I'm reborn as Rudeus Greyrat

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***

Time slowly flowed at its own pace.

After Aisha's birth, I returned to Roa to continue training Eris while doing my research. The rats were a bit of a pity, but thanks to their dedicated help I was able to improve my regeneration spell. It took about another half a year or so before I got the desired result. Although, true king rank healing can regrow a lost limb in a matter of minutes, my spell took longer. It took a week or so for the rats to grow new legs. But, most importantly, they grew back and were quite functional.

So I first worked my spells on rats, then on other rodents. I had to improve the charms again, so that they could work with different species.

And finally, I moved on to experimenting on humans.

And technically, it was a breeze. I just checked a few things with Philip, and then I turned to the Greyrat guards. For a small fee, the soldiers agreed to walk around the city looking for cripples in their spare time. They were offered to become voluntary participants in a magical experiment, of course, with payment for the risk. I also placed an offer in the adventurer's guild.

And the next day, five volunteers came to me at once.

It's not easy to make money in this world when you're missing an arm or a leg. Especially when you don't even have an education. All five volunteers were essentially beggars, and they were more interested in earning money than in believing in the success of the healing. All the more so because I offered them a substantial fee, by local standards. One gold for participation in the experiment. Another five gold pieces as compensation if the volunteers' condition only worsened because of the experiment. And ten gold pieces to compensate the relatives in case of death. At first I thought of offering more, but Phillip said I wouldn't have any volunteers then. Too much money will only scare people away, it's suspicious.

- Even one gold piece is already a lot. - The man remarked. - I would advise you to lower the pay. Soldiers risk their lives too, but they get paid much less, and they must also have the right skills.

But in the end, I settled on a gold payment.

Actually, at this stage, five volunteers were enough for me.

And, it quickly became clear that while a week was enough for a rat to grow a limb, a human needed more time. For this, I also had to periodically update my spell, stimulating regeneration in the right direction. But, even so... the first pancake came out wrong. Yeah, creepy metaphor for human experimentation.

The first test subject received six gold pieces. And an ugly clawed paw in place of the missing hand. It was much stronger than the normal arm, but its twisted shape prevented the guy from bending the new arm properly. So, in the end, he agreed to experiment again, after cutting off the wrong arm.

At the same time, having updated the parameters of the spell, I started the experiment with the rest of the volunteers.

It worked much better the second time. After that, I had already learnt enough about how the new spell worked, so in the end, all five cripples got their limbs back, which were even better than their surviving arms and legs. The new muscles were originally grown in a more developed form, as were all the other new tissues.

- Hmm, that's impressive, Rudeus. - Phillip praised me sincerely. - But I would advise you not to use this magic too explicitly.

- Yes, yes, I understand... Miles is unlikely to like it. Although their spells are much more effective.

- You're a smart guy. I'm sure you have a great future ahead of you... - He smiled a little sinisterly.

- Oh, and one more thing, uncle, I'd like to think of something here, and I wanted to ask your opinion.

Saying this, I presented Philip with a box of hard plastic. And after unfolding it, I laid it out on the table with a playing board and began to arrange the stone pieces.

- What's this?

- Chess.

- Hmm...

- A game, if you have time, I'd like to play a game with you. I'll explain the rules.

- It looks interesting. - Nodded the man, rubbing his chin.

Yes, I did make a chess game, but it wasn't difficult. Philip quickly got the hang of it, and we played many more games in the future. I felt a tremendous spiritual lift from the fact that I had brought a piece of my native culture into the world.

Back to magic.

The regeneration spell wasn't the only thing I was working on.

It's been almost a whole year.

And in that time, I did complete the life support barrier. It created the perfect conditions inside and, in theory, could even protect me from the space environment, or from diving into a bubbling volcano. With such protection, I was quite capable of conjuring even the most devastating spells if necessary. Hell, I even added protection against various types of ionising radiation. This barrier prevented radiation from penetrating beyond normal levels. In addition, it even limited light penetration so that I couldn't be blinded by a bright flash, for example.

Along the way, I also made a flexible carbon suit that allowed me to activate a carbon armour spell almost instantly. I also improved my electromagnetic barrier by incorporating some of the functions of a life support barrier into it. And finally, he began to master the magic of flight, based on interaction with the electromagnetic field of the earth.

Although, flight was still a long way off. So far, I learnt how to create a kind of directional vector of attraction or repulsion. Even the skill of gravity magic had appeared. And the new spells basically just allowed me to repel or attract objects with great force. So I could push myself off the ground, for example. But then there would be problems with controlling that kind of flight.

So there's a sort of fork in the road as to which way to go. To develop methods of flight control based on aerodynamics... well, something like magic wings. Or to further refine gravity magic, hoping to master a more precise control that would allow me to fly just like some sort of magnetic mutant.

In the meantime...

Eris continued to learn.

The girl was already close to the point where she could be called literate! I feel that with a little more time, the teacher's pride assignment will be fulfilled. And in fencing, her skills grew even faster. So much so that I myself stopped keeping up with the girl. I could admit that she had overtaken me in this direction.

And I myself had already got used to the sword, and then took and gave it up.

That is, I decided to start practising with different types of weapons, and among them I chose what I liked best.

The mace!

A magical rod in the form of a mace, which can be used to conjure and knock so that the enemy will not get up afterwards. In any case, the basis of any battle tactics for me would be magic. Sword techniques were a challenge when Eris had learnt how to use some of them long ago. I was just learning how to keep my morale up. That's why I chose a slightly different path, and decided to focus on somewhat simpler weapons. Though I still took Gilen's lessons to understand what swordsmen are capable of and how to fight them.

Because of Eris' rapid growth in skills, I also started using magic in our fights. So that the girl would also learn to resist not only swordsmen, but also mages.

And at the same time I improved my healing magic. I added new parameters and, as it were, programmed the spell to work more autonomously. Collecting more mana at once, it consumes it in stages, renewing itself at intervals. At the same time, the active spell draws a magical pattern on the target's body, which gradually diminishes and disappears as the spell takes effect. Actually, at this time I focused more on healing magic. Selecting new combinations of parameters for new spells. I still had volunteers to help me in my experiments.

During this time, I returned to Bueno several times.

I played with the little girls, my sister and daughter, who had grown up a bit, Norn even began to walk and babble uncertainly. He played more carefully with Lilia, as he didn't want to have another child anytime soon. And I couldn't help but notice that Zenith was clearly uncomfortable in this house.

By the way.

- Thank you, sir. I feel much better now.

Not completely, but I've partially reversed the effects of Lilia's injury. She can walk more easily, and she can even run again. Her old strength began to return to her. She's even started training, trying to remember her forgotten swordswoman skills.

- That's good. I'm glad to see you're getting better.

Lily had indeed become noticeably more cheerful. And she was spending more and more time with her children.

In fact, looking at Zenith and Lilia cooing over the little ones, it was starting to feel like they just had that family of two mums. Though I guess Norn and Aisha do see them as mothers. I, on the other hand, am regarded with some suspicion, due to the fact that I'm not in Bueno that often. But a couple of magic tricks can quickly win back the girls' favour.

And, lately, I've been thinking about it more and more.

After all.

- You want to buy land in Roa? - Philip wondered.

- Ohhh, it's just that things are a bit complicated at home... you know my parents split up.

- Yes, I've heard about that. - Nodded the man.

- Even though my dad left the house to my mum, but... she doesn't seem to enjoy staying there. Especially with Paul around. And, I'd like to be closer to the little ones. Last time I was here, Norn didn't even recognise me.

- You could invite them here. - He remarked. - Lord Cyrus won't object.

- They are my family uncle, I would like to take care of them myself.

- I see, then, as mayor of the city, I will look into the options.

- Thank you, Uncle.

A week later, I returned to Bueno with a plan.

Zenith wouldn't just move in. She wouldn't want to cause me any trouble. But since I already had my own house in Roa, it was a different matter. In fact, the new house was no smaller than our old family nest in Bueno. And my salary as an Eris teacher wouldn't be enough for such a purchase, unless I borrowed money. But, I still sold various figurines from time to time. It had become something of a hobby. I keep the best ones for myself.

And now.

- If that's the way the lord wants it, I will follow you. - Lily bowed.

She had no doubts about my proposal at all.

- Rudy... - Zenith, on the other hand, was worried. - Why? A whole house... that's a lot of money!

- I just want my family closer... and you don't like it here, do you?

- Rudy.

She finally agreed. Although, I also had Lily's help in persuading me. Well, not that she talked Zenith into it, she was just on my side, that's all. And Mum herself was inclined to accept my offer. And when she made up her mind, within a couple of days things were packed and the move began. Everything was ready to go by then. I even borrowed some maids from the Boreas to clean up the new house for our arrival.

Interestingly enough, we were also greeted in Roa....

- Gilen! - Zenith was pleased to see an old acquaintance.

- Aha...

Mum set Norn on the ground, and herself jumped up to the cat and hugged her. Only then did Zenith turn her attention to the scarlet-haired girl.

- Oh... sorry, you must be Eris?

- Yes. - The girl turned up her nose.

And then, as if she'd come to her senses, she did a curtsy.

- Nice to meet you, Lady Zenith.

And it looked a little weird. It was just that Eris was dressed up in a weekend dress, with a cute bonnet on her head. And a belt on her shoulder and a sword behind her back. Ever since she got that gift, she's never parted with it.

- Oh, you're very polite. - Mum smiled.

Yeah, well, when she needs to be, she can be polite. And, it's even a little unusual that she wanted to introduce herself like that.

- Thank you for the praise. - And, she lifted her nose again.

As she did so, she looked at the little ones with interest. Aisha, whom Lilya held in her arms. And Norn, who was hiding behind her skirt.

- Are these your children? - She asked.

- Well... yes... Norn and Aisha Greyrat. - Zenith smiled.

Okay, you don't have to tell Eris right now that this dark-haired girl over here is actually my daughter.

- They're really cute! - Nodded Eris.

- Ohhh... why are we still just standing outside? Let's go inside the house. - Said Mum.

And inside the house, the maids from the Boreas house had already prepared a festive dinner to celebrate the housewarming. And honestly, I didn't even expect it. Eris looked so happy that it was clear she had the idea.

But first, we took a quick tour of the house.

We unloaded some of the stuff from the wagon. Put the babies in their cots. And then dinner.

- Oh, Gilen... you have a new sword. - Zenith noticed.

- Yeah...

The cat set her weapon against the wall next to the table before sitting down at it.

- It was a gift from our Rudy! - Eris declared proudly. - He gave me a sword too!

- Oh, yeah?" Mum said, surprised.

And she looked at me.

- Eris has a talent for swordsmanship. So I decided to make her a magic staff in the shape of a sword. And for Gilen too. They're both my students.

- Oh, really? - Zenith looked at the cat in surprise.

I guess her mum didn't know that I was training her as well.

- Yeah. - Gilen just nodded.

Anyway, that's how Zenith and Lily settled in town, and now I visited them on a practical daily basis. Even the little ones started to recognise me. Also my time itself became noticeably more, because the number of lessons Eris had became less. She had finally learnt to read and write properly, so grammar was the bare minimum necessary to keep her skills up. And, yes, for that was a win, the assignment was completed and the system provided me with a new magic book.

A grimoire dedicated to summoning magic.

That being said, Roxy also sent me two books through my inventory. Another small self-teaching book on summoning magic that she found on her way to Shiron. But upon reading it, it was quickly discovered that it was clearly inferior to the grimoire from the system. The second book from the sorceress, however, was a volume devoted to more advanced methods of barrier magic, which she had managed to get her hands on at the royal palace when she had begun training the prince.

As it turned out, Shiron's barrier magic wasn't some special secret. It was just that the kingdom itself didn't have a developed book culture, one might say. Such books were freely available, but it was not easy to find them. And in the northern part of the central continent, there was simply not enough interest in this section of magic to conduct a serious study in Shirone and then write new books.

And so it turned out that such useful magic turned out to be as if nobody needed it. Really complex barriers were used by very rare magicians of Shiron and several other small kingdoms. And they were not famous enough to glorify this school of magic.

And in general, almost everywhere mages are treated with a little disdain, and for nothing.

Not all mages are able to cast magic as I do, quickly and without words, to use rare and unique spells that can pierce morale and various forms of defence. Even so, powerful spellcasters can, for example, destroy entire cities! Even if their swordsmen equals survive, that's still powerful damage. In the armies of this world, mages take the position of artillery. Swordsmen, on the other hand, are first line fighters. They too use magic, but in their own way, and they call it sword techniques and fighting spirit. Essentially, they use mana to strengthen their bodies and use special melee combat techniques.

In a duel, of course, an ordinary swordsman would have a serious advantage over mages. Even a swordsman of holy rank could easily defeat a magic emperor. But at the same time, the destruction that sorcerers are capable of causing is simply monstrous. Strong magicians are capable of changing the landscape of entire countries! Although, there are only a handful of such powerful magicians. And mages of divine rank don't seem to exist at all. At least, I haven't heard anything about them.

And, in any case, it so happens that swordsmen are more popular than mages. Fairy tales and ballads extol the exploits of legendary swordsmen. Most children dream of becoming swordsmen, not mages. So, even those with the potential to become powerful sorcerers are more likely to follow the path of a swordsman.

However, there is a whole alliance of small nations in the north of our continent that seeks to develop magic. It is there that the famous magic is located. Thus, despite the great popularity of swordsmen, we can not say that mages are completely in oblivion.

Going back to my own training.....

With the new books, I was able to improve my understanding of barrier magic in general, which can also help me with improving various spells. But, that was all flowery. The real treasure was summoning magic!

It's divided into two types, creature summoning and spirit summoning.

And, the more I read into the descriptions of the basics of these branches of summoning magic, the more I was amazed by it. Perhaps if you think of spells as programme codes, setting aside other parameters, there are two basic commands at the heart of these two types. They are summoning and creating. That's right. Using the summon command, the mage imposes additional search parameters, after which the creature summoner searches for an object matching the parameters and summons it into the magic circle. And it doesn't have to be a creature, it can also be an object. Well, and the call of spirits, in fact, no call, but the creation of a magical entity! Perhaps even in the form of a gnome, if enough skill. Moreover, it is theoretically possible to create intelligent beings. As an example, the book cited the familiars of Perigius Dora, a.k.a. the Armoured Dragon, after whom the world's calendar is named. He is served by intelligent spirits created by summoning magic.

So, it turns out... summoning spirits is, in essence, the creation of artificial intelligence.....

My imagination is running wild with the possible applications of such magic and its combination with other directions.

And if at first I wanted to focus on the magic of healing, then getting to know more about summoning, I realised that it was exactly what I needed. The forms of summoning magic circles... it was a whole new layer of magic, and understanding it could help me advance in all other areas.

Anyway, I still had a lot to do as magic continued to open up to me in new ways.

I'd also learnt the animal language in the meantime. I didn't pay as much attention to it as I did to magic, but at least Gilen says she understands my pronunciation. Speaking of her...

I just couldn't stand it...

- Gilen.

- Rudeus?

The cat tilted her head, waiting for my question. Right now, we're just finishing up another magic lesson. The girl is already at the intermediate level, but neither she nor Eris can do silent spells. But at least they had learnt to control the mana in their spells more or less. In general, it felt like their training had been going very hard lately. It was just a case of not having talent in something. Even their current result was already impressive considering how much effort they had put into it. But, it's not about magic or talent right now. It's already the second year that I've been training her with Eris, spending so much time with her. And Gilen is a stunningly beautiful girl. Her tanned skin, her grey hair that looks more like fur. Her physique is rather muscular for a girl, but it's not repulsive, on the contrary, you want to touch her body, to feel the curves of her body. However, these muscles, purely aesthetically, could use some fat. Her figure seems like a beautiful stone statue.

And, after all, she is a catgirl!

- Um... anyway, can I touch your ears?

Her ears twitched in surprise.

- Why?

- They're cool!

- Yeah... okay.

It wasn't a problem for her at all.

So, Gilen leaned over, and I was able to calmly stroke her soft hair, as well as feel her fluffy ears. Kaef...