Strength

Julian wrapped mana around his legs, which increased his speed by a great margin. 

"Please God, make sure I am not late," Julian prayed, remembering the event in the original story where Asta and Yuno got hurt by a drunkard.

The bird that kept an eye on Julian followed behind him, sensing it might get to see something extraordinary. By the time Julian reached the address, he saw something that made him see red. Julian saw Asta with a broken tooth, blood dripping from his mouth, and Yuno covered with bruises.

A rush of adrenaline filled Julian's body as fire wrapped around his right fist. The next second, the man flew towards the nearest wall and crashed into it with a loud noise. Asta's and Yuno's mouths opened in shock as they switched their focus between Julian, whose fist was wrapped in flames, and the man who hit the wall and immediately lost consciousness. Even the bird was shocked, wondering if a five-year-old should have this level of strength.

Julian walked towards the man and picked up the locket from his hands, not caring about the man's condition. He had no sympathy for drunkards who hit and stole from children. Yuno froze in his spot, seeing the look in Julian's eyes. The image of Julian's red eyes that seemed to be glowing in the night along with the flame burning around his fist would be forever ingrained in his mind. This scene made him remember something Julian said to him a few days ago:

"This world doesn't give anything to weak people. If we wish to fulfill our dream and protect the people we love, we need strength."

'Is this what strength Julian-ni was talking about?' Yuno thought as a change began forming within him. Unlike Yuno, Asta happily rushed towards Julian. Seeing Asta, Yuno slowly followed behind him.

"Julian-ni! I knew you would come for us!" Asta exclaimed.

Julian gently ruffled their heads and hugged them. "Good job for holding up, Asta, Yuno. Especially Asta, good job protecting Yuno. Let's get you two patched up." From their condition, it was clear that Asta was hurt more than Yuno. It was not very difficult to guess what had happened. Flames covered their bodies, but instead of burning them, the flames warmed their bodies and dried off the snow. It lasted for a minute before Julian's mana was completely used up, hitting him with a wave of exhaustion.

"I am sorry I didn't get here sooner," Julian said, adjusting their clothes.

"Your magic was so cool! Next time I will save you with my magic," Asta said, fascinated with Julian's flame magic.

"Yes, yes, save me next time. Now let's get you two patched up." Julian knocked on a few doors to get their wounds bandaged and informed the adults about the drunkard on the road. Some adults felt very apologetic for what had happened and decided to tag along with them to Hage village to safely drop off the children.

********

On the way home, Asta turned toward Yuno. "I am sorry, Yuno. I couldn't help on my own… As Julian-ni said a few days ago, we need strength to protect the people we love… I was too weak to protect you. This is why I am making a promise to you: I am gonna be the Wizard King and protect you, Sister Lily, Julian-ni, and everyone around me."

Tears had stopped flowing from Yuno's eyes for a while as determination burned within his eyes. "I won't cry anymore and become strong and someday become the Wizard King too," Yuno said, turning towards Asta, making him smile.

"Let's see who becomes the Wizard King first!" said Asta as he raised his fist.

"Let's see!" Yuno said, raising his fist too for a fist bump. This was the start of a legend that Julian got to witness.

'They will have their legend while I will have mine,' Julian thought.

"But before that, we would have to become stronger than Julian-ni," Yuno said, looking at Julian.

"Dream on, kiddos. You'll never beat me." 

The people who tagged along with them smiled, hearing what the children had to say about their dreams. For people like them, who were born in the villages and slums, dreams like becoming the Wizard King and magic knights felt like reaching for the sky. No matter how much you try, it's out of your reach. Their only destination was to dream… dream and dream.

On the way, Julian checked his stats and found that his body points had increased by three and mana points by five.

=================================

:Stats:

BODY POINTS:13

MANA POINTS:30

===================================

'This short battle turned out to be profitable. I need to pick a fight with people more,' Julian thought.

They returned home and got a scolding from Father and Sister Lily. Asta and Yuno had become too engrossed in playing, so they forgot to give the letter before evening. That led to the events that happened. In the end, Father was glad that they were okay and that Julian was there at the right time.

After the meal, while Julian was taking a walk outside the church, Sister Lily approached him for a chat.

"How did wielding power feel, Julian?" Sister Lily asked.

"It felt amazing. For the first time, I felt like I could do something and not just watch from the sidelines. I could help people I care for," Julian replied, clenching his flame-covered fist.

"Please remember this feeling of willingness to protect."

"Yes, Sister."

"Although I have never asked you about it, what is your dream? Asta and Yuno have expressed their dreams about becoming the Wizard King, but what about you? I want you to dream big too," she asked.

It's not that Julian hadn't thought of his dream. Since there is a lot he wants to do, he has always had the desire to explore the world, learn about forgotten history, learn about other races, and everything this world has to offer. But everything needs strength. In this world, some people can move at the speed of light and control time. He could forget all his other goals, but there is something that he must obtain: the power to change the fate of himself and the people he cares for.

"I wish to obtain the power to influence fate," Julian replied with determination, surprising Sister Lily.

"I wish to have the power to influence fate, to give people like us the opportunity to fulfill our dreams and live without fear. For that, I will do anything, even if it means becoming the Wizard King," Julian said, his red eyes burning with determination.

Sister Lily had never seen Julian like this. "Promise me, Julian, that you won't lose yourself for power. I have seen people lose their humanity over power, completely changing from who they once were," Sister Lily said, looking at the sky as if reminiscing.

"I promise, Sister. I will not lose myself over power," Julian replied.

"Good boy, Julian," Sister Lily said with a smile, gently petting Julian's head. "That's a nice dream. I may not be able to make you strong, but I can help you control your mana for various applications as I was taught in the church, so you can depend on me."

—--------------------------

5 years later: 

Five years had passed since the last incident, and Julian had entered a phase of explosive growth. The combination of his red eyes, black hair, and cutely handsome face made him quite attractive. His control over magic was already good, but with Orsi and Lily's help, it grew even more.

Every day, he used his mana and physical strength to the point of exhaustion, which made them grow significantly, though still behind his expectations. Maybe due to age or other factors, his mana or body points couldn't grow any further. While experimenting, he created a lot of new spells that were ready to be used at any moment, like Fireballs, Fire Bullets, and Lasers. The most significant improvement was in reinforcement magic, with which he could now shatter rocks with a punch.

Julian's mana core had developed to light red, giving him better mana control and making his fire stronger. With high mana control, flying on a broom became child's play. Julian still remembered the day he flew for the first time; he played around all day. The thrill was unimaginable. Although he could fly with a broom, he wanted to incorporate flying into his battle style. After storming his brain and some practice, he managed to fly short distances by shooting fire from his hands and legs. This was added to his daily practice increasing the time by each second every day. 

Asta and Yuno improved too. Though Asta did not awaken any magic, Julian guided him towards the physical route, and due to Julian's nagging, he became somewhat reserved and gentle. Julian didn't have to do much for Yuno; he was growing well using wind magic. To ensure that neither felt left out, Julian gave equal attention to them. Many children joined the orphanage, making it lively.

But from today onwards, his life was going to change. Julian heard a knock on the door and walked towards it with excitement. 

"Let's check my stats one last time before the big moment," he thought.

==========================================

NAME: JULIAN

AGE:10

Body points:30

Mana points:60(+30 from mana core)

Core:red(light)

Nature: fire

Spells: fireball, flame bullet, flame laser, mana sensing, basic reinforcement magic….

======================================================