The sky was overcast, as if a thick gray curtain had been drawn across it. Cold wind howled through the air, violently shaking the bare branches of the trees, as though foreshadowing the arrival of a heavy snowfall.
The air carried a damp, chilling scent.
Just moments after Sylvar Crowe and Yuno received the letter, Sylvar turned around and glanced at Asta behind them.
"Let's go together," Sylvar said.
Asta immediately ran over, his mood visibly brightening, and began chatting enthusiastically with the two of them along the way.
Sylvar thought to himself:
You can't not come.
If you don't come… something bad will definitely happen in the future.
———
By the time they arrived at the village chief's house, night had already fallen, and heavy snow was pouring down from the sky.
After personally handing the letter to the village chief, the three children prepared to head back.
On the way, a drunk man happened to notice the necklace hanging around Yuno's neck.
A strange thought crossed his mind.
That looks like it could be traded for some wine money.
The drunk man hid himself around a corner in advance.
When the three children passed by, he suddenly stepped out and shouted loudly, "Hand over the necklace!"
His eyes were sharp and feral, like those of a starving wolf, locked tightly onto Yuno.
Yuno, who had always been timid by nature, froze in place, too frightened to move.
Just as Asta was about to speak, the drunk man suddenly threw a punch.
Yuno was struck hard and bent forward like a shrimp, the air knocked out of him, while the drunk snatched the necklace with his other hand.
Asta reacted instantly.
He rushed forward, shouting angrily, "Give it back! That's Yuno's!"
Knowing he was no match for an adult, Sylvar immediately picked up a stone from the ground and quietly moved around behind the drunk man.
The opponent was a grown adult.
He himself was a child not even ten years old.
If he wanted to win, he had to rely on his head—not brute force.
The gap in strength was far too obvious.
Asta lunged forward and hugged the drunk man tightly, but was quickly slammed to the ground.
Even after being knocked down, Asta continued to shout desperately, "Give it back to him! That belongs to Yuno!"
When Asta was knocked down a second time, Sylvar had already silently moved behind the drunk.
Gripping the stone tightly with both hands, Sylvar jumped with all his strength and smashed it down.
But his body was too weak.
He failed to leap onto the man's back, and the stone only struck the drunk man's back.
If Sylvar were given another chance, he would definitely train harder and never slack off again.
The sharp pain caused the drunk to sober up slightly—or perhaps it simply made him furious and humiliated.
He pulled out his grimoire, and its pages began flipping rapidly.
At that moment, Asta once again rushed forward and hugged the man.
Sylvar felt a deep sense of crisis.
Even the weakest villager wielding a magic book could kill them with a single spell.
The drunk man pointed his hand toward Sylvar, clearly preparing to cast magic.
Sylvar's mind went blank.
Only one word echoed endlessly in his thoughts.
Death.
I'm going to die.
I'm going to die—damn it!
I don't want to die this stupidly!
Almost instinctively, Sylvar poured all of his magic power into the stone and hurled it with everything he had.
The stone struck the drunk squarely in the chest.
For a drunk man—
It didn't hurt.
The damage was basically zero.
But the humiliation?
Absolutely devastating.
Just as despair filled Sylvar's heart, the fireball forming in the drunk's hand suddenly dispersed.
The man froze in terror.
He could no longer sense his own magic power.
This was the first time since awakening magic that he had ever felt such powerlessness. The unfamiliar sensation terrified him, causing his lips to tremble uncontrollably.
"Devil… devil… this is the devil's power!"
Shouting hysterically, the drunk shoved Asta away, tossed the necklace aside, and fled while screaming "Devil! Devil!"
As for Sylvar—
He collapsed unconscious.
All of his magic power had been exhausted.
Yuno hurriedly helped Asta to his feet.
"I'm sorry," Yuno said guiltily.
Asta's face was swollen and bloodied, but he spoke casually despite the pain. "It's fine. I said I'd stay by your side."
Suddenly, Asta frowned.
"…Wait. Isn't something missing?"
Yuno pointed toward the ground.
"It's Sylvar. He fainted."
"Asta, you're okay on your own, right?" Yuno said nervously. "I'll carry Sylvar back."
"No problem," Asta replied.
Before lifting Sylvar onto his back, Yuno picked up the necklace the drunk had dropped.
Asta staggered behind them as they made their way home.
When they reached the church, Sister Lily immediately examined Sylvar.
She quickly determined that he had merely exhausted all of his magic power. After transferring a small amount of her own magic into him, Sylvar woke up safely.
Completely unharmed.
And it was at that moment—
That Sylvar truly understood his own strength.
Yuno stood at the entrance of the church, black hair fluttering softly in the wind as he gazed into the distance.
His eyes became firm.
As if he could already see the countless hardships and obstacles awaiting him in the future.
There was no fear in his gaze.
Only unshakable determination.
He knew the road ahead would be rough and filled with suffering, but he swore—
No matter what difficulties lay ahead, he would never cry.
He would overcome everything with sheer willpower.
From that day onward, Sylvar, Asta, and Yuno—who had already been training—truly understood the importance of strength.
Their training became far more intense.
First was physical training.
Sylvar designed a plan that required all three of them to train their bodies daily.
The core routine consisted of:
100 push-ups
100 sit-ups
100 squats
And a 10-kilometer run
This was a method taken from the strongest bald man in another world.
For Yuno, Sylvar developed the Four Elements cultivation theory, allowing Yuno's massive magic reserves to be fully utilized.
Entanglement.
Refinement.
Suppression.
Release.
Entanglement wrapped magic around the body, enhancing defense and, in Yuno's case, speed—since his magic was wind-based.
Refinement increased the output of magic, allowing more power to be drawn in the same amount of time, resulting in stronger attacks.
Suppression was rarely used by Yuno, as it focused on conserving magic, and Yuno possessed far too much magic for that to be practical.
Release was converted into a pure magic manipulation training method, as Yuno could already attack directly.
For Asta, Sylvar devised reaction training.
If Asta continued developing like this, he would become a physical monster.
Necessary training was essential.
The method was simple: poke Asta with a wooden stick through a cloth, forcing him to block with his hands.
This technique came from a martial arts master in Sylvar's previous world.
Naturally, Asta also trained his muscles daily.
It was also after that day that Sylvar fully understood the nature of his magic.
Seal.
His combat power was mediocre.
There were only two ways to seal someone.
The first was direct contact—touching the opponent and sending magic into them to block their magic flow.
The second was to wrap an object with magic and throw it at the enemy.
However, the amount of magic determined the duration of the seal.
Most of the magic was consumed during the throw itself.
A terrible trade.
Worse still, Sylvar's magic reserves were less than one-tenth of Yuno's.
He was a pure civilian—an inferior one at that.
Whenever he saw Yuno freely using magic, envy almost burst from his eyes.
At full strength, Sylvar could seal Yuno for nine seconds at close range.
That was without resistance.
If Yuno resisted, he could break free instantly.
Using the second method, Sylvar couldn't even land a hit.
Using the first, he couldn't get close.
Faced with this reality, Sylvar had a headache.
If it really came down to it—
He might have to use that.
He knew part of the plot.
Magic books changed according to their owner's will.
If his will was strong enough, his grimoire could evolve.
Thus, Sylvar began to fantasize wildly.
In this world, the human body was like a cup.
The size of the cup couldn't change.
But the water inside—magic power—could.
There were two solutions.
The first was to make the magic denser.
This required long-term cultivation.
The second was to create another cup.
The Yin Seal Technique.
A tribute to a certain Hokage.
This seal could store ten times Sylvar's total magic power.
But it had flaws.
First, it required continuous concentration for over ten hours without eating or drinking.
Second, once released, the stored magic would dissipate rapidly.
He would have only three minutes of unlimited magic.
As for attack power—
Since Sylvar couldn't attack, he thought about stealing.
Steal the enemy's magic.
Steal their grimoire.
Seal it into his own.
The theory worked.
Reality did not.
Stone into wood.
Failure.
Next attempt—
Seal the magician himself into the grimoire.
Using a frog and a piece of wood.
Result: frog meat.
Failure.
Conclusion:
Scenario 1: Yin Seal—successful.
Scenario 2: Sealing into grimoire—failed.
Scenario 3: Magic book autonomy—not achieved.
While testing his abilities, Sylvar trained physically with Asta.
Their secret base—
The skull of the Demon God.
They even saw the statue of the Magic Emperor.
Asta and Yuno thought it was just a statue.
Only Sylvar knew.
The Magic Emperor had sealed himself here—
And would return on that decisive day to save the world.
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Author's Notes:
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