Black Clover: Nah I'd Lose (UPDATED)

(Guys, Here is the Bonus Chapter, this week's goal is 100 Powerstones Whether this fic will continue or not would depend on the support I am getting which is decided by the number of Powerstones this fic receives or the number of Patreon members)

It was dark before he opened his eyes.

"Where am I? Also, what's with the smell?" he said out loud.

"You were found dumped in a dumpster. We're in the middle of the city, on top of the Mayor's house," a very familiar voice responded.

"Oh, no wonder," he grimaced, disgusted both by the smell and how he had been found.

"Let me clean myself," he said, reaching for his grimoire.

"Forgot to mention, but your grimoire wasn't with you. Someone must have taken it," the voice added.

"Yeah, seems so," he muttered blankly, closing his eyes.

"Do you think they destroyed it?" the other person asked with the same indifferent tone.

"No. I can feel it—it's nearby, in that direction," he pointed.

He got up and began moving in that direction, with the other person following closely behind.

"Did you see their face?" the tracker asked.

"No, they wore a mask. The only thing I know is that they have short stature and excellent mana-hiding abilities. I couldn't sense any mana leaking from them during the fight," he replied.

"Oh, tell me more about their fighting style," the tracker in purple asked next.

"I got knocked out in one hit, so I didn't see anything," he admitted honestly, feeling a pang of embarrassment.

"I see." They arrived at the location where they had felt the grimoire's presence.

The man made a grimace.

"So, is it in this dumpster?" the tracker asked, clearly amused.

"It seems so." He opened the dumpster lid, and to his relief, his book was on top. He quickly grabbed it.

"So, what do we do now? According to my tracking spell, they escaped to the forest."

"I'll track that person. It's my responsibility they got away," he said as his grimoire began to float.

He cast a water spell, drenching himself, and then the grimoire cleaned itself completely.

"Very well. Anyway, I need to get back to headquarters—the team leader called me. Don't bring shame to the Purple Orcas." With that, the tracker left, leaving the man alone in the alley.

He cast a spell, and a water bike began forming.

"Let's see if they can escape again," he said, jumping on the bike and heading toward the forest.

Akeru could be seen sitting near a bonfire, chewing on cooked boar meat.

'It really tastes horrible. I already miss the city food. Heck, I'd be fine with mana beasts from that zone,' he thought, feeling homesick despite not having a home in this world.

'Anyway, I should hurry up before some animals come to ambush me or something,' he thought, devouring the food at a rapid rate.

Soon, he got up, extinguished the fire, relocated it, and settled down on top of a tree for the night.

'I don't think anyone would chase me. It would be ridiculous for someone to go to such lengths to catch a pickpocket. At most, they'd post a wanted poster. Luckily, I had a mask. Still, I was overreacting. I had just stolen some purses, and sealing both gates to prevent my escape? Absurd,' Akeru thought, drifting off to sleep.

The next day, he could be seen practising with "the broom," steadily increasing the distance between himself and his previous location.

Now that he could fly, the chances of being tracked would be very low without a spell. Plus, he had ditched everything he stole when entering the forest, so even that trail was faint.

A few hours passed, and he could now stand on the broom while flying.

'This really is easy. With my mana control, doing things like this should be simple,' he thought, rolling forward with his head sometimes facing the sky, sometimes the ground.

He refined his control over flying, finding some nuances in how to navigate.

A few hours later, he found himself near a stream.

'Let's see. This place is kind of peaceful. I already tried checking if I have any elemental magic affinity, but it seems I don't have one.' Akeru was excited about the prospect of mastering magic when he got his grimoire, but it would still be years before he could obtain one.

'Anyway, time to start converting my mana into water.' He began infusing his mana into the water of the stream.

The difficulty of learning magic with a different attribute increases significantly.

This is one of the reasons people with dual attributes are very rare.

However, even if someone has double attributes, it doesn't necessarily mean they're stronger.

It's more about quality than quantity, especially with magic, which takes too long to master to a decent level.

In just an hour, water began floating in the air around Akeru, but he wasn't satisfied. A frown creased his face.

'I wasn't able to infuse my mana into the water. More like I stuck it to the surface. It's not much different than using mana to control objects, like a branch,' Akeru realized, frustrated that his technique had limited, situational use.

A few more hours passed, but he saw no progress.

He decided to get some lunch while pondering how to overcome this obstacle.

Days passed in the blink of an eye.

'Finally!' Akeru smirked as water floated near him, but this time, his mana was infused into the water rather than just sticking to it.

The difference between infusing and just sticking lies in the depth of mana attachment—deeper for infusion, surface-level for sticking.

The next three days passed, and Akeru gained more control over his mana-infused water.

'Now, I need to find an exact way to convert my mana into water.' He thought as he prepared to sleep.

He woke up the next morning and ate some fruit.

He couldn't just live off meat all the time—it would get boring.

'It didn't say any specific method to convert mana into water for those without an affinity. No wonder so few people learn this. But I guess I have no choice but to grow stronger this way until I get my grimoire.'

Suddenly, Akeru's instincts blared like a loud bell.

Living in the Grand Magic Zone for three years had sharpened his senses—especially his instincts.

He naturally trusted his instincts, so he jumped forward and used mana bursts to walk on water for a few steps before reaching the other side.

He turned around to find pythons made of water rushing at him at blinding speeds.

'That's a spell. A magic knight?' he thought as he jumped onto a branch.

"Finally found you," he heard a familiar voice. But he didn't turn around, as dual pythons began climbing up the tree.

He jumped off the branch, but at that moment, both pythons homed in on him in mid-air.

'These bastards could've come straight at me earlier, but no—they had to pretend to climb the tree. Why did I even think they were real animals and not a damn spell?' Akeru realized one of his cognitive biases had led him into this situation.

He didn't panic, instead using a mana burst to reach another branch quickly.

He then swept towards both snakes with his legs.

His shoe had a blue hue, and surprisingly, the snakes exploded, water spraying everywhere.

This was the special technique Akeru had developed over three years of training—mana vibrated in whatever part he chose, giving high penetrating power. Any part of his body could become a sharp blade when he focused his energy.

"Not bad. Last time, I was caught off guard, but this time, I won't let you escape," the man finally came into view.

Akeru quickly realized that this was the person who Akeru had left in the dumpster.

'Damn, I'm screwed. Fighting a magic knight is suicidal—even a beginner. Deflecting that spell took so much effort, and I definitely couldn't hold it if the fight dragged on. I need to escape,' Akeru decided, focusing on his first priority.

"Don't think of escaping. I can catch you easily," the man declared, revealing his water bike.

'What the hell? How is that solid? I don't think humans can reach that level of control without a grimoire. No wonder grimoires are necessary,' Akeru despaired at the massive gap between a grimoire's power and what he could do on his own.

***

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