Grown to hate

Chapter 5: The magic knights exam

Six months have passed and Asta had been gaining more control of anti-magic. During the time he also received sword training from a formal diamond general he had helped. The teen was able to summon his sword on command and able to make it levitate with the help of Liebe. Liebe was able to talk with Asta through his mind. The two had their arguments and agreements. Asta was a type of person to take a more violent approach, while Liebe preferred to take things more slowly. Today was the day both Asta and Yuno would leave for the magic knights exam. Yuno was somewhat nervous, but Asta had remained calm like always.

Right now, the family was outside the church saying their goodbyes. "I can't believe we're going to take the exams. These six months have gone by fast." Yuno said. "Well you two have been training nonstop ever since the grimoire ceremony. It's no surprise that time flew by." Sister Lily said. "I still find it weird how Asta can do all that with his sword when he has no mana. How do you do that Asta?" Father Orsi asked. "It's anti-magic. I believe it's the direct counter to magic, and only my sword is able to function with it." Asta answered. "A direct counter? I have never even heard of anti-magic before." The nun said. "I guess it has something to do with Asta not having any mana. Is that right?" Yuno asked. "I believe so." Asta said. The two foster brothers were surprised when they had been brought into a hug. "Oh my boys are all grown up now!" Orsi cried. "Stop your crying old man." Asta said. "Father, I'm touched but can you please stop hugging us. I can barely breath." Yuno said. Orsi let go of the hug and cleared his throat. "Sorry about that." Tears began to shed from the mans eyes right before he began to speak again. "But it's just so sad seeing my two boys go!" "We'll write you letters on how we're doing. It's not that big of a deal." Yuno said. "I swear, you're going to give me a headache you old fart." Asta complained. "Haha! He said old fart." Recca laughed. "That wasn't very nice Asta." Nash said. Asta looked at the two children and sighed. "Nash, Recca." The two kids looked up to the gray haired teen. "Since me and Yuno will be gone, you two will be the oldest ones. From now on, you two will have a lot of responsibility. I'll make sure to visit if I end up getting a day off, but make sure to not cause too much trouble. You know how father Orsi is getting old and how sister Lily has two other babies to care for, please do whatever you can to help the both of them." Asta said. The two adults smiled at what Asta had said, he may come off as rude but he still cared for his family. "And Nash." Asta said to get the boys attention. "Yes Asta?" "Make sure you're training your magic. Both me and Yuno would love to see your progress." "Yes! I'll train and become stronger than both you and Yuno!" Nash announced. Asta secretly let out a smile which was noticed by Yuno. "Did he just smile?" He thought in shock. "Wait." Orsi said. "Yes?" The two teens asked. Orsi pounced on the two and hugged them tight. "Please make sure to be safe." Orsi said. "We'll be fine old man. Now let go, you're ruining my clothes." "We promise to stay safe." The two said. Orsi released the hug and turned his back. "Good. Goodbye Asta and Yuno." He said. "Goodbye you two. Make sure to eat well and stay safe." Lily said. "Bye you two!" The two kids said. "Goodbye everyone!" The teens said. Asta summoned his great sword and levitated it to the ground. He stepped on the sword and began to fly away from the village. "Hey don't leave me behind!" Yuno shouted. The wind mage began to fly using his magic and caught up with Asta. "I'll miss those two." Lily said with a sigh. "Me too. Well, I have work to do. Make sure not to stay out too late." Orsi said. "Okay." Said the rest.

The two teenagers were flying at a fast pace. To them, it felt good to feel the wind push against their skin. "I'm gonna miss them." Yuno said. "Me too." Asta said. Yuno had remembered the smile Asta gave and a question had erupted into his mind. "Say Asta." "What?" "When you were talking with Nash, I noticed that you smiled. I'm gonna be honest, I have never seen you smile before." Yuno said. "What's wrong with smiling?" Asta asked. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong about smiling, but it's nice to see you smile." Yuno answered. Asta stared into the horizon and kept on flying. The teen knew others were used to his cold demeanor, but his life had been gradually improving since he received his grimoire. "I was just happy to see Nash having a strong spirit. When children have a strong spirit, then I know they'll be powerful when they grow up." Asta said. Yuno looked towards his foster brother and thought for a moment. "I guess you're right. I just hope they don't miss us too much." "They will miss us, but we'll also visit them when we can. I'll even send them letters from time to time." "Same here." Yuno said. The wind mage only looked at Asta and remembered how he used to stay quiet most of the time. "What changed him?" He thought. Asta, who was standing on his sword, managed to sit down and only enjoyed the view. "You should have brought a broom with you." He said. "I can manage without one. Besides, I think I can see the capital from here." Yuno said. "With the speed we're flying at I'm not surprised." Asta said. "Maybe we can find some place to rest. I should probably recover my mana before the exam." Yuno said. "It's the capital. I'm sure there are plenty of places to relax." "You might be right." Asta increased the speed he was going in and jumped off his sword. "What are you doing?!" Yuno shouted. Asta braced himself and rolled over onto the ground landing with no injury. The sword came right to him and went inside the grimoire. "I swear you're as crazy as ever." Liebe said. "I knew how to land. It's not crazy if I know what I'm doing." Asta replied. "Whatever you say. Anyways, you ready to kick some ass?" Liebe asked. "I doubt I'll be able to beat anyone to a pulp. As unfortunate as it may be, this will still be a milestone for our goal." Asta said. "Didn't you say that there are nine squads to choose from?" Liebe asked. "There are nine squads that will decide to choose me. I think it depends on how well I do." Asta answered. "Maybe we could impress all of them with that new technique we've been working on." Liebe said. "We could if we need to. You have to keep in mind that it takes a toll on my body." Asta said. "Humans with their weak bodies. I guess the rapid flow of anti-magic isn't suitable for the human body because it is my power, a power developed by a devil." Liebe said. "I doubt anyone else could even survive it. Transferring anti-magic into someone could be a fun way to kill them. Can we even do that?" Asta asked. "I'm not sure. We could try." Liebe said. "Looks like Yuno finally caught up. I'll talk with you later." Asta said. "See ya Asta." The two ended their connection and Asta looked over to Yuno who just landed. "Took you a while." Asta said. "You jumped off and you're not even hurt. How?" Yuno asked. "Practice. Let's get going, the exams should begin in a couple of hours." Asta said. They began to walk into the capital and both were looking around the area. "This place is busier and bigger than I'd thought it be." Yuno said. "I'd like to bring everyone at the church here someday." Asta said. "We should check out some food stalls around here. I think we have enough money for a snack or two." Yuno said. "I'll pass. I brought some food from home." Asta said. "I should have done that." "You should have planned ahead." "You can't blame me. I was in a hurry." "So was I, but I still brought my own food. "What did you bring anyway?" Yuno asked. "Fish. It's a good source of protein and that's exactly what I need." Asta answered. "I need something that could give me my energy back." Yuno said looking at the different stalls. "What about that old lady over there?" Asta asked pointing at a old lady selling purple snakes. "Come get your purple snakes! I promise they're good!" She shouted. Yuno looked at the lady and huffed. "I don't think eating those will be a good idea." Yuno said. "I can see those giving you diarrhea." Asta said. Yuno looked around more and found a small stall selling fruits. "Maybe I could just get some fruits and call it a day." He said. "Your choice. I'll just find some place to eat my food." Asta said. Asta summoned his grimoire and took out his sword, he began to fly up and mapped the whole area. "I'll just eat up here. No one can bother me anyway." He said. Back with Yuno, he was currently purchasing some fruits from a woman. "I guess I'll take this." He said. "An apple? Would you like anything else?" The vendor asked. "Umm. What's this?" Yuno asked pointing at an orange. "That's an orange." The vendor answered. "I guess I'll take that too." Yuno said. He gave the vendor enough money to purchase the fruits, but the vendor asked Yuno a question. "Are you here to take the magic knights exam?" "Yes. Me and my foster brother came all the way from Hage." "Hage? I've never heard of that place before." "It's a small village in the forgotten region." Yuno said a little annoyed. "Is it fine if I ask what magic you have?" "I have wind magic." "What about your foster brother?" "He doesn't really have a magic, but he has something else." "What?! No magic? How is that even possible?" "I'm not sure. Thing is, he has a different power called anti-magic." "Anti-magic? I have never heard of that. I don't believe you." "I wouldn't believe it either, but I've seen it for myself. He is quite a peculiar person." "Is it fine if I see your grimoire?" "Sure. Just don't be too loud, I don't want all the attention." Yuno said. The woman was confused, but upon seeing Yunos grimoire being shocked was an understatement. "A-a-a four leaf clover?!" She shouted. Yuno quickly covered her mouth. "Shh. I don't want all the attention from others." He whispered. The woman nodded and Yuno removed his hand from her mouth. "Sorry about that, but you were kinda loud." He said. "It's fine. It's just, I've never seen a grimoire like that." She said. "I hope it gets all the captains attention." "I'm sure it will. And if it doesn't, then those captains are probably not as smart as they seem to be." Yuno chuckled and said "We'll see about that. Well, I should probably get going. Thank you for the fruits." He walked away. While taking a bite out the apple. "This is pretty good." Yuno thought. The teen looked around for his brother and heard his name being shouted from the sky. "What?" Yuno said looking up. There he saw Asta on his sword floating down towards him. "That took you long enough." Asta said. "She just talked with me as I bought what I wanted." Yuno said. "Well the exams should be starting soon. You should finish what you have and head there." Asta said. Yuno quickly ate the apple and started to peel the orange. "Let's walk there." Yuno suggested. Asta nodded and began to walk along with Yuno.