A/N In the words of Constantine Jacobs (The mummy looking guy from Race Against Time) "I'm not dead". More to be said on the delays later on, but without further ado, chapter six of Black Clover!


The light of the sun began peeking in through the windows into the church, the only other light being the soft green glow of the Omnitrix emanating from Asta's wrist as it awaited use. The orphans had rather cramped accommodations, with the youngest four sharing a single rather cramped futon and the only blanket. Meanwhile, Asta and Yuno each had their own futon on either side, the wind mage's grimoire laying close by to his hand.

A sunbeam finally grazed across the face of the wielder of the Omnitrix, stirring him from his slumber as he parted his dry lips. He slowly raised his head from his pillow, rubbing his eyes before stretching his arms above his head as he let out a rather loud yawn, always forgetting he shared the room. Now sufficiently awake, he grabbed his belt (hoverboard and plumbers badge still attached) and jacket, which were lying next to the futon, nudging Yuno awake briefly before exiting the room. He made his way to the kitchen, quickly making himself a basic meal and guzzling down a few cups of water. Now energized for the day to come, he began scrounging around for a few snacks and his canteen, which was surprisingly still filled with foul-tasting moguro leaf juice. He knew they wouldn't enhance his non-existent mana reserves, but he had to admit, he'd grown a liking for the drink over the years.

He turned, rushing towards the church's exit before looking down at the two teal crystal swords resting near the doorframe. The extraterrestrial forged weapons now bore cheap leather straps around the grips, each with a small slip of colored cloth fastened by the straps to differentiate them. He quickly snatched the one with the strip of green fabric, swiftly depositing it in the rather cheap-looking holster he'd made for himself on his belt.

Now outside, he took a moment to appreciate another beautiful morning in Hage village, the oranges of the sky perfectly framing the ever-looming silhouette of the demon's skull. He released his breath before he began sprinting down the same path he'd taken nearly every day for the past six months. Not stopping, he raised the dial for the Omnitrix, taking only a second to check the dial before slamming it down.

He could feel his arms grow in size and strength as the Omnitrix began working its magic, pumping his bloodstream full of alien DNA. He could feel the skin on his arms bubble as thick orange fur began to steadily emerge from his pores. His head began to itch as his hair grew completely out of control, practically overflowing his headband as it began to drape down in front of his face as it gained a slight orange hue. Finally, the few visions of sunlight he could see through his shaggy hair began to fade as his eyes vanished.

"This is it." Asta thought as he continued barreling down the path to his training ground on all fours. "Only a few days before we leave for the exam."

His thoughts drifted to everything he'd been reading about on the extranet. He could hardly believe how many different kinds of Aliens there were, and according to rumors he'd read about the Omnitrix, he could turn into any one of them! Unfortunately, he hadn't managed to accomplish much. He'd only managed to get the badge to function properly away from the town, which was good since he wouldn't be risking the existence of Aliens. He wasn't foolish enough to expose Aliens that easily, even if this planet already had similar magical tools. He'd promised Tetrax that he wouldn't, and he never broke a promise.

The other problem sadly stemmed from his own limitations; he wasn't exactly the brightest or fastest reader, especially when operating something he'd never used in his life. Even when he did manage to find something, he could barely understand what half of the words he was reading meant! He tried to be diligent in his studies, but he kept drifting back to his physical training, barely managing to research the basics on the forms he had.

He drifted out of his thoughts as he arrived at the demon's skull. It was time to give each Alien 200% a day!


6 days remaining

After recharging, Asta chose to start with Eyeguy. He looked towards the nearest demon rib before firing as many shots as possible. He'd been working on this ever since he'd acquired the form. Firing all the eyes on his arms at once was strong, but he couldn't fire them for too long before he'd needed to blink as his eyes quickly dried. Not to mention that he couldn't swap an eye element while it was firing.

The volley of elements finished as Asta breathed heavily, with all his eyes visibly dry and strained as they closed. He steadied his breath, straightening his stance as his eyes reopened, resuming the assault. He continued this process until he timed out, immediately doing some push-ups to pass the time between transformations. He selected Eyeguy again, now taking the time to blink, again and again, every eye changing a different color with each blink.

The day neared its end as Asta finished off his canteen, satisfied with how far he was coming with his forms and his own body.

6 days remaining

Asta quickly got off his hoverboard as he approached his destination, Alnwick lake. He stashed his belt and jacket nearby before dialing up Ripjaws. He walked back a little before running full speed as he jumped right before touching the water. In midair, he slammed down the dial, splashing down into the depths as Ripjaws.

There wasn't much he thought he could improve on here, but swimming was still a great physical activity to build up his stamina. As he swam, he noticed some of the remains of fishing vessels. He approached one before taking a massive bite out of it with his powerful jaws before slashing another piece with his claws. He continued to do so to many other nearby shipwrecks, getting faster with each swing of his arms.

The noise disturbed the lake's apex predator as the Kraken came by to investigate. Asta simply waved a hand, hoping the Kraken remembered him. It did, copying Asta's hand motion with its mouth tentacles before swimming back in the direction of its nest. He smiled, thinking back on his good deeds before looking for more lake garbage to rip to shreds.

5 days remaining

One of the most surprising things Asta learned was about the form he'd begun calling XLR8 (after Sister Lily's suggestion). Apparently, they were born with natural protection to stop their eyes from being hurt at high speeds.

After his near-death fall, he got an idea for an attack he could utilize. After transforming, he lowered his headband over his yellow eyes. He then ran as fast as possible in a small circle, generating a tornado around him. Things were going great until the vortex sucked up a nearby rock that collided with his hybrid shin, sending him crashing into a nearby demon rib.

"Ow," XLR8 cried as he pulled up his headband before rubbing his back. "Note to self. Don't use this with small objects around."

He brought himself back to his feet, stretching his shoulders before attempting the move again.

"But I'm not going to let that stop me!" He yelled before he began creating another vortex.

4 days remaining

This time Asta decided to train nearby the church, asking for help from Recca, Lily, and surprisingly Nash. He could only do so much by himself, especially for his most beastly form.

"Ready, guys?!" Wildmutt growled as his knuckles dragged against the ground, "Give me everything you've got!"

"If you insist!" Nash yelled as he threw a rock towards the Vulpimancer hybrid.

Wildmutt's gills quickly flared, showing something flying at him from his right. His muscles sprang into action, jumping to the left as the rock sailed past him.

"Gonna have to be faster than that!" Wildmutt mocked before dodging a small ball of water thrown to his left.

"He's too fast!" Recca shouted, smiling somewhat as she enjoyed the time with her family. "Sister, help me pin him down!"

Lily nodded her head in agreement as her blue grimoire began to glow as she said, "Nash, you too!"

Nash quickly grabbed another rock and created a small ball of flame in his other hand. Wildmutt growled as his muscles tensed in anticipation, sensing every slight muscle movement his family made. After what seemed like an eternity to Wildmutt, the group finally began their coordinated assault.

Wildmutt jumped back as Recca's projectile went sailing by before ducking as Nash's rock sailed overhead. He couldn't relax yet, as he narrowly dodged the ball of flame Nash had thrown by rolling to the side. His gills flared up again, alerting him to the looming threat above him. A giant fist of water was now hovering right above before quickly descending upon the wannabe magic knight. They'd cornered him.

The fist collided with Asta, quickly losing its shape as it dispersed over the grass. Asta growled as he began shaking off the water like the dog he was. His "assailants" gathered together, giving each other high fives.

"That's one point for us!" Nash cried out with a genuine smile on his face.

"Up for a rematch?" Asta growled as he crawled over.

"You bet!" The three replied.

3 days remaining

Ghostfreak was today's focus. Asta had read that an ectonurite is capable of flight! He never would have thought about trying to fly with that form! Thanks to his training, he climbed his way to the top of the demon's skull rather quickly. He looked over at the statue of the first Wizard King, appreciating its finer details up close.

He turned his head towards the village before slamming down the dial.

"Well…" Ghostfreak hissed, "Here goes nothing!" Asta took a running start before jumping off the skull. The wind rushed past him as the ground grew ever closer, his one eye-widening more and more by the second.

"C'mon, fly already!" Ghostfreak screamed out before covering his eye with his hand, "I don't want to die!"

A second passed, and then another. His eye blinked a few times before he removed his hand. He was levitating in midair, his face just a foot above the ground.

"I can't believe it! I...I really can fly!" Ghostfreak exclaimed in joy before he suddenly dropped to the ground. He tried to replicate it again, doing a quick jump to try and gain some air and was only met with a slow descent towards the ground. "Okay...more floating than flying…But I can work with this!"

2 Days Remaining

Asta had been thinking back to the fight with the bounty hunters, specifically the moves that Tetrax had performed. Generating crystals out of the ground seemed pretty helpful, considering the shields he'd seen the petrosapien make.

Diamondhead sat in the forest, hands on the ground. He'd been trying for over a month now to try and replicate the move, and he was running out of time. He'd even messaged Tetrax about it. The bounty hunter said it was all about being one with the ground around you and willing it into existence.

So Asta's been spending every Diamondhead transformation, imagining the crystals emerging from the ground. Sadly, it was already nearing midday with no progress.

"Ugh!" Diamondhead said, throwing his hands up in frustration, "I'm getting nowhere with this! I've gotta be missing something!"

He pulled the plumber's badge off his belt, pulling up the message Tetrax had sent him.

"Being one with the ground around you… maybe if I…." He put the badge back before taking the same stance he'd been in before. This time, he dug his fingers slightly into the ground as well, taking a moment to visualize the crystals growing.

A slight rumbling was heard as patches of crystals grew from the ground.

"Finally!" Diamondhead celebrated, immediately trying to grow another, creating an even larger patch of crystals.

1 Day Remaining

Asta stared down at the Omnitrix. The dial was raised as he hesitated to slam down the core.

He hadn't used Heatblast once in the past six months. The feeling of burning his own skin still seared into his mind.

He shook those thoughts away, turning the dial back to Eye-Guy. He then spent the rest of the day refreshing himself on what he'd learned from his other forms.


That night, at Hage church

"Wow!" Aruru and Holo exclaimed, excited to dig into the feast before them.

The church had all gathered for dinner, with Lily, Orfai, and Recca preparing a vast feast of tatoes laid out over the table. There was barely any room left for the drinks or silverware due to all the food.

"Asta and Yuno are finally heading to the capital tomorrow. We have to send them off with a bang!" Orfai explained to the youngest members of the church.

"Father went around asking for any tatoes they could spare from everyone in the village," Lily explained as she brought out another plate from the kitchen, barely fitting it onto the already crowded table.

Asta's eyes sparkled at the kind display of his father figure, his mouth salivating at the feast fit for a Wizard King. "Thank you, father!"

"What's that look for?" Orfai replied, "This isn't just for you!"

Nash nodded his head in agreement as Orfai walked over to Asta.

"Being honest, Yuno might make it into the magic knights. But you…." Orfai explained, turning away before he could finish the last part, as a slight frown grew on his face.

"Father!" Asta replied as he stood up, surprised that his caretaker's opinion still hadn't changed. Even after all the good he did stopping Zombozo and saving the Kraken, Orfai still thought he didn't have what it takes. Just what would it take to convince the old man that he wouldn't stop trying to be Wizard King no matter what?

Orfai brought his hand down on Asta's shoulder. His face now bore a serious but understanding look. "Asta, there's no need to feel embarrassed if you fail," he explained. "Barely anyone believes you'd pass anyways."

Asta's face grew frustrated as he backed away from Orfai as he crossed his arms, "Are you trying to encourage me or make fun of me?!"

"I'm just being realistic, Asta. You have no magic and no grimoire. Even with the letter, there's no guarantee they'll even let you enter the exam."

Asta was about to interject before Orfai stopped him. "What I want you to know is, you're always welcome here, Asta. No matter how crappy or poor it may be, this church is your home."

Recca chimed in from across the table. "He's right, Asta! We'll always be here for you. Just like you were for us!"

"I'll be really lonely without Asta here, though…." Aruru mentioned with a sad look on her face, "Yuno, too!"

Asta was feeling conflicted. On the one hand, he genuinely appreciated the words from his siblings, and on the other, it still felt like nobody believed he could really do it. He pointed across the table to Yuno. "Shouldn't you tell him that he can come back whenever he wants as well?"

"Nah," Orfai let out with a light chuckle, "He'll be fine."

"I know that already!" Asta replied, irritated, "Besides, I'll be fine too! I'm gonna become the wizard king, then come back to marry Lily!"

Immediately a giant water arm with a glowing cross on the wrist materialized, slamming Asta into a nearby wall. Lily was standing nearby, grimoire open in one hand and the other mimicking the aggressive punch the arm just made. She turned back to the rest of the table, ignoring Asta immediately.

"All right then, let's eat!" She said, clapping her hands together with a smile, "We have stewed tatoes, tato tempura, grilled tatoes, fried tatoes, stir-fried tatoes, steamed tatoes, Hage-style boil tatoes, tato juice, and even special tato pudding!"

"Let's eat!" cried out the children as they began digging into the feast before them. Asta quickly followed as he pried himself out of the wall.

The family eventually made their way to bed early, equally due to Asta and Yuno needing to leave early tomorrow and from the delicious food they'd finished consuming. Asta laid on his futon turned away from the others in the room, hoping not to disturb them. He stared into the Omnitrix, taking in the green glow it emitted in the dark, an echo of the power that dwelt within, ready to be unleashed as the push of a button.

"Don't worry." Asta reassured with a whisper, "We've worked too hard to fail so close to our goal, and I couldn't do this without you. Thanks for everything."

He smiled before drifting off to sleep.


The next morning

Everyone was outside the church, seeing the boys off on their trip. Yuno was carrying a simple satchel bag, while Asta was carrying a sack backpack over his shoulder. Both had their sword sheathed on their belts, with Asta displaying his plumber badge rather proudly on it as well, while Yuno's was hidden away in his bag.

"Take care, you two," Orfai said as he handed Asta the envelope given to him by the tower master. "Don't open it, Asta."

"You better write us plenty of letters, Yuno," Recca said with a smile.

"Sure," Yuno said, nodding happily at his siblings' sentiment.

"Good luck!" Aruru cried as she ran up to Yuno, quickly giving him a hug before doing the same with Asta. Holo promptly followed suit, almost tripping on his way back to Sister Lily's side.

"Don't worry. Asta will be back soon." Nash joked with a neutral expression.

"Hey!" Asta complained. After all the times he'd saved people already, Nash still thought of him like that?

"But you know…." Nash said, walking up to Asta, "If you do get into the magic knights, and that's a very huge if…." A smile formed on his face as he brought his fists up in excitement. "I'll believe in people's possibilities and that I can become anything! And then one day, I'll join the Magic Knights, too!"

He immediately turned his head away from Asta, a little embarrassed about what he'd said: "Never mind."

"We'll be waiting for you!" Asta smiled as Nash crossed his arms in a huff.

"Well, I'll be off," Yuno said nonchalantly, turning and beginning his journey to the capital.

Asta immediately turned around, rushing a couple of steps to be next to him before matching his pace. "Wait up, Yuno! Just because we're rivals doesn't mean we can't get along!"

Yuno replied by hastening his pace, much to Asta's annoyance.

"Hey!" He protested before turning to say his goodbyes to his family, waving his right arm. "Well, bye, guys!"

Everyone but Nash waved their arms as well. "Have a safe trip!"

Nash's arms were crossed as he turned away, "See ya."

Yuno and Asta were growing distant now, as the sun was peeking out from behind the royal capital far in the distance.

Hage village seemed small in the distance behind them as the duo entered the forest leading to the capital. The sounds of the forest filled their ears as a familiar bluebird flew past them.

"The royal capital, huh? I wonder what it's like," Asta said, trying to make conversation. "I wonder if we'll get to meet the Wizard King!"

"First, we need to pass the entrance exam. Then we'll talk about that." Yuno replied, trying to keep focus on the task before him.

"I'm just so excited! I can't help but imagine all the things to come!" Asta replied, his smile seemingly growing wider by the second.

Yuno turned to look at him, somewhat surprised by his response, "Excited? Aren't you scared of failing?"

"Huh? Why would I be?" quickly replied the Omnitrix wielder. "I've done tons of training with the Omnitrix, and I'd only be hurting myself to think like that."

"You never change, do you?" replied the wind mage with a smirk.

"Come on, let's hurry!" Asta encouraged as he started sprinting. "The royal capital's super far away! I've gotta hurry up and become wizard king!"

"Getting there early won't make you Wizard King any faster." Yuno rebuked, maintaining his current pace.

Asta slipped into his thoughts. He imagined himself flying in on a broom to meet Lily by the entrance to the church. He was now wearing pristine white clothes with golden accents and a red cuff around his right wrist. The Omnitrix's signature black was now replaced by a gaudy-looking Gold. He had a deep blue cape that flowed in the wind. Finally, around his neck was a red ruff, like many nobles in the kingdom tend to wear. The front of the broom mimicked the head of a white horse.

"Wow, Asta!" The imaginary Lily swooned as she sparkled. "You look so impressive!"

"My Lily!" Asta declared in a deeper voice, "I came for you, just as I promised!" He held his hand out to her before motioning her to join him on the back of his broom.

Imaginary Lily was in tears as she accepted his offer. The two swiftly soared into the sky above the clouds, flying off into the sunset. A perfect happily ever after.

Asta was now standing on the hoverboard as Yuno looked at him in disapproval. Apparently, he'd said all of that out loud.

"Hey!" Asta protested the look on Yuno's face. "It could happen!"

"Riding Alien technology and still fantasizing about riding a broom?" Yuno verbally jabbed, knocking Asta entirely out of his daydream and off his board in shock. Asta quickly got up, laughing somewhat at the situation.

"I'll make it work somehow, though," Asta replied as he sheathed his hoverboard, a smile still on his face. "Ooh, maybe I could make a hoverboard that looked like a broom!"

"And how would you do that?" Yuno questioned.

"I'll make it work."

"You will?"

"I will! I've got the Omnitrix!" he said as he playfully nudged his left arm into yuno. "I can do anything with it as long as I don't give up."

He began sprinting forwards with a determined look on his face. "Come on, hurry up! I'm gonna leave you behind! Let's train all the way to the capital!"

"You can't be serious." Yuno scowled as he began sprinting after his rival, not wanting to be outdone.

Eventually, the duo was completely out of breath, and Asta was barely standing while Yuno was already on the ground, panting.

"Not done yet… Not yet!" Asta let out before he grabbed his bag off the ground before immediately bolting down the path again, pushing through the pain with a smile on his face.

Almost immediately, the two needed rest once again. Yuno choose to rest on a nearby rock, drinking from his canteen. Asta was sprawled out across the stone floor.

"Stop." Yuno said as he finished taking a large gulp of water, "We've got a long way to go."

Asta got up and began running again, his teeth grit in determination as he went against all the signals to rest his body was sending him. "Not yet! I'm not done yet!"

However, he wasn't moving at all. Yuno had grabbed onto the end of his shirt, quickly stopping the more exhausted Asta from moving before eventually pulling him backward and into a nearby rock. Asta took the hint, shaking off the blow before sitting down and taking a sip from his own canteen, stretching his other arm in the meantime.

Rain was falling upon the rivals. Yuno made an umbrella out of his wind magic, keeping himself nice and dry. Asta, meanwhile, had transformed into Ripjaws, the hybrid not minding the feeling of water against his scales and gills, smiling with a sharp grin the entire time as they trudged through the muddy path.

Later in the night, the two were camping out. Asta was fast asleep on his mat as Yuno read through his grimoire, not wanting to waste any time this close to the exam. Asta rolled a little too close to the fire, immediately darting awake from the heat. He quickly grabbed the nearest canteen, which was unfortunately Yuno's, and doused himself with the water inside before checking his hair for flames.

The next day a wild boar had attacked the two of them. It was quickly dispatched by a blow from Asta's sword, who had already used up his transformation with Ghostfreak after crossing a broken rope bridge. The two worked together, with Asta skinning the boar while Yuno set up a makeshift spit to roast it. The two then each took a piece from their dinner.

"I wish everyone back at the church could eat this, too!" Asta said after taking a bite out of his piece. Savoring the taste of the juicy meat. He had to admit, catching your own food made it taste much better.

Yuno nodded in agreement, smiling as he enjoyed the meal. It was nice to finally have some variety in his diet. He felt the tatoes had lost all taste after the first couple of years of eating them.

The two eventually found themselves at a crossroads covered in fog. Asta immediately transformed into Wildmutt, his gills flexing as he searched for anything useful. Several different people's scents were scattered about the area, but they all crossed and lingered at one point.

"Yuno, over there!" Asta growled as he pointed a clawed finger through the fog.

Yuno approached the fog, raising his hands as it glowed with mana, before unleashing a burst of wind on the area. The mist quickly scattered from the bellowing spell, revealing a sign as the winds died down. He proceeded along the right path to the capital, Asta trudging alongside him on all fours.

A while later, the two were making their way through a pass as the ground began to shake, nearly causing them to lose balance. Boulders began tumbling down the cliff face towards them. Asta quickly transformed into Diamondhead, transforming his arms into blades before slicing through any boulder unfortunate enough to cross his path. The last three boulders were about to strike, each bigger than the last. His swords were about to make contact before a sharp wind current tore all three to shreds.

"Stay out of my way, Yuno!" Diamondhead replied as his arms reformed from blades, "I had them!"

"I just gave you a hand." Yuno proclaimed, stashing his grimoire back into its pouch.

"Well, no one asked you to!" Diamondhead complained as he grabbed his dropped sack, careful not to accidentally slice the bag open on his arms.

The day was growing shorter, prompting the two to find some food. Luckily a nearby river was filled with fish. Asta transformed into XLR8, quickly grabbing a dozen fish with his speed while Yuno sucked up a similar amount with his wind magic. It grew into a competition, leaving them with more fish than either of them could eat, and the river practically empty.

The next day, the two were trekking through a desert. Asta took a swing of his canteen before handing it back to Yuno, who gladly accepted, having already run out of water on his own.

He took a swing, his eyes widening in shock as he spat out the green liquid.

"No! My precious moguro leaf juice!" Asta replied in pain, seeing his own supplies be wasted.

The two eventually made it out of the desert, running through the forest that came after to make up for the lost time. After making it far enough, the two turned in for the night.

The duo walked up a rocky hill. Yuno pulled ahead of Asta, who was hobbling along trying to get a rock out of his shoe, before coming to a stop at the top. Asta soon came up after, confused as to why his rival had stopped.

"What's the matter, Yuno?" Asta asked before his eyes widened at sight before them.

In front of them was the royal capital, sitting high atop the spiraling mountain they'd stared at longingly since they were children. The city's houses were barely visible over the walls of the massive city. Even further above was the castle, home to the wizard king standing tall above all, the sun glowing brilliantly behind it. The capital now seemed more forbidding than ever, its shadow completely engulfing them.

Yuno had to admit, he was feeling a bit nervous seeing it this close. Which was a bit funny to him, considering he'd been on an Alien ship before. Barely anyone from hage knew what lay within, let alone what the upper rings of the royals were like.

"Whoa, it's huge!" Asta said in awe, his jaw practically on the ground as his eyes darted around, trying to take in the sight before him. "So that's the royal capital, huh?"

"All right! I'll be right there! Just you wait!" He yelled before running down the hill at max speed, "I'm gonna become the Wizard King in no time!"


Inside the Royal Capital

This city ring had hundreds of houses, with more people bustling about the streets. The roads were filled with stalls selling all kinds of wares. The boys had barely made it into the city before they were swept up in the fast-paced nature of the capital. The people going about their day stringing the boys along and into the city's market district.

"Whoa!" Asta said, raising his hand over his eyes, a delighted look on his face. "This is awesome!"

Many stall owners were using magic to create and advertise their goods, one creating flowers in a vase from nothing, while another made pink liquid appear in a potion bottle before handing it to a customer. Near our duo, a man was cutting an apple, except he held it and the knife in midair with a glowing silver aura.

"One sec!" A man shouted from across the road. He was roasting a piece of meat bigger than them. It was covered in orange flames spewing from the man's hand. "It's almost done roasting."

"That looks so good!" Asta yelled in joy as a woman holding fish in a square of magic water passed by, almost tripping as the fish attempted to escape.

Asta's eye was caught by a nearby display, showing off brooms and all kinds of items a mage would need to go about their day in the clover kingdom.

"Wow!" Asta exclaimed as he ran up to get a closer look. "They have so many different items!" He took a closer look at the price tag, shocked by how many zeroes they had as a slight frown grew on his face. "But they're so expensive."

Yuno walked up behind him, taking in the sights as well, trying to maintain his stalwart composure. "It's so different from our village."

Asta's eyes drifted away from the display, eventually landing on the sight of the castle overlooking the city.

"That's where the Wizard King lives?" Asta questioned, his brain slightly fried from his senses being overloaded.

"And probably the king, too."

"So that means it'll be my castle someday." Asta smiled at the thought, nearly drifting back into his imagination before he was interrupted.

"You mean mine," Yuno replied confidently.

"Don't worry." Asta let out a small laugh. "I'll let you live there, too."

Yuno smiles, "That's my line."

They both were distracted as they heard a baby begin crying out. They turned, seeing a redheaded teen carrying large bags of groceries with a baby strapped onto her back. She was followed by a young girl and boy bearing the same hair color.

"There there. Don't cry." The woman reassured the baby, "Let's hurry back and get ready to open the shop."

"Reminds me of everyone back at home." Asta commented before putting his arms behind his head as he smiled, letting out a small chuckle, "I'm sure Sister and the others are lonely now that I'm gone."

"Not a chance," Yuno replied bluntly before continuing down the road towards the stadium where the exam would be held. Asta doing his best to catch up through the dense crowd.


Back at the church

Nash lit the fire below the outdoor grill with his magic; before setting a nearby pot down on the grate above. "Ah, it's so nice and quiet now." He raised his arm, whipping the sweat off his forehead, "What a relief to have Asta gone."

Sister Lily was nearby, hanging laundry to dry on the line. "Oh, there you go about him again."

"I-I really mean it!" Nash shouted, looking over at her, a tinge of embarrassment sneaking onto his face.

"They've probably reached the capital by now. I hope the exam goes well." Lily said worriedly as she brought a hand up to her face.

"M-me too," Nash whispered as he watched the pot boil.

"Huh?"

"N-nothing!" Nash exclaimed as he got up, running away to finish the rest of his chores.


Back at the Capital

Asta took a bite out of the snake he'd acquired, swallowing the strange snack before turning to Yuno, "So where do they hold the exam anyways?"

Yuno raised his arm and pointed towards the coliseum. "Over there." He turned back to Asta, a look of disgust donning his face as he noticed the food he'd acquired. "What's that?"

"Grilled purple snake. It was super cheap."

Yuno looked back towards the stall he'd gotten it from. A short old woman in a purple cloak was sitting next to a pot. Inside, three more purple snake skewers were cooking in what appeared to be ash.

"Anyone wants some grilled purple snakes that I happened to catch somewhere?" the old woman shouted in a sweet voice, trying to sell her goods.

"Want some?" Asta said as he leaned the skewer over to Yuno with a look of satisfaction.

"No," Yuno replied nonchalantly, not even looking at it as he increased his pace.

"She said it's super nutritious and will give you lots of energy!"

"Not a chance. C'mon," Yuno said as he turned off the main road. "This way."

The stone coliseum was massive, standing taller than every other building in the district. In front, a large banner proudly displayed the wizard king's colors and the symbol of the clover kingdom. Hundreds of applicants were gathered in front, waiting for their turn to get inside. Soon, they began funneling people into the entrances, fences lining the walkway to give the applicants plenty of breathing room from the crowd. Said crowd were all shouting encouragement towards the future generation of knights, hoping to catch a glance at a future star of the kingdom.

"Do your best on the exam!"

"You are the Clover Kingdon's hope!"

"The future of the kingdom is in your hands!"

"Stay focused!"

Asta waved an arm up in excitement as he passed through. "I'll do my best!"

Yuno walked in front, muttering to himself, "You don't know him...You don't know him".

Inside, people went into lines to have their grimoires inspected and be given their number.

The receptionist took a hand to someone's grimoire, glowing with white light until he brought his hand down. He quickly scribbled something down before handing it to another worker behind him for filling. "You're number 163. Next!"

Yuno walked up. "I'm Yuno from hage Village."

"Yuno from Hage… Could I see your grimoire?"

Yuno put his grimoire down at the desk. A few onlookers gasped in surprise as they caught a glance at one of the rarest oddities in the kingdom.

"A-a four-leaf clover!" The receptionist replied in shock.

"So that's who everyone's talking about." Another worker replied from behind the counter.

The people behind Yuno and Asta were amazed as well.

"Hey, that grimoire…" a boy in orange said

"Is it really a four-leaf clover?!" asked a boy with black hair.

"Wow!" whispered a girl in light blue.

"You're number 164. All right, next!" the receptionist said as he waved Asta up as put Yuno's papers aside for filling.

Asta immediately handed him the letter he was given by the tower master. The receptionist gave him a skeptical look as he picked up the letter. He turned it over, noticing the red wax seal used to keep the letter's contents safe. It bore one of the most recognizable symbols in the royal capital.

"This...This is from the wizard king!" he exclaimed in shock as he examined the envelope, making sure he wasn't seeing things. He quickly opened the letter, scanning it multiple times as the people behind Asta whispered to each other.

"I see." The receptionist said as they put the letter back in its envelope before handing it to Asta, "So you're Asta from Hage village. We actually have a spot reserved for you." He reached over, grabbing another piece of paper before handing it to Asta. "You'll be number 10. I also have this note for you."

Asta couldn't believe everything he'd heard. That letter was from the wizard king himself. Did he know about him and was helping him take the exam?! He graciously took the letter and note, thanking the receptionist before walking off to join Yuno and put his stuff away. He was feeling even more confident in his chances of getting into the magic knights, not noticing the device on his wrist begin to spark green ever so slightly as he opened the note given to him.

"Dear Asta,

After hearing about your unique "situation," I've decided to allow you to utilize all your abilities during the coming rounds of the magic knight entrance exam. Usually, that's reserved for the last challenge, but I don't see the harm in letting you show off a little! Consider it as thanks for all your help over the last six months. All the necessary parties have been informed.

Good luck,

Wizard King J.N"

Another examinee approached as Asta ran off. He was wearing a long purple coat with a green shirt and light grey pants. He had green eyes and dirty blond hair held back by a black hairpiece. "Buh-ha! Someone from the boonies getting a letter from the Wizard King?! He must be a real go-getter then, Buh-ha!"


Inside the stadium, people were gathered all about. Some trying to make some friends, others attempting to scope out the competition.

"Man, I'm getting really nervous." An applicant in lavender said.

Out of nowhere, a ton of bluebirds descended upon the arena.

"Hey, ow! What the heck are these birds?!" A teen in tall green complained

"Oh. Those are the infamous anti-birds of the exam." another in red explained.

"Really? These things?" the green one questioned as he tried to wave one away.

"Yep. The weaker your magic power, the more these guys flock to you." The red one elaborated.

"Little pests…Hey, look at that guy!"

Not a single bird had gone near Yuno, who was standing alone near the center of the coliseum.

"Hey, it's the guy from earlier!" one applicant exclaimed.

"He's from some remote village called Hage," A boy in teal elaborated, "yet he's got a four-leaf grimoire!"

"A four-leaf?! Seriously?!" another examinee said in shock.

Asta walked up to Yuno, laughing with a determined look in his eyes. "One of us is going to become the Wizard King. Our legend's beginning now, Yuno!"

Everyone was shocked to see the short boy's proclamation, especially since he was completely surrounded by a flock of Anti birds. Multiple birds were pulling at his checks and clothes. A huge one was sitting on his head, with a much more dreary look on its face. A few curious ones even pecked at the Omnitrix, being met with a little green zap from the device in protest.

"I'm gonna show you just how much I've grown in six months…. Ow, ow, ow, ow!" He said boldly before the birds started pulling and pecking, even more, forcing him to run away from the flock, "What the heck are these birds?!"

The crowd laughed as Asta ran in terror. They could hardly believe someone was getting chased by the small birds.

"What's with that kid? Talk about a loser." the man in green said.

"No way that fool got help from the Wizard King! He's definitely from the boonies!"

Asta continued running, "Get away from me, you stupid birds!" before slamming into somebody in a white shirt. The birds' eyes widened in terror, fleeing from the tremendous amount of mana and anger they sensed. "Finally! They flew off somewhere."

The man was super muscly, even more than Asta. He had unkempt black hair and short stubble on his face. He bore a disapproving scowl as his yellow eyes stared daggers through Asta. His scowled lips held a cigarette between his teeth. He wore a white tank top, slung around his shoulders was a short tattered black robe with an insignia on his right. It was a bull's skull colored black with a gold outline. He wore black pants, covered by a strange-looking piece of tan leather that covered his outer thighs down to his knees. He wore three belts, one to hold up his pants and another which supported his grimoire pouch on his right hip. Finally, he wore black boots that stopped just under his knees. Everyone besides Asta could see a fearsome purple aura surrounding him.

"Hey, sorry for bumping into you." Asta sheepishly said before taking a second look at the tower of muscle before him.

Asta could feel the anger practically gush out of him as he uttered, "Oi Brat, I'll kill you right now!"

"What the heck's his problem!" Asta thought, shocked by the man's response, "He's got the eyes of a killer! And his neck's huge! No proper mage looks like that!"

The man towered over Asta, his eyes seemingly red with rage as he looked ready to strike him down right there as he growled with every breath.

"Talk about an intimidating presence! Is he really my age?!" Asta questioned as he tried to maintain his outward composure. "No, wait. I shouldn't judge a book by its cover! Be friendly! I just need to be friendly!"

Asta put his left arm on the man's shoulder, pulling out the best smile he could in this situation. "Man, you look old! You must've had a hard life!"

The crowd fell utterly silent. Nobody could believe what this kid from the boonies just did.

The man's arm landed on Asta's head before picking him up by it, his aura growing even more prominent. "It appears you're ready to die."

"His looks weren't a lie after all!" Asta thought as he struggled to free himself from the man's grip.

"Oh, there he is! What are you doing down here?" a teen questioned as he approached.

He had spiky brown hair looped over his pierced ears and hung between his red eyes. He wore the same black robe as the man; only the symbol resided on the left side instead. He wore a green tunic underneath, with brown pants. He wore green boots that stopped just below his knees. Finally, he wore a red belt around his waist with a grimoire pouch on his left.

Another figure was with him, his presence seeming much more foreboding. He had ashen skin with a large amount of black eye shadow around his red eyes, accentuating his black lips. He wore a grey hat on his head, bearing the same insignia, albeit entirely gold. He wore the same black robe as the other two. Underneath, he wore a dark grey jacket, with red cuffs and trimming throughout, with a matching set of pants tucked into his knee-high black boots. Finally, he wore a black belt with a grimoire pouch on his left.

"I'm about to end this twerp's life." The man holding Asta replied, tightening his grip around Asta's skull, causing the boy to yelp out in pain.

"Hey, isn't that..."

"The great Finral Roulacase?" a girl in the crowd finished while blushing. "The user of rare spatial magic?"

Immediately Finral approached the girl, not wasting his chance to land a date. "Hey, you're cute."

"Phh. He's famous for being so girl-crazy that it gets in the way of his duties!" a man in the crowd explained.

"And that's Gordon Agrippa. The expert on incantation magic!"

"I heard he's impossible to talk to and also scary."

The crowd could hear Asta's skull begin cracking, spooking Finral out of his trance. "Whoa, cut it out! A magic knight's squad captain shouldn't kill an exam candidate. Why'd you even come down here anyway?"

"I went to take a dump and got lost. You really should just warp me." The smoking man replied.

"Squad captain?" The man in orange questioned, "You mean he's…."

"The Lord of Destruction, Yami Sukehiro?!" The teen in red finished.

"Yami? The captain of the black bulls?!"

The crowd exploded into whispers as the rumors of the terrible black bulls spread throughout. Most focused on how the damage they've caused outweighs any good they've done, not even getting a single commendation on their work from the capital. Not a single Magic Knight was decent on that squad.

The pain on Asta's head was finally getting too much as he yelled out in pain again, grabbing onto the man's arm in vain. "I seriously picked the wrong guy to mess with!" Asta thought as his vision started to turn white. "My head's seriously gonna explode if this continues!"

Asta dropped his legs to the ground, flexing his muscles as hard as he could to try and get the man's hand off him. The veins in his arms and neck bulged, the strength surprising Yami somewhat, but he quickly adjusted his own power to more than match the feeble attempt by the pipsqueak. A slight ringing began ringing throughout the area as green lighting began to spark off the Omnitrix, the defense systems attempting to spring into action, the ringing growing louder by the second.

A firework went off in the sky, overshadowing the noise of the alien tech, signaling that the event was about to start.

"Come on, the exam is about to start! Let him go." Finral pleaded, just wanting his captain to stop embarrassing him. This seriously wasn't good for his image with the ladies.

Yami released Asta's head, causing him to fall to the ground. He brought his arms to his head, trying to stop the pain, as the Omnitrix's energy began to subside, luckily going unnoticed by most of the crowd. The dial started flashing between green and red, lingering on red before sparking back to green.

"Guess you get to live a little longer, brat." Yami said as he walked away, taking note of the strange object on his wrist, "Better take care of the life I just gave you, Or I'll kill you!"

Asta raised himself to his feet, still massaging the back of his head from the encounter "Man, that sucked!"

The man in the long purple coat approached from behind him. "Buh-ha! You okay there?" he said in a seemingly friendly tone.

"Y-yeah…" Asta replied as he continued massaging his head while also making sure his assailant hadn't ripped a hole in it.

"Must have been rough, having the captain of the Black Bulls in your face like that. I'm Sekke. Sekke Bronzazza. Nice to meet you! Buh-ha"

"I'm Asta! Nice to meet you too!" Asta extended his hand before loud Horns began sounding all around the coliseum. From above, the captains of the magic knights' squads emerged from a nearby corridor, each taking time to survey the examinees early as they made their way to their seats. There were nine of them in total, each bearing their own distinctive look.


The first into the stadium had silver hair, with a braid between his light purple eyes held together by a small blue hairpin in the shape of a cross. He was wearing pristine white pants with a matching shirt, and it had a high blue-collar held together by a golden band, which still left his collarbone exposed. The cloak he wore consisted of a white fur mantle bearing the symbol of an eagle on his left side. Streaks of cloth bellowed out from under it, resembling a bird's plumage. Finally, a dark blue cloak stretched over his back all the way to his sandals bearing feet. He wore a brown belt with two golden buttons, with a grimoire pouch strapped to his left hip.

"That right there!" Sekke said, pointing towards the imposing silver figure, "Is Nozel Silva, captain of the Silver Eagles!"

"So that's…." Yuno started as he took a step forward before losing his words. "One of the captains of the Magic Knights." Asta finished quietly with hints of amazement in his voice.

"That's some hairstyle he's got!" Asta whispered to Sekke inquisitively, trying to figure out why anyone would do their hair like that. "Wouldn't it be hard to see with that thing in your face all the time?"

The following figure into the stadium bore an impressive physique, standing over six feet tall. He had purple eyes, with long orange vermillion hair combed to the back of his head except for a single wavy fringe on his left side. Framing his eyes were red accents, with a diamond of a similar color resting on his forehead and two red earrings. He wore a white undershirt, covered by a high collared dark blue overshirt, with golden accents on the ends of the fabric. Around his waist was a purple sash, firmly keeping the overshirt in place. White trousers went down to his knees where they met a pair of black boots, the tops of which bore a similar design to the golden accents on the overshirt. Finally, he was wearing a crimson robe that reached down to his knees, with part of the cloth wrapped around his neck like a scarf, from which protruded two orange ropes hanging over his chest adorned with a purple stone each. The crowd couldn't see it, but upon the back of the cloak rested the symbol of a crimson lion.

"That's the captain of the Crimson Lions…." Sekke explained as the captain took his seat, "Fuegoleon Vermillion!" He leaned in closer to Asta, not wanting to draw too much attention. "As his name suggests, he's a user of flame magic."

"Whoa!"

The third figure was rather skinny but definitely not lacking muscle on his six-four body. He had a devilish look in his bright gold eyes, with a giant smile seemingly plastered onto his face. A bright red scar streaked across his left eye and down his mouth parallel to his sharp nose. His stomach was exposed, thanks to his short light green shirt. His lower body was covered by form-fitting black pants, with a green section stretching from his upper thigh to lower shin on each leg, with a part of tight-fitting shoes that were the same color as his shirt. Two leather straps wrapped around his waist, forming an x at the front, while bearing a grimoire pouch on his left hip. He wore a rather simple cloak compared to the other two, with the only details being the green color, hanging leather straps, and the depiction of a green praying mantis on his left side. He brought his hands up, letting out an unsettling chuckle, revealing two leather wristbands on each arm.

"That's Jack the Ripper. Captain of the Green Praying Mantises," Sekke explained before turning his head away as the person in question stared daggers into him.

"What's a Mantis?" Asta asked earnestly, having no idea what the creature was. A tad ironic since he knew about creatures nobody on this planet had heard of.

"Really?" Sekke laughed a little before regaining his composure. "Surely you would have seen one of them way out in the boonies, no?" He said before motioning his open palm to Asta, "It's a freaky little bug. In fact, that captain there kinda looks like one! Apparently, his severing magic can split anything in two!"

"Whoa, that's awesome!"

"True. But still, I'd rather not be a mantis." Sekke explained while shrugging, "Bugs are super lame."

The next captain exuded an aura of elegance and composure and vast amounts of strength. Her blonde hair was tied up into a bun, with a single braid resting on the left side of her head. A decorated metal helmet covered her hair, with a single horn protruding from the center. Her black top was protected by an adorned chest plate with a collar plate nesting around her neck. The top sleeves went all the way to her hands, acting as sleeveless gloves while her gauntlets rested behind her wrists. She wore a light blue skirt, with a half leather skirt layered over the back, leaving the front open. Her grimoire pouch rested on her right hip, kept up by a leather strap near her waist. Her legs were protected by armor; however, these pieces were less decorated than their upper body counterparts. Underneath were black thigh-high socks, ending in leather cuffs that firmly held her tucked in white trousers. A dark blue cape reaches down to her shin, with a blue cloak resting overtop, clasped together by a golden rose buckle.

"Charlotte Roselei, Captain of the Blue Rose Knights!" Sekke let out with a very evident blush on his face, "She's so beautiful!"

Asta took as close a look as he could at the woman. He could definitely see the appeal the captain seemed to have on the candidates around him, but he had to admit that he'd seen someone better. "Agreed, but Sister Lily's much more beautiful," Asta let out rather bluntly.

This captain was rather large, his colossal figure barely fitting into his seat. The most prominent feature was the purple mask he wore, which sat right underneath his sandy blonde hair. It covered his eyes and nose, with a small metal plate covering his nose with three silver dots resting under each eye. His teeth were massive, seemingly putting his face into a permanent wide smile. He wore a black shirt with puffy-looking white armor on his arms and surrounding his torso horizontally. Gold accents were scattered about his torso, with a golden buckle holding together a sizeable blue sash, which rested over his brown pants. They were firmly tucked into his black boots, with soles and tips being a silvery-white. A purple cape stretched down to his shins, with a lighter purple cloak resting on top. The two golden ends of the cloak reached down to his torso, with dark purple fur surrounding his head on the mantle. Finally, a purple crest depicting a sea serpent was displayed proudly on the left side of his cloak.

"Captain of the Purple Orcas, Gueldre Poizot," Sekke quickly explained, his eyes already drifting to the next captain entering into the arena.

"That's it?" Asta questioned, bewildered why his impromptu guide described this captain with such little detail. "Don't you know anything else about him?"

"Nope. I have no interest in seamy guys like him." Sekke replied, putting extra emphasis on his ridicule of the wide captain.

Surprisingly, the next captain was even shorter than Asta, not even passing five feet. She wore a bright pink witch's hat above her slightly poofy lilac hair, with a garland of equally pink flowers resting around the base of the hat. Her cloak was pink with white fur around the neck, with the ends of the cloak barely not dragging against the floor. Whatever was underneath was concealed entirely. A golden pink peacock rested on the left side of her cloak. However, the most confusing part was that she seemed completely asleep with her eyes closed as she walked to her seat before sitting down, her face seemingly stuck in the lightest of smiles.

"Dorothy Unsworth, the…" Sekke tried to explain before being interrupted by a question from Asta.

"Is she walking in her sleep?!" Asta questioned bewilderedly. He could hardly get up when he was asleep, let alone walk around. Just how exactly was she doing this?

"Apparently, all she does is sleep," Sekke answered, pausing for a moment to see if Asta would interrupt with another question.

"Then how'd she become a captain?"

"She probably has an amazing power you'd never expect someone to possess. She's not captain of the Coral Peacocks for nothing." Sekke theorized before turning his head as the next captain entered the arena.

They wore a white shirt white, a dark blue overcoat, held together by a tan belt with his grimoire pouch attached near his right hip. He wore matching blue pants, ending slightly over his shins. His cloak mantle seemed to be made of a relatively soft fluffy material, with gold highlights creating the image of a deer on the left side. It was held together by a bronze clasp, with a tassel of five blue diamonds hanging from the center. Underneath, he wore a long coat of the same color, stopping just above his tan shoes. Dark blue diamonds were present near the wrists and middle of the coat. His spikey aqua hair was all about, drawing attention away from his pink eyes. He had a broad smile on his face, waving to the applicants as he strutted towards his seat before promptly sitting down.

"Captain of the Aqua deer" Sekke began for the fifth time "Rill Boismortier:"

Asta took a closer look at his face, realizing something was off about this captain. He took a quick glimpse around at the other faces in the stadium before turning back to Sekke to ask his question. "Doesn't he seem kinda young?" Asta pondered, tilting his head to the side. "He looks barely older than everyone trying out."

"Good observation!" Sekke, not taking his attention away from the captains, "From what I've heard around town, he's only nineteen."

"Seriously?!" Asta exclaimed, his voice carrying over the crowd, "He's barely older than me, and he's already a captain?!" He turned back towards the captains, a confident grin stretched across his face as he raised a fist. "I'm gonna be the wizard king in no time then!"

A laugh immediately escaped Sekke's mouth as he turned to Asta, a condescending smile coated on his face. "Buh-Ha! Really? Do you think you got what it takes to be a wizard king?! That's a pretty big dream! If anyone is going to be wizard king, it's got to be…."

The final captain entered the arena, a hush falling over the crowd before it erupted again, even louder than before as screams of adoration filled the air. He wasn't too tall, but his presence certainly made a big impact wherever he went. However, it wasn't due to being unruly like Yami or Jack or the aura of superiority given off by Nozel and Fuegoleon. It could be described as perfection as every step they took seemed to shake the earth's foundations while appearing lighter than a feather. The most prominent feature this captain had was the mysterious helmet covering their face in its entirety like a mask, unlike Gueldere. It was primarily a golden tan, stretching over his right eye. A red marking bloomed outwards on the mask from his eye, flawlessly framing the mysterious purple eyes hidden behind it. Two lines, each curving out from the top and bottom. On the other side of the mask, a dark blue piece seemed to be sunken in compared to its tan counterpart. Silver marking flowed elegantly off from around the eye, mimicking the pattern on the right, albeit these ones being much longer. Red and white fur echoed out from the sides of the mask in large patches, with two white feathers rising up from the back.

He wore a double-breasted white shirt with golden buttons, the middle of which was blue with golden trimmings running vertically from hem all the way to the high collar. The wrists consisted of yellow cloth, with a small amount of blue fur lining the inside. A brown belt with a golden buckle wrapped around his waist, with no sign of a grimoire pouch. Well-kept white pants stretched down below his knees, being met with black boots with a slight golden trim.

A golden tan robe sat over his shoulders, a bright red cape billowing out from under it to his ankles. Two red ropes were slung from over his left shoulder to a clasp on the right side of his robe, the ends flowing freely. The hood was lined with cyan fur.

Strutting in nonchalantly was Yami, hopping over his chair to sit before slouching, letting out a loud yawn before scratching his nose. Finral and Gorden quickly took their positions behind the seat, with finral seeming a tad embarrassed by his captain's very obvious boredom. Williams's purple eyes darted to his left, taking note of Yami's attitude.

"This is an important exam that will decide the futures of these youths, Yami. You should take this a bit more seriously." Vengeance said, with a light scold in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, ," Yami replied nonchalantly, already feeling done for the day. Nobody seemed worth his precious time so far, based on his time in the arena. He could be home sleeping already, or maybe out for a game of cards. He had to admit, though, something was kind of off about that shrimp he'd nearly killed.


Generally, the captains were the strongest mages in the kingdom, each surpassing the power of a hundred mages. Their powers were only dwarfed by the wizard king themself, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's the Wizard King?!" Asta hastily asked as he surveyed the stands above, not really paying attention to the captains.

"Buh-ha! The Wizard King is far too busy to come to the exam." Sekke theorized as he tried to see if he'd managed to catch a captain's eye, "It's a miracle in itself that all the captains have gathered in one place."

"Candidates," Vengeance proudly announced, getting their attention as he motioned with his arm, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I will be conducting this exam." He pulled out his golden grimoire, the pristine pages magically flipping to the spell he needed. He raised his hand to the sky before closing his fist, "Magic tree, descend!"

The captain emanated a green glow as dark clouds formed over the coliseum. A fierce wind blew through the crowd as light emerged from the center of the cloud as thunder resounded out over the city. Countless green roots descended from the center, growing down to the ground, one for each candidate.

The wind was blowing back Finral's cloak as he laughed. "That gets more amazing every time!"

At the same time, Asta and Yuno shared the same thought "So this is the man who's closest to becoming the Wizard King."

The golden grimoire slammed close. "We will now begin the Magic Knights Entrance Exam! You will all take several tests. The nine of us will evaluate your performance and select candidates for our squads. If chosen, you will join that squad. If multiple captains choose you, you can choose the squad you'd like to join."

"I'm gonna get in no matter what!" Asta thought, bringing his left arm up to stare at the dial, "I can't do this without you. Please lend me your strength." He lowered his arm, the dial's green glow flickering between green and red.

"For the first exam, we will have you get on those brooms and fly!" Vengeance explained.

The crowd broke into whispers. Many of them had never even flown on a broom before, let alone in such a stressful situation like this.

"Mages who can control their magic power should be able to do this instinctively." Vengeance explained, motioning to his side as a member of the Golden Dawn demonstrated flying on their own broom "It is the most basic way for mages to travel. You shouldn't even be here if you cannot fly on a broom. Now begin!"

Members of the crowd began to take off, some more successfully than others. After only a few seconds of flight, many were knocked off, quickly trying their best to adjust their methods to stay on.

"Just by observing this, we can get a good idea of what kind of mages they are." Charlotte thought before turning her head skyward, taking note of those at the top, "There are quite a few viable candidates this year."

A handful of mages were high in the sky, one standing king among them. Yuno was flying highest, simply standing on his broom instead of riding it. He was expecting at least a little competition here.

Asta was the last person on the ground, broom clutched in hands, putting an earnest effort to at least try and do the test correctly, letting his frustrations be heard as he nearly broke the broom from how much force he was applying.

"What's the meaning of this?" Fuegoleon questioned, stroking his chin as he watched the contestant continue to fail. "No matter how much one might be lacking in talent, they should at least float."

He finally decided to cut his losses, refocusing on his strengths as he thought back to the note left by the Wizard King. He could either try and show off his traversal with XLR8, or he could try to float as high and as long as he could with Ghostfreak. Asta threw his broom away with all his might to the shock of the captains and everyone else in the arena besides Yuno.

"Time to do things my own way!" he yelled, pressing the button, watching the green diamond display Heatblast, turning it to the correct transformation before pressing down the dial. The crowd's eyes all turned to the bright green light emanating from the arena as Yuno gave a small smirk towards the ground. Shrieks of shock emanated from across the candidates as the green energy faded from the area.

In the place of the short boy was what some in the crowd could only describe as a monster. His grey skin seemed almost dead, with black lines practically stitching it together like patchwork. The writhing mess of tentacles he currently called hair almost reaching out to nearby applicants, moving as if they had minds of their own. His ghostly purple eye pierced through all but the captains, darting around his body, enjoying the fear and intrigue emanating from the people around him. He let out a small cackle as his muscles lost all tension, his torso going limp, before immediately jolting back into position with a loud crack as the green afterglow of the transformation finished fading.

"Did he just…?" Fuegoleon questioned as he raised himself from his seat to get a better look.

"Transform?!" Charlotte finished as she examined the boy closer "without a grimoire?!"

"Let's do this!" Ghosfreak shrieked before squatting down his legs. He tensed his muscles before launching off the ground creating a small shockwave from his jump. He soared higher and higher past candidates, his eye practically reaching into their very souls on the way. He raised his arm, growing closer by the millisecond to Yuno. At only a few inches away, his momentum stopped as he reached his peak, his hand only managing to grasp air. "Dammit!" Ghostfreak hissed as he began falling, his back facing the ground. "I'm still not there!"

He immediately slowed his descent, his eye repositioning to his hair, darting between his various tentacles to get a better view of each captain's face.

Dorothy was asleep, but her face seemed a bit disgruntled, almost like she was having a nightmare, which Ghostfreak strangely took a little delight in, hoping he was part of the cause.

Rill had brought out, of all things, a canvas. Painting the frightening sight before him with his magic. Never had he seen something so freaky! He just had to capture its image. Pulling out his grimoire, putting down a multitude of greys and purples to try and capture the essence of the spine-chilling magic on display. He even used a few greens near the bottom to help capture the moment the ghostly figure emerged before soaring to the sky.

Jack was laughing, intrigued by the horror before him and at the feeble attempt from someone to circumvent using a broom. Never in all his years as a magic knight had he'd seen something so bold, stupid, and hilarious all at the same time! He didn't even do it with a grimoire! Just how dumb was this kid?

Nozel seemed disgusted by Asta's display of "magic," quickly getting up from his seat, motioning to one of his subordinates to take notes for him on worthy candidates before entering one of the nearby corridors.

Charlotte couldn't believe that someone was already capable of this kind of movement, launching themself up into the sky like that on pure strength alone. The only person she could think of on hand who could move like that was…

Vengeance's expression could hardly be determined through the mask. The captain's purple eyes and Ghostfreak clashed for only a brief moment before moving on to the next captain.

Fuegolion was intrigued by this candidate's tactics, altogether forgoing the brooms to show off their strength the best they could. He had to admit, though, the fact that such a loud, bright boy could become this cold soul-piercing monstrosity worried him. He'd never seen someone's entire demeanor shift when using their magic. However, his thoughts drifted back to his Royal upbringing. A peasant without a grimoire who can't even use a broom would be no fit for his squad. The other royal families would doubt the vermillion family for years if he let someone like that in.

Finally, Yami was on edge, but he didn't show it, maintaining a stern demeanor on his face as he focused on the kid whom he'd nearly killed earlier. "Impossible…" Yami thought as his eyes narrowed on the ghost boy. "I can't sense any Ki from him… Thinking back, I didn't sense any mana from him either. Just who is this kid?"

A girl with silver twintails hid behind one of the stadium's pillars, holding a broom tightly in her grasp like her life depended on it. She wore a fine purple dress, covered by an equally high-quality silver blazer that went down to her shins, ending in frills and gold cuffs on her forearms. She was wearing silver leg warmers with the same gold cuffs, which stopped right where her sandals were. Attached to the blazer near her collarbone were two pins bearing the insignia of House Silva. She wore a leather belt with a golden buckle, with a grimoire pouch on the right. Finally, a gold band was wrapped around her neck.

"Okay," she muttered to herself, taking a step forward to the arena, her face in a slight frown as she surveyed the scene, making sure the coast was clear.

"What are you doing?" Nozel scolded as he approached from behind, causing the girl to quickly stop in shock. His face bore no expression, but his eyes said it all.

"Oh, I'm… um…" the girl said sheepishly as she tried to explain herself, trying not to make eye contact.

"I told you," Nozel sternly said, with a disdainful look in his eyes, "There's no need for royalty to take the same exam as the peasants."

"But…"

"Your destination has already been decided. Do not take unnecessary action." Nozel commanded.

"Yes, Brother." The girl replied, doing her best not to sound sad as she hung her head in defeat.

"Your existence itself is unnecessary." Nozel scoffed as he walked away, back to the rest of the captains, leaving the girl standing alone in the shadows of the arena as a single tear ran down her face.

The next event quickly arrived, with mages quickly assembling stone walls for the candidates. The objective was simple; destroy a wall as fast as you could from range. Asta was put into a line-up with Sekke. He scrolled through his selections before finally landing on Diamondhead, leisurely pressing in the dial before panic struck. He was still plain old Asta. His eyes drifted back down to the dial as a series of beeps began ringing out from the device, the faceplate glitching between green, red, black, and practically every color of the rainbow.

Other contestants had already obliterated their walls, including Sekke and Yuno. Asta kept trying to transform to no avail. The watch eventually began flashing too fast for his eyes to keep track, the device sparking somewhat, the dial changing to pure black before all color drained from the faceplate as it turned grey. The controls were unresponsive as Asta attempted to raise the dial. Sadly, he couldn't do anything for this event.

"Shit," Asta thought, his mind beginning to spiral into a slight panic. "There are too many people here! All the magic must be messing with the watch."

The next event was soon after; candidates needed to show fine control of their magic by making a complicated construct. Unfortunately, the dial remained grey as Asta continued to fall behind. Sekke easily made a blue projection of himself while yuno made a small green falcon.

Next, candidates had to hit precision shots on papers dropped from above. Asta was unable to hit a single one as the Omnitrix remained lifeless. Yuno and Sekke swiftly scored plenty of bullseyes.

For the next event, a single seed was passed to every contestant. Sekke grew it without challenge, creating a beautiful blue bonsai tree from the seed, smirking the entire time. Asta had found himself a nice corner away from others to try and grow his sapling. He did all he could to try and encourage it to grow, his eyes constantly checking for any change in the Omnitrix. He was the only candidate left with a seed as the exam section finished. He kept trying to distance himself from the other candidates, hoping to get enough distance for the Omnitrix to stop acting up. He'd wasted the opportunity given to him by the wizard king.


"All right, Everyone!" William bellowed, grabbing everyone's attention, "The next exam shall be the last one. You will engage in actual combat."

Fuegoleon swiftly erupted from his seat like a volcano as he swept his right arm out in front of him. "You will be battling!" he shouted. "You will pair up and fight your partners. All of you may use your grimoires for this test!"

Murmurs began to slither through the crowd.

"If we lose," the man in orange theorized, "it'll severely affect our scores."

"Picking the right opponent is all it comes down to." Another candidate muttered from nearby.

"Fighting to protect our kingdom is our primary duty!" Fuegoleon shouted proudly, his fist clenched near his chest, "Show us the extent of your magic!"

"As soon as one of you is too exhausted to fight, the exam will be over." William explained calmly, a slight but encouraging smile visible on his face, "Healing mages will be on standby just in case."

"So fight to your heart's content!" Fuegoleon encouraged, "Give it all you've got!"

"Best of luck to all of you!"

The two captains each gave a slight wave before returning to their seats, both eager to see what this year's candidates were truly capable of.

Asta had been leaning on one of the outer pillars for the entire speech, glancing down to his bracer every couple of seconds. The dial was still grey, much to his dismay, the device not eliciting a single response from his attempts to activate it.

"Crapl! I'm running out of time." Asta scolded himself slightly as he surveyed the crowd for a worthy combatant. "I've got to show what I've got against someone strong!" He moved away from the pillar, walking past pairs upon pairs as he tried to find someone to spar with. He started to get a little irritated before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Buh-Ha!" Asta heard loudly from behind, "Why not fight me, Asta?!"

"Oh, you're on!" Asta said quickly, turning and bringing his arm up for a handshake, "Let's show the captains what we were really capable of, Sekke!"

A fake smile was strewn on Sekke's face as he returned the handshake. "This fool! With how many anti birds flocked around him, he's barely got any mana," Sekke cackled internally. "Considering he only transformed in the first round, he's gotta be completely dry on mana! This kid doesn't stand a chance!"

An organizer with turquoise robes stepped into the arena, motioning for contestants to step back into the sidelines before raising his arm, "First combatants, please come forward!"

"Yes, Sir," Asta exclaimed as he rushed forward with Sekke following closely behind.

"Buh-Ha!"


The crowd had now fully dispersed from the center of the arena, giving Asta and Sekke plenty of room to fight, and to the blonde's delight, not be overheard.

"Let's give it our all, Sekke!" Asta smiled as he gave a thumbs up to his opponent. "I'm always up for a fair fight!"

The mood shifted swiftly as Sekke put his hand on Asta's shoulder once again, his eye glaring daggers into him, but Asta remained unfazed. Sekke's chuckle turned dark as he leaned into Asta's ear.

"You don't have to try so hard anymore, you filthy little rat. You may have made me look bad in the first round, but you completely flopped the rest, just like you will here. You and I both know you're out of mana right now; otherwise, you would have at least done something instead of flailing about like the failure you are!" He snickered as he prepared to finish. "I'll get into the Magic Knights and do my best for the both of us, and have a marvelous time! Got it, you disgusting peasant!" Sekke began walking into position. "Just go back to the boonies and continue living your crappy little life like peasants should. Buh-hahaha!"

Asta could feel his blood begin to boil from Sekkes words. Why?! Why does everyone seem to look down on him?! Every single day he works his ass off to try and get better! Just to be told he's gonna fail no matter how much progress he makes. He marched over to his position, cracking his knuckles as he readied the Omnitrix.

"Let's do this, Asta! Buh-ha!" yelled sekke as his aqua grimoire began to float in the air, being surrounded by similar colored mana. The pages flipped frantically as Sekke continued laughing. Glowing metallic plates began manifesting from the ground before wrapping sekke in a blue ball. Ports began to grow around the sides, creating a multitude of cannon holes on the sphere. "Behold! Bronze Creation Magic: Sekke Magnum Cannonball!"

"How do you like my magic?!" Sekke chuckled internally as he glanced towards the captains. "It perfectly protects me and lets me shoot magic bullets! The best offense is a good defense! Buh-ha!"

"That's pretty decent for an exam candidate." Finral commented, "Your thoughts, Sir?!"

"Doesn't he kinda look like that spikey bug from the Mimo Amazon?" Yami commented, stretching as he tried to stay comfy in the hard stone chair.

"There's no way that freaky kid from the boonies could break through that," A dull-sounding voice shouted.

"Man, I wish I was fighting that kid," A tall candidate said to his friend next to him.

"I don't. Did you see the way he looked earlier?! Freaky!" the friend replied.

The crowd finally caught onto the rather obvious. He didn't even have a grimoire!

"You've gotta be kidding me! The idiot doesn't even have a grimoire! Did they let a kid in by mistake?!" The orange-shirted candidate heckled.

"Stupid hick peasant!" Another called out from nearby

"Give up already! No squad would accept you!" shouted someone near Yuno.

"Come at me Already! No need to hold back," Sekke taunted as he motioned Asta come closer with his finger. "This thing's impenetrable! Buh-ha!"

"Sure thing," Asta replied dully. He again tried to activate the alien device, only being met with silence. He let out a slight grunt in frustration, raising the bracer to his face as he lowered his voice to a whisper. "C'mon Omnitrix. I know we can do it together! Please…" He said, his hand hovering over the dial once again, "Just one more transformation! I know you can do it!"

Suddenly, the Omnitrix dial flashed bright green before Asta was engulfed in the most enormous flash of green yet, completely filling the stadium. As the light faded, people were surprised by what emerged with a slight green glow.

Standing over six feet tall was a tan monstrosity. Its back consisted of a darker tan with a lighter chest. Fierce green eyes of all sizes were scattered about the creature's body, the beast raising its four-fingered hands to the air revealing two more on its palms as it took a fighting stance. Strangely, no eye's dwelled on its face, instead being covered with two giant pink ears. It wore dark blue pants down to its ankles, with a black and white belt around its waist with an hourglass symbol in the middle. Finally, black shackles with a red star each were wrapped around his wrists and neck. The figure let out a slight growl before the change in appearance finally dawned on him. His posture slacking somewhat as he began trying to understand what had happened to his body.

"Woah! This is new!" Eye-Guy exclaimed as he tried getting a better look at himself, accidentally extending an eye from his left shoulder to get a better look at his face. "Am eye taller?! Sweet!"

He tried to step forward, stumbling slightly due to the difference in height and perspective. He could see practically everything in hexagonal vision, including the shocked faces of the crowd around him, the other candidates shivering in disgust or fear as they met one of Eye-Guy's many gazes. However, he paid them no mind, more concerned with taking in the new changes to his body. It was already weird to look around with this form before, but he had to admit, this felt better; Perhaps more natural in a sense?

"Another transformation?" Charlotte questioned, unfazed by the beast's strange appearance, "But why didn't he use it earlier?"

"Woah!" Rill yelled as he raised his grimoire to capture the moment once again, his eyes sparkling in delight. "Another fascinating form!"

"But what can it do?" Fuegoleon questioned himself. "Something seems off about those eyes…."

Yami merely smirked as he watched the creature's eyes scan the stadium. "So the shrimp had more fight in him than he let on!"

—-

Sekke could hardly believe it. He really had another spell up his sleeve. He still had a chance though. The fool was still distracted by himself for some reason. With a flip of his grimoire, he began launching a volley of bronze bullets out from within his fortress.

"Bronze creation Magic: Sekke Cannon!" He screamed as the torrent of projectiles made their way towards Eye-Guy.

Sensing movement in his vision, the opticoid finally regained his senses. "What am Eye doing!?" he scolded himself. "Now's not the time to get distracted." His cartilage skeleton sprang into action as his muscles began to tense. The bullets grew ever closer as it seemed like he was about to be hit. Time seemed to freeze before they impacted, creating a smokescreen from the rubble of the nearby pillar and floor caught in the danger zone.

"Was he hit?!" someone in the crowd cried out.

"Unlikely." Vengeance thought as the smoke began to clear, a small crater being all that seemed to remain before a light chuckle sounded out through the arena from directly above.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that!" Eye-Guy taunted, now hanging off the side of the stadium's upper level, his eyes all narrowed on his target. "Eye saw that coming from miles away!"

Sekke growled as he began firing more bullets. "Will you just give up already! You freak!"

The "freak" smirked as he pushed himself off from the wall towards the bronze mage, his commendable agility being further enhanced by his opticoid form. The bullets were on a direct course for him; however, they were easily countered as his multitude of eyes let out blasts of green energy. He made it through the volley unscathed, crashing directly into the magnum cannonball from above, causing a small shockwave as the floor cracked from the impact. The bronze cage was pushed back slightly into the crater as Sekke was shaken around inside. Before he could even regain his composure, his opponent was already upon him once again. Eye-Guy spread his arms out, covering two holes on the magnum cannonball with his palms. His other eye began to extend, stretching as far as they could to cover the rest. Sekke blinked, and when he opened his eyes, everything besides his head had been frozen inside the cannonball, as Eye-guys' many eyes turned back from Blue to Green. Sekke tried to free himself, but it was all for not as he drifted unconscious from the extreme cold. With its user incapacitated, the bronze fortress shattered, just as it was hit by a stream of fire from the nearby opticoids red eyes. Leaving the unconscious Sekke defeated and soaking wet on the cracked ground.

The victor walked up to Sekke to confront him with a somewhat disappointed frown on his face."Eye'm not joining the magic knights to slack off and have fun." Eye-Guy yelled as he grit his teeth, quickly being consumed by the red flash of the Omnitrix, as soft red faded off him. With a serious look on his face, he raised the Omnitrix up to the side of his chest, clenching his fist, as he stared down at his defeated foe. "I'm here to work my ass off and become the Wizard King!


A/N And that's chapter six done. That ended up being just under 15,000 words! I'm going to be honest, I've thought about what I would do for the entire series, and I guessed the entrance exam would be the hardest part, primarily because I wanted to make sure the descriptions of the captains were perfect (to me at least). The other delays came from needing to relax from other IRL things, even though it pains me to do so.

All in all the rest of the chapters will be out faster than this one. I'd also like to acknowledge how Eye-Guy ended up as the final Alien for the last two chapters. I tried not to, but diamond head felt like the only other option, and that version felt overly cliche. So now Eye-Guy for while.

Anyways, Next time on Black Hourglass: The Path forward

See you all next time!