Outside the Black Bulls hideout:
"I'm going to launch an attack magic at you. Block it, avoid it, any way you want."
"Do that, you're a Black Bull, free and clear. And I'll give you this robe."
"Are you ready?"
Magna showed the robe to Asta while smirking.
"Yes, sir!!!"
As they prepared to fight, the squad cheered them on. Beside them, Marcus was half-asleep on the cotton bed that Charmy had made for him.
Marcus was half-asleep but still observing them with his mana detection.
"Bring it on!" Magna roared as he started launching fireballs with his fire bat at Asta.
Asta, with raw fighting instincts, avoided the fireballs.
His hard-earned, refined muscles made it easy for him to dodge, and the kinetic vision he developed through his physical training helped him evade the barrage of fireballs.
"Oh... yes... it's about time... snot-nosed punk..."
Magna raised his hand, and fire conjured into a large ball, which then condensed into a smaller fireball.
Flame Magic: Exploding Fireball.
This fireball was different from the previous ones. Asta knew he couldn't avoid it—he had to stop it. But with his willpower and his well-trained muscles, he made one last effort.
The large black sword he was using to block the magic attack—he turned it, flipping it sideways.
His will succeeded.
The fireball smashed into the surface and rebounded, reflecting back toward its owner—Magna.
On that day, Asta and the squad realized that his sword didn't just cut through magic; it could also deflect attacks.
"You bastard!"
Magna slowly walked to Asta's side, brushing flames off himself.
Asta started shivering, not understanding how Magna hadn't taken any damage from the attack.
"You little bastard... I was able to nullify it at the last second," Magna said, approaching Asta quickly from behind and starting to pat him on the back.
"That was cool. You sent my own attack back at me. Impressive. I like it, Shrimpsta."
"It's Asta!!!" Asta corrected him.
"Actually, I'm from a countryside village."
"Really? You're from the countryside?" Magna asked.
"Yeah, from Rayaka Village…... And you did that with weak magic. Very good," Magna patted Asta on the back again.
"Ha... ha... but not weak magic. I don't have magic at all," Asta explained while rubbing his back, embarrassed.
"What? You've got no magic? ...That's way too awesome... so that means... you're a real man, aren't you?" Magna praised him.
Everyone in the squad also praised him, and now Magna shifted his eyes to Marcus.
"Oi, sleepy queen, come and battle!!!"
Magna roared.
"No," a faint sound came from Marcus.
"You little..." Magna's rage was growing.
"Magna will pay you 5,000 yuls if you win," Captain Yami said while sipping from another cigarette.
"Wait, me??" Magna raised his voice.
"Yes. Is there a problem?" Yami glared.
Magna calmed down.
He looked at Marcus. "What about you?"
Marcus slowly raised from the cotton bed. "Add something to the bet. The loser should call the winner 'great.'"
"Deal," Yami raised his thumb.
Magna alwalys got a headache from his captain's actions.
"Damn, whatever. If my money's at stake, I should give it my all."
Magna clenched his fist. Then Luck approached him.
"Hey, Magna, I want to fight this guy."
"Huh, Luck? Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, then. My money's on the table. You got that, right?"
"Don't lose this, alright?"
Magna reluctantly stepped down, and Luck nodded, entering the stage.
Magna draw a black ring around the area with a burned wood.
"The one who steps outside the ring, faints first, or submits is the loser. The other is the winner," Magna explained the rules, then walked back to the sidelines with the squad.
Marcus and Luck slowly walked into the ring.
The air grew denser as they prepared for battle.
"Oh my, that battle maniac Luck will go insane in the fight if he gets serious. This will be a disaster for the boy," Vanessa said while drinking more.
"Yes, if he gets hurt, he won't have a chance to eat my cookies," Charmy said, eating another cookie.
"Just finish it quickly. I want to see my sister," Gauche said, his nose bleeding as he looked at a photo of his sister.
"Woah!! Magic fights!" Asta roared while eating Charmy's cookies.
"It's fine. If anything happens, I'll step in. And there's a captain here too. Luck won't take it too far,"
"I want to see how that sleepy lazy punk can handle this. I'll surely get 5,000 yuls," Magna started smirking.
"He is strong," Finral calmly said from the side.
The squad turned their heads toward Finral. "Thud!" A sound disturbed them as, in front of them, Luck made his move.
"Lightning Magic: Thunder God's Boots!"
Lightning boots formed around Luck's feet, making him more agile.
He charged at Marcus, and Marcus conjured ice blocks. Luck destroyed them with his lightning-covered feet. As he neared Marcus, Marcus conjured a small frost ice blast aimed at Luck's lightning boots. They collided.
Both of them were sent sliding a short distance.
"He defeated three strong nobles and even challenged all the captains during the selection exam."
"He's a freak, just like Luck."
Finral said as the squad listened to him and observing the fight.
The squad was somewhat shocked at Marcus challenging all the captains. Now, they were even more eager to see the fight.
"Even if he is, I know Luck. He has the upper hand in strength," Magna smirked confidently.
On the ring,
With one leg in the air, Luck approached Marcus to kick him.
An ice wall conjured, and Luck collided with it. Marcus avoided the kick.
Luck started bouncing off, and Marcus fired icy spikes. Each of them missed.
It took some distance for Luck to change direction, as Marcus continued avoiding the kicks.
"Why is he misfiring and wasting energy?" the squad members yelled.
Yami, with smoke in his mouth, said, "Clever."
Luck, with his speed increasing every second, rapidly approached Marcus.
Marcus, with a smirk on his face, raised both of his hands.
The misfired ice, now submerged in the earth, rose—not as sharp ice spikes, but as ice balls with soil mixed between them.
Marcus quickly controlled them to form a wall. Luck, with his Thunder Boots' lightning energy, could kick away the ice, but now they were filled with ice melted watery soil.
The force shattered outward, but his foot got stuck in the soil of the wall trap.
As Luck struggled to remove his leg from the soil, a large number of ice spikes conjured in the air.
Marcus closed his fist, and the ice spikes launched at Luck.
"Lightning Magic: Thunder God's Gloves!"
Lightning formed into gloves around his hands. He deflected most of the spikes, but one made a scratch on his face.
Luck, with a burst of fierce energy, pulled his leg free from the trap.
The ice spikes kept launching toward him. He stepped back, avoiding most of them, and used a fully offensive lightning magic attack to deflect the rest.
Luck slowly took a long, deep breath.
"Interesting… interesting… now I like it more…" His face remained expressionless, but the way he delivered the sentence was terrifying.
He landed on the ground, conjured both Thunder Boots and Gloves, surrounded by lightning energy, ready to attack with full force.
Let's see.
Marcus and Luck marched toward each other.
Marcus' grimoire was glowing as he enveloped the ground with ice, creating small thorns beneath his boots for friction.
Luck slipped a short distance on the ice but regained his footing and jumped into the air. Surrounded by full lightning energy, he launched himself at Marcus.
In mid-air, he brought his large, thunder-gloved hands together.
On the ground, Marcus raised his hand, concentrating his mana at a single point.
"Lightning Magic: Thunder Clap!"
"Necro Magic: Death Bolt!"
The clap released a lightning magic attack aimed at Marcus, while a deadly aura-filled black orb shot toward Luck.
The two attacks collided with a tremendous sound, shattering the ground below.
The impact caused a massive shockwave.
The area was now covered in dust.
The dust slowly cleared, revealing three men in the ring.
Yami blocking two fists: one from Luck, crackling with lightning, and another from Marcus, frozen with ice.
But Marcus was now exhausted and asleep. "Hey, he's asleep! So Luck is the winner, right?" Magna shouted.
"No, Luck stepped outside the ring," Yami replied, the squad scanned the ground, but there were no ring marks.
"While you all focused on the fight, he erased the mark with his misfired ice spikes by lifting the soil with them."
"And enraged, Luck, who was more focused on the fight than the rules, stepped out of the ring long ago while dodging Marcus attacks."
"And this shrimp—he knew I'd step in to stop the fight—used the last of his remaining mana on this final attack, now exhausted and asleep."
"Wake up, brat!" Yami lifted his head roared, shouting near his ear.
The energy-drained Marcus looked at Yami. "I'm great, right?"
"Yes, you are," Yami sighed, then threw him onto the cotton bed Charmy conjured.
Yami draped the Black Bull robe over the sleeping Marcus, then put another robe on Asta and slowly walked away.
"Welcome."
Everyone cheered, welcoming them to the Black Bulls.