Now… I guess it was time to ignore that massive prick. Time to be going about my daily life as usual. 

That kid must really not have his head on straight if he thought I'd come over to fight him later~

Now, how was Merilin progressing?

I walked back to my parents room Then, dropped my jaw in shock after seeing the burnt walls…!

She used them as target practice for her Spell...

Hah... I should have expected as much from a little girl who was only about seven year old. 

Even if she outwardly looked mature for her she like myself, she's still a child. She wasn't me…

It seemed like she was also able to gain insight to manipulating lightning using artificial storm clouds.

She gained a lot while I was away trying to experiment with my new Lightning Spell. 

It looked like she had ridiculously bad control over the new 'Lightning' Spell we created together.

"Merilin, that's enough! Do you want to burn the room down?" I reprimanded my sister in order to wake her up from her trance. She quickly reacted after hearing my voice before paling in fear.

"Big Brother.... Please help me keep this a secret from mom and dad!" She cried in tears while begged me to help out.  She definitely understood the severity of the situation she was in...!

I didn't answer her and instead used my Mana to slowly fix the walls using Earth Ether. 

The damage done wasn't able to be fixed with my abilities, but I was still able to make it look less like she was intentionally destroying stuff. Damn, this kind of thing wasn't something I'd usually do…

I was only doing it for HER sake… yup…

Hah... This was pretty bad... 

It's not like anything of the Swordwick Household was ordinary. Even the walls of this mansion weren't something that that could have been easy to beak. They had all been reinforced before.

Is this the power of Blue Lightning? I couldn't help but feel that the overpowering strength of this magic was beyond my expectations.

Maybe the power of Blue Lightning was what made up for its lack of anti-magical properties. 

My Lightning Spell may not have the ability to replicate Anti-Magic as of this moment…

…but it's enough to fight!

I wouldn't lose to her if we fought, right…?

Now that I thought about it: 

I really WAS a living cheat, wasn't I? 

Universal Specialists that had all five Affinities were rare to the point that there are only a hundred of them in the entirety of Gaia. And as one of them, I know innately of things that others wouldn't.

I knew that the unpredictability of understanding how to use all forms of elements at once… was what makes Universal Specialists such special existences. They were 'better' than normal ones.

Others could only use one or two Affinities, while others like my sister and parents only had one.

I myself might not have had the Magical Talent advantage others did, but I'm certain that the Magic Arts I'd created would help me survive anything! Especially after adding my 'Martial Arts'…

In the ten years I'd been living, the synergy between my use of both 'Arts' had increased.

Technical fighting techniques that didn't match what I'd learnt through my Battle Affinities weren't easy to synergise. They had a habit of not conforming to the nature of a specific element.

Even if they did, they became impractical Arts.

Take, for example, the 'Agility' Affinity of the Water Nature. It seemed perfect for Martial Arts at first.

As a proud practitioner of Systema, I'd thought it'd be easy to get it working together with my skills.

However, things didn't go the way I'd expected…

There didn't seem to be much overlap between the types of techniques the Battle Affinity gave a user.

Having an 'Agility' type Magic Art meant it would solely focus on technical proficiency over everything else. This sounded really good, but such type of Agility Arts needed a lot of focus.

It was hard to focus on moving my body in a certain way and focusing on Mana Control on the same time. The feeling was similar to when I'd learnt that twisting my hips is essential for a 'Heavy Straight' in boxing. Saying it was easy, but doing it was…

…almost like painting and writing at the same time.

Maybe I was too much of an amateur right now.

Over these five years, I'd been using Lightning Arts to tamper with my internals and future growth.

I'd made it so my muscles were a variety between pink muscles (medium twitch), red muscles (slow twitch), and white muscles (superfast twitch). It was like the hardware of computer being updated.

When used on their own, I was able to properly replicate techniques of my past life as a soldier.

Not all of them, but the ones I managed to regain weren't half-assed copies of their original drafts.

This was exactly why the 'Sapphire Reinforcement' had caused an imbalance in my techniques.

It made my muscles too flexible at times, which softened the impact of the blow used on a target.

If I was an intuitive fighter, this wouldn't have been a big deal. However, I had always been 'calculative'.

Not being able to see the outcome of my own attack before throwing a punch would make me anxious. Nervousness would end up tightening my muscles and cause me to be too stiff in a real fight.

I was far away from making 'Magic Arts' my own…

Still, being able to add an extra level of speed and durability with different types of Mana was good.

This 'Extra Boost' was the foundation of the unpredictability of my current fighting style.

It was a great advantage for me when it came to close combat, but there was a chance this wouldn't be enough to take on those who were truly talented in their specific specialisations... Aka 'Magic Users'.

It was a good thing I'd been experimenting with new Arts and Spells over the years…

…or else I'd feel unnerved by my own lack of strength; Uncontrolled fear would just weaken me.

I needed to stay in control of everything…

There was a reason I always had a gun under my pillow in my past life... It was to give me courage.

As a so-called 'Patriot' who obtained great merits in the many battlefields of Earth, that 'popularity' I gained was what made some high ranking officials want to get rid of me… Apart from other reasons…

Like being a human weapon…

The government never attacked my home outright in public, but the constant stream of assassins lasted until the day I killed the Underworld's dreaded and mysterious 'King of all Assassins'!

Hah... My previous life had always been one of constant battle, one after another, even after I had left the battlefield. It was only natural that I now subconsciously prepared to be attacked.

Even in this new life of mine...

Was I being too paranoid?

Well it wasn't like paranoia's a bad thing, right? 

It was my greatest asset after all! 

I was sure everything would work out peacefully if I kept this mindset. There was no reason to change.

Oh who am I kidding? 

It's my fault my sister has now become interested in the dangerous Combat Spells I've taught her... 

If only I showed her creative Arts instead of Spells. 

After all, the former were normally more safe and efficient to use... Merilin was probably going to become a Battle Mage in the future if she kept up her attitude towards researching new Spells...

Mother was probably going to go ballistic at me for teaching Merilin Spells without her supervision. 

Although normal people of this world DID learn Spells at a young age, they usually weren't taught to kids without strict supervision. Magic could harm their users if they're not conjured right. 

For example: A Fireball Spell might only shoot magic in a straight line, but casting the Spell without training could make it accidentally shoot the caster instead. Burning their unprotected hand.

It sounded really comedic, but the reality was that even the simplest Fireballs could burn people who weren't prepared to resist it them. If they didn't coat themselves in Ruby Reinforcement, then…!

…Forget it.

Let's not think of things too depressing.

"Let's go tell Mother about the wall together." I held my sister's hand and decided to accompany her.

I was going to apologise for my negligence.

"It wasn't my fault. You… You said I could test it here-" Merilin's eyes darkened immediately. She tried to look for an excuse, but closed her mouth after realising that she shifted the blame to me.

"You're scared Mom will scold you?" I ignored her mumbling and gave a gentle stare. She didn't say respond or openly admit her thoughts, but still nodded deeply. It made me sigh unconsciously.

"I'm scared as well." After hearing my words, she stared up to me in confusion. Her eyes showed that she wasn't understanding what I meant. I smiled helplessly at that look. It was hard to tell her…

"I'm the one who taught you a new Spell and irresponsibly left you to figure it out by yourself. 

It's only natural that I'm the one who should be taking responsibility for the damage you had caused." I said. My eyes on the floor. We walked down the halls leading to where Mother was.

"But it wasn't your fault." She denied unexpectedly with a serious shift in tone. Now what was this…?

Hey, weren't you the one who said I was to blame in the first place? It was just a few seconds ago…

"It was." I retorted to her strong denial.

"It wasn't." She said a little angrily.

"What are you two talking about?" My mother, who was cooking in the kitchen of the household with the other maids, interrupted us. She managing other servants and their daily activities.

"I taught Merilin a new Spell and she ended up burning a large part of your room. I'm sorry, Mother." I bowed my head apolitically before informing about everything that had transpired.

My mother's lips twitched after hearing about this incident. She gave her instructions to the nearby servants, then followed me back to her room with a fire burning in her eyes. I felt a little scared...

Seeing that the only thing that was damaged were the walls, she sighed in relief. Mother manifested Earth Mana with some effort. She completely fixed the stone walls using some strong Mana Control.

My mother wasted a lot of Mana fixing simple things due to the Earth Affinity not being her specialty. However, she was still able to fix the wall perfectly in the end. It was due to her high Magical Talent that far exceeded ordinary Mages. 

I fetched mother a glass of water…

She sat down on her bed tiredly after spending a lot of time reinforcing the new wall.

"What magic could cause such damage?" Mother said curiously after covering the damage on the wall. It seemed this incident was extremely shocking… that Merilin was able to break it...

"I taught her a way to create natural lightning using Water Ether, then she experimented a few attacks without asking for permission. Ummm… It was only after gaining enough insight to it." Mother's eyes widened after she heard my explanation. 

Merilin had already preemptively prepared to follow up by showing Mother the process of how she formed 'Blue Lightning'. It was a bit complicated to hear, but a demonstration made things easier.

In her hand was a spherical bubble that held a powerful force of Blue Lightning within. 

It looked like she didn't need 'particles' anymore!

"Merilin, my darling~ Are you able to control this Spell you conjured?" My mother said with a complicated expression. She looked back and forth between me and Merilin with curious eyes. 

Not surprising considering how extremely rare those of Lightning Affinity were on Gaia.

"...No." Merilin paused then answered.

If she tried to dispel the bubble, the Blue  Lightning trapped within would escape and randomly shock those near it, so the only way to dispel it in a way that wouldn't cause her harm would be…

…by throwing it away from her. 

Most likely, into a sturdy room wall. 

Mother realised that and was about to help her dispel it, but how could I miss this great opportunity to show off my new abilities? My hand reached out before she did anything to help. 

"Don't worry, I got this!" A smile etched across my face. I manifested my new Elemental Burst and dispelled Merilin's magic for her. It was by really crushing the bubble with my bare hand!

The Blue Lightning that was released was completely absorbed into my Lightning Art.

Merilin also sighed in amazement. She herself could only discharge lightning like a cannon. 

My control over Purple Lightning inspired her to work harder to control the new Spell we made.

"You even learnt how to use Lightning Bursts by yourself?! As expected of my talented son!" My mother widened her eyes at my control over my Lightning Affinity. I was glad we was proud of me.

It was already clear as day as to how I taught Merilin how to generate Blue Lightning…

It would definitely be surprising to her. The use of Lightning Spells using only Water Ether unique.

It would be shocking if I couldn't do at least this much considering my origins and true talent (referring to my Attributes). She smiled happily as she saw my mastery over Burst Manipulation.

"You should have been more shocked that I taught myself how to control the usage of my Lightning Mana without help..." I couldn't help but mumble while scratching the ground with my toes. 

The opinion of others were nothing; all that mattered was that my family knew that I was awesome. They should know that I was definitely good-natured, handsome, and likeable person...!

"Merilin's Spell is surprising, but you? 

I don't think there's anything more shocking than a ten year old already mastering the ability to change the nature of his reinforcements. This was without years training to gain insights to nature itself." My mother answered blandly before ignoring me.

"Merilin, come here." My mother gestured to my sister to sit on her lap. She was like a kitten…

Merilin was overjoyed at this. She found that mother wasn't really mad at what she did. 

The little girl laughed before jumping into mother's arms and calming her heart. 

It looked like mother was always the only one who could keep her in check...

"As your punishment for destroying half my room, you are forbidden from ever using this new Spell without my permission." In response to her punishment, Merilin gratefully nodded her head without arguing. What a momma's girl…

Hmmm... 

Why was I starting to feel a strange sense of foreboding about this?

"Simon, as punishment for neglecting Merilin after teaching her a dangerous Spell: You will prepare to fight that boy named Jack Steelwell tomorrow afternoon." My mother slyly smiled and spoke up. 

Not even giving me any room for refuse.

"Why do I have to fight that egotistical prick? 

The position of the Young Miss's personal butler should be mine anyway." I said in dissatisfaction.

"It's not about the position, it's about dignity. 

You will never be respected as her personal butler if you don't fight him." Mother shook her head.

"He's just a guy who wants my position through this duel. Even if I win, the only thing I'll gain is attention. 

I really don't want that to happen. It would be better to be thought of as a coward instead of a battle maniac! I don't want to be like Father." I said without even trying to mince any of my words.

"That excuse would have worked if it was someone else." My mother's voice deepened. A strong light appeared in her sharp gaze. It seemed my duel with this prick wasn't as simple as I had hoped.

"Jack WAS the boy who was supposed to have earned the right to protect the House Master's daughter through his own ability. He had the talent and the loyalty to be trusted by our employer.

He is a Rank C Magical Talent with very high affinity with with the Earth and Defence-type Spear Arts.

As the Personal Butler of the House Master's precious daughter, having this much ability and talent is actually quite a normal requirement for the position." My mother laughed humorously. 

It seems like she thought I was in a tight spot...

"So the new butler has to earn his position by beating the old butler? I don't know why 'dignity' is so important to everyone, but if you want me to beat him up, then consider it done." I didn't go along with her laugh, but followed the flow.

I didn't feel even a shred of guilt from taking his position. He'd came to my door to pick a fight!

How dare he do that?! I'll kill him DED! I mean… I'll politely punch him… DED… Err, wait…

Maybe I should remove that last part…

The time for negotiations had already ended! Now was the time to test if the years of training I went through were worth it... I needed to prove that my efforts these five years weren't in vain!

"Big Brother, don't lose, okay?" My sister cheered me on. How cute~! I couldn't help but pat her on the head and smile lovingly. However, why was it I suddenly felt uneasy about this about this? 

My mind suddenly remembered the weird smile Jack made a few minutes ago in front of my door... 

I needed to be more careful of him...!