No Leaf Clover (Black Clover SI)

[Femto]

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Prologue​

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It has been days. He felt it. He cannot see the future of him winning.

He didn't expect all of it. Everything had vanished in his sight. The rivers he had used to marvel at, were gone. Plains he adored whenever he traveled with his niece to feel the fresh air breezing through their bodies when they felt stressed about much paperwork, is in fact, burned. No. Burned was the wrong word here. It's just, nothing. Nothing. Really. His messy blonde hair rustled in the open, soaked with blood. He gazed at the person standing, levitating atop the skies. The shrouded-looking figure chuckled at him. With indifferent pink eyes. He had hoped that things didn't go this way, that he just tried harder when he was on duty back then.

They're gone. Dead. Including all of the most powerful men in four kingdoms. Against the might of this figure. Even he, the twenty-eighth Wizard Emperor of the Kingdom, cannot stop him. All he could remember is the blinding light that shrouded everything, and boom, they lost.

He stood up once again patting his numbed legs, telling them to get up they had to. He isn't just some kind of magic knight in their service. His name is Julius Novachrono. Protector of this realm. Protector of peace and stability. Protector of the weak. How can he call himself the most honorable person in the kingdom in this pathetic state of his?

Then the figure snickered at him.

"Oh, you're approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming right into me?"

He's surely talkative, huh? The great wizard thought. "If I run away, how could I call myself the Shield of the Kingdom?"

"Oh yeah – yeah, here we go again. That's a quite different take from when I destroyed the demon realm a while ago."

Julius could only bite his lips. The retort was improbable. He couldn't after his captains got toyed by him one by one. Jack the Ripper, who's simply good at mid and close-range got decimated in seconds. His Blades were absorbed by the black liquid surrounding him. Rill, the monster kid – whose nearly infinite amount of mana reserves got drained. Charlotte, another monster of talent down, her vines were burned and burned all over again. All of them were bodied by this lass. Even Mereoleona, Yami, and Vangeance. They lost and got played with.

This is an impossible feat coming from a human.

"I wish we fought a bit earlier when I was a tad bit weaker."

He mocked him again. Julius' body blurred. He appeared behind the figure. Against an enigma like this, he cannot afford to show hesitation. Channeling his mana in his body. Using his Time magic offense he freezes the figure, encapsulating the figure.

Chrono stasis
Chrono stasis
Chrono stasis
Chrono stasis

The figure smirked as bolts of lightning arose in his body. Their eyes met, and the other – who's disabled. Smiled. A moment later on, the seal was shattered. Julius's attempts to halt the pink-eyed boy's movements were canceled one by one.

Anti Maho?

The figure then. Who calls himself Ghost appeared and blinked in front of him. "Boom!"

Julius had no idea how the future would fare. He used to always be one step ahead, of every foe, every predicament, burden. With all of his might, he had never violated like this. The exchange of attacks only seemed to be taking five seconds of them – but in closer perspective, he's already moving faster than the speed of light. While the other also, is.

He felt they were fighting forever. He's wrong. He knew. It's only been around four days, five hours, and fifty-six minutes since they confronted this monster.

The wizard king, unfazed by this, dodged, reacting by creating ten, twenty – thirty – forty meters distance away from the ghost, and finally opened his grimoire. A large book spread out fifty feet above the skies. Enclosing. Dwarfing nearly everything around the proximity. The once dark environment began to light. The once-shrouded figure's face began to show. Onyx hair tied into a long ponytail – his face was young. A bit older than he looked when they last met. Pink irises enlightened by the glowing Grimoire.

The figure whom he calls himself Ghost levitated and matched his altitude. His once chuckling, mocking face changed. His eyebrows tightened looking at his abnormally large Grimoire. Now face to face with each other. Julius is willing. To use. Sacrifice his strength. His Lifespan. His powers.

"Now, it comes into this. Wizard King, I respect you," The figure muttered. "Accept my full power blow."

He showed respect. He does? He did. Julius Novachrono cannot comprehend. After all this meaningless madness. This means less end for the life of common people – trying to live their own lives. Trying to survive in this endless cycle of futility and cruelty of fate. And this boy showed respect? He couldn't understand.

"Enough of this!"

Time Magic – Reverse Chrono Anastasis!

His grimoire flipped. Making powerful blows of air, as the intense globe of magic enclosed everything.

The pink-eyed figure opened his grimoire for the first time. He saw it. In a matter of milliseconds. He cast the spell.

Truth magic – Rapture.

And the world went white.

---

Thirty months previous
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Change is hard, it's fascinating, and it's sometimes necessary for growth. Marcus Joshua had always believed that changes could be uncomfortable and hard. In the shallow part of his memories, he hopped on various schools due to their financial struggles. The reason he had fewer friends on average, or what they call – anti-social.

He sighed. Standing in front of the mirror, the boy started straightening his messy obsidian hair. The comb had a bit of a pointy edge. His bubblegum pink eyes twitched. It felt weird to know that, yesterday, Marcus was having a conversation with Dr. Freeman regarding the alarming Tetanus he might have had. Then, found himself lying on the floor, the doctor grabbed onto his clothes, and frantically called him by his name.

If counted correctly. That event happened three weeks ago. He found himself in a new body named Abiel: the one and only son of Soran the Chef. Abiel had to work to maintain the cleanliness of their restaurant – Soranon Fried. His brow twitched. The boy was a goddamned fifteen-year-old, but he guessed that it might be fair, knowing that this plane of existence could be considered far from his former one. Soranon Fried is located in the North-East part of Kiten—the reason why the customers were always non-existent.

Kiten was located in the Clover Kingdom, that very kingdom in the goddamned Black-Clover!

"Are you still not up?"

"Yes." He answered. "Just give me some time!" This shitty old man. I woke up this early so I could practice –

Mana. A form of energy that exists in nature and within people, and also devils. In the Clover world, Elves were the most loved by Mana. Abiel must know the logic and principles behind it, maybe not now. It was not explained in the manga but he's planning on working on it to maximize his power.

He breathed in. A Tingly sensation ran through his body. He shut his eyes. Appreciating the sensation. Treating it as part of his five senses. Treating it as part of his organ, his body. There he stood, in the vastness of space. He couldn't see anything inside this realm, except a small globe of light hovering above. It must be his core. His Mana Core contains all the Mana. He gradually circulated the core.

He exhaled and opened his eyes. Abiel opened his palm. A pitch-black matter emerged, it floated and grew its size forming a small fork. He held it and analyzed the fork.

"Void Magic."

He has yet to have his grimoire but he claimed that it has to be Void Magic, not Dark Magic. His magic was part of him, part of his soul, and body. Abiel concluded that Dark Magic had different properties. Darkness means the lack of light. Our Sun produced light on Earth, it made most of the things visible to the naked eye. If a bulb in a room was switched off, we could still have the table, the desk, and the things inside.

On the other hand, Void means empty. It has nothing. There's no light, no air, no cheating ex-wife, no shit and giggles. Practically, and fascinatingly empty. One thing he had also noted during his stay, was Void Magic can absorb and create a vacuum to absorb the things that contained mana around a 5m radius.

"BRAT – YOU'RE ALREADY TAKING FOREVER!" A deep voice spat. "I NEED HELP – CUSTOMERS!"

Customers? Strange. Abiel could not bring himself to believe that their small restaurant would be handling a worrying amount, his father could not handle alone. He sighed. This was good. He never planned to be a Magic Knight anyway, he prefers to handle the business instead of dying for the country.

 

[Femto]

Authors note:

I have realized that, despite how good the show Black Clover is, I never encountered a Fic for this Shonen on these sites. The magical world of Black Clover is vast, and it's indeed interesting to expand. Please keep in mind that this story will be considered as AU. As I would want to expand the magic system and the society of this verse. It made me think that if everyone had magic - what kind of world would this world be? Other than being a Magic Knight - what are other professions people would take? What kind of economy does the Clover Kingdom have? Most of the time, in the novel, the M Knights mainly focused on extinguishing the fire, saving civilians, and fighting terrorists. I would like this fic to tackle societal effects of having everyone have magic, drawbacks, and benefits compared to the world we live in.

So, back to the story…

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Chapter One​

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Winners, Abiel noted. They were the winners. Always the winner whenever he is. Be it in his former reality, historical figures, and in this unique power wank circumstances he's in. He noted that be it in lineage, luck, and distinguished background - they were winners. People call them nobles. Without a doubt, people believed that nobles were winners. They worship them. They call them leaders.

Abiel and his father stood on the sides. A toque hat and pristine white apron adorn both of them. He, alongside Soranon, has been in this spot for more than twenty-five minutes. He couldn't deny that they looked more than servants there as they wait for their masters to finish their meal. He bit his lip. The girl was seated on a chair with crossed legs. Her cold blue eyes were stern, truly fixated on nibbling the fried meat. She punctured and tore a piece of the chicken leg using the fork.

Her gaze peered on the piece of meat. She smiled and gobbled it up and in no time - swallowed it whole.

"Delicious ~"

Abiel couldn't halt his scowl. He couldn't admit more that he's surprised by this development. A noble with some significant background came to their small restaurant - to dine in - truly the world might be insane. During his short stay in the Clover verse, he had once heard from a commoner that Noble aren't jokes - they're like the overlords here in this nation.

The bastard gossiper also told them to be far off the noble's vicinity if it was physically possible. Nobles aren't a joke - they will cut your arm if you somehow become the source of their displeasure.

This noble was the reason for his scowl. He was forced to stop his Magic Training Project for a while. Not only that, his breakfast was temporarily suspended as of the moment.

"You there!"

Me? Abiel pointed to himself

"Who else?"

The obsidian-haired noble grunted. Abiel felt a nudge. He looked at this left, to his father, signaling him to move forward to the girl. He bit his lip and prayed that nothing out of the ordinary would happen, hopefully.

"Yes - uh, madam - I mean Lady how may I help you?"

The blue-eyed snort. She stood in front of him. Abiel had noticed that they were the same height - but he could argue that the girl was older than him by a few years, or else his pride would shatter into bits by bits.

"... should I fetch a drink for you?"

She sniffed. Her pupils dilated.

"You are weird…"

"You are… what?"

The girl walked, circling him, while eyes remained peering at him. Weird, Abiel claimed. She's surely that weird one, of course not him - a person with the memories of an individual from modern reality.

"You have tons amount of mana reserves… I could sense it."

He has what? Gifted in mana? He thought he was average.

"What is your Magic Attribute?"

"Void… void magic."

The girl blinked. "Void Magic. I never about it…" She pointed at her father. "Are you perhaps related to this kid?"


"Yes, young miss… I am the father of this child."

"Alright. Then what is your magic attribute - is it also Void Magic?"

The man shook his head.

"No, no. It's Flame Magic."

The girl raised an eyebrow. She returned to her seat, crossed her legs, and opened a purse strapped on her left shoulder. A thin notepad had been released from it. The blue-eyed stared a moment from Abiel with an evil smirk. So evil - that he might believe this person was the version of Jabami Yumeko for a moment. Then, she jotted down on the notepad.

After a minute or so, this damn Yumeko in the making was finally done writing in her little notepad. She strode towards his father, and with a jovial smile - she handed the paper over to his father. Abiel observed from a few meters away. His father read the contents. For some reason, his eyes bulged and protruded - more and more as he scanned the paper.

Soranon narrowed his eyes. "What exactly is the meaning of this?"

The sweet, beautiful smile of the girl was torn apart. "What I've written on that business deal is concise and accurate. I cannot find a reason why I should repeat that once again."

What the hell is happening? Abiel thought.

"Abiel. Go back in your room."

"Yes?"

"Go in your room, kid!"

"Wait - I'm still - I'm helping you in this job, right?"

"Go. In. Your room!" He glared.

"Okay, okay, sir. Sheesh, what the hell is wrong with you people."

---

No Leaf Clover​

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"Who are you?"

"I think you should be seated first - so we can talk better."

She smiled again. Good, the kid was gone. Things could proceed forward in her intended direction.

"Who are you?"

She clicked her tongue. This old man was strange. Not all would have the guts to repeat a question to her. Not all, even her fellow nobles in the kingdom. However, it depends if it is her Uncle Julius who would do so, and his interaction with her uncles does not usually revolves in banter.

She sighed. "It's Fragil. Fragil Tormenta. You may only call me Ms. Fragil."

"Then Ms. Fragil. We. Are. Not. Interested."

Her breathing hitched, she couldn't understand.

"My family has been the Lords of the Kiten for more than four decades. I knew all of the events happening in my lands, of course, as someone who's entrusted to manage the people in this place." Fragil fiddled her fingers on the table. "I knew the state of your business."

The old man grits his teeth.

"No, no, no, no… don't give me that look Mr. Soranon." She dusted her skirt. "I'm offering you help. Why can't you understand?"

"What kind of help is that? He growled. "What kind of help is selling your son to other people?"

"But he… he's not your real son. Am I correct?"

The man froze, and she laughed. She loves these kinds of expressions nowadays.

"I heard some rumor from the people. That, a boy a year younger than me was adopted by a gambler addict. Do you want the Magic Knights to know how you forced that boy to work in this place?" Her lips thinned. "Or - are you perhaps ignorant to the fact - that Julius Novachrono is my uncle?"

Still, no reply she pressed.

"This business is losing - was not because of insufficient customers. But because you gamble all your capital and profit and always lose. I was once told that the boy is the one working thirteen hours daily - while you're out."

"What are you getting at?"

"Simple. Very simple. Give me Abiel. I will overlook your misdeeds in my land. We do that. We're happy.""There's no way I would do something like that!"

"Because you're aware that the boy might be some kind of royalty from far-far away?" She smirked. "We know that magic, talent, and mana are inherent from birth. There's a good chance he's a prince."

"I…"

The man couldn't speak. His tongue was tied. Fragil pressed the correct buttons. She knew, as always that she was going to win.

"Drop as much Yul as you want. You can use that money for whatever you like - and even close this business and retire."

"I will… think about the price."

"Good… then we have a deal."

 

[Femto]

Authors Note:



Some might not like the progression of this story, but I would prefer a story with emotional stakes and not some mindless driven characters who'd want to grind exp and defeat the last boss, the end.

The story will unfold on its own. Some questions might be unanswered, I will deal it by showing them in the story. I got you brah!

Quick Recap: Ms. Oujo-sama blackmails a commoner with a grandiose endeavor to be a businessman to hand over his adoptive child who he forces to work on his behalf. Adoptive child still hasn't done anything so relevant in this fic so far. But who does? He's not the Generic Slime Stuff out there!

Now, back to the story!

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Some thoughts plagued him. It boggled him to the point that he couldn't focus on what he calls training anymore. Abiel should be thankful that he was granted the chance to be excused - for what they referred to as child labor. Although, a temporary notion. Maybe he might be twenty-two years old in his soul and mind, but the thought of being in the body of Abiel - a fourteen-year-old teen who grinds the rat race already. It's indeed disgusting.

Thirteen hours, Abiel's face soured. Thirteen hours of shift work daily, including maintenance duty, customer service, and dishwashing, might be too much for someone who should be playing outside all day.

Abiel breathed. Knowing the survival rate of the Clover Kingdom in the future, he might indeed be lucky that he could still eat three times a day, despite being exploited by the man. However, he wished, ten, no, twenty times a day, that Soranon could shove the earnings in the ass. He wouldn't see it happen though, as the man was back and forth running errands Abiel did not wish to be part of.

No need to think about that Yumeko-chan. He should give him my token of appreciation, as she managed to infuriate and occupy the old man. What he would need to achieve today, is to maximize this time to train and explore his powers. He didn't have the luxury to settle down with his waifu in the countryside, while they drank Nord mead and danced in an unknown lake - as of the moment. Abiel's survival rate was as low as negative to think about that splendid lifestyle.

Now he has to work. He closed his eyes. Then, he stood in a vast darkness of nothingness. No matter how he tried to walk, or run, or try to explore the horizon, he reached the end of this absolute darkness. He couldn't simply measure how fathomable, how immense this space is. Thus, Abiel called this realm - Void Space. In the middle of space, the globe had grown bigger. In the past few weeks of trying to rotate this sphere, it changed. Before, it was the size of a basketball, but now it engulfed some of his vision. It grew to the size of a ten-story building.

Abiel learned to manipulate the sphere by rotating it. It creates a strong suction force that consumes energy from another dimension. At first, the absorption was so weak that he could feel it. Nonetheless, as the globe grew larger, the pulling power improved by a huge margin. Things are strange. He kept absorbing and absorbing energy from unknown sources, from unknown locations. He's sure it's not from this world, but from something more mysterious.

It might cause his demise or bite him in the future, but he must carry out his plans regardless.

He cannot afford to rely on theoretical factors of what-if, things. The thing people romanticized, idealized, to be thrown in your favorite fiction sounds exciting. Abiel had also liked the premise, of course, at least in the past. Now that he was here in one of his favorite Shonen anime, he's looking forward to going back home and eating at a fast food restaurant as usual. He missed drinking coke, sour popsicles, and tortilla chips already. He dearly missed it. Now he has to return to his so-called training.

"Rotate."

Abiel cracked his neck. He reached out his right hand in the direction of the sphere. It seems the suction power had increased the quality of mana in his body. Upon overtaking this identity, the mana density was thin, swallowed, and unrefined. It was weak. He noted that the Mana quality is as important as the Mana Quantity. During his binge in the anime, he had observed that most Magic Knights were incompetent and weak. Their mana quantity, despite being immensely superior compared to that of peasants - they couldn't do their goddamned job. High salaries were wasted for the likes of them. Maybe being a Magic Knight wasn't so bad after all. You just walk, patronize yourself as moral support to the Cloverian Citizens as some kind of Symbol of Hope, ala One-For-All, go home, and sleep. Once a fight breaks out, he will engage if the chances of winning are high, if not - then flee from the battle. Abiel is now considering to be the greatest con man in the Black Clover.

Wait, Abiel halted his tracks. Void means nothing. It means emptiness. The reason why it appeared to be absolute darkness was because there was no light. The properties of this affinity were negating, crushing, compressing, and destroying the energy that produces light. The void condition was to remain empty. To remain nothing. To not have anything. Then –

If that's the case, then maybe I could also halt time? He pondered. Truly fascinating. Julius Novachrono was an unrivaled character in the verse so far. Abiel called it bullshit of him, losing to the likes of Patry the elf. It might have been because of the plot device for other characters to grow on their own. After all, Julius's power was a cheat power, with him in the picture, he could annihilate the villains in no time. Without the opposition, there's no plot, no stakes, and no character development.

"Abiel."

He started to think about how. His brain racked. It started moving, processing, analyzing any possibilities on how he could compress time, or if not, just to affect it to his advantage.

"Abiel."

Time could be measured. Void could not. Time is constant, it is associated with change and progression. Void is stasis, it means absence, nothingness. If he could use his Void Magic to compress an affected space to slow down the time passage. But how –

"Wake up kid, we have to talk."

But how –

"Are you okay, kid?"

The rotation of the sphere ceased. Bubble-gum pink eyes shot open. Beads of sweat slithered in his forehead. He gasped for air. His vision was blurry. Slowly, but slickly the vertigo that crashed through his head settled down. The man locked his eyes on him. It bores into him with concern. It shows worry. Abiel found it unsettling.

He catches his breath. "I kind of fell asleep, do I? Yeah, it's so boring not doing anything - right?"

He laughed. Soranon looked in the window on his left.

"What's the prob?" He asked. "What happened to that weird young noblewoman over there?"

His father looked at him with wide-open eyes. Abiel blinked. Shock? No. Fear? That boggling feeling rammed into him again. He hated how his instincts kept expressing that something was not right. He loathed that feeling—that feeling of relying on something without a rational basis.

He detested that.

"What's with that look - it seems you've seen a ghost?"

Soranon froze, not uttering a word. He reached his hand towards him to ease that look –

"Come with me, Abiel. I have something to tell you."

---

Kiten in real life was huge. Abiel had tried to scout and observe the surroundings in his second day of stay in this verse. He thought at first this place, was smaller, akin to the anime depiction. Despite being night and not having the same access of electricity compared to the modern world - the edifices had enough illumination. Yellowish light glows strewn everywhere. It must be the Light Magic used by the royal family. Abiel means, the word must as to monopolize it to gain extreme profit.

The taxes for every Cloverian disturbed him. Regardless of that absurdity. That insane amount of corruption in this Kingdom. Nobody complained. Abiel perceived that commoners and middle-class people developed a mindset to worship the nobles for their own survival. He couldn't blame them. The individuals in this verse had the capacity to conduct a mass genocide in mere seconds. Yuno, a teenager. Not even fucking allowed to drink alcohol in most countries back on Earth. Could lay waste in Kiten. Summon powerful tornadoes to shred the buildings and turn the folks into mincemeat. Two chants would be enough for him to call upon calamity from the heavens and turn this place into absolute horror.

Same as everyone else. People were not scared. They believed that it was okay to resign themselves to these gods in the flesh. They believed that, at least, they were safe compared in the wilderness wherein they could be killed by other gods that didn't have a collar on them. Or speaking of the collar itself, they would be turned into mindless slaves that do erotica for a living.

I mean, Abiel reasoned. People back on Earth had the hobbies of mutilation and torture, right? In a world far more static, and a lot outdated compared to his former reality. Would it get worse?

Get stronger until no one would dare –

"So… what's it all about father?"

They had been like that for an hour. They kept walking around the town. He couldn't push the man to speak. It's getting annoying, and irritating. His patience is slowly peeling off. Sooner or later, as much as he would want to happen. That patience he held so tight will vanish.

"… son."

"Huh?"

"What kind of life do you want to live?"

"At first…. I'd like to expand our family business and make some friends." Abiel grinned. "But I've kind of realized that being Magic Knight sounds awesome as well."

"Magic Knight?"

"Yeah! Those robed heroes that protect the weak and uphold justice. I want to defeat villains, save the day and of course, take the beauty…. ha-ha."

"That's… that's nice to hear, kid."

Abiel twisted his hair tie. He had found that the length of his hair was annoying. With an infuriating feminine face, and a skinny and small body. Having this hair-length wouldn't turn him into Brad Pit when he played Achilles in the Troy movie. This hair length, instead had turned him into a fucking Gasper Vladi in the making. If he's not just damned occupied with training and overworking. He would have ended this madness already –

"Cool right?" Abiel rolled his eyes. "Does being a Magic Knight catch your eye too - I mean, in the past?"

He chuckled.

"Of course. Every kid does that once in their lives. Hopefully, some made it. But y'know?" He smiled, bitterly. "Not all could become one. I'm one of those who had - dreamt that - maybe - just maybe someday I can become part of a powerful known Squad."

"Cool, right?"

"Right. I will save the girl from evil mages. We will fall in love. Get married and have kids." He paused. "But life's not like that. I didn't pass the Magic Knights Entrance Exam due to my lack of character. I don't have a lot of mana compared to the likes of nobles. I was… back then… pathetic."

The situation changed, it reversed. Abiel became the listener.

"But you… Abiel. You are different. I may be an oldie like this." His pupils dilated. "But in a decade, I have learned to observe the amount of mana a person has. Yours… yours are too vast. Mana of the kids your age will look like a bucket of water. But yours… it's more than that."

Abiel frowned. Strange. His understanding of the old man's attitude was brash and aggressive. He didn't hesitate to yell or find faults in him during work time. Do that! Swipe the floor, those words brought him back to the corporate setting during his internship in the past reality.

"You maintain our restaurant well daily. I couldn't even think of someone who could do better than you. God…. You're a good boy."

"I know."

"… since you wanted to become a Magic Knight. I am sure that Ms. Fragil Tormenta could us with help."

"What?"

"I - I - the young lady today was the second daughter of Marquis Tormenta. The lords of Kiten."

"Huh?"

"She - their family, they saw your magic potential. They - they would want to adopt you, Abiel."

Abiel couldn't utter a word. He inhaled deeply and began to bash his brain. so, her name is Fragil Tormenta. Fragile, Fragil, Fragil. She doesn't seem to be in the anime. Wait, yes, she does! That girl is worse than a god-damn side character. I think her magic is snowflakes. Right? Her screen time was just a bit. It shows how dorky she is against other side characters.

I frowned. "So, they want me to be their care or something?

"Y-yes."

"Did you accept their offer?"

"I… yes. Offer like that is once in a blue moon. So…"

"I see."

Not a bad offer. Being on the good side of the nobles will surely bring good results. Abiel sought power. Power to live comfortably in this new world. Power to return on Earth. Power to live with his family, again. Connection is a form of power. He could use this to further expand his plan in this new world.

"Is it part of your agreement to let me visit you once in a while?"

"I'm not sure. But hopefully, they would let me…"

Abiel scratched the back of his head. It felt awkward. The atmosphere became tense. He doesn't know what to do - how to act - seeing the old man's wrinkled face crumpled as he breaks into tears. The man might be sometimes harsh, but he thought, perhaps the old man extremely strict and martial-law kind of approach was a way for Abiel to learn in life. Not a lot of father would be willing to be apart with their children - no matter what. But he, Soranon, sacrificed what it meant to be a father just for the sake of his son's future. It might sound cliché, but Abiel admires how mentally tough the old man is.

The ratio of Magic Knights with commoner lineage is low. Magic Knights were the elite, the winners, the heroes of the kingdom. Soranon would want his son to become one, and his - being a commoner was an obstruction.

He sighed. There are a lot of improvements to do. Three months away from getting his Grimoire but he's nowhere enough compared to the control Yuno has. He might be able to rival him in Mana Density and Quality. Yet he didn't have the reference to begin with. Plans. He needs new training plans. It has to be effective enough for the time limit.

Abiel narrowed his eyes, something was suspicious. A noble taking a mere commoner as family. He knew something was wrong with this. Yet, he didn't have enough information about the whole story. Baseless assumptions would just hinder his plans, and based on his canon knowledge, these characters fall into the good one's category.

There's not enough time before the devils would descend and wreak havoc in this world. Abiel hopes that he will have enough power when that times happen -

To return to where he truly belongs…

 

[Femto]

"Are you telling me I don't have to work today?"

"Yes, kiddo…"

He slipped his hand through his pocket and handed him silver coins.

"What's this gramps?"

Abiel's eyes narrowed. They were scanning the yuls waiting for him to be seized. Twenty silver yuls. Nearly enough for a commoner to live for a month. People of higher status are, of course, a different case - as their cost of living was higher.

"Take it."

"Why are you giving this now?"

"This is the only thing I could give before you go."

Abiel snorts. "Damn. I thought, I still have three days before they come and pick me up?"

"Go…"

"That's nice to have a day off."

"You deserved that… at least."

'Sure, I do…" Abiel grinned. "How about tomorrow? The other day?"

"You don't have to help me in the restaurant anymore." The old man huffed. "Go now!"

"Wouldn't complain about that."

It was a sense of nostalgia. It reminded him of his past back on Earth. When he resigned his first job in a big corporation. During the rendering period, his boss gave him fewer errands and treated him as a display during meetings. It gave him relief. Those moments gave him hope - that he wouldn't have to worry about anything. The same also applies in the situation, now, this moment - would be reduced to mere memories. To mere nostalgic feelings.

---

Abiel brought a note with him. It's a part of his character to take note, whether the information would be vital or just amusing in a sense. He's out again in the Kiten. Other than the pen and notepad, he had also brought twelve yuls in his pocket. The mission today was to get a haircut, hopefully, a proper one.

His eyes sharpened. Everything in this world has mana. However, not everyone has the equal amount of mana. Not everyone has the same capacity, the quality, the same control. Equality, Abiel grunted. Or Equal rights would be considered a foolish dream in a world like this. He needed to ask the old man, to at least impart to him the method on how to appraise the mana a person has. This would be a good starting point.

Scouter. This will give him an advantage in approaching situations. Dealing a fatal blow to a sluggish enemy whose mana had been depleted will surely increase his survival rate and chances of winning.

Abiel's quest to look for a barber shop ended. In front of him stood a two-story second floor. Books are arranged behind the glass. From his angle - he was given a vision to know that this was a library. Connection is power, Abiel grinned. And so is knowledge. Now that he had the freedom to explore things other than his own mana, and hopefully - now is the time to expand his horizon.

He slid his fingers into his pockets. Abiel strode forward to his mark, whilst pondering how many yuls a single book would cost him. No. It might not be available for sale. Borrowing works well for him too. Books were foreign to the original Abiel. He hasn't seen any books before instead for the old man's grimoire, whenever he calls out more flame to cook fried chickens.

He reached out to the door, but suddenly, a hand grabbed his wrist. He swiveled to know the owner. A tall and wide man with dirty blonde hair bores his eyes into him. His amber eyes burned him.

"Who are you?"

Huh? Abiel tried to retrieve his hand but the other party iron grip had other opinions on it.

"Sir - um, my name is Abiel."

"Abiel who? I never heard of your name."

"It's my first time here so -"

"Are you a commoner?"

"Me? I - uh, yes sir -"

The man scowled in disgust. He pulled him with force. Pulled him with so much force - that he found him being tossed in the air. He fell into the cobblestone. It hurts him so badly. His elbow graze in the floor. There's a scratch. It oozes a bit of blood. The teen grumbled in pain.

What the –

"Lowly commoners like you are not welcome in such a place." He dusted himself, not even looking at him. "Call yourself lucky you're in the presence of my grace, you trash."

He followed the gaze of the man. There, a girl no older than him stood with the same pink eyes as him, albeit lighter in shade. Her elegant silver hair was tied into twin tails. She looked at him with a frigid indifferent expression. Abiel stomach churned as if he drank spoiled milk.

"There - Princess Noelle." He smiled, unbecoming of him. "The pest has already been taken care of. You may now proceed to enter…"

Abiel lay frozen in the chilly pavements. People started circling them. Murmuring words, he couldn't properly hear. Words he couldn't bother himself to listen to. The princess. He knew that kind of look. A look wasn't filled with rage or anger. Not filled with apathy or irrelevance. It's a look where Abiel felt he was being devoured. A look a wolf would give to cattle, a prey.

---

"So how was your day?"

"It went well, Ms. Fragil."

Fragil crossed her legs under the table and put her palm on her chin. It's been a day, she thinks, when she offered this man a deal. A unique one. She couldn't track time yesterday when she was so busy participating in bunches of unfruitful tea parties, business meetings, and feeding her birds.

"What's Abiel's opinion about this? Oh, I mean - my Abiel."

She corrected herself. The man broke the eye contact. The color of it has been losing its luster. The blue-eyed girl could notice.

"He's not aware of our deal…"

"I've already expected this development."

She sighed. There were pros in this route that she couldn't deny. A broken good was a loss. She couldn't bear a loss. Fragil doesn't want to be a therapist for a newly abandoned teen. Her uncle Julius always leaned upon investing in people. In forming a mutually beneficial bond. He believed in collaboration, something those retrograde royals couldn't adapt to their rule. Emotionally stable goods would be able to work better compared to a depressed one.

"Ms. Fragil…"

She sipped the tea. Black tea was not bad. As much as she would like to admit it; those trendy noblewomen in her age were talking about boys and teas the whole day. She's not interested in that but Tea talks could be an exemption.

"Excited to receive the payment already? Here –"

"No – no, I want to ask for a… a favor."

"What favor?"

She frowned. Favors were not freebies in business deals, they were tools. Tools to build positive relationships. To maintain formed connections. Favors were meant to be reaped once the situation found it the best. Fragil did not have any speck of idea - why him, an old man with nothing to offer? Nothing so interesting to provide. Will make Fragil Tormenta yield.

He dismounts from his chair. His legs went loose. Fragil's eyes widened. The old man's wrinkly forehead touches the ground. Undoubtedly a groveling position. Something she had always seen the commoners do. In their manor, a maid accidentally destroys a vase. Her acquaintances pet commoners, when they begged their lords to stop whipping their backs.

"Please Ms. Fragil! Please - let him apply for the Magic Knights Examination."

"Why is that?"

"He can be accepted. His mana is like of nobles!"

Fragil raised an eyebrow.

"How could you be so sure of? Have you ever seen the power of your masters?" She spat.

The room had changed. It turned colder. The space seemed to crumple. The old man shiver in his position. Fragil emits a tremendous amount of mana in the surroundings. The ground was shaking. A grimoire with a bluish glow floated in front of her.

"I would never dare to measure! But - but if it's for my son."

The pressure vanished alongside the mini earthquake that occurred.

She groaned. "Alright. I can, perhaps, assist him in becoming a Magic Knight."

"R-really?"

"Yes. But of course, you have to give me something in return."

"… I don't have anything left in my possession."

"I'm not talking about material things, Mr. Soranon. I just want some clarification. Tell me where Abiel came from. You know what I mean."

She had overheard it from her uncle. There was a civil war in the Spade Kingdom, resulting in an overwhelming victory of the coup d'état, as they had completely succeeded in overthrowing the official powers. A prince, with black hair and a gentle face managed to escape. That was more than a decade ago. She's going to make sure this information will be put to good use.

She clenched her teeth. Things were getting hot in the upper echelons. That bitch, Nebra Silva, broke her knees during a ball- just because their dress color scheme was the same. The royals seemed to be immune to the fact that she was the niece of the Wizard King. Those fools. It doesn't matter, Fragil controlled her breathing. They would soon meet their places –

"As long as you could promise to me that he'll become a Magic Knight."

She switches her gazes to the window. Pretending to be thinking. To be considering.

"Very well. Go on."

"That child, as you've known…" He began. "Abiel's father is someone I knew. He's one of my closest friends. He's a commoner merchant. I don't know much about the mother but I heard that she's… she's a witch from the forest."

Her blue eyes sparked. It went differently than she hoped for. She remained intrigued.

"That place? I thought that place was not real?"

"I also felt the same at first, Ms. Fragil. But during the birth of Abiel - I was there. I saw it in my own eyes."

The old man was quivering. His iris went smaller.

"What of it?"

"The mother died. Abiel void element compressed and - and crushes her into tiny pieces…"

"That's… ridiculous."

"I swear it's all honesty. I didn't lie. That kid's mana was changing. It's growing."

Fragil tilted her head. Same case. It had a similarity to Noelle's incident. That royalty's mother died during childbirth. Her siblings believed that she had killed her mother. However, her uncle had a different assumption. Noelle Silva, the royalty had arguably a higher amount of mana compared to Abiel - despite both of them being the same age.

Yet something was bizarre. She sent one of her people to this place - this restaurant to scout the boy. They reported that this small dark-haired boy was nothing special. He wasn't loved by the mana. Fragil people proved them wrong when she met him in person.

Did his mana grow? Fragil deduced. But mana was fixed. It's inherited from parents. Abiel Void Element seems to be unique like of my uncle's irregular Time magic. It's a piece of common knowledge to know that the growth of a mage in latent firepower was a myth. Her uncle once said that a mage will tap into their potential as they overcome adversaries. It meant tapping into something they originally had, not improving it in any manner.

Her blue eyes locked on the older man.

"Tell me more and I will make sure that Abiel will become a Magic Knight, or perhaps - a Wizard King…"

---

The next chapter will be an epic battle. Void vs Water. Jokes. Peace.

 

[Femto]

Authors Note:

The void element is overpowered. The concept is so broken. This is one of my struggles plowing through the plot. Our protagonist is following a traditional story arc wherein there are physical and emotional stakes. I don't want to mess up fight scenes by making it so cringe and one-sided. Imagine you have the power to warp reality into nothingness. Nothingness to nullify everything that is thrown at him. Even if it's a physical attack - which is something, the protagonist, Asta could not do in the manga. Still, this void thing is relevant to the plot as Abiel is related to Kalpa. If you're playing Elder Scrolls, you know what this word means in the lore.

And thanks a lot to those who gave a thumbs up to the story. I have a full-time job and other responsibilities to manage, but those likes mean a lot to me.

---

Kiten Plaza

Becoming a magic knight my ass, Abiel bit his lip. He hated it. He shouldn't have to, but he couldn't stop himself, but to hate it. Hate these moronic delusions. Hate these ideas. These thoughts romanticize the notion of him defending and saving these people. The idea of becoming a hero, he hated it.

He put his hand over his elbow. Although the wound was shallow, it stung. These arrogant people did not deserve to be saved. They did not deserve the privilege. They were monsters. On paper, he knew it. He knew that this world was not his. This world was harsh. Wars, in this world, were frequent. They were like World Wars where they exercised actual nuclear power on a day-to-day basis.
He should not have let his emotions run its course. Despite knowing the reason, and having an understanding of the cause of these abuses.

Why does it hurt so much?

"Hey."

Why does it hurt him so badly -

"You're doing okay?"

The question disturbed his thoughts. It disturbs him more when he realizes that the globe of fire is getting low. He still hasn't done his mission, his haircut. The teen black hairband held his medium-length blond hair together, leaving some of his strands left hanging.

"Who are you, Sir?"

"Don't call me sir. Not now -not in this setting, Fu-hah!"

"Hero?"

"Yes, a Hero. Don't you know me?"

Abiel frowned. It urges him to. In a moment of split second, he turned it into a smile.

"Well, I don't go out a lot in these areas. But well, I know you - you're Sekke Bronzazza, right?"

"No."

"What?"

"Wrong."

Abiel blink.

"You spoke it wrong. It's Sekke. Sekke the Shield Hero. The future Magic King."

"Uh, Nice… to meet you, Mr. Shield Hero."

He offered his hand, which, the future hero accepted. Abiel was sure of it. His eyes were firm.

"Nice to meet you as well." The teen mused. "As you see I have been patrolling in these areas to see if there's something wrong."

"Patrolling?"

The man did not wear his squad's signature robe. Though, he was not supposed to do so. Abiel knew they still had four months, or so,
for the next Magic Knight Examination. It should be in four months. There could be no other way he's already admitted.

"Kid…" He got closer to him. In instinct, he tried to put a distance. "You see. I'm a secret Agent of the Golden Dawn. You people may have known me as the prodigy and a Magic Knight candidate - but that's just a ruse. I'm the third, just below Vice-Captain Langris Vaude Fu-hah!"

Abiel noted a major thing. Sekke Bronzazza was a good actor. The way he talks. The way his posture didn't swayed. His eyes were firm, not even once it broke its eye contact. Not even that smug expression faltered. If he had been not otherworldly, he'd already been fooled from the start.

"Let's back to our point," Sekke said. "Are you okay?"

"… am I okay?"

"Kid. You have been shaking from the spot for a long time. There's no way an honorable Magic Knight like me would leave you there,

Fuh-hah!"

"I'm… shaking?"

"Did something happen?"

I was shaking. Abiel was not sure. He had been occupied. Overwhelmed by the events that occurred. By that look of the main love interest. Had something been wrong? His fist tightened. He should have been at home, asking his old man on how to activate his Mana Sensor.

He shrugged the thoughts. Sekke Bronzazza was famous in the Kiten. Not as an agent of Golden Dawn, of course, but as a Magic Knight Candidate. There was once a customer in Soranon Fried that talked about his feats, especially, that indestructible Bronze Magic. A rare element, those commoners wished in their lives to have. Out of nowhere, he came up with an interesting idea.

"Um, well. I'm just a bit lost…"

"Lost?"

He nodded. "I have a bad sense of direction."

"You're not from here - aren't you?"

He shook his head.

"I live here. Since you're a Magic knight, do you perhaps know my older sister?"

"Fuh-hah! Of course!" Sekke grinned. "We have access to the confidential matters, including the identity of the people here in the

Clover Kingdom. Just don't get noisy 'bout this, the public might get paranoid."

"My older sister is Fragil Tormenta."

"Fra-gil?"

"Do you know her?"

"D-do you mean t-the heir of h-house Tormenta? The rulers of Kiten?"

"Yes."

The man looked at him again. His eyes became stern. It observed. Abiel bit his tongue, trying to maintain the look.

"Hmm… your face indeed looks like that of a noble's." He muttered. "Don't falter! I can escort you on the way through your Manor."

"No… not yet. How about we do something good?"

"Something what?"

"Don't worry. Just come with me."

---

Violence in the Clover Kingdom was not allowed. The older teen followed him, passing through block by block. His endurance was crumbling, he felt it. Abiel's constitution was not good. It was mediocre, and his days working as a service crew in Soranon Fried did improve it.

"This place should be okay."

The pair ceased their tracks. The sun had already vanished from the skies. Thankfully, the splendid light magic devices scattered
through the area did their work to reduce the dimness. They were beyond the eyes of the public. In a hideous alleyway.

"What are we going to do here, Fuh-hah?"

"Can you sense the amount of mana I have?"

He gave him a look, from head to toe. Abiel grinned. It took him ten seconds, which Fragil had done in mere blink of an eye. He concluded, that Sekke could not sense, or examine his mana in his body. He did not try to manipulate it, to ensure the other teen would get a good view.


"I definitely do!" Sekke snickered. "Your mana is not bad for a noble, but it's no match for me - fuh-hah!"

"Not bad for a noble?" Abiel asked. "How would my mana have compared to you?"

Sekke crossed his arms. "It's 0.9% of my mana. Fuh-hah!"

0.9 percent, Abiel smiled at that. His routine. The training plan he formed, was simple to follow, it's all about creating the vortex to absorb as much energy from that unknown dimension. He couldn't perform hand-to-hand combat unless there was someone who could help with him.

"That's good, Mr. Shield Hero. Can you help me test something?"

"Test?"

"No, well - I mean, train something."

"Explain to me properly. Fuh-hah."

"Can you please use your Spell?" Abiel asked. "That one - that Bronze Cannon Ball thing?"

"How did you know that I have that spell?" Sekke frowned.

Abiel raised an eyebrow. Skills in Black Clover, such as Noelle; Water Creation Magic: Valkyrie Armor, did not come out of nothing. It was through enlightenment and personal development - that she gained that overpowered skill, or rather, spell. The same thing might be the situation for Sekke, as he might recently unlock it. How troublesome.

"Oh - right. I heard it from one of my servants that you've got this cool bronze magic." He said. "And since you're Mr. Shield. I had guessed that your spell would be sort of defensive, more like a cannonball."

Sekke paused for a moment.

"A good mind you have there, kid noble. Then - why do you want me to use that ultimate spell of mine, fuh-hah?"

"Abiel will do… now, could you please activate that spell? I want to test how my magic will fare into such a powerful Magic Knight like you."

"Fuh-hah! Don't want to…"

"Why though?"

"Because I only use my magical prowess to defend people fuh-hah!"

"How about we make a wager then?"

"Fuh-hah?"

Abiel smiled. "Yes, a wager. If I could manage to pierce through your magical defense - it's my win. If not, then it's yours. I will be doing a favor. If you win, you can ask me anything. I swear to my Tormenta Family."

"And you're twelve years old?"

"It's fourteen."

"… no Grimoire yet?"

"Yes…"

Sekke paused. Contemplating the offer. He didn't even consider that he was going to lose. Not even asking what would be the reward if Abiel would be the victor. He was not sure if it was confidence. Not sure if it's arrogance. Whether it's the former. It didn't matter much. He wanted to try something.

"I will grant you fifteen seconds to destroy my Ultimate Skill. Once the timer is over. I win."

"Alright."

The other teen gave him a time limit. Sekke was not strong. His potential was run-of-the-mill. A comedic relief, a fake, pathetic character that did not receive any respect from the powerful individuals in the series. But, Abiel does. He respected him. During the clashes of the atomic-like monsters, this teenager, successfully survived. That weak, episode one something spell - made him survived.

"Let's do this, Abiel! Bah-ha!"

His grimoire flipped. It floated in front of him. Abiel had forgotten the appearance of it, based on the anime. The book shined in turquoise. So, this must be Grimoire. It looked a lot more mesmerizing than he thought.

Bronze Creation Magic - Sekke Magnum Cannonball​

A bluish sphere manifested around himself. It has several peaks at random positions, with its intricate pattern giving an aesthetic design. It will evolve soon. Not now, but this could be one of the most iconic defensive spells in the canon.

"Go on! Your time will be up soon!"

"Here I go."

Rotate, Abiel did not shut his eyes. Though, inside his Void Space, he could feel his globe rotating. It's spinning fast. His fingers were formed into a finger gun. Copying a pistol. A black matter merged from the tip of his index digit. He visualizes the result. It must be fast. No, it should be fast, and fast, and faster. Faster than Patry could be, with his rare Light Magic. But he could not. His reserves were draining. It couldn't sustain his desired effects.

"Mana Bullet."

Bang!​

The mana bullet flung away from him. There was a screeching sound. It traveled, more than he could think of something. The air seemed to crack. His vision went monotone in a millisecond. This form of attack pierced through his defense. It tore open with a loud whining noise.

What? Abiel froze. His eyes bulged. He couldn't believe what he had done. Sekke lay on the ground, with a hole in his stomach, it formed a puddle of blood. The bronze user's green eyes stared into the sky with a dull glow. He didn't do anything wrong. He… just wants to try on how his offense would fare, against the baseline defense of this verse. He only wants to test himself. To survive in this mad world like him. There could be no way he's going to be down with this.

His stomach got shaken. He pukes whatever he consumed this morning. It got worse; his vision was whirling. It felt like a stone crashed in his head. It might be because his mana was depleted by forming that attack. His affinity, the void crushed the laws of physics, or even the laws of magic It slammed through his defense with no problem. It created a path. A path where time did not exist, and thus, it traveled with no resistance. A raw power without the limitations of this world.

"Terrorist attack!"

"Someone please call a Magic Knight!"

"Another Diamond Bastards?"

Move, move, move, move! Abiel panted. His vision darkened. Mana's depletion was worse than he thought. Fucking hell! He screamed internally. He wanted to escape from the scene. He wanted to think of an excuse, an alibi, or a plan to get out of the current predicament. The darkness in his eyes worsens. He couldn't see anything. Not even a scream could escape his lips. He lay on the ground with his consciousness slipping from his grasp.


He only wants to know his chances of survival...

---

The next chapter will be a bit dark. Can I post it here? Kind of not-so-explicit torture stuff!