Chapter 241: Both Children Are Geniuses!

Clang!

The sound of wooden swords clashing rang out once more, but this time, Wood's wooden sword was knocked from his hands by Paul's, signaling the end of their sparring match.

Did Wood use all his strength? Of course not. The Sword God Style wasn't his specialty, and his familiarity with it wasn't perfect, leading to occasional gaps in his technique.

Despite spotting several openings in Paul's defense, thanks to his great swordsman-level experience, Wood chose to ignore them. Clearly, he was holding back during their sparring session.

After all, for a five-year-old child to perform at this level was already remarkable. If he had pushed any further, Zenith and Paul would've started to question whether Wood was really their son.

From this sparring match, Wood had gained a rough understanding of his current abilities. In the seven tiers of swordsmen—Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Saint, King, Emperor, God—he could probably defeat Paul, but it would be a close fight. And Paul wasn't just any advanced swordsman; he had mastered three sword styles.

Using his "Hyakki Yagyō Sword Style," Wood estimated his current strength to be at the level of a "Sword Saint."

But that wasn't his limit. Due to his small stature, Wood couldn't yet reach his full potential. In a few more years, as his body grew and he regained mastery of the "Six Powers," his combat strength would skyrocket once again.

Although Paul had cleanly defeated Wood, the young boy's swordsmanship talent still left his family astonished and overjoyed.

As soon as the match ended, Zenith hurried over, gently scooping Wood into her arms to comfort him. "You were amazing, Wood. Some of the intermediate swordsmen I met back when I was an adventurer weren't as skilled as you are.

"Your father may be an advanced swordsman who's mastered three different styles, but he's not getting any younger. One day, you'll surpass him."

Though Zenith's words were filled with praise for her son and a bit of playful teasing toward Paul, it clearly made Paul feel a bit left out.

However, after considering Wood's age and the remarkable skill he'd displayed, Paul couldn't help but nod, scratching his nose as he remarked, "Well, maybe you're still a bit behind where I was at your age, but you're definitely impressive."

That evening, the Greyrat family was in high spirits, and Paul even downed a few extra cups of ale, celebrating more than usual.

Not everyone was feeling so cheerful, though. One person who wasn't enjoying the mood was Rudy.

Rudy still remembered being a reincarnated soul but had retained all memories of his previous life.

In theory, he should have been happy to see his brother display such amazing swordsmanship talent, but being overshadowed made him feel an odd sense of bitterness as if he'd been through this before.

As a reincarnated person, shouldn't he have the protagonist's story arc? Why was it Wood who was shocking everyone and not him? Could it be that Wood was the true protagonist?

Feeling dejected, Rudy quietly slipped away from the table and made his way back to his room.

"No matter what world it is, it's always the same," Rudy muttered to himself. "In families with siblings, the parents' attention is always focused on the most talented child."

With a sigh, Rudy opened the door to his room, but to his surprise, Wood was already there, waiting for him.

Wood had clearly overheard Rudy's self-pitying remarks.

"Come on, Rudy," Wood said with a smile. "I didn't think you'd be the type to care about this kind of thing. You're actually pretty cute when you're sulking.

"But giving up on yourself just because you don't have the same talent for swordsmanship as I do is a bit premature, don't you think?

"After all, we're twins. Just like I have a knack for swordsmanship, maybe you have a different kind of talent."

Rudy glanced at Wood, the bitterness in his heart fading a little. It seemed that not everyone had forgotten about him.

"You know," Wood continued, "there's a good chance you have a talent for magic."

At that, Rudy's spirits lifted slightly. But he quickly dismissed it, thinking Wood was only trying to cheer him up. He'd already given up on the idea of being the "chosen one."

Clearly, even in another world, he was still destined to be a failure. Wood was the real protagonist, and he was nothing more than a side character.

"Well, do you want to test your magic talent? I went to the trouble of sneaking this magic book out of the study for you."

Wood handed Rudy a magic book, and though Rudy had resigned himself to being a failure, his body acted on its own, accepting the book and starting to flip through its pages.

With the mind of an adult, Rudy had already learned how to read the continent's language under Zenith's tutelage.

And, as it turned out, his initial instincts had been correct—reincarnated individuals really did have a special advantage.

Within moments of reading the magic book, Rudy was able to sense the magic power within him and cast his first basic water spell.

But Rudy's mana reserves were so massive that the simple water spell went out of control, resulting in a water ball that shot through the ceiling of their room.

The sudden surge of magic energy jolted Paul and Zenith out of their drunken stupor, and they rushed to the room where Wood and Rudy were.

When they arrived and saw the remnants of the water magic and the open magic book on the floor, they stared in disbelief.

Their five-year-old son had just learned to use water magic on his own, without any guidance, and the power of his spell was already on par with that of an intermediate mage!

What a magical gift! What an extraordinary talent!

That day, for Paul and Zenith, was filled with more surprises than any other. But there was no doubt that all these surprises were ones that filled them with joy and pride.

Both of their children were prodigies!

The difference lay in the fact that Wood had inherited Paul's talent for swordsmanship, while Rudy had inherited Zenith's affinity for magic.

As Paul and Zenith celebrated, Rudy was practically glowing with excitement, finally feeling like he'd found his place. Meanwhile, Wood simply watched with a knowing smile, as if everything had gone exactly as expected.

What Paul and Zenith didn't know was that Wood's own natural swordsmanship talent wasn't particularly special.

Like Rudy, Wood's real gift lay in his enormous magical reserves and his affinity for magic.

In fact, the magic book Rudy had just read? Wood had already studied it thoroughly two years ago and mastered all the spells contained within.

His current magical ability was already approaching the level of an advanced mage. The only reason he hadn't reached that rank yet was due to the lack of more advanced magic books in their home.

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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 380+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a