The Weakest Bastard Shakes the World

Ian is the bastard son of his house, and the family treats him as an embarrassment to be kept out of sight. What none of them know is that three Creator Gods have taken him on in secret and have been putting him through their own training, building his body into what they call Demon Flesh. Part of that training is a suit of armor weighing five thousand pounds that he wears every waking hour, and it slows him enough that everyone who watches him move assumes he is as feeble as they were told. He shows up to the Trials in it and is laughed at from the moment he walks in. Cassian, the prodigy the crowd has come to see, is not content with laughing. He goes after Ian's brother during the Trials and cripples him, then makes it clear that Ian's mother is next if Ian does not withdraw. Ian unbuckles the armor and lets it drop where he stands. The elite magic thrown at him afterward comes apart against bare hands, and he walks through it to reach Cassian.