After meeting Philip, Mordred immediately returned to his sword training in the citadel that day.
Soon enough the evening came and it began raining, but he continued swinging his sword in the rain, parting the droplets falling over his head with Gravity Magic while trying to cut through the rain.
Again and again.
From the outside it looked as if there was an invisible umbrella over his head, or magical aura that made him get untainted by the falling rain.
While Mordred was swinging his sword alone on the square, practicing Sword God Style, Philip approached Hector who watched over him. He said, "Prince Mordred is truly amazing. In the world's history there might not be anyone who could surpass him in talent."
Hector looked at him with a calm face. "Hm. That's certainly true, but it isn't the talent of his Highness that I appreciate the most."
"What is it?"
"His hard work."
"Hard work? That's true. Children of high-ranking nobles and royals rarely have a reason to excel with the sword or with Magic. They would never push themselves this much," Philip commented.
Hector continued, "Certainly. It's the middle and lower class that apply themselves. His Highness is incomparably talented, but it's his hard and focused work that made me respect him. In spite of all his talent and accomplishments, he always strives for greater heights."
While the two talked, a person joined them. "Hn. He's still training there?"
It was Ghislaine, her hand resting on her hip.
"He is. It's raining, so are you going to call him back?"
"No. I'm sure Prince Mordred knows what he's doing. As long as he gets enough rest, it's fine."
"I get it. There's also Detoxification Magic in case he gets sick, but is it really the best training method for him to endlessly swing his sword by himself?" Philip asked casually.
"It is the best method," said Ghislaine. "According to teachings of my Master, Lord Sword God, Sword God Style is all about being logical. As long as he swings his sword enough, he'll be able to attain the essence of the sword that no one can teach him. With Prince Mordred's talent, there is no better training method."
As Ghislaine said, aside from some sparring in the morning and evening wtih her and Hector, this was exactly what Mordred was doing.
For the last year, he would follow Ghislaine's teachings of the Sword God: he'd swing his sword until he couldn't anymore, then he rested and thought about it, then he swung his sword again until he exhausted himself, rested and thought about it, then repeated the process.
Hour after hour, day after day.
Each day he felt as if his arms would fall off and he would immediately pass out after reaching his bed.
But the results came.
His Longsword of Light and Mana Burst had become much stronger as if he had gone through a few years of training. His Mana Reinforcement, Battle Aura and strength in general as well, growing in line with his monstrous Magic Power.
His strength stepped into a legitimate Emperor rank without factoring in his trump cards like Mana Burst, Gravity Magic, Railgun and modified Longsword of Light that he could even send out without a weapon.
In fact, with his swordsmanship alone he could probably best most Emperor-ranked fighters with how much stronger he had become. He felt he might be invincible under God rank.
During this time of intense training with Hector and Ghislaine, his Flow technique improved to the level of a Sword Saint through real sparring, like he planned.
Ghislaine and Hector could no longer keep up with him at all. Staying in Roa was no longer optimal for his growth, so he prepared himself to leave.
He was ready for anything that might go along with it – like Hitogami finding him even the moment he gets to the capital.
Although Hilda didn't like it, he'll still snatch Eris.
But before that, he planned to visit Rudeus on the next day.
…
One of those days.
When Paul returned one evening, Rudeus learned that he had a letter.
The letter was from Roxy.
"Dear Rudy. How have you been?
Time really flies, it has been 2 years since our farewell.
Now that things have settled on my end, I can finally write you a letter.
Recently I have been staying in the Shirone capital. It seems that I became famous after clearing a labyrinth as an adventurer, and I got hired as the 7th Prince's home school tutor.
Teaching the prince has made me recall the days in the Greyrat family.
The prince is similar to Rudeus. He's not as good as Rudy, but his magic potential is distinct and he's also quite clever.
Also, he's the same as you since he spies on me changing clothes, and steals my panties. He's always full of himself and is different from Rudeus in that department, but his actions are like yours.
Should I attribute that to heroes being lustful?
Although I'm worried I might get attacked during this employment period.
What's so good about this weak and frail body…
Ah, am I being impolite and disrespectful to the crown by writing all this?
Well, I'm not saying anything bad, so it should be fine.
Furthermore, I decided to leave Shirone soon anyway. The kingdom wants to appoint me as the Court Magician, even though it's for a limited time. It's a good offer, but I don't think staying still in a small kingdom would allow me to progress.
Oh, that's right. I can finally use King rank Water Magic, and I also became Saint ranked in Wind Magic.
The library in Shirone kingdom has books related to King rank Water magic and other Saint ranked Attack Magic. I thought I was unable to take another step after reaching Saint rank, but I actually could if I tried.
In truth, it was in part thanks to the advice I received from one young prince from the Kingdragon Kingdom that I met by chance. He's famous as a Magician prodigy and a Miko, and his talent is just as good as Rudy's."
Rudeus suddenly stopped reading.
Behind him, Paul commented, "Prince from the Kingdragon Kingdom? Isn't it about the kid you've been meeting?"
"Mm. It has to be him. But I didn't know that Prince Mordred met Roxy…" Rudeus said.
"By the way, what's this part about stealing panties?..."
Rudeus ignored that question and returned to reading the letter.
"According to rumors, at the age of 5 he reached Saint rank as a Magician and at 7 he became King ranked. At eight, he flew into the Shirone Royal Palace on a flying vehicle he built. Can you believe this?
The world is truly full of heroes and geniuses. It made me feel very small and insignificant in comparison.
But I won't give up! My goal is to become a God-ranked Water Magician."
'That's my Roxy!!!' Rudeus squeezed his fists excitedly, cheering his Goddess on.
He then resumed reading.
"Rudeus must be capable of using Emperor ranked Water Magic by now. Or should I say, that all your Magic Schools should have reached Saint rank?
The studious you might even have touched Healing Magic or Summoning Magic by now, right?
Or have you started going onto the route of a swordsman? Even though it's a bit of a pity, but if it's Rudeus, no matter which road you choose, you'll do well.
I have said this before - if you find you have a bottleneck in magic, you can try knocking on the doors of the Ranoa University. If you don't have a written introduction, you will have to undergo a test. Though, if it's you, it should be easy to pass.
Well then, I'll end it here.
- Roxy
PS: By the time you receive this letter, I might not be in the kingdom anymore, so don't reply."
'Damn.'
This letter was a massive wake-up call for Rudeus.
He quickly checked the map to find the Shirone kingdom.
Similar to the Kingdragon Kingdom, it was in the south of the Central Continent. It was not as far in a straight line, but the mountains in the Central Continent have Red Dragons, so there's no way to pass it and while travelling normally you need to go around a long way by the south side.
Still, a faraway kingdom.
As for the Magic University in Ranoa, it also required travel in a roundabout way to the Northwest. It wasn't close either.
'Hmm… So Roxy didn't teach me any King ranked Magic because she didn't know it. But Prince Mordred really already reached King rank at 7?... Damn it.'
Rudeus was also about to have his seventh birthday, but after meeting Roxy and then his initial meeting with Mordred, he had made no progress in his Magic at all. In terms of rank, he was still only a Saint Ranked Water Magician.
He already became conscious of it after Young Miss Eris began to exaggeratedly brag about Prince Mordred's achievements with Magic. It felt as if he was wasting his time these last 2 years in the village…
'Prince Mordred didn't visit the village in a while. I only hope he didn't leave Roa…'
'When he visits next time, I'll have to ask him for a way I could use to progress my Magic. Maybe I can convince him to teach me more Saint ranked Magic…'
Rudeus didn't need a higher ranked Magic to exercise his Magic Power, but he did want to finally rank up again.
…
The next day after visiting the town, the day of his birthday, Mordred went out to visit the Buena village with the goal of bringing Rudeus with him to Ars.
In the novel, Paul wanted to separate Rudeus from Sylphy at the age of 7 because they became too dependent on each other and sent him to be a home tutor in the Citadel of Roa. In this timeline, that should be even more true.
Of course, because of Mordred there was no job for Rudeus in the Boreas manor. To follow a similar script, he wanted to take Rudeus with him to begin training him as his attendant.
Once again, he found Rudeus with Sylphiette at the usual hill.
After they met, Rudeus told him about his desire to progress his Magic, asking for a way for him to earn money for the Ranoa University's tuition for him and Sylphy, or another method.
"If you want to join the University of Ranoa, it isn't a bad idea. I can cover your fees. Not a problem."
Rudeus looked delighted after hearing Mordred agree to it this easily.
Mordred continued, "The University of Ranoa has books on Saint rank Magic, but not so much King rank. Only the Principal is a King ranked Magician in Wind Magic. They accept anyone, so for that reason they're a popular destination for aspiring Magicians, but they're far worse in terms of accumulations compared to my Kingdragon Kingdom. After all, no one in their right mind would freely redistribute knowledge of King ranked Magic and above. Still, traveling the world would be a beneficial experience for you, so I think it's alright."
The University of Ranoa in the north accepted anyone with talent, including the beast race and demons, and didn't hoard knowledge unlike major empires who treated it as a treasure, so it was considered to be the center for Magical education for the common people, while magical research also bloomed there.
However, a war-farring and long-lasting powerful empire like the Kingdragon Kingdom, whose roots extended to before the Third Demon-Human War, was on another level when it came to past knowledge and accumulations.
"Oh, I see…"
"So I can pay for the tuition for both of you and we can somehow work this out. But aren't you two too young to join the Magic University? I'm not sure if your parents would let you go."
After chatting some more, Mordred proposed that he would go meet with Rudeus's parents to somehow settle the matter. His plan was to talk with Paul to allow Rudeus to go with him to Ars.
On the way there, Rudeus asked if Mordred himself could be the one to teach him Saint ranked Magic.
Mordred immediately had the idea of showing Rudeus some Saint rank spells at the hill the same day... And he immediately rejected it.
A situation that he could perfectly envision was him trying to cast Saint rank Magic to teach Rudeus, and the sky would turn weird. Arumanfi the Bright would appear and attack him, and then the Mana Disaster would suddenly happen…
'Damn, this is such a red flag. I'll totally skip doing that for now!'
With this thought Mordred continued on his way to Rudeus's house.
But just as they passed through the stone gate, walking, Mordred noticed orange clouds stirring in the sky.
His face paled.
"No way…"
Very quickly, the clouds began to turn into a huge whirlpool which clearly originated from the City of Roa.
'No, no, no! Not now!' Mordred gripped his fists tightly. Why did it have to happen now of all times when he was away from Eris?!
"What… is that?" Rudeus asked, also staring at the sky.
In the next moment, an explosion happened in the far distance and a dome of bright white-blue light began to spread out, devouring everything at break-neck speed.
"Nooo!"
Mordred only had enough time to surge his Mana inside him for protection, just in case, and grab Rudeus before the light engulfed both of them.
The Fates of various people like Sylphiette, Roxy and Eris had already unavoidably changed. As a result, the Displacement Incident occurred early.
…
Act 2 - Journey to Asura - ended.