I, the Swordwick Household's Head Butler, have never been disappointed in my son since his birth.

My dear wife and I have always lived in the servant quarter's of the Swordwick Household since our employment. We raised him with much care here despite the lack of freedom chaining us down.

Not being able to resign was one off-putting fact…

It was to the point I almost thought of forcing him to leave the house. Hmmm… Maybe not for now.

This mansion was a place that was always busy and noisy no matter day or week, but my son, Simon, had never once complained. Taking leisure in doing chores and taking care of Merilin.

There was a certain air of relaxation about him…

It felt wrong somehow. I mean, he didn't even seem to consider that there were other jobs out there.

He could travel the world, adventure, become independent… but instead he chose to stay here.

Was it because of us?

If so, then I'm not sure what to feel about that.

He was always a child who was a slow starter, but unimaginably fast learner after reaching a certain level of understanding of something. Almost like he had comprehended these things beforehand.

For example: It took some time to teach him how to read numbers, but once he was able to recognise them, I found that his improvements in calculations were shocking! Even the Little Miss wasn't like this.

He was born with an uncommonly low rank Magical Talent at birth, which was why I initaially had no intention of making him learn swordsmanship. It was better to keep him close if he was weak.

Us parents could protect him.

Unfortunately, he just had to show talent.

I had already decided on protect him forever if I had to...

It was to the point that I would've acted as his guardian even if the world was to go against him!

It is my duty as a father to protect my son from any dangers.

However, his talent for martial arts were one day unearthed. His F Rank was turning into a benefit.

I secretly witnessed him learn Mana Clad by himself. (Not that he knows of this, of course.)

A normal child would figure out how to use Mana at the youngest age of ten, yet my son was able to exceed that figure by five years. This showed that he had a monstrous talent for Mana Control that even exceeded the 'Human' level. It was amazing!

I'd seen other F Rank Magical Talents in my lifetime. Most of them were disappointing fighters.

Even if they had quick recovery, that only made them better labourers than it did combatants.

Only my son seemed to be an exception to this.

Perhaps one could say that his Mana Control was a result of his lack of magical energy. It could be said that my son's skills were ordinary in the eyes of my colleagues, but I don't believe this to be the case.

His ability to control his Mana has already reached the stage where he can intrinsically distribute his Mana. It was done efficiently to the point of even surpassing those with thicker reinforcements'

A new hope burned in my heart. I desperately tried to force him into training his Burst Manipulation.

As long as he had the chance to let this unique and special talent of his bloom, I knew there would be a day that he would able to change his destiny on his own. He didn't know how much I expected of him.

He was my dear son, after all!

The son of Magic Swordsman Fredrick Rainglow and the grandson of the Lightning Archmage, Hilda Rainglow. I was certain he'd be able to rise from his hardships as long as he had even a bit of hope!

However, what I didn't expect was that he still wouldn't cry or complain about my unreasonable demands that day at the training grounds. He had always been mature at a young age...

…not by looks alone, but by actions.

He always knew the best course of action when he wanted to avoid the troubles brought by the love of the servants. Especially Anna, who would always try to find a way to pinch his soft cheeks.

He'd always mysteriously play the game of 'Hide and Seek' nowadays, but only in her presence...

I didn't think my son would be so entertaining in that aspect~ His hiding ability even seemed to be catching up with Anna's, who was supposed to have been a Ninja before her employment at the Duke's Noble Household. This made me more excited at his future prospects!

It wasn't surprising that she wasn't able to track him using a Search Spell.

Rank F Magical Talents didn't have much Mana to track down in the first place.

For someone like her who has hunted down Dark Specialists as a living, it's shocking that a mere child was able to escape her grasp... This made me even more certain of my decision to train him.

He definitely had the talent!

Seeing his growth with my own eyes made me feel wonderful! A warm feeling grew in my heart…

As I watched him grow stronger, it gave me a anticipation for his vast future achievements.

I, like any other good parent, wanted him to become someone the dangerous world of Gaia will respect.

That's why I'll be extra strict with him…

…without giving him a chance to display any signs of laziness!

Yet even after steeling my heart, I found that he had never once cried after I started training him...

He's so unlike other children his age, thinking with too much forethought in his every action.

How distasteful!

I wish he'd be more selfish once in a while.

He WAS a still child, after all...

As a small child of a young age, he shouldn't be worrying about the future so often.

What he should be worrying about is the here and now.

That and playing around with friends rather than training here by himself...

It made me feel worried about him even more...

I felt moved by the 'mission' he made in his heart...

…and it warmed my heart to know his protective feelings for us were as strong as his own parents.

Time passed... Five years past by in a flash.

The anticipation I felt years before increased even further. My son didn't even waste a second in these five years. He quickly improved his combat efficiency by leaps and bounds in our spars.

He learnt four Elemental Bursts before creating his own style of fighting using both a knife and a sword.

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These achievements were far beyond even my wildest expectations, but the most ingenious skill he learnt was how to form strategies on the fly. It didn't seem like he was relying solely on instinct.

This made me a bit confused at first…

Earth Users had the Battle Affinity of 'Defence'. It made their style of combat focused on stability.

Like myself, they moved a bit sluggish.

However, the true value of a 'Defence' Affinity was they'd easily learn techniques related to blocking.

This was why the sky would fall before my son was anywhere close to making even a scratch on me.

On the other hand, my child was more varied…

Defence, Power, Speed, Agility… He seemed to be perfectly compatible with so many random things.

Was it because of his Universal Affinity?

Since they were rare, I wasn't quite sure. The skills he used seemed more 'professional' than that.

Elbows, fists, throws, and submissions… He seemed only interested in these at close range.

And while using a sword, he focused on practicality. It was different from other children.

To them, practicality mattered less than looking cool in a fight. They had a bit of vanity to them.

It was a normal mindset.

Kids were sensitive creatures.

They wanted to look 'cool' if they wanted to fight.

This wasn't something parents could suppress.

It would hinder their ability to 'express' themselves through battle if they didn't follow their instincts.

That's exactly why his practicality was surprising.

He seemed to have absorbed both mine and Mark's teachings, finding various ways to use his limited Magic Capacity. There seemed to be a methodology to the way he checked possibilities.

What could the Lightning Affinity do? What's the limit of this? Can it do that? What can't it do?

He seemed to be checking his Arts thoroughly.

His little body and his Burst Manipulation had already harmonised to the point he could use one-hundred percent of his strength. This was without wasting any of his remaining power in combat.

It was an accomplishment that even I, a great Grandmaster Swordsman, couldn't reproduce...!

Was he already at the Sword King level, then…?

A ten-year-old Sword King?

No, that was probably overestimating him a bit.

He'd yet to learn any ultimate level techniques…

Although I didn't expect him to become an Archmage like my mother, I still wanted him to become a strong Magic Swordsman in future just like myself. He definitely had the genes for it.

This was because the emission of Mana had the most significant roll in battles between those of combat professions. I hoped my son would be able to overcome any hardships caused by him having a low status as a F Rank Magical Talent.

My heart especially fostered this thought after seeing the calluses forming on his fists.

This thought continuously crept into my mind over the years of training he diligently went through.

Was I being too paranoid and overprotective?

…Perhaps.

In truth, the outside world wasn't that dangerous as we'd made it out to be. People were living well.

Monster attacks happened at rural villages sometimes, but they usually didn't need help.

It was hard to suddenly tell him that after seeing how hard he worked. It made me conflicted…

I didn't want to say his efforts to have gone in vain...!

There was no going back after taking this first step...

I hoped there would never be a time I'd regret my choice.

I'd seen his determination to get up and fight even after he'd experienced an endless amount of torment from our usual spars. He got stronger and learned new ways to adapt to his terrible position.

He was only able to do this because I'd put him through stimulated live-combat everyday...

Seeing him get stronger like this made me proud. but also a little fearful of his potential.

We had so much expectations for his future.

There's a chance that his efforts would be in vain if he doesn't breakthrough the barrier that separated Swordsmen of lower and higher Magic Rank. The way the two types used their blades was different.

The higher ranks focused on utilising their large Mana reserves creatively with greater range.

Those who focused on an unreal amount of Mana Control were known as more useful and adaptable.

I'd heard of them in my travels...

..Though the only things I knew were their rumours.

I'm sure that once my son would break through that barrier, and that he'd soar above his peers.

The child of the Rainglow Family will definitely surpass them in all respects with his talent!

Maybe, just maybe, he'll be able to beat that monstrous daughter the Duke raised once he reaches the peak of his potential... (Not that I have much hope...) That girl who is already able to beat boys who are several years older than her...

Although my son can do the same due to his own monstrous talent. I had a feeling that him beating a girl with B Rank Magical Talent wouldn't be as easy as beating those of E or D Ranks like us.

She is a true genius, unlike the two of us...

"Father, what are you being distracted about?" My son let out a tired breath as he stopped training.

I couldn't help but praise Martha for her effort in making his suit.

My eyes couldn't help being focused on my dear son's dazzling appearance once more.

His suit was both midnight black and sea blue, but also had highlights of wood brown through it.

It went well with his natural chestnut brown hair.

This made his similarly sea blue eyes stand out in contrast to his suit.

"Oh, Simon... I was just thinking about your future plans." I answered while blocking his attacks using the sword style I was most skilled at, which was Earth Style Magic Swordsmanship.

I was suppressing him using my hammer-like sword and made sure to give him no chance to counter.

The only way for him to get stronger was by going through this kind of torment...

Not that I didn't find our spars to be fun~

If I was to also release my Magic Capacity at full power, he wouldn't even be able to catch my shadow due to the difference in his and my own mastery over Burst Manipulation. This, along with the obvious gap between an adult and a child.

At first, Simon could only use his reinforcement to augment his physique internally without emmitting too much Mana, a level of mastery most F Rank Magical Talents were able to bring out.

However, over the course of five years, his fighting style and methods of utilising his reinforcement had changed due to his rapid improvements in battle. He revised and came up with new ideas.

Most people were unable to bring out the full potential of their Mana due to their laziness, but the pressure I placed on my son seemed to have given him the chance to grow beyond what I had originally estimated. He fought like a desperado.

My child was able to switch between all four Elemental Burst he could utilise.

This was while simultaneously creating his own unique fighting style!

Of course, this personal style of swordsmanship wasn't as great as Elemental Swordsmanship at its current power, but it was a style he could use to its full potential. It was tailor made for his strengths.

Usually, it would be rare to find a person who can use even one Elemental Burst, but the Swordwick Household was monstrous due to there being a lot of regular servants who could be considered 'Specialists' in their field of magic… just like Anna.

A good example of a true Wind Specialist with great experience was Mark. That eccentric guy…

Even I myself can't help but admire his strengths in being able to usilise Wind Aura to its highest combative efficiency, and this was without much prep work. He was a completely reactionary fighter.

Usually that wouldn't work, but this was Mark…

He was fast enough to always be a step ahead.

This allowed him to be equivalent to a Beast that utilised great speed rather than a Human.

My son used a similar style to him.

As I attacked Simon, he switched between his four Elemental Bursts in order to propel the level of his techniques up a notch. Full-Contact Close Quarter Combat seemed to be an essential part of his style.

This was a level that most Expert Swordsmen could use in an actual battle. Plus, if it was just him being able to use multiple Elemental Bursts, he wouldn't be able to defend against my skilful sword attacks.

However, the real reason I was unable to break through his tight defences… was due to his control over his own physical body added into his unpredictable personal style of swordsmanship.

I knew my son was a genius fighter!

He was unable to cover his whole body in reinforcement like ordinary E Rank Magical Talents, but even his usage of Burst Manipulation was shockingly unique!

He could coordinate the influences of his Bursts with every one of his muscle movements.

This unique style of his was so precious that even I couldn't help but ask: "Simon, how are you able to use such an ingenious method to divert my sword strikes? You shouldn't be able to handle them…"

It's just too bad his explanation was too complicated for me to understand...

"The first thing I did was focus on the muscles most impacted by an your attack. I focused the right reinforcement towards them at the right times. Then I parried while simultaneously moving my body to redirect the force weighing on those muscles. I used my flexibility to redirect the force in different direction, even into the ground beneath me through my feet. The result having the ability able to keep up with any Swordsman. Even if they have a higher Rank of Magical Talent than me."

Although I was able to understand some of the explanation he gave... what I was unable to understand was how he was putting this into practice. Was his partying of the 'Agility' Affinity?

Hah... My child's a genius…

There's no need to worry...

It didn't seem like his overly complicated Arts were slowing down his progress in any way.

It's said that normal people were unable to understand a genius and their mindset...

I don't need to worry since my son is a truly worthy swordsman. He'd definitely make me proud!

Outside the Drakeyol Kingdom, the war between the Blood Nation which had invaded Gaia and us original residents of this world secretly raged on without peace.

The 'Barbarians', who have been seamlessly coordinating with one another, have gained the attention of even the neutral forces like the Elemental Races. Even though they had silently blended into the natural ecosystem long ago.

I couldn't help but feel worried now.

After they standing behind the large armies of Barbarians have corrupted a country's worth of land, they had become more 'docile'. Maybe it was a result of the changing times, or something else.

Others may think that this is a sign of peace and that the Barbarians had stopped their invasion the Human Lands.

I, however, couldn't help but feel that the Barbarians' docility was just a ruse to cover up their preparations for their next all out war against humanity's civilisation.

The Mercenary Guild my wife and I once worked for were always aware of the movements of the Barbarians. We have always had our best Wind Specialists tracking the Barbarian movements.

If it weren't for the fact that their nation had the ability to replenish their armies by infecting civilians with their Mana Attribute, I wouldn't have been so keen on training my son so harshly.

This isn't an Era for those who couldn't protect themselves, nor was it an Era that would be forgotten in the history to come.

Once out kingdom had finally chosen their representatives for our final battle against those savage invaders, would the Holy War begun by the Blood Nation finally start to commence!

I hope Simon won't be involved in this…