Volume 1, Part 2 - Early Years ft. Roxy

Julian POV (Kiyotaka)

Over the course of past few months, I have been sitting in the same cabin as before, watching over Rudeus as he tried to perfect his [Waterball] spell.

"Reduce the weight a bit," I spoke as he conjured a water ball with a little speed on it. However, they didn't correlate evident from the instantaneous splash into the bucket.

"AAAA, How the hell did you manage to do it first try?" Rudeus asked, his eyes fixed at me.

"It was a fluke. I imagined it and then it formed in front of me." I replied, throwing my hands upward, trying to sound like a kid my age. Rudeus narrowed his eyes, seeming unconvinced.

"Well, you can tell me how to do it, right?" He asked as I nodded my head. Rudeus was a genius who had a good grasp over what I taught him. However, I didn't tell him the whole process so his foundations would be concrete enough. Aside from mass and speed, I also added another aspect of width and spin which could add attack power to it making the simple spell an attack spell.

"Hey Julian, why don't you do it again for me." He said and sat close to me, his eyes focused on me.

"Sure." I replied and stood up. Balling my hand into fist and taking my index finger out, I condensed water on my fingertip. I had gotten used to imagining it as moisture condensing and forming a water ball but practicing it again and again made me able to conjure it by just imagining the size and speed of it. Rudeus' eyes lit up as he saw the small ball of water inflate and become bigger and bigger in size. Another streak of water conjured from the bucked and started to swirl around it.

"Woah." Rudeus remarked as he stood up.

"I will do it this time." He said with conviction as he placed his hand forward. I placed my own hand on his arm, "Don't complicate your thought process. Keep it simple." I advised as he closed his eyes and then opened them again.

"Water ball." He spoke the spell name out loud this time instead of chanting the whole thing. The Water ball formed in the epicenter of his palm.

"Retain its form. Don't release it yet." I said as he nodded his head and I pulled him backwards, increasing the distance between him and the bucket.

"Can you shoot it into the bucket this time?" I asked as he shook his head.

"The opening of the bucket and its position is too weird for me to shoot it in." He replied.

"Yes. Add a little downward spin to it." I said and his brows furrowed together in concentration as he copied me, adding swirls of water to it that flowed from top to bottom.

"Now, imagine throwing a tangible object. Dunk it in." I said as he nodded once again and pushed it. The water ball shot forward from his palm and went towards the bucket. It seemed like it would strike the wall but it bent down, going straight into the bucket.

Rudeus was bouncing up and down like a pogo stick, practically vibrating with excitement. He flung his arm around my neck, pulling me into a one-armed headlock. "Yayy, I did it, I did it!" he crowed.

I tried to wriggle out of his grasp and Rudeus released me and pointed to a nearby tree, where a squirrel was doing acrobatics on a branch. "Did you see that? Your big brother is amazing, isn't he? I actually dunked it."

"We're twins, Rudeus. You're not that much bigger than me." I replied, my voice monotone.

Rudeus just grinned wider, like a crocodile who's just spotted dinner. "But Mom popped me out first, hehe."

I shook my head. "That's not how it works."

Rudeus just shrugged. "Whatever, dude. I'm still amazing." He pumped his fists in the air.

"Well, time to tone it up a bit." Rudeus said as he released me from his chokehold and stood in front of a bigger bucket, "Time to test my limits."

Once again, placing his hand forward he closed his eyes. This time he didn't chant but conjured the ball regardless.

Since time immemorial, incantationless magic has existed in a state of latent potentiality. At the genesis of magic, incantations were protracted, for the concept was yet nascent and underdeveloped, and comprehension of it was yet rudimentary. As magic pervaded the fabric of society and became commonplace, each successive generation acquired greater insight into its workings, leading to the progressive contraction of incantations needed to cast a spell---making them short.

Notwithstanding the notable advancements in magical knowledge, incantationless spells remained a daunting feat, demanding an exceptional level of comprehension that eluded most practitioners. Magic's ability to circumvent and bypass the established scientific laws by leveraging the fundamental principles of each element's chemistry unlocked a plethora of possibilities for me.

However, the [Mana Vision] that I had that would unlock itself from time-to-time was a peculiar concept. Every time it showed itself, my mana pool would always increase. Right now I was able to perform high level spells with my mana pool however, my main focus wasn't magic as of now. I can match my progress with Rudeus later. Right now, I wanted to learn the swordsmanship from Paul and master all three schools. However, as of now my body was a bit weak to start learning all that so my prime focus would be building a physique that can support all of the advanced level techniques.

*boom* *crack*

Suddenly the wall in front of us disappeared, completely blown away. Rudeus' spell was too potent for the wall to bear, resulting in it being reduced to mere splinters. The force of the blast sent wooden shards flying in all directions, some of them embedding themselves into nearby soft soil outside in our lawn.

As if they were waiting for this moment, Paul and Zenith came running in, "What happened? Rudeus, Julius?" A worried expression was plastered over Zenith's face but it soon contorted into that of a blend of awe and surprise.

She looked at me and then at Rudeus in a rapid succession as I immediately pointed at Rudeus, "Brother did it." She looked at me and crouched lower, hugging me and tightened her hug as she asked me, "Are you hurt?"

"No." I replied bluntly and she just gave me a warm smile, patting my head.

Then she turned her head to Rudeus and smiled at her. The smile didn't quite reached her eyes as she had a mixed look on her face.

Scary.

"Rudy, did you read some words from that book out loud?" Zenith asked, her voice quaking with excitement. Rudeus took the right step and kept eye contact with her, showing off his sincerity in this moment.

"I am sorry." Rudeus replied, looking down. There was no reason for me to save him as the result would end up being in his favour anyways. A straightforward confession was the best course of action in this scenario as no one would want to betray the trust of their parents as it could put a crack into his relationship with them later.

"Sorry?" Paul asked. "That was an Intermediate-tier sp—"

"Oh, honey, did you hear that?!" Zenith interrupted, practically squeaking. "Oh, I just knew our boy was a genius!" She balled her hands into tiny fists and hopped around in ecstasy. Well, she sure was in a good mood. That meant the apology was accepted?

Zenith was clearly thrilled by this development, but Paul still appeared at a loss. "Wait, hold on," he said, looking at me. "We haven't even taught you both how to read yet, or—"

"We'll have to hire a tutor for him right away! Oh, he's going to grow up to be an amazing magician, I just know it!" Zenith's reaction to Rudeus ability to use magic was one of barely contained glee. Evidently, my notion of children not able to use magic were unfounded.

"But wait, why is Julius here too?" Paul asked as he walked over to me, ruffling my hair. The question seemed to have been directed at both of us. He had been quite skeptical of me ever since he came inside the room.

"I was just watching Rudeus."

"He was helping me."

"..."

"..."

I looked at Rudeus and he just shrugged his shoulders, copying me exactly like when I used to shrug my shoulders when he used to ask me questions about how I knew to cast spell first try.

"I knew it! Both of my boys are geniuses. Paul! We should hire a tutor for them as soon as we can." Zenith couldn't control her happiness while Paul also seemed to be amused now as he placed his hand on both mine and Rudeus' head. "Well, well, let's get you both a good tutor." He spoke.

I don't have a good feeling about this.

(***)

"Honey, we have to get him a home tutor!" Zenith said. "I'm sure we'll be able to find a great magic instructor in Roa!" Despite his initial interest in getting us proper tutors for magic, Paul seemed to have take a turn, not agreeing to let us become magicians.

"Hold up, now. Didn't you promise that if we had a boy, we'd raise him to be a knight?" So, a girl would be a magician, but a boy would be a knight? They must have agreed to that before I was born. They were sticking to their own roles, as Zenith was a magician while Paul was a swordsman.

"But they can already use Intermediate magic at his age!" Zenith rebutted. "With the right training, they'd be an amazing magicians!"

"A promise is a promise, though!"

"Don't you talk to me about promises! You break promises all the time!"

"We're not talking about me right now!"

And so, our parents got into a bit of a spat, while Lilia continued calmly going about her duties.

*Psst* "Are you as bored as I am, right now?" Rudeus asked, leaning closer as he whispered into my ear.

"Not really." I replied and paused, "however this could be settled quickly if I just agree to be interested in swordsmanship while you can learn magic."

"Huh? No way. Your talent in magic is too good to be wasted just like this," Rudeus remarked and then smacked his fist into his palm, "I got it. They should just flip a coin and decide."

"That won't be a good idea."

"Don't be a killjoy, Julius. Try to have some fun sometimes."

"I will try to." I replied. Honestly, this feeling of having a perfectly normal family was something I wanted dearly but I still had trouble fitting in.

The argument dragged on for a bit, until, as Lilia finished cleaning up, "What if they studied magic in the morning and practice swordplay in the afternoons?" she said with a sigh.

"Ah, I feel like only Lilia is the smart one here." Rudeus snickered as he let out a long sigh and laid his head on the table, extending his hands on the either side of it.

"You're the one to talk."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

The suggestion from Lilia seemed to have put a lid on the squabble between our parents and hence, they decided on a career route for us without any consent. I can't say I like what is happening but if the teacher can actually teach something beneficial, I don't really mind. After all, in this new world, I need to learn a lot of new things.

The curiosity almost makes me feel excited.

(***)

The position of personal instructor to a young noble was a well-paying one. Paul was one of the few knights in the area, which made him a fairly low-ranking noble himself, so I wondered whether he could offer competitive pay. We were out in the sticks on the far border of the kingdom though, and out on the frontier, high-level talent (especially for something like a magician) was in short supply. If we put in a request to something like a Mages' Guild or Adventurers' Guild, the chances of anyone responding were low.

Our parents also seemed worried by that prospect, but they apparently found someone promptly, because our lessons were going to start the next day. And since there was no inn in our village, our teacher would be living with us. Paul and Zenith were fairly certain that my teacher would be some retired adventurer. Young people wouldn't come ail this way to the boonies, and there was no shortage of jobs for royal magicians back in the capital. As I understood it, in this world, only Advanced-level magicians taught the arcane arts. So, whoever we got would at least be an Intermediate- or Advanced- level adventurer, possibly higher. In my mind's eye, I pictured a middle-aged or elderly fellow with many years of diligent study under his belt, complete with the long beard that was requisite for such wizards.

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

However, my expectations were quite off the mark. The person who showed upwas a young girl, maybe of junior-high age. She was clad in brown, wizardly robes, her blue hair styled into braids, her posture prim and proper. Her white skin looked untouched by the sun, and her eyes were somewhat sleepy. Her expression didn't exactly radiate sociability. In one hand, she carried a bag, and in the other, she held a staff befitting a magician. The family came to greet her together, my mother carrying Rudeus in her arms while I just walked beside her.

I looked up to see my parent's reactions and they seemed quite confused as they looked at her. It was a given that when someone wants their kids to be tutored, the tutors are a bit farther in their age most of the time. While my parents had a confused look over their face, my brother---Rudeus seemed to have been completely swept of his feet. His eyes were gleaming and his nostrils flaring, his lecherous side taking over him and he was ready to be tutored in more ways than one.

While Rudeus and I shared some traits of being a little awkward, my condition wasn't as bad as him. The reason why I was sometimes awkward around my parents was because of my lack in experience in dealing with a normal family. However, Rudeus' entire personality seemed to be lacking in some way as he was always scared of stepping a foot outside the lawn. And while he was socially awkward or not, our little tutor seemed to be like Rudeus.

Small, scornful eyes and socially awkward. The way Rudeus' eyes gleamed were like he had found his life partner.

'Be my bride,' is probably what he is thinking right now.

"Are you the tutor? You see a little..." Paul was trying to fumbled with his words, trying to pick the most suitable one.

"You're little."

"You're small."

Our combined answers made her face flush. Apparently, she was quite sensitive about her size, "You are the one to talk." She said, pointing her finger at Rudeus. Letting out a prolonged sigh, she spoke again, "So? Where is this student of mine?"

"Oh, that would be our boys right here. He is Rudeus," She introduced my bringing Rudeus closer to her and he shot her a cheesy wink making her sigh again. "And this one is Julian."

I bowed slightly, "Nice to meet you."

"What good manners. You raised this one quite well." She remarked, smiling in my direction. I didn't want to look in Rudy's direction since he would most probably be bubbling in ange.

"But, ugh... not this again," she spoke while placing her hand on her head, "when kids show a little sign of being mature for their age, parents get in their head thinking they have some kind of special talent." She mumbled to herself, loud enough for all of us to hear.

"Oh, don't you worry," Zenith said, brimming with motherly pride. "Our little boys here are brilliant!"

Yet again, Roxy sighed. "All right, then. I suppose I'll just have to do what I can." She sounded like she'd already decided it was futile. And so, that was the first day of taking classes with Roxy in the morning and practicing swordplay with Paul in the afternoon.

"Okay, so this magic textbook here... Actually. Before we get to that, how about we see how much magic you can use, Rudy, Julius?" Roxy had taken us into the yard for our first lesson.

"First, I'll demonstrate. Let the vast and blessed waters converge where thou wilt and issue forth a single pure stream thereof —Waterball" As Roxy chanted her incantation, an orb of water about the size of a basketball formed in her palm. Then, she hurtled it at high speed at one of the trees in our yard. Before it could make contact with the tree, I conjured my own water ball and placed it in its trajectory. They both clashed and cancelled out each other, resulting in a small shower over the tree.

"Huh? When did you cast a spell?"

"That is mother's favourite tree. She would scold you for breaking it." I replied as she scratched her head, "Oh, I am sorry about that. But my question still remains. How did you cast a spell without a chant?" She asked, getting closer to me.

"Rudeus taught me how to." I replied as she left me and went towards Rudy. He looked at me and gave me a thumbs up. At first, I couldn't understand what he meant but after seeing the lustful smirk over his face due to how close Roxy was to him explained everything.

"Hey Julian. Why don't we practice more swords?" Paul called me out from a distance.

"Sorry Mr.Greyrat but I am teaching him magic right now." Roxy interrupted.

I was about to speak but the phenomenon that I had named as 'Mana Vision' hit me again. A splitting headache invaded me as a plethora of information invaded my brain relating to everything I looked at. The magic staff, the ground, the colony of ants beneath the soil... Roxy...

The sensation subsided immediately Paul and everyone else came running to me.

"Are you ok, son?" Paul asked as I stood up.

"I am fine," I replied.

"Do you need some rest?"

"No, I am fine, like I said. I can practice." I replied but kept a wary eye on Roxy. After a few minutes, Roxy and Rudeus went back to study magic while I followed Paul.

Roxy.

There was something wrong with her mana... something not human.

(***)

(Rudeus POV)

It has been a few days since I have been training with Roxy. Julius trained magic for a while but then he abandoned it completely, swinging sword like crazy. But eh, that would be because is a little kid. Kids have a small attention span and can't focus much on a single route. He doesn't know what is good for him and what's not. But as his older brother, I will guide him well.

Right now, me and Roxy were having some biscuits that mom made and watching Julius train. To say his talent with sword was good would be unfair. Paul has been teaching him the basics of Sword-God style that focuses on lightning-fast strikes, but it seems nothing much for him. I could already feel a significant difference between his and my own physical abilities. And even when he is practicing with Paul, he seems a bit awkward with his movements, but his reflexes are on some un-goldy level.

Like how the fuck did he dodge Paul's strike from behind. Does he have a pair of eyes behind his head? There were three main styles of swordplay. And the North-God style that focused on surprise attacks and trickery was something that Julius was best in. His faints and tricking Paul into his small tricks was nothing short of amazing. While his talent in magic was also as good as mine, he doesn't want to pursue magic.

"Oh well son, try to dodge this." Paul said and I could feel his sword gleam.

I could feel Roxy's muscles go stiff as she looked at their fight even closer. Although, I didn't know what Paul was doing but it was something that was like magic but not like it at the same time. Julius pushed his feet back and stood stationary at the same place.

"No way." Roxy exclaimed as she looked at him.

Julius was exactly stationary, not moving a muscle. Just as Paul got closer to him and swung his blade at him, Paul's attack got deflected and Julius' form disappeared. He reappeared behind him and got closer in an instant. His whole body started to shine in multi-colours as he swung his wooden sword at Paul. Their swords made contact and Paul flicked his a little. Julius' sword slipped and he fell to the ground with a thud.

"What happened, Roxy?" I asked as she sighed.

"Your brother, he was unconsciously using Touki. I don't know how since at this age and level it should be impossible, but he still did it, even for a little while. I think he made the right decision. His talent in swordsmanship is something else." She complimented with an excited smile, "You should practice well too if you don't want to get left behind by your brother."

I grinned, "Of course. No way I am letting that little shrimp overtake me."

"He's taller than you though."

Ah shit, I could feel my heart be struck with an arrow. Is this what heartbreak feels like?

One night, while practicing some magic, I heard the lascivious sounds of a creaking bedframe and lurid moaning coming from somewhere. Well, not "somewhere," really—it was coming from Paul and Zenith's bedroom. And my, were the sounds vigorous. In the not-too-distant future, I might be welcoming a little brother or sister.

Hopefully a sister. No more younger brothers for me. In my mind's eye, I could still see my past life's younger brother winding up for a full swing with his bat, smashing my beloved pc to bits. I didn't need a younger brother. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother Julius, but he seems too cold or distant at sometimes.

But well, I guess all geniuses are like this.

But oh ,a kid sister would be nice.

"Oh, man..." In my old life, I'd just stay put and bang on either the wall or the floor to shut people up whenever I was disturbed by sounds like these. Thanks to that, my older sister stopped bringing guys home entirely. Man, that brought back memories. At the same time, I'd always thought people who did that sort of thing were blights on the world. It reminded me of the people who used to bully me, sneering down at me from a position out of my reach, filling me with an anger I had no outlet for. Even if the perpetrator was somehow brought lowto my level, he'd still look at me and ask, "What, you're still here?"

It was the worst.

But things weren't like that anymore. Maybe because I was now a child, or because it was my parents going at it, or just because I was more focused on my future and had a brother who took much of my attention, hearing them doing their business actually brightened my mood. I could tell roughly what they were getting up to just from the sounds.

It seemed that Paul was pretty good in bed, too. Even though Zenith was out of breath, I heard him say, "Oh, I'm just getting warmed up," before he went back to thrusting. He sounded like the main character from a pretty rapey adult dating sim, boundless virility and all.

Hmm. As Pauls son, maybe I'd inherited some of that sexual prowess? And one day, I would awaken to my powers, find my heroine, and make my way into the pink.

But wait... since Julian got Paul's talent for sword, does that means he got his D.Energy too?

Nah, that might be me just overthinking things.

The creaking and moaning used to get me excited me at first, but it had recently grown stale and I'd casually make my way down the hall to the toilet with the sounds of creaking resonating through the walls. Also, the creaking and moaning would stop as soon as I approached their room, which was pretty damn amusing.

Tonight was the same.

I headed for the toilet, wondering whether I should let them know that their son, now capable of walking, was there. Maybe this time I should try saying something. Maybe something like,"Mooom? Daaad? What are you doin' naked?"

It'd be fun hearing what excuses they came up with.

Heheheh.

With that in mind, I slipped out of my room as quietly as I could—

...except someone was had already beaten me to the punch. The blue-haired girl was hunched in the dark hallway, pecking into the bedroom through the gap in the door. Her cheeks were flushed bright red, and her breathing had sunk to a low, rough panting, her gaze locked on the inside of the room. One of her hands was inside her robes, moving about rather suggestively.

Roxy was in the grip of adolescence, after all, and I had the decency to pretend that I hadn't seen anything. Or, well, something like that. I definitely liked what I had seen, anyway.

I decided to quietly creep back to my own room.

As I turned and was met with the face of Julian.

"WHA-" I almost screamed looking at his long, disheveled blonde hair falling on his dull blue eyes as he stood there with a curious look over his face. Peeking over my shoulder he looked back at me, "Oh. Is it fun to watch little girls do that?" He asked, his innocent face making me regret and repent on what I had done or thought.

"N-No, its no-"

"Oh, I see, then let's see it together." He said and sat down.

"That is not what I meant!" I muttered under my breath, my voice like a high pitched roar.

"Why not? I thought we could bond by doing things you like." He replied, again with an expressionless face that radiated nothing but innocence.

"That is not what I meant. Let's go back." I said and caught him by his shoulder, dragging him with me.

He sure seems awkward and totally oblivious to normal scenarios but despite all that... I sure love my clueless little brother.