Mora strolled on a paved road through the castle town of Kikka with Ares and Athena under a series of colorful fireworks. Kikka was known to be a well-developed town that was filled with many large stone-based houses and liveliest markets. Mora looked up to see a vivid view of the Clover Castle. A large wall surrounded the Clover Castle with a series of towers all along the top and a set of entrance gates that have stairs leading down to the Royal Capital.
"Wow! So cool!" Mora beamed in amazement. She then looked around at every market that was selling merchants from foods to weapons. "I'm definitely gonna have fun in this place."
Mora's eyes were mesmerized by the town's liveliest environment that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going, causing her to bump into a fourteen year old girl by the back.
"Oh, sorry. My fault." Mora and the girl said in unison.
Mora spun around and stared at the petite girl standing in front of her. The petite girl has pale skin, black shoulder-length bob, and purple eyes. She wore a black mini dress with short puff sleeves, dark blue pantyhose, and black flats. She also wore a plain blue hooded robe that only covered her torso and held together in the middle of her chest with a gold, rose-shaped button along with a rose insignia embroidered on the back of the robe.
"Oh, you must be new around here. What's your name?" The girl asked.
"I'm Mora." Mora replied. She pointed her finger to Ares and Athena. "And that's Ares and Athena. We're just looking around."
"No way! You have spirits." The girl gasped with wide eyes as she moved up to Ares and Athena. "They're so cute. They must be new ones because I've never seen them before." She looked back at Mora. "I see. You might be here for the Magic Knight Entrance Exam. Follow me and I'll take you there."
"That will be great. Thank you." Mora said.
The girl guided Mora, Ares, and Athena to the large stone stadium.
"Here we are." The girl said. "The coliseum."
"Thanks for the help. You're a lifesaver." Mora said. "Oh, I haven't got your name."
"It's Serena." The girl said. "And good luck on your exam." She walked away with a wave. "I'll see you later."
Mora waved back and then looked at the stone stadium.
"It's time." Mora said to Ares and Athena as she was trying to be calm.
"You got this, Mora." Ares said.
"Be keen and vigilant." Athena said.
"Thanks, guys." Mora said with a smile. She motioned her spirits to hide in her bag. "I don't want anyone to see you until the exam is over."
Ares and Athena nodded as they flew into Mora's bag.
Mora's eyes widened as she stared at a massive number of participants arriving and preparing for the Magic Knights Exam. As she walked up to the stadium, several people began cheering and waving at the future Magic Knights that were entering the stadium.
"Good luck on the exam!"
"The Clover Kingdom's rising stars!"
"The future of the kingdom is riding on you!"
"You can do it!"
Mora walked inside the stadium and stood in a long line to sign up for the Magic Knight Exam.
"Next!" The male registrar spoke.
Mora slowly stepped up to the registrar.
"Hello, I'm Mora. I live in the forest not far from Hage village." Mora said.
"I see." The registrar said as he started writing Mora's name on the book. "Alright, Mora. Let me see your grimoire."
Mora held her grimoire in front of the registrar, whose eyes widened in surprise when he saw the four-leaf clover on the front cover.
"Four-leaf clover?" The registrar said in surprise.
Two staff mages standing behind the registrar overheard what he just said.
"What?" One staff mage whispered.
"You heard the rumors, right?" Another staff mage whispered back.
Some of the examinees behind Mora also overheard with intrigued expressions on their faces.
"No way. That's a four-leaf clover grimoire?" A male examinee murmured.
"Oh, wow." A female examinee whispered. "She's one lucky mage."
"Right, you're number 150." The registrar said to Mora. "Next."
All the examinees gathered inside the stadium as most of them began chattering to each other about the Magic Knight Exam.
Wow. That's a lot of people. Mora thought. But my six month training will be worth it though. I will become the Magic Knight Captain, no matter what.
Suddenly, Mora's eyes went pure white. A strange vision projected through her eyes. In her vision, Yuno looked up at the nine captains.
"It would be an honor to join the Golden Dawn." Yuno declared.
When her vision ended, Mora took slow, deep breaths.
Another vision? Mora thought. And Yuno chose the Golden Dawn? For him to choose that squad, the captain must be super strong.
Mora's eyes slowly noticed a flock of small black birds flying and pestering around the examinees.
"Huh?" Mora said to herself. "What's with the birds?"
"Oh, those are Anti-Birds."
Mora turned her head to the source of that familiar voice and saw Serena walking up to her. Her eyes caught four Anti-Birds resting on her head.
"They are mainly mainstays of the exam hall." Serena stated as she stood next to Mora. "They only sensed low mana."
"Oh, Serena." Mora said.
"Which does explain why there's no birds on you." Serena said, pointing her finger at Mora.
As Mora looked around, she noticed that none of the Anti-Birds were coming to bother her nor being attracted to her mana anywhere. She paid no attention to the other examinees, who began muttering about the absence of Anti-Birds around her.
"And that's because you have a very strong mana." Serena said. "That, and I heard that you got a four-leaf clover grimoire."
"Well, that makes sense." Mora said.
Then, the fireworks exploded with bursting colors.
"Oh, here they come." Serena said.
"Who?" Mora asked.
"The Magic Knight Captains." Serena replied.
"Seriously?!" Mora gasped with excitement.
Once all the Anti-Birds flew off, the examinees looked up and turned their attention to the seven Magic Knight Captains entering the stadium. They all gasped in awe at the Magic Knight Captains standing above them in their sights.
One by one, the Magic Knight Captains sat down on their respective chairs that represented their squad emblems.
The first captain was a slender male with fair skin, narrow purple eyes, and long and straight pale silver-white hair with the top and upper side portions being heavily styled and swept back into a long spiky fringe along with long bangs styled into a braid with a small attachable blue pendant hanging between his eyes and down to the tip of the nose. He wore a loose fitting white shirt with a high collar that is kept closed at the top by a gold band, matching loose white pants with tight beige bands just below the knee, and flimsy beige sandals. He also wore a white fur mantle with longer, frilled panels that hang down to the elbow draping over a dark blue fabric reaching nearly to his feet and his squad's insignia placed on the left side of his robe.
"That's Nozel Silva, the Captain of the Silver Eagles." Serena said.
The second captain has a tall stature with long straight vermillion hair with a long fringe combed to the left in a wavy hairstyle and purple eyes. He wore a long-sleeved dark blue shirt with a high collar that is decorated with gold-colored vertical stripes on its edges, collars, and the sleeves over a white tunic with a purple sash around his waist, white trousers, and black high boots with gold vertical stripes. His eyes have red markings all around and his forehead has a red diamond-shaped mark on the center along with a pair of red earrings. He also wore a red mantle that is split in the middle of the front and slits over the shoulders covering his torso with his squad's insignia placed on the center back of a long red cape. His mantle robe has two orange ropes protruding from between the scarf decorated with a purple stone at the front.
"Fuegoleon Vermillion, captain of the Crimson Lions." Serena continued.
The third captain has a tall, lean figure with loose, medium-length black hair and sharp gold eyes. He has a thin red scar running from his forehead down to his chin that passed over his left eye and ended at his mouth on the left side of his face, a slit-like mouth, and two small wristbands on his wrists. He wore a light green shirt that only covered the upper half of his torso, form-fitting black pants with light green portions covering from the halfway point of his shin up to the halfway point of his thigh on both legs and two straps on his waist crossing together in a shape of X on his front, and light green shoes. He also wore a plain fern green hooded mantle that has four long leather strands that drape down with his squad's insignia embroidering on the left side.
"Jack the Ripper, captain of the Green Praying Mantises." Serena said.
The fourth captain has a tall stature with upper-back length blonde hair tied back into a bun with only a single line braid hanging down on the left side of her face, light blue eyes with visible long eyelashes and full pink lips. She wore a fancy decorated helmet that has a single shark-like fin protruding from the top, a black one-piece undershirt that extended out to her hands as sleeveless gloves under decorated armored breastplate, an armored collar plate, and armored gauntlets on her arms. She wore white trousers under a short blue skirt that is underneath a longer leather-like open skirt on the front. Her white trousers are tucked into her thigh-high black socks that have leather cuffs at the ends and shin armor attached to her armored boots. She also wore a blue mantle with a hood that is split in the middle and held at the neck by her gold, squad's insignia buckle, and a long, flowing blue cape reaching down to her ankles.
"Next we have Ms. Charlotte Roselei, captain of the Blue Rose Knights." Serena said. "Not only is she the most beautiful woman throughout the Clover Kingdom, her squad is full of women."
"Wow. What a feminist." Mora remarked.
"And she's also my captain." Serena added.
"Whoa. What luck." Mora grinned.
The fifth captain was a tall and obese man. He wore a purple hooded mantle that has two pointed ends with yellow lining and a V-shaped dip on the center of the hood along with his squad's insignia embroidered on the left side.
"Gueldre Poizot, captain of the Purple Orcas." Serena said with an unamused face. "He's a merchant of some kind. He's the least interested captain there is."
The sixth captain took her seat while sounded fast asleep. She has a petite stature with fair skin, lilac hair, and blue eyes. She wore a dark pink vest that had white fur draping down over her hips with light pink puffy sleeves ending just past her elbow, light pink puffy short pants, and deeper pinkish shoes. She also wore a pointed hat with a wide brim and a garland of natural flowers wrapped around the cone's base and a pink mantle robe that is split in the middle and held together by a flower-shaped brooch with a white fur-trimmed hood, a scalloped hemline, a series of black diamond shapes with dots on their top points, and her squad's insignia displayed on the left-hand side. Over her mantle robe was a pink cloak.
"Dorothy Unsworth, captain of the Coral Peacocks." Serena said.
"Is she sleeping?" Mora asked.
"Yes. But don't let it fool you. Her magic is amazingly incredible." Serena replied.
The seventh captain waved enthusiastically with a friendly smile. He looked very young with spiky, aqua-colored hair in a messy mound atop his head and pink eyes. He wore a dark blue vest over a white shirt that is held closed by a bronze-colored belt, dark blue pants that ended halfway down his shins, and bronze-colored slipper-like shoes. He also wore an aqua-colored fur mantle with a rounded collar that is split in the middle of the front and held at the neck by a diamond-shaped pendant with a dark blue tassel of diamonds hanging from the front clasp, and his squad's insignia displayed on the left-hand side. Under his mantle role was a long, white open coat with two pairs of large, turquoise diamonds on the front and on the sleeves.
"Rill Boismortier, captain of the Aqua Deer." Serena said.
"For a captain, he's kinda young." Mora said with a raised eyebrow.
"That may be true. But Captain Rill is only nineteen years old." Serena replied.
"Nineteen?!" Mora exclaimed with wide eyes. "Oh snap. He's four years older than me."
The eighth captain was a tall man with a very muscular build, medium length black hair that is messily combed backward, gray eyes, a stubble mustache and beard. He wore a white A-shirt, black trousers that had an extra layer of tan leather covering his outer thighs and down to his knees and supported by two belts around his waist, and black high boots that covered most of his calves. He also wore a ripped, tattered black mantle banner with his squad's insignia on it over his right shoulder that is attached by two strings to his left shoulder in a cape-like fashion.
"That's Yami Sukehiro." Serena said. "I don't know much about him, but all I know is that his squad is the worst of them all."
"Really? Oh, wow." Mora said.
Then, all the examinees immediately began to cheer when the ninth and final captain stepped into the view and took his seat in the middle. He has a lean, average build with short white hair and purple eyes. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt with a high collar and blue in the center that has golden trimmings and buttons, a dark belt with gold buckle, white pants, and a pair of high black boots. He wore an elaborate, extravagant mask-like helmet on the upper half of his face. His mask is made up of a large gold piece covering the area around his right eye that has a red border outline with two lines sticking out on both the top and bottom halves and a smaller blue piece covering the area around his left eye with the similar design in white color, white and red patches of fur on the back edge, and two white feathers that stick up on the left side. He also wore a gold mantle robe covering his torso that has blue-colored fur trim around the border of the hood, a pair of red ropes coming from the left shoulder and connecting to the gold-colored button on the right shoulder, and his squad's insignia positioned at the left-hand side. Underneath his robe was a long red cloak that reached to his ankles.
"And that's William Vangeance. Captain of the Golden Dawn, the mightiest Magic Knight squad." Serena said. "His entire squad members completely trusted him. Some say he might become the next Wizard King."
All of the captains here in one place. Mora thought as her eyes widened at the squad captains. Her eyes stared directly at Vangeance. So he's the captain that Yuno will be joining. I'm definitely sensing a super strong mana coming from that guy.
Vangeance then stepped forward and looked at the examinees.
"Attention, examinees!" Vangeance shouted. "Thank you for waiting! I will be administering this year's entrance exam!" He held out his opened grimoire and the pages began turning to his spell. "Magic Tree's Descent!"
At the spell command of Vangeance's open grimoire, dark clouds began forming and covering the sky above the stone stadium. Everyone, including Mora, gazed their eyes up towards the darkened sky just as a powerful gust of wind started blowing at the gasping examinees. Then, a bright light shone in the darkened sky and the roots of a giant tree suddenly began growing from the clouds, making the examinee clamor in awe. Each tree branch extended itself towards the examinees and crafting a multitude of broomsticks before handing them to the examinees one by one.
Mora examined her broomstick for a moment. She then looked back up at Vangeance with a determined face.
It's official. This man is the one closest to becoming the Magic Knight Captain. Mora thought.
"You've waited long enough." Vangeance announced as he closed his grimoire. "The time has come. Let the entrance exam begin."
Mora gripped the broomstick in her hands.
"Good luck." Serena said to Mora.
Serena walked away from the crowd before heading to Captain Charlotte.
"In just a few moments we will begin the first of a series of tests. The nine Magic Knight Captains will be serving as your judges. And when the exam is complete, we will choose the individuals that we want on our squads." Vangeance explained. "If chosen, you are in. If more than one squad chooses you, you will decide which you would like to join. However, if you are not selected by any squad, that means you have been deemed unqualified to join the Magic Knights. And now for your first test. You must use the brooms that you've been given to fly."
Several examinees started murmuring with confusion.
"A mage who's in control of his or her magic power can do it on instinct alone." Vangeance continued. "It is our most basic way to get from one place or another. If you can't fly on a broom, then you are not worth our time. Enough talk. Now, begin!"
Every examinee hopped onto their brooms and focused on getting to fly in the air with pure concentration. Some of them managed to either hover slightly in the air or a few feet off the ground while half of them got tossed off by their brooms.
This test is an excellent way for us to gauge the examinees' basic abilities. Charlotte thought to herself as she observed the examinees' flying levels. Seems we have a number of promising candidates this year.
Some of the examinees, including Mora, successfully floated high in the sky over the open stadium. Mora stood on her broom and drifted around in a surfboard fashion as she ignored the astonished expressions from the examinees' faces. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Yuno already taking flight on his broom up in the air at considerable speed above the stadium. Mora smiled at him for passing the first test, but she stopped when the straining sound of grunting caught her earshot. She looked down to see Asta wasn't having difficulty taking flight while holding his broom tightly.
Even the Magic Knight Captains looked bewildered.
"What's going on there?" Fuegoleon questioned as he stared at the troubled Asta. "Even if he doesn't have any significant talent, he should still be able to float."
Nozel looked away from Asta with a scoff.
"If you'll excuse me for a moment." Nozel spoke as he rose out of his seat.
Nozel took his leave.
Mora kept looking down at Asta.
Poor Asta. Mora thought with a frown. This exam is gonna hit him hard.
After the flying broom test was over, the examinees moved to the next test: The Magic Power Test. Mora fired a blast of her fire magic that shattered the small wall into pieces. Next came the Magic-Power Control Test, where Mora blasted her fire magic at a few moving targets in the air. Then, the Creation Magic Test had Mora create a swarm of fiery butterflies circling around her with a wide smile. Her eyes caught the sight of a butterfly made of concentrated wind soaring towards her and landed on her nose. She looked up to see Yuno waving at her with a warm smile, making her cheeks flush with a shy smile. After that, the Evolution Magic Test came into place, in which Mora poured her magic power into a seed on the palm of her hand, causing the seed to grow into a beautiful flower.
"On to the next test. The final and most difficult." Vangeance announced. "A display of combat skill."
The examinees gasped at the word "combat" coming out of Vangeance's mouth.
"Prepare to duel!" Fuegoleon yelled as he rose from his seat. "You will break into pairs and fight each other. Use your grimoires to attack and defend. As knights, battle is our business. We wanna see everything you're capable of."
"The test will end when one combatant either surrenders or is unable to continue." Vangeance explained. "We have mages wielding Recovery Magic standing by for the injured."
"So don't hold anything back!" Fuegoleon added.
Mora put on an exciting smile on her face as she started to look around for a partner.
For the last test, I need to pair off with someone who wants to fight me head on. Mora thought to herself. I can't pair up with Yuno nor Asta. I want their magic to shine and impress the captains on their own.
"We're ready for the first bout. Let's go." The referee spoke.
Mora turned and saw Asta stepping up close to a male teenager named Sekke in the middle of the field. Sekke has a lean build with medium-length blond hair combed backward and held together with a black hairband that only left several strands hanging in front of his forehead. He wore a gray shirt with a dark gray vest with a wide V-shaped collar on top of it, white trousers, and black high boots that have a pair of tan belts on each of them. He also wore a tan belt and a long-sleeved magenta coat with black horizontal stripes around the forearms.
All the examinees stepped away from the field, so they all could watch the first spell combat battle. Mora and Yuno stood next to each other in front of the pillar just as Sekke walked his way to the other side of the field.
"Now, begin!" The referee announced.
"No pulling punches, remember?" Sekke yelled. He pulled out his three-leaf clover grimoire. "Let's do this, Asta!"
Sekke manifested a transparent sphere made of bronze all around himself. The sphere has several peaks with cannon holes sticking out at random positions and an intricate pattern across its surface.
"Bronze Creation Magic: Sekke Magnum Cannonball!" Sekke casted.
Heh, for a boisterous examinee, that technique is kinda impressive. Serena thought as she examined Sekke's spell.
Mora glared at the examinees, who began insulting Asta's tattered grimoire and his lack of magic. Her right fist began enveloping with fire magic, but Yuno placed his hand on Mora's shoulder and shook his head that signaled her to ignore them. Mora sighed and extinguished her flames.
"Come on, don't get shy on me now." Sekke said to Asta with a winking smile.
"Okay, here we go." Asta said as he summoned his five-leaf grimoire.
As his grimoire opened up, Asta charged straight at Sekke with incredible speed. He pulled out his sword that immediately caught Sekke by surprise.
He's quick. Fast Movement Magic? Vangeance wondered with a surprised expression.
No magical enhancements there. This kid is just in crazy good shape. Yami commented.
But it was too late for Sekke to launch his spell attack. Asta immediately slammed his sword against Sekke's bronze sphere, slashing it cleanly in half and knocking him unconscious on impact. Asta's sword strike powerfully cracked the ground around him and Sekke.
All the examinees gasped in complete shock. Except for Mora and Yuno, who smiled at Asta.
"Unlike you, Sekke, I'm not joining the Magic Knights just so I can slack off and have a little fun." Asta said seriously as he swung his sword and rested it on his shoulder with one hand. "I've got a much bigger goal. I'm gonna be the Wizard King."