In the blink of an eye, fifteen years had passed.
After years of relentless physical training, Asta—who possessed almost limitless physical strength—had grown into a well-built young man. Of course, calling him a "muscular giant" would be inaccurate, because he was still short.
Actually, to be precise, his height was already within the normal range.
The reason he looked short was mainly due to contrast. As the saying goes, everything is relative. Yuno and Sylvar Crowe were both around one hundred seventy centimeters tall, nearly the same height, while Asta was only about one hundred fifty-five centimeters. When the three stood together, the difference was obvious at a glance.
With Yuno's current level of magic control, washing clothes with wind magic was effortless. He could already freely manipulate wind to launch powerful attacks.
Watching the growth of the other two, Sylvar felt a faint sense of melancholy rise in his heart. His own plan to become stronger still had a long way to go.
It was almost time for the Clover Kingdom's grimoire distribution ceremony.
What kind of grimoire would he receive?
Would his expectations finally be realized?
The day of grimoire distribution arrived.
This ceremony was held once every half year.
As usual, Asta shouted loudly toward the nun.
"One day, I'll become the Magic Emperor and make you happy—so marry me, Sister Lily!"
Sister Lily smiled gently.
"I am everyone's sister, Asta. I'm sorry, but that's not possible."
"I won't give up!"
Even though he had been rejected countless times, Asta still said it without hesitation.
During their repeated quarrels, Sister Lily usually ended things by delivering Asta a Water Holy Fist to the head.
Yuno casually dried Asta with wind magic.
After making a small jab at him, Yuno was immediately challenged to a duel by Asta. Yuno replied calmly,
"I refuse, because you have absolutely no magic power."
"Ah—!"
Asta rolled his eyes and dropped to his knees in despair.
Sylvar said helplessly,
"Asta, it's not like you only found out today that you don't have magic. There's really no need to be shocked every single time."
Asta completely ignored Sylvar's complaint.
He grabbed Yuno's shoulders and shook him vigorously, then turned and did the same to Sylvar.
"Why? Why is this happening?!"
"I don't know," Sylvar answered honestly.
"It's talent and unremitting effort," Yuno said.
Sister Lily comforted Asta gently.
"As long as you receive a grimoire, you'll be able to use magic."
"You're absolutely right, Sister!" Asta said excitedly.
At that moment, a younger child living in the church ignited a small flame on his fingertips.
Asta's mood immediately darkened. Without saying a word, he dropped to the ground and began doing sit-ups furiously, working his abs like a madman, as though he wouldn't stop until he passed out.
The priest watched silently.
In his heart, he couldn't help comparing the three first-generation children—Asta, Yuno, and Sylvar. No matter what it was—washing clothes, chopping firewood, or any other task—Asta couldn't compare to the other two.
They had all arrived at the church on the same day. They had lived together for fifteen years and spent the same amount of time training.
So why were there such differences between children?
As these thoughts passed through his mind, the priest's eyes grew moist. With deep emotion, he said,
"Yuno and Sylvar are the hope of this church."
The other children agreed, saying that Yuno and Sylvar were destined for bright futures.
"The training ceremony is about to begin," Sister Lily said. "As long as you receive a grimoire, you'll be able to use magic."
Hearing her encouragement, Asta regained his energy.
"Sister Lily, you're right! Once I get a grimoire and become the Magic Emperor, we can get married!"
Sister Lily ignored him.
At that moment, the young boy standing in front of Asta released flames from his hands.
Nash spoke with a face full of doubt.
"The Magic Emperor is something only nobles with powerful magic can become. Only nobles and royalty born with exceptional magic have that possibility. How could commoners like us do it? And you don't even have any magic power."
"Possibilities exist everywhere," Asta said firmly. "As long as you don't give up, possibilities will always exist."
"That's not something commoners or orphans can have," Nash replied.
"Not giving up is my magic," Asta said.
Sylvar felt his chest tighten.
Isn't it always the same? So many things are decided at birth. In this world, I only have a tiny bit of power to resist fate.
Moved by the scene, he couldn't help but mutter bitterly,
"Some are born Romans. Others are born beasts of burden."
Asta looked at him in confusion.
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know what Rome is," Yuno said, "but you're talking about nobles and commoners, right?"
"That's not important," Sylvar said hurriedly.
I accidentally let my true thoughts slip out. I still haven't trained my mind enough.
Nash continued pressing.
"You don't even have magic. You can't get a job. Even the villagers look down on you. How can you possibly become the Magic Emperor?"
Asta's expression crumbled. He lowered his head and ran toward the massive demon skull—the location of his secret base.
"When he's thought things through, he'll come back for dinner," Sylvar said to everyone. "I'll go after him."
He immediately followed Asta.
When Sylvar arrived, Asta was already doing five hundred one-handed push-ups.
A monster.
After eight years of training, Sylvar could only manage one hundred fifty push-ups with both hands before collapsing. And Asta could easily do five hundred with one hand.
Was this really something a human could do?
In the deserted area, after completing a thousand push-ups, Asta shouted into the empty sky,
"I will become the Magic Emperor! I will never back down!"
Realizing that he had grown a little lax recently, Sylvar began training as well—one hundred two-handed push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and a ten-kilometer run.
Compared to Asta's training volume, it wasn't any less.
But for a fifteen-year-old, it was still extremely difficult.
While running, he saw Yuno. They waved briefly to each other before continuing their own training.
March arrived.
In the season when dandelion fluff and firefly pollen danced through the breeze, teenagers aged fifteen and above gathered from across the kingdom to receive their grimoires.
Inside the massive circular tower, surrounded by curved bookshelves and walls filled with magic books, the youths excitedly discussed their futures.
A voice rang out.
An old man with a white beard stepped forward.
"Dear recipients, from today onward, you will embark on different paths."
"May honesty, hope, and love always be with you."
He cleared his throat. "Cough, cough."
"I am the master of this Grimoire Tower. Not even a Magic Knight has ever left this place without a grimoire."
"I hope one of you will become a Magic Emperor who surpasses the Magic Knights."
Suddenly, he made an extremely strange expression—one eye wide open, the other squinting, his tongue sticking out—as he shouted,
"I am serious!!!"
Sylvar muttered quietly,
"If you're really serious, could you please look a bit more serious? Your expression makes me want to laugh."
He forced himself to hold it in.
"The awarding ceremony begins," the tower master announced.
Countless grimoires flew from the shelves and stopped before their chosen owners. Almost everyone received one.
Some books were thick, drawing envy. Others were thin, leaving their owners dejected.
Sylvar received a grimoire with a diamond-shaped clover on its cover. Its size and thickness were ordinary, nothing special at first glance.
Its color was sky blue.
Pure sky blue—his favorite color. Around the diamond-shaped clover was a rectangular pattern resembling a magic circle.
Is this my grimoire? Can all my dreams over the years be realized through it?
According to legend, the three leaves of the clover represented honesty, hope, and love. The fourth leaf represented luck.
Yuno's grimoire bore the Four-Leaf Clover.
Asta, standing beside them, received nothing. He dropped to one knee as all attention focused on him.
"Why… why didn't I get one?!" Asta shouted.
The tower master was speechless.
"Strange… why don't you come back next year?"
The hall erupted.
"I've never seen anything like this!"
"This is ridiculous!"
The harsh words cut like invisible blades, trying to sever Asta's remaining belief.
At that moment, Yuno's magic poured into his grimoire.
The Four-Leaf Clover shone brilliantly.
"That's the legendary Magic Emperor's grimoire!"
Yuno said confidently,
"I will become the Magic Emperor."
Asta shouted after him,
"Yuno, wait for me! I'll catch up to you—because I'm your rival!"
The crowd booed loudly.
Yuno replied calmly,
"That's impossible."
Asta ran out of the hall.
"Was it really okay to say that?" Sylvar asked softly.
"He won't be defeated by words like that," Yuno replied.
"That's true. His magic is never giving up," Sylvar said.
Yuno was about to leave when he noticed Sylvar standing still.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just have some ideas I want to realize," Sylvar said.
He pressed his forehead against his grimoire.
The pages flipped rapidly. Lines of magical text appeared one after another.
Three spells emerged.
Seal Magic.
Yin Seal.
Sealing a target into a grimoire—irreversible.
Sealing a grimoire into his own to obtain its magic.
Sylvar smiled.
The tower master watched quietly.
"Most people only gain one spell. Judging by that smile… you gained more than one. Interesting."
"Maybe it's luck," Sylvar said. "I'll head home now, Tower Master."
"Polite youngsters are rare these days," the old man replied.
Outside the tower, Sylvar noticed an open door.
Through the gap, he saw Yuno bound by chains.
His heart sank.
I don't even have attack magic yet. Is something about to go wrong?
Revchi, the Chain Magic user, sneered.
Sylvar hid behind the door, gripping a stone tightly.
Then footsteps came running.
Asta slammed into the wall and shouted,
"What are you doing, you thief?!"
Revchi laughed.
"I remember you. The poor brat who didn't even get a grimoire."
Asta roared,
"Yes! I'm that poor brat! The grimoire belongs to its owner—give it back to Yuno!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author's Notes:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/RagingBladeSeer
If you're enjoying the series and want to read ahead (or just help keep it going), consider checking it out — every bit of support means a lot. Thanks for sticking around and being part of the journey!
Supporting my patreon will help me out a lot, and will also give you 15 chapters ahead!
(the support helps me out with school as well)