Magna approached Valen and looked at the magical stone with curiosity, his eyes racing to learn more.
"What is this stone?" Magna asked in an unfamiliar tone as he cautiously moved closer.
Valen responded calmly, but his voice carried a mysterious tone, "It was in the beak of the bird that accompanies Asta."
At that moment, Asta and Noelle approached, and the bird returned to snatch the magical stone again. Valen looked at the bird with terrifying eyes, shining with a clear threat, making the bird retreat quickly, flapping in the air as if it sensed danger.
Noelle spoke, and for the first time, she had something to add, "I think it's a magical stone."
Magna was surprised, while Asta remained clueless. Innocently, he asked, "Excuse me, but what is a magical stone?"
Magna shouted at him, his face twisted with anger, "Don't you know anything? For heaven's sake, do you not know what a magical stone is either?!"
Noelle nearly fainted from shock due to Asta's ignorance and Magna's reaction, and an uncomfortable silence filled the moment.
Valen spoke calmly to explain, his voice carrying a strange weight, "A magical stone is an ancient stone infused with a vast amount of magical power from long ago."
But as he explained, Valen suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes. He could no longer stop his eyes from absorbing more of the magical energy flowing from the stone. The book in his hand started to tremble strongly, as if it held a will of its own. He realized that the situation was urgent, and he had to leave quickly.
He gave them a sharp look and spoke in a calm, decisive voice, "There's something I need to take care of. I'll be back later."
Before they could respond, he took off. Wings of chaotic, gray-colored flames appeared behind him, fluttering in the sky as if carrying his magical energy. He flew at an incredible speed, leaving everyone in a state of shock.
Asta, Noelle, and Magna stood watching the sky where Valen had vanished, unsure of what to do. Asta spoke hesitantly, "What should we do now?"
Magna, breathing heavily, said, "Let's wait for him... I haven't restored my magical energy yet."
Asta nodded in agreement, while Noelle kept watching the direction Valen had flown. But as he shot off like an arrow, all the creatures in the forest felt his terrifying aura, making them flee quickly, as if the forest itself was avoiding him.
Valen reached the depths of the forest, where the giant trees disappeared into the mist. After a while, he discovered a dark cave on the edge of a cliff. He entered the cave, crouched down, pulled out his old black book, and placed the magical stone in front of him to begin absorbing the magical energy.
Valen felt an overwhelming passion as his eyes absorbed the magical energy from the stone. The book began trembling in his hand, changing in a terrifying way. The three-leafed book turned into a four-leafed one, and the shiny black cover became covered in glowing golden magical engravings. The fourth leaf gleamed with a frightening red glow, and the edges of the pages turned into a gray, shadowy aura, as if they were breathing.
At that moment, Valen felt the barrier that had been blocking his power had shattered. His body was ignited with an uncontrollable magical energy.
Suddenly, a pillar of magical energy burst toward the sky, shattering the cave. The pillar resembled a massive flame that reached the sky, which turned black due to dark clouds.
Valen felt a tremendous power coursing through his veins, and information appeared in his mind unexpectedly. He muttered slowly, "Chaos Eyes."
"Chaos Eyes"—that was the name of his new eyes. They were gray with strange symbols shimmering in the darkness. New skills flowed into his mind quickly, and the first skill was unlocked.
Chaos Eyes Ability:
Magical Vision (Phase One): The Chaos Eyes allow Valen to clearly see magical energy flows in his surroundings. Shapes and patterns became more defined, allowing him to efficiently locate magical energy sources, whether hidden or moving.
360-Degree Vision: He can see all around him from every angle, including within living creatures and hidden magical energy points.
Suddenly, a group of people appeared on the edge of the forest, and Valen recognized them; it was Asta, Noelle, and Magna, drawn by the immense magical energy. Valen didn't let them wait; he flew directly toward them.
Boom! Valen landed in front of them, where a cloud of dust spread from the impact.
The three of them pulled out their grimoires to face the enemy. When the dust settled, Valen appeared before them, his eyes a strange gray filled with odd symbols.
Valen spoke calmly, "What are you doing here? Didn't you return to the headquarters?"
Asta shouted loudly, "Valen, what was that light? And why do your eyes look like that? What happened?"
Valen felt his head would explode from Asta's shouting, so, unintentionally, he covered Asta's mouth with flames that didn't burn him.
Valen took a deep breath and said, "Finally, some peace."
He then looked at Magna and Noelle and said, "Let's go back."
After saying that, wings of red flames appeared, and he flew with them towards…
The Black Bulls' Hideout!
Suddenly, laughter echoed from within the castle.
"You're really in trouble!" Yami said, laughing, unable to stop.
"No way, one of you has no magical power, and the other can barely control theirs!" Magna said helplessly.
Noelle raised her lips and said, "I told you before, I can't control my magical power, and you said it was simple."
Magna's face stiffened, and he said, "I didn't expect you couldn't even control a basic spell."
Magna had previously thought Noelle only lacked control over her magic in battle. Who would've thought she'd struggle even with the simplest spell?
When Yami saw Magna arguing with Noelle, he couldn't stop himself from laughing again.
"By the way, Captain Yami, we found a strange stone in the village of Saucy too?" Magna stopped the argument and switched to the main topic.
"A strange stone?" Yami hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Where is it?"
"Here."
Valen pulled out the magical stone and handed it to Yami.
Yami looked at the stone carefully, then frowned.
"This is... a magical stone!"
"A magical stone?" Everyone was surprised and looked at Yami in astonishment.
Yami nodded and said, "Yes, now I understand their motives."
"The enemy sought this magical stone, but the villagers didn't reveal it. So, the enemy slaughtered all the villagers."
"Where did you find this strange rock?"
Valen said, "The annoying bird over Asta's head led us to it; otherwise, we wouldn't have found it." He explained what had happened to Yami.
Yami smiled with satisfaction and said, "Well done, you scoundrels!"
"Yes, Captain Yami," the four of them replied in unison.
After that, Yami took out four bags of money and distributed them to Valen, Asta, Noelle, and Magna.
Asta quickly opened his bag, his eyes filled with amazement, and said, "Wow! 200,000 yul! Thank you, Captain!"
"Alright, tomorrow is a day off; enjoy the rest! The rest will be handled by another party!" Yami said as he left the room.
Of course, Valen decided not to rest and preferred to train.
He felt that his Chaos Eyes and magic needed more training.
---
The next day, almost everyone was outside the hideout.
"Valen? Don't you want to go shopping?" Luck asked him as he sat on the couch.
Luck, whose full name was Luck Voltia, had grown strong from a young age to please his mother. He possessed combat strength on par with nobles and a strong sense of magic.
He was also known as "The Smiling Battle Maniac."
"No, I'm not interested in such things," Valen replied calmly.
"Valen, I heard from Magna that you're strong? Hey, how about a fight between us!"
Luck said as he approached Valen, waving his fist.
Valen frowned as if he heard Luck repeating the same thing: "Let's fight!" "Do you like fighting?" "Fight me!"
He looked at Luck, smiled, and said, "Alright, let's try it!"