John. It was a plain name for a plain kind of guy. No one would ever expect a guy named John to be a Great Mage. So, at the age of six, when John produced a flame in his hands, everyone was amazed. Especially John, as this would be the first and only time the system would speak to him, in this life.

  Everyone was amazed. John just thought his left eye was itchy. He did not understand what was to come. He was only a boy of six. He just did what felt right, then poof. Fire. Then people started lauding him as 'The savor of our village' and 'The fabled Founder come again!'.

  As the years went on, John got a better understanding of things. However, due to the reverence that was lauded onto him, in the end, he only ended up suffering socially. Then physically, since no one wanted 'The Great Founder come again' to hurt himself working the fields. Then finally, he suffered magically, since he could produce no spell other than 'The First Flame.'

  Eventually, he reached the age of fourteen and the village sent him off to The College of Marvth. A school for wannabe Mages, Wizards, and all manner of magic users. There he studied, and failed to cast even a single spell other than 'The First Flame'. For four years he tried and failed. Even The Grand Mage, the headmaster, and a step above Great Mage couldn't get his magic to work.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Eventually, John decided enough was enough. He took a life crystal, and just started pouring mana into it. He had a lot of mana. He spent most of his time increasing his mana pool by eating rare mana growth plants and meditating since he couldn't practice his spells. Eventually, it just became too much for the poor stone, and it exploded, releasing so much mixed Life and Fire mana that it outright killed the poor Mage.

  Though this wasn't to be the end for John. He got a meeting with the System, and a second chance.

  John couldn't answer back. He was just a spirit floating in space. But, he did manage to pull up his character sheet one last time. One last look at how much of a failure he had been in life. Perhaps this time would be different.