Re:Beginning: A Job-Filled Reincarnation
Crimster
Chapter 14: Re:Beginning: A Job-Filled Reincarnation | Chapter Fourteen: Roxy Migurdia's Determination and Graduation Woes
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Re:Beginning: A Job-Filled Reincarnation | Chapter Fourteen: Roxy Migurdia's Determination and Graduation Woes
>Roxy<
My name is Roxy Migurdia.
I was born in the Biegoya region of the Demon Continent in the village of my people, the Migurds. It was a pleasant childhood for the most part. My parents were incredibly kind. I remember not thinking about much back then.
Initially, I didn't realize I was different from everyone else. My parents tried to hide the fact from me. Even though I was a full-blooded Migurdian, I couldn't use my race's ability of telepathy. This meant I couldn't converse freely with my people.
For me, I was living in a dreadfully quiet village, but I knew that people were talking all around me. It was exceptionally isolating.
I learned magic from a wandering magician and left my village soon after she left. I met many faces and people with varying dreams throughout my travels until I eventually ended up in Sharia. I went to school there and met many more people, some of whom I could call friends. Finally, I learned all I thought I could there and left. I must've hurt some people when I did so. I knew I hurt my master, but I neglected that thought. He was a prude and stuck in the ways of old. That's how I viewed him, and because of that, the word "master" was labeled as such for me.
I kept moving, and with time, I grew a little conceited throughout my travels. I was a water saint-tier magician, after all. There weren't many in the entire world who could claim such a title. I had even risen to the position faster than my teacher had. This only soured the view I had of the man even more. I thought that he wasn't unique in the slightest and that I was.
I viewed myself as the better, and I considered myself that way for a while.
That is until I made my way to Asura. I found myself drawn to Ars, the capital of the kingdom. It had been a few years since I had set foot in the city, but I believed I could only serve under the king or some high-ranking noble. That was how high I thought of myself by then, and because of that, I landed myself infront of an unsavory character.
A perverted noble that, in reality, had no intention of using my skills and just wanted my body. The same body that looked like a teenager going through puberty. The same one I was constantly reminded of having and being mistaken as a child for.
I was disgusted. Not because of the unmistakable lust from the man but because of his actions and the way he held himself. Had he been some dashing young man who wished to have me, I could've maybe considered him… The man infront of me, however? There was not a rat's chance in hell.
I remember vividly how I used my magic to escape that manor. I didn't look back as the knights gave pursuit. Eventually, I dodged them and ran into a man who offered me aid. His name was Laws, a simple hunter from the tiny village of Buena in the sticks of the Fittoa region.
That day marked the unmistakable turning point in my life.
When I made it to Buena, I thought nothing of the village. The people here treated me indifferently because of my hair but didn't necessarily treat me poorly either. In essence, they didn't care too much about me. I thought my employers would be the same, but when I met them, my feelings seemed unfounded.
The boy I was tasked to teach was three years old—that's right, a child whose parents claimed he had cast an intermediate spell on accident was to be my student. I scoffed at him, but the boy showed experience in the way he moved. Eventually, I realized I had severely underestimated him, and my accusatory remarks were shoved down my throat not even an hour after arriving at their doorstep.
Rudeus Greyrat, by all extensive purposes, is a prodigy unlike any other. I hadn't seen the Demon God Laplace fight or the Water God Reidar, but even I knew from one look at the boy that he was comparable. Unlike me, the gods gifted him with abundant talent, even though he was a human.
Rudeus was a once-in-a-millennium prodigy, and he was to be my student.
I was humbled quickly. Everything I thought I had known had become some fraudulent claim infront of the boy. Were incantations required for spells? Of course not. You only needed to learn how to use them that way. Was the total mana capacity of a person set at their birth? No, you could increase it when you were young, and it would eventually piddle off and stop increasing as you age.
It was like this that my mental state had started declining somewhat. I tried to not let it bother me. Even with this, I dedicated myself to tutoring the boy, but no matter what I gave him, he continued to take the learning in strides. Nothing was difficult for the boy. No arithmetic equation posed a threat. Any spell I taught him, he learned almost seamlessly. Despite his overwhelming intelligence, I could do little, yet he insisted on calling me his master.
I was no master to this boy. I was simply someone who would come and go in his life. One of the many, no doubt.
He didn't see it this way, and I didn't understand why. I couldn't understand why.
I didn't understand the boy in the least. He would applaud me for knowing something and tease me whenever he saw fit. Honestly, if he had been some twenty years older, I would've fallen in love with him. I could tell from interacting with him that it would've been the case. He had the demeanor of a man I could fall in love with and the attitude of a person I would find my legs buckling infront of. However, that was not the case here, and it wasn't until I saw him that night that I truly knew the extent of what he was capable of.
I saw magic I had never seen that night on the hill. It was such a brilliant heat that I could never forget it, and the colors he showed me were more majestic than anything I had seen in my travels that spanned the world. I realized then that I wasn't anywhere close to where Rudeus Greyrat was. Only after that realization did Rudeus think it best to call me his master again.
I grew angry at that moment.
I yelled at him and let him know my frustration. I couldn't keep it in anymore, and I let a child at the age of three bear the brunt of my accusations and scathing remarks. I couldn't bear to hear myself speak anymore and stopped yelling and just sat there instead, holding my knees to my chest as tears poured out of my eyes.
The boy didn't cry, stutter, or even mutter his hate for me like I had when my master yelled at me. Instead, he looked at me with eyes a boy shouldn't have had. His face was pained with guilt as he told me he understood me. That to him, I was his teacher, no matter the circumstance, and that he could never hate me.
That didn't make me understand him any more than I already had.
He added more praises alongside his defense as I tried to retort him. I gave up after that. What could I have done? I hung my head in defeat as I was utterly thrashed in this argument by a child—and my student. I thought about leaving my post then, but Rudeus decided to strike a deal with me… In exchange for continuing to teach him, he, too, would offer me help in my pursuit of knowledge. I asked him why he would go so far for a no-good master like me. His only response was a simple confession.
I was confessed to by a three-year-old, and shamefully, it made my heart skip a beat. Not that I would do anything scandalous with a child so young, though. I wasn't that noble.
The months passed, and our relationship changed. We were now more akin to friends working toward the same goal. He continued to push through even when hardships came up, like his nightmares. His will was admirable, and the power to push through adversity was commendable.
Whatever happens in those nightmares must be harrowing for the young boy, but all I could do was offer my support when he woke up. The only time I feel of use is when I do as such. It wasn't long after his first nightmare—the next day, in fact, that Rudeus befriended Sylphiette, Laws' child and one who unfortunately had the same green hair as the hate Superd tribe.
It didn't bother Rudeus, however, and just like that, he became friends with the ostracized and bullied girl as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It was also this day where I learned of the girl's skill for magic and would also take her under my wing. Truthfully, I didn't want to leave Buena quite yet. So, this incident just served as a scapegoat to stay for a bit longer. I felt terrible for using the girl's situation like that, but once I realized that the Greyrat family didn't mind my presence, I felt relieved—blessed even.
I, Roxy Migurdia, a demon, was accepted by a family of humans, and it didn't stop with them. The village recognized me and met me with a smile and a wave as I passed. I had found a home in this place, but with each passing day, I knew my eventual departure would have to come.
Rudeus graduated, and his second nightmare came. He changed after that. He became more serious about improving himself. I saw immediate improvement that I couldn't hope to match while I was stuck here teaching Sylphiette. Not that I blamed her for any of my shortcomings. The girl had vowed to be able to one day walk beside the boy, and I intended to help her to the farthest extent that my ability would allow.
They both grew older slowly and kept improving rapidly. Even with the shock of the assassination plot by a North King, my quiet life in Buena village continued. I could feel it, however. The looming day grew even closer.
The day I would have to leave.
In another life, I'm sure I would have left readily after Rudeus graduated from my teachings. I would've ruminated on my actions and become a better person.
I had already done this.
I had faults—many faults. They were problems that I had tried to solve, but I needed time to do that. Be that by myself or with different scenery, I did not know. All I knew was that my departure time was coming, and I had much to do once I left. I had much to prove to the boy I had grown close to.
My time in Buena will be memories I cherish for my entire life. It was here I was taken in. I made friends here in Paul, Zenith, Lilia, Cecilia, and Laws. I met a student I could relate to in the little girl, Sylphiette.
…Here, in Buena. I met a boy who changed my entire perspective on life.
It was here that I met a boy I could never forget.
Even when he learned that I was wanted, he decided to trust me. I wanted to earn that trust, so I trusted him even when I saw him that night on that hill. Even when I checked up on him and Sylphiette on the assassination night. When I didn't find him in his bed when he should've been, I decided to trust him even then.
I met Rudeus Greyrat, my student, who would always be like a shining beacon of admiration for me. For I, Roxy Migurdia, admire a child the age of six, who probably, without even knowing, changed my life for the better.
Rudeus earned my trust, and I wanted to be the capable person he saw me as.
"I'll make sure to become someone you can be proud to call your master." As I finished jotting down the last words in my journal, I wiped the small amount of sweat that had accumulated on my brow.
It was completely dark outside now, and almost surprisingly, no sound of ecstasy came through the walls. That was because today marked the last day I'd spend in this house. Even thinking about it made me grow sad.
"Tomorrow is the big day, Sylphie…" I whispered to myself as I leaned over the desk and blew out the candle illuminating my room. "Make sure to take care of him after I leave."
Sylphiette
It was a cold morning. Why our master thought it was a good idea to hold our graduation ceremonies in the middle of fall will always perplex me. I felt that, at some point, it was just how Roxy Migurdia liked doing things. She'd always move on to the next subject once you understood the last, so I figured it must've been the same thought process.
"She's really going to be leaving, though." My voice was sad. The reality of the circumstances was only now fully settling inside my head.
"Miss Roxy has a lot of things she wants to do… I'm sure you'll understand once you're older." My father rubbed my head. "Also, it's not like this is the last time you'll see her. I'm sure you two will meet again later in your life."
"Hmm." I looked at the ground as we walked the rest of the way.
"Mornin', Laws, Sylphie!" Like always, Rudy's father was the first to greet us when we arrived. Similarly beside him, seemingly unexhausted and without an ounce of sweat, was Rudeus.
"Mornin' to you to Paul, Rudeus!" Our fathers were relatively upbeat for the day as they waved at each other.
I knew they would probably cry when she left, though.
When I looked at Rudeus, I noticed he had been staring at me, a smile small on his face. What's he thinking about right now? That's all I felt when I offered my own smile to him. Our eyes met, and he surprisingly didn't look away.
"Oh! You're already here, Sylphie?" A high-pitched voice was all I heard. A second later, a blue-haired girl poked her head out from the stall where Caravaggio was held. "You that eager to get rid of me?" Her voice sounded playful, but I couldn't help but retort.
"It's not anything like that, Master!"
She walked out of the stall and led Caravaggio to the two Greyrats. "Oh, so you just wanted to see Rudy all sweaty first thing in the morning?" Embarrassment assaulted my body at that moment as my face grew hot.
"Hahaha! Good one, Roxy!" Paul doubled over as he clutched his sides from the laughing fit he found himself in. "You're finally getting it!" The man swatted the girl's back.
The more time I stay at the Greyrats, the more I get teased repeatedly. I just wish Master didn't get involved with it!
Rudeus didn't move. He just kept his smile on his face. That was his way to keep what he was thinking undiscernable. "So, are you ready?" The girl's pointy hat swayed slightly as she turned to me.
I stood there looking at the three people infront of me. Tomorrow, one of them wouldn't be here… How long would it be till Rudy decides to leave the village as well? That thought overcame me in the moment. Surely, he wouldn't stay here all his life. He could do so much more outside a small Asuran village like Buena. Would I follow him, then? Would I leave, too? These pervaded my mind until my hand was clasped by another.
It was Rudeus's hand. It was small but slightly bigger than mine. It was also rough. The sword training he did wasn't for show. He did it for hours daily, even when we played, and his hands proved that. Despite all my work on learning magic, Rudy is still working harder than me. I wanted to be like him. I wanted to give my all for something. I didn't know what that might be, but I'd eventually figure it out.
Time will tell.
His hand didn't move from mine. I thought he might've been worried about my nonanswer, but his eyes showed no doubt or worry. The same small smile was resting on his face. It was a look to tell me that I would be fine. He must be concerned about Master leaving, too… Of course, he is. She's a precious person to him.
I looked behind him and stared at Roxy, who had a melancholic smile. I traced my hand down my side and gripped the wand I had fastened with a strap to my hip. All of this was real. That was what that told me. These long years that have passed us by were a reality.
"I'm ready!" My voice wasn't full of the confidence I'd hoped it would've been, but that was fine.
I had to do my best!
"You coming along, Rudy?" Roxy turned toward the boy who had let go of my hand and returned to his father's side.
"Ah, not today. I still have my training to get through." Honestly, I was surprised that he'd blow off Master like that.
"Suit yourself then." Roxy didn't seem at all bothered by it, however.
With the reigns in her hand, Roxy led Caravaggio toward me. With her sleepy eyes looking at me, Roxy spoke, "Let's get going then." I climbed on the horse, and Roxy followed suit and held the reigns from behind me. It was just like that; we left the Greyrat home without further delay.
I glanced behind me as I saw my father join the Greyrats and pick up a wooden sword meant for him. "You're gonna be sparing with Rudy for the first bit. That okay, Laws?" Paul shot him a devious grin as he rested his sword against the length of his shoulders. My father shivered as a response.
"Please—don't break too many bones." He sounded kind of pitiful when he said it like that.
"Don't worry, father. I can always use healing magic if anything gets out of hand." Rudeus's snide remark made my father stutter.
"D-Don't call me that!"
It didn't take long until we were finally out of earshot, and I could no longer hear their conversations. All I could hear was their wooden swords hitting each other.
Father, huh? I stirred on what he said for a while after that.
Roxy and I spoke little on the trip. Not that we were unnaturally quiet on our way to the location. It was just that most of what we said wasn't of any notable importance. She did tease me even more, however. I guess she wanted to get it all out before she'd leave.
The location was the same the woman had used for Rudeus's graduation. It was where I would also use the spell Cumulonimbus and hopefully ascend to being a saint-level water mage. The title didn't mean much to me. Rudeus was farther ahead of me in his magic skill and had already worked diligently on swordsmanship before I met him.
Is that what I should focus on after Master leaves…? Swordsmanship… I've never thought about that before. Who'd even teach me?
"Sylphie, are you okay?" A finger prodded my cheek as I was driven away from my thoughts.
"Oh, uh… Yeah, I'm fine!" I stammered as I tried to make out what was being asked of me.
A slight smirk spread across her lips. "You'd better sort out the stuff with Rudeus later."
"It's not that this time!" All I received for my defiance was a short giggle from the woman.
"So you admit that it was last time?" Her devious smirk only grew wider as I stammered out a response.
Our surroundings had thoroughly changed at this point. The vaguely familiar plains and a singular fallen tree on a hill were all around us now. Caravaggio stopped. "We're here." With those words, we both dismounted the horse.
"So, before we start, would you tell me what's going through your head?" She looked off into the distance as she spoke. The Red Dragon Mountains were prominent in the background of where we stood.
"I was just thinking that I might want to take up the sword after I finished being tutored by you." Saying that out loud sounded much more like a crime than I intended it to.
Roxy almost immediately staggered backward in shock at what I said. Almost as if to say, "Is that all my teaching was worth?"
"It's not like that, Master. I'll always continue to practice my magic. It's just…" Roxy must've noticed how worried I was as she returned to her sleepy-looking appearance. "Rudy's already doing so much, and I'm just trying to find a way to catch up somehow."
"I see." With a questioning gaze, she looked into the sky. "Well, if you can find a sword instructor better than Mister Paul, I'm sure you'll eventually beat him out. Especially if you only study one sword school." She looked back down as she shrugged her shoulders. "The problem is finding one better than him out in the sticks." That much was undoubtedly an issue that I hadn't even considered.
"Yeah, I guess you're right about that." Lord Paul was certainly no slouch when it came to sword skills. He was advanced in all three schools, and it only looked like he'd improve more since he started training earnestly again.
"Well, who knows? Maybe the North God will come around town or something, and then you can ask him." Her face held firm momentarily, but her facade quickly broke as she giggled. Even if she sounded like she was making light of my worries, I couldn't help but laugh alongside her.
Once we relaxed, Roxy moved to Caravaggio, ready to protect the two with an earth fortress. "I'm ready, Master." I firmed myself and drew my wand.
"Good luck, Sylphie." She started to form an Earth Fortress as she spoke. "See you in an hour!"
I stood there for a moment. Collecting my thoughts.
I took a deep breath in and an equally long one out. Rudeus taught this to me as a way to calm myself. "I want to give a farewell worthy of our Master." I looked at the red stone in my wand. One identical to the one Rudy carries with him. It reflected my face. The green hair that I hated stood out the most at a glance. The same hair I loathed when I was younger, but in just three years, I've met people who don't mind it at all. I've met two people that changed my life.
I even met a boy I liked because of it.
How red is my face right now from thinking that? Probably really, really red. But I didn't care about that. My time in Buena may end up being short. I may eventually leave this village to follow Rudy wherever he's going, but I'm okay with that. I want to live my life the way I want to.
"Grand spirit of water and imperial prince of lightning who ascends the heavens, grant my wish and bring about a savage blessing. Display your might to insignificant beings. Strike awe with a blow of your divine hammer on the anvil, and cover the land in water!" My chanting was slow and methodical, just like Roxy had taught me. "Ah, Rain! Sweep all else away and expel everything—Cumulonimbus!" With the final line, the spell was finished. The mana it took was considerable, but I had more to spare. "So this is what it's like to cast a saint-level spell." I stood mesmerized by the sight around me.
Pretty would be the way I'd describe it.
It almost took everything I had, but I held the spell for an hour. I'm sure Rudy would've been able to do some kind of trick to use less mana, but I wanted to do this legitimately. Not that his way would've been any less honorable.
After it was all done, I saw the woman stepping out from the quickly disappearing earthen dome… I could only smile at her. There was no other response to me that felt right.
"Congratulations, Sylphiette. You're now a water saint mage." Her expression was somber but warm. It looked like how a mother would look at her child after she grew up into a fine woman.
I started to cry at that moment, and Roxy buried my face into her chest. As much as I tried to portray myself otherwise, I was still a child and didn't want to say goodbye to someone I cared about. I considered Roxy Migurdia as many things. A teacher, a master, a confidant, and most importantly, a friend.
Today, I would lose one of two friends that I had. Today wasn't a day I could celebrate wholeheartedly, but for her sake, I'd try. After all, my actions from now on would reflect Roxy Migurdia and the last thing I would ever want to do was sully the name of a person I looked up to so much.
We arrived back in the village before noon. Congratulations were shared between everyone and me. Rudy was even relatively open toward me, which was a shock. It's a welcome one, that's for sure, but it was surprising nonetheless.
We planned to have one last dinner, but Roxy said she'd be leaving promptly. No one wanted to see her go so soon. We all wanted her to stay for even one more day, but she seemed dead set on the fact. We gathered outside of the Greyrat home's fence to see her off.
I saw her look around at the fields. One's where she worked and helped villagers. I saw her glance at the path we stood on, one she walked many times. I caught her glimpse at the Greyrat's home one last time. The place she stayed for the past three years. Then she turned towards both Rudeus and me. The two students she had taken under her tutelage and taught all she had known.
"I'm sorry I couldn't teach you two anymore." Her voice was solemn.
"You taught us everything we know, Master," Rudeus spoke first. His voice was resolute, unwavering under the pressure of the situation.
"That still doesn't excuse my poor performance as your teacher. If I was stronger, I'm sure you two would be standing before me now as even greater mages than you are." The same sad smile traced her lips.
"Here, I have something for you two." The girl rummaged around her pocket and pulled out two necklaces. They both had the same pendant attached—one with a green coloring and the other bronze. With a motion, she placed the green one around Rudeus's neck and the bronze one around mine. "I'm sorry that yours isn't the genuine article, Sylphie. I only had one, so I had to make the other." I looked confusedly at the necklace draped around my neck. I had seen it before but couldn't quite remember. If anything, I thought I remembered hearing about something like this when Rudeus was learning the demon language.
"Those are the Migurd's symbol. If any demons trouble you guys, they may ease off a little if you show them those and tell them my name. Or maybe not." Her sheepish face told me all I needed to know.
"T-Thank y-you, ma-master!" I couldn't hold it any longer as my tears poured out again. I knew I wasn't the only one like this. Behind me, I could hear Paul, Zenith, and my parents tearing up.
A hand started rubbing my back, and through my tear-ridden vision, I saw the face of Rudeus. He wasn't crying, but he was sad. He wasn't wearing the same old smile he always held. Now, it was downturned into a sad frown. It was like he was telling me to remain strong but that it was also okay to cry. Even now, in a moment of sadness, even for him, he was trying to reassure me.
"H-Here, Miss R-Roxy. This is for you." From my pocket, I fished the present I had been making.
"Oh, I guess I could use a necklace after I gave away mine." She took the wooden pendant from my hands and placed it around her neck. "I'll make sure to treasure it. Thank you, Sylphie." She pulled the wooden pendant up to her face to look at it, a tiny grin crossing her lips as she did so.
When we meet next, would she be the same Roxy I had known? Probably not. I'm sure she'll be even more impressive when we meet again. She'll have improved, so it was up to me to do the same.
"Well then. This is farewell, you two." She placed her hands on top of both our heads. After a moment of silence, she grabbed her suitcase beside her and propped herself up with her staff.
Rudeus shifted slightly beside me as he took a step forward. "Here." He fished his present out motionlessly and clasped a bracelet around the girl's wrist without waiting for a response. It looked just like the one he always wore.
"You sure you wanna give jewelry to a woman older than you? I might get the wrong idea." The girl waved around the bracelet that was now around her wrist. It was a shiny grey. It wasn't metallic like the one the boy wore, but it was probably because it was made from his magic. However, you'd be hard-pressed from far away to think it wasn't a priceless ornament.
"There's no way you could get a wrong idea from me, Master." Rudeus's cheeky reply only made the woman deadpan. "Let's meet again, Roxy." For some reason, he didn't sound so sure about what he was saying.
She stood there looking down at the boy, but after a moment, her smile returned. "Let us." She ruffled the boy's hair. "Just don't go casting magic and destroying the entire kingdom while I'm gone." I'm sure most of us would've laughed, but none of us found the energy to.
"Goodbye, everyone. Thank you for everything these past few years." With one last look at us, Roxy Migurdia turned her back and left.
I ran forward a little. I don't know where I found the strength or why I felt the need to. "I'll miss you, Miss Roxy! I'll make sure to get stronger! So when I do—let's go on an adventure!" I didn't know where the notion of an adventure came from. Maybe it was how the girl always explained her adventuring days or whenever I overheard Rudy's parents talking about their own experiences, but all I could think of now was spending more time with her.
I wanted to meet her again, no matter what.
All of us stayed just like we were for a while. None of us spoke. Instead, we watched the girl's back slowly fade into the horizon as she left our field of view. A few moments later, we all managed to contain ourselves and return to the Greyrat's home.
"Hey, Laws, why don't you let Sylphie stay over tonight?" Paul turned to my father with an indistinguishable look in his eyes.
Father's mouth moved open and closed as if he wanted to protest but couldn't find the right words. He didn't know how to respond, it seemed. "Sure. If you're offering, then it's fine."
I didn't know what Rudy's father was thinking, but I assumed it had something to do with the day's happenings. He was probably just worried about leaving me out to hang.
When Paul saw my glance, he shifted his eyes to his son, almost like he told me to talk to him.
So I did. "Umm, Rudy?" The boy's eyes focused on me a second later. "Do you want to play or something? Or maybe do something else?" I didn't have much faith in his answer. He'd blow me off with an excuse in times like these.
"Sure, I don't mind." My expression fell apart at his response. Was it because Master had just left that he felt he owed me some of his time? Or was there another reason I couldn't think of?
However, I found myself not caring at the moment. I could only smile, take his hand, and run off with him.
…This was the last time I'd do something like this with Rudeus… This was the last time I'd see him so happy.
Notes:
Author's Note: Here we are at chapter fourteen. It's been one hell of a ride so far, and there's still much more to come. The next chapter is ashamedly my favorite of what I have written thus far. I still remember when I was writing it and thinking how fast I was writing it and how shocked I was when I looked at the time it took me to finish it. Unfortunately, you won't be seeing it for a few days. However, I have already leaked a portion of it to a couple of people on Discord already.
Can you tell that I like the next chapter?