chapter 1: Grimoire Tower

*15 years later*

Guy 1."Hopefully, we'll have a great harvest this year," He said while harvesting.

Guy 2."Yeah. Hup." He said as he created a small ball of water and popped it above his head, sending a spray of droplets in all directions.

"SSSSIIISSTER... LILY!" a voice shouted from nearby, causing the two men to look up in surprise.

"What the.... it must be the runt of church," one of the guys said, as all of them got distracted from the shorty's voice.

Asta knelt down on one knee and presented a flower in his hand. He looked up at Sister Lily with determination in his eyes and said, "I've been training hard these past few years, and I promise I'll become the Wizard King some day. I want to make you the happiest woman on earth. That's why I'm asking, can you please marry me?"

But Sister Lily shook her head sadly and said, "I'm sorry, Asta, but I'm everyone's sister. I can't marry you."

Asta, undeterred, jumped higher into the air and declared, "I won't give up yet!"

But before he could say another word, Sister Lily apologized in advance and shouted, "Stop pestering me! [Water Creation Magic: Holy Fist of Love]!"

A huge water fist emerged from thin air and punched Asta to the ground. But Asta still did not give up, jumping back up into the air with determination in his eyes.

"I'm not done yet!" He screamed, but the wind knocked him down to the ground from behind him. The rest of the children that lived in the church had appeared along with Yuno, who had been the one to use his wind magic to drop Asta.

"Come on, Asta! How many times does Sister Lily have to dump you before you give up?" one of the kids asked, laughing.

Asta got up and turned to his adoptive brother. "Yuno, why are you getting in my way?"

"Why?" Yuno asked himself. "Because you're loud, short, obnoxious, and immature. Basically, you're not appealing to women in any way." He counted emotionlessly.

Asta's face went red with anger, and he shouted, "Hey, is that what you say to someone you've grown up with for the past fifteen years, you handsome jerk?!" Yuno ignored him and turned and walked up to Sister Lily.

"Don't ignore me, damn it!" Yelled Asta, as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

Yuno sighed and said, "Asta, Sister Lily is a woman of the cloth, so she can't get married. Also, you're fifteen, so you can't get married anyway."

Asta's face twisted in anger, and he shouted, "Shut up! I challenge you to fight, Yuno!" But Yuno refused directly, "and I decline."

"Why the hell not?" Asta shouted. "Oi! Quiet down, Dorkasta!" said a new voice. Everyone started to look in the direction that the voice came from and saw a very handsome young man, standing 5'8" tall with snow white hair and ocean blue eyes.

"Rowan, you came!" Everyone says as they get closer to him.

Sister Lily asked, "Where have you been? We were worried about you."

"Hahahh, yes." Rowan Awkwardly laughed. "I was just out for a walk. I didn't expect to be gone for so long. I apologize for making everyone worry." Rowan said sheepishly.

Sister Lily sighed and said, "You've been gone for three months, Rowan."

"Really? hahahaha, " Rowan said, as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, I guess I really did take a long time. I'm sorry, everyone."

Asta ran up to Rowan and pointed towards Yuno. "You came to the right time, Rowan! Watch my fight with Yuno!"

Nash shook his head and said, "Give it a rest Asta, there's no way you can beat Yuno."

"So you don't understand until you see for yourself, don't you?" Take this! My ultimate attack!" As he tried to unleash his magic, nothing came out. "Nothing came out!" He said in disbelief.

Nash said mockingly, "What did you expect, I mean, you can't use magic!"

Asta's face twisted with anger, and he shouted in frustration, "Fine! I'll show you what I'm really made of!" With that, he started doing sit-ups rapidly as if to prove something. "How do you like that?! I know you can't do sit-ups this fast!" He said, trying to challenge Yuno.

"What's the point, you idiot?" Nash asked incredulously.

Meanwhile, Yuno was using his wind magic to the laundry at an alarming pace. With a few swipes of his hand, all the laundry was done in a fraction of the time. "Yuno is so cool!" the kids cheered.

Rowan helped Asta to his feet. "Come on, Asta. Don't let this get you down. Just ignore what the kids say. They will understand someday." He said with a grin, trying to cheer his adoptive brother up.

But Asta, determined to prove himself, grabbed the axe and prepared to chop the log. Before he could strike, however, Yuno used his wind magic to cut the log in half.

Nash shook his head in disbelief and said, "I still can't believe you three are the same age!"

Gritting his teeth, Asta marched towards Yuno, but the door unexpectedly opened and hit him in the face. "Yuno and Rowan, are this church's hope," Orsi proclaimed from within the church.

The other children started to cheer for Yuno and Rowan, praising them for their magical abilities. They all agreed that the two of them would most likely join the Order of Magic Knights. Meanwhile, Asta was still on the ground with his head pressed to his knees. He slowly stood up and, with a determined look on his face, "The grimoire awarding ceremony is coming, and I will get a grimoire that's more awesome than everyone else's! I will join the Magic Knight and finally become the Wizard King!" he yelled, determination radiating from his voice.

"Right? Yuno, Rowan," Asta asked them as Yuno stared at him emotionlessly and then went inside the church. Asta stayed there, with his fist hanging, then ran off." Just you wait, Damn it!," said Asta as he ran somewhere.

"Oi! When did this become the group that looked down on Asta?" Everyone turned to Rowan, who had a fierce glare as his blue eyes shone even brighter. "Do you think that because Asta can't use magic, you can talk to him like he's nothing?! Asta will make everybody acknowledge him one day. I know he will." Rowan said with determination radiating from his voice.

***

The next day, all the fifteen-year-olds gathered in the town hall to receive their grimoires. Everyone was filled with anticipation as they waited to receive their grimoires, which were said to enhance their magical powers. Asta, Yuno, and Rowan were among them, standing side-by-side as they waited for the results.

"Wow! Are all of these the grimoires?! Which one will be mine?" Asta asked impatiently as more and more people started arriving.

A sudden silence erupted in the crowd as an old man appeared before them. He welcomed everyone and said, "I'm the Master of this grimoire tower. We never had a wizard king from this area, nor anyone who's actually achieved greatness in the Magic Knights. I sincerely hope that you guys will achieve greatness in your lives someday. Now, it's time for the awarding of the grimoires."