In the orphanage of the city of Phalangard lived a young man by the name of Leo Fullbring. He stood 188cm tall, towering above his peers. His observant eyes were clear silver and narrow. He had jet black hair and a diamond-shaped face; his jawline was strong and defined. All in all, Leo was an attractive young man.
However, other than his appearance, he had nothing going for him. In terms of magic, he was trash. He had all the makings of a great mage: an eidetic memory, a monstrous mana reservoir, intelligence and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.
Yet, he didn't have the one thing he needed the most. That was the ability to harness the ambient mana around him, nor did he have a shred of mana inside of him. He could feel the mana, but he couldn't use it. Leo couldn't manipulate mana, because since birth his mana channels were severely damaged. Thus during Leo's seventeen years of life, he had never cast a spell before...
Albeit an expensive procedure, damaged mana channels weren't irreversible; it could be cured had he been born in a wealthy family. However, he was an orphan who didn't even know the name of his parents. Who was going to spend tens and thousands of gold coins on him? No one!
Even with his photographic memory and his abnormally large mana reserve, the amount of money he would make the noble versus how much they would invest were worlds apart. Maybe after ten years, Leo would turn a large profit, but they could make a lot more and sooner, investing in a talented individual from the start.
Every day Leo would be reminded just how useless he was. Alas, the vicissitudes of life didn't spare him from the rod. Every day he took a beating when he tried to cast a spell and came up short. Leo knew more about the theory of spells than all his peers. He had even taught a few how to cast and further improve their magic. But it could never improve hisā¦
Leo sat on his bed and sighed then a purple-haired, teenage girl came into his room, "Leo mom says you must do the dishes."
"Me? I did it yesterday, it should be someone else's turn."
"Don't look at me. I'm just telling you what she said." Then she walked out of the room skipping in the corridor. It was her turn to do the dishes, but she pushed it off onto him.
'It's always me! Everyone keeps pushing their jobs onto me. It is I who has to clean the bathroom make, their beds and clean their clothes. It has been like this since we came back from the mana test last month. Just because I have no talent in magic, I'm considered garbageā¦
I want to pack my stuff and leave so badly! Sigh, but then I'd never get the gift that was left for me by some person when I turn eighteen. I'm hoping that it is the answer to my prayers. A way for me to do real magic, not these card tricks I do! So I'll suck it up till tomorrow.'
Coming to this conclusion, Leo got up from his bed and walked through the corridor to the kitchen. As soon as he entered, he saw the house mother or the lady that took care of the children. She had a rather muscular figure for a woman, and she stood 175 cm tall. Her hair was mahogany brown, and her eyes were brown. In looks, she was average, but her attitude beat the mean (1); this made her rather unpleasant to talk to.
In the orphanage, there were a total of fifteen children, in one large double story house. Although it was an orphanage, it was more a private children's home. The house mother raised the children in the ways of living and magic. And then when they turned eighteen, she would sell them to the nobles. This was how she made a living.
However, nobles were very fussy people. They looked for talented individuals or target practice for their children. Leo fit none of those descriptions. Since he had no mana, he had no protection against spells. Just one offensive spell could kill or maim him. There was no noble who would buy him knowing that.
Thus she planned on throwing him out tomorrow. Her heart was bleeding when she thought of all the money she had spent on him, and she wasn't going to make a cent back. This was why he had to clean up everything alone. He would pay back what he owed her, one way or another.
Seeing Leo walk into the kitchen, Revena the house mother frowned, "Why did you take so long!? When I call you, you run! Okay?"
Leo gritted his teeth, "Okay."
"Good, now do the dishes. Then I want you to clean their clothes, polish their shoes and clean the house. I want it spotless!"
Leo never answered immediately. He first took a few deep breaths to calm himself down then he smiled, "At your service," 'till tomorrow you bitch!' He would have said the last part aloud. However, he did have some loyalty to her. Even if she did a crap job at it, she did clothe and feed him his entire life.
She smirked and then she left the kitchen, 'Your anger is nothing compared to mine.'
When she was gone, Leo looked at the mountain of dishes in front of him. If he had some magic, he could easily do these dishes but he had none, so he had to do it the old fashioned way. He had to clean it with a sponge, warm water and some cleaning liquid. Leo took the first plate and began scrubbing all the food off the plate until it shined.
Then he dunked it into the cold water and placed it on the rack to dry off. He did this with all the other dishes. It took him an hour and a half to wash, dry and pack everything away. Then he moved to the clothing. He sorted the washing by colours and then dumped them into the various washing machines. Once they were running, he went outside and polished all their shoes until they were shining. When he had finished there, the washing was done so he hung them up on the line to dry.
Lastly, he cleaned the house, from dusting to brushing and then mopping. It took the entire day just to finish the chores. When he had finally finished it, dinner was ready. However, he sat by himself, in his room and ate his food. Had he gone to the dining room, the other children would tease him. Even the ones that he taught how to do magic were against him. It was a peer pressure thing. At first, they defended him but when they were shunned for it, they switched sides, leaving Leo in solitude.
Despite this, Leo never gave up on his dream of being a mage. He dreamt of all the minacious adventures he would have with his party. The laughs even the tears. Leo had a vivid imagination, and this kept him sane and in control.
After he had dinner, and he had finished washing the dishes, he heaved a sigh of relief. Once for being done and another for it being the last time he had to do all the work for someone else.
Then he went to his small room that only he slept in and closed his eyes, 'Tomorrow is my birthday. I'm finally going to leave this place with my gift. I wonder what is insideā¦? I truly hope it's something I can use.' He thought this and then he went to sleep. His hope was burning brighter yet wavering more than ever beforeā¦
1- Mean- Another word for average. So in terms of personality, she would be classified as hot-headed or cantankerous.