Below the peak of the Sabertooth mountain a small cottage withstood the harsh blizzard. The unforgiving snowstorm made the snow pile up, when it reached a certain point it was dragged back into the very storm that placed it there.
The door of the cabin opened slowly, revealing a young man with yellow hair and pupils. His clothing was extremely normal, with the only notable thing was a ring on his left hand a strange necklace carrying a tear-like pearl. He did have a scabbard at his side which wasn't decorated, although the sword's handle it kept held a few gems.
He opened the door for a strange visitor, after all, who would make such a voyage through the mountain and the merciless storm? There weren't any rumors of treasure or famous stories, it was just an area that was just below the one-star danger zone, making it unremarkable.
Still, the visitor came, dressed in clothing outshining everything the cabin's habitant wore. Golden lines that came from his shoulders and neck that traveled all the way down. His clothing were a blend of different blues interwoven with the lines.
Despite the outside weather, the visitor was completely fine, not a speck of snow covered his body. This was above Lucas's own technique as he could only stop him from getting cold. Snow still covered him, he just had to wipe it off or melt it through his internal body heat.
The man had a light blue bubble around him that unlike Elam's didn't give off any warmth. After further inspection anyone would find it was pure magic without any elemental interference. Most simply used pure magic for a magic shields since it was transparent unlike a stone shield and still had a great defense.
"Hello there, Conrad. It's nice to see you without a mask, you really shouldn't be that shy about your appearance, you look average."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment, Asta?"
Both parties knew each other though they had never spoken once. It showed that each side had done their research and were prepared for anything that might ensue.
"Think of it as you will, a compliment from someone like me should be cherished."
"Why have you come to visit me?", Lucas's question wasn't without any meaning. It had only been a week since the school's competition, and he hadn't left the mountain since.
He had been warned enough by Elam's friend and knew that assassins had to be prowling the mountain. His only insurance was the fact that he had Elam with him. This territory was ruled by him which gave him some safety. The nobles would have to hire a Rank 3 assassin if they wanted a chance at a victory.
Enlisting someone of that capacity required more than just a few treasures, so for now Elam could handle them. Simply intimidating or revealing them was enough for most assassins to run away. If their hiding techniques weren't good enough, how would they succeed in the execution of the target?
"C'mon now, no need to start circulating your magic, I'm not planning on fighting right now. Not that you could win against me anyway."
His arrogance was boundless, and his smile reflected that. But unlike with Eliot, Lucas could tell there was a form of certainty, he felt that Asta wasn't joking.
"Fine, answer my question."
"How rude, do you not have any social skills?"
"Are you here to mock me or do you have a purpose?"
"My goodness, your incessant questioning is really off-putting you know? Well, I guess I've come here to become your friend."
Asta said while stretching his arm, reaching for a handshake. Lucas didn't know what to think of it. He couldn't feel any malice, but it all felt weird.
"Are you serious?"
"When have I not been serious? Joking around is reserved for the brain-dead."
During their entire conversation, Asta didn't lose his smile.
"Why would you want to become my friend, what's the point."
Asta lost his smile for a second, before grinning again.
"Look Conrad, you and I have something in common. We're intellectually far superior to the common man. Us betters need to stick together. You've shown that you're smart enough to win the competition, not through strength, but manipulation. I love that, hence I'd like to become your friend."
"You want to be friends because I'm smart?"
"Yes, although you're starting to make me doubt you with those useless questions."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not accepting any friends applications at the moment."
"That's okay, I'll come back tomorrow, same time and place. Friendship takes trust, trust takes time, so I'll give it some time."
And with that he left, disappearing in the blizzard not long after. Lucas kept the door open, lost in his confusion. He knew Asta was incredibly smart when it came to magic, during the tests he beat the teacher at their own expertise. Lucas thought that having a connection with Asta should be beneficial for him, but Asta's willingness put him on guard.
He stood there for longer than he thought, only coming back to reality after Elam complained that the snow was starting to get in.
The following days played out in a similar fashion, Lucas trained his combat and willpower and at an extremely specific time, he knew he would have a visitor. This time too, he arrived at the exact same time.
"Hello again, how have you been?", Asta's big smile really put Lucas on edge. He used a deceptive smile every now and then, but he could feel that there was some genuine emotion behind Asta's. It kind of scared him, why did this man want to become friends this bad? Lucas started to think it must've been his techniques or spells that Asta was after, but he could probably figure them out on his own.
"Great, Asta, I'm doing fine."
"Small talk improves one's trust and friendship, doesn't it?"
"Asta, is there a reason why you're so insistent on becoming my friend?"
"Of course, but that's a secret, and secrets are only meant to be shared with friends.", Asta said while holding a finger in front of his mouth.
In the world of mages where relationships were as fickle as firewood in a blizzard, there really was no reason to be so adamant on becoming friends. Still, Asta kept coming and going.
"Hello again, how have you been?", a question Lucas heard every day for the last week. At this point it became standard for him to take a break from his training to meet Asta in front of the cabin. Asta never came inside and Lucas never stepped outside, making a clear boundary between the two. This time Asta came with an interesting topic.
"Have you noticed during your time at the academy that there is something strange about the hallways?"
Every once in a while Asta liked to talk about things he wanted to discuss.
"Yes, my first time using the hallways was terrible. It was as if a certain force is constantly changing the corridors and rooms making it impossible to traverse without a map."
"Exactly! There's a clear magical signal yet most don't notice it since they have a map. They are easily available to avoid having the people get lost. Most of those stupid people wouldn't see the light of day if they ever got stuck in it. Yet, by monitoring the magical signal we can calculate what exactly is happening within the halls and use that to our advantage!"
"I haven't researched it properly, but it made me think of the Astrious Magic circle."
"Hmm, wouldn't the first two inner circles scramble the frequencies from the signal? Using that to calculate anything would create chaos, not order. I've tried to hijack the magical signal myself using the Mostrisa Magic circle, don't you think that one is more efficient?"
"The Mostrisa circle? That wouldn't be strong enough to catch all the signals in the hallways, they constantly change and the frequency changes depending on the corridor. The Mostrisa doesn't have enough reach."
"Then only a custom circle would work."
"Why not remove the two inner circles of the Astrious circle and combine it with the outer Mostrisa circle and a connector? With some adjustment to the receiving end you could succeed."
"Hmm, with a connector and splicing the outer circle in two inner ones... that should improve the efficiency, but won't get me all the way in. We'll need to upgrade it even further."
"Before you do so, why are you so curious about what the hallways have to hide? We both know there's a high chance you'll find either labs for experimentation or a hidden chamber meant for the director. There's a reason they made it so complicated."
"The old academy probably holds enough secrets to catch us both off guard. I can't wait to see what kind of magic they're trying to keep hidden."
Their conversation changed to different topics, like how the harsh weather had magical qualities, to the neat cabin and its strange protection spells, to the school's system and so on.
Each time, Lucas gained a glimpse of how Asta thought about the world, and he was certain he got a good grasp now. Asta believed himself to be superior to others, not because of his status as a noble, but because of his own competence.
It didn't take long before Asta figured out how the academy halls worked and found a few hidden chambers. Internal guards kept him from entering, if only he could sneak past them, he would find some very interesting things. Sadly, keeping himself hidden would be going against his own principles.
Weeks had gone by and slowly Lucas started to enjoy his little encounters with Asta. His insight and knowledge of the world surprised him at times.
Lucas was smart, but only after studying for hours on end and even then there were things he simply didn't understand. He had the theoretical knowledge but couldn't change a Magic circle like Asta could.
If they both learned the sword then Lucas would be extremely capable of using that particular sword while Asta would be great at any kind of sword-like tool. He would be capable of using different kind of weapons based on the teachings of the sword, while Lucas would need to study again.
Weeks passed and Lucas was finally happy with his progress. He had become stronger in his eyes, not enough to handle Matheo or Eliot if he fought seriously, but stronger nonetheless. Since his training was getting to a close he started to read more of the books Elam kept.
Improving his knowledge on the different types of magic proved to be fruitful. It wasn't just because he liked to search for other sources of power, but also to compete with Asta. Their conversations were becoming harder and harder for Lucas to participate in.
If he wanted to keep his talks with Asta going he would need to improve his library of knowledge a ton. Asta always found certain details or imperfections in certain spells and magic circles, making Lucas think he finally found a genius even though he himself was also one.
Time passed quickly, and everyone in the academy was focussing on the national competition, the difficulty would surpass anything they had ever seen before. The teachers were giving lessons on how to adapt since the tests were different each time.
Today, Lucas was waiting for Asta to arrive, lately he had been preparing his visits by learning extremely specific knowledge to impress him. Lucas didn't know why he wanted to do so, but it felt great to discuss certain topics with him. Both he and Asta learned a lot from each other.
A knock on the wooden door arrived, but it was later than all the other times.
'He is late?'
'That jackass? No way, that nerd is as punctual as can be.'
'You know that his end goal is to become friends and many would describe our situation as so, right? So could you at least use his name?'
'Just because you like him doesn't mean I have to. He's way too suspicious to trust.'
'How many times have you said that, and we haven't even seen the slightest sign?'
'That's exactly the reason why I don't like him, it's too convenient that he is willing to do all this just because he wants to be friends. I want him gone. Look! He's not alone this time, wanna bet he's up to something?'
'Sigh, let's just go and see.'
Opening the door revealed two recognizable faces.