It has been four months since Roxy had started to teach Rudeus. While she used to teach me as well, I spent most of time sparring with Paul as a swordsman and spending a little time with Roxy. My bond with her progressed over the course of past few months and one could even say we are... friends now. I guess.
Rudeus was able to perform Intermediate-tier spells with ease and hence Roxy started to give him classroom styled lessons in the evening. I was about skip out on today's lesson since I already knew what she was going to teach him. But Roxy insisted that I sat with him as well so I had to go there.
"Miss Roxy. How come there are only spells used in combat?" Rudeus asked as we sat inside the room for Roxy's lesson. The dim saffron hue of the evening had washed everything in a faint symphony of pink and citrus. The light was dim and only half of Roxy's features were visible, her face complimented by the streak of setting sun making her look like a little porcelain doll.
"Well, it is not exactly like that. What's the best way to put it?" She pondered over her own words, placing her chin on her index finger.
"How about starting from the basics of it?" I suggested as she smacked her fist into her palm.
"Ah. You're right, Julian," she spoke and stood in a more comfortable position with her back towards the wall, a mere inch away from it.
"First off, magic was originally created by the High Elves." Roxy said and I could feel Rudeus' excitement pulse through his whole body. The only thing keeping him from drooling over the existence of elves was the fact that he wanted to impress Roxy. "Elves currently live in the northern part of Millis Continent."
The existence of other races was something I had a few doubts on. The doubt stemmed from my unique vision where I could see the unique composition of each one's physique and their mana nature. While I didn't talk to her about it, she wasn't human as well. There was an irregularity in her mana when compared to a human's making me assume that. However, from her talks it seems like there are indeed other races.
The High Elves created magic spells during the great Human-Demon war. To fend off the demons and to protect themselves they entreated with spirits of forest to control wind and earth.
"Wow, so there is a history to everything?" Rudeus asked.
"Of course, there is." Roxy huffed rebuking him with a nod, "Modern magic is a derivative from humans mimicking the High Elves' spells and then creating new branches from it. Humans are good at this after all."
"We are?" Rudeus asked.
It was natural for humans to be good at adapting. Since time immemorial in my old world, humans have stayed alive in even one of the harshest environments due to their ability to adapt and improvise. In this world, where other superior races existed who were physically superior and had more natural inclination towards mana, the only reason humans could prosper was to adapt to the others and by making others weapons as their own.
"Why yes, it is nearly always humans who push for innovation." Roxy replied.
"But magic isn't limited to just attack spells though." I interjected, trying to act like how kids my age would take part in interesting topics.
"You are right, Julian. There exists summoning magic and healing magic as well." She replied with a smile in my direction as I nodded while Rudeus grumbled.
"Psst. Keep your cute face away from ma girl." Rudeus whispered.
"I am not doing anything though. You can do whatever you want. I am just participating in the class." I replied as he made a weird face.
"Ugh, don't look at me like that, geez. You almost make me feel sorry for saying stuff to you."
What does he mean by that? Is there something on my face that makes him feel guilty right afterwards he says something mean? I mean, it wasn't even mean in the first place. His hormones seem to be raging at a wrong point in age.
"Hey, you two. Stop talking." Roxy rebuked, tapping Rudeus' head slightly with the tip of her staff.
"He was talking too." Rudeus screamed, holding his head and pointing at me.
On one hand it is good that I don't get scolded by Roxy due to my mature behavior that was because of my past life, however Rudeus' infatuation with Roxy that almost bordered on obsession was a troublesome thing. Although it is less obvious now his lecherous habits are still there --- albeit veiled under a thick veil of trickery. He was getting serious and more oriented towards his magic studies so a little fun doesn't hurt.
I was able to perform advanced level spells as of now. The advanced level spell that I am able to perform is called [Blizzard Storm] which is an advanced level spell of Ice element. While I was able to perform the fire element advanced spell called "Exodus flame" as well, I had never tried it. I knew the basic physics behind each spell but performing an advanced level spell would be troublesome. I intended to live a simple life, but I do need power to retain that peace. Other reason why I didn't perform the spell was because I would probably faint out due to mana exhaustion or due to over-exertion of my body. It was still a small and weak body.
"Why are you being an airhead again, Julian?" Roxy rebuked with a sigh, shaking her head as if she was having a hard time with me spacing out.
"I was listening. You were talking about difference between monsters and fiends." I replied. While I was thinking I also kept an ear towards her so she can't have a reason to scold me.
"Yes. Simply put, Monsters are creatures that mutated from normal creatures in presence of mana. Monsters are the result of sudden mutations in normal animals. If they are lucky enough to grow in numbers, establish themselves as a new species, and develop intellect over the generations, they become fiends. But apparently, many creatures that possessed intelligence but still attacked humans are referred to as monsters; there are also cases of fiends growing more savage and brutal over the generations, reverting back into monsters. Due to the fact that monsters thrive on mana, areas with higher mana density like the Demon Continent tend to have more powerful monsters."
Monsters. Adventurers. Magic.
Sounds like a cliche of the mangas that are famous among youths in my old world.
But there is the same thing that has been bothering me for a while.
"Roxy? Can I ask a question?" I spoke up as Rudeus looked at me.
"It is 'Miss' Roxy."
Roxy chuckled before waving her hand, "It is alright, Rudeus. He can call me that. If he is comfortable then it makes me comfortable around him too."
"T-Then! Can I call you Roxy too?" Rudeus asked, smoke oozing from his nose like a raging bull.
"When we are not in class, you can." She replied and then redirected her attention at me, "You were asking?"
"You are not a human, yes?"
Her eyes fluttered wide open, "Did you hear it from your parents?"
"No, I did not. However, I can feel something different about your aura." I replied and tried to be a little open about it.
"Oh, that makes me remember. I wanted to tell you before and I guess Paul noticed it too but you can use touki subconsciously."
"Touki?" I asked, knowing what it was but still asked since that would seem the normal thing to do so.
"It is like the aura you mentioned. Swordsman use touki to enhance themselves and attack with strength and speed that isn't possible with their natural physiques. However, not everyone can use it. Like me." She said and paused, "Still that won't explain how you know about me... wait, ah, you asked me a question. Yes, indeed I am not a human. I am actually a demon." She said and I could feel Rudeus' jaw drop on the desk in front of him.
"You are?" He blurted out.
"That is right. Put more formally, I am a MIGURD from the BIEGOYA region of the demon continent. You must've seen your parent getting surprised by my appearance, right?" Roxy asked both of us.
"Yeah, I saw you were quite small."
"Is it your hair color?"
"I am NOT small, Rudy." She huffed. It seemed like a sore spot for her. "And yes, you are right, Julian. The more our hair colour gets close to green, the more savage we become or so have everyone deemed us to be."
It made sense now. Hair colour closed to green. Usually, green colour can be made up by combining blue and yellow. So the colour blue being closer to green and them being deemed as related to savage demons was a natural reaction from my parents. It was a little obvious since every time I saw someone from the fence, no one had such weird hair colour as Roxy. And once she told us about multiple races, it was safe to assume that this hair colour was reserved to demons.
Roxy twirled with her sky-blue locks as she explained the origin of the green haired demons --- Superd. That also explained the fact why I didn't saw any skills related to spear. The violent demon race - Superd used spears in the war, killing foes and allies alike. That is why the spear became a symbol of evil. Although, much like the sword, I was very much intrigued by the spear. It had a longer range and a better stabbing arsenal. I should try it someday.
"I think your hair is pretty," Rudeus said out of the blue. I looked at him, knowing very well what he was trying to do.
"Thank you. But you should say something like that to a girl you like when you are grown up."
Looks like Rudeus won't let this chance go. He looked at me as I looked the other way, pretending not to be interested in whatever he was trying to do.
"I like you, miss."
"I see. Well, if you can say the same thing in ten to fifteen years from now, feel free to tell that to me again." She said, her sleepy eyes glinting and a wave of happy expression washing over her.
Rudeus seemed to be a bit down, probably because of the momentary rejection from her.
"Back to the main topic, the brighter the colour of hair is, the more dangerous demons are is a widely spread belief but actually it is a superstition. Due to this, we, Migurd are treated almost the same as Superd."
"You said they had emerald hair and a red jewel on their head." Rudeus spoke.
"Yes. And If you see one, you should run. Or you will get your family killed." Roxy spoke in a dramatic tone, as if trying to scare both of us. However, seeing both of our unfazed faces she chuckled, "Well that would be it for today. Class is dismissed."
(***)
Sitting on the roof of our house, I gazed into the endless sky wrapped in jet black fabric with diamonds embroided over it. The moon absent making it look incomplete. The last few days in my past life. I had gotten used to seeing it every day. It made my thoughts organised. And without it, the sky felt like it was lacking everything.
"I figured you'd be here." A voice said from behind. Roxy placed her hand on my head and ruffled my hair. "Your hair is so silky."
"Thanks?" I replied.
Sitting beside me, she let out a long-tired sigh and jerked her head sideways.
"Tired?" I asked.
"A little. Seeing you and Rudeus make progress make me really happy. But it is really tiring to keep up with your paces." She seemed to comlpain but the tone in her voice betrayed her as she sounded extremely proud.
"Where is Rudeus?" I asked.
"Guess where," she asked with a smile on her face and turned her head towards me.
"Sleeping. Or else he would've followed you." I replied as she let out a giggle.
"Haha. Yeah. He slept straight after dinner. I didn't had much to do so I just came here to watch the sky." She hugged her legs and placed her chin over her knees. Looking at her small frame she seemed to be holding something in. While appearing cheerful on the outside, she was chaotic on the inside.
"You okay?" I asked.
She looked at me, her eyes widening for a fraction of a second, "I am. Why do you ask?"
"You don't seem like it." I replied with a shrug before looking upwards at the sky. She giggled once again.
"You know, Julian, you really sound like someone I would love to share all my secrets with." She spoke while swinging her head playfully.
"Do you have secrets?"
"Everyone has their own demons... well, I am a demon myself, but you know what I meant, right?"
I nodded meekly.
"Why me?"
"I have no idea," she shrugged nonchalantly like me and then smiled, her features getting kissed by the stars dim light, "I just do."
"Rudeus seems to really like you. You should wait for him," I spoke as I looked at the moonless sky, "or is that too much to ask for?"
"You care about your brother, don't you? Even though you appear to be so indifferent towards everyone."
It wasn't like I genuinely cared out of pure goodwill. I had a second chance at life. And Roxy was of no use to me. Keeping her to myself while my twin seemingly 'liked' her was out of question.
"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. However, that wasn't the answer I was expecting." I replied without looking at her.
"Maybe it is too much to ask. Maybe it is not. Depends on you." She replied. I looked back at her, marginally confused.
"Do you have some-"
"Maybe I do... now." She replied, looking down before looking up and standing, dusting the dust and dried remains of leaves from her dress, "Just kidding. We will talk about it later... or maybe never."
"You sure are uncertain. Using "maybe" so many times."
"Emotions are uncanny, Julian. You might be smart, but you are still young. As you grow up you will figure them out." I was about to speak but she interrupted and continued from where she left off. "You understand other people's emotions well. But from what I have observed you don't seem to grasp your own." She spoke as I stayed silent and lowered my head.
She was right.
"So, if we meet in future, be sure to understand the human feelings and experience them yourself."
"No promises." I replied.
"That is enough." She spoke and yawned, extending her hands above her head, "I will sleep now. You should sleep too. It is getting late."
"I will... in a while." I replied as she went away.
What she said had some weight to it. If I was redoing my whole life in a new world, I have to make some changes to myself. I wonder...
...if I can do it.
However, right now I had something else to focus on. There was a mana presence circling around the house. It was rogue, unstable.
Maybe a weak monster.
"Ice blade," I muttered under my breath and a shimmering sword made of ice materialised in my hand. It was sleek and shiny. Despite it's meek appearance, it had the ability to sever rocks when augmented with a little amount of Touki.
A burning sensation spread throughout my body as I felt my body glow. The tips of my hair started to get fiercer as I augmented my body with aura. My eyes seemed to glow in a sapphire hue and my whole body seemed to be on fire. The sensation was exhilarating, almost euphoric. Clutching the blade in my hand, I jumped.
(A/n) Illustration in this comment