"Happy birthday!!!"
The sudden shout startled Lance as he came down the stairs, still half-asleep. At the bottom stood his parents, smiling from ear to ear. Cecil held a small cake balanced carefully in her hands.
The sweet smell of chocolate and cream filled the room. Across the frosting, in neat looping letters, were the words:
"Happy Birthday, Lance honey."
"Mom… Dad…" Lance blinked, rubbing his eyes before breaking into a grin. "I love you guys."
Cecil laughed softly, her emerald eyes gleaming with warmth. "Of course, dear. Our little boy is fifteen today—how could we not celebrate?"
Roy folded his arms proudly. "You're not so little anymore," he said with a chuckle. "Fifteen already, huh? Time flies faster than I can keep up with."
The three gathered around the cake. Lance lit the candles with a flicker of mana, clasped his hands, made a wish, and blew them out.
For a moment, everything was peaceful—just laughter, sunlight, and a family that felt whole.
---
Breakfast followed soon after. Cecil had gone all out—egg fried rice, fresh juice, fruits, and way too many desserts for the morning. Roy enjoyed his tea, humming cheerfully, while Lance looked like he could barely sit still.
Once he finished eating, he looked up at his father, barely able to contain his excitement.
"Now that I'm fifteen, Dad, when's the grimoire awakening ceremony? Can we go to the Grimoire Tower soon? I want to get my grimoire already!"
Roy smiled but didn't lift his eyes from the table. "You're in luck, son. The next ceremony is only seven days away. Then we'll go and get your grimoire."
Before Lance could respond, Cecil joined in, resting her chin on her hand. "Listen, Lance. The Grimoire Awakening Ceremony isn't just about getting your grimoire. It's a celebration. Every few years, children from towns and villages across the kingdom gather to awaken their grimoires together. It's a national tradition, something people look forward to."
She took a sip of her tea before continuing. "But this year, you're the only child turning fifteen in our area. So, you'll have to go alone."
Then, suddenly, her serious tone vanished as a bright smile appeared. "Which means your father and I decided we'll go with you! My baby getting his own grimoire—there's no way I'm missing that!"
Lance froze mid-bite. "Whaaat!?"
Cecil tilted her head. "Is something wrong, dear?"
He straightened up instantly. "No, no, not at all! I'm just… really happy you're both coming."
Internally, though, he sighed.
'I didn't want them there when I got my grimoire. What if I disappoint them? I don't even know what attribute I'll get—or worse, what if I don't get one at all? Being a reincarnated person, there's always that small chance something could go wrong… unlikely, but never zero.'
---
Later that afternoon, as the sun began to set, Lance lay on a grassy patch in the field where he trained every day. The golden light washed over him, and the air carried the quiet scent of trees and soil.
He rested his hands behind his head, eyes tracing the drifting clouds above.
'Five years,' he thought, closing his eyes. 'It's been five years since I awakened my memories in this world.'
In those years, he had trained relentlessly. His mana control had improved dramatically—he could compress mana, shape it, even reinforce his entire body now. The difference between then and now was like night and day. And he has also learned so much about artifact crafting from father whose text magic excels in it and can do the same artifact in one third the time even among similar skilled artisans and I can now create many artifacts and many collaborations that is currently being used in our house like washing machine , Refrigerator and vaccum cleaners and many more like magic stoves.
Overall life was pretty fulfilling And yet… something was missing.
He still had no magic attribute.
Pure mana could only take him so far. His techniques were powerful but lacked focus—no elemental damage or advantage, no natural synergy. He could form crude blades, push wind by compressing air, even mimic tornadoes using mana pressure, but they were inefficient and rough—poor imitations of real spells.
'Compared to others who have a attribute which gives them a advantage compared to me I can only use raw mana so in combat my only option is hand to hand close combat or use artifacts and weapons my father and I created.,' he admitted with a sigh. 'Even that story about Jack killing a bear before getting his grimoire… I'm nowhere close to that level yet.'
Still, he wasn't discouraged. He'd accepted it a long time ago. His life didn't follow the usual "protagonist" pattern anyway.
He wasn't an orphan—he had two loving, actual parents and he confirmed not being adopted.
He wasn't poor—our family lived comfortably above the average commoner.
He wasn't magicless—his mana pool rivaled most grown adults in the village and still growing before I even get my grimoire.
He wasn't weak—his combat sense and knowledge from his past life gave him a unique edge.
He wasn't untalented—his control over mana nearly matched his mother's, who was stronger than most mages in town.
And lastly, there were no mysterious treasures, no secret rings or hidden bloodlines. He'd checked everything—his home, the attic, even asked his parents—and found nothing that would make me a protagonist.
But I did find many other things like my father is capable of creating artifacts far superior and versatile than the ones he sells and from my mana sense I can see that his mana capacity is nearly double that of my mother and from other villagers his mana is still like 5 times more than them. And he oddly tells me very detailed stories about royal capital I do doubt they hiding something but nothing I should worry about.
Worse, Lucius Zogratis—who he knew was hiding inside the current wizard king who took position a bit more than 2 years ago when I was about to turn 13,Julius Novachrono—hadn't even noticed him. That meant I wasn't a threat. Either that, or like Asta, he simply couldn't be seen because he was from another world.
Either way, it was fine by him.
'If Lucius doesn't see me, I'll make sure it stays that way,' he decided. 'No reason to get tangled up in all that mess.'
His gaze drifted toward the distant hills, where the Royal Capital shimmered faintly on the horizon. That was where power, fame, and chaos lived—but he wanted no part of it.
'Even if I awaken a weak or useless-looking attribute, I can still reach the level of a Magic Knight Captain with effort the level they were at the begining of anime.' he thought. 'No magic is truly useless. Some just come with restrictions—like catalyst-type magic that needs others' mana or specific conditions to work. But I'll find a way.'
He turned on his side as the last streaks of sunlight faded behind the trees. "Let the world keep spinning," he murmured softly. "I'll stay right here—until the time is right."
The wind rustled the grass around him, carrying his quiet words away.
Just then, his mana sense picked up something—faint, distant, from the direction of the forest.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…What was that?"