Chapter 5: The Journey Begins!
Lucas was the first one to return back to the house in the town of Hoffvol. The blue-eyed boy had challenged David to a race to see who would get back to their house first, and he won by a large margin.
Eventually, after a five minutes or so, David caught up with the energetic child. He stopped right beside Lucas and put his right hand forward to lean against the wall of their house.
"Y-you're way... too... fast, Lucas. I'm an old man, you should've gone easier on me". The man huffed heavily as he spoke to Lucas who was just smiling at him.
After the interaction, they both entered the house and saw that, both, Iris and Melanie were waiting for them, sat at the dinner table with hot food ready for all of them to eat.
As Lucas entered, Iris stood up immediately and went to hug her little brother. "How was it? Was everything alright? You're a bit late!" The red-haired sister bombarded her brother, and subsequently David, with a hoard of questions.
"Haha, everything was fine! Thanks for asking". He laughed as he hugged his older sister back. The two then let go of their embrace and everyone settled down for dinner.
After dinner was over, the main part of the night was about to start. Iris, Melanie, and her father were sat at the table, after the food had been cleared away, and were waiting for Lucas to show off his grimoire.
The Light Magic user brought the grimoire out that he had concealed in his satchel for the majority of the time and as soon as it was brought into view, the other three were amazed by it, as well as what it could imply. The four-leaf grimoire that had bright yellow and blue covers was presented to them;
"A four-leaf grimoire!"
"Isn't that just like the first Wizard King's?"
"This one looks more colourful, though!"
These statements were just like the ones Lucas had received back in Hage Village, but instead of feeling overwhelmed and nervous like he did back then, he felt calm and genuinely happy with what happened.
"Haha, yes! Some people over at Hage also mentioned the first Wizard King... but I'm not going to let that define me. I'll work my way up without relying on the legend!" Lucas stood up and twirled as if he was some sort of dancer, showing how excited he was for the future.
Iris, although she was happy too, was sceptical about the two, singular, black, and white lines that went through the front and back covers. "It's one thing having the grimoire represent his Time Magic, but what is with those two lines... not to mention that the clover itself is black and white...". The red head was lost in thought before being snapped out of it by her younger brother.
"Are you thinking about something?" Lucas asked worriedly, he saw the confused expression on his sister's face, and he started to worry himself.
"Oh, what? No... yes! I was just thinking about how you're going to leave in six months for the entrance exam! We have to get you prepared for that, don't we?" Iris tried to pin her thought on something entirely different, and it worked with how the ginger-haired mage responded.
"Oh, yeah! Well, we need to get started tomorrow so I can pass the exam!" Lucas exclaimed which was met with cheers from the other three individuals.
There was mystery with the grimoire, that is for certain. Why did it have two singular black and white lines, and why was the four-leaf clover black and white as well? Well, that is what Lucas will have to find out through his experiences as a Magic Knight for the Clover Kingdom. However, before he could do that, he had to train for six months in order to get stronger to do so.
The following months were met with intense training. Maybe more intense than what was needed by the way Lucas conducted himself. He was continually asking for sparring matches with Iris, Melanie, and David. He even fought them all together at many opportunities. Many times, his eagerness to improve resulted in him losing the sparring matches. He also still retained his clumsiness that he had since he was a child, which, coupled together with his willingness to keep going, also resulted in defeats for him.
The only type of magic he would use to train was Light Magic, which was formed through the left side of his body and through his left hand. The right side of his body was unused when it came to magic due to it being where his Time Magic was formed from. Because of his past experience with the Mother and Father of the church he had lived at, he sealed off his Time Magic and promised to never use it again. The physical exercises, that he learned from David, were the only thing he incorporated his whole body in.
There were instances where the left side of his body was rendered immobile by Iris's Earth Magic or David's Water Magic, but instead of relying on his right side, he would struggle and then lose in the end.
One day, Iris mentioned the idea of giving his Time Magic a go, but he adamantly refused and said he could become the Wizard King without using the magic that had brought him so much pain, and which had ruined his perception of trust.
As the Town had come to know of Lucas training to become a Magic Knight, the other kids in the town also wanted to join in as they wanted to become Magic Knights too. But, unfortunately for them, Lucas couldn't handle becoming too close to them due to everything that had happened years before. He'd often feel sick and light-headed from them trying to bond with him. This was a huge problem for Lucas.
During the last month, Lucas had somewhat been able to talk to others, but it was only in a minimal amount.
Lucas's Light Magic had improved a lot, in regard to power, but it still did not increase in speed, whatsoever. Lucas's Time Magic was left alone, for the entirety of the six months.
Then finally, the day had arrived for Lucas to set out on his journey.
"I can't believe this is it!" Iris stretched her hand out to rub Lucas's hair. She also started to tear up and remarked on how much he had grown since he was a little baby.
"It is time to go... I'm going to write letters whenever I can!" Lucas felt himself tear up at the notion of having to leave. The teen had improved his emotional mentality, somewhat, but was still quite emotional in instances like these.
"You've grown a lot since that day, Lucas. Make sure you become the Wizard King and bring us to a castle like you promised!" Melanie winked towards Lucas and she slapped him on the back.
Upon hearing the promise that he made to them when he was eight years old, he started to heat up with embarrassment and sweat was trickling down his face. "Oh, yeah... I guess I did say that, didn't I... Fine! I-I will do just that!" He tried to laugh it off but knew Melanie would tease him for it regardless.
"Remember... you always have a home here, Lucas". David brought the youngster to his chest as they embraced for a hug. Through the seven years he had been with David and Melanie, they became like a father and sister to him which he highly appreciated.
"G-guys...". Lucas started to cry as he knew he wouldn't be seeing them for a long time. "Th-thank you for everything you guys have done for me... I'll always be thinking about you!" He wiped his tears with his dark blue sleeves. "Well, I guess I'm off!" He turned to exit the house he had lived in for seven years.
Iris then ran after him. "W-wait! I have something to give you... just as a little present". She rustled in her backpack for the item and then found it. "This is... something I wanted to give to you for your ninth birthday, but when you mentioned your goal of becoming the Wizard King, I held off on it".
Iris handed the gift to Lucas who was immediately happy at receiving it. It was the small portrait of a sunflower that she had bought when she went shopping with Melanie, on 'that' day.
"It's just a something little for you, maybe you can decorate it in your room at your Magic Knight base!" Lucas's sister cheered.
"I love it... thank you for this! I'll put it right next to the encyclopaedia that I'm taking with me". Lucas rustled around in his backpack and carefully put the two gifts next to each other, safely. When all that was set and done, Iris spoke to him seriously.
"Lucas... someday, you'll find people that will love you for who you are. Sometimes, having a shoulder to lean on isn't so bad". She winked and kissed him on the forehead.
After she said this, Lucas struggled to not feel weird about the whole 'getting to know others' thing that Iris was implying, but he did anyway. Although, he did start to think about having friends. He always wanted them, but he couldn't allow himself, physically or mentally.
Eventually though, he nodded and agreed with Iris.
"Goodbye, everyone!" He shouted before turning around and setting off for the Royal Capital.
Lucas's journey was a relatively simple one towards the Royal Capital. He encountered a few problems like those flaming bulls again, but he swiftly dealt with it through his Light Magic. The journey would take a day or so, so he had to camp out for a night, in the wilderness.
After the night was over, he packed up and set off once more. Now rejuvenated from his night's rest, he moved even quickly than before and made it to a huge hill that overlooked the Royal Capital.
"Wow, so that's the Royal Capital? It's so big!" Lucas looked at the huge Capital that was in the distance. It looked like some type of mini medieval kingdom that was sat on top of a mountain. Lucas, having never seen anything as huge and vast as this. Without even another thought, he ran towards the entrance in the distance.
Lucas entered the Royal Capital for the first time and was immediately overwhelmed with what he saw all around him. There were hundreds upon hundreds of people all walking and running around the vast area. To the right of him, there were plenty of stalls that were selling all types of food items such as sugary snacks and flavoured waters. On the left of him, there were all sorts of activities that people were participating in. A game where you used you mana to shoot bullets towards stuffed toys was the most popular one as many citizens had flocked over to it.
"I'm definitely going to avoid that area...". Lucas thought to himself as he walked on slowly towards the venue where the entrance exam would be held. The mage also started to notice that there were balloon-like decorations attached to all of the stalls. The balloons were all in the shape of the nine different Magic Knight squads and the teen was excited by looking at them.
Lucas was walking through the busy area, keeping to himself and making sure he doesn't bump into anyone along the way. As he was doing so, he found himself thinking about one specific person.
"I do hope that one person got a grimoire in the end...". His mind wandered to the day he saw the ashen-haired teen begging for a grimoire that had never arrived. "... It would be a shame if his future couldn't be obtained...".
As Lucas got closer to the venue, he started to get a bit dizzy from all of the commotion around him, so he increased his pace and tried to walk quickly. But, in doing so, he almost clashed into a brown-haired man who was speaking to a red-haired lady, who was accompanied by three little children, although it seemed like she wasn't happy with it.
"Where is a cute lady like you going? How about we go eat somewhere, you can even bring your children". The man who was wearing a black robe of some kind asked, or rather pestered the young lady.
"Children?! They are my siblings! I have a restaurant to run and I'm super busy, so no, hmph!" The red-haired girl walked off in a hurry.
A part of Lucas was glad she wasn't going to be hassled anymore. "Thank goodness... that man seemed very pushy". He thought.
The Light Mage was near to his destination when he turned his head to the right and saw two boys also next to him, walking parallel. "Oh! It's those guys from Hage!" Lucas set his mind back to the awarding ceremony. "If he's here... then that means he got his grimoire! That's a relief... I... m-maybe I sh-sh-should speak to them... n-n-no... I can't d-do that". Lucas had started to approach them, but backed off as his fears had set in. After that, he focused on the entrance of the venue and got in line for the admissions to the exam.
After a few minutes, there were only three people ahead of him in the line at the admissions desk. It was a girl, the tall, black-haired teen from Hage, and the short ashen-haired teen from the same area. After the girl had skipped away, it was Yuno's turn.
"I'm Yuno, from Hage Village". The tall teen spoke to the officer at the desk.
"Number 164, good luck". The man said to Yuno who walked off.
"I'm Asta, from Hage Village too! Hey, this is my grimoire, scan it in please!" The small teen shouted in a loud voice.
"Number 165, good luck...". Sweat fell from the man's forehead.
It was now Lucas's turn for his grimoire to be scanned. He stood forward and handed his four-leafed magical book to the man at the desk.
"Number 166, good lu-". He stopped and admired the grimoire in front of him. "I've never seen a grimoire like this... and another four-leaf! How lucky can you kids get?" He set aside the grimoire and spoke to Lucas. "What's your secret?" He asked in a teasing manner.
"Huh? M-m-my secret?" Lucas worriedly thought. "Oh... hm, does he mean what I add in my breakfast in the morning? Or maybe how I train my muscles...? Oh, what do I do...". Lucas clearly didn't understand the man was joking with his tone of voice, so the man went to return his grimoire, but then noticed something else.
From besides Lucas, Asta started shouting. "Hey, I forgot my grimoire! Sorry about that, can I have it back?!" The green-eyed teen ran back to the line and apologised for leaving his grimoire.
"Oh, sure. You need to take more care, young boy!" The man replied and went to pick Asta's grimoire up, but instead, he saw both Asta's and Lucas's grimoire stuck to each other with both front covers together. "Huh? That's odd, why did they... stick t-together...? I'm sure they were both on other sides of the desk...". The man wondered but ended up prying the two away from each other.
"Sorry about that guys!" Asta took his grimoire and ran off with it, not questioning the weird occurrence that just happened.
Lucas took his and walked off as well, but he thought about that whole exchange in his head. "Why did our grimoires... stick together like that? That was so odd...". The ginger-haired teen walked towards the group of people who had all gathered in one area of the town. Lucas was in the middle of this colosseum-type area and admired the surroundings.
"I remember seeing a drawing of this from one of Big Sis's story books about the Magic Knights! I can't believe I'm here!" He internally shouted to himself, whereas his external demeanour was completely calm.
All of a sudden, a flock of dark-blue and white birds started to fly over towards every person who was looking to take the exam. They swarmed the venue and it looked like they started attacking a few, or rather just annoyingly peck at them.
Asta and Yuno weren't too far from Lucas and it was the same situation with them. Many of those small birds, which were known as Anti-Birds, flew over towards the two, but surprisingly only started to peck at Asta.
"Anti-Birds go towards people with low amounts of mana... but Asta has so many of them on his head!" Lucas thought as murmurs from the crowd started rising up. They were all commenting on the boy's lack of mana, but then more noise started to happen due to what was happening to Yuno next to him.
Or... what wasn't happening. There were no Anti-Birds on him at all. There was at least one Anti-Bird on every single mage, but for Yuno, there were none flocking towards him.
"I guess, both of those guys have different levels of mana... I mean, I can't really say anything when...". Lucas looked around and it turned out there were no birds swarming towards him either. He just stood there, embarrassed by the looks he was given.
"Two people... from the boonies have no Anti-Birds around them?"
"I'm a Noble and I have two of those damn birds on me! What do those peasants have that I don't?"
After the mumbling and the shouting was over, everyone turned their heads towards the sounding of music and sirens. As they did, they also saw a group of nine people beginning to walk out from a tunnel. They all had an intense presence to them, and Lucas could feel the amount of power from them, even by looking from afar. Lucas had no idea who they were, but he heard some person, called Sekke, explain them to Asta. Lucas casually listened in.
"That's the Captain of the Silver Eagles, Nozel Silva!" The man with long, silver hair, sat down on a chair that overlooked the Magic Knights exam. The most notable thing about him was his long braid that sat in front of his face.
"The Captain of the Crimson Lion Kings, Fuegoleon Vermillion!" The man with long, Vermillion hair, sat down too. His mesmerising presence captivated everyone around as they looked in awe.
"The Captain of the Green Praying Mantises, Jack the Ripper!" The man with long, black hair, also sat down. His tall, but weird stature scared a few around as some of them started to cower.
"The Captain of the Blue Rose Knights, Charlotte Roselei!" The woman with blonde hair and a helmet upon it, sat down. She was very beautiful, and her looks captivated the examinees.
"The Captain of the Purple Orcas, Gueldre Poizot".
"The Captain of the Coral Peacocks, Dorothy Unsworth!" There was a purple-haired woman who wore a witches hat that started to walk and sit down. Although she was beautiful, no one really knew what she was like due to the amount she slept.
"The Captain of the Aqua Deer, Rill Boismortier!" The man, or rather teen, was waving to everyone as he sat down on the chair. His aqua-coloured hair looked to be glowing for some reason. The main fact about him is that he was 19.
"Woah, he's 19? Maybe becoming the Wizard King isn't that far away, after all!" Lucas excitedly thought to himself.
"The Captain of the Black Bulls, Yami Sukehiro... no one really likes the Black Bulls and they're quite barbaric from what I've heard". The man sat down in a lazy position with his feet leaning against the rails in front of him. He was wearing a white vest that seemed close to ripping from his muscles underneath.
"So, he's a Captain too? I don't think I could survive in a squad like that...". Lucas set his mind to the possibility, but had it return after he started shivering from being scared at the thought.
"And finally, the Captain of the most powerful Magic Knights Squad, the Golden Dawn, William Vangeance! It's said that he's the next candidate to become the Wizard King!" A man with a golden mask walked forward to address everyone. He had a different aura and feel to him which immediately drew in everyone's attention.
"So, he's the one said to be the next... Wow! I have to be better than that man...". Lucas was starting to get excited at the prospect of being able to achieve his dream, but he knew that he had to work hard for it.
After the introductions were over and everyone stopped talking amongst themselves, the Golden Dawn Captain brought out his grimoire.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I will be conducting this exam".
"Magic tree, descend!"
NOTES:
A very long chapter, probably my longest actually. I felt like I needed to fit this much here because of how slow paced it was before. I'm now happy with the pacing, so my chapters will return to the original length of around 2500-3000 words.
Lucas has finally entered the exam, will he pass? Will he fail? Which squad will he join?
What was up with Asta's and Lucas's grimoires?
