There was only one way to express my abilities based on the standards of this world. If I had to put it into words, I'd have to write it down.
I grabbed a book and began to write.
Abilities of Rudeus Greyrat (my handsome self) at six years old.
Swordsmanship
-Sword God Style: Beginner Rank
-Water God Style: Beginner Rank
Offensive Magic
-Fire Element: Advanced Rank
-Water Element: Saint Rank
-Wind Element: Advanced Rank
-Earth Element: Advanced Rank
Healing Magic
-Healing Type: Advanced Rank
-Detoxification Type: Intermediate Rank
I'll admit, at least a little, that reaching the advanced rank in healing required using my brother's book. We exchanged books at one point for the sake of practicality. It's perhaps one of the most effective things I've managed to achieve, even if it's something basic.
I never thought I would share something like that with my brother. Maybe that's why I'm so surprised by what I just did. In my past life, I spent years without socializing, and I ended up driving away the only friend I ever had.
My brother Daiki is incredibly serious, far too serious, capable of annihilating you with a glare and making you feel small, even now as a child. However, I know that no matter what I do, he won't walk away like that guy did. Nor will he give up like my parents did.
If something similar happened, I'm sure he would tear the door down and push me outside. He, more than anyone, understands that staying still and locked away is useless. That it is better to be outside and face the possibility of dying at any moment than to rot inside a room.
It doesn't matter now, I thought.
Setting that aside, healing magic is divided into seven ranks.
Healing, barriers, detoxification, and divine strike.
Unlike offensive magic, it doesn't have flashy titles like "Fire Saint" or "Water Saint." Instead, a more direct naming convention is used: "Saint-rank healing mage," "Saint-rank detoxification mage," and so on.
At first, healing barely allows you to close minor cuts, but it's said that upon reaching the Emperor rank, one can even regenerate lost limbs. However, even at the Divine rank, it is impossible to bring a living being back from the dead.
It is, perhaps, the only magic I won't be able to cast silently. If I don't understand the principle behind the spell, I can't cast it without an incantation, which disappoints me quite a bit.
Don't get me wrong, my brother is great; he always helps me out with things, but on this, I just can't agree with him. Or rather than disagreeing, it's more that I feel a little jealous and wish I had it for myself, too.
I think this is a flawed way of thinking, or perhaps just a selfish act... I can't be sure.
The problem is that my brother does know how to do it.
My older brother, in some way incomprehensible to me, managed to decipher the principle behind healing magic and can now use it without an incantation.
"How...?" I could barely articulate.
Daiki looked at me with that characteristic neutral expression of his.
"Visualize the state prior to the injury. It's... ordering the mana to replicate that state. Similar to elemental magic, except the element is living tissue."
"Yeah, Daiki, that makes total sense..."
"Of course. That's how I see it."
Not knowing how to do it frustrated me more than I expected.
It made me feel inadequate. Powerless. Even useless. But, at the same time, I was proud of him. It's a strange mix of feelings.
If Daiki could decipher the principles of healing magic through abstract thought... why couldn't I? No, that's just belittling what my brother does. What I mean is that, despite living locked away for more years than I've lived outside, I have accumulated experience. Knowledge that...
No, if I really think about it, I had a completely wasted life.
Nothing I learned, I think, is helping me to cast healing magic silently.
No... it wasn't a waste. It's true I didn't work or go to school. But I wasn't in hibernation either. I immersed myself in all kinds of games and hobbies while others were busy with studies or jobs.
And that knowledge, those experiences, that way of thinking acquired through games, should also be useful in this world.
Or at least, they should be...!
Nah, I have to admit it, they don't actually help me much. If I compare it to the life Daiki had, mine was just a walk in the park, whereas he must have spent his entire life preparing for the things he did in the past.
During one of my training sessions with Paul, an involuntary sigh escaped me, which he obviously caught.
I thought he was going to scold me for grumbling so shamelessly during training, but Paul just looked at me with a curious expression, the kind he usually pairs with a smile.
"Hey, Rudy, your face looks a bit ugly right now."
"Ugly...?"
"Yeah, I know that face, it reminds me of..."
"Well, yeah," I interrupted him. "I'm not jealous of him. Just... frustrated with myself."
"Huh? Who are you talking about? 'Him'?"
"Father. You know who I mean."
"Right, I'm having a thought..."
"And when he can do healing magic without an incantation, I..."
Paul drove his wooden sword into the ground and crouched down to my level, resting his hand on my back.
"Listen, Rudy. Your brother is an incredible kid. There's nothing wrong with admitting it, and I even feel it myself when I see him outdoing himself every single day. And, hey, I think he'll end up surpassing me soon enough, but I'm sure of one thing: it's better that way."
"Better? Better that he's better than me?"
Paul put his hand on my head and completely messed up my hair.
"He's not better at everything. That kid is lacking in other things... uh... well, I don't know much about magic, but I know you're better at it than him."
"I know..." I muttered. "That's what frustrates me. He's told me many times that I'm better at magic, but I can't do healing magic without incantations."
"Well, sometimes it's better to focus on all the good things you have, instead of being a loser who dwells on the bad."
"If you put it that way, Father..."
"Yeah, I'll put it that way and a thousand other ways. Besides, that kid trains like a maniac. I've told him a thousand times not to overdo it... well, his mother has told him."
After a bit more talk about positive thinking and a few phrases from Paul that ultimately made no sense, yet still said more than any book could, I lay on my bed, lost in thought.
Later, in the afternoon, I went to our usual tree, where Sylphiette was waiting for me, practicing voiceless magic.
"...Rudy! I wasn't expecting you... well I was, but I'm still surprised." Sylphy jumped for joy with a radiant smile. "Look, I'm improving a lot."
"I see that. Your control is much more precise."
"But the control I have is... thanks to you! You teach really well. You should become a teacher."
"Yeah, maybe..." I blushed a little. "I-it's just a matter of practice."
Just act normal.
Daiki appeared as always, interrupting the conversation and startling us the way he usually did when he arrived.
"Sylphy, Rudeus."
"Daiki-niisan!" Sylphiette ran toward Daiki and hugged him tightly. "Are you done training with your dad?"
"I was resting. They wouldn't let me train in the afternoon."
"Oooh, I see... Can you show me mana reinforcement again? The one from last time."
"Sure."
After a few minutes, Sylphiette collapsed from exhaustion after trying to replicate the same exercises as my brother, her legs completely spent and unable to even lift her arms.
"Brother." I walked over to where they were.
"Yeah?"
"Do you ever compare yourself to me? With my magic, I mean."
Daiki looked at me with a curious expression.
"No. Why would I?"
"Because I..." I paused. "Because I compare myself to you. With your sword. With your voiceless healing magic. And it frustrates me that I can't match it."
Daiki walked over and sat under the tree, gesturing for me to do the same.
"Mmm... not really. I don't see why I would when we both do different things."
"Yeah, you're right, but I talked to Father today and maybe I'm just overreacting."
"Or maybe I'm the one who's obsessed."
"Heh, could be, true..." I laughed a little. "Yeah, you really are a bit obsessed with this."
Daiki leaned against the tree and put his hands behind his head.
"I feel like I lack your creativity and innovation. That makes you better with magic."
Sylphiette, who had been listening in silence, sat down next to us.
"What about me?"
Daiki and I exchanged looks.
"You," I started, "have a natural affinity for wind that neither of us has. And you learn incredibly fast."
Finally, Sylphiette broke the silence.
"So... are we a team? Officially?"
"We always have been," I replied. "Since the day we met."
"Three siblings," Daiki confirmed. "Three different specialties. A balanced team."
Sylphiette smiled.
"I like that. Team Greyrat."
"Team Greyrat?" I repeated. "That sounds... pretty good, actually."
"It's functional," Daiki added, which was his way of saying he liked it.
And so, under that tree which had become our territory, the three siblings silently sealed a pact.
Paul Greyrat
Breakfast was far too quiet.
Normally, the table is a controlled chaos. Rudeus talking about plants, Daiki chewing slowly while exaggeratedly overthinking something, Zenith serving more food than we can humanly eat, and...
But not today.
While Zenith sat with her back straight, Daiki ate with his head down, as if trying to avoid his mother's gaze. It was so obvious that even I noticed it.
Before saying anything, I cleared my throat and thumped my chest.
"Well... the weather is really good for training, isn't it?"
"Training today? Absolutely not."
"Uh, but Zenith, honey, Dai is on an incredible streak, yesterday he almost got the..."
"Yesterday I found our son passed out in the yard at midnight," she interrupted me, looking up. "Trembling from exhaustion. Unable to walk to his bed. I had to pick him up, Paul!"
I choked on my bread at her yell.
I looked at Daiki.
"You passed out?"
Daiki didn't look up from his plate.
"Technically, it was a temporary muscular collapse induced by mana depletion and extreme physical fatigue. I regained consciousness in less than five minutes..."
"Daiki!" Zenith exclaimed.
"...I'm sorry, Mom."
I ran a hand down my face.
Shit. I knew the kid was intense, but...
"Dai... I told you to rest. I specifically told you 'we're done for today'."
"I felt I could perfect the flow if I tried a few more times," Daiki muttered. "I lost track of time..."
"Paul..." Zenith looked at me.
"I know, I know." I held my hands up. "It's my fault. I should have made sure he went inside. I should have... I don't know, taken his sword away."
"Just taking his sword away isn't enough, Paul. It's not just last night. He's six years old, Paul, six... why should I have to see him passed out on the lawn?"
"He has the potential to...!"
"Potential? He'll still have it even if he sleeps at night."
"But, my love, you have no idea about..."
"He is my son. Of course I have an idea. I gave birth to him, Paul. I gave birth to him."
"It's just that he needs to be nurtured now, just like your plants, it's..."
"And what if his roots snap? There will be nothing left to nurture."
Damn it.
I looked at Daiki. He looked small in his chair. Despite his strength... and Zenith being right, I simply had to accept that I was pushing him to the limit.
I really don't know where he gets his dedication from. Smart. Strong. Talented and disciplined, I thought. I'm proud, but scared.
I sighed in defeat.
"You're right. I got carried away."
I turned to Daiki.
"Listen closely, Dai. There are going to be some important rules."
Daiki looked up and gave me that panicked expression he didn't know how to hide.
"Rules? What rules?"
"First, training ends when the sun goes down. No exceptions. You'll train in the morning and continue later, but you won't be doing it at night. Second, you are going to have mandatory rest days. Two rest days out of every seven. If I catch you with a sword, I'll confiscate it for the full seven days, and if you push it... say goodbye to the sword I gave you."
"But, Father, you know the process stalls if..."
I was about to consider it, when...
"Three!" Zenith interrupted. "If Lilia or I say you look unwell, you are unwell, and you are going to stop. Immediately. No 'technically I'm fine,' and no 'it's just that I didn't train much.' You stop. I will accept nothing less than a nod."
Daiki looked at me first, then at his mother, and then back at the floor. After overthinking it, perhaps trying to find a loophole in the rules, he sighed.
"Understood, I accept what you're offering."
"I'm not offering, I'm ordering," Zenith said.
"Alright, Mother."
Zenith smiled.
"Good. Now eat your breakfast, sweetie. You need to get your energy back."
Daiki went back to his food.
Zenith discreetly winked at me.
"By the way," Daiki said suddenly. "If I can't physically train on rest days... can I do mana control meditation? Technically it's not physical exercise."
Zenith and I exchanged a look.
"We'll talk about that later," we said in unison.
Rudeus let out a little laugh from the other side of the table.
"Good luck with that, brother."
"Yeah. Good luck."