A dazzling wave of light burst from Adam's mouth, blasting the foul-mouthed man clean out of the tower.
The man was charred black, foam spilling from his mouth as he collapsed unconscious.
The thousand-year-old Grimoire Tower now had a brand-new hole in its wall.
"The power's still too weak," Adam muttered, laughing under his breath. "Guess that's what I get for holding back."
Otherwise, if he went all-out, he might've killed the guy in public—and that would be… inconvenient.
Still, he'd just awakened the power of a dragon. No wonder it felt unstable.
"Adam! What are you doing?!" The father from the church shouted up at him.
"Nothing," Adam replied calmly, brushing off the dust.
"You damn bugs—no talent of your own, yet you laugh at someone who works ten thousand times harder than you!"
He swept his gaze across the crowd. The rookies froze, too terrified to breathe.
The remaining loudmouth, seeing Adam's eyes on him, went completely still—his pants wet, trembling like a cornered rabbit.
"To make sure you two don't cause trouble later, I'll pay your home a visit."
Adam grabbed the collar of the terrified boy and dragged both him and his half-dead friend out of the tower.
"Adam, what are you doing?!" someone yelled.
"Simple," Adam said coldly. "Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. Lead the way."
He kicked the boy forward. The crew-cut youth glanced back in despair; everyone else avoided his eyes. Even the Tower Master stood frozen, uncertain.
This was still the Clover Kingdom. There were lines that couldn't be crossed.
But this was the countryside—far from noble eyes—and as long as no one died, no one would interfere.
Sometimes, evil had to be cut off before it grew roots.
Inside the tower, everyone exhaled the moment Adam left.
"So scary… what kind of magic was that? He actually blew a hole in the Grimoire Tower!"
"Adam always seemed so laid-back. Turns out he was just pretending—he's a total devil!"
The old priest looked confused, exchanging glances with Sister Lily. Together, they went to find the Tower Master.
The Grimoire Ceremony ended—successfully, more or less.
Well, except for one person.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Asta's voice echoed from a giant tree outside, his face full of frustration.
"I'll prove to the world that even if you don't have magic, even if you're an outcast, you can still achieve great things!"
"I'll definitely become the Wizard King!"
He roared with all the stubborn pride in his heart.
Adam's methods were harsh—too harsh to describe in polite words.
But ever since that day, no one dared mock those without magic again. His reputation alone cast a long, terrifying shadow.
"Ashta… sorry," Adam whispered from the woods, watching Asta get knocked down again and again by chains of anti-magic. "This is your path. I can't interfere."
Anger flickered in his chest, but he restrained it. A butterfly's wings could change fate—he couldn't risk altering Asta's destiny.
The boy who dreamed of becoming the Wizard King would never stop here.
The black devil emerged, and former rivals reunited.
Watching from above, Adam finally breathed out in relief.
His butterfly hadn't caused a storm after all.
Still… it was so damn cheesy!
"Pfft—ha ha!"
He couldn't help laughing. Seeing a real-life hot-blooded shōnen moment—this was youth at its purest.
"Who's there?" Yuno was the first to react, shouting toward the bushes.
Asta, still flushed from Yuno's declaration—"You're my rival"—looked blissfully dazed.
"Of course it's me!" Adam jumped out of the brush, slinging an arm around both of them.
"I saw everything! Yuno, when you said, 'You're my rival,' it was so full of gay energy. You looked so shy!"
Yuno turned away, grumbling, "Who said I had a good relationship with that idiot? I just made that up."
"Yuno, are you lying to me again?!" Asta's eyes welled up with tears, his expression pitiful—like a kicked puppy.
"Haha, Yuno, you're too dishonest," Adam teased, dragging both boys back toward the church.
"Adam, when did you get here?"
"Right when you called him your rival! It was embarrassing as hell."
"Stop talking!"
"Then why didn't you save us?!"
"I knew you two could handle it!"
The setting sun stretched their shadows long behind them as the three walked home together.
At the top of the Grimoire Tower…
"Tower Master, I'm really sorry about that Adam kid," Father Orsi said awkwardly.
"It doesn't matter," the white-bearded Tower Master replied, eyes gleaming with intrigue.
"Luck, devil, great power... He's not simple."
"What did you say, Tower Master?" Sister Lily asked curiously.
"Nothing. I just have a feeling that Yuno, Adam, and Asta will shine in this year's Magic Knight entrance exam."
His confidence seemed misplaced, but Lily smiled, feeling the same quiet hope.
"Is Asta going too?" Orsi asked, half-smiling, half-worried. "He doesn't even have mana…"
"Father, you don't want to let him go, do you?" Lily teased.
The Tower Master chuckled knowingly.
"How could that be? I'm just… afraid the children will feel lonely," Orsi admitted. "I've raised them since they were babies. Now that they're leaving, it feels… strange."
"The fledgling will eventually leave the nest and soar as a true eagle," the Tower Master said solemnly, turning to the window.
"A light even more dazzling than a four-leaf clover… That golden grimoire grants power to one without mana. No—it's a power beyond magic itself."
"Only one-page glows…"
Adam sat atop the massive stone skull, flipping through his golden grimoire.
Its cover was engraved with the Twelve Zodiac Talismans. Thirteen pages in total.
The first showed the twelve beasts arranged in a circle—only the Dragon sigil shone gold.
The remaining twelve pages represented the ancient noble beasts: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit… and so on.
"A semicircle, huh? Even the pattern's black. No wonder it's still weak."
He traced the golden dragon mark on the fifth page. Not counting the cover, only that one had partially awakened.
"The jade pendant's still warm…"
He stood slowly, fingers brushing the pendant at his chest, eyes blazing with ambition.
"I still don't have mana. How the hell do I train?"
"The Dragon's only half-awakened—how do I unlock the rest?"
"When I leave here… what kind of monsters will be waiting out there?"
Then he laughed—a wild, arrogant laugh that echoed through the mountains.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"Adam's terrifying," Asta muttered below, wiping sweat from his face. "He's not crazy, but… maybe he can't handle that much excitement."
Then Asta hugged his new black grimoire and kissed it a few more times.