Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 26 - Chapter 6

Appendix:

The Asuran Kingdom’s Dossier on Rudeus Greyrat

THE SUBJECT RUDEUS GREYRAT is extremely famous. Today, his name is inscribed in the histories of every nation on the map. Many researchers will have had the experience of casually glancing at letters or an artifact only to realize they were signed “Rudeus Greyrat.” Whether in a corner of the teleportation circles drawn in all the nations of the world, in the appendices of the new editions of the magic textbook, or on the side of a bridge on a road, his name appears everywhere. Those alive today who have encountered his name likely outnumber those who haven’t.

However, many would be at a loss to describe what he truly did. 

Some might recognize him as “the greatest magician of the 400s, Armored Dragon Era.” Others might know him as “an academic genius who turned formal education on its head,” or “an intellectual who had a transformative influence on the culture around toys and figurines.”

Even then, there are very few records of what he began and what he left behind. In each field, other names come to mind before his: in magic, Silent Sevenstar; in education, Roxy M. Greyrat; and in art, Zanoba Shirone. Because of this, some believe that he was “a hanger-on whose only talent was brownnosing the powerful,” while others call him “a con artist who cozied up to those with talent in order to steal their glory.”

Some even claim that “There was no one person named Rudeus Greyrat. Rather, it was a title bestowed upon members of Ruquag’s Mercenary Band for a great accomplishment. Thus, multiple people bear the name.”

Theories abound about Rudeus Greyrat, but one thing is certain—that whatever it was he achieved changed the world. As time goes on, that knowledge will fade into the dark corners of history without any one deed truly ascribed to him. To let this mystery fade would be to lose knowledge of historical importance. And so, it is my intention to create an entry in the archive compiling the evidence of the life and existence of Rudeus Greyrat.

—485 Armored Dragon Era Head Archivist 

Jed Bluewolf of the Royal Asuran Archive

Rudeus Greyrat

Summary

Rudeus Greyrat (407-481 Armored Dragon Era) was a magician from the Kingdom of Ranoa. In 430, he joined the ranks of the Seven Great Powers. He was one of the great magicians of the 400s, alongside Roxy M. Greyrat and Silent Sevenstar. He also went by the aliases “Quagmire,” “the Dragon God’s Right Hand,” “the Magician King,” “the Great Magician,” and the “silent caster” among others. On the other hand, his cowardice in battle also led to him being given such names “spineless,” “groveler,” “yellowbelly,” and “the frightened rabbit.” In his later years, his many epithets led to his title “Seven-Named Rudeus.”

Life

YOUTH

Rudeus Greyrat was born in 407 in the village of Buena in Fittoa, Asura, the eldest son of the low-ranking Asuran knight Paul (388–413) and the former adventurer-turned-healer Zenith (390–459). The young Rudeus is said to have used intermediate-level magic around the age of three. His father, recognizing his son’s potential, hired Roxy Migurdia (373–) to tutor him. As a result of her spartan education regimen, he became a Saint-tier water magician at the age of five. Rudeus would go on to display talent surpassing that of his teacher, but he would continue to hold her in high regard until his death. At the age of seven, the Boreas Greyrats, the governors of Fittoa at the time, took notice of his talent and asked him to come to them as a tutor. There, he taught magic to Eris Boreas Greyrat (later known as Mad Sword King Eris) while also taking up the creation of figurines using earth magic. 

Despite possessing talent that set him apart from other children, Rudeus is said to have cried over missing his parents when they did not visit even on his tenth birthday, as one would expect from a child his age.

In the Displacement Incident of 417, he and Eris were transported to the Biegoya Region of the Demon Continent. It was there that he befriended Ruijerd Superdia, at the time known and feared under the epithet “Dead End.” As an adventurer, he embarked on a journey from the Demon Continent back to Fittoa in Asura on the Central Continent. It was at this time he first met Zanoba Shirone and Cliff Grimor, who were to become his lifelong friends. In his thirteenth year, he saw Eris back to Fittoa, then set off for the north of the Central Continent to search for his missing family. This was when he made a name for himself as the adventurer Rudeus “Quagmire” Greyrat.

STUDENT YEARS

In 422, Rudeus moved to the Magic City of Sharia in Ranoa, where he entered the Magic University on the recommendation of Jenius Halfas. There, he outshone Linia Dedoldia, Pursena Adoldia, Silent Sevenstar, and Immortal Demon King Badigadi and earned a reputation as the greatest magician at the university. The following year, a sixteen-year-old Rudeus married the magician guardian of Ariel Anemoi Asura, Sylphiette, after a long period of courtship. It is at this point that he seems to have put down roots in Sharia and decided to spend the rest of his days there. 

That same year he received word from his father Paul that his mother Zenith had been found on the Begaritt continent, and so he traveled there. With Paul and Silent Sevenstar’s aid, he was able to use a teleportation circle that had miraculously survived to make the journey. Together with Paul, Elinalise Dragonroad, Talhand, Geese, and Roxy Migurdia, he braved and defeated the Teleportation Labyrinth. In the battle with the Manatite Hydra, the guardian of the labyrinth, Paul was killed. Although he rescued his Zenith, the Displacement Incident had left her in a mindless state. Rudeus was plunged into the depths of depression. It was his teacher, Roxy Migurdia, who saved him. This is how Rudeus came to take her as his second wife.

In 415, Rudeus and Eris Boreas Greyrat fought Dragon God Orsted in a forest on the outskirts of Sharia. The reason for the battle is unknown, but some theorize that Dragon God Orsted meant harm to Ariel Anemoi Asura, and Rudeus was acting to protect her. After this battle, Eris Boreas Greyrat became his third wife. In the same year, Rudeus fought in the Asuran civil war on the side of Ariel Anemoi Asura. He did battle with North Emperor Auber Corbet, North King Wi Taa, and Water God Reida and defeated them, for which he was called the architect of Ariel Anemoi Asura’s ascension to the throne.

Rudeus established Ruquag’s Mercenary Band in the Magic City of Sharia in 417. Though he took the role of chairman, he is believed to have delegated all actual running of the Company to his younger sister Aisha.

In his twentieth year, he and Zanoba Shirone allied themselves with Pax Shirone to fight in the Shirone Kingdom’s war of defense. They engaged the enemy force from the north at Fort Karon. Rudeus is said to have killed over ten thousand people in this battle. Following his graduation from the Magic University in 419, he journeyed to the Holy Country of Millis with Cliff Grimor.

While there is no detailed account of that time, he is believed to have applied himself to deepening his friendship with the Blessed Child, as well as to appointing Cliff Grimor to a position of importance in the Millis Church. 

In 430, he fought alongside Dragon God Orsted in the Biheiril Kingdom. In the course of that battle, he overcame North God Kalman III and so became one of the Seven Great Powers. 

YEARS IN THE SEVEN GREAT POWERS

Following his ascension to the Seven Great Powers, Rudeus ceases to appear at the center of events. This may account for why, in the present, he enjoys less recognition than other great names of the same generation: Silent Sevenstar, the Witch Nanahoshi who stepped into the spotlight more or less as Rudeus stepped out, and Roxy M. Greyrat, who later became headmistress of the Magic University. Both are more widely known.

Because of this, few are aware that he was one of the Seven Great Powers. It has been proposed that Rudeus died in the Biheiril Battle, and the one who appeared afterward was a body double, or that it was only a name. As records remain of his involvement in the establishment of Ariel National University, these theories can be immediately discounted. 

It is unknown what Rudeus was trying to achieve by stepping out of the public eye. Sources indicate that, as a follower of the Dragon God, he enjoyed the friendship of figurine-maker and president of the Doll Making Company Zanoba Shirone, Pope Cliff Grimor of the Millis Church, the Blessed Child of the Millis Church, Queen Ariel Anemoi Asura of Asura, Death God Randolph of the King Dragon Kingdom, the Doldias of the Great Forest, and Immortal Demon King Atofe of the Demon Continent. It is believed that he was attempting to bring the world under one banner in preparation for the resurrection of Laplace eighty years hence.

Other sources call him a paragon of wickedness who resurrected the forbidden teleportation circles as part of a plot to use their expediency to achieve world domination.

DEATH

Rudeus’s wife, Sylphiette Greyrat, announced his death from old age in 481. He passed away peacefully in his bed at the age of seventy-four. An extraordinary five thousand people came rushing in to attend his funeral. Also present, after disappearing even more completely than all but Rudeus himself, was Dragon God Orsted.

Equipment

Magicians usually bear a staff and favor suppression attacks at long range. Rudeus, however, engaged in close range combat.

AQUA HEARTIA

A staff given to him by the Boreas family on his tenth birthday. It was made from the arm of an Elder Treant, native to the eastern reaches of the Great Forest on the Millis Continent. Its magic stone was an ultramarine blue water stone, an A-rank item from a wandering Sea Dragon in the north of the Begaritt Continent. 

The staff was made by Rod Director Chein Procyon. Although extremely powerful, Rudeus ceased to use it after the completion of the Magic Armor (see below).

MAGIC ARMOR VERSION ONE

A prototype set of magic armor crafted with the assistance of Zanoba Shirone and Cliff Grimor. It stood around three meters tall. A Stone Cannon Gatling gun was mounted on its right arm and it bore a shield and stone of absorption in the left. While it consumed vast amounts of mana, it is believed to have possessed offensive and defensive capabilities on a level with the Seven Great Powers. Rudeus built it to fight Dragon God Orsted, then continued to make use of it after allying with his would-be enemy. However, it was destroyed by the Fighting God in the Battle of Biheiril.

MAGIC ARMOR VERSION TWO

A jet-black set of armor composed of arm, leg, and body parts. A detuned model of the Version One. This armor gives the wearer the abilities of a Saint-tier sword fighter. 

MAGIC ARMOR VERSION ZERO

Rudeus’s ultimate weapon that was used in the Battle of Biheiril. Details unknown.

MAGIC ARMOR VERSION THREE

The Magic Armor used by Rudeus in his later years. Standing around two meters tall, it possessed the same functionality as the Version One. The General Purpose Magic Armor Series that came later is said to have been based on the Version Three.

STONE CANNON GATLING GUN

A bundle of staff-type magical implements that fire stone cannons without regard for mana expenditure. When activated, the Gatling gun fires off stone cannons at a tremendous rate, consuming so much mana that any ordinary person would be drained to zero in moments. It was created by Magical Implement Director Jacqueline of the Ranoa Kingdom.

STONE CANNON SHOTGUN

A version of the Gatling gun above configured to shoot twelve times in a single burst. It was created by Magical Implement Director Jacqueline of the Ranoa Kingdom.

PAUL’S SWORD

A magic item that cuts better the harder its target. This is the most famous of Paul’s swords, though as an adventurer, he favored a different weapon.

Spells

Rudeus was proficient in all schools of magic. As one might guess from the name Quagmire, he particularly favored earth and water magic.

Rudeus is said to have utilized a wide range of spells depending on his opponent, so here I shall list the most common ones.

STONE CANNON

A well-known Intermediate-level spell. It shoots a chunk of rock at high speed at one’s opponent. However, when Rudeus used the spell with unvoiced casting, it carried enough power to disintegrate an immortal demon king. He also used variations including Blast Cannon and Stone Shot.

QUAGMIRE

An example of Rudeus’s patented combination magic. Rudeus is supposed to have been able to conjure a quagmire large enough to submerge an entire town.

DEEP MIST

Another example (as above) of Rudeus’s combination magic. It is said he could conjure enough mist to conceal an entire forest.

ELECTRIC

Rudeus’s original spell, condensing the King-tier water magic Lightning. By using this spell in close combat, Rudeus was able to neutralize an immortal demon king in a single hit.

SHOCK WAVE

A wind spell that creates a pulse in the air to send one’s opponent flying. Rudeus allegedly used this spell in close combat to fight as though he were flying.

Research

Over the course of his life, Rudeus researched and developed many spells and magical implements. He also funded a range of different research fields.

A LEARNING METHOD FOR UNVOICED MAGIC

Rudeus Greyrat was said to have used voiceless magic from a young age. His teacher, Roxy M. Greyrat, wrote up his method for voiceless magic as a paper, developing a didactic method for the skill. This method was enthusiastically implemented by the three great magic universities into their magical education programs, contributing to the emergence of many talented magicians.

MANA RECOVERY THERAPY (MAGIC POTION)

With funding from Rudeus, Silent Sevenstar developed a drink that restores mana. This so-called magic potion unshackled magicians from the whims of their magic reserves. This, combined with the learning method above, was so influential it is said to have “ended the era of sword fighter supremacy” by raising the status of magicians.

MAGICAL PROSTHETICS

Magical prosthetics have helped a great many people: adventurers, for instance, or those too poor to access healing magic beyond Saint- or King-tier. These prosthetics were the result of research by Zanoba Shirone and Cliff Grimor, made possible through funding provided by Rudeus. It was Silent Sevenstar who popularized the magical prosthetics not as magical implements but as medical tools.

MAGIC ARMOR

Rudeus was implied to be the only one who could operate the Magic Armor. In time, the Greyrats’ third daughter, Lily Greyrat, took over his research and in 483 perfected the General Purpose Magic Armor. This development significantly reduced the risk of hunting large monsters.

MAGIC DOLLS

With funding provided by Rudeus, Zanoba Shirone successfully developed a magical figurine. These figurines look exactly like humans. They are used in a wide variety of ways: serving as cherished pets, performing odd tasks, testing for poison, and working as scouts. However, they are enormously expensive and few in number. At present only the royalty of nations who enjoyed Rudeus’s friendship use them.

TELEPORTATION CIRCLES

With funding provided by Rudeus, Silent Sevenstar researched and revived the forbidden teleportation circles. With teleportation circles placed in strategic locations throughout the different nations, the danger of long journeys was mitigated and travel to distant lands became simple.

Rudeus is said to have broken the taboo after reflecting on the death of his father Paul in the Teleportation Labyrinth. Records suggest that the actual research was conducted by Silent Sevenstar, with Rudeus as her sponsor. However, for some unknown reason old merchant and noble families, along with those involved in the Millis Church, curse Rudeus as the “taboo breaker.”

Memoirs and Code

It is believed that the records of the research above were written in the fifty-two volumes that form the Book of Rudeus. Since they are written entirely in a code only used between himself and Silent Sevenstar that is yet to be fully decrypted, however, their credibility is questionable.

Build and Character

Rudeus was approximately 175 centimeters tall and had, for a magician, a comparatively strong and muscular build. He had pale skin, and his eyes were mismatched, as used the eye of foresight right eye and the Eye of Distant Sight for his left. He is never described as handsome, but his wife Sylphiette is said to have thought, “Looking at his face for just a few seconds was enough to make me weak at the knees” when they met at the Magic University. His other wives, Eris Greyrat and Roxy M. Greyrat, didn’t make any comment on his looks, but we can assume he wasn’t exceptionally ugly.

His preferred outfit is supposed to have been a light gray robe without a hat. He was disinterested in clothing in his youth. It is written in the remaining records that while attending university he “wore a robe fraying at the hem,” and in the Asura Kingdom “a number of nobles looked disapprovingly at his strange appearance when he presented himself in the audience chamber.” He came to pay more attention to his personal appearance after turning twenty, and around 430 Armored Dragon King Perugius commented that, “he has made himself more presentable lately.” While insensitive to his own appearance, he was fastidious about cleanliness, renovating a room of his home into a large bath which he is said to have used every day. 

Rudeus was feared in Sharia, but he was also more beloved than any other magician, as can be seen in his grand funeral and the many mourners who attended, as well as in the monument erected in a corner of the Magic University engraved with Rudeus’s own words.

Rudeus is believed to have been sociable, with a kind and good-natured personality, but his intense libido did not go without comment. Descriptions remain of how he touched and fondled his wives without any restraint or regard for watchers-on. He was, in fact, devoted to his wives and never made a move on other women, so some historians opine that his lechery is a groundless rumor. In addition, he was of such a gentle disposition that he smiled through insults and violence directed at him, but when harm came to his family or friends he would get into such a fury that at times he became violent.

The following anecdotes describe Rudeus’s personality:

“At a party in the Asura Kingdom, when a noble made fun of Rudeus’s wife, Rudeus seized him by the throat and dragged him out of the party, burned a whole forest to ash before his eyes, and demanded an apology.”

“When his great friends Linia and Pursena broke a figurine modeled on his wife, Rudeus punished them in the most humiliating way possible for beastfolk.”

“When Perugius invited Rudeus to the floating fortress to name his child, Rudeus, misunderstood and thought Perugius intended to harm the child. He appeared fully armed and threatened Perugius that there would be war if any harm came to his child.”

* It should be noted that the veracity of these anecdotes is unconfirmed.

While Rudeus is not generally well-known, the majority of the world’s most prominent figures know of him and regard him with admiration or awe.

A piece of white cloth was found in his pocket after his death. His wife Roxy hurried to hide it, leading to rumors that some great secret might be concealed within it. It is unclear whether those rumors contain any shred of truth.

He is said to be the origin point for the Theory of Critical Period for Mana Capacity, namely that mana capacity can be strengthened in early childhood, and is resultantly responsible for its incorporation into education.

He loved rice, eggs, and the ogre water of the Biheiril Kingdom. He is also said to have had an unsavory habit of eating eggs raw.

Records indicate he worshipped some unknown dark god. Puzzlingly, no gods can be matched to the coat of arms he worshipped—we can assume this god disappeared in antiquity, or Rudeus perhaps created this god for himself. Some also theorize that he was irreligious, or that he worshipped the Dragon God.

Family & Relatives

THE GREYRAT FAMILY

A high-ranking noble family in the Asura Kingdom. It contains the four families of Notos, Boreas, Zephyros, and Euros. All four families governed their own large domain, which is why they are also called the Four Great Houses. Rudeus was a direct descendant of the Notos Greyrats, but his father Paul ran away from his family and was therefore expunged from the Notos Greyrat family tree.

PAUL GREYRAT: father. Eldest son of the Notos Greyrats, a high-ranking Asuran noble family. Ran away as a young man and became an adventurer. Later, he met Zenith, then appealed to his old friend Philip Boreas Greyrat and became a low-ranking knight of the Fittoa Region.

ZENITH GREYRAT: mother. Second daughter of the Latrias of the Holy Land of Millis.

LILIA GREYRAT: maid. Paul’s lover.

NORN GREYRAT: legitimate younger sister. Novelist.

AISHA GREYRAT: younger sister by his stepmother. Advisor to Ruquag’s Mercenary Band.

SYLPHIETTE GREYRAT: wife. One quarter elf.

ROXY M. GREYRAT: wife. Demon (of the Migurd). Headmistress of the Magic University.

ERIS GREYRAT: Wife. Human. Sword King.

LUCIE GREYRAT: eldest daughter.

LARA GREYRAT: second daughter.

ARS GREYRAT: eldest son.

SIEGHEART SALADIN GREYRAT: second son.

LILY GREYRAT: third daughter.

CHRISTINA GREYRAT: fourth daughter.

OTHER ASSOCIATED INDIVIDUALS

ZANOBA SHIRONE: upperclassman at the Magic University. A former prince of Shirone. President of a figurine company. Blessed Child of fantastic strength. The publication of the picture book The Superd’s Adventure was largely thanks to his and Norn’s efforts. Zanoba respected Rudeus as his mentor, but Rudeus always said, “When it comes to knowledge of figurines, Zanoba’s the best.”

CLIFF GRIMOR: upperclassman at the Magic University. Later became the pope of the Millis Church. He is said to have protected Rudeus, who was often in some trouble or other with the Millis Church. Rudeus reportedly relied on him and is believed to have said with conviction that “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Cliff.”

SILENT SEVENSTAR: upperclassman at the Magic University. Also known as the Witch Nanahoshi. She set up teleportation circles in nations throughout the world and collaborated with Rudeus to develop and bring about many revolutionary inventions. 

ARIEL ANEMOI ASURA: Queen of the Asura Kingdom. According to the Chronicle of the Asura Kingdom, right before her death, she told her trusted retainer Luke that, “it is largely thanks to Rudeus’s efforts that the Asura Kingdom is at peace today. Be sure not to make an enemy of him after my death.”

ALEXANDER K. RYBAK: North God Kalman III. Originally number seven of the Seven Great Powers. The “left hand of the Dragon God.” After Rudeus stepped down from the center stage, Alexander is believed to have gone around the nations of the world as the Dragon God’s representative in his stead.

LINIANA DEDOLDIA: Leader of Ruquag’s Mercenary Band. As the leader of her beastfolk tribe, she is believed to have served as an intermediary between Rudeus and the beastfolk.

PURSENA ADOLDIA: Second-in-command of Ruquag’s Mercenary Band. Like Liliana, as leader of a beastfolk tribe, she is believed to have served as an intermediary between Rudeus and the beastfolk.

PERUGIUS DOLA: The Armored Dragon King, one of the Three Godslayers. A prominent figure in the Asura Kingdom and Silent Sevenstar’s mentor. There are frequent references to Rudeus in The Chronicle of the Asura Kingdom, but the nature of his relationship with Rudeus is unknown.

ORSTED: The Dragon God. Number two of the Seven Great Powers. Though Rudeus’s covert activities are assumed to have been in service to Orsted’s goals, details of these activities are unknown. Orsted very rarely appeared center stage, but he attended Rudeus’s funeral and allegedly was with the family to witness Rudeus’s death.

Bibliography

The Royal Asura Historiographical Institute. The Chronicle of the Asura Kingdom. The Asura Kingdom, 480.

Greyrat, Norn. The Superd’s Adventure. Zanoba Figurine Company, 427.

Greyrat, Norn. Aisha Greyrat: The Agonies of Genius. Ruquag’s Mercenary Band, 455.

Greyrat, Norn. The Adventures of Rudeus the Great Magician. Zanoba Figurine Company, 470.

Greyrat, Norn. Surrounded by Genius: an Autobiography of a Mediocrity. Zanoba Figurine Company, 482.

The Millis Church Archival Division. Millis Church Minutes. Millis Church, 460.

The Royal Biheiril Historiographical Institute. The History of the Biheiril Kingdom 420-430. The Biheiril Kingdom, 433.

Dedoldia, Liniana. Activity Log of Ruquag’s Mercenary Band. Ruquag’s Mercenary Band, 456.

Juliette. Zanoba Figurine Company Executive Committee Minutes. 477.

Silent Sevenstar. Textbook of Magic: New Edition. 442.

Bradicant. Great Figures and Heroes of the World. Publisher unknown, 480.

—Recorded by Deputy Head Archivist

Clule Elrond of the Royal Asuran Archive