Failed Gift: Striving to Be the Strongest with a Status Below Zero Through 'Lowering the Limit' - My Gift is Definitely More Dangerous Than My Brother's 'Raising the Limit' Gift'. - Prologue
The Coming-of-Age Ceremony for aristocratic children who have reached adulthood–
As it is said that anyone can obtain a special ability called a “Gift” directly from the gods, boys and girls of the appropriate age begin to get restless as their fifteenth birthday approaches.
My twin brother and I are no exception.
“Don’t get too excited,” I said.
“You’re so carefree, big bro. I can’t help but worry about drawing a blank,” my younger brother replied.
Although we are twins, I’ve been told my brother and I have very different personalities.
Whilst I’m am optimistic and easy-going, while my brother is reserved and pessimistic.
However, I know that my brother has been working hard.
“Either of us might draw a blank, but we won’t both draw a blank. Let’s help each other out as brothers,” I said.
“What if we both draw a blank…?” my brother asked.
“Then we’ll just have to laugh it off together. Don’t worry, I’ll be the one to take on the brunt of the laughter,” I replied.
“…You’re a really good person, big bro,” my brother said.
Despite feeling a little fuzzy about my brother’s words, my brother and I were about to undergo the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, something that would determine the rest of our lives.
———————————————-
Light and darkness, separated.
“Zeon-sama you have obtained the Gift of ‘Lower Limit Breakthrough’,” the priest in charge said to me after the ceremony, showing me the “status”, he had automatically written down while in a state of divine possession.
By the way, once you receive this status, you can simply mutter the ancient words “Status Open” to display the same status in your field of vision.
This was my status when I first saw it.
Status————-
Zeon Fin Cruzeon
Age 15
LV 1/10
HP 12/12
MP 9/9
STR 11
PHY 10
INT 12
MND 11
DEX 10
LCK 8
Gift: Lower Limit Breakthrough
Gift————-
Lower Limit Breakthrough
Ability to break through the lower limit of all parameters
“What…?”
I mumbled in a funny voice, unable to immediately come to terms with my pitiful status.
In the meantime, my younger brother completed the ritual with another priest and came over with the status that the priest wrote down.
“Oh, how was it, Shion?”
“My gifted ability is ‘Upper Limit Breakthrough.’ It’s a power that can break through the upper limit of levels and parameters.”
Shion said without boasting or being embarrassed.
I felt a sense of discomfort in his tone and expression. It was somewhere between overbearing and…looking down on me?
“Hehehe…even though the names are similar, there’s a big difference. You’re making me laugh. What’s the point of breaking through the lower limit? You drew a terrible gift, big brother. Even the gods can be sarcastic, huh?”
With a half-smiling expression that I had never seen before, Shion spoke to me.
“Sh-Shion…?”
“Even though we’re twins, I won’t cooperate with the owner of such a funny and pitiful gift. The priest asked me to join the hero party, and I think it’s a relief to finally say goodbye to my foolish and ignorant older brother”.
“W-what, you…!”
“Yes, yes. Father was very pleased with my results. He declared that he would pass the inheritance of the Earl of Cruzeon to me in the future and that my good-for-nothing brother should leave the house,” he said.
“W-What? Just like that…? You don’t even know the power of my gift yet!”
“Well, whether it is surprising or not, this is how it is. Although you were born into a noble family, you have hit rock bottom, and thus will be expelled from the family. You will continue to fall lower and lower without end. That’s why it’s called ‘hitting rock bottom.’ Brother, did you do something bad in your past life? It seems like divine punishment to me.”
In this world, the New Life Church, which follows the doctrine of reincarnation, has a wide following, especially among the nobility.
Nobles who are blessed with a gift have accumulated good deeds in their past lives. Commoners who are not blessed with a gift have committed evil deeds in their past lives. Nobles who draw shitty gifts have committed great sins in their past lives.
God bestows only such gifts as a warning and to demonstrate the consequences of sinning.
My father, the Earl of Cruzeon, is a devout believer of the New Life Church.My wonderful younger brother, who drew a great gift, is the heir. I, who drew the short straw, will now be disowned and expelled from the family.
It’s not unreasonable for such a thing to occur in this world.
So, if either of us draws the short straw, we’ll help each other out – that’s what Shion and I had always said to each other.
But apparently, that was just my one-sided compassion. Shion, who had a nervous disposition, must have secretly disliked me and my compassion. I, who had assumed that we were close brothers, didn’t notice his dark feelings. I’m such a clown for not seeing his true nature sooner.
“I’m sorry for everything, Shion. Congratulations on becoming a member of the hero party and the future Earl. I’ll silently support you from the sidelines.”
I conveyed my heartfelt feelings as best I could, but he said, “Haha, sour grapes, brother? It’s too unsightly. You, or rather, Zeon-san, are an outsider with no connection to the Earl’s family. You can take what you have around you, but there’s nothing else we can give you. This is the consensus of my father and me.”
I couldn’t believe I was hated so much.
I have never felt so frustrated and angry.
But more than anything, I’m sad.
What were the memories we had built up as brothers?
Was I just forcing my one-sided feelings on him?
I left the church’s ritual room and went back home to pack the belongings in my room.
“Zeon-sama! Is it true that you’re leaving!?”
A cute maid with round, sparkling eyes burst in without even knocking.
“Colette, mind your manners,” Thomas gently scolding the maid’s behavior.
“I-I’m sorry, but there’s no way Zeon-sama is in league with the devil! That’s just a lie!…right?”
“Sorry, Colette. I’m not as good a person as I thought I was. If I can’t understand the heart of my own brother, then I’m not fit to be the head of the Earl’s household. But it’s okay, this is a good opportunity. I’ll leave the mansion and live with my own strength.”
“Zeon-sama…”
“Please take care of Shion for me, both of you. Deep down, he’s a kind guy,” I had lost a lot of confidence because of this incident, but that’s what I’ve always believed and how I’ve always treated him.
But it seemed like he didn’t take it that way. Perhaps, that’s just the way it is.
I bid farewell to the two servants and left the house with only the bare necessities required for my new life.