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Every year, around August and September, the moon-white Lotus would bloom all over the hillsides, their faint fragrance carried by the wind, filling the entire Hage Village.
"Check if anything's left behind, especially Bai En. You have the most stuff. Make sure you take all those strange plant seeds and all the prepared seasonings. Don't be forgetful; we won't be needing those things anymore anyway..."
Father Orji and the children, including Nash, were seeing off Bai En and his two companions, who were about to embark on a long journey, at the church entrance.
"Are you really not going to use a flying broom? It would make the journey to the Royal Capital much faster, wouldn't it?" Father Orji asked again, holding a flying broom in his hand.
"We specifically chose this time to go, leaving plenty of time. Consider it a journey of experience. You should keep the flying broom for yourself, Father Orji," Bai En replied with a smile, his backpack bulging.
"Alright then."
Bai En straightened his back and looked up at the church. Under the blue sky and white clouds, this house, which had been constantly repaired in recent years but still looked very dilapidated, revealed its red bricks through a corner of its faded, peeling wall.
It was such a place, and now, at the time of parting, he felt a hint of reluctance.
The wind rustled the leaves of a nearby tree.
Asta was still bickering with Nash, "Oh~ Asta, go early and come back early."
"Hmm, Nash~"
Asta, thinking Nash was expressing concern for him, smiled, "You all take good care of yourselves at the church too."
"Wait, what does 'go early and come back early' mean?"
The brown-haired "little adult" Nash looked at Asta, expressionless: "It means exactly what it says, go early~ come back early. Anyway, you're just going through the motions."
"Huh?!"
"Why don't you say that to Bai En and Yuno?"
"You're not like Brother Yuno or Brother Bai En. You can't even use magic. What can you do with just a tattered grimoire and a rusty greatsword?"
"Join the Magic Knights? Don't make me laugh." A wisp of orange-yellow flame burned at Nash's fingertip. "In this world, magic is everything."
"Tch, damn it!"
Asta debated with Nash, holding his grimoire: "Don't underestimate my grimoire and my demon-slayer sword, they're super strong."
"And..." He put his hands on his hips, looking exceptionally confident, "After half a year of special training, I've been reborn. I'm definitely going to join the Magic Knights, just you wait."
"Hmm, I'll be waiting~"
Nash responded to Asta indifferently.
"You brat, can't you show me some respect? I'm at least a few years older than you."
"Only a few years..."
The little girl, Doa, with straight bangs, and tiny Dole clung to Bai En's legs, one on each side, their soft voices like buzzing mosquitoes: "Brother Bai En, we'll miss you."
"Hmm~"
Bai En ruffled their heads, a smile spreading across his face: "Are you going to miss me? Or are you going to miss the food I cook?"
Dole, chubby from baby fat, mumbled: "Both! Brother Bai En and delicious meat..."
Sister Lily picked up the golden-haired Dole and said softly: "Alright, it's time to leave. Doa, Dole, don't delay their journey."
Waving goodbye, Asta and his two companions gradually walked into the distance.
Slowly, the church and everyone's figures blurred into a tiny black dot.
On the road south to the Royal Capital, Asta recounted his experiences with a touch of regret: "Damn it, I confessed to the Sister again today and got rejected. Even at this sad moment of parting, it wasn't enough to move her?"
"It's not over yet~ I won't give up!"
"Asta, Sisters are clergy; they can't marry. And a 15-year-old boy can't marry either," Yuno said, pouring a bucket of cold water on his enthusiasm with an expressionless face.
Bai En also took the opportunity to twist the knife: "Someone with the Sister's quiet personality wouldn't like your loud style, and besides, Asta~ you're even shorter than the Sister."
"Eh?"
Asta, not to be outdone, gestured his height: "It's not like you said, Bai En. In the past six months, I've grown a lot. If I keep growing at this rate, I'll definitely catch up to you and Yuno."
Bai En smiled and didn't reply.
In the past six months, while researching the "Blessing of the God of Cooking" magic, besides gaining a certain upper limit of magic power by satisfying diners with delicious food, he also created a series of special effect foods from the ingredients themselves, such as: Echo Mushroom Soup for restoring magic power, Clear Line Resonance Pepper for increasing magic burst... Asta's growth in height was also related to the Weave-Flavor Green Vine, a magic from the "Blessing of the God of Cooking" that Bai En added to his food.
The three left the borders of Hage Village, and the moon-white Lotus receded with the wind and the hillside.
"How boring~"
Asta, bored on the long journey, came up with a mischievous idea: "Since we can't do mountain climbing training, fine, let's compete to see who gets to the Royal Capital first! We'll just run all the way!"
"Are you an idiot, Asta?" Bai En rolled his eyes at him, "Do you know how far Hage Village is from the Royal Capital? You'll die of exhaustion running all the way."
"Eh? Is that so?"
Asta scratched his head: "Then we'll rest when we get tired. Even if we're traveling, we can't neglect our training. The first thing before becoming the Wizard King is to join the Magic Knights!"
"Alright~ Let's go!"
His reckless charge kicked up dust, and in no time, he had opened up a long distance between himself, Bai En, and Yuno.
Perhaps worried that the muscular idiot would run off and get lost, delaying their journey, Bai En and Yuno exchanged glances, and their magic power surged simultaneously.
A wind Mage is truly excellent at traveling. Even without a flying broom, by controlling the rhythm of the wind, Yuno could float forward, barely expending any physical energy.
Bai En wasn't as lucky; similar to Asta, he relied on his physical fitness to run. However, with the help of magic, he was much more relaxed than Asta and considerably faster.
The two quickly caught up to Asta, even surpassing him, and continued forward, leaving Asta to chase after them.
"It's not over yet! I'll definitely catch up to you two!"
--------------------
After more than ten days of continuous travel, eating and sleeping in the open, at dawn, standing on a hillside, looking into the distance, beside the fiery rising sun was a vast, open plain. In the very center of the plain stood a towering, pagoda-like mountain peak.
At the foot of the mountain peak, buildings were scattered like stars, with red-roofed houses complementing the green trees.
At the high, flat top of the mountain peak, tall city walls stood like a mountain range. Within the city walls were scattered castles of varying heights, and that was the most prosperous place in the Clover Kingdom—the Royal Realm where the royalty and nobility resided.
Asta, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand, shouted excitedly: "Bai En, Yuno, we're almost there!"
Saying this, he eagerly grabbed his luggage and started rushing down the hillside. Bai En and Yuno, not far apart, watched Asta's hasty figure, and Bai En also let out a sigh of relief: "Finally, we've arrived."
This journey of more than ten days was definitely the longest hike he had ever undertaken. All along the way, he had been exposed to the sun and wind, sleeping outdoors... He missed Father Orji's flying broom a little.
Bai En now only wanted to find a place to properly soothe his body and mind, but there wasn't enough time, because today was the day of the Kingdom's Magic Knights selection.
"From here, through the outermost city of Kiga, we should reach our destination. Let's go, Yuno."
"Hmm..."
Walking into the town from outside the city walls, past the guards, the streets were lined with various shops. The dazzling array of goods and never-before-seen fruits made Asta and Yuno gradually slow their steps.
Unlike the people of Hage Village, the clothes and attire of the pedestrians on the street were far more exquisite and complex. The new and bright fabrics were also incomparable to what Bai En, Yuno, and Asta, the trio from the countryside, wore.
Fortunately, they had earned a good amount of yule by selling food at "Little Bai's Home" in Hage Village. Plus, none of the three were seeking wealth, so they didn't feel inferior, their eyes filled with curiosity for the novelties.
Asta, who bought two grilled purple snakes from an old woman's stall, strolled leisurely ahead, curious about every item in every shop through the glass.
Bai En bought a few green apples from a fruit stall. After handing one to Yuno, he started eating one himself. It was crisp, sweet, and very juicy, but almost no different from an ordinary apple.
"So expensive!"
Asta stared at the magic tools displayed in a magic tool shop, exclaiming. The armor and greatswords, which looked very ordinary, were actually ten times more expensive than all the wages he had earned working for Bai En.
"Can't afford it..."
Bai En also leaned in to observe some weapon shops. 'I wonder if there will be iron essence for sale. Last time, I only managed to buy a little residual iron essence from the village blacksmith. Now, my cooking utensil, "Face Cleaver," is less than two-tenths refined.'
"Expensive forging materials like iron essence are useless to people in remote villages. I only managed to collect this much because I once stayed in the Royal Capital for a while."
"If you want more, you can only try your luck in the Royal Capital or the black market. This stuff is not only expensive but also very rare," old blacksmith Viao of Hage Village had said.
Walking along the street, the crowd ahead grew denser.
That was an open area located outside the residential district. There were no other buildings around, only a circular arena. The stone carvings and color scheme were somewhat similar to ancient Roman bullfighting rings.
A red carpet was laid out at the entrance leading inside. Many people stood along the arena's exterior, cheering for their family and companions.
"You can do it~"
"You have to believe in yourself..."
Asta, unaware, shamelessly enjoyed their encouragement, even waving back. The people he noticed and waved to were a bit stunned.
"Who is this guy?"
After entering through the passage, it was the registration process. The relevant Mages would give each registrant a number and make a magic mark on their grimoire to prevent impersonation.
People successively completed their registration and entered the arena. Due to the upcoming assessment, the nervous crowd made the scene unusually quiet.
"Yuno, from Hage Village."
"Alright~ You are number 165. Please present your grimoire."
The recording staff who took the grimoire was stunned. It was a four-leaf grimoire, different from the traditional three-leaf. He, of course, knew what that meant: "A four-leaf grimoire? You... are from Hage Village, that village on the kingdom's furthest border?"
"Yes."
Those with keen ears naturally heard their conversation, and the quiet crowd instantly became lively.
"Is it true or false? Did I hear correctly? A four-leaf grimoire? Isn't that the same grimoire as the legendary First Magic Emperor?"
"Hey, didn't you hear where he's from? Hage Village!"
"Eh? Hage? Isn't that a place even more remote than ours? Can such a genius come from there?"
The recording Mage coughed and returned the grimoire: "Alright, you may enter. Next!"
Asta excitedly rushed up to take his place, presenting his grimoire: "My name is Asta, also from Hage Village. This is my grimoire."
The recording staff's expression wasn't very good due to Asta's overly enthusiastic actions.
'What the heck, the grimoire is filthy and looks even worse than a regular one. Sure enough, even if they're from the same village, not all of them are geniuses.' While thinking, the recording Mage made the mark and returned it to Asta.
"Alright~ Next."
"Hello~ Bai En, Hage Village."
The Mage who took the grimoire listened to Bai En introduce himself. 'That remote village actually has three people signing up this year?'
"But, it's so thin."
The Mage touched Bai En's grimoire. He glanced at the delicate-faced young man standing before him, secretly pondering: 'Are they using a human wave tactic? But joining the Magic Knights isn't just about numbers; it's entirely based on strength and talent.'
With good intentions, as he handed back the grimoire, he said: "Although I don't know why someone like you would come here to participate in the Magic Knights assessment, please do your best and give it your all. Consider it an experience in life."
Hearing this, Bai En, who took back his grimoire, was a little confused. 'Someone like me? An experience? What does he mean? I didn't quite understand.'
After a moment of hesitation, he nodded and walked into the magnificent arena.
Because he was carrying a lot of things, most of which were quite important to him, Bai En didn't go directly to the center of the arena square. Instead, he found a corner to put his belongings down.
The collected plant seeds naturally possessed magic, and Bai En's magic perception was quite good. Moreover, this was the territory of the Magic Knights, so he wasn't worried that someone would steal his things.
Leaning against the wall and gnawing on the half-eaten apple from the street, he casually glimpsed the silver-haired girl hidden behind a pillar. She had twin pigtails and was huddled in a shadowy corner.
"Noelle, is that you?" Bai En murmured, "Seeing her in person, she looks even better than in the manga~"
Noelle seemed to notice Bai En's gaze, and then she hid even further away, keeping her distance from the crowd.
Bai En's interest waned. He remembered that at this time, due to the disdain of her siblings and her difficulty in controlling her magic, Noelle was quite insecure.
After finishing the apple in his hand, holding the core, "Dissolve" activated silently. Like an automatic shredder, white powder slipped from his fingertips, scattering into the air and drifting away with the wind.
Looking from afar at Asta being chased by a flock of Anzhi Birds in the arena, Bai En walked towards the center of the arena.
A figure in a black robe walked towards him. As they passed, Bai En keenly felt a sense of danger, but there was no malice in that danger.
With a glance, he clearly saw the face beneath the black robe. It was a girl with rare scarlet hair, very beautiful, with a hint of cold aloofness in her brows.
"No impression~ Is she a background character?"
Muttering to himself, Bai En walked into the crowd in the center. The Anzhi Birds, intentionally released, seemed to be the first hidden assessment, providing the most direct way to gauge the magic power of the participants.
After half a year of training, under the "Blessing of the God of Cooking," Bai En's magic power had greatly increased. The originally mist-like magic in his body had condensed into a liquid like water, quietly flowing within him like a stream.
The accumulated stream grew longer and longer, subtly showing a tendency to converge into a river. Now, his magic power was no worse than that of an average noble or royal.
But even so, there were still shortcomings.
An Anzhi Bird flew from the sky and landed on Bai En's shoulder, becoming still. Compared to the Anzhi Birds directly avoiding Yuno, his magic power was still inferior to Yuno's.
"It's only just begun, isn't it? There's still time," Bai En reassured himself. He had already made great progress.
When Asta was single-handedly lifted by Yami Sukehiro, the captain of the Black Bulls, colorful fireworks instantly erupted in the high sky above the arena.
Amidst the bursting fireworks, the Magic Knights assessment officially began...