Gon was the only son of the Duke of Hnannan. This meant he was the heir to the throne and was looked on as the rightful successor of the duke.
One would assume this meant a life of ease, responsibility and fulfillment for the young Gon.
However it wasn't so.
In a world filled with various mages with different level of talents and great stories of exploits, Gon was pretty ordinary.
He couldnt fight exquisitely like them, use special techniques or perform magic of any kind.
This was because Gon had been born with no mana.
It was unheard of, that the son of the power duke Edmond, would be powerless.
But perhaps if his mother was talentless or weak, they could have excused it as bad luck.
However his mother the duchess was an equally poweful mage.
Infact it was rumored that when she was younger she rivaled the most powerful students back in the academy.
And had she gone on to be a mage, she would have high potential.
Therefore gon had no excuse.
Two very powerful bloodlines coursed through his blood so naturally everyone expected him to be a wonder kid who would surpass great realms.
However he turned out to be a manaless ordinary kid.
Naturally he was hated and despised by all.
Even his own father disliked him.
Or at least he was dissapointment by him. He tried not to let it show too much but he couldn't always hide it.
Gon had grown used to this behavior.
After a few years, the dislike and hatred faded away and it was replaced with him being ignored.
While he was acknowledged as the next heir, no one ever took him seriously and they just let him exist.
Right now Gon was walking with the duke, his advisor, a tall man named lord Thorne, and a few guards.
As they walked through the town, a group of people sitting looked at them.
When their gaze fell on gon, they immediately frowned.
Look at the duke's son, with no mana. One said, his lips curled in a sneer.
"I wonder why they let him on important missions like this". Another one said. It's not like he can protect us or even himself for that matter.
I don't know about you but I won't feel safe having a duke that can't protect me. Another chimed in.
And so on the conversation continued with all of them saying that he was basically worthless and good for nothing.
Gon heard all these statements and his eyes watered slightly.
He was hurt that they would all say thes things about him but also hurt that his father did nothing to silence them.
He clenched his fists in anger. I will find a way I promise, and I will show all of you all that I am worth something. He said
However as he said it, he knew deep down that there was no hope for him, no way for him to get mana
and without mana, there was no way for him to become more skilled.
He sighed and continued walking on.
****
The next day, Gon lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Then he rolled to the side and when he did, his eye caught a scroll his grandma had given him.
While the others had gotten lands and farms, It was the only thing she had left for him in the will.
Everyone mocked him for it saying it was punishment for him being useless.
Gon thought so as well but he was curious to see what was inside.
He ran up the stairs to his room and finally opened it.
It was blank.
He was immediately saddened and he assumed it was because he was useless.
He rolled it back up and wanted to throw it away but his mind wouldn't let him.
So he just left it on his drawer to remind himself how everyone viewed him.
Gon looked at the scroll and picked it up.
He spread it open and stared at the blank pages.
This was the first time he would be opening it again since that day.
Then a thought occured to him, what if the scroll wasn't actually empty but needed a key to unlock it?
This was the first time he would be opening it again since that day.
Then a thought occured to him, what if the scroll wasn't actually empty but needed a key to unlock it?
Gon stared at the blank scroll. What if his grandma had left something actually important or secretive for him and in his emotional turmoil, he had ignored it all these while?
But what could it be? And what would the possible keys be?
Gon started to think of what the keys could be.
It could be some artifact, maybe a gem to unlock it.
Or it could be needed to be held over a flame, he had heard of that before.
Gon shook his head, he wasn't willing to risk burning the scroll.
Flames would be the last resort.
Come on think. He said racking his head. What could it be? What did grandma like?
An idea then occurred to him, his grandma liked blood a lot.
What if blood was the key?
The more he thought about it, it made sense to him, his grandma's obsession with blood was known to everyone.
Would it really work though? He asked himself.
And was he willing to cause himself to bleed just to unlock the scroll.
The answer was yes. Gon stood up from the bed and reached for the sword that hung by his drawer.
It was a gift from his father, the blade of his latest conquest.
It was a beautiful thing with a very thin sharp edge.
He unsheathed the blade, loving the metallic sound.
He then took a deep breath before swiping his hand across the edge.
Ouch. He whispered as a slightly wide cut appeared on his hand.
Ignoring the pain, he quickly moved his hand to the scroll and dropped a few drops of blood on it.