"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."
Vangeance looked at Asta's grimoire.
That grimoire… Vangeance thought.
"Hey." Yami said with an intrigued smile.
Yuno and Mora stared at Asta after his victorious match.
He's not the one who will defeat you, Asta. I am. Yuno thought with a smile.
Good job, Asta. You really show them what you're made of. Mora grinned.
The examinees kept looking stunned at Asta's sudden power and his goal on becoming the next Wizard King.
"Is that a magic sword?"
"So, he's not just some poor reject from the sticks. What's his deal?"
"Who is he?"
Asta grunted in annoyance while overhearing the insulting comments from the other examinees.
"And that stuff he said…"
"About the Wizard King…"
"That's right! You heard me!" Asta snapped as he turned his head to the examinees. "I'm gonna become the Wizard King, you got it? Is there a problem with that?"
Most of the examinees merely laughed at Asta.
"He's officially nuts."
"Him? The Wizard King? Talk about delusions of grandeur."
"He's so out of touch with reality. I almost feel sorry for the guy."
"Withdrawal already, you dumb kid!"
"Who are you calling a dumb kid?" Asta retorted with a glare.
The recovery mages came with the stretcher. They placed an unconscious Sekke on the stretcher before carrying him away for a full recovery.
Vangeance silently looked at Asta, who walked his way and stood next to Mora.
The combat test continued on with the other examinees. Everyone watched as two nobles began fighting each other with Water Magic and Mud Magic, leaving them feeling very impressed on their faces.
"Wow, watching nobles fight is something else."
"Between their raw power and their training, they're unstoppable."
"Seeing the show they put on makes me think that runt from before was nothing to write home about."
"Right, the other guy was probably just careless, that's all."
"Whoa! So cool!" Asta exclaimed in awe.
"I'll say." Mora smiled.
Then, Mora and Asta turned their attention to Yuno, who was walking towards the field with a nobleman mage. He has fair skin, long blond hair tied back in a long ponytail with his bangs offset to the left, slanted green eyes, and pencil-thin blond eyebrows. He wore a white shawl over a light blue shirt with long sleeves, white trousers, and tan-colored boots. He also wore a pair of small stud earrings.
The examinees looked on with surprised faces.
"Hey, isn't that…?"
"Yeah, it's Salim."
"From House Hapshass."
Salem looked at Yuno's four-leaf clover grimoire with a chuckle.
"You may have been chosen by the four-leaf clover, but you're still a mere commoner." Salim said haughtily. "I'll just show you how superior we nobles are to your kind in rank and power. Oh, and wealth too, obviously."
Yuno didn't say a word as he and Salim faced one another in the middle of the field.
"Now, begin!" The referee said.
Salim began twirling his bangs.
"Having the opportunity to battle the great Salim de Hapshass. That alone is quite the honor." Salim said. "It will give you something to talk about when you return to your little village." He then opened up his three-leaf grimoire. "You won't go empty-handed. Take this as a souvenir. A special noble's move I call, Holy Lightning Rising Salim."
As Yuno opened up his grimoire, Salim created a large ball of lightning in front of himself.
"Yuno…" Asta muttered.
You can win this. Mora thought.
Salim laughed.
"I've arranged for your transportation home." Salim said with a chuckle.
With a thrust of their hand, Salim directed the lightning ball straight toward Yuno.
"Wind Magic: Towering Tornado!" Yuno casted.
Yuno generated a large powerful tornado in front of him, which blocked Salim's lightning ball. Salim suddenly found himself being lifted off the ground by the destructive power of Yuno's spell without giving him any chance of a counterattack. Salim screamed in pain as his own lightning ball was electrocuting him after being bounced off by Yuno's tornado. Then, Yuno's tornado evaporated and Salim crashed onto the floor.
That left the examinees gasping with shocked faces.
"He totally flattened a noble!"
"I can't believe it!"
"Whoa!" Asta exclaimed in shock.
Even Nozel and Vangeance looked silently impressed.
With a happy smile, Mora ran up and wrapped her arms around Yuno that caught everyone's attention.
"That was awesome, Yuno!" Mora beamed. "You were amazing!"
Yuno looked at Mora for a moment. He then looked away with a small smile on his face.
Then, a noblewoman approached Mora from behind. She has a tall and curvaceous figure with dark skin, knee-length dark green hair partly tied up in a high odango-bun while the rest hanging down freely and reddish-pink eyes. She wore a long-sleeved black collar shirt, black high-waist skirt with reddish purple shredded ends, and black open-toed heels.
"Hello, your name is Mora, isn't it?" The noblewoman spoke. "I've noticed you don't have a sparring partner, so you won't mind if you take me on."
"Sure." Mora said.
"Good luck. I'll be rooting for you." Yuno said to Mora.
Then, Yuno walked away, leaving Mora and the noblewoman to face each other in the middle of the field.
"Wait a minute. Is that what I think it is?"
"It's Amari!"
"From House Amamiya."
The examinees looked on with surprised faces.
"Now, begin!" The referee said.
You can do this, Mora. Asta and Yuno thought in unison.
Amari opened up her three-leaf grimoire.
"Serpent Avalanche!" Amari casted.
Amari created a pack of snakes made from solid ice in front of her. With a thrust of her arm, the icy snakes slithered forward at Mora with open fangs.
With a smirk, Mora opened up her grimoire and lifted her right arm.
"Butterfly Blitz!" Mora casted.
Mora summoned a circular swarm of fiery butterflies around her and sent them forward at fast speed. The fiery butterflies collided with the icy snakes, melting them all at once.
"Frost Storm!" Amari casted.
A large blue cloud formed over the field and rained a barrage of large balls of ice falling down onto Mora.
"Scarlet Flare!" Mora casted.
Mora created a large orange blazing butterfly above her and formed a massive fireball, blasting it upward that destroyed the lightning bolts and evaporated the storm cloud at the same time.
"Glaze Beam!" Amari casted.
Amari thrusted her hands forward and formed a large light blue ball of energy as she released an icy-cold beam of energy at Mora. Mora then moved her blazing butterfly forward and released a powerful blast of fire straight towards Amari at full speed. Both spells then shifted back and forth in a tug-of-war style. But Mora's fiery blast managed to surge through Amari's ice beam and made its way towards Amari at full speed.
So you really are the true wielder of the four leaf clover, after all. Amari thought with wide eyes.
The fire blast slammed and engulfed Amari whole, making her scream in pain.
Then, Mora snapped her fingers that evaporated her flames and sent Amari collapsing onto the floor.
All the examinees gasped with flabbergasted faces at what they just witnessed. But Asta and Yuno only looked on with huge grins on their faces.
"I can't believe what I'm seeing!"
"It's unbelievable!"
"She knocked out a noble!"
"No freaking way!"
"Hell yeah! That was awesome, Mora!" Asta shouted with a wide smile.
"Never doubt her for a second." Yuno muttered with a smile.
Even Vangeance looked very impressed.
So, there's another mage chosen by a four-leaf clover. Vangeance thought. But there's something about this one. Her mana is...interesting.
At the end of tests, all the examinees gathered towards the Magic Knight Captains under an early evening sky.
"That concludes the exam." Vangeance announced. "When your number is called, please step forward to learn your results."
"If a captain wants you on his or her squad, they will raise a hand. That means you're in." Charlotte explained as she rose from her seat. "If you do not wish to join a squad, you may, of course, decline. If you are admitted into more than one squad, it is up to you to decide which you will join."
"However, if no squad wants you, you will not be a Magic Knight." Fuegoleon added.
"In which case, you must leave at once." Nozel finished.
Mora clenched her hands by her sides, silently hoping that one or more captains would accept her into their squad.
"Examinee number one, step forward!" The staff mage called out.
"Uh, yes, sir!" The first examinee said.
One by one, every examinee got called out by their numbers. But none of the squad captains raised their hands.
"Number 32! No hands!"
"Number 40! No hands!"
"Number 45! No hands!"
"Number 67! No hands!"
So far, the first seventy examinees exited the stadium with no hands raised from the squad captains.
Nevertheless, examinee number seventy-one stepped forward and Gueldre raised his hand. That earned gasps from Mora and the rest of the examinees.
"Cool!" Asta said.
"First raised hand!" One examinee said.
"Lucky!" Another examinee said.
"Number 71! The Purple Orcas!" The staff mage announced.
After that, seven more examinees didn't receive a raising hand from the squad captains and took their exit from the stadium.
"Number 78…!" The staff mage called.
"We'll take this one!" Fuegoleon spoke as he raised his hand.
"The Crimson Lion Kings!" The staff mage said. "Number 99!"
The sleeping Dorothy raised her hand.
"The Coral Peacocks!" The staff mage said.
"Number 116! No hands!"
"Aw, man!" The male examinee cried as he fell to his knees.
"Number 141! No hands!"
Asta, Mora, and the rest of the examinees gasped.
"Yeah, that's pretty much what I expected." The male examinee sighed as he walked away. "Well, I guess the fields back home won't till themselves."
As the Magic Knight Exam results continued on, none of the examinees had passed.
"Number 150!"
Mora quietly stepped forward in front of the squad captains.
"Do we have any hands?" The staff mage called.
Then suddenly, all nine Magic Knight Captains raised their hands.
The examinees gasped with astonishment.
"No way!"
"All of them?"
"Impossible!"
"Has that ever happened?"
"I guess it's not just royalty and nobles who can get into the Golden Dawn."
"Wow, the Silver Eagles, too!"
"They all want this girl that came out of nowhere?"
Wow. I knew that Mora would pass the exam, but I never expected her to be chosen by not one, but all nine captains. Yuno thought to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Way a go, Mora! You totally earned it!" Asta shouted.
Mora carefully looked at the Magic Knight Captains.
Thanks to the info that Serena told me, the Crimson Lions have caught my attention, especially since the captain is a fire wielder just like me. But I'm trusting my vision in this one. Mora thought. Besides, vision nor not, I already know which squad will set me on the path to become the Magic Knight Captain.
Mora's eyes moved to Vangeance.
"I've decided to join the Golden Dawn." Mora declared.
The examinees gasped again.
In Mora's bag, Ares and Athena traded proud smiles for Mora's acceptance to the Golden Dawn.
Vangeance looked at Mora with a small smile.
"Well, well, well." Asta smirked as he nudged his elbows to Yuno's arm. "Looks like your girlfriend is joining the Golden Dawn, Yuno."
"Shut up, Asta." Yuno muttered.
Yuno looked at the smiling Mora and put a small smile on his face.
Afterwards, thirteen more examinees haven't received approving hands from the Magic Knight Captains.
"Number 164!"
"Here!" Yuno spoke as he clutched his necklace.
Yuno stepped forward in front of the squad captains.
"Do we have any hands?" The staff mage called.
Then suddenly, all nine Magic Knight Captains raised their hands.
The examinees gasped with bewildered faces.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"This cannot be!"
"Another commoner is being chosen by the entire nine captains?!"
Yes, Yuno's in! Mora grinned.
"Whoa! They all want him? Way to show 'em, Yuno!" Asta shouted. "That's my rival for you!"
Yuno carefully looked at the Magic Knight Captains.
I have to choose the squad that offers me the best path to becoming the Wizard King. Yuno thought.
Then, Yuno moved his eyes towards Vangeance.
"It would be an honor to join the Golden Dawn." Yuno declared.
The examinees exclaimed in surprise.
Vangeance looked at Yuno with a small smile.
Just like my vision! Mora thought with wide eyes. He's joining the Golden Dawn just like me!
"Next number 165!" The staff mage shouted.
Asta stepped up to the squad captains.
You got this, Asta. Mora thought with a slightly nervous face.
I've come this far. I can't let Yuno pull ahead now. Someone, please pick me. Asta thought.
"Do we have any hands?" The staff mage asked.
I don't care which squad. Raise a hand, any hand! Asta pleaded.
But none of the squad captains raised their hands.
"Number 165…no hands!" The staff mage announced.
Asta's eyes widened with a dejected face.
"It can't be." Asta muttered as he stood motionless in place.
"Come on, outta the way! I'm up next! It's over!" One of the examinees yelled.
"I'm not done." Asta mumbled. "Not yet."
"Have some pride!" Another examinee yelled.
"Oh, shut up!" Mora yelled as she turned around and glared at the remaining examinees. "Say one more thing to my friend and I will…!"
"Mora, don't." Yuno mumbled as he grabbed Mora's left arm.
"I…I…I'm not…" Asta said shakily with a clenching fist.
"It's no real surprise, is it?"
Asta, Mora, Yuno, and the remaining examinees immediately turned their heads to see Yami standing up from his seat.
"No matter how great your skill in battle might be, no one wants to touch a power that mysterious." Yami continued as he looked down at Asta. "People aren't fond of the unknown. It boils down to this, what the captains are looking for here is magic power. That simple."
Then suddenly, Yami unleashed his powerful mana that was surrounding his whole body. His powerful mana began shaking the ground and darkened the sky.
Asta and Mora yelped shockingly while the examinees backed away with fearful gasps. Even Yuno was shocked by the sight of Yami's increasing mana.
Yami then jumped down from the balcony and landed on the ground below. He merely stared at Asta with a growl, but Asta didn't falter at the captain's intimidating presence.
It's like magic is coming off him in waves. Asta thought to himself as he watched Yami walking over towards him. This is it. The power of a Magic Knight Captain.
Yami stood in front of Asta.
"What would anyone ever want with you? A kid with zero magic. You might as well face the facts." Yami stated. "What you said before. That you took the exam 'cause you wanna become the Wizard King. You get what that means, right? If that's really your goal, you're gonna have to prove that you're better than all nine Magic Knight captains. And now, standing here magicless and pathetic, can you really say you have what it takes? That you're strong enough to be the Wizard King?"
Asta gasped at Yami's question, but he clenched his fist and stood his ground.
"Yeah, fine. So, maybe I won't be able to join the Magic Knights squad today. But no matter what anyone says…and no matter how many times I might stumble…I won't give up! I will become the Wizard King!" Asta declared.
Yami kept staring at Asta's determined face for a moment. Once his mana slowly extinguished, he started to smile and released a laid-back laugh.
"You know, kid. I like you." Yami said. "Come join our crew."
"Wha…?" Asta spoke with a blank look on his face.
The remaining examinees murmured in disbelief. Yuno and Mora, on the other hand, slightly smiled.
"Quit gapin' like a fish. I'm sayin' I'll let you into the Black Bulls." Yami said. He gave Asta a death glare on his face. "By the way, you don't get to say no, got it?"
"What?" Asta said.
"And it won't be a picnic." Yami warned with a smile. "We're gonna put you through the wringer till you don't recognize yourself. So get ready."
Yami laughed again.
"What?!" Asta exclaimed.
"And then, once we're done, you go and become the Wizard King." Yami said calmly.
Asta gasped with a blown-away face.
"Right!" Asta nodded.
Yuno and Mora looked at Asta with a small smile on their faces.
The sky had turned dusk as the results of the Magic Knight Entrance Exam still continued.
"Number 512, no hands!" The staff mage announced. "Thank you, this concludes the Magic Knight Entrance Exam!"
With that, all the failed examinees already began heading back home with disappointed faces.
Later that night, Mora and Yuno approached Asta.
"Asta." Yuno called out.
"You two are Golden Dawn and I'm Black Bulls." Asta said with a determined smile. "The real battle starts now."
"Yeah. We'll see who…" Yuno smiled back.
Suddenly, Asta's stomach started rumbling and interrupted Yuno's words.
With wide eyes, Asta quickly spun around and ran away with an urgent scream.
"Damn! I really have to poop!" Asta shouted urgently. "Oh, God, is that grilled violetsnake I ate earlier coming back for revenge?"
"Dang, what exactly did he eat when you guys got here?" Mora asked.
"Long story, but it's best if you don't know." Yuno replied. "I'm surprised you didn't use your spirits to help you during the exam."
"Well, I didn't think it would be fair for you, Asta, and everyone if they help me." Mora said with a shrug. "I'm pretty sure that would be considered cheating."
"Fair enough when you put it that way." Yuno agreed.
Yuno placed his hand on Mora's shoulder.
"Mora, you and I are now new members of the Golden Dawn." Yuno said seriously. "That means the two of us will have to work extra hard to reach our goals, no matter what."
"You got that right." Mora smiled. "I'm ready for any challenge that comes in our way."
Yuno smiled back at Mora's determination. But he saw something that caught his attention.
"What is it, Yuno?" Mora asked. "Is there something wrong?"
"I'll be back. I'm gonna check on Asta." Yuno responded.
"Okay." Mora said. "I'm gonna treat myself to some food before we meet Captain Vangeance."
Mora dashed off to the food stands, leaving Yuno to walk away to the bathroom stalls.