The reality that he had possessed enough capabilities to comprehend magic, acted as a catalyst and shifted the dynamics in the Greyrat household.

Previously, Rudeus was just perceived as a well behaved and above average child, but now Zenith considered her son a genius. So she was actively engaging in full conversation with him.

He took advantage of her eagerness to talk and questioned her about some of the topics he had read about in their books.

Shirou also began observing her as she cooked, and somehow he had missed the fact she had a small garden in the yard. It wasn't exactly hidden, but it was a quiet hobby and no one had mentioned it so far.

Whereas Zenith appeared to be delighted with his inquisitive nature and intelligence, Lilia would look at him with a barely hidden hatred whenever he asked questions.

Lilia really didn't like him, that much was clear.

She had never really given out any obvious hints to that fact, but she could never completely conceal it. In fact, her glares grew more frequent as time passed.

Paul didn't change much at first, he mostly seemed occupied with something else. But about a week after his son began learning magic, he had asked Rudeus if he wanted to train with him in swordsmanship.

He accepted since he would probably learn more efficiently if he had a teacher. Unfortunately, his body was still too small for proper training, so he was sidelined to light exercise and observing Paul practicing.

In the month since Roxy arrived, his spell casting capabilities hadn't really changed much.

'Maybe it would go smoother if I revealed my hand?'

While seated in the center of his room, moonlight was shining upon the Ice Sword in his hands. He hadn't been able to successfully cast it, but he had no difficulty Projecting the one Roxy had made.

Honestly, he was almost ready to abandon learning this world's magic and focus on repairing UBW, however he wasn't one to call it quits after a few setbacks.

Still, he was definitely mismatched for the magic of this world.

His Od could only be used to activate the spells from his world, and he was beginning to wonder if he would have an easier time learning magic if he closed his Magic Circuits.

When he combined Od and Mana, the Magical Energy was inefficient and his failed spells took more fuel. So a key factor was rendered pointless.

Even after Tracing Roxy's Ice Sword, and gaining the knowledge about how her Mana had acted as she casted the spell, he was still incapable of casting it himself.

When he Projected the blade, his Mana would re-enact how it had acted, and the Ice Sword would manifest. Yet, he couldn't perform the spell on his own without it going wrong.

Instead of risking his hands again, he would use a Projected Magic Wand.

After the Mana Gem was destroyed, he gathered up the pieces, and analyzed it repeatedly until he could create something that wasn't completely hollow. It definitely wasn't cost efficient, but it was expendable.

"Let the great protection of ice be on the place thou seekest. I call upon the chill of a biting frost here and now. Ice Sword."

His Mana was simply incapable of independently acting the same without guidance.

And so he always got the same result.

The gem in the wand would shatter and a star of ice would form around it.

The only thing that had changed during his solo training, was that he could now at least finish the incantation before his spell failed.

After exhausting his Mana Veins, a feat that now took a while, he went to sleep.

…

…

He pulled back his bowstring without an arrow knocked, and then after it became taut, he Projected an arrow to fire. It pierced clean through the skull of a young soldier. He repeated this action again and again.

He woke up from a nightmare without much fuss. He had gone to sleep around midnight and the sun was barely peeking across the horizon.

He wasn't Emiya Shirou anymore, he didn't have to get up early to cook breakfast and go to school.

Sakura wasn't here to rouse him up if he overslept, and Taiga wasn't here to lecture him on his sleeping habits, but he still woke up each day with the same expectations of cooking for the both of them.

He only needed a moment before he remembered that he had been reincarnated as Rudeus Greyrat.

He stared at his hands for a moment.

Shirou, that had been his name before the Great Fire.

Emiya had been the family name he took on after being adopted. And with it he also took on the ideal of being a Hero of Justice.

Archer, that was the only name he called his possible future self, because he struggled to accept that he could become that disillusioned. After Archer's arm was attached, he had been flooded with experiences and he understood the hell he had experienced, but he still couldn't accept it.

Shirou. Emiya. Archer. Rudeus Greyrat.

He had no qualms about being called a new name, and yet he couldn't throw away who he had been or he might've become. However, who he was didn't particularly matter, he only cared about becoming a proper Hero of Justice.

Even without enhancing his hearing, he could still hear a light bustle coming from the kitchen.

He left his room and entered a quiet hallway, and as he walked down the staircase, he was able to pick up on the sound of a kitchen knife colliding with a wood.

It was Lilia, she was cutting through meat of some kind.

"Good morning." He called out from across the room.

Lilia's entire body shifted, her center of gravity was moved onto her good leg and her grip on the knife changed. "Good morning." She responded without turning around and facing him.

A beat passed, then she went back to chopping.

"Do you need any help?"

"No."

Western food wasn't exactly his specialty, but he thought he was good enough, regardless he couldn't just take over the kitchen. Especially not when he was unwelcomed.

The itch to cook didn't just disappear, so he had to channel his focus elsewhere.

"I'm stepping outside for a quick moment, I won't go far."

The thunk of a steel meeting wood played through the house repeatedly.

He walked away without getting a response.

As he exited the house, a chilly breeze washed over his skin. It wouldn't be long until it began to snow.

The horse wasn't in the stable, so Paul had probably already left to patrol.

He hopped the small stone partition and walked behind the stable.

'Lilia might be watching me, so I have to make sure she doesn't see anything.'

After finding a good enough angle, he held out his hand as if he was holding a bow.

He tightened his grip on the Projected wooden bow as it appeared in his hold. Reflexively, his body posture shifted as he went through the motions.

To Shirou, archery hadn't exactly been a passion, but it was something that naturally cleared his mind.

As he pulled the string taut, his body froze; if he manifested an arrow, he would kill someone.

He hadn't even recognized that he had subconsciously chosen a target.

A farmer was checking on his field about two hundred meters away, unaware his life was at risk.

He dismissed the bow and hopped back into his yard.

In another effort to clear his mind, he went through his daily physical training, and he continued to do so until Paul arrived back home.

He knew from the scanning the sword that it was quiet out there.

After Paul dismounted his horse and spent a few minutes tending to it, he came over to chat with his son. "You're up early." He was rather casual.

"I think I need more things to do."

Paul blinked. "Why do you say that?"

"I'm learning how to read, write, do magic, and I'm preparing for sword training. But I still have a lot of spare time and unspent energy. More books would be nice, or I can also be taught to cook, or even tend to the garden or the horse."

Paul blinked again, then he scratched at the back of his head. "Alright, I guess, if you really think you could handle it, I'll talk with Zenith and Lilia about teaching you some stuff. And, uh, follow me."

For about an hour, he was told the basics of caring for a horse.

Paul would occasionally glance at his face, and he even asked repeatedly if he was still interested in learning.

The lesson only came to end when Zenith peeked outside and informed them that breakfast was ready.

During the meal, Paul brought up the matter.

Zenith was positively thrilled her son was eager to learn.

Roxy gave some advice about not pushing himself too much.

And Lilia's knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists, but she didn't voice any sentiments that hinted at her displeasure.

…

…

"Miss Migurdia, do I seem like a Demon?"

It was just a bit past midday, and he was in the middle of his magic lessons when he suddenly asked his question.

"Not particularly, no."

Roxy answered without much thought. She was busy with writing down something.

"Do I share any traits with any?"

"No, not really."

"Is there anything about me that even seems Demon-like?"

"Uh, I guess your eyes seem a bit odd, but outside of that, no."

"My eyes? What's wrong with them?"

"Ah, well, silver is a pretty unnatural color."

'Silver? Oh.'

"I hadn't seen my eyes, so I didn't know."

He had probably caught a glimpse of them, but he must've subconsciously ignored it.

"Why do you ask? Do you think your issue is demon related?"

"No, not really."

He didn't really elaborate further, he just continued to fail at casting spells for a while.

Roxy had lectured him on various magic using races, Demons were mentioned and she had also given personal accounts on the discrimination she had faced. It made him wonder if he reminded Lilia of a Demon, and if that was where her hatred stemmed from.

After a while, the sun began to set and he his Mana Veins were almost empty. He decided to pour nearly everything left into his final shot. His posture automatically shifted into something more familiar, and his mind became clear.

"Let the great protection of ice be on the place thou seekest. I call upon the chill of a biting frost here and now. Ice Sword."

He released an imaginary drawstring, all his Mana was consumed as a large blade of ice shot forth but it melted and evaporated into a mist after traveling a few feet.

Still, he had managed to see it in action.

He visualized a gun pressed against his head and fired it, as the hammer slammed down, all of his Magic Circuits switched on.

Shirou had to memorize the actual feeling while it was still fresh, using up all of his reserved Magical Energy he managed to Project his own Ice Sword about five times.

His focus was entirely on how his Magical Energy moved as he casted the spell.

It was only after he was done, that he realized he had just casted a semi-successful spell, and then the effect was repeated five more times without a chant.

He turned to look at Roxy, her face was riddled with questions.

Most of which she voiced, and he had managed to weasel around.

In the end, it was just charted down as an unexplainable phenomenon for now.

Finally, he was finally getting somewhere with the magic of this world.

AN: I'm not really happy with this chapter, it was honestly just filler and minor set-up, which is needed.

So I added some extra content.

Thanks for correcting me on Roxy's rank, I fixed that and I also changed Magic Crystals to Mana Gems.

I haven't read all of Mushoku Tensei, so most of my knowledge of its magic is lacking. I've read the wiki and a few Reddit posts, however I'm still mostly just making it up.

However, I wouldn't say I'm doing it all without purpose. I am writing a fanfic, so most of the things I write are simply what I prefer.