(Note: The main character was born 400 years before the main story.)
The next day, Edwin bought a magic book for his daughter and left home for military training.
Taking advantage of the silence in the house, Andy read the entire spellbook.
"All I have to do is gather mana inside my body."
After several attempts, the surrounding mana slowly began to gather within Andy's body.
"Yes!"
Andy kept repeating the same process all day, and by evening he had accumulated a considerable amount of mana.
He continued for several days and allowed his body to adapt to mana.
"I no longer need to consciously focus on gathering mana. My body draws it in as if it's natural."
There was also a limit to how much mana his body could store. When it reached that limit, it stopped absorbing the mana from the surroundings.
"All that's left is casting spells."
After a few hours, Andy successfully used fire, water, earth, and wind magic, then lay down on the ground in exhaustion.
"All my mana is gone…"
Just a few spells had completely drained him, and his body was drenched in sweat from fatigue.
"Every time I cast a spell, my mana pool expands a little more."
All he had to do was be patient and repeat the same routine every day. Besides that, he woke up early each morning, ran two laps around the village, and pushed his physical body to its limits. Whenever he had time, he repeatedly practiced the sword movements he had seen from his father.
•••
Three years later
"Hear ye, hear ye! For the anniversary of the Empire's founding, a combat and magic tournament will be held! Participation is free, regardless of age or status! To apply, send a request directly to the Adventurers' Guild!"
Soldiers announced the news in villages and cities alike. Naturally, this announcement didn't escape Andy's ears.
"Finally, a chance to prove myself to my family!"
When he told his family he wanted to become an adventurer, they had strongly opposed him. Since that day, Andy had trained even harder, trying to prove himself to his parents.
She went straight to the guild. People looked at Andy suspiciously when they saw someone barely eight years old coming to register. They thought it was extremely dangerous for such a child to participate in a tournament.
"Welcome. What can I help you with?"
The receptionist didn't question Andy's age directly—she was used to such things and assumed the child would lose quickly and learn a big lesson.
"I want to register for the tournament!"
"One moment, please…"
While waiting, Andy looked around the Adventurers' Guild. It was a large wooden building. Like him, many people were wandering inside, forming small crowds. To his right were wooden stairs leading upstairs; to his left was a bar where people sat and chatted.
"Under what name would you like to register?"
"Andy! But unfortunately, I don't have a surname."
"Alright, Andy. I'm completing your registration."
As Andy looked around, another man arrived after him.
"Sorry, the slots just filled up."
The man got angry and set his sights on Andy standing behind him.
"Tch! Why are you letting brats like this into important tournaments?"
A voice from behind made Andy turn his head.
"Sir, who are you?"
Andy examined the bearded mage. His robe indicated he was from the palace. Andy sensed that the man's power was lower than his own—probably just some low-rank imperial mage.
"Listen here, brat! I came here to prove myself by joining this tournament, but because of you, my dream won't happen. So what responsibility are you going to take?"
"That's not my problem."
Andy didn't care and thought, This isn't worth it, and as he walked out of the guild, the mage grew even angrier.
"Stop right there!"
Andy couldn't help but tremble at the shout. What had he done wrong now? Would he be killed just for entering a tournament?
"Sir, leave me alone!"
Andy spoke with a polite but firm warning, but unfortunately, the man wasn't affected at all.
"Seems you won't learn unless I teach you a lesson!"
The man turned to the receptionist.
"Is there an arena around here where we can fight?"
People in the guild turned toward the noise. When they saw a grown man challenging a small girl, they thought the child needed to be taught a lesson. What business did a milk-drinking brat have entering fights? Go back and drink your mother's milk! Not a single person thought it was immoral or wrong for an old man to use violence against a little girl. On the contrary, they fully supported him.
"This world is like this…"
Andy sighed. This discrimination existed everywhere. Especially someone as small as him was bound to be crushed in this hierarchy of power.
"Whoever is strongest gets the final say."
Keeping that in mind, he accepted the duel. The two faced each other in the arena while many people sat eagerly, waiting to watch what they thought would be a one-sided beating.
The man looked at the girl before him and spoke arrogantly.
"You go first."
"It doesn't matter. You can start."
The man cursed the girl who ignored him and grinned greedily.
"Just wait! Once I teach you your lesson, I'll take you as a slave and see what I'll do to you!"
No one would have guessed such a mage had an interest in little girls, but when Andy understood what the man wanted from the lustful look in his eyes, he grew even angrier and took a deep breath.
The man pulled out a magic staff. Magic staffs allowed mages to cast spells faster and reduce mana cost.
Unfortunately, Andy was too poor to own such a staff. He could only cast with his hands—a huge disadvantage, or so the spectators thought.
"Begin!"
As soon as the match started, the man raised his staff and formed a fire spell.
Five fireballs shot toward Andy, but he extinguished them with a barrier.
The man clicked his tongue and compressed water to create water jets, launching them rapidly at her.
Andy opened his hand and formed a small red-black hole. The water jets were pulled directly into it and vanished.
"What was that?!"
The man asked angrily. Andy replied:
"A spell I developed myself. It's called Black Hole Magic. It devours physical matter and converts it into mana."
The man was extremely displeased. If he lost, he would become a complete laughingstock and his life would be ruined.
Just as he was about to form wind spears, Andy dashed forward and punched him in the face.
"Aghh!!"
The man roared. His scream echoed through the arena, leaving everyone staring in shock.
"Didn't that guy say he was an imperial mage? Then why is he screaming in pain?"
they wondered. Whoever had higher status was supposed to be superior to ordinary people.
The man's nose was crushed and several of his teeth were broken. Not only that—Andy's crushing punch struck his chest, and his kick between the legs made him groan even louder.
"Is that enough for you to learn your lesson?"
Andy spoke in a cold tone. The redness in his eyes and the dark shade in his hair might have made others compare him to a demon—but Andy didn't care.