***
**Clover Kingdom - Kikka**
**Time: 1 Year Ago (Pre-Departure Arc)**
**Event: Magic Knights Entrance Exam**
This is the story of how Saitama actually got "registered" before getting his stars in Chapter 7. Because even the strongest man has to do paperwork.
The stadium was packed. Hundreds of hopeful mages filled the arena floor. The anti-birds (small red birds that peck people with low mana) swarmed around Asta.
"GET OFF ME!" Asta screamed, running in circles while birds dive-bombed his head.
Yuno stood silently, ignoring the birds (they avoided him due to high mana).
And Saitama?
Saitama stood in the middle of the field.
Not a single bird approached him.
In fact, the birds had formed a 10-meter dead zone circle around him.
"Master," Genos (pre-rune upgrade, still mostly mechanical) scanned the avian lifeforms. "Why do the winged pests avoid you? Your mana is zero. Logically, they should be attacking."
"I dunno," Saitama picked his ear. "Maybe I smell like a cat?"
The truth: The Anti-Birds possessed a survival instinct. They sensed Mana (tasty) or Weakness (bullying). When they looked at Saitama, their tiny bird brains registered only one signal: **APEX PREDATOR.**
Pecking Saitama would be like a mosquito biting a neutron star.
***
**Test 1: Flying on a Broom**
"Alright!" William Vangeance announced from the Captain's box. "First test! Inject mana into your broom and fly!"
Everyone hopped on. Some floated gracefully (Yuno). Some wobbled. Asta screamed at his broom for being broken.
Saitama held the wooden broomstick.
"Fly?" Saitama looked at it. "How? It has no engine."
"Just push mana into it!" a random examinee yelled, hovering past.
"Push..." Saitama frowned.
He gripped the broom handle.
*Squeeze.*
"Go up," Saitama ordered the broom.
It didn't move.
"Genos," Saitama whispered. "Give me a boost."
Genos nodded. "Understood. Aerial assist initiated."
Genos grabbed Saitama by the belt. He engaged his thrusters.
*WHOOOOSH.*
They launched.
"Weeee," Saitama said monotone, holding the broom over his head as Genos rocketed them 500 feet into the air in one second.
From the ground, it looked like Saitama flew straight up at Mach 1.
"INCREDIBLE!" King Augustus (watching via crystal ball) cheered (briefly, before hating him later). "Look at that vertical takeoff! His control is explosive!"
Yami Sukehiro narrowed his eyes. "Nah. That's just the tin can carrying him. The bald one is dead weight."
"Descent phase initiated," Genos reported.
They hovered near the birds.
"Wait," Saitama looked down. "I have to land, right? Can the broom do that?"
"No, Master. It is wood."
Saitama tried to 'steer' by tilting the broom. The broom snapped in half in his grip.
*CRACK.*
"Uh oh," Saitama held two broken sticks.
They fell.
Genos cut his engines (to make it look like a controlled landing). Saitama plummeted.
He landed on his feet. The impact cratered the arena floor, blowing dust into the eyes of every other examinee.
When the dust settled, Saitama was holding the two broken pieces of the broom.
"I think I failed," Saitama said.
***
**Test 2: Magic Power Display (Mato-Ate)**
"Hit the target with magic!" The proctor shouted.
Contestants threw fireballs, water jets, rocks.
Saitama walked up. There was a brick wall target.
"Genos, pass me a rock."
"Master, rocks are physical."
"It's Earth Magic," Saitama insisted.
Genos handed him a pebble.
Saitama assumed a pitcher's stance.
**"Normal Throw."**
He flicked his wrist.
*SNAP.* (Sound barrier breaking).
The pebble vanished.
The brick wall target vanished.
The wall behind the target vanished.
The retaining wall of the stadium vanished.
A tree in the forest outside vanished.
A clean, circular hole punched through four layers of matter.
The proctor dropped his clipboard. "What spell was that? Gravity Bullet? Invisible Lance?"
Saitama dusted his hands. "Stone Bullet. I'm an Earth Mage."
The Captains muttered.
Fuegoleon: "Raw power. Unrefined."
Nozel: "Barbaric."
Jack: "I want to cut him!"
Yami: "He broke the wall. Who's paying for that?"
***
**Test 3: Combat**
"Find a partner!"
Everyone avoided Asta.
Everyone avoided the guy who threw a pebble through the castle walls.
Finally, a cocky noble named **Sekke Bronzazza** stepped up.
"Bah-ha!" Sekke smirked. "You! Baldy! You look strong, but clumsy! Fight me!"
Saitama looked at Sekke.
"Are you the broom guy?"
"No! I am Sekke! My Bronze Magic is invincible!"
Sekke created his **Magnum Cannonball**. A translucent bronze sphere protecting him. He floated there, smug. "You can't break this! It repels mana!"
"You're in a bubble?" Saitama asked. "Like a hamster?"
"It's absolute defense! Attack me!"
Saitama walked up to the bronze sphere.
He tapped on the shell. *Knock knock.*
"Hello?" Saitama asked.
Sekke sweated. "Whatever! Attack seriously!"
"Okay."
Saitama raised his fist.
**"Serious Knock."**
He rapped his knuckles on the barrier. Just a "Knock, knock, anyone home?" tap, but with *Serious Intent*.
The shockwave didn't break the shell.
It *rang* the shell.
*DOOOOONG.*
The bronze sphere vibrated like a temple bell struck by a meteor. The sound was deafening.
Inside, the vibration liquefied the air. Sekke's eyes rolled back into his head. His skeleton rattled.
"Bah... ha... uuuuggh..."
Sekke collapsed inside his bubble, frothing at the mouth from sonic concussion.
Saitama looked at the proctor.
"He's asleep," Saitama said. "Did I win?"
Yami stood up in the Captain's box.
"I want that one," Yami grinned. "The weirdo who knocks people out by ringing them like a dinner bell. He fits right in."
And thus, the legend began.
***
**Bonus Flashback: The Exam Interview**
Captain Yami sat before Saitama.
"So," Yami exhaled smoke. "Why do you want to join the Magic Knights?"
Saitama thought about it.
*Money.*
*Sale at the Capital market.*
*Free housing.*
"To protect the peace," Saitama lied poorly. "And justice. Stuff like that."
Yami laughed. "Liar. You're broke, aren't you?"
Saitama flinched. "Is it that obvious?"
"You're wearing a suit that used to be yellow but is now 'dirt' colored. You haven't blinked in two minutes because you're eyeing my sandwich."
Saitama looked at the ham sandwich on Yami's desk.
"Are you gonna eat that?"
Yami pushed the plate forward.
"Join my squad. The Black Bulls. We got the worst reputation, the worst base, and the most problems. But we eat good."
Saitama grabbed the sandwich.
"Deal."
And that, history records, was the most expensive contract ever signed for the price of ham and cheese.