Struggle and Success in the Magic Exam

Right after the rest of the Magic Knight Captains made themselves know, Yami came up to his chair with his two squad members behind him.

"Let's get this over with. The sooner we start, the sooner we'll be done." Yami said, letting out a yawn.

"This exam is going to decide these youths' future. You really shouldn't be taking it so lightly." William said in a friendly tone towards Yami.

"You take it seriously enough for all of us." Yami countered.

"All the captains, here in one place." Sekke amazed of seeing the sight with his very own eyes.

Narrator: Each of the Magic Knight squad captains is said to be more powerful than a hundred mages combined. From their illustrious ranks will come the next Wizard King.

"And the Wizard King?' Asta asked excitedly, trying to see if the Wizard King himself is here, which got Sekke laughing a bit.

"Like he would bother with something as pedestrian as an exam! Just getting all the squad captains in one place is miraculous already." Sekke stated.

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about not all of the squad captains get along with each other." Rinwell recalled hearing that little tale.

"Even so, it is breathtaking that all the captains are here!" Rinwell commented with a smile.

Seeing that appears to be all the candidates have gathered here, William begins to speak.

"Attention, examinees!" William said, getting the ones below their attention to him.

"Thank you for waiting. I will be administering this year's entrance exam." William held out his gold Grimoire and it flaps to a certain page.

"Magic Tree's Descent." Willaim casted his spell and suddenly the sky is covered in dark clouds with a strong gust of wind and a golden light appears at the center and out came some tree roots that got everyone scared.

"So cool! Willaim's World Tree Magic is so amazing that it can even affect the sky!" Laphicet freaked out happily like a fanboy.

"Surprise, surprise. Amazing as usual." Finral smiled, he could not stop getting impressed by this guy's magic.

"My, oh my, I can see that William is still being such a showoff as ever." Magilou chuckled, watching this from a higher view with one floating card.

The tree roots kept growing down while forming into brooms, and each broom are being handed to each examinee as they are wondering about the purpose of these brooms. All except for Asta, Yuno, and Laphicet.

"(Right now, this man is the one closest to becoming the Wizard King.)" Asta and Yuno thought looked determined.

"(Seeing a Magic Knight Captain's power like this is so amazing, I wanna be strong like that. A strong wizard who can do so much good in the world!)" Laphicet thought smiled.

"We kept you waiting long enough. The time has come. Let the entrance exam begin!" William declared.

"(Alright, better pay close attention to what the test will be. I have a feeling it has something to do with the brooms he gave us.)" Laphicet thought looked at his broom.

"In just a few moments, we'll begin the first in a series of tests. The nine Magic Knight captains will be serving as your judges. And when the exam is complete, we will choose the individuals we want on our squads. If chosen, you are in. If more than one squad chooses you, you will decide which you would like to join. However, if you are no selected by any squad, that means you have been deemed unqualified to join the Magic Knights." William explained the rules.

"(That means I will have to really try my hardest if I'm ever going to impress the captains.)" Laphicet thought clenched onto his broom.

"And now for your first test. You must use the brooms you've been given to fly." William revealed the first text of the exam.

"To fly?" A girl confused.

"I've never done that before." A guy said.

"A mage who is in control of his or her magic power can do it on instinct alone. It is our most basic way to get from one place to another. If you can't fly on a broom, then you are not worth our time." William explained.

"Oh, this is something similar my parents told me a while back." Rinwell smiled, understanding this.

"(I've always seen Grimoirh fly on her Grimoire around back home, but I think that's just because of her size and curse.)" Laphicet thought remembered Grimoire flying.

"Enough talk. Now, begin!" William announced the start of the match.

All the examinees started pouring some of the magic into the brooms and begun flying in the air though some are struggling to keep themselves on their brooms without being thrown off and being hung upside-down, but they are hanging in there, in a literal scene.

"(This test is an excellent way for us to gauge the examinees' basic abilities.)" Charlotte thought looked at most of the examinees.

"(Seems we have a number of promising candidates this year.)" Charlotte thought looked up seeing the other examinees are doing very well on their brooms and soaring higher in the air.

Yuno is among those examinees showing incredible control of his broom and standing on the broom with just two feet, almost like a flying surfboard with no difficulty with the balance as he is soon joined by Rinwell and Laphicet.

"This is amazing! I had no idea flying a brook could feel so much fun!" Laphicet smiled.

"I know, it makes me feel like how Hootle feels when he's flying!" Rinwell laughed happily.

"Man, one guy from a backwater village doing so well with the broom is hard enough to believe, but seeing three of them is more shocking than ever!" One pale-brown hair guy surprised.

"Two of them were chosen by the four-leaf clover. But get this, I heard that one of them has a Five-leaf clover." One black hair guy mentioned.

"Are you for real?" The pale-brown hair guy shocked.

Then they heard some groaning sounds coming close to them and they turn around to see one of the examinees, that being Asta, is having a really, really, really hard time getting himself to even float a little into the air.

And it's not going well for Asta.

"Are you doing okay, Asta?" Laphicet asked, floating next to him.

"Sure… Nothing to worry about…!" Asta exclaimed, struggling in vain to get the broom to fly.

"What's going on over there? Even if he doesn't have any significant talent, he should be able to float." Fuegoleon wondered about that boy.

Nozel then notices something within the arena that he can sense this presence and it feels quite familiar and will need to see it himself.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment." Nozel said as he walked away.

"I take you haven't been able to conjure a single magical energy, have you?" Laphicet asked.

"Nope, I really tried throughout my entire life. But even so, I focus my efforts on my physical strength." Asta explained.

"Oh, I guess that explains why I've been getting the feeling that you're strong!" Laphicet smiled.

"I don't think you'll be able to pass this one. Just rest up for a bit and get yourself ready for the next tests, maybe you could do better in at least one of them." Laphicet advised.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Asta panted a little.

"Well, I've already done enough flying for this test. So, I'll just wait for the next test to begin with you." Laphicet said as he hops off his broom.

"Are you sure? Won't that take away some points or whatever for the exam?" Asta asked concern.

"I'm sure it's fine. And besides, what kind of friend would I be if I was leaving my own friend hanging like that." Laphicet smiled.

"Wow, you're a really nice guy!" Asta smiled and surprised.

"Huh, that guy is a nice one." Rill commented, feeling one examinee being nice to another.

Meanwhile, hiding behind a pillar are two young girls with one of them holding onto a broom.

"Are you ready? You should be able to fly a broom no problem." A girl said to the other girl who is a year younger.

"Yes." The younger girl nodded.

"What are you two doing?" Nozel asked, spooking the girls about his sudden presence.

"Nozel, how did you know we were here?" The older girl asked shock.

"I have my ways, but I'm surprised to see the princess of the Clover Kingdom is here. Do you have business, Alisha Diphda Clover?" Nozel asked.

"Only to help my friend here do well." Alisha answered.

Alisha is a 16-year-old girl with almond blonde hair, which is worn in a side ponytail swirling downward along with a white and yellow flower. Her haircut is strangely uneven, with each of her bangs crisscrossing, and the ends of her hair curled. She has bright green eyes. She wears armor consisting of a black undershirt, black shorts, a white and pink tunic which is worn over them, a green ribbon, steel gauntlets and white gloves. The back of her tunic displays an emblem with each of her characteristics, representing her as a knight and royalty. Her armour is said to be from a hero who defeated a beast into a black orb. Breasts size: E-cup.

"Oh, so you got the princess involved. How desperate can you be, Noelle." Nozel glared at the "little" girl.

"No, it just… I mean…" Noelle scared, trying to bring out the words but couldn't.

Noelle is a young woman with a slender build and pink eyes. She possesses long, silver-colored hair, which is tied in pigtails, with her center bangs over her forehead. Additionally, she wears a pair of purple stud earrings with a cross flory fitchy shape, and a silver bracelet on her left wrist. She wears a sleeveless, backless, short purple dress covered by a silver-colored blazer. The blazer has a backless design with sleeves attached at the back that extend slightly beyond her elbows with gold-colored cuffs. The blazer also has a pair of House Silva pins attached to it around her collarbone area. Additionally, it has frilly edges and a rounded tailcoat that extends down to her knees. Furthermore, the blazer extends up to her neck where it has frilly edges and is held together by a gold locket. She wears a brown leather belt that supports her pouch, which has a similar color and gold ornaments at its corners. The pouch hands on her right side and contains her grimoire. She also wears a pair of silver-colored leg warmers with a gold-colored cuff at both ends and a pair of sandals. Breasts size: E-cup.

"I came here of my own free will, Nozel. I came here because I wanted to help my friend." Alisha stated strongly.

"Besides, Noelle just wanted to see how well she can do compare to the other examinees." Alisha added.

"And I already told her, royalty need not undergo the same tests as common folk." Nozel said.

"Is that so? Then can you explain how my father allowed me to take part in this exam last year and became a Magic Knight? I think it's fair for royalty to do the same test as others." Alisha pointed out.

"That may be the case for you. But it has already been decided on where Noelle will go, so you two might as well stop this nonsense." Nozel said.

"… You're right, Nozel." Noelle sighed.

"Although if we're being honest, your very existence is pointless." Nozel walked away.

"Just how long are you going to keep calling her that! Is this really how your mother wanted you to treat Noelle this way?" Alisha asked, bringing up the mother which causes Noelle to stop.

"If she were here right now, she would be disappointed in how you're" But Alisha stopped her sentence when Nozel turned around and gave her the more frightening glare to send a cold shiver down her spine.

"I believe you already said quite enough for today, your highness. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back with the other captains." Nozel walked away.

"…She'll prove you wrong that she is strong!" Alisha believed, taking a slight step forward.

Nozel didn't respond this time as he kept going and not baring any mind about the princess nor his younger sister, but his mind goes to thinking about his mother who passed away sometime after Noelle's birth and the smile she had.

"(It's better… That Noelle be with others outside of the Silva family.)" Nozel thought hoped for Noelle will find a better life than with her blood family.

Noelle clutches onto her broom, feeling both angry and sad that her big brother still sees her that way.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll make him change his mind about you once you get better at using your magic." Alisha said to Noelle.

Back at the Magic Knight entrance exam, the broom test was done and move on to the next tests.

The second test is Magic Power Test to see how strong they can make their Mana to break through a stone wall. Laphicet unleash a little fire blast that destroyed about 97% of his stone wall while Rinwell destroyed over half of her wall, Asta can't do much because, again, no magic in his body.

"Maybe your Grimoire doesn't do long-range things." Laphicet guessed.

"I think you're right. My Grimoire does allow me to use a sword to fight." Asta mentioned.

"In that case, why don't you wait for the test that involves close-range." Sekke suggested.

The third test is the Magic-Power Control Test to see how much control the examinees have when trying to shoot down moving targets, Laphicet had a little trouble, but he was able to hit it while Rinwell performed a concentrated fire blast at the target which surprises Yuno.

"I see, that must be what her magic power is. More than one element." Yuno said, surprised and curious about Rinwell at the same time.

Fourth Test involves using their magic to create something out of their own element like Sekke making a bronze statue of himself, one guy making a crest out of fire, and Laphicet is making a pair of wings on his back which kinda makes him look like an angel because of his halo cowlick.

"Oh man, I'm failing at these other tests. If I don't shape up, then I'm done for!" Asta worried, but not giving up.

"Just hang in there, Asta. I'm sure we'll get to the test where you can really do your best!" Laphicet believed.

"Yeah! You better believe I'm not giving up!" Asta shouted with determination.

The fifth test, Evolution Magic Test, is using magic to make a little seed grow which is simple for some and Laphicet is surprised that he was able to do it since his magic is fire though maybe there is more to it.

And then.

"On to the next test. The final and most difficult. A display of combat skill." William revealed, shocking most of the examinees.

"Prepare to duel!" Fuegoleon shouted as he stood up.

"You will break into pairs and fight each other. Use your Grimoires to attack and defend. As knights, battle is our business. We wanna see everything you're capable of!" Fuegoleon stated.

"The test will end when one combatant either surrenders or is unable to continue. We have mages wielding Recovery Magic standing by for the injured." Willian added.

"So, don't hold anything back!" Fuegoleon said.

"Okay Asta, I know this is the last test, but I think this is where you can really shine the most! You said that you've been training your body like fucking crazy, so that means you'll be able to show off your strength with the ability of your Grimoire that could give a big, good impressions on the captain!" Laphicet believed.

"Oh man, I hope you're right! Alright, I'm gonna do my best!" Asta determined.

"In that case, how about you and I pair up! I am certainly curious about what you can do." Sekke offered to fight Asta.

However, Laphicet is getting a really weird feeling about this Sekke guy who is trying to nice like he wants something in return. A hidden motive that he is waiting to exploit for later which is probably now with the final test being combat.

"Hey Asta, mind if we talk for a second?" Laphicet grabbed Asta's hand and pulls him away to have a little talk, leaving Sekke confused.


KO a new chapter is done and hope you all enjoy it!

The Magic Knight entrance exam seems to be going well for everyone, except for Asta as he cannot do anything because of not having a single ounce of magic within his body, but at least he has Laphicet for emotional support. I hope I had you guys surprised to see Alisha Diphda in the story, decided to put her in the mix as she seem like a nice girl, and even made her the crowned princess of the Clover Kingdom and a Magic Knight! But which squad she is in; you'll have to wait and see.

KO comment, favorite, and follow through of how this story will go!