Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 Episode 2

Stepped Leader

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 Episode 2 introduced a new adventurer party. Stepped Leader is the strongest party in town — and they let everyone know it. If I had to guess, I’d say they’re most likely an S-ranked party.

Being the strongest party in a given town doesn’t automatically mean they’re S-ranked. But, we do have a bit of evidence that points toward that being the case. One, small piece of Evidence is that Rudy wonders if Paul acted like Sol does when he was an adventurer.

We know Paul was an S-ranked adventurer. So, if Rudy thinks Paul and Sol are similar, it could be an indication that Sol is also S-ranked. Of course, you could argue that the only thing Paul and Sol have in common is their aggressive attitude. But, they also have the same confidence in their own abilities.

Additionally, we see that Sol doesn’t just talk the talk. He’s a strong adventurer who has no problem taking out snow drakes. Snow drakes are dangerous enough that Counter Arrow decided to flee from them. But, Sol and Stepped Leader were successfully hunting them en masse.

Most of the scenes involving Sol didn’t paint him in a very good light. He’s not a friendly guy and he’s arrogant. However, we also got to see that he’s a more complex character, too. For example, he recognizes that Rudy is far stronger than he leads people to believe. And that’s something that makes Sol mad.

The thing is, Sol is mad at Rudy for not applying himself. He berates Rudy for taking easy jobs to spread his name rather than harder jobs that could earn more money. It seemed to me like Sol was looking out for Rudy in his own way.

From Kennel Master to Quagmire

As a member of Dead End, Rudy’s nickname was Kennel Master. That’s because his allies were Mad Dog Eris and Guard Dog Ruijerd. If those two are dogs and Rudy is the one who keeps them under control, he’s the kennel master.

But, in the north, Rudy’s known as Quagmire. Why? Likely because of the mud spell he used to protect Counter Arrow during their first quest. We can assume that Rudy used that same spell numerous times while working with other parties. The name Quagmire fits based on the abilities he’s shown off.

If Rudy’s full abilities were known, it’s unlikely the name Quagmire would have stuck. He can do so much more but doesn’t. And that seems to be intentional. He’s not showing off his true abilities for some reason. Though, we can make assumptions.

Rudy might not want to show off his true strength because it would put a target on his back. There would undoubtedly be adventurers who wish to test their strength against him. Or, he may be seen as a threat by someone and have a bounty put on his head.

On top of that, being far stronger than those around him could alienate him. Do other adventurers want to rely on him all the time? Probably not. Counter Arrow knows Rudy is strong. They seem to realize he’s stronger than any of them. But, if they knew how much stronger he was, they may view him differently.

And going back to Sol, this is exactly what he points out. He dislikes Rudy because he knows Rudy is strong. He sees Rudy taking easy jobs as mocking other adventurers.

So, how do you think everyone would feel if they knew he could see the future and use weather-altering magic?

The Forest in the Dead of Night

There is one other problem Rudy could run into if other adventurers knew how strong he actually is. Some, like Sol, would view his actions as patronizing. But, others would view his actions in a different way and say, “Why didn’t you save them?”

During a quest Rudy wasn’t a part of, Counter Arrow ran into some trouble. Mimir died and the other members of the party elected to leave Sara behind after losing her. Suzanne assumed Sara died, as well. But, Timothy believes she could still be out there.

Regardless of whether Sara is alive or not, it’s too dangerous for them to search for her. There’s a blizzard raging and the monsters that attacked them are still likely in the area. So, without telling Counter Arrow, Rudy goes out on his own to look for Sara.

The first thing he does is use a spell to disperse the blizzard. Then, he continues to use magic to eliminate all the monsters in the area. And finally, he locates Sara and heals her wounds. Of course, Sara and her allies are thankful. But, what if Rudy was with them the whole time?

How would they feel about Rudy if they learned he could have saved Mimir, too? Of course, by the time he got involved, it was too late for Mimir. But, the point is that Rudy can make any situation safer. He can control the weather and eliminate hordes of monsters on his own.

Rudy doesn’t want other adventurers to rely on his strength. He doesn’t want them to blame him for not stepping in when they need his help. That’s why he hides his true strength. If they don’t know how strong he is, they won’t expect him to save them.

Conclusion

What do you think about Mushoku Tensei Season 2 Episode 2? Do you think Sol is actually a bad guy? What adventurer nickname would you give to Rudy? And how do you think Counter Arrow would view him if they knew the true extent of his abilities? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 3 is available now.