Chapter 13
Impressions Fit for a King
Disclaimer: I do not own Black Clover, The anime, characters, and all rights to Black Clover belong to Yuki Tabata and Shonen Jump.
"Dipstick"-Dialogue
'Dipstick'-Inner monologue
Dipstick- Spell casting
Dipstick-Flashback
"So, did he get it?". Dante's question was pointed to his rival as they and Selena walked through the underground. Currently, the ice magic user had his hands folded behind his head with a raised eyebrow. Answering his question, Asta nodded his head yes.
"Yeah, and he got super excited about it.". Asta then swirled his finger in a circular motion. "So much so he spun Magna around in a thunder cyclone for hours". Hearing about Luck's antics, Wainsley couldn't help but giggle. As she did, the pink-haired knight looked at her squad mate with a smile.
"You really do have a rare relationship with Luck, don't you?". Her question was met with a smirk from the ice mage. He then used one of his hands to move the hair out of his eye. Asta spoke next as he pointed toward his foster brother.
"You should've seen Luck when I told him he passed. He was ready to get Finral to teleport him to your hideout before Captain Yami stepped in". This caused both Dante and Wainsley to sweatdrop at the information. Both have their left eye twitch as they said in perfect sync.
"Yeah, that sounds about right". Soon the trio found themselves at a stall with unusual items. The three then looked on the stand to see a round stuffed head with weird eyes and antennas attached to its hair. Curious, Asta pulled on one of the antennas and the head spoke with a lifeless monotone voice.
"Take me to your leader". Dante was the first to comment on the strange item. The entire time not able to keep the frown from his face as he poked the fake alien.
"Seriously? what type of idiotic dipstick buys this stuff!". The male Blue Roses comment was met with a small silence. That is before a familiar shout was heard right next to him.
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! THIS IS SO COOL!". The magicless boy's shout led to both knights looking at him with raised eyebrows. Wainsley was the one to speak up as she patted the anti-magic user's head.
"It seems we've found said gullible Dipstick". Unable to control himself at Wainsley's joke, Dante couldn't help but laugh. This caused the ash-haired orphan to scowl at his foster brother.
"HEY! That's not funny you ice creating Jerk! ". Asta's shout caused a male short purple-haired merchant from behind the stand to shoot up immediately. The three knights were surprised by the usual behavior of the man and jumped back from the booth. Wasting no time, the salesman walked in front of Asta with a smile plastered on his face.
"Did you say ice-creating by any chance?". The question from the man was followed by Wainsley shaking her head no and Dante making a cutthroat motion. However, Asta seemed oblivious to the two's signals and answered the unknown man with a smile on his face.
"Yeah, Dante has ice magic. Wait, Wainsley, you said you have the same element too, right?". Both Blue Roses felt their right eye twitch before facepalming in stereo. Groaning at the naive nature of Asta, Wainsley turned to Dante with narrowed eyes.
"So you're telling me you two grew up and trained with each other for years. But you never taught Asta how to read a room?".
"Hey, Yuno and I tried. It doesn't mean he's any good at it". Before Wainsley could respond to her junior's comment, the salesman was examining Dante's boots. Getting fed up with the mystery male's unorthodox nature, Dante lifted the purple-haired vendor by the arm. As Dante squeezed his arm, a small bit of frost formed on the salesman's clothes.
"Explain, now". Dante's serious tone caused the vendor to jump in fear. Waving his arms defensively, the mystery man gulped before explaining himself.
"My apologies, I was just curious is all". The purple-haired male then looked downward toward Dante's boots once again. Now displaying a confident smile, he extended his hand toward the three.
"Name is Hercule Regeki, and I'm gonna be the richest man in all of the clover!". His shout caused the three knights to look at him with blank faces. Seeing the three didn't necessarily believe him, Hercule coughed in his hand and ran behind his booth. When he returned, the salesman came out with a pair of black boots.
"Anyways, I was hoping for a brave soul to be the first to try these bad boys. They're a state-of-the-art pair of footwear made by yours truly". The man then handed the boots to Dante. Confused, the ice mage then looked to Wainsley and Asta who gave a similar look of confusion. An exchange that was interrupted by Hercule shouting in Dante's face caused the ice magic user to clutch his ears. "Well, what are you waiting for, try them on!"
"Alright already! Jeez". As the banged orphan put on the boots, he glared at the overzealous stand owner. Worried about Dante getting taken advantage of, Wainsley walked up to Hercule with squinted eyes.
"What is so important about these boots that you're forcing my squadmate to wear them? They look like nothing more than common footwear". Her question was met with a sly smirk before a shout of "Cool!", from the two orphans. Turning to Asta and Dante, the two seemed to marvel at the boots in question as they fit Dante perfectly. Continuing to snicker, the salesman walked to the boys and hooked an arm around each neck.
"Look good right, but that's not all. Why don't you try putting down some ice and stepping onto it". Following the demand, Dante shrugged and created a layer of ice on the ground. Stepping onto it, he was shocked to feel no friction from the action.
"See, thanks to good ol' Hercule ingenuity. Those boots make walking through the ice and slippery terrain of any kind a breeze. Which considering your element and line of work, could be beneficial". Growing a giant sadistic smile, Dante examined the blue boots before looking towards the merchant with a raised eyebrow
"How much?". The question caused Hercule to sweatdrop before looking away to avoid eye contact. As he spoke, it was soft enough for the three knights to hear but no one else.
"100 Yule''. Hercule's statement was met with stunned silence from Wainsley, Asta, and Dante. After the silence, the three shouted aloud in unison causing the merchant to cover his ears at the sound.
"WHAT!". Seeing the three had ended their scream in unison, Hercule uncovered his ears and scratched his cheek with a nervous chuckle. Asta was the first to vocalize his protest by pointing at the merchant with gritted teeth.
"Are you a con artist or something? What kinda clothes are worth that much anyway!". Despite Asta's yelling, Hercule rolled his eyes before pointing at Dante's feet with a straight face.
"Listen kid . Those things took forever to make. Not to mention they're my only current in-use models, so I have to restart from the blueprint again!". Mumbling to himself Dante sighed before reluctantly giving up the required Yule. Realizing the last of it was reserved for the church, the ice magic user looked at the remaining money with a frown.
"Pleasure doing business with you all, and hey at least they match you're bang kid". With that Hercule retreated to his booth. As the three watched his retreating figure, Wainsley tried to break the silence by pointing to Dante's bang with a smirk.
"He does have a point, not every pair of field boots can match hair with that shade of blue". Although Asta held in his laughter, Dante reacted oppositely as he stared at his squadmate with ire. With a smirk still on her face, Wainsley patted Dante on the head before walking ahead of the two boys. "Too soon, got it".
With Noelle, Janna, and Vanessa, the three girls were walking on the other side of the marketplace. Currently, the young Witch was asking Vanessa what it's like for an older witch in clover.
"Ya know, most people just treat me regularly I guess". The red-haired witch then held her chin in contemplation thinking about most of her conversations outside the Black bulls. Vanessa then shrugs before speaking again to her two juniors.
"Then again I get called out for my squad's habits, alcohol drinking, and work ethic. Maybe me being a witch just kinda falls off by the wayside". Nodding her head, Janna smiled at Vanessa. As she did, the young witch clutched her hat with glee.
"I feel the same way, and it's AWESOME!". The Orange haired girl then titled her blue hat over her eyes. "I mean I get called too energetic. But compared to the Isle I'm actually allowed to be different". Hearing the young witches' comments, Noelle looked at Janna in confusion.
"Really? People call you too energetic? You're a lot more reserved than Asta and Luck". Noelle's comments were met with a bone-crushing hug from Janna. Realizing she was hurting the Royal, Janna dropped the hug and touched her pointer fingers together.
"Sorry about that. Sometimes I get a little overzealous, stupid Janna. Heh". Regaining her breathing, Noelle brushed her clothes off before flipping her ponytail. As she did, the young water mage looked at Janna with a frown
"Yeah well, since I'm royalty I'll allow it just this once". Her comment gained a wide-eyed response from Janna. The Orange haired teen then started to move her hands up and down with excitement.
"Oh my gosh, you are? I don't have a Royal friend yet! YOU HAVE TO BE MY FRIEND! PLEASE?!". Covering her mouth so as not to laugh at Janna's excitement, Vanessa pointed to a nearby booth.
"How about we see what's over there huh". Nodding her head enthusiastically, Janna sprinted towards the nearby booth. Once she was out of sight, Noelle mouthed a silent "Thank you" to Vanessa. After giving the silver-haired girl a thumbs up, the two followed in pursuit of the witch who was currently talking to a shop owner.
"Excuse me, miss". Janna's statement was met with the hooded elderly female salesperson facing her. As the mystery person did, she spoke with a calmingly sweet voice.
"Well, aren't you an energetic ball of joy". Giggling at the compliment, Janna pushed her pointer fingers together with a small blush. She then gained a large smile before talking again while her eyes searched the stand.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. Say you have anything to help control magic?" The young witch's question was met with a grunt of contemplation from the old woman. As the mystery female searched behind the stand, she asked a question to the on-looking witch.
"I must say, I wasn't expecting you. But I think I have just the thing". As the salesperson reemerged from underneath the stand, they had something in hand. In their right hand, the women held a wooden wand. The unknown elder then gave the wand to Janna with a smile on her face, who in turn squealed with glee.
"That should help, your new friend". Nodding her head, the orange-haired witch then bowed to the elderly woman with a smile.
"Thank you so much mi- wait?" In realization, the sugar witch looked up at the lady with a raised eyebrow. Janna then asked a question with a tilted head in confusion and curiosity. " How do you know Noelle's a new friend?".
"I promise you I meant nothing by my comment. You just mentioned a new friend earlier did you not?".Gaining a nervous sweat drop, the elderly woman waves her hands sporadically. She then nervously and defensively answered the question. Thinking for a second, Janna then slapped her forehead. Seeing she was probably in the clear, the elder woman let out a relieved sigh. Janna then started to walk away and waved goodbye to the sales merchant. Regaining her smile as she approached Noelle and Vanessa again.
"Sorry, sometimes I forget. Stupid Janna right? Ok see ya!". As the witch walked out of sight, the old woman grew a smirk and shook her head. 'She wasn't who I was expecting. But a welcome surprise nonetheless'.
"What about this thing? The guy says it helps with mana control" Dante's question was met with two curious looks. The ice magic user was currently holding up a small blue bead necklace and displaying it to Asta and Wainsley. The latter of which spoke up with a smile and her hand on her hip.
"Honestly, I think it's kinda cute. Plus it won't get in the way of a mission". The female ice magic mage then turned to the sole Black Bull of the group. Unlike her, he seemed much more hesitant about the magic jewelry. Elbowing the ash-haired orphan, Wainsley asked Asta a question.
"You know Noelle better than us. You think she'd like the necklace?". Her question was met with Asta rubbing the back of his head. He then took the necklace from Dante and held it in his hand
"I don't know, it doesn't really feel like her" Asta's words were met with a nod from Wainsley. Little did the magicless boy know, Dante rolled his eyes with a smile. The male ice mage then spoke to his foster brother with a sarcastic tone.
"I bet you'd know, huh dipstick?". Dante's words gained a confused look from Asta. Seeing the ash-haired orphan look clueless, he let out a cold breath and smacked his head.
"Oh come on, after all those years of "finding your queen" you seriously aren't gonna make me believe you don't like her!" Before Asta could answer, the three were interrupted by a brunette male in a green mantis robe. That knight happened to be none other than Sekkei, who primarily focused on Wainsley before grabbing her hand.
"Baha! The underground market is no place for such a delicate flower as yourself. I'm a magic knight so please allow me to lead you out of here" The bronze mage's magic earned him deadpan looks from the two orphans. Raising an eyebrow at the terrible flirting attempt, both boys looked at the fellow rookie knight while thinking at the same time, 'Is he serious?'.
Wainsley herself wasn't fond of the flirting attempt. Feeling Sekkei needed to go away, the pink-haired blue Rose held a finger to his head and pushed forward. As she did, Sekkei fell flat on his back with a stunned expression.
"Yeah, no''. Wainsley's rejection caused her fellow squadmate to snicker. While Sekkei gave a look of betrayal and rejection, the trio turned to a shout coming from the opposite direction.
"HEY, GUYS!". Approaching the group were Noelle, Janna, and Vanessa. The three looked to be in a happy mood, while Janna held a white bag in her hand. Dante was the first to acknowledge the three with a raised eyebrow.
"You guys found what you were looking for?". The ice mage's question was met with a nod from Janna. This gained curious looks from Vanessa and Noelle both, the latter of which peeked into Janna's bag to see the item. Seeing this, the sugar witch pulled her bag away and waved a finger at Noelle.
"Ah, Ah, Ah. No spoilers". Noelle gained an upset look before turning away from Janna with a pout. Smiling at the two young knights, Vanessa was the next to speak up.
"How's it going for you guys". Her question was met with a shrug from Wainsley and Dante.
"We made out alright Asta rubbed the back of his head and looked away from the three arriving knights slightly embarrassed.
"Nah, we came up pretty empty". The anti-magic user then looked at Noelle with a sad expression. "Sorry Noelle". Despite her disappointment, the water mage let out a contempt sigh. She then walked up to Asta and smacked him lightly on the arm. Asta rubbed his arm and looked at Noelle with confusion. The girl then crossed her arms before looking away.
"You don't owe me anything, you dult". Noelle then turned to Asta with a genuine smile which he gladly returned. Once she spoke again, Noelle couldn't keep the laughter from her lips. "You've done enough for me as it is".
Trying to avert his attention away from the girl in front of him, Asta looked at Sekkei. As if a lightning bulb went off in his head, the magicless mage remembered him from the magic knight's exam.
"Oh, it's you, Ba ha right?" His comment gained an annoyed look from both Sekkei and Dante. The latter grew a manic smile as his eye twitched at his rival's stupidity. Dante then spoke through grounded teeth as he glared at Asta the entire time
"You just realize this now!". Feeling ignored by the two Orphans, the bronze mage made it to his feet and wiped off his clothes. The bronze mage then walked up to the two orphans with a frown.
"It's Sekkei". Sekkei then turned to the magicless boy with a teasing smirk. As he did, Asta raised an eyebrow at his sudden cockiness.
"No one cares". Dante's blunt words caused a tick mark to form on Seekie's brow as his eye twitched. Deciding to ignore the jab for now, the lone mantis of the group of knights gave a teasing smile before turning his attention back to Asta.
"I had heard you joined the black bulls. It must be tough for you, you know, being on such a terrible squad". The bronze mage then turned to Dante with the same teasing smirk he gave to Asta. Dante responded to this by moving his bang out his eye as he directed a glare towards Sekkei.
"And I bet you haven't even gone on a mission yet. Blue Roses must've just needed a new errand boy huh? Baha!". Sekkei then laughed in the two orphan's faces causing them to look at each other confused. As they did, Asta and Dante gained a smile before turning back to Sekkei.
"Yeah it can be tough, but on our first mission the wizard king awarded me and Noelle a Star". Asta's words caused Sekkei to stop and gasp in shock. Hearing her name mentioned, Noelle walked next to Asta with a smirk as she flipped her ponytail. Not wanting to be outdone (although mostly to see Sekkei suffer more), Dante spoke up next with a sadistic smile on his face.
"Janna and I also got a star on our first mission. Not bad for an errand boy. Wouldn't you agree, dipstick?". Janna then hooked her arm around Dante's neck and gave a peace sign. Sekkei then turned to Dante with a bigger gasp. Completely shocked at the two orphans' fast success in the line of duty.
"And I'm sure both were well earned" Vanessa then walked to her two squad mates and placed a hand on each shoulder. As she did, Wainsley approached her squad mates and placed a hand on both teens' heads (or hat in Janna's case). Feeling inadequate, Seekie attempted to one-up the four rookies in front of him.
"Well, I'm actually on my third star!". Seekei's desperate cry was met with a confused look from Asta and Janna. The two not truly understanding what mission he could've done to earn three stars. Meanwhile, Noelle and Dante looked at the bronze mage with two deadpan looks. Knowing he was lying through his teeth.
"Hey stop! Those are my winnings!" The group turned to see an old woman being robbed of her money. As they saw the robbery, Dante and Asta locked onto the hooded thief attempting to escape. They then looked at each other before racing after the robber. Wainsley and Vanessa made their way to help the older women.
"If Dante's anything like Asta, they've got the thief covered. Let's try and help her ok?". Vanessa looked back at the four remaining knights with a smile. Gaining a nod from Janna and Noelle, Vanessa turned to Sekkei for confirmation. 'As if I'll let those two get all the credit'.
Sekkei shooting star
Suddenly A floating green vehicle in the shape of a bike appeared. Replacing the wheels of the bike were two green orbs surrounded by his bronze magic. Complete with a statue of Sekkei's upper body with wings at the front.
"You lovely ladies wait here". Sekkei then blew the four women a kiss.
"I told you no already, you creep!". Wainsley's shout seemed to be the consensus of the rest of the girls. Hanna tried to dodge the incoming kiss by covering her face with her hat. Next to speak were Noelle and Vanessa, who dodged their intended kisses while saying "eww" and "gross".
Outside, Dante and Asta watched the thief attempt to escape on a speeding cloud. As Asta took his sword out of his grimoire, Dante snickered before opening his own. When he did, the ice mage created an ice slide and jumped on it before turning to Asta.
"Hop on!" Nodding his head, Asta took Dante's extended hand and was pulled on the platform. The two boys then gave chase to the escaping thief. Once they were next to the robber, The cloud bandit looked in horror at seeing Dante and Asta beside them. Acting fast, Asta jumped off the ice slide and slashed the escape cloud. Once the blade made contact, the cloud vanished without a trace. Causing the thief to tumble and crash onto the ground. Landing on the back of his sword, Asta and Dante watched as the robber tried to run away. Just when both Orphans were ready to follow, Sekkei cruised by them on his magic construct. As Dante continued after the robber, Asta looked on in amazement.
"WOW! THAT'S SO COOL!" The anti-magic users were met with a smug grin before Sekkei hit the thief with his magic bike. Causing the robber to drop his stolen money on the ground and fall once again.
"Haha, I've caught you, now I'll get all the-". Seekei's was cut off as the robber attempted to stab the bronze magic user with a knife. However, before the weapon could make contact, he was frozen in place. The green mantis looked to his left to see Dante with his new scythe in his hand and his usual sadistic smile.
"And that is how you finish the job". Stuttering at the reveal, an angered Seekei walked up to Dante with a shocked expression.
"I THOUGHT I BEAT YOU HERE!". Shrugging at the question, Dante gave a cruel-looking smile with a tick mark on his head. Ignoring Dante's clear frustration, Sekkei then crossed his arms and turned away from the ice magic user with a pout. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU STOLE MY SPOTLIGHT AGAIN!".
"Are you serious? I saved you, dumbass!". Dante then kneeled to the frozen robber and pointed at the knife completely frozen in ice. Knocking on the ice sculpture while yelling at the bronze magic mage. Pausing between each word to emphasize how bad of a situation the bronze mage was almost forced into. "HE WAS GOING TO STAB YOU!".
"You don't know that! I COULD'VE DODGED!". Seekei's comment caused Dante to growl before turning away from him and snarling. As he mumbled to himself, Seekei started to laugh loudly as if to proclaim his victory. "Weak and ungrateful dipstick"
"I HEARD THAT, YA FROZEN PSYCHO!".
"Good, I wanted you to!".
"Eh, looks like a poison paralysis knife to me". The two arguing knights and Asta turned to see Vanessa walking towards them with an ointment in hand. The whole time with a smile on her face while looking at Asta and Dante. "I was gonna use this in case one of you boys got in trouble, but it seems like you didn't need help after all. Great job you two".
"HEY! I HELPED TOO YOU KNOW!".
A few minutes later Sekkei had the thief tied up on the back of his magic bike. As he departed the six knights watched as he postured to a nonexistent crowd once again.
"I'll take the pesky perpetrator in. Goodbye all of you. By the next time you'll hear from me, I'll have gotten stronger". As he departed, everyone outside the anti-magic user rolled their eyes. Being the lone holdout, Asta shouted a goodbye at the Seekei biked out of sight.
"Goodbye Baha!" Hearing this come from her crush's mouth, Noelle pinched her nose with a tick mark on her head. She then spoke to her magicless crush in a soft and disappointed tone. "Asta please, he doesn't deserve the attention".
Later the group had ultimately come up with nothing else to help Noelle's magic control issues. As the knights were about to depart to their respective hideouts, Janna snapped her fingers in remembrance.
"Hold on, I have something!". She then rooted through her white bag in search of her gift to Noelle. Janna's hands then came into contact with the wooden wand before pulling it out of her bag with a flourish. "TADAAA!". As she showed the item to the onlooking group. Shocked by the item, Noelle stared at Janna and explained how she found it.
"Pretty cool huh? I got it from the old lady we saved earlier. Here, test it out". As Janna gave Noelle the wand, the water mage centered her magic on the item. She then released a small water attack into the air, the attack stayed elevated in the right direction before dispersing. Glad it worked. Noelle gave a soft smile before looking at Janna with a smile.
"Thank you". The Royal's gratitude was met with a hug from Janna causing Noelle to freeze. Seeing no harm in it, the silver-haired teen gave a slight hug back as she looked away in embarrassment.
"I'm only allowing you to do this because I'm royalty". Smiling at the clear false facade, Janna nodded her head and responded in a small whisper.
"Whatever ya say, Bestie".The witches' words caused Noelle to gain a small blush and pout. Before Noelle could respond, a gray spatial portal opened behind the six knights. Seeing their hideout in the background, Wainsley smiled and turned back to the group.
"That's our cue to leave, it was nice seeing you all. And congrats on the wand Noelle!". Wainsley then entered the portal first. Next was Dante, dashing to the portal's entrance. Before he entered, the ice mage looked back to Asta with a sadistic smile.
"Remember Asta, your dream can't and won't become a reality! I'm not letting you become Wizard King, because I'm never letting you surpass me. Got that dipstick!". Dante's declaration was met with a stare from Asta and Noelle.
"LIKE HECK YOU ARE!". Expecting his magicless rival to respond, Dante and Janna were both shocked when it was Noelle who answered him. Holding her own determined glare at Dante, the silver
"For your information, Asta's gonna become Wizard King. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make that a reality". Despite being talked back to, Dante couldn't help but smile at the girl's response. Turning away from the Bull, Dante felt happy his rival found another family similar to his. 'I can see why you like her, dipstick'.
"We'll see about that". The ice mage then walked through the portal with a peace sign. Finally was Janna who released Noelle and gave her and Asta a nod before approaching Vanessa. As the sugar witch approached, Vanessa kneeled at Janna's level.
"Can I talk to you if I ever need help?". Her question was with Vanessa giving Janna an ok hand sign. The young witch hugged her fellow older witch and dashed towards the closing portal. Giving one last shout of "See you again!". As she attempted to catch up with Dante and Selena, the Orange haired witch arrived at the castle with a smile. Wainsley then turned to the two young knights with a raised eyebrow.
"Did you two enjoy the outing?". As the two rookies both nodded, Janna and Wainsley walked into the castle. Staying behind, Dante looked behind him before Jerry's portal closed. Rethinking the entire day, the blue-banged boy couldn't help but sigh.
"Hey, you alright Dante?". The ice mage turned to see Jerry looking at him with a worried expression. Answering the spatial mage, Dante gave a small smile.
"Yeah, just felt like I saw every Black Bull today but Luck. I wonder if I'm ever gonna see him again". Dante then thought for a second about if his inquiry was possible. I mean yeah he saw Asta again, but that was by sheer coincidence. He was pulled from his thoughts by a yawn from Jerry.
"Eh, don't think about it too much. I'm sure you'll see him eventually". The Blue Rose spatial mage then shrugged before giving a confident smile. "I mean he found you twice before, right?".
Nodding to Jerry's statement, the orphan blue rose walked into the castle. Dante started to think with a bit more optimism as they ascended the stairs. 'Jerry's right, I still owe that dipstick a fight. And that's what he's getting damnit!'. Little did he know, the ice mage was about to meet his mentor much sooner than he'd expected.
"So that was anti-magic, I wonder if it can even be considered magic?". Currently, the older woman had sparkles around her and slowly morphing into someone else. Once the elderly disguise dropped, it revealed a large man in a long red and white cape. The mystery man also wore a necklace with multiple medals attached.
"And that Ice mage also seems interesting himself, I can't wait till he unlocks his other half. Yami and Charlotte truly have outdone themselves". The man then opened a blue magic sphere in front of him showing the image of another man with short hair. Once the sphere opened, the male inside talked to the caped mage in a worried manner.
"Sir where have you been, there is a lot of work still to be done!". Despite his worries and scolding tone, the caped mage shrugged it off before replying with a smile.
"Oh hi, Marx, a situation was happening and I couldn't respond to your transmission magic for a while". His explanation only caused Marx to frown before once again scolding the caped man.
"Sir, you can't keep exploring when you have a lot of work to do as the wizard king!" Finally calming down, the blue bow-cut male explained his reason for contacting the wizard king. "There's been a development that requires your attention,"
The urgent words of his advisor only caused the Wizard King to nod his head. His nonchalant demeanor only caused Marx to become confused.
"I'm well aware of that. However, I now have the perfect idea of who to send".
AN:
Due to the last comment, I have to address being spoiler related, I decided to start this time with the Authors note and go address comments last. First off, this chapter is coming out a lot later due to having a ton on my plate from taking my girlfriend out for her birthday and work-related tasks I still had to finish. Sekkei and Dante's clashing personalities are one of the reasons I considered putting him on the Mantis, something about them just plays off each other well. Next week we get into the dungeon arc, one I have edited, changed and rewritten five different times. I hope you're excited because I am lol. Anyway, see you next week and hope you enjoyed it.
Raidentensho: The guidepost inspiration is a great idea and would work perfectly for when I'd probably plan on debuting it. Also, I don't know how you called the boots but good on you. Anyway hope you enjoyed it, and I'll catch ya next week.
SPOILER RESPONSE AHEAD
xnightShroudx: I was waiting for a comment like this, but yes I am well aware there is a character already with the name "Dante". I have a story reason for their connection and one that will be teased in the next arc. As for the confusion for the reader, which is a valid argument, I have a few ways of possibly going about it. The first is the use of Dante's last name whenever I write dialogue for him or have the enemies address him. The other is the use of O.C. Dante's nicknames when addressed by his friends, knights, and squadmates. I've already given him a few such as Future Captain for Janna, Screw up for Puli, and the MANY of Sol's jabs towards the ice user. Then there's the last idea of just describing them instead. So instead of calling the OC Dante his namesake during the battle, call him the orphan or banged ice magic user. Anyway TLDR, I appreciate the concern but I got a plan, hope you stick around and enjoy though.