Author's Note:

Hello to anyone who manages to stumble upon this story. This is something I plan on working on in my free time. If it actually takes off then I will probably update much more frequently. Hopefully new chapters will be out every 2 weeks.

Hage Village, Morning

The sun had just begun to rise over Hage village; The signal for everyone to start working on the fields that served as their livelihood and food for the rest of the clover kingdom. The town wasn't well developed, only known for the giant demon skull that loomed over the horizon on the outskirts of the village. Life here has been peaceful, whether due to the people's simple lives, and therefore lack of funds to be stolen, or the protection of the Magic Knights, none could say.

People went about their lives tilling the fields, making repairs, and preparing to transport goods to other villages. Sadly, the once quiet town has been seeing more and more discord to the town's tranquility in the last 15 years. This was mainly due to the large set of lungs on one of the orphans at the church, Asta, going through his daily routine next to the village church.

"Sister Lily! One day I will become the Wizard King and make you happy!" he exclaimed

Asta's appearance would be considered, to put it nicely, unkept to many of the other villagers. His Ash Blonde hair went every direction, barely contained by a black headband featuring a stitched-on red star. He wore a white tunic under a dark blue jacket, with many tatters from overuse during his training. Complementing the jacket were pants and shoes of the same color. The shoes went up to his ankles with a piece of white cloth covering his toes. He currently was holding a pink daisy, with his green eyes staring intently at its intended recipient.

Sister Lily, on the other hand, was very well kept. Her attire featuring a typical nun's habit with her black hair hanging out slightly. She had blue eyes and a gold bead necklace bearing a golden cross.

"So please marry me!" exclaimed Asta, for possibly the thousandth time.

Sister Lily calmly gave the answer she did every time Asta Pulled this stunt, "I'm sorry, Asta, but I'm everyone's sister."

Asta wouldn't take no for an answer. He shouted, "Not yet! I'm not giving up yet!" before bowing and slamming his head repeatedly into the ground.

Tired of his pestering, Sister Lily brought out her grimoire, for this is a world of magic! Everyone in this world uses Magic one way or another. Once they turn fifteen, they are eligible to receive their own grimoire. These Grimoires contained the spells people would use for the rest of their lives and served to help amplify the user's innate magic.

Sister Lily opened the grimoire before shouting, "Water Creation Magic: Holy Fist of Love!" Water began to pool together in the sky, shaped into a fist by the Sister's Magic. As fast as it formed, it slammed down onto Asta, leaving a small crater. Sister Lily quickly realized her overuse of force and went to check on him.

Clapping could be heard as the rest of the church's orphans approached.

Asta quickly recovered from the blow, pouncing into the air towards Sister Lily. He shouted, "I'm not done yet!" before quickly being blown back by a familiar gust of wind into the recently made crater.

Once again, Asta recovered, rushing over to confront the source of wind.

"Why are you getting in my way too, Yuno?!"

Yuno, when compared to Asta, was tall, standing at 5.6 feet compared to Asta's measly 5. He was Lean, wearing a long sleeve black shirt with leather covering the wrists and upper arms. He wears light brown pants cut below his knees. He also wore a pair of brown boots over black socks that reached above his pants trim. Finally, he wore a gold chain featuring a blue stone with a white cross in the middle with four gold stars at each corner.

"Why?", Yuno calmly retorted.

"Because you're loud, short, obnoxious, immature, and wear strange objects you find in the woods."

Each remark felt like an arrow towards Asta's pride, especially the remake about the "strange object" he wore on his left wrist. The object being referred to was found by Asta five years ago. It appeared to be an adorned bracer made from black and grey stone. It featured two gray tubes looping around the back, with the ends meeting near the center. The main featured was a raised circle in the center. It had what appeared to be 4 white buttons protruding from the sides, and in the very center of the circle sat a grey hourglass symbol.

Annoyed, Asta yelled at Yuno as he passed, "Hey is that what you say to someone you grew up with for the past fifteen years, you Jerk! Also, leave my good luck charm out of this; who are you to call it strange!"

"It's Strange." The red-headed girl said.

"Very Strange." The shorter brown hair boy said, reinforcing her point.

These two were the third and fourth oldest of the church children, Nash and Recca. Like Yuno, they found Asta's antics to be childish and a waste of time for many reasons, the most important being-

"That's it, Yuno. I challenge you to a fight, and I'll start with my ultimate attack!" Asta exclaimed, taking his stance.

Asta moves his right foot behind him, arching it as his right arm moves back. He swings his hand from behind his head, cupping the air like he was holding a ball, before quickly forcing his hand forward towards Yuno.

"Take this!" Asta shouted, putting everything he had behind his attack.

But nothing came out.

Asta had no Magic. Everyone in this world was born with it, even the other church orphans. Every single person any of them had met had magic, except for Asta.

Asta landed on his knees in defeat for the second time today, frustrated that no matter how much time he spent training, no matter how much he kept trying to enhance his magical capacity, he couldn't produce a single spark, drop, volt, or gust of magic in any form.

The second youngest, Aruru, could not help but laugh at him, blurting out, "Your funny, Asta!" in between her giggles.

"It's hard to believe someone your age can't use magic yet," Nash said as he starred unamused right at Asta.

"What's your problem?! Shouldn't you respect your elders?!" Asta retorted, trying his best to tower over his younger sibling.

"Shut up. Magic is everything in this world. It's only natural to be able to use magic. You're the only one I've seen who can't." Nash said nonchalantly while quickly conjuring a bit of flame on his finger to aid his point.

"Guess I'll have to show you what I'm really made of," Snickered Asta before he quickly got down on the ground to do sit-ups.

Suddenly a gust of wind grabbed everyone's attention. While the children were distracted with Asta, Yuno had begun helping Sister Lily with laundry, drying it quickly with his talent for Wind magic. The children rapidly flocked around Yuno, all commenting on how cool he seemed to them.

"Then leave the wood-chopping to me!" Asta exclaimed quickly running, to grab the Axe.

He readied his swing, lining up the perfect strike to show off his strength. But before he could blink, Yuno had already chopped the wood using his magic.

The church doors burst open. Revealing the Father of the Church, who wore a standard priest's robe with the same golden necklace as Sister Lily.

"Yuno is the pride and hope of this Church." Exclaimed Father Orfai, not realizing he had slammed the door in Asta's face.

"Wow, you could probably join the Magic Knights with magic like that, Yuno!" Nash observed, somewhat happy that Asta was getting shown up.

Asta sat on the ground in defeat. He didn't even get a chance to show off the only thing he had, his strength. Sister Lily approached, hoping to relieve some of Asta's worries.

"I'm sure you'll be able to use magic eventually, Asta. The awarding ceremony is coming up. I'm sure your grimoire will awaken something within you." Sister Lily hypothesized.

Asta felt happy knowing that he still had Sister Lily supporting him. With his renewed drive, he stood up, facing towards the statue of the first Wizard King that stood atop the giant demon skull, overshadowing all Hage village.

"Finally, I'll get my grimoire. A grimoire that's more amazing than any other; get into the Magic Knights and become the Wizard King! Right, Yuno! …. right?" Asta declared, hoping that his foster brother and rival would support him at least.

Yuno didn't respond, walking away from the conversation with Asta in its entirety. Asta clenched his fist. He thought at least Yuno, the person who has seen all his struggles, the person with whom he spent his entire life, would understand his goals and support him. He had enough of them, needing to blow off steam before he felt even more shunned by his own family.

"Just you wait," Asta uttered under his breath.

"Just you wait, damn it!" He said, jumping the fence and running towards the ancient demon skull.


Inside the Demon Skull

The Demon skull was actually quite lively inside. Over the years, all kinds of plants had taken to calling it home, with moss growing over the demon's ribs and trees growing even higher over that, creating a canopy over the area. However, the usual sounds of nature were being interrupted by the sounds of intense training.

"997, 998, 999… 1,000!" Asta huffed, finishing his workout.

He tensed his arm, pushing with enough force to propel himself up, allowing him to stand soundly onto his feet. He promptly drank moguro leaf juice, which was good for increasing one's magical powers. He kept reviewing the stance for producing magic, but still, nothing would come out. So he trained more, pushing his body to its limit until the sun went down, signaling for him to return home. Hopefully, one step closer to achieving his dream.


March, The Awarding Ceremony

March had arrived in the clover kingdom. Across the country, fifteen-year-olds gathered at the Grimoire towers, large buildings where the country's grimoires were held for this day alone. Today, they could finally receive their personal grimoires and enhance their magical powers.

Asta, Yuno, and the rest of the Church family arrived at the tower. Inside, Hundreds, maybe even thousands of books resided on the shelves. None were alike, with each one bearing a unique design, width, and even height. At the top of the tower, light shined through a three-leafed clover-shaped hole, the symbol for the clover kingdom where they resided.

Asta could not contain his excitement. He could finally obtain his magic and catch up to Yuno. All his struggles would finally be done with. He would be normal, just like everyone else in the kingdom who could you magic.

To the right of Asta and Yuno stood two other would-be mages. Compared to Asta and Yuno, these two seemed much higher on the social ladder of the kingdom, most likely the economic ladder as well due to how well they dressed. One wore a well-kept brown vest with a white neckerchief over a green tunic, while the other wore a white long sleeve button-up with a light blue short cloak.

"Hey, look over there," the one in green remarked, pointing over to Asta and Yuno. "Can you believe dregs like that get grimoires?"

"You said it," His friend snickered, "You don't think they are actually trying out for the magic knights? Only nobles with immense magical power and the royal family ever get in. I heard the shrimp can't even use magic".

"We should take care of him. He's like a national treasure since he's the only person in this kingdom who can't use magic." The one in green remarked.

Suddenly a voice echoed throughout the room as a figure on a glowing green platform descended from above.

"Welcome, young men and women. I wish you all faith, hope, and love." The old man in a red hat and robe declared.

"I am the master of this tower. We've never had a Wizard King from here, nor anyone great in the Magic Knights. I sincerely hope that one of you will become Wizard King someday. Now finally, for the awarding … of the grimoires!" the tower master announced.

Books across the room began to swirl with different colored magical energy before flying up into the center of the room. Slowly, the books found their masters, descending towards the person who would use them for the rest of their lives. One by one, the last of the grimoires went to their masters, with nearly everyone receiving one, except for Asta in the center of the room.

"Um…. my grimoires not coming!" Asta deadpanned while standing down on one knee with his arms out, hoping to receive his grimoire.

"Er…try again next year." The old man uttered, not quite sure of what to do here as he stared at Asta.

Everyone from Hage knew about Asta's condition, even him. Not even he expected Asta to not get a grimoire at all. Everyone has gotten a grimoire in his many years, even those with the driest amount of magic possible. But this? This was unprecedented!

Slowly, the room began to fill with sound. First one chuckle, then two, then four. Soon the entire room was filled with snickers and laughter at Asta's misfortune.

Yuno, on the other hand, managed to snag the very last grimoire. Its golden glow vibrantly filling the room, brilliantly displaying its four-leaf clover on the greenback cover. The laughter in the room had vanished, quickly being replaced by the sounds of amazement and jealously.

"H-hey isn't that the one the first wizard king received?" remarked Father Orfai, standing on the side of the room with the rest of the church.

Sister Lily turned towards him, "You mean the grimoire said to be filled with immense power and good luck?"

The book landed in Yuno's hands, and he turned towards the crowd, stating with no doubt in his mind, "I am going to become the Wizard King!"

Asta's stance broke, falling to his knees, the voices of people cheering on Yuno faded. This was his last chance; this was his only hope to be normal like everyone else. Was that too much to ask for? Any Magic, any at all? Could the world not spare one drop of magic power for someone like him? How hard did he have to keep working? Did anyone else in this room spend all their time training just to get even a sliver of magic?! No!

Asta's mind nearly faltered, but he was stronger, no, better than that type of thinking. He could not have endured his training if he didn't have hope. He may have just lost that chance, but he will just make another for himself. The sound started returning to the world as Asta regained his composure, standing back up, ready to face life again.

"Yuno…Just you wait. I'll catch up to you in no time." Asta declared as he turned to face his rival, with determination in his eyes. "Because I'm your rival!"

Once again, the room filled with laughter as Yuno walked past Asta, not even looking him in the eyes.

"Not possible," Yuno said without a hint of remorse as the crowd began leaving the tower.

That hurt Asta more than the entire clover kingdom laughing at him.


Forest Outside Hage Village

The sun reached the end of today's journey, beginning its descent behind the Skull to cover the village in darkness. Asta watched, hanging from a tree by his leg, trying to get some space away from all the people celebrating their grimoires, including Yuno.

"I thought that once I got my grimoire, I'd be able to use magic, but… I never thought I wouldn't get one." Asta solemnly uttered before flipping himself onto the top of the tree branch.

"But like hell am I gonna give up!" Asta screamed to the heavens.

No matter how long it took, he was going to work hard until he received his grimoire.

"I'll become the Wizard King and prove to everyone that anyone can be awesome, even if they're poor or an orphan!"


Outside the grimoire tower, Dusk

Yuno could not believe what he was looking at. He was one of the last people to leave the venue at the tower, only to find himself faced with the two chumps who had mocked him and Asta for being "dregs."

"H-Hey, you don't have to go that far." The one in green exclaimed, trying to reel in his friend.

"We should've been the stars today…," The one in blue uttered, "and yet… this peasant receives a four-leaf grimoire?!"

Before his friend could stop, he raised his grimoire as it began filling with vibrant orange energy, the signature of someone who uses fire magic.

"I'll just have to turn it into ash!" he announced before launching a torrent of fire towards Yuno.

Yuno was unimpressed at best by that display of magic. He simply lifted his hand upwards, erecting a small tornado as a shield. The high-speed winds directed the fire around Yuno's sides, leaving the scorched ground beside him as the only sign the fire spell had even been cast.

"He held back my flames without even using his grimoire?!" exclaimed the fire-wielding miscreant, beginning to regret his decision to mess with the newly powered-up wind mage.

Before anyone could make another move, chains began erupting from the walls around the two friends, quickly binding them securely to the walls. All they managed to get out were screams that echoed to the forest before their mouths were gagged.

"I can't let you go and burn my payday, brat. Don't bother to resist either; my chain magic restricts the magic and movements of the one it captures," uttered a new figure, clad in a red cloak.

He had chains floating around him and a light blue, near silver, grimoire. Behind his long black hair was a scar on his right eye.

"Who are you?" Yuno asked, trying to gauge his enemy's strength.

"Me? You really haven't heard of Revchi, the Magic Knight of Chain Magic? Though I was kicked out, so I'm just a wretch there now." Spoke Revchi laughing as he readied more chains.

"And I'll be taking that grimoire." He said as Yuno was wrapped up in chains that had burst out from under him.

As Revchi was retrieving his prize with his chains, Yuno spoke, "You know it's pointless to steal grimoires the only-"

Revchi cut him off. "The only one who can use it is the one it chooses. However, four-leaf grimoires fetch quite the price; underground collectors absolutely love them."

"Oh, that pendant your wearing looks quite expensive as well. I guess I'll be taking that…."

Before Revchi could finish his sentence, Asta emerged from the top of the trees that surrounded the entrance to the grimoire tower.

"Hold it!" Asta ordered as he jumped from the tree before smashing into the brick wall on the other side of the tower's entry pass, falling face-first onto the ground. He quickly recovered to his feet.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Asta shouted, pointing towards… the tied-up fire miscreant.

Said miscreant used his eyes to try and point Asta in the right direction towards Rivchi.

"Who are you, and why do you have Yuno's grimoire?! You thief!" Asta exclaimed, finally pointing at the more pressing threat.

"Eh? Aren't you the brat who didn't get a grimoire? The world's a twisted place; too bad you'll be dead before you find out," Rivchi snickered as he readied another chain spell.

Asta wasn't going to run away and prepared to rush the thief, getting down on one knee to break into a sprint. The first round of chains fired in a circle. Asta managed to dodge, but another was fired from the center. With a quick dodge, Asta made it through the chains and behind the thief. He immediately began putting his weight behind a punch, but all the momentum was lost just before it hit. Asta looked down and saw his stomach held back by chains.

"I'm not done yet!" Asta shouted, putting even more force behind his feet, allowing him to slowly walk towards Rivchi.

"No… You're finished." Rivchi exclaimed as the chains behind Asta began moving faster towards him, "Dance of the Pitless Viper!"

The chains began tearing Asta's body apart before violently slamming him into the wall. Asta could barely feel his body despite all his training.

All he managed to do was lightly utter, "Not yet… I'm not Finished. I'm going to be… the Wizard King."

Rivchi started laughing as he shoved his leg onto Asta's shoulder. "Please. These chains let me see exactly how much magical energy someone has, and you have absolutely no magic whatsoever. Not even an ounce."

Asta couldn't believe it. No matter how much he trained, he could never use magic? Not even an ounce?

"You must've been born without it. No wonder you couldn't get a grimoire!" Rivchie said, holding back a laugh, "To think you lack magic in a world where it's everything! What a priceless find!"

Rivchi finally let out his laugh before he yelled, "To think someone so pathetic existed?! You can't even work, let alone become the wizard king! Your friend there probably thinks so too!"

"He's probably right. Yuno was chosen by a four-leaf. I'm probably…." Asta thought before being interrupted by Rivchi once again.

"You can't do a thing in this world. Just give up on everything. You were born a loser!"

"I'm just going to give…in…." Asta thought as he closed his eyes, preparing to accept his fate.

"Hey! Who are you calling a loser?!" Yuno yelled, trying whatever he could to keep Asta conscious and fighting, "Asta, it's true that you won't be able to become the Wizard King, no matter what."

Rivchi chuckled, "See? Even your friend thinks your dream is impossible."

"That's because I'm going to become the Wizard King. But he's no loser, he's… Asta's my rival!" Yuno declared as loud as he could, trying to get Asta back on his feet.

Asta's eyes opened. He was finally acknowledged by Yuno, no, his rival! He couldn't give in here, not while he could still move a single muscle. He would achieve his dream of being Wizard King and show people that you can achieve your dreams no matter what your origin! He grabbed the leg Rivchi had on his shoulder, gripping it as tightly as he could, praying he still had enough strength left to squeeze his leg. Rivchi noticed the sharp pain in his leg, causing him to back off from Asta slightly.

"Sorry that you had to see me looking that pathetic, Yuno. In just a sec…." Asta breathed as he began standing as his's bodies signals of pain faded with adrenaline, "In just a sec, I'm gonna kick this guy's butt!"

Black energy began swirling around Asta, but a green flash with black and red specs occurred before it could finish. As the energy cleared, Asta could feel his hands again but, they felt different. Projected onto the wall behind him stood the shadow of what looked like a humanoid volcano. He looked down and was shocked by what he saw. His arms seemed to be made of glowing red rocks that stopped around his elbows, just below his jacket's arms. They were emitting a steady flow of yellow and black flames through the gaps between the rocks. He began to feel the heat that was practically blasting off his new arm's flames. As he examined them closer, he noticed that sunken into his left arm sat the same hourglass symbol as his lucky charm, now glowing a vibrant green instead of the lifeless white it had been for so long. He quickly looked back to his foe, not noticing the tiny specs of black and red that appeared within the green of the symbol.

As Asta took his stance, ready to do whatever it takes to win the fight, he heard a faint, almost ghostly whisper in the back of his head. "Looks like he can do without me for a little longer."


Asta could barely comprehend what was happening to him. He always had dreamt of what using magic would feel like; this was not exactly how he imagined it. Did everyone else really feel like this? Limitless power pouring out of your body, yearning to be used, to be shaped your will?

As he breathed, the heat of Asta's hands ebbed and flowed, growing in intensity the harder he breathed. He had one shot to take down Rivchi. His magic had manifested, but he could feel the rest of his body was succumbing to the massive blows from the last attack. No amount of adrenaline could keep him going. If he took one more hit, he'd be done.

Rivchi starred him down, flabbergasted at what he was seeing. "How!? You shouldn't be able to use magic? Those flames…just who are you!?

Asta took one last deep breath before jumping into the air. He tensed his muscles, following the same steps he's practiced over a million times for his envisioned "ultimate attack." He could feel his palms exude a vast amount of heat as a blast of yellow, black fire shot towards Rivchi.

"With my body and these flames…I'm going to become the wizard king!" exclaimed Asta, pushing even more fire out of his palms and towards Rivchi.

Rivchi tried to pierce the flames, but as the chains collided, it seemed that the intensity of Asta's flames was dissipating the chains faster than he could create them. "How?!" Rivchi exclaimed, "Did he somehow nullify my magic?!"

Despite his effort, the flames began to engulf Rivchi. He could feel the heat singeing him, barely managing to get past his enchanted clothing. He felt weaker, to the point he could no longer bear the heat of the flames, losing his footing as the fire's pressure rocketed him into the wall; Dust and rock erupting out as the thief crashed into the ancient stone bricks.

Asta exhaled, feeling the intensity of the heat radiating from his hands die down. He looked over at Rivchi, hoping that he didn't accidentally kill the man. Besides the fact that his clothes were mostly singed and having first-degree burns, he was miraculously alive but unconscious. The magical bindings around Yuno and the two miscreants faded into particles of mana as they disappeared.

"Hey Yuno, check it out!" Asta exclaimed as he flexed his fiery arms. "I'm gonna train even harder now that I've got my magic! I'll be unstoppable now!"

"You saved me again." Muttered Yuno as he walked towards Asta, "I'll repay you for this… someday."

"Hey uh, Yuno… how do I… uh…turn off my magic?" Asta asked sheepishly, waving his fiery arms around a little, now realizing he could accidentally burn anything around him and himself.

Yuno was actually worried that Asta hadn't figured that out yet, mainly due to the destructive nature of fire magic. Though it made sense since it was his first time ever using it.

"Imagine all the energy flowing out of your arms and into the world around you," Yuno stated rather factually.

Asta looked down at his arms, imagining all of the power he'd been feeling leaving his body. His hands began heating once again, only resulting in small fires expelling out from all over his arms. Yuno and Asta spent the next nine minutes trying to nullify Asta's arms, even trying Yuno's wind magic to blow them out. The wind magic didn't even seem to touch the Yellow and Black fire as it flowed in the exact same fashion as before. Yuno managed to find a bucket of water that he brought back and splashed on Asta, but the flames immediately relit themselves after.

Asta sat on the stone path in defeat. "Great. My whole life, I couldn't turn my magic on, and now I can't turn it off! How am I meant to eat delicious tatoes now?! Or put on my clothes!?" Asta worriedly exclaimed.

As he said that, a loud beeping began emanating from Asta's left arm.

"Eh?" Asta questioned before a bright red flash engulfed the entire area as the beeping died down.

As the light dissipated, Asta realized his hands felt normal again, if a little sore. He looked them over, inspecting for any remnants of injuries or magic. Everything seemed in order except for his good luck charm.

The once grey and faded pipes had been replaced by shiny white ones. The dull black stone had begun shining with a gloss Asta had never seen before. Finally, all the buttons and the hourglass symbol on the top had changed from a lifeless grey to a vibrant worrisome shade of red.

Yuno smiled, glad Asta's magic gave out before he burned down the village accidentally, but also because his rival now had magic to compete with. He walked towards the exit, staring out at Hage village and the demon skull looming in front of the horizon as dandelions began floating in the wind.

"Asta! Do you remember our promise?" Yuno said as he turned his head back towards Asta, smirking.

"You remember? I thought you were just making fun of me." Asta uttered as he approached Yuno.

"I don't intend to be too friendly to my rival, but you're the one who gave me hope." Yuno declared, "Even if you're poor, an orphan, or even us… we can become greater than anyone else in the world. And to prove that…."

Asta interjected, "…To make Sister and everyone happy…."

Asta and Yuno looked towards each other, smiling, and raised their fists before they collided into a fist bump as they exclaimed, "Let's see who can become the Wizard King!"

"I have another question, though, Yuno," Asta asked somewhat sheepishly once again as he lowered his arm from the fist bump.

"And that would be?" Yuno asked, still enjoying the moment.

"How do I use my magic again without a grimoire?" Asta stated with a serious but somewhat confused look on his face.

Yuno, in all the commotion, has forgotten about that aspect as well. With what little he knew about sensing mana, Asta still had no magic. So how did he use that spell to transform his arms?