The Brightest Star

Chapter 3

It had been a few years since then and now, both Yuno and Asta were old enough to participate in the magic nights exam. Over the years, Asta and Yuno trained nearly every day. This increased their proficiency while using their magic, as well as increasing their mana levels. Asta had communicated with Mael and Escanor on separate occasions other than training like when they explained their powers, where they came from and how they got here. This time they went more in depth. Mael even went as far as showing Asta how to open and close his wings. Asta also learned how to separate both of his grimoires. Both he and Yuno decide to travel to Clover Kingdom early and set of the next day. They arrived two days later with an extra day to spare so with the money they were sent with, they checked into a local inn before they went to wander around the kingdom. They saw many venues and stands selling food and souvenirs. They eventually lost track of time and to their surprise it was now night. They went back to the inn and slept. Though it was difficult for Asta because he was so excited.

They awoke the next morning and realized they had an hour to spare until the exam, so they decided to take the long way around. When they arrived at the arena where the exam was being held, there was a long line of people waiting for entry. A few minutes later, they reached the front of the line. "I'll need your name, village, and I need to see your grimoire." the clerk stated.  "Yuno of Hage village." Yuno stated before handing the man his grimoire. Once the man looked at how many leaves his grimoire had, he was in utter shock. Other participants were able to catch a glimpse of Yuno's grimoire and had emotions that ranged from astonishment to disbelief, to even envy. Some royals even decided to voice their thoughts saying that a filthy commoner from the forsaken realm has no right to weld such a grimoire. in a shaky voice, the man responded, allowing Yuno to enter the arena. 

Asta was next and once again, the clerk told Asta the same thing he told Yuno. "I'll need your name, village, and I need to see your grimoire." "Asta, of Hage village" he said before he handed the clerk both of his grimoires. The clerk didn't even bother to look at them before he said "There is no way for someone to be able to wield two grimoires. It's just impossible." the clerk was about to say something else before both of the grimoires in Asta's hands started to fuse together. He then gave the man the newly formed grimoire. The man was hesitant, but took it anyway. He then proceeded to examine his grimoire and saw that it had two different four-leaf clovers. One on each side. This was so much of a shock, the man almost passed out. He let Asta enter while also silently hoping that no one else had any more surprises for him. Once in, Asta started to wander off while looking for Yuno. He ended up bumping into a large man who was nearly his size. "Watch it twer-" the large man started to say before he turned around and looked at the mountain of a man that was Asta. 

He was startled to say the least. Asta turned around and apologized for not looking where he was going. "Y-Yeah. just make sure it doesn't happen again." the man said before he was called over by one of his subordinates. " Captain Yami! There you are. Come on we have to hurry, the exams are about to start." At the behest of his subordinate, the now dubbed Captain Yami, begrudgingly walked away to join his fellow captains up in the rafters. All of them were there, save for one. All the participants heard footsteps, turned quiet, and looked towards the rafters where the sound of footsteps were heard coming from. A tall, lean figure with a mask covering his face could be seen exiting a hallway. "Greetings young ones. I, the captain of the Golden Dawn, William Vangeance, hear by commence this year's Magic Knights Exam!" he said before using his World Tree Magic to make a large tree sprout from the ground and give everyone a broom.

"For the first exam we need to monitor your control over your mana. To do so, we shall see how well you can fly on these brooms. If possible, you may also use any other method of flight if you deem necessary. " Vangeance said before everyone started to fly on their brooms. some people flew high while others struggled to get ten feet of the ground. Yuno however, was able to effortlessly stand on his broom and fly high above all of them. Asta saw this and said "You show off. I won't let you get all the attention." before sprouting wings and gracefully taking flight. Everyone was astonished, including the captains. But some of them didn't show it. Asta looked at Yuno and gave him a cheeky grin, annoying him because of how much of an attention hog he could be sometimes seeing as how his pride wouldn't allow him to be outdone.