, it was clear as day that he didn't like monster meat. But it wasn't a matter of liking it; it was something he had to do for himself, to get stronger.

Standing up immediately, he quickly grabbed a leftover front leg of the Assault dog from yesterday's lunch. Since he had already skinned it, there was no need for any additional work.

With a single thought, all the ice encasing the leg melted instantly. This was a simple trick of his perfect magic control. As long as he wanted, any effect created by his magic power would crumble with a mere thought. There was no need to expend any magic power at all because the effect itself was maintained through his own magic, honed over days of practice.

For example, if he created a mountain of ice or any other corporeal effects, he could dispel them entirely with a single command, making it useful for surprise attacks or distracting enemies. In the end, it required no magic power to perform.

Done with that, he once again sat down.

The next moment, the monster leg started to float next to him as a faint blue flame began to dance over the meat, gradually roasting it under his absolute control.

"Hmm, this won't do..." he muttered.

Flexing his fingers, the intensity of the blue flames diminished significantly. Strangely, as he decreased the effect, his magic consumption rate suddenly spiked. This was one of the peculiar phenomena he had observed over the years. The more he tried to reduce the effect, the faster his magic power drained. Although he didn't understand why this happened, he didn't mind it much, as it allowed him to deplete his magic power more efficiently than ever before.

After cooking the meat for a few minutes on all sides, he stopped. Any more heat and the food wouldn't be edible. Since there was no salt in his house, he had to search for rock salt for months near the mountain ranges. Eventually, he'd found a place filled with natural rock salts. Once the food was cooked, he sprinkled the crumbled salt on it. With the meat still hot, the salt quickly mixed in.

When the food cooled down a bit, Xenos narrowed his eyes and took a big bite. He chewed the rubber-like meat, tasteless despite the added salt, and felt invisible tears welling up in his eyes. As he was about to gulp down the chewed food, his magic power circulated and digested it all before it even reached his food pipe.

"Just a small sacrifice..." he murmured, soft tears falling as he continued to eat—no, digest the food.

...

Xenos Pov:

After several more hours of physical training, Magic power draining, and torturing my taste buds with that disgusting meat, I decided to call it a day.

It was already well past afternoon, so I had no choice but to return home.

Although Mother wouldn't say anything harsh to me, I knew how quickly she started to worry whenever it was about her child's safety.

So, after rebuilding the Earth wall to hide the secret location, I utilized the wind around me to lift my body. It wasn't anti-gravity, just using the outside wind forcibly to drift me wherever I desired. Doing so would expend my reserves more effectively than wasting my time conjuring flashy spells over and over again.

At first, I was aghast after noticing how absurdly amazing magic power was. If I had to describe it in a single word—omnipotent, and yet, it wouldn't be an understatement.

This was the reason why I never stopped expending my magic reserves, even though they had become as vast as an ocean compared to when I was born. Because of this, only by flying or experimenting with the strange magic phenomena could I thoroughly drain my reserves.

On another note, a surprising discovery was the change in the color of my Magic power. It started as black, then turned grey, and now it has become completely white, like horse milk. I wondered what it signified. I had a few guesses: the change in color might represent the density of my magic power or perhaps it had something to do with my increasing mana reserves. Whichever it was, I didn't mind as long as it brought benefits.

While pondering when I should leave my current house, I eventually entered Buena Village without anyone noticing. The villagers here were normal humans, living their lives casually with the same daily routine.

Over time, I couldn't help but notice that these farmers were actually nice people and easy to get along with, unlike my uncle and aunt from Earth, who only treated me as a tool for their own desires.

As I walked through the well-paved path, some nearby old villagers noticed me walking and greeted me with smiles.

"Haha, look, it's young Xeno..."

"Ah, I almost couldn't recognize him... He sure has grown, unlike my grandson who is still learning to walk."

"Cough* Did you have a good day, young Xeno?"

Ah, it's the old trio again...

"Yes, it certainly was," I nodded my head with a childish smile plastered on my face that I had learned over the past years. I didn't stop, and neither did they. This was one of the peculiar ways villagers treated each other while walking.

Well, it was better this way.

After a few minutes of walking, a two-story wooden house came into my view. It was one of the best-structured houses in the entire Buena Village. Of course, it was Paul and Zenith's house. In a way, it was mine too. But I had no interest in staying here all my life, for I had yet to experience all the wonders of this incredible world. Staying here when boundless knowledge awaited out there would be like stripping my talent of its rights.

I would probably leave soon after staying a few more years... My physical body will be at least ready by then to experience the outside world, only if I continue my current routine, that is...

I gradually entered through the stone fence surrounding our house.

Neigh~

Yet, just as I did, Caravaggio, our horse—no, Paul's horse—neighed so loudly from his stable as if he'd seen a monster.

Tilting my head in his direction, our gazes met and he immediately quieted down. Even monsters like the Terminate Boar shuddered and fled, abandoning their subordinates in my presence. What could a simple horse like him be neighing at me for?

Well, he is still a pet... Hmm, I wonder if he can sense my dense magic power like those monsters...

While I was pondering about Caravaggio's reaction, the loud noise seemed to alert Lilia to my arrival.

She stood by the door in her maid outfit, holding a glass of what I assumed was warm milk, as usual.

"Welcome back home, young master Xenos," she greeted me with a smile, handing over the glass with utmost respect.

I took it and nodded.

Lilia always behaved like some devotee whenever it was something related to me. Sometimes I wondered if she'd some strange fetish hidden deep in her mind. Or was it simply because I'd been deemed as a Miko by her? I could only wonder.

Entering the house, I noticed that fatty—pardon, older brother of mine, sitting on his high chair while eating dinner in complete silence.

Dinner is already served?

Without me?

Huh?

The atmosphere in the house was strange, almost eerie and especially since I couldn't see my parents anywhere.

I turned to Lilia, intending to ask where they could be, but it seemed unnecessary.

Creek, creek, creek...

"Ahh~~ Dear~!"

"..."

These horny...

I guess that answered my unspoken question.

However, seeing how Lilia's face turned red like cherry, I didn't say anything and made my way to the dinning table.

Sitting down next to Rudues, I just started to eat without any care.

Yes, I doesn't care anymore...

They're at the age where sex is like remedy to them, so it can't be helped...

And no, I wasn't jealous at all, though I'm a little annoyed since they're not considering how hard it has been for Lilia over these past years... But I can't do anything about it—or rather, I don't want to... It will be nothing but awkward if their own child raised his voice for the first time in the middle of such a heated moment...

Hmm, well, it's hopeless either way...

Rudues was murmuring to himself while eating, so I didn't disturb his train of thought.

Glancing at Lilia, who stood behind me with her head down, I put on a fake smile and suggested, "Lilia-san, please sit down and eat with us... Mother and Father can eat after they're done, you know."

"But young master..."

"No 'buts'..."

She hesitated, but I insisted.

Eventually, she obediently sat down and began to dine with us. Rudues glanced at us as if he wanted to say something, but he remained quiet.

Hmm? Something feels weird about him today...

Wait, we turned 3 years old, so is it that time already?

After finishing my dinner quickly, I stepped outside under the guise of taking a stroll.

It was then that I noticed the wall of our study room had been blasted open, a detail I had missed earlier since it was on the opposite side.

I see, so 'that' person must be coming, huh...

Although I was born, it seems the original plot hasn't changed much...

I wonder how I'll react once that person arrives...

...

And so, three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The person, or rather the tutor, everyone in the home was waiting for had finally arrived.

"I'm Roxy. It's a pleasure to meet you."