Omniscient POV
There are beings in this world that are totally out of the ordinary—beings capable of single-handedly destroying the world as a whole with ease.
Having too many of them would disturb the world's balance, so the world itself places restrictions upon such individuals, making it harder for them to reach their full potential.
Some manage to overcome these trials and etch their names into history forever, while others may fail and be forgotten without ever reaching such heights. These restrictions are called Heavenly Restrictions.
Not everyone receives these restrictions. Some extremely hard workers may still reach great heights without ever being restricted, while those born with restrictions might never overcome them.
Talent is the main factor that determines whether someone receives a Heavenly Restriction—specifically, whether their very existence has enough influence to tilt the world's balance of power.
To measure such talent, the world uses Factor Holders as a basis. Factor Holders are individuals who possess either Brave Factors, one of the basic requirements for becoming a Hero, or Demon Factors, one of the basic requirements for becoming a Demon King.
Factor Holders are born with at least one specialty that separates them from the rest. Those without them cannot equal such talents, no matter how hard they work. They are simply born different.
Those with Demon Factors can become Demon Kings after receiving the Goddess of Darkness's blessing and approval.
Others with enough strength and the rank of Yodh may become Demon Lords. It's even possible for someone without a Demon Factor to become a Demon Lord if their power is overwhelming.
However, in the long history of the demons, only a handful of Demon Lords have ever been without Demon Factors—two of the current Demon Lords are among that handful.
These Demon Lords, however, are already disqualified from ever becoming the Demon King due to lacking Demon Factors. That's just how the world works.
Those with Brave Factors can become Heroes, but only after receiving the blessing and approval of the Goddess of Light. Only one person can hold the title of Hero at any given time.
Others with Brave Factors may become Vassal Heroes or Saint Apostles of the Church.
These Factor Holders are the ones most likely to receive Heavenly Restrictions, as they possess the potential to change the world. Yet even among them, not all receive such restrictions.
The restrictions also differ from person to person, as the number of Factor Holders the world can support at one time is limited.
If that limit is already full, a new Factor can only be inherited after the death of a current holder.
While this may not be general knowledge, there are still individuals who could uncover it through thorough research.
Most Factor Holders only receive one Heavenly Restriction, usually semi-permanent and designed to lift after certain conditions are fulfilled.
Hayato Nakamura, however, was born with not just one, but two such Heavenly Restrictions: one that prevents him from using mana, and another that stops him from leveling up until specific conditions are met.
These restrictions were placed upon him by the world itself. Such is the fate of those born with talents powerful enough to destroy the world—like him, born with the Demon Factor representing Magic.
*
*
*
Hayato Nakamura (Ashford), 18 years old, a half-human, half-demon (Incubus), was a new student at Sylvania Magic Academy.
The name Hayato was given by his father along with his surname, while Ashford was given by his mother, as it was customary in her birthplace to name male offspring using Samarae, the ancient language of the demons.
In Samarae, it means 'ashen-born king of the land across the burning river'.
However, only his mother and older sister ever used Ashford—or rather, nicknames derived from it—to call him.
He had naturally flowing, long purple hair—one bang falling over his face while the rest framed it from the sides—dark, ruby-like red eyes, and a strikingly handsome face that could easily capture the heart of any woman.
He stood at about 5 feet 11 inches tall, with a sleek body and just the right amount of muscle to make any man jealous. If only he didn't always wear such a stoic, cold expression.
He always gave off a cold, deadly aura—something he was born with. Combined with his stoic face and intimidating red eyes, it made it difficult for people to approach him, and at times, even caused fear.
Yet, despite all that, his insanely handsome features still drew the attention of many, especially girls of various ages who couldn't help but be drawn to him.
But Hayato didn't like socializing with people—in fact, he couldn't care less about others at all.
Due to the constant attention brought on by his extraordinary looks, he began wearing a magic item: a pair of enchanted eyeglasses that inhibited recognition, making others perceive him as average-looking.
Only those who had seen his real face without the glasses could recognize him even while he wore them.
The glasses didn't alter his appearance; they simply made others perceive him as plain and thinned his presence.
Currently, he was still wearing his glasses as he made his way to Sylvania Magic Academy.
It was the last day to report to the academy dormitory, as the opening ceremony would be held tomorrow.
Sylvania required all students to reside in the dormitories it provided. So Hayato was at the largest magic train station in the city of Penia, which was under Count Hennsylvania's territory.
Elves didn't like other races desecrating their nation, but they were one of the few who remained neutral during the Great War.
As a result, various races came to this nation for different reasons—trade, study, asylum, and more.
The Hennsylvania noble family was tasked with overseeing all of this, as they served as the barrier that separated the other races from the core of the Elven Kingdom of Eldora.
Naturally, the cities under their territory became increasingly bustling with people from different races. But most of it was because of El Salvatore and Sylvania Magic Academy.
Hayato and his family had been living in Penia for years. With him now was his mother, Reina Nakamura, who had come to see him off.
She possessed an incredibly beautiful and mature face that could leave anyone lovestruck at first sight.
As a succubus demon, she had long, flowing, wavy purple hair that reached down to her legs, beautiful blue eyes, and a mature, busty figure that looked no older than her early twenties—despite having an eighteen-year-old son.
Her enchanting smile and soothing presence had the power to instantly put anyone at ease.
She wasn't a pure succubus; probably at some point in her ancestry, succubus blood may have been introduced a few times, but nothing more.
Even though she had been extremely busy with her work as one of the owners of Nova Corporation—one of the biggest companies in Eldora—she came alone to see off her dear child heading to Sylvania.
Nova Corporation was founded by Hayato's father (a human), mother, and his aunt (a distant cousin of his mother), though now only the two women manage it.
Hayato's father had long since passed away during his childhood, a loss that remained as one of Hayato's deepest regrets.
While he didn't care much about others, he loved his family deeply—perhaps to the point of even being extremely overprotective.
Hayato's family lived in a joint household with his aunt's family. His aunt, Erina Shiranui (a demon), and uncle, Ren Shiranui (also a demon), were currently out of the city and couldn't make it today.
His younger cousin sister, daughter of the former couple, Nina Shiranui, didn't have it in her to bid farewell to her beloved onii-sama, so she stayed home.
And both his sisters—Ririsa Nakamura, his beautiful and innocent but airheaded older sister, and Runa Nakamura, his bratty younger sister—had already been living in El Salvatore since last year, for work and academic reasons, respectively.
Though they were living on the opposite end of the island from where Hayato would be staying in his dormitory.
With her daughters already away and now her son leaving too, Reina couldn't help but feel incredibly lonely, creating the awkward scene of a mature woman crying in public like a child.
Sniffle, sniffle.
"A-chan, maybe Kaa-chan should also move to El Salvatore?" said Reina with teary eyes, looking at her son pitifully.
A-chan was Hayato's nickname from his mother, derived from Ashford. And yeah, even someone like him, who didn't care what others thought, sometimes got embarrassed by the nickname. At least his older sister only used A-kun instead of -chan.
Sigh.
Hayato couldn't help but sigh at this. They had talked about it many times. His mother should've been extremely busy running the business, but here she was, acting like a child.
Penia was where the headquarters of their corporation was, along with various important clients and business ties.
She couldn't possibly just dump everything on his aunt and suddenly go live with her children like this.
"Kaa-san, we've talked about this before. I'll come to visit often," Hayato said, trying to console her, wiping her tears with tissues handed to him by one of her security guards.
The conversation between mother and son continued as she hugged her dear child one last time and kissed his forehead, as it was already time for departure.
Hayato could leave peacefully, knowing his aunt and uncle would take care of her—and that she still had her loyal security team, which Hayato had taken his sweet time to personally select.
[The train bound for XXX, XX, El Salvatore... and X will be departing shortly from Platform 4.]
[Please ensure you have all your belongings and proceed to the platform in an orderly manner.]
[We wish you a pleasant journey.]
Soon, the announcement for the magic train's departure echoed through the station. The already busy platform grew even more crowded as people rushed to board. Various races filled the station, each with their own purpose and destination.
The massive magic train stood proudly, its vibrant colors giving it a majestic presence. A large magic circle appeared in front of it as purple smoke began to rise from the engines, signaling the start of its activation.
The train floated slightly above the ground, powered by advanced magic engineering, capable of traveling across all kinds of terrain—even over water and through the sky.
There was quite a distance between Penia and El Salvatore.
First, they would have to pass through a few other cities and then cross over the ocean to reach El Salvatore.
The journey would take around three hours, even though the train wouldn't be running at full speed.
It was still much faster than other transportation methods bound for El Salvatore, like the large ships that could float on both air and water.
Hayato made his way to his seat. He didn't have any visible baggage or belongings with him, as he wore a magic ring imbued with spatial magic—an item box. It could easily store everything he needed. The item was rare and expensive.
Hayato had spent quite a lot of money on the item box, but he never hesitated when it came to things he needed. If he was wealthy, then he would generously make good use of his wealth for his own purposes.
He wore the standard Sylvania Magic Academy uniform, which consisted of a white shirt, blue blazer with golden streaks, blue tie, black pants, black belt, and brown boots.
In the same compartment, he saw many other students headed to Sylvania, happily chatting with each other. But he had little to no interest in average people, so he sat comfortably in his private room on the train.
He had already checked all their mana but found no one particularly interesting. Even though Hayato couldn't use mana himself, his talent for magic and intelligence were top-tier—he had eidetic memory and could clearly recall things from as early as one month old.
His mana perception was likely one of the best in the world. He could feel minute fluctuations in mana around him and easily analyze magic.
Because of his mana perception, he sees the world differently from others. To him, the world is more beautiful, vibrant, and filled with mana—though he lacks the emotions or mindset to truly enjoy it.
Mana has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. So, just imagine how it feels for him to be unable to use or even move his own mana.
It's like being born with an extra organ but having no control over it, while watching others—who never had such an organ—still manage to do the same things, even if half-assed, that he couldn't do at all.
He had even solved thousand-year-old unsolvable magical problems and theories when he was just seven years old—on his own. And that too, only in his free time, while still hiding his identity. He had shocked the world back then.
Because of his Mana Blockage Disorder, Hayato could only accumulate mana in his Mana Heart—which was unmistakably of top quality—but he couldn't manipulate the mana through his Mana Veins and Mana Circuits for some reason. He had tried many things and searched tirelessly for a cure, but never found one.
His late father, Haruaki Nakamura, a human, was a high-ranking alchemist of great ability, even if not the very best.
He had made it his life's goal to find a cure for his genius son, but sadly, he passed away before he could fulfill that promise.
Haruaki had theorized that Hayato's condition might be related to the soul—perhaps a form of soul restriction—since there was nothing physically wrong with him.
In fact, his Mana Heart, Mana Veins, and Mana Circuits were all of top quality. This led Haruaki to suspect a deeper, less understood cause.
However, very few people truly understood souls. Perhaps necromancers held more knowledge in that domain. While they might be feared and frowned upon in certain places, necromancy wasn't illegal by any means.
In fact, Hayato's greatest element was the element of darkness, even though he had aptitude for all elements—which was extremely rare—except for holy magic, that is.
Haruaki also theorized that if Hayato were to level up and reach a sufficiently high stage, the problem might resolve itself.
In this world, leveling up meant undergoing Existential Evolution. With each level, a person's very being changed from what it was before, making them—arguably—a completely different existence.
Only after the world itself recognizes one's efforts and the need to expand the body's natural container does leveling up occur. Simply blasting through monsters while being overgeared wouldn't suffice.
But even Haruaki couldn't have known that Hayato would be stuck at level one, unable to level up at all after his Awakening Ceremony.
Hayato had read all the research his father had done, and he too possessed knowledge about alchemy, even if his talent wasn't the best in that line of work.
The magic train was starting to move. Hayato could still hear his mother yelling from the platform. The train gave a gentle lurch as it began to move, slowly pulling out of the station.
"A-chan!" his mother called out from the platform, waving both arms like she was trying to stop the train with pure emotion.
"Don't forget I packed you a month's worth of homemade food! It's all in your item box, neatly labeled—don't mix up the side dishes! Eat the spinach too, not just the fried stuff!"
Hayato sat by the window, expression calm as ever, but his eye twitched slightly.
"Also!" she continued, raising her voice to be heard over the growing distance. "Take care of your health, okay!? Sleep properly! Don't skip meals! Try to make friends, and—be nice to girls! I still want grandkids, you know!"
"K-Kaa-san…" Hayato muttered under his breath, a vein twitching near his temple.
"And don't overwork yourself at that fancy magic academy! Rest when you need to! No all-nighters! And write to me!"
Passengers nearby began chuckling, some stifling laughter behind their hands, others outright grinning at the overbearing yet lovable mother scene playing out.
Sigh.
Hayato sighed, finally leaning out the window with his usual stoic expression, raising his voice just enough to reach her over the hum of the train—but still keeping it flat and calm.
"I got it, so stop yelling. I'm not a kid anymore—just go home."
Still, a faint redness colored his cheeks. No matter how composed he tried to be, even Hayato couldn't fully hide the embarrassment of having such a doting mother in public.
The magic train floated gracefully through the air, gliding above vast landscapes, bustling cities, and even over the ocean's glittering surface.
Despite the considerable distance, the journey to the island of El Salvatore took only three hours—swift and smooth.
The panoramic view throughout the ride was nothing short of mesmerizing. Towering cliffs, emerald forests, crystalline lakes, and floating islands painted the horizon like a moving masterpiece.
But nothing compared to the sight that greeted them near the end.
There, perched grandly on the eastern side of El Salvatore, stood the Sylvania Magic Academy—an awe-inspiring structure of towering spires, glowing crystal windows, and immense floating runes encircling its massive dome, though invisible to the normal people. But Hayato could easily see them.
Ancient yet advanced, majestic yet refined—it radiated both power and knowledge.
As the train slowly pulled into the terminal platform, Hayato stepped out with his usual calm.
And now, standing at the academy's enormous gate that reached dozens of meters high, engraved with ancient sigils and shimmering with layered enchantments, he finally took in the full scale of the place.
This was Sylvania Magic Academy. And Hayato had just arrived.
Infomania:
1. Vassal Heroes are those with Brave Factors who receive recognition from nations and are bestowed with powerful ancient artifacts.
Each of the major nations of the Pan-Human Alliance possesses its own artifacts passed down since ancient times. Some were granted by the divines, while others originated from unknown civilizations or dungeons.
2. Saint Apostles, on the other hand, are those with Brave Factors who serve as protectors of the Saint, granted sacred artifacts by the Church. Even the Saint from the Demonic Church may have Saint Apostles.
However, normally, none of them are blessed by the divines, nor do they hold direct contracts with them like the Hero or the Demon King do.
Instead, they are blessed by the Saints and go through ancient sacred rituals. Becoming a Saint Apostle and protecting the Saint is one of the highest honors a believer of the Church can ever hope to achieve.
3. Possessing Brave Factors or Demon Factors is not purely a racial trait—it also depends on a person's temperament. So, it's both racial and personality-based. This means that even a demon could possibly possess Brave Factors, and the reverse could also happen.
4. Only after awakening their Factors, such individuals gain special abilities. Only Awakened Factor Holders can recognize other Factor Holders. However, Unawakened Factor Holders are much harder to detect, even for those who are already awakened.
Trivia:
1.
[Images]