The Magic Knights examination site was situated in one of the large cities in the common realm. It was a giant colosseum with statues of each Wizard King adorning its top, the first Wizard King placed highest with his iconic four-leaf grimoire. The streets around the site were bustling with shops selling various goods, making the atmosphere feel more like a festival than an examination. It was an auspicious occasion, after all. Joining the Magic Knights was one of the most respected jobs out there. Only royals or individuals chosen by captains were granted direct entry to the squad, but for commoners and nobles, this was a chance to prove themselves.
Julian rented a spot nearby to keep his luggage and joined the line for registration. There were hundreds of people competing, including commoners and nobles of every age group, from teens to those in their thirties. It was easy to distinguish between a noble and a commoner, as nobles dressed extravagantly. Julian wore a half-sleeve red shirt and black jeans, and with his pure black hair and red eyes, he cut a handsome figure.
After waiting for almost an hour, Julian's turn finally came. He presented his grimoire to confirm his age. "F...f...four-leaf grimoire!" the receptionist exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.
"That guy's got a four-leaf grimoire!" some onlookers exclaimed, but Julian ignored them and asked for his number plate. He received number 70 and entered the stadium.
He didn't diminish his mana, so anti-birds didn't flock near him, earning shock and jealousy from some people. Julian never understood the logic behind anti-birds but didn't ponder it, as it was unimportant.
By now, the news of his four-leaf grimoire had spread among the crowd, earning him strange looks.
People eyed him like an animal in the zoo due to his grimoire. In the corner, a man could be seen sharpening a knife but stopped, staring at Julian blankly.
"This mana... there is no mistake. That guy is the Wyvern Slayer!" he said to his friends.
"That Wyvern Slayer who killed the most mana beasts in the last fifty years!" another one spoke up, setting off a chain reaction and making it spread through the crowd.
Alongside the news of the four-leaf grimoire, the news of him being the infamous Wyvern Slayer made everyone avoid him like the plague.
Julian shook his head and waited in one corner.
**********
After all the participants had entered, a wave of mana pressure was unleashed upon the crowd, drawing everyone's attention as the captains began to enter. The doors of the colosseum closed, with Magic Knights surrounding the crowd to ensure order.
First to enter was Jack the Ripper of Praying Mantis, followed by Rill of Aqua Deer, Fuegoleon of Crimson Lions, Charlotte of Blue Rose, Dorothy of Coral Peacocks, Yami of Black Bulls, Nozel of Silver Eagles, Poizot of Purple Orca, and finally William of Golden Dawn, each accompanied by a squad member.
Yami recognized Julian and grinned like an idiot. Fuegoleon recognized him too but didn't say anything. Nozel followed Fuegoleon's line of sight and was shocked to see the amount of mana Julian was releasing, which overshadowed the entire crowd.
The crowd started cheering for the captains, especially William Vangeance. Julian noticed Charlotte, who was truly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Rill had stars in his eyes, Dorothy was sleepwalking, Fuegoleon had a neutral expression, and William wore his usual smile.
William Vangeance took the mic and announced, "CANDIDATES, NOW THE EXAMS HAVE OFFICIALLY BEGUN. WE WILL CONDUCT VARIOUS TESTS TO ASSESS YOUR APTITUDE. DO YOUR BEST IF YOU WISH TO BE CHOSEN AS A MAGIC KNIGHT." He took out his grimoire and said, "World Tree Magic: Descent."
A giant tree emerged from the center of the stadium, providing everyone with a broom.
"FOR YOUR FIRST TEST, YOU MUST FLY USING YOUR BROOM."
Using a broom to fly was the first mana application people learned. If a person could float with it, they had borderline mana control; if they could fly freely, they had basic mana control.
Julian noticed people trying to fly; some just floated, while others managed a short distance before falling. Deciding to flex his mana control, Julian stood above his broom and made a complete lap around the participants, much like Yuno had in the original series. The captains seemed amazed by his performance, though some nobles eyed him with hostility.
The next test involved firing spells at ten moving targets created by Rill, followed by forming shapes out of mana, standing under chaotic mana fluctuation, a test for healing magic, and more. Julian excelled in all of them, flexing his abilities effortlessly and making more and more nobles hostile to him.
"THIS IS THE FINAL TEST OF COMBAT. YOUR FINAL EVALUATION WILL DEPEND ON IT. GIVE YOUR BEST AND SHOW US YOUR WORTH."
Everyone began finding opponents weaker than themselves. People avoided Julian as the news of the Wyvern Slayer made them terrified, but finally, a noble had the guts to challenge him.
The noble pointed at Julian and said, "You there, insect. Fight me. If you manage to impress me, maybe I can make you my servant."
'Here comes the arrogant young master who doesn't realize his place. Well, time to thrash a noble.' Julian cracked his knuckles.
The referee announced the start of the match. The noble started monologuing about how great he and his family were. Julian didn't bother listening and fired a normal fireball to test his opponent's magic type. The noble countered with a water ball, vaporizing Julian's fireball.
"If your attacks are just this level, you might as well give up. Your grimoire is just for show. How about selling it to me?" The noble trash-talked too much. He used many spells, which Julian countered with small spells. The noble kept thinking Julian could not react, which only inflated his ego.
To others, it might have seemed like Julian was almost fighting on equal footing. But the captains saw differently. They noticed Julian put minimal effort into his spells, only to counter the noble's attacks. Each of Julian's attacks had the same amount of mana with pinpoint accuracy. Moreover, Julian didn't move a muscle during the entire fight.
"He has already grasped the law of his magic," said Fuegoleon, with the captains agreeing in unison.
"The level of his accuracy and mana control is terrifying for his age," said Charlotte.
After enough show-off, Julian stopped holding back. Julian pointed his hand in the air as the temperature in the stadium rose significantly. Everyone could feel something big was coming. Julian pointed his finger towards the sky as an enormous ball of red flames conjured, covering almost half of the stadium and making every single person in the stadium sweat and take a step back. A single thought ran through everyone's head... It was death. Everyone instinctively started taking steps back as they began sweating profusely.
"[Flame Magic: Solar Burst]"
Julian controlled the ball and casually threw it towards his opponent. Charlotte immediately stood up from her seat to stop the spell as she was sure it would obliterate half of the stadium and people, not leaving even the ashes. But Yami stopped her.
"Don't worry," Yami said, looking at the match with excitement.
Time seemed to slow down for Julian's opponent. His entire life flashed before his eyes, everything that led him to fight Julian. The only thing he saw from the approaching ball of flames was death. But just before it touched him, it stopped and disappeared as Julian walked towards him with indifference. His opponent was now incapable of doing anything and covered in sweat and urine.
"Do you give up?" Julian asked, but instead of answering the noble lost consciousness.
The entire stadium went silent, as Julian stepped away from the battlefield and stood in one corner. The rest of the matches continued but everything felt silent even though spells were being thrown around. It felt as if Julian's magic had absorbed all the sound.
**********
By the time all the battles were over, it was evening. Some nobles quit after losing, unable to bear the blow to their pride. What use was pride if you couldn't back it up?
After a short break, the captains began choosing candidates according to their needs.
"No. 70, step forward," William announced.
Julian stepped forward, and hands started raising one by one until all the captains raised their hands to get Julian into their squad. Although at other times it might have shocked people to oblivion as all the captains never raised their hands, the feeling of death they got from Julian's spell somehow made it believable for them.
Julian looked into the eyes of each of the captains.
Nozel's eye twitched seeing this as he felt Julian was choosing them instead of them choosing him to be in their squad.
'I will take the best environment to grow and become strong without hindrance and too much trouble'
Julian opened his mouth and dropped the bombshell.
"I CHOOSE TO JOIN THE BLACK BULLS."