Ability Test (1)

My daily routine went a little something like this: the first thing was to wake up in the morning and get ready. Next was to finish up my work and tutor Casey in the study room. After that, I sneak out of the study room to the library to gather knowledge and improve my mana capacity. Finally, I do a small workout before going to bed.

Following this routine, time quickly passed. Before I knew it, it had already been three months. Working out every night before bed for three months made my body relatively fit. I did this to be able to handle the swordsmanship training from Sophie a year from now.

Originally, my plans would have been to continue with my preparations until it was time to save Stella. However, I no longer believe that's possible due to the current situation.

"I've been hearing that you've been sneaking out of the study room every day. Is this true?"

"Yes my king, this is correct."

I answered my father with my head down while kneeling. While he is my father, he is also the king of the country, it is only natural to show proper respect.

Father frowned before responding, "There is no need to be so formal with me. You are a prince and my son. Stand up and look at me."

"...Yes my king, as you wish."

"And drop the 'my king' talk, address me as a father. That is an order."

He was indeed the King Barris Knightford that I remember. Never once was he addressed as "my king" by his children, so this is why. Though, it is a bit difficult for me to get used to.

"Now, back to the current subject. You've been excelling in your studies, completing all of your work early, and even beginning to help Casey. At such a young age as well..."

He looked as if he was proud of what I had achieved. Well, I suppose anyone would be proud of their son as a genius like me. Hearing the praise made me feel somewhat good about myself.

"However, the problem is that none of the maids ever reported seeing you exit the room."

"..."

"They had been monitoring the exit of the study room closely to assure that no one left until the designated time, yet you somehow managed to slip past all of them."

I expected something like this to happen. All of the maids in the castle were trained to be skilled fighters and attendants. There is no way an ordinary child could make it past all of them without being detected. Even if I could make it past all of those maids, to make it past Sophie…

"What I would like to ask is how you did it. Please be honest."

What should I do? Although I wanted to keep my abilities secret until I saved Stella, it seems that is no longer possible. Still, I planned for this day. I know what to do.

"I used teleportation magic to escape the room." I decided to be honest with them.

I would have preferred the two not to find out yet, but what could I do? I looked at the expression on the king's face. He had a shocked expression. The queen sitting on the throne next to him had a neutral expression. She did not speak nor did she change her countenance during the conversation.

The king quickly regained his composure and began speaking again, "Do you mean to say that you can teleport into the library?

"No my ki-father, I cannot teleport directly into the library due to a barrier."

Of course, I already know what kind of barrier it is. It is the second-highest class of magic barriers, a class two magic barrier.

In this world, there are five categories of magic. Each one has ten classes of strength. Tenth-class is the weakest and most common class of magic able to be mastered by anyone. First-class is the highest class of magic. People able to master first-class are known to be the strongest people in the world.

There are only around twelve people who have learned first-class magic. One of them is Elise Knightford, my mother. My mother was one of the strongest people in the world, perfectly mastering light and water magic. Speaking of her attributes, outside of 'spatial' and 'time' magic, I also have an affinity for light magic.

My father, the king, has also mastered first-class earth magic. But that's rather boring so I don't really care too much about it. I also have an affinity for it, but I don't have much of a reason to be interested.

"T-that means that you were born with a universe mag-"

"Raine, if you can truly use teleportation, could you please demonstrate." Just then, mother spoke for the first time, cutting father off. She had the same expressionless face as before, but there was curiosity in her voice. I had to prove that I could teleport. I suppose they wouldn't just believe that their four-year-old son would be capable of universe magic.

Universe magic, as the name suggests, is unique from elemental and light and dark magic, as it manipulates the very foundation of the universe itself. Universe magic, unlike other magics, is impossible to learn, meaning if you're not born with the ability, tough luck.

Raine was lucky enough to be blessed with not one, but two subclasses of universe magic, spatial manipulation, and time manipulation. 'Teleport' is an ability unique to the 'spatial magic' subclass of universe magic, however I only managed to learn up to the seventh-class.

"Very well, my queen."

She stared blankly at my words. Unlike the king, the queen didn't care about how to address her. She didn't care about names or titles, she only cared about the well-being of the kingdom and her family. Despite her cold outward appearance, she is rather warm-hearted.

The king was attracted to her coldness from when he first met her, which I find incredibly relatable. Elise Knightford used to be Elise Goldenwind, daughter of the previous duke. The duke's family has a history of producing queens for the kingdom. Maybe I should... Nah, what am I thinking?

"I shall begin now."

I kept a calm face. I had been practicing teleportation for long enough to the point where I could teleport to areas I'd been without thought. My mana capacity had also increased a bit. Teleporting up to 100 meters could be easily achieved without much mana usage.

At this point, one could compare me to a seventh-class magician. So this is the power of the royal family's bloodline? It is truly worthy of the name. While this is great, it can't be compared to the growth speed of the protagonist. Right about now, that asshole is probably a second-class magician already.

I immediately teleported to the library. I opened the door and was welcomed by the familiar sight of a large room filled with bookshelves. I walked in and grabbed a random book off a shelf. The title was How to Best Pleasure a Woman. Umm, I should find another one. I quickly scanned the pages for, uh, research purposes, and put the book back in its place.

"This one should be alright."

I teleported back to the throne room after stepping out of the library. The king had a shocked expression when I appeared with a book. To my surprise, the queen also seemed like this was unexpected.

"I have brought back this book from the library, father."

"Yes, I see." He nods along.

I walked towards the throne and handed him a book titled The Point of View of a Reader. He grabbed it with an inquisitive expression.

"Incredible! To use magic at such a young age! And universe magic at that!"

"Indeed, my dear. It appears that our son has quite a talent." Mother replied to my father's ecstatic tone calmly. At the sound of her voice, he quickly regained composure once more. He looked at me with solemn eyes and began talking in a calm voice.

"It appears that you have quite the talent for spatial magic. As of right now, I will be assigning you a personal teacher to help you develop your magic."

"I humbly accept this gift with gratitude, father."

"Ho ho, I hope you make the best out of this."

I bowed my head to the king and queen and began speaking again, "May I take my leave now?" The king nodded. I started walking to the door of the throne room.

"Before you leave, your trainer should meet you in the castle's courtyard at around three in the morning," He smiled, "I made sure to hire the best magician in the Knightford Kingdom. They are around the peak of second class."

I nodded and bowed my head once more. For a moment, I thought about mentioning my ability to use time manipulation magic, however, I decided against it for now. With that, I left the throne room. Wait a minute, three in the morning? Oh hell no, seriously? That's hella early! Oh well, if I want to get stronger, this is what is required.

I sighed as I made my way toward the library. While I could teleport, I'm in the walking mood for some reason. While walking towards the library, I passed the knight's training ground. There, the kingdom's knights were sparring with each other.

They must have noticed me because one of the knights began walking toward me. It was the current knight commander, Reese Wilhelm. He bowed his head and began speaking to me.

"Greetings, young master. Are you perhaps watching the knights train?"

"Yes, I am. I was astonished by their movements."

It wasn't a lie. I only read of how incredible the kingdom's swordsmanship was. Being able to see the battles in front of me nearly moved me to tears.

"In a couple years or so, you'll be able to start sword training yourself. Are you excited?" Wilheim asked.

"Ah, I'm very excited. I can hardly wait for the year to pass."

While I spoke in a neutral tone, I was genuinely excited to learn the fighting skills of this world. While Raine had exceptional talent in sword fighting, he preferred to use small blades when fighting. He usually utilized a dagger or shortsword with many throwing knives.

Reese laughed at my enthusiasm. As expected, someone close to the royal family can tell how they are feeling without them having to show much emotion. A normal person would find this tone to be rude. I, for one, am very confident in telling a person's feelings. At least, I'm better than a certain harem protagonist.

I bid my farewell to the smiling knight commander as I continued walking to the library. I can't believe that I am getting to train under the strongest mage in the kingdom.

I could hardly contain my excitement for what is to come. To be able to train underneath one of the strongest people in the world is a magnificent opportunity. For someone like me, I need as much training as possible to compete with that monster of a protagonist.

"Is it perhaps Nella Rutherford? Or could it be Arthur Crawford? I can hardly wait for what is to come tomorrow."

I would later come to regret those words.