Every day, Rudy practiced magic at home, stopping only when his mana was fully depleted. Afterward, he would focus on chakra training.
Since he had already mastered chakra control in his previous life, the process of extracting chakra was straightforward. However, there was a problem—chakra recovery here was nine times slower than in the Ninja World.
"A miscalculation. I thought the Nine-Tails chakra within my soul would regenerate on its own, but instead, it's absorbing the chakra I refine. At this rate, it'll take forever to use my full abilities, especially my eye techniques."
Rudy sat on the ground, frowning deeply as he stared at the book in front of him. He had just turned to the section on intermediate water magic: Water Cannon.
"What's wrong, Rudy? Are there words you don't understand?" his mother, Zenith, asked, giving him a warm hug and kissing him on the cheek.
Pretending to be an innocent child all the time was starting to get tedious, but Rudy shook his head. He'd deal with this issue later, when he was older.
"You see? Our Rudy is a genius!" Zenith said with a hint of pride, though she closed the magic book gently. "But this kind of magic isn't suitable for you just yet. You need to wait until you're older."
Rudy nodded in agreement, knowing full well that there was still some time before he turned three. If Zenith knew about his magic talent now, she might hire a magic tutor too early, which could cause him to miss out on a critical encounter—Roxy Migurdia.
He absolutely could not let that happen.
The days passed quickly, and Rudy finally turned three. Sitting in the attic on the second floor, he felt more relaxed than ever. The time for pretending was over.
"No more hiding. Starting today, I'm going to show off my genius. In the novel, I didn't know the exact timeline, but I'm certain Roxy can be hired around this time."
He pointed his finger toward the window, chakra mixed with magic power flowing through him. He skipped the chant, shortening the activation time once again. Water began gathering at his fingertip, and soon, he unleashed a powerful blast—the intermediate-level water magic, Water Cannon.
Boom! The window didn't stand a chance and was blown apart, leaving a large hole in the wall.
Paul, Rudy's father, was the first to rush into the room, his expression full of alarm. "What happened? Was it a monster attack?"
He stood ready, on high alert, scanning the area. If Paul were the protagonist, his reaction would make perfect sense. Plus, it was hard to expect monogamy in a medieval-like world where harems were seen as a man's dream.
Zenith arrived next, quickly noticing the "scene" Rudy had carefully staged. Her expression turned comically confused, and Rudy couldn't help but feel a little amused himself.
"Rudy, did you try to cast something from the book you were reading?" she asked.
"Sorry... I thought it looked interesting and tried it without realizing it." Rudy played the part of the apologetic child.
Paul, however, was skeptical. "No way... That was an intermediate-level spell..."
Zenith, on the other hand, was ecstatic. "Did you see that, honey? Our son is a genius!"
Paul protested, "Wait a minute, we haven't even taught him how to read yet!"
"Go hire a tutor now! This boy is going to become a great magician!" Zenith insisted.
The couple soon started arguing. Paul wanted Rudy to learn swordsmanship, while Zenith argued that his magical talent shouldn't be wasted. Eventually, Lilia, the maid, suggested a compromise: Rudy could study magic in the morning and swordsmanship in the afternoon.
"Exactly what I wanted," Rudy thought with satisfaction. Everything was going according to plan.
"Though, I've noticed Lilia has been acting a little strangely around me. Maybe it's because I've stopped looking at her breasts and buttocks like a typical perverted kid... That might be why she's treating me better now."
Once Paul and Zenith agreed on the tutor plan, they issued a request for a magic instructor. The commission was quickly accepted, and on the appointed day, the whole family gathered at the entrance to welcome the tutor.
Rudy smiled with genuine happiness when he saw the figure approaching. She was a petite girl wearing a mage's robe, her aqua-blue hair tied into a braid. Despite her youthful appearance, she was actually thirty-six years old.
"Junior girls are like holding gold bricks... and even better when they're petite and won't age further. Completely legal."
"My name is Roxy Migurdia. Please take care of me," she said politely.
Paul and Zenith were both surprised. They had been expecting an old, bearded wizard, not a young-looking girl.
"Uh... You're the tutor we hired?" Paul stammered.
"You look... quite..." Zenith began.
"Small," Rudy interjected with a playful smile.
"You have no right to call me small!" Roxy snapped back. "Now then, where is the child I'll be teaching?"
Rudy blinked innocently and said, "That would be me."
Roxy sighed. "Sometimes parents like you get carried away, thinking their kids are geniuses when they just mature a little faster..." She trailed off, clearly skeptical.
But Rudy was ready. He opened his palm, and a water ball appeared out of thin air.
Talent wasn't something to talk about—it had to be shown.
"I'm sorry for what I just said," Roxy admitted with a complicated expression. "You really are talented."
And so, the lessons began.
In the morning, Roxy taught magic, while in the afternoon, Paul instructed Rudy in swordsmanship.
On the first day of magic lessons, Roxy tried to keep her cool, but her nervousness showed as she tugged at her robe. "So, Rudy, how much magic do you know?"
Rudy responded by pointing at the sky. Without chanting, he cast Water Cannon again, shooting a powerful torrent of water high into the air. It rained down as a gentle drizzle after a few moments.
Roxy's heart sank, but she tried to keep her composure. "Are you tired after that?" she asked.
"A little," Rudy admitted. His three-year-old eyes gleamed with a mixture of pride and admiration, which made Roxy feel slightly better.
"Alright, let me show you how a typical mage casts a spell."
Roxy began chanting and released a spell herself—though she accidentally hit Zenith's favorite tree in the garden. The tree toppled over, and Zenith, having witnessed Rudy's water cannon earlier, immediately scolded the mage.
"Miss Roxy, please don't use my family's trees for target practice!"
"I'm terribly sorry," Roxy apologized quickly.
"Let's make sure it doesn't happen again," Zenith said as she healed the tree with her own magic.
Roxy stood there awkwardly, drawing invisible circles with her foot. "I'm going to be fired soon... I knew I made a mistake coming here."
Rudy sighed and gently patted her shoulder. "Teacher."
"Yes, Rudy?"
"It's not a mistake. It's experience."
Roxy smiled softly. "You're right. Thank you."
The pleasant morning of magic lessons concluded on a more optimistic note.