Wrapping a generic revenge fantasy in academic jargon doesn't turn a power trip into a sociological study. It is a pretentious attempt to find profound "strategic negotiation" in what is essentially just a standard trope-heavy manhwa.
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When A Back Alley Mage Hides His True Power For Revenge! - Manhwa RecapAdded:
Xenon Academyy's first years think today is just a normal class until Professor JRO rolls out a rare monomeurasing device with a crystal orb and says the whole point is to find out if a monster is hiding among them. Argan goes first and the orb shows quality 4 and quantity 17 already above last year's average.
Then Furion steps up and hits quality 6 and quantity 20 making the room gasp.
But the sleepy kid Damian wakes up, touches the orb, and shatters everyone's pride with quality 9 and a crazy quantity of 67. Now all eyes swing to Asta. He tries to stay low quietly, but the system flashes 10, then spits an error because the threshold is crossed.
Asta forces a rerun and fakes a harmless three for quality and 15 for quantity.
Well, there's a reason why our MC is hiding his real powers. Not too long ago, Asta, who is a troubleshooter mage for the house, Declan, and in his bid to do so, steals a toone. He is tracked down by assassins, but he takes them all out, leaving the last dude so he can torture and get information out of him.
Asta holds the hunter down with his magic power, asking him how to use the important tome, but the dude reveals that he doesn't know. Aa starts to realize that Declan himself doesn't know the worth of the tome because if he did, he wouldn't bury it in some rusty basement. However, they still chased him down for it, even though Declan himself doesn't seem to know how to use the tome. The hunter suggests that AA hand over the tome so he can help him beg for mercy with the head of the house. Aa refuses the offer and lets the hunter know that he is going to end him.
Suddenly, a portal opens behind him and he feels a terrifying and overwhelming aura emerge from the portal. The aura turns out to be coming from a cooll looking dude holding a cane. Apparently, he is Faren Declan who is the head of the house Declan. Faren tells Asta that he would like the tome back and after that they can have a quick chat. Asta is overwhelmed by the power standing in front of him. He has been a troubleshooter for over 10 years and half of those years he spent with the Declan house but this is the first time he will be setting his eyes on the head of the house. House Declan is the top magical family of the eastern continent and there are rumors that the head of the house is the strongest mage in its history. Aa can sense how dangerous Faren is, but he decides to play it cool. Aa asks Faren if he is interested in taking someone else's loot, which is a shameless act. Faren laughs when he hears this, but Asta is nervous because he knows what it means for the head of the house himself to be present. Asta is forced to admit to himself that Faren has the most overwhelming aura he has ever seen. Faren lets Austa know that he can easily kill him and take the toone from him, but he wants them to have a chat. Faren tells Asta that he would like him to come back to work for House Declan. He promises him that he would forget all of his sins if he comes back and hands over the tome, too. Faren admits that Asta has remarkable talent and he doesn't want it to go to waste.
Faren is impressed with the fact that Asta is from the gray zone, but he has managed to master really effective techniques. Faren sweet talks his offer, telling Asta that he can really soar high if he allows House Declan to help him. After telling him everything he can gain from coming back to the house, Faren ends it with the most important one, which is returning the tome. Just then, Asta tells Faren that he has agreed to his terms, and Faren heaves a sigh of relief. However, Asta lets Faren know that he has a condition. Just then, Asta demands the most ruthless thing. He tells Faren to hand over the seat of the house to him, and he might consider returning the tome. To show how ruthless he is, Asta finishes off the dude he has been holding hostage. This pisses Faren off and he lets Asta know that he might die because of the path he has chosen.
Asta knows that Faren is not wrong, but he still lunges ahead to attack Faren just because he wants to measure the difference in their strength. Faren easily blocks Asta's blue attack with his red shield. Faren then realizes that he needs to teach Asta a lesson for him to realize that they are not on the same level. Standing cool while also aura farming, Faren unleashes a powerful magic blast that sends Asta backwards.
Asta almost gets burned by the attack, but he luckily escapes. It finally dawns on him what sort of power the head of the house holds. He can't find a single opening to attack him, and the moment Faren notices that he is lost in thought, he hits him with another attack. Faren then tells him that there is no need to measure their strengths because he is way higher than him. Asta soon finds himself facing a powerful magical attack that he can't evade. He gets smashed but Faren holds back and he lets Asta know this. He tells Asta that he is not ready to kill him but just wants to talk. Asta then asks him what will happen if he finally agrees to return to House Declan. Faren replies that he won't believe him. Asta is glad that Faren knows this and since they are both clear on things, Asta cooks up another magic attack. Asta tells Faren that he is done being a messenger and dog to anyone. Asta puts his all into the magic attack and is burned bright like lightning. He leaps toward Faren and unleashes the attack while telling Faren that he is not ready to back into the kennel. Even Asta's greatest magic attack fails to penetrate Faren's defense. And Faren finally prepares to show him what power really looks like.
Before Asta knows it, he gets hit with a powerful magic attack that sends him thinking about his past. By the time he opens his eyes, Fen is standing on top of him, looking down on him. Faren asks him if he has finally seen what true power looks like. Asta admits that Faren is quite strong and since Faren wants them to talk, Asta asks him if he is ready to allow him to become a troubleshooter again. Faren then tells Asta that he wants him to be more than a troubleshooter. Apparently, he wants him to be the head of the Bongshin family.
Asta is shocked when he hears the offer being presented to him by Faren. Since House Declan is powerful enough to even challenge for the throne, Asta figures out that they want him as the head of the Bunction family so he can swear feelalty to them as one of their vassal houses. Asta finally figures out what Faren's real goal is. He reaches into his storage space and brings out the tome. Faren smiles when he sees this and he tells Asta that he actually wants him and the tome. Faren is glad that Asta is finally making the right choice. But just as he is about to collect the tome, Asta sets it on fire, leaving Faren shocked. Faren is forced to ask him what he is doing and Asta tells him that he never had any intentions of giving it to him. Faren assures Asta that he's going to die a very horrible death. Asta then reveals that he didn't become a troubleshooter because of money.
Apparently Asta is pissed that one of his teammates got devoured by Declan's young master using forbidden magic.
After the incident happened, Declan covered it up. Faren is shocked to hear this and he figures out that Asta is coming after them because of revenge.
Aasta clears the air, saying he only wanted justice for his dead teammates.
Aa also tells Faren that he considered his recent streak an act of retirement.
Asta then reveals that these are his last words. After he is done speaking, Faren sets him on fire, telling Asta to burn and regret his choices. However, Asta screams at Faren while he burns, telling him that he has nothing to regret. Asta was ready to throw it all away as long as he didn't go back to work for House Declan. As the flames consume him, Asta considers it freedom, and he swears that if he ever gets the chance to be reborn, he will get his revenge properly. Suddenly, Asta feels something strange, as if time had stopped. Asta is totally confused, but for some reason the tome is still active in his hands. Aa sees magic circles appearing all over his body, and this is the last thing he sees before passing out. When Asta opens his eyes, he finds himself in a trashy area where he is a beggar. He looks around and it starts to dawn on him that he has somehow returned to the past. He has gone back to when he was a kid in the gray zone. Aa makes his way to a lake where he looks at his reflection to confirm that he is really the one, but a younger version of himself. The fire mark on his chest is still even though he went back in time.
He has no idea how he returned to the past, but he is sure that the tome magic was involved somehow. He also figures out that the tome must really be important for the head of the house to have chased him down for it. However, there is not much information about the tome. So, he really doesn't know. Since he has returned to the past and been given another chance, Asta believes that it is time for him to succeed in what he wanted to accomplish. He thinks about his mission and objective, which was also his comrade's mission and objective. Aasta and his comrade once had a conversation about why they are in the lower class. His comrade lets him know that their lives would have been so much better if they were educated. They wouldn't have been slaves to the rich piece of trash who are using them.
Because of this, Asta planned to retire so he could build a library. Aa wants to build a library where anyone, regardless of money, status, or gender, can freely read books. In fact, he wants to take it up a notch by building a tower. He doesn't necessarily need the tower, but he just wants to build it for the sake of it. In addition, he plans to put the secret technique of the Declan house on the first page of his book, giving even the poorest from the Grey Zones access to the secret. He is already imagining how dreadful it is going to be. But the only thing left is how he is going to get the manual. He is enjoying his evil plan when a kick suddenly lands on his cheek. He turns around to see an angry dude asking him where he has been. He continues kicking Asta, telling him that he was keeping his seat for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Aasta finds it hard to remember the douchebag who has turned him into a punching bag. Aa is not ready to allow someone to treat him like trash, and he grabs the dude's leg.
He tells the dude that he has hit him seven times, but he plans to pay him back 70 times. Aa punches the dude in the chest, but his body is weak, and he ends up spraining his wrist. Aa is shocked by this, but while he is still dazed about what happened, he gets punched in the face again. The dude resumes the beating he was handing out to Asta. Aa is moved to tears because of how painful the kicks are. The beating continues until AA sees an opening and he pushes the dude into the lake. Before the dude can get back on his feet, Asta makes a run for it. The dude gets out of the water and asks him why he is running away. Aa simply replies that he is not running but making a tactical retreat.
He assures the dude that he is going to remember his face. He promises to keep to heart all the hits that he landed on him since he was a veteran troubleshooter and the word quit is not in his vocabulary. He will get his revenge. He hides in an alley where he stares at his sprained wrist. He cannot believe how weak his body is because it broke just from throwing a punch. Aa decides to let go of his dream in the meantime and focus on training his weak and trashy body. Suddenly, a kid with a red eye shows up, asking Asta if he is hungry. Asta is shocked by this as he asks the boy if he knows him. The boy simply replies that he has no idea who he is. Aa can say that much since the kid looks like a nobles kid. He assumes that he must have fallen from grace during a power struggle. Aa classifies the dude as a walking pretty little bomb. The dude then introduces himself as Damian. Aa is surprised as to why a creepy kid is staring at him and telling him things. He is forced to ask him if he is mentally stable. Damen continues by saying he doesn't have a mom and AA completes it by saying he doesn't have a dad since they are in a competition of who is the best orphan. Asta suggests that they go their separate ways because he clearly doesn't want to get himself involved with a ticking time bomb like Damian. Moments later, Damen remains standing and Asta is already creeped out. He is forced to ask Damen if he is leaving or not. Shockingly, Damian tells him that he is going with him. Something in Asta's head tells him to smack the kid. Maybe this will help him return to his senses. However, he simply tells Damen to get away from him. Just then, Damen touches his head because of the injury on it. Damen assures him that he can heal him. With a creepy smile on his face, he casts a glowing magic circle that starts to emit healing particles.
Asta initially thinks it is a magic touch, but he soon figures out that he is wrong. What he is looking at is not magic touch, but the light of healing.
It is a secret technique of House Blandor. Apparently, House Blandor fell because of House Declan. Aa cannot believe that he has just gotten himself involved with something quite dangerous.
Aa starts to wonder why a Blandor kid is inside the gray zone. He figures out that at the current time the Blandor family should still be strong. While lost in his thoughts, Asta calls Damian by his name and he excitedly answers, revealing his other eye, which is green in color. Basically, he has two different eye colors. Seeing the kid's eyes, Asta remembers something very important that he had forgotten. The kid with odd eyes was the one who later grew up as the monster of Blandor. He was the mad butcher who won't even die when you try to kill him. After Damian is done healing Asta, he crouches to the ground to count ants like a regular kid, leaving Asta totally confused. Before the regression, when he was still a troubleshooter, he and his comrades got orders from the Declan family to head to the Blandor family. Apparently, the Blandor family needed help because there was a monster at their estate. When Asta and his comrades were heading there, they believed the monster would be an ogre or something close to that.
However, they arrived at the estate to find a gruesome scene. It was Damian tearing people apart like it was nothing. Damian was casting healing magic endlessly, laughing as he fought like a madman. This was where he got the name the monster of Blandor, the butcher who will not die even when you try to kill him. Asta decides to forget about what he remembered and focus on the present. He wonders why a direct descendant of the Blandor family is right in front of him. He is basically the only heir to the house, which makes it weird that he is in the gray zone.
Just then, Damen brings up a weird suggestion. He tells Asta that they should eat. Damen says his mother told him that he needs to eat to stay healthy and he attributes Asta's weakness to the fact that he is not eating. Asta has no choice but to admit that the kid is actually right about what he said. Asta then asks him if he has any money with him. Damen says yes and he brings out a pouch full of gold coins. Aa's face lights up in excitement when he sees this and he immediately declares that he and Damen are friends. Damen is shocked by the sudden friendship but AA manages to play his way around the kid. He then tells him that friends usually share what they have. Damian falls for his tricks and agrees with him. Aa suggests that they get something to eat and Damen agrees. After they are done eating, they retire to a shelter. Aa's belly is filled with food, which has never happened before. Damian reveals his surprise that there is a house above where they eat. He had been sleeping outside and he suddenly mentioned that he didn't have a dad either. Aa corrects him, telling him that he has a dad, but Damen refuses to agree. Asta then asks Damen if he has a mom but Damen says he doesn't. Basically, he believes that none of them exists since they are not anywhere near him. Asta finally understands the situation and he tries to get a grip on it. Aa asks Damen how long he has been alone. Damian then reveals that after he ran away from his family, he has slept 10 times. Aa wonders if Damen is being chased since he claims that he has slept 10 times. Aa believes that he has been away for 10 days. Just then Damen mentions that he took naps too. Sometimes he takes naps twice a day. However, the total of the naps he has taken is 10. With this in mind, Asta comes to the conclusion that he has been away from his family for at least three to four days. Damen acts like a regular kid and AA figures out that mad men were innocent at some point. Since Damen is all by himself, Asta decides to act as his nanny and probably form a connection with the Blandor family. He knows this will definitely help him when he wants to face off against the Declan family later in the future. However, Asta is still stuck on the dude who hit him 57 times.
Before he lies down to sleep, Asta tells Damen not to disturb him because he has something he needs to do. Damen immediately figures out that Asta wants to practice his breathing. Apparently, in Asta's past life, he laid his magic foundation on something basic, which was why he decided to sneak into noble houses to steal spells. He nearly died in these instances, but he was able to acquire several spells like the hardened body spells used by knights. He also got his hands on several others, but it was when he was about to be killed that he finally encountered true power. However, this time around, he aims to be stronger. The spell he wants to learn is Declan's foundational art, the heavenly origin technique. This is a foundation-based art that allows for the accommodation of all attributes of mana.
He once memorized it because of research, but he is glad that he can finally use it. It is called the breathing technique. And the moment he activates it, he feels a strong wave of power surging through him as if he is being burned by lava. Even though the pain is much, Asta is determined to endure it. He suddenly sees impurities being burned out of his body. It turns out that the technique is exclusive to highle nobles and it forces Mana through to burn away the impurities in the circuits. Aa immerses himself in the process and he soon finds himself submerged in a mana poolool. When he finally wakes up from the painful process, Damian has gone to sleep. He is shocked to see that there are no impurities left in his circuit. In addition to this, his mana has been completely purified, greater than that of his past life. However, he knows that even with this, it still remains an impossibility for him to defeat Declan.
Nonetheless, his chances have increased.
Aa motivates himself with the fact that he is a troubleshooter who never gives up. Later on, Asta helps Damen change his hair color to brown, and he also changes his clothes to help keep his identity. To top it all off, he gives him a cap to wear. Damen then asks Asta what their next plan is, and Aster replies that they are stepping out to cause chaos. Momentarily, Asta finds the dude who hit him 57 times. The moment the dude spots him, he asks him where he has been. But before he can even get the chance to talk more trash to Asta, he gets punched in the guts. The punch sends a wave of agony through his entire body system, causing him to immediately pass out. Asta is proud of himself that he managed to get the right place.
However, Asta is not done with him yet because he plans to hit him 123 times.
The rest of the house soon found out about the commotion, and they stepped out to see that their youngest was the cause of the entire thing. Deep down, Asta is already imagining the wild things he wants to do to them. Aa lets off his anger, and he starts beating up the dudes. He pours mana into his fist to make his punches much more painful.
Damian stands behind to watch Asta unleash his fury and he is enjoying every bit of it. Damen makes things worse for the bunch as he starts to heal them so that they can receive more punishment from Asta. The first person he heals is the dude Asta has a beef with. The dude thinks Damen is doing him a favor until AA grabs him, reminding him of the number of hits he plans to deal to him. After he is tired of beating them with his fists, Asta resorts to the use of canes. He foggs the main dude so hard that his butt starts to ooze off severe heat, but he is still not done with him. He calls on Damian to heal him so he can repeat the process again. To the victim, he is not seeing kids but a bunch of devilish maniacs who are after his precious life.
When Asta had had his fill throughout the entire day, he finally decided to stop. To add icing to the cake, he thanks his victims for their help. He has used them as his punching bags and he feels very fulfilled. He has managed to complete over 100 hits per person, which makes it over a thousand, and he is proud of himself. The leader of the victims politely asks Asta if they can leave, and he says yes. The dude then reminds Asta that he is at his house, subtly telling Asta that he should be the one to get lost. Asta figures this out and stares at him with such a scary aura that it forces the dude and his comrades to retreat into a corner. Just then, Asta gets the sense that someone is approaching them. He can see that the said person is skilled, just like a troubleshooter. This is when it dawns on him that the person might be after Damian. Asta is surprised that they were able to find him even though he was being careful. Asta realizes that he is in a bad position, but he is not about to sit around and wait to be attacked.
Since he was a troubleshooter in his past life, he was forced to face difficult situations, and this is one of them. He gathers all the mana he can and compresses it multiple times. With this, he creates a mana bullet and he aims it directly at the person charging toward them. He fires the shot, but the dude suddenly makes a knee slide, dodging it before screaming out Damen's name while calling him master. The dude slides over to Damian, and it turns out that Damen knows who he is. Apparently, he is a butler to the family and his name is Alfredo. He holds Damen tight, but the kid tells him to leave him alone.
Alfredo refuses, saying he has to return Damen to the family. Asta just stands behind them, watching the weird scene unfold in front of him. He finally realizes that Damen ran away from his family. After they are done with introductions, Alfredo offers Asta the chance to follow them back to the estate since Damian seems to have grown fond of him. Asta takes a minute to think about the offer. All he knows is that the house is a prestigious family, but he can't truly figure out their true intentions. Nonetheless, he had intentions of forming a connection before, and since the family's territory is on the way to the city, he finds it very convenient. The Zenon Academy is also close to the area and since the academyy's library is topnotch, Asta plans to check it out in preparation to build his own library. After thinking it through, Asta accepts the offer.
Momentarily, they arrive at the family's estate. Asta steps out of the carriage with the realization that it is his first official visit to the estate.
Since it is late already, Alfredo suggests that they get some rest. He tells the maid, Lansancy, to take care of the kids. Lance stares at Damian with very cold eyes and Damen already figures out that he is done for. Later that night, Alfredo heads to the chambers of the matron, Gamo. Alfredo tells the woman that Damen was in the gray zone and that he just brought him back. Gamo is an impulsive woman and she unleashes an attack spell out of rage before learning that her son is perfectly fine.
She heaves a sigh of relief and Alfredo does the same. He obviously knew that it would have been a death sentence for anyone to have hurt Damian. Apparently, Gamma was once called the blood witch, and her fury is practically unstoppable.
Gamo then commends Alfredo for his hard work. Before Alfredo leaves, he tells Gamo that there is one more thing.
Alfredo tells Gamo that Damen's new friend, Asta, noticed his presence before he even showed himself. In reaction to this, he had already prepared a counterattack. Alfredo reveals that Asta was wielding a mana bullet when they faced off. Gamma is impressed when she hears this, and she admits that it's an incredible talent for someone from the gray zone to have.
Because of this, Alfredo tells the matron that he has a favor to ask her.
The next day, Asta wakes up to a request from Alfredo, telling him to become his successor. Asta is shocked when he hears this, and Alfredo is relieved that the dude was taken by surprise. He is confident that Asta will jump at the offer because it is a rare opportunity.
But Alfredo is stunned when Asta suddenly refuses the offer. Alfredo believes that he has gone deaf and he is not hearing correctly. Even Damian is shocked to see that Asta rejected the offer. Asta admits that the offer is a big one, but he lets Alfredo know that he prefers the way things are. Alfredo immediately figures out that Asta was born in the gray zone and he learned magic through natural talent, which is why he is so full of himself. Alfredo then tries to crush Asta's confidence by trying to tell him that the world is very vast and he knows nothing of the dangers that are in the world. Alfredo compares Asta to a goblin in a large canyon, but Asta corrects him, saying he feels more like a wyvern. Alfredo is shocked to hear this, and he decides to show Asta what he means. Alfredo then takes Asta to the Butler training house where the trainees are having their session. Alfredo is proud to show Asta such a grand spectacle. He tells Asta that the kids are all his age and they have been recognized as the talent of House Blandor. Asta stares at the kids and admits that they have undergone precise training that doesn't make them seem like kids. However, he is still not impressed with what he is seeing. Asta tells Alfredo that he can feel their aura and Alfredo is glad to hear this.
He then asks him again if he is ready to accept his proposal because he will get to shine like the kids in front of him.
However, Asta refuses the offer again telling Alfredo that he hates the light.
Just then, one of the kids, Winster, raises his hand. Winster tells Alfredo that he has a suggestion. Winster believes that Asta is talentless, which is why he rejected Alfredo's offer. In addition to this, he believes that Asta can't truly grasp how great they are and he wants to show him. He is basically asking for a duel against Asta and Alfredo can feel the cockiness in Winster, but he allows it. He asks Asta if he is up for the duel. Asta understands why the dude would want a duel because all the trainees already see him as their rival. He knows that they most likely see him as a lucky dude who just rolled out from nowhere and he is already getting the offer to become the successor to the chief butler. Aa accepts the duel but asks Alfredo if he can choose his opponent. Alfredo tells him to go ahead. Asta then points to Winster, but he doesn't stop there as he points to four other trainees. Everyone is shocked when Asta reveals that he wants a 5v1. Winster cannot believe his eyes and Asta lets him know that he is free to back off if he is scared.
Alfredo laughs when he sees this and he figures out that Asta has the charge that his successor should have. Alfredo then asks Asta if he is ready to take responsibility for his words and he says yes. Alfredo tells Asta that he will give him a gift if he lasts one minute in the duel, but if he doesn't, he will have no choice but to become his successor. Asta can feel the desperation in Alfredo's voice, but he is not scared of the challenge. Once they are in agreement, Alfredo tells them to step into the ring. The traininee instructor is forced to ask Alfredo if the entire thing is not dangerous. Alfredo admits that it is dangerous, but he needs to teach Asta to stop being arrogant. The instructor is scared because he doesn't want to cause harm to Damen's guest. He walks over to where Damen is and tells him that his friend is in danger. The instructor wants Damen to stop the duel, but to his surprise, Damen is hyped up for the fight. He even wants to join in, but Lance tells him that GMA will scold him if he gets involved. Alfredo then tells the instructor to start the match and stop wasting time. The instructor comes to the conclusion that he has no choice since he has tried his best to stop the duel. Lance notices the instructor's mood and she leaves the room. Before leaving, she tells Damen not to get involved. Damen smiles, assuring the lady that he won't. The instructor walks up to the kids to explain the rules. He tells them that it is going to be a free-for-all match. He tells them that the duel will only end when one side surrenders. However, he lets them know that he can stop the duel anytime he wants. Winster stares at Asta with so much dislike as he prepares to crush him and expose him as a fraud.
Just then, the instructor starts the match, and Asta doesn't waste time before landing a mana imbued punch in Winster's guts. This sends him back in pain as he coughs up liquid. Before Winster knows it, Asta has taken down the rest of the trainees. They are all rolling on the ground in severe pain, but Winster is the only one still standing. Aa stares at him like a villain, and he tells him that he is prepared to give him some of the best experiences he can. Asta says this while rolling mana bullets in his hands. He tells Winster that the first lesson he has for him is to never underestimate the little guy. Winster is already crapping his pants when he realizes that Asta is casually wielding mana bullets.
Winster knows what it means to conjure a mana bullet. Aa continues with his lesson and he tells him that the second one is to stop judging people easily. Aa says this while hitting Winster and his comrades with man amount of bullets.
They all scream in pain as the bullets cause them intense pain. And for the third lesson, AA tells Winster that the world is vast and bitter. Aa moves closer to Winster and finishes him off with a punch. Aa smiles at the trainees while telling them that he is personally going to teach them the lessons he just mentioned. Winster screams in pain, calling Asta a lunatic. He tells him that he is not using magic against them, but Asta argues that it is magic. Aa continues his lesson by kicking Winster in the head while telling him that he is using physical magic. Everyone in the room is stunned as Asta beats up the trainees like they are nothing. He drags them around like they are his personal puppets. Alfredo is left speechless by the magic bullet he just witnessed from Asta. He wonders just how many times the magic was compressed. Because of how powerful the bullets are, Alfredo figures out that they were compressed at least four or five times. This is when it dawns on him that if he had been hit by the mana bullets back then, it might have caused him serious damage. He figures out that Asta has complete control over his innate mana. And in addition to this, he is pretty good at beating people up. At the back, Damian is busy healing them up so that Asta can have more fun dealing with them.
Suddenly, Lance enters the room with Gamo. She immediately summons Alfredo, and when the instructor realizes that the matron is present, he heaves a sigh of relief that they are finally saved.
Gamo asks Alfredo what is going on and he confesses that he was simply running a test. Gamo cannot believe that Alfredo considers what she is staring at a test.
Asta is basically trashing the trainees while Damen provides support from behind. Gamo then orders Alfredo to gather the trainees and tell them to withdraw. In addition, she tells Damen and Asta to head to their rooms. Just then, she walks up to the instructor and tells him that he is fired, shocking the dude. Later that night, Gamo tells Alfredo that he went too far even though his intentions were pure. Alfredo admits his mistake and lets Gamo know that he is willing to accept his punishment.
Gamo then asks Alfredo if Asta got help from Damian during the duel and he says no. Alfredo says Asta is just so good at hitting people. Alfredo then continues by telling Gamo that Asta used the magic bullet again. However, he compressed it multiple times to increase the power.
When Gamo hears this, she realizes that Asta has good control over his mana.
Gamo might not have seen it, but she got there to see Asta beating up five trainees at once like it was nothing.
Gamo also realizes that handling a magic bullet is difficult, even for a highle mage. Gamo then asks Alfredo about the successor proposal, but he lets the matron know that Asta rejected it without thinking twice. Gamo realizes that she needs to make a re-evaluation of the kid. She tells Alfredo to bring Asta to her. Momentarily, Asta meets with Gamo, but Damen is also in the room munching on cookies like a regular spoiled brat. Before Gammo starts saying anything, she puts a box on the table for Asta. Asta is surprised to see this and Gamo reminds him that Alfredo promised him a gift. Asta is even more surprised that the gift is being prepared by Gamo. She tells him to open the box and when he does, he is shocked to see that it contains a high-grade item. Aa is surprised because even in the Blandor family, only recruits to the top five mage divisions receive it.
Without a doubt, Asta suspects that there is something more attached to the gift. As if Gamo can read his mind, she tells him that he is free to take the gift without worry. Gamo mentions that Asta helped her son in the gray zone and it also serves as an apology for what happened earlier in the day. Asta is not ready to fall into any trap and he asks Gamo if he will be mandated to join Blandor if he consumes the item, but she says no. He then asks if the item contains poison, but her answer remains the same. Asta is shocked to learn that there are no conditions attached to consuming the item. Asta then thanks the lady for the gift. After this, Gamo then mentions that she has a proposal. The moment Asta hears this, he realizes that he was right. Gamo reveals her plan to arrange admission for Asta at the academy so he can attend with Damian.
Asta is confused about this and Gamma mentions that Damen was supposed to go to the academy the year before, but he refused, which is why it was postponed to the current year. However, Gamma wasn't expecting her son to run away the way he did. She can already see that Damen likes Asta, which is why she is asking him. Asta realizes that Gamma is trying her best to make sure that Damen stays at the academy because if she forces him, he will just run away again.
In addition, Asta sees it as a rare opportunity for him. Since the academy will provide him with lots of connections, he doesn't think it's a bad idea. He knows it's a good idea, but at the same time, he feels like having a leash on him. He then decides to tell the lady that he will think about it.
Gamma is fine with his decision, and she lets him know that she will be waiting for a reply. She then asks Asta why he rejected the offer to become Alfredo's successor. Asta senses that Alfredo is eavesdropping and decides to hurt his ego. He simply tells the lady that his knees are precious to him. Basically saying he doesn't like bowing to people.
This straight up hit the butler who is hiding and hearing the conversation at the door. When Asta returns to his room, he consumes the item and he is impressed by the changes it is making to his body.
His mana has increased a whole lot just from a 10% absorption. His physique is also changing to that of a flameborn. Aa is more impressed with the fact that absorbing the item doesn't cause any impurity in his body. And about the academy, he has already thought about it and he has an answer already. He knows that enrolling in the academy will quickly give him the chance to meet a sponsor. There are loads of advantages to joining the academy, but at the same time, he feels like he is walking into a trap. Asta then decides to go for a run.
He steps outside his room and just then he hears someone asking him if he is Asta. Asta turns around to look at the guy. He assesses his appearance which features platinum blonde hair. Since Damen is the direct descendant, Asta believes that the dude is a relative.
Asta decides to lie, telling the dude that he is not the Asta that he seeks.
The dude is shocked to hear this since the appearance of the person standing in front of him matches what he was told.
Asta backs up his lie by telling the dude that the hair on his head can change due to light, meaning there is a whole lot that might be different. The dude then assumes that he has the wrong person and turns around to leave while apologizing for the misunderstanding.
Just then, Alfredo rushes over and he mentions Asta's name at the wrong time.
He is there to talk about the whole butler thing again, but Alfredo mentioning his name has already given off his identity to the strange dude who was already leaving. The dude immediately turns around saying he was right because Asta has an unpleasant face. Asta no longer has a way to cover up for the lie, and he admits that he is the Asta he was looking for. This pisses the dude off, but when he realizes that Alfredo is there, he decides to back off. However, he tells Asta to come to the mage hall later in the day so he can beat him up and teach him some manners.
After the dude is gone, Alfredo asks Asta if something is wrong, but he says no. Deep down, Asta was already looking for someone to vent his anger on, and he sees the dude as the perfect test subject. Asta plans to head to the mage's hall later and beat him up. Asta then asks Alfredo if it is possible for him to see Gamo at that moment. Asta is then taken to Gamo's office. Gamo is shocked that Asta requested a meeting so early in the morning. She asks Asta if he has made up his mind concerning their conversation and he says yes.
Surprisingly, he lets Gamu know that he plans to enroll in the academy just like they offered. Gamo is surprised to hear this but at the same time she is relieved. Gamo then tells Asta that they are going to prepare everything very soon. With this Asta leaves the room and Alfredo enters. He asks Gamo about Asta and she assures him that he has accepted the offer. Alfredo is glad to hear this as he celebrates the win. Apparently, they plan to cover Asta's fee for the first semester. But the next semester, Asta will have difficulties paying his tuition. He believes that Asta will get more anxious because he would like to learn more. Alfredo plans to come into the equation and lend a helping hand.
Gamo is forced to call Alfredo to order, telling him that he is too loud. Alfredo apologizes and heads to the kitchen since it's almost time for breakfast.
After he is gone, Gamo understands why Alfredo is happy. He knows he has finally gotten a chance to make Asta his successor, but at the same time, Gamo thinks it's a sloppy plan. However, Alfredo seems to be very confident in the plan because the former head butler used the same trick on him. Asta then decides to head to the mage hall where the jerk from earlier told him to come.
Aa opens the door to see a mage with his face covered under the hood, asking him why he has come. Since Asta doesn't know the name of the brat from before, he starts to stutter. Suddenly the mage becomes all lively telling Asta that he has been waiting for him to come. He asks Asta to follow him and he takes him to another room. He urges him to enter but mind his head. Asta enters the room and he is hit with several notes flying around. It dawns on him why the mage was telling him to mind his head. He soon comes across a dude who introduces himself as Wenji von Blondor. He asks Asta if he has come to see his little brother, but Asta is genuinely confused by the question. He wonders if the brat from earlier is his brother. Apparently, there is one thing that Aston knows about mages from his past life. There is a common characteristic among the mages.
They initially get hit with disheveled hair and they eventually pull it out which stops the hair from growing.
Basically, Asta has divided it into three stages. The first stage is for the mages to deny that their hair is coming off and wear their robes over it. The second stage is to just give up and reveal their bald head. And then the third stage is where they just accept reality and go totally bald by shaving their heads. However, the fourth stage is where they conduct research on how to make the impossible become possible.
They will always try to make magic to make their hair grow, but no one has ever succeeded with this. However, all of these characteristics don't seem to be happening to WJI, who is comfortably standing in front of him. Before anything, Wji apologizes for the behavior of his younger brother. Asta then asks WJI if he is working at an academy. Wji reveals that he is currently serving as the vice dean. He then serves Austa a drink. Asta is impressed that someone like WJI is already a vice dean at a certain academy. He is pretty sure that Wji is quite skilled because he can't get the position just because of his family's name. Wji teases Asta saying he is quite different. Wji then reveals that he is aware of the fact that he has been encouraged to enroll in the Zenyian Academy which is a pretty big deal. Wji congratulates Asta and says it is a good opportunity for him to learn. Wji mentions that he is also a graduate of the academy and he is from the 145th class. Asta is unimpressed because he never asked the dude for the details that he is willingly handing out to him.
WJI notices this and quickly apologizes claiming that he was just excited which is why he is saying trash. Wji then suggests that they get to the main point of everything but before then WJI tells Asta that there is one thing he would like to confirm. WJI asks him if he would be willing to risk his life for a friend. Aa is utterly confused by the question. Wji reveals that the whole thing concerns the reputation of the Blondor family. He reaches into his storage space and brings out a book.
Asta's face lights up in shock when he sees the book. WJI lets him know that he will be willing to give him the tome if he can risk his life. The book is basically the secret of the Blondor family, the healing light. Meanwhile, Gamo is tending to her garden and she thinks about Damian's move to the academy. She is glad that everything was handled without stress. She also thinks of Asta as a good friend to Damian. She knows that Asta's nature is good, even though Alfredo says he can be a bit of a jerk sometimes. Gamo is not worried about this since every kid has a shameless side. Gamo is pretty much glad that even after Asta learned of Damian's background, he didn't change towards him. Gamo knows that people like Asta are quite different, which is why she wants him by his side always.
Nonetheless, Gamma knows one bitter truth. She knows that Asta is like a free bird who will not allow anyone to cage him. However, she plans to think of the many ways that she can keep Asta close. Because of her son, Damian, she wants to do everything in her power to keep Asta close. Back in the mage hall, Asta wonders why WJI is offering him the secret technique of the family. He tries to assess the situation to see if it is a trap. On the other hand, Wji is also trying to read Asta's emotions, but he can't because he is not letting off any.
He compares him to someone who is under a mask who can't know his true identity.
Wji then tells Asta to think his answer through before giving it and not to be blinded by the reward in front of him.
Asta then tells WJI that he will give him his answer. Asta basically tells WJ that if his request is something he can do he will do it and if not he doesn't have to. Wji then tells Asta that just by hearing his proposal his life might be at risk. In addition, if he hears the proposal and refuses, Wji says he might just have to kill him. With no fear in his voice or expression, Asta tells WJI that he is free to kill him since they are destined to live once. Although this is Asta's second chance at life. After hearing this, WJI unleashes his scary aura to intimidate Asta, but he remains unshaken. When Wenji realizes that the dude doesn't scare easily, he smiles, telling Asta that he passed the test. He lets Asta know that he needs someone he can trust, but it can't be from inside his family. WJI says a bunch of gibberish before revealing his true intentions. He lets Asta know that his situation is not a power struggle within the family. He says the family is very close, but it seems that he is under close surveillance by the Declan family.
Aa is surprised to hear this, and he asks WJI why the Declan family is surveilling him. Since Asta has already said he doesn't care if he dies, Wji reveals his true dilemma. It turns out that he is researching the Declan family's origins magic and he might have come across a breakthrough. Apparently, he was able to obtain the Declan family's heavenly origins magic, which is exclusive to them. Asta hears this and he immediately becomes very concerned. He realizes that he is sitting in front of a dead man, more or less. He then asks WJI if he is researching to destroy it. This is when WJI reveals that he actually found a way to improve the Declan family secret art and turn it into perfection itself. Asta hears this and immediately concludes that he is sitting in front of an extremely crazy person who has no regard for his life. WJI claims that he couldn't resist the urge to carry out the research, which is why he did. Aa sees WJI as a complete lunatic, but at the same time, he realizes that the timing matches perfectly. In his past life, when Declan wiped out the Blandor family, WJI was busy carrying out his research on the new 10,000 circle. This was why Declan didn't mind attacking the Blandor family just to wipe them out because he saw the possibility of what the 10,000 circle could do. It starts to dawn on him that Declan might have adopted the power, which was why he was insanely strong. WJI then asks Asta if he is available to help since he is willing to take his research up a notch.
Asta then asks WJI why he came to him for the mission. WJI reveals that he wasn't able to report the research to his family since he feels like there is a mole somewhere, but he can't seem to find them. Asta then says it might be a secretary, but WJI disagrees with him, telling him that the problem is probably related to the acquisition route. WJI then reveals that the moment he realized that he had been found out, he took some steps. Aa then asks him why he wouldn't just side with Declan since it seems like the better option and they are definitely going to welcome him. WJI lets Asta know that he has his personal reason for not going to them. Since Asta is not tied to the Blondor family, Wji sees him as the perfect person to help him out. WJI then reveals that it is a joint research project, but he currently can't make progress. WJI assures Asta that he is going to reward him properly.
WJI wants him to deliver the thesis to Professor Peroon of Xenon Academy. As a reward, he's going to give him the healing light spell. Asta senses an opportunity and decides to take it. He tells WJI that he has a better deal for them. Asta says he would like to take the healing light spell as compensation and also the thousand circle once WJI has completed it. Asta is riding on the double or nothing boat. When WJI hears this, he admits that Asta is truly a shameless jerk. Since the mission is critical, WJI has no choice but to say yes. He assures Asta that he will give him the spell once he completes it.
However, WJI lets Asta know that he has one condition, too. He would like Asta to help him out before he completes the entire thing, and Asta assures him that he has no problem doing that. While collecting the thesis from Wji, Asta teases him that he doesn't know how to read, but he switches it up, letting Wji know that he is only messing with him.
Asta then asks WJI if Professor Peroon is someone he can trust. WJI reveals that he and Peroon were schoolmates from the academy, and they have always been rivals. They always try to best each other in everything, but the rivalry ended when WJI returned to the family.
Aa cannot believe that he is going to meet another lunatic like WJI in the academy. When Asta gets to his room, he receives a bunch of books from WJI. He also adds a letter to it. In the letter, he lets Asta know the order in which he will study the books to properly help him cultivate his knowledge. Without wasting time, Asta starts to organize the books, and he admits that Wji is a genius. Aa then starts to write down his list of book sponsors, and on top of the list is WJI. Asta plans to put the healing light book in the tower when he finally builds. This will give everyone the chance to read it, but he knows that he has to discuss this with Damian later on. He plans to use the friend's privilege to get Damian to do it. Asta is already proud of what he wants to build as he aims to get people to learn magic. He considers his meeting with Wie a very crucial one. On the other hand, Wji is also glad that he met Asta as he seems like a useful person whom he has gained interest in. In addition to this, he is impressed with the fact that Asta was not scared of death. It was only a threat. But the fact that Asta showed no sign of fear made him more interested in him. Wji can clearly see that Asta's eyes were those of someone who doesn't fear death. Wji is glad that he found someone useful and not the usual pigs he has been working with. Wji can also sense that Asta is hiding a lot of things, but he considers this a good thing. He basically sees Austa as someone who shares the same dream as him. Soon afterward, Asta prepares himself for the academy. He packs his things and puts on the academy uniform.
Lance comes to his room to pick him. She tells him that he will have to go through a simple document registration when he arrives at the academy. Lance then reveals that he and Damen will be exempted from the entrance examination.
Lance compliments his fit and lets him know that it suits him well. Asta acts like a true gentleman and thanks the lady for the compliment. Asta thinks about the exemption that he and Damian got and realizes that it is a thing for the prestigious families. It is referred to as special admission and Asta is glad that he got it too. Asta arrives at the carriage to see Damian and his mother waiting for him. The lady tells the boys to stay safe at the academy and Asta acknowledges this. Gamo also lets Asta know that she is praying for him to achieve the results that he desires.
Asta smiles thanking the woman for this.
Deep down Asta is aiming to achieve his results without doubt since the academy provides a load of opportunities and Asta is looking to grab everything. He is also looking forward to meeting his beloved classmates. On their way to the academy, Asta checks out the light spell book that Wji gave him. He's impressed by the interpretations of the book because he made it simple. Apparently, each noble has a way of interpreting the techniques, but compared to the other versions, Asta believes that WJ's interpretation works with Declan's celestial principle. Momentarily, they arrive at the academy. Asta stays by the window to look at the popular Zenon Academy. Lansancy then tells them that they have reached the end of the carriage service. According to the teachings of the founding principal, during admission, regardless of status, all students must walk on foot. Lansancy lets them know that they have finally reached where they are going to separate and she wishes the kids a good time at the academy. After stepping out of the carriage, Damen grabs AA and tells him that they need to hurry to the entrance to the ceremony because Lansancy told him that there might not be seats left if they get there late. Aa is shocked to hear this since the entrance ceremony is not some village theater with first come, first served seats. Just then, it dawned on him that it was Lancancy who said it. He easily figures out that Lance said it as a bait to make sure that Damen doesn't drag his feet. Aa then decides to play along, even if it is just for once. They soon arrive at the hall where the ceremony is taking place, and Damen is blown away by the number of people there. Even though half of the hall is empty, Damen still believes Lancy's words that they wouldn't have gotten seats if they had come late. Aa cannot believe that Damen is still dumb enough not to know that he was being tricked. Asta then brings out their seat reservations to check where they are supposed to sit. Damen points to a place in the hall and suggests that they sit there and Asta is left confused. He can't seem to wrap his head around the fact that Damen is excited to be in the academy when he was the one running away before. Suddenly, Damen runs into another student, a tall giant dude named Xter. The dude looks down on Damian like he is some sort of bug. Asta then helps his friend up, asking him if he is fine. Damian assures Asta that he is fine and blames the entire thing on the fact that he wasn't watching where he was going. Damen and Asta are about to leave when Extter stops them. It turns out that Damen had smeared saliva on his clothes. Asta is still trying to figure out the entire thing when Damen rushes over to the dude to help him clean the saliva while adding more saliva to it. This makes Extra even angrier and he throws a punch at Damen's face. However, Asta manages to block the punch before it can reach Damen. Asta tells the dude to stop with his tantrum before he makes a mistake. Exter angrily asks Asta who he is and Damen replies that Asta is his friend. Aasta agrees with this and it finally dawns on Extter why Asta helped Damian out. However, Exter tells Asta that he is about to regret his decision. Asta already knows where the entire thing is going, but he doesn't mind. He figures out that Exter is willing to settle the fight with his fists, not words. This soon catches the attention of the other students in the hall. Apparently, Exter is the direct descendant of the Dolumpy family. The students who are watching are already making bets on who will win the fight.
Most of them believe that Exter will come out victorious in the fight. On the other hand, another student wants them to stop the trio from fighting each other before things get really worse. He believes that they can't fight properly with the entire room crowded, but another student immediately creates a barrier around the trio so that they can fight to their hearts content. Most of the students start cheering for Exter, telling him that they are rooting for him to win. Meanwhile, there is a creepy student in the distance who is not involved in the fight, but he is smiling as if he knows what is about to happen.
Once they are in the barrier, introduces himself and demands that Asta do the same. Asta simply replies that he was not born of nobility like. He wants Exter to think of him as a random guy who is just passing through. Exter then tells Asta that he will allow him to take the first strike since he is a mage. Asta laughs when he hears this and he teases Exter. This is enough to force Exter to come charging at him like a maniac. Asta then reminds the dude that he is about to fight two people. Asta dodges the guy's punch before delivering a painful hit to his face to send him backward. Exter cannot believe that he just got punched by an academy student because of the weight that came with the punch. He starts to wonder if Asta is truly a magician. Suddenly, realizes that Damian has cast a healing spell on him. He wonders why Damen is doing this, but doesn't know that he is about to suffer the most brutal thing in his entire life. He is lost in his thoughts when Asta reaches him and sends another punch to his gut. Before Extter knows it, several blows are landing on his body. He finally figures out what the two are doing. One of them beats him up while the other heals him. He is forced to admit that he has found himself going up against some crazy dudes. Exter suddenly realizes that he might actually be scared. However, the other students who are watching start to cheer him up.
They tell him not to hold back since he is the hope of warriors. With the motivations coming in, Exter finally pulls himself together. He unleashes his fury as he calls Asta a mere magician.
He angrily swings his arm, but Asta dodges the first swing. Asta commends him for trying, but Exterril screams at Asta not to underestimate him. Without holding back, Exter swings his right arm, catching Asta. Asta is thrown backwards while the students scream in joy because Exter is finally in the fight. However, Exter doesn't seem proud of himself. He knows that he landed the hit on Asta, but the impact feels very light. Asta manages to rotate his body acrobatically to land on his feet.
Exter is stunned to see this, but he puts aside his shock and rushes toward Asta again. Asta turns around to see that Damian is still casting healing magic on Xter. With this, he knows it is going to be hard to finish him off, so he has to take him out with just a single hit. To do this, Asta taps into a technique that he and his comrades developed in his past life. From the collision of magical particles, Asta can extract energy. The technique uses magic, but it doesn't fall under the magic or even martial arts category. It is a purely technical application of magical properties. Once Asta is done cooking his move, he allows Exter to get very close to him before hitting him with it. This leaves a massive shock wave that almost blinds the spectators and even destroys the barrier. Everyone is left questioning what they just witnessed from Asta. Suddenly, Extter crashes to the ground and passes out.
This leaves everyone in shock as they cannot believe that the mighty Exter just fell to one single punch. Asta raises his hand like a proper warrior just so he can or a farm and the rest of the students start to cheer him on. They start to wonder if Asta is truly a magician because of the way he handled the fight. Damen is also excited that they won the fight and Asta pats him on the head. The dude from earlier who is watching from a distance smiles as he stares at Asta. Just then, one of the teachers arrives on the scene to try and calm the situation. He cannot believe that the students are already fighting on their very first day at the school.
He starts asking who the perpetrators are, but the students enjoyed the fight and no one is ready to snitch. On the other hand, Asta is already planning their escape from the vicinity, but Damen ruins everything with his psychopathic behavior. He screams to get the teacher's attention and tell him that he and Asta were the ones who caused trouble. Asta closes his eyes in disappointment and frustration as the teacher walks up to them. Meanwhile, the giant extter is out cold on the floor.
The two boys are then called to the teacher's office where they are scolded for fighting. However, the teacher lets it slide since Damian confessed to the fight without stress. In addition, Extter didn't suffer too much injury after examining him. After this, the two head back to the hall and are lucky that the ceremony hasn't started yet. As they walk through the hall, everyone stares at them because of their latest stunt.
They can't believe that Asta was able to defeat a martial artist even though he looks frail. While Asta is maintaining his aura, Damen is waving at the students like he was a proper celebrity.
Asta cannot believe that he has managed to draw unwanted attention to himself, and he just wishes Damian would stop waving his hands like a damn After searching through the hall, they finally locate their seats. Not long after this, the headmaster, a short white-haired old man, climbs the stage to address the students. Minutes later, the headmaster is still addressing them without any sign of weakness coming from him, and this leaves Asta impressed.
Damian, on the other hand, is sleeping and even drooling all over the place.
Asta is forced to pull the guy up before he floods everywhere with his saliva.
The headmaster is just getting into his speech when someone comes over to tell him that something important has come up and his attention is needed. He wants to ignore this, but when he hears what it is about, he has no choice but to end his speech and hand over the podium to someone else. Just then, a bright-haired lady steps up to the podium to speak, and her scream sends shivers down everyone's spine. Even Damian, who was deep asleep, woke up from the woman's thunderous voice. The lady introduces herself as Jara and she lets them know that she will be the one to continue from where the headmaster stopped. Jara suggests that they begin with the freshman oath and the first person she calls forward is the representative of the magic division, Dalia Denai. Some students are shocked when they hear this name because they didn't expect the Deny family to take the entrance exam. Some believe that her skills are not good enough, which is why she is forced to do so, while some defend her, saying there is no way her skills are lacking because her family would not have allowed her to take the exam. Asta, on the other hand, knows who Dalia really is. Apparently, the Deny family is the second most renowned house after the Declan family.
Dalia grew up to become the future representative mage of the ever secondranked Deny. Aa admits that she was quite capable because he got some help from her. However, they really don't get along well, which is why many call them bad friends. Asta smiles after hearing this and expresses his happiness that Dalia joined the class that very year. Once Dalia climbs the stage, Jay recalls on the martial arts division representative, Paul. With no other name announced, AA believes that the dude is not from a noble house. In addition to this, AA doesn't think the extradude comes from a prestigious family either.
Once the two are done taking their oath, they start returning to their seats. Jra then reveals that she will be introducing the professors who will be teaching the class. She urges the professors to come forward one by one.
As Dalia walks down the stairs, she looks directly at where Asta is sitting, shocking him because the girl looks like she is making eye contact with him.
Suddenly, Dalia misses her step, causing her to fall off the stairs, ultimately embarrassing herself. Just then, Professor Peroon of the basic principles of mology shows up on stage. Asta realizes that he is quite different from Wji, but he decides to wait a bit longer before he makes his conclusion. After the ceremony, Jra tells the students to follow their attendance to their assigned dormatory. Damen finally wakes up and Asta decides to prank him, telling him that he has been expelled after they caught him sleeping. Damen hears this and screams out his lungs without any care. Asta almost regrets his decision to prank him as he heads to his dorm because he wasn't expecting Damen to scream the way he did. Asta finally makes it to his dorm room and he is impressed by how good-looking it is.
In the corner of the room are living supplies to make things easier for the students. Just as he is putting his things in order, his roommate Paul shows up in the room. Aa is surprised to see Paul looking so cold as if he doesn't care about anything. Paul then opens his mouth, telling Asta that it would be good for them to live quietly because he is not in the business of making friends. Paul assures Asta that he doesn't care about what he does or his business as long as it doesn't affect him. In fact, he would prefer if they could stop speaking after the introductions, and Asta, being one who is never scared of anyone, engages in a stareoff contest with Paul. Asta remains silent, and this triggers Paul, who demands to know why Asta is not giving him an answer. Deep down, Asta is thinking about just how proficient Paul can be, because it is said he entered as the top student. Aasta decides to test him, and he makes a fake charge toward him to see his reaction. Paul reaches for his sword immediately, and Asta notices that his stance is pretty good.
In addition, his sword placement also shows that he knows what he is doing.
Just then, Asta hears Damen's voice calling him from outside. Aa smiles like he didn't just do anything, and he tells Paul that he is free to do whatever he wants. Since they are both minding each other's business, Asta teases Paul, saying he might start singing past midnight. After riing Paul up and leaving him confused, Asta steps out of the room. Aa meets with Damen, who excitedly asks him who his roommate is.
Aa replies that he doesn't know, shocking Damen. Damen decides not to push this further and suggests that they tour the academy since there is a lot for them to see. Damen wants them to check out everything on the very first day. Apparently, the academy is vast, which is why the students are advised to get used to the layout so that they don't get lost during their stay in the academy. Even though it sounds stressful, AA is up for it since there is something on his mind, too. Aa wants to know just how many troubleshooters are in the academy. With this, the two start parading the academy. They soon find a lake and Damen expresses his disbelief just as always. Aa figures out that Lance was stuck with Damen because he was always acting like a freaking baby. Tired of hearing him complain, Aa tells Damen to tell his family to make him a lake since their estate lacks one.
Aa explains that all it takes is digging the ground and pouring in water. Damen is intrigued by the idea and he excitedly reveals that he would tell his family to make the lake even bigger than the one he is currently staring at.
Thinking of what name to give the lake, he comes up with blood, sweat, and tears. They soon find a cool-ook statue, and Asta tells Damen to inform his family to make one for him, too. Asta continues filling his head with several ideas, and he even suggests that they make it in the form of a dragon because the scales will be gorgeous. Back home, Lance is getting some really weird vibes, leaving her to wonder what might be wrong. After walking for quite some time, AA suggests that they head back to the dorms, and Damen agrees. While they were sightseeing, Asta counted seven troubleshooters. He decides to factor in the troubleshooters that he hasn't identified to make everything 10 in total. With his calculations, he figures out that Peroon's laboratory is in the second magic hall. He quickly puts two and two together to figure out that the troubleshooters are after Peroon. Since Declan already figured out that Wii has allies, they would have started suspecting Peroon since he is in the area. Asta was wondering why they were not following Peroon, but realized that they had made their move just on time.
Aa decides to take matters into his hands to know to what extent the troubleshooters know. Aa puts himself in the perfect position to hear two troubleshooters speaking. Troubleshooter one tells two that the headquarters has issued an emergency directive and they are to gather at the target's nest.
Troubleshooter 2 asks if their target is the main or the sub and one tells him that they are going after the sub. They plan to deliver their objective to the subtarget by midnight. Troubleshooter too figures out that since WJI has made his move, Peroon is their target.
However, the troubleshooter is worried about the school professors, saying they are not a match for them. Troubleshooter then explains that Declan himself won't be coming. But before he starts himself, he lets two know that the fire demon Callahan will be joining them.
This shocks two because Callahan is the vice leader of Declan's mage corps, the red jewel. This basically means that their operation is covered and this tells them that Declan is ready to do anything for the mission. At the same time, it means the troubleshooters are at risk because they would sacrifice just to make sure that the mission succeeds. Even though the two are worried, they have no choice but to do their job. The two move away from their position to join the rest of the team just to make sure that they have the numbers in case they need. Unknown to them, Asta heard everything they talked about and he is surprised that Callahan of all people is also coming on the mission. Asta remembers that Callahan is not a small fry that should be taken lightly because back when he was still a troubleshooter, Callahan was already in his prime. After the Declan family staked their survival on a battle against the Blandor family, Callahan remained loyal to the crumbling house, which shows his level of devotion.
Though he is currently dangerous, he entered his prime after the war with the Blandor family. He basically carved his name into history as a war mage using his deadly fire that is pretty unstoppable. Since Callahan will be coming, Asta figures out that it is important that he captures him. He remembers that Callahan's magic is one of Declan's flame arts. Even though the risks are pretty high, AA believes that the reward outweighs the risk. Aa is pleased with how things are going his way. However, something important remains, and this is the fact that the thesis that they are all looking for is with him, not Peroon. Since the troubleshooters are still going after Peroon, he starts to wonder if the thesis he has is fake. This also tells him that the thesis being delivered that very day is nothing but fake. Later on in the dorm, Paul dresses up and it turns out that he is one of the troubleshooters. He thinks Asta is sleeping, but unknown to him, the Asta he is looking at is nothing but a dummy.
Peroon is in his study when he senses the presence of the troubleshooters because they encroached on his territory. He wonders why the troubleshooters are so bold to enter the academy. Just then, it dawns on him that the troubleshooter approaching him is a mercenary. And surprisingly, it is Paul.
He is able to easily recognize him through his aura. And he gives him a piece of advice, telling him to refine his ether's traits next time. That is, if there will be a next time for him.
Paul then passes an envelope to him, and Peroon finally figures out that it was wi. He wonders what sort of trick Wii is playing, the different types of tricks that he is currently employing.
Suddenly, the door explodes, and Callahan strolls into the office, leaving fear on Paul's face while Peroon remains calm. Callahan can see that Paul is terrified of him and this simply means that he is aware of what he can do. Callahan then turns to Peroon asking him if he has heard of him too, but Peroon coldly says no. PN finally gets off his chair telling Callahan to get to the point. This pisses Callahan off, but before he loses his cool, he admits that this is the first time he has been treated badly. Callahan decides to lay out his terms and the first thing he says is that he wants Paul dead. He then turns to Peroon saying he would basically leave him with one arm and one eye. Callahan shoots a fireball at Peroon, but he blocks with a counter ice power. This leaves a huge wave of explosion that rocks the building.
Peroon then turns to Paul, telling him that he is responsible for his own life because he is basically seeing him as a mercenary, not a student at the moment.
Paul has no issue doing this, and he whips out his sword to defend himself.
Peroon figures out that the Declan troubleshooters must have cast a blackout spell, which is why no alarm is going off, which means Peroon is basically stuck with Paul. Callahan spots the envelope on the table, making it known that it is exactly what he came for since it was sent to Peroon by the Trash Blander family. Since Peroon will not be handing over the envelope, Callahan decides to let it all out. He unleashes a powerful flame spell that leaves the ground shaking, but Peroon keeps his calm to make sure his ice powers are active to counter whatever Callahan throws at him. Just then, the other troubleshooters start to move in, and Pun finally decides to get serious by unleashing a devastating strike that almost crumbles the building. Meanwhile, Asta is watching from afar and he realizes that things are getting pretty serious. Excited to see some action after a while, Asta puts on his mask, saying he is not Asta at the moment, but troubleshooter one. Aa clenches his fist to pray to the moon and asks it to grant him the strength to be a good troubleshooter that day, even though he has not been the most righteous. After his prayer, he leaps toward the battlefield where the affected building is already caving in. Callahan, on the other hand, is having a blast inside the building. He is surprised that with everything he has done, Paul is still alive. And he commends him for this.
Deep down, Paul knows that he would have been dead meat if he weren't wearing the protective talisman that WJI gave him.
He didn't even know it was a protective talisman, and he considers himself lucky for having it on. Peroon speaks to Paul in a very cold tone, telling him to get out of the way as he unleashes a powerful ice blast to rival Callahan's fire blast. Peroon then pats Paul on the shoulder, saying he has done well so far, which means he can actually trust him. Peroon then displays one of his powerful traits by infusing Paul's sword with ether, shocking Paul. Peroon asks him if he can continue blocking incoming attacks, and Paul says yes, as long as he needs him to. Paul figures out that they are already past the point of retreat, and if he can't hold out, he is dead for sure. Callahan is impressed by their sudden pairing because a mage and a guard are just what he needed to fight. Callahan then unleashes another fireball, and this time around, Paul's sword fails him. He gets smashed into the wall and Peroon figures out that with Paul out of the picture, he has no choice but to get really serious.
Apparently, when the amount of mana present in nature is limited and two authoritative beings issue orders at the same time, a struggle for control begins between the said entities. Peroon wants to see just how much damage Callahan can take from him. Since Peroon is requesting a duel, Callahan is more than happy to indulge him. The two unleash their power to hit each other, and the building suffers the most damage. It crumbles and Paul falls off after losing his balance. As he falls down, all he can see is two monsters going up against each other without holding anything back. Paul ends up crashing to the floor, wondering why he joined the fight in the first place when he is nowhere near their power level. Meanwhile, the troubleshooters from afar are totally blown away by the level of destruction that the two are creating. Without thinking twice, they figure out that they are going to be crushed if they try to interfere. Just when they think they are safe, Asta shows up from behind, taking them out, further causing a state of panic among them. After taking out whatever troubleshooters might get in his way, Asta heads to the fight scene.
His arrival catches the attention of the two, leaving them questioning just which side he is on. With blinding speed, Asta reaches Callahan and grabs him by the neck, telling him that he has reached where he is going to die. Scared, Callahan frantically unleashes a fire blast, but this in turn makes him suffer a mana backlash. Callahan coughs up blood and to his surprise, Asta is unheard. In fact, he is already dashing toward him. At the same time, the troubleshooters are moving in. Callahan figures out that he has to suppress the mana backlash if he is going to have a chance. Callahan whips out a potion and consumes it while wondering where on earth someone as strong as Asta popped out from. The troubleshooters try taking Asta down, but he easily blocks their attack while sending them off with a counterattack. Callahan sees this and he is stunned. Before he knows it, he realizes that he is actually getting impressed because Asta is moving with so much precision and extreme efficiency.
Even though he is impressed, Callahan is already pissed and he declares that he is going to kill Asta. He angrily creates a bunch of magic circles so he can unleash an even more powerful fire blast from them. The firepower is so much that Callahan fries his own people with it, leaving Asta totally blown away. With the thick smoke that follows his last attack, Callahan wonders if he managed to catch Asta. He knows some of his allies suffered from the attack, but he really doesn't care. He is focused on completing the mission, not minding whoever dies in the process. After staying on his guard for a few seconds and not seeing anything, he assumes that Asta is dead. He starts smiling, believing that he went overboard without reason. He figures out that he is going to get the upper hand against Peroon if he manages to join hands with the other troubleshooters. Suddenly, his blood runs cold when he hears Asta's voice in the distance asking him if he has done his best with his last attack. Asta says he knows the kind of person Callahan is, which is why he was able to quickly figure out that he would sacrifice some of his men if it meant getting rid of him, too. Standing above, Asta aims his magic circle at him, telling him that he is about to die because of his actions.
Asta unleashes his Mona Bullet, and with no way to dodge it, Callahan watches the attack come straight at him. The Mona bullet hits Callahan straight in the head, piercing his head like a large caliber bullet. After successfully taking Callahan out, Asta admits that he was quite impressive because any other mage would have died from the first surprise attack. He confesses that Callahan's attacks were as deadly as ever, but his last attack actually worked in his favor. Asta knows that he would definitely have lost if Callahan had teamed up with the troubleshooters to engage him in a war of attrition.
Even though he is getting deadlier, Asta's mana reserve is pretty low, which is not impressive to say the least. Asta then walks up to Callahan's body to search it. He runs into luck and finds his grimoire, which is what he was looking for. Apparently, most battle mages don't trust anyone, which is why they carry their grimoirs themselves.
Even though the spatial pouch has a built-in owner recognition spell, Asta is not worried because he can figure out a way to undo the spell later. Just then, Peroon shows up and Asta tells him that he is late to the party. Pun reveals that he was taking care of the little fries that remained. Pun then asks Asta if he is one of those who are after him. But Asta urges him to use his brain because he just killed one of Declan's men and this should tell him where he stands. Upon hearing this, Peroon figures out that WJ was the one who sent Asta and he finally lets his guard down. However, Peroon is confused as to why Paul approached him. He wonders if WJ is splitting the research into two papers, which is why he required two envoys. Aa then mentions that the one with Paul might be a fake.
He believes that WJI did it to lure Declan's men into the open just like a fisherman reeling in fish. Asta says WJI might be trying to tighten the security in the region while also making sure that Declan's influence in the area is reduced to a bare minimum. Deep down, Asta believes that something is off because even though a blackout spell was used, the fight was still insane and the Imperial Knight should have shown up.
This can only mean one thing and this is the fact that the Knights have been bribed by Declan too. Peroon then asks Asta if he is the courier and Asta answers his question by pulling out the thesis and handing it over to him. After collecting it, Peroon asks Asta if he knows what is inside and Asta replies that he is not a fool. So he knows.
Peroon stands cautiously and Asta assures him that he doesn't mind fighting him. But he should think twice about his decision because his decision will determine if he lives or dies.
Perun agrees that Asta makes a good point and then he asks Asta if there is anything he wants in return. Asta is confused by this and Perun explains that Wji only trusts people who are like him since he is similar to Wji. Perun believes that he has to earn his trust by giving him something in return. Aasta thinks for a minute before telling Peroon what he wants and he says he wants a book. This sounds confusing to Peroon and Asta explains his plan to build a grand tower. Aa continues by saying he is going to place books that everyone can read inside the tower. He then tells Peroon that he would like a book that is written from his perspective on arcane science. Perun is shocked to hear this, but he assures Asta that he will get down to it. After their brief conversation, Asta says it is time for him to go, but Pun asks him how they are supposed to stay in contact. Aasta then brings out a communication crystal, and he hands it over to Peroon. He tells him that the two halves are linked. Therefore, if one breaks, the other shatters, too. He tells Peroon to break one shard to call him and then break more than one if there is trouble. After explaining how the crystal can be used, he vanishes into thin air. Not long after this, the Imperial Knights showed up on the scene to secure the area. They also evacuated the academy students in case there is a follow-up attack. In the process, Asta was able to blend in with the students.
He meets up with Damen, who asks him where he has been. Aa replies that he was attending to something. Meanwhile, Asta is pretty sure that with the recent event, the Declan family will pull back a bit. While Damen is trying to get him to talk, Asta keeps wondering why his sigil reacted during the battle. He felt power resonate through the barrier when he was blocking Callahan's attack. And this is something that doesn't even react on normal days. However, Asta is thankful because it was the sigil that helped him block Callahan's counterattack. Asta tries to remember what happened and it finally dawns on him that it is the rejection phenomenon.
This is a technique that is often used by mages to prevent the caster from being harmed by their own magic. Asta is so troubled and confused that he didn't know when he spoke out. This catches Damen's attention and he asks him what he meant by not getting it. Damian demands to know the secret that Asta is hiding. Asta ignores Damian and continues to wonder why the sigil reacted at that particular time and what could have triggered it. Nonetheless, Asta figures out that he has to conduct more research. He believes that he is going to get some clues in the academy library. Asta is minding his own business when a student suddenly calls his name from behind, introducing himself as Chenby. Asta doesn't take the dude seriously until he mentions that Asta is a pretty good fighter. Asta is immediately caught in between killing Chenbi given that he already knows his identity or just letting him be. Before Asta can conclude on his decision, Chenby mentions something that saves his life. He says the fight Asta had with the combat division during the entrance ceremony left an impression on him. Asta finally realizes that he only gained respect from the students and here he was thinking he had left a bad mark.
Asta tries to be modest, telling Chenbi that the dude he fought was lacking in ether, but things would be different if they fought again. Chenbi scratches his head nervously, but he continues following the two, saying he would like to stay with Austa. Chenbby smiles, saying he has not gotten close to anyone yet, and it is weird for him to join other groups. Even though Asta is not entirely comfortable with this, he tells Chenbi to do whatever he wants. Chenbi is glad to hear this because he was expecting Asta to push him away. Chenby wastes no time triggering a series of conversations with Asta, giving Asta some sense of sanity because he has been dealing with lunatics since he returned in time. Basically, he had even forgotten what it feels like to be normal. To seal off normal life, Asta believes that he has to fully settle into the academy. On their first day of lecture, Damen is already complaining of how sleepy he is. Momentarily, Chenby shows up too. Chenbi cannot believe that they are required to attend class after all the chaos that happened the day before. And Asta agrees with him, saying it is harsh. With what Asta has put together, he can see that Chenbby is not from a wealthy family, but he doesn't appear to be someone who is timid. In fact, he appears to be the cheerful type. Just then, Chenbi mentions that their M3 home room teacher is Professor Jara. Asta is confused as he hasn't heard the name before, and Chenbi explains to him that JRA is a big shot.
Apparently, she once single-handedly slaughtered a horde of trolls. Just then, Jra enters the room and Asta immediately remembers her from the entrance ceremony. Jra stands in front of the class and she reintroduces herself. She tells them that the chaos that happened at the school the day before has nothing to do with them and they are all free to continue learning.
JRA tells the students that before anything else, they are going to be undergoing a mana assessment test. This test evaluates both the quantity and quality of their mana. JRA then asks them which they think is the most important. One of the students, a girl named Argan, raises her hand to answer the question. She says there is no definite answer to the question because if one already possesses a certain level of mana, she believes that mana matters more. Jra then demands to know her reason for the answer she went with. She gives an instance saying that when facing a mage of equal power, the one with superior mana quality would naturally get the advantage. When Asta hears this, he figures out that the girl is basically talking about the textbook answer. With the experience that Asta has, he knows the quality of mana affects the accuracy, stability, and power of spells. Basically, having a ton of mana is useless if the mage can't hit their target. Jra appears to be totally disappointed in the answer she got, and it is written all over her face. She then demands to know Argan's family and she answers that she is from the Baron Pelum's household. Jara looks absolutely disgusted, saying she already thought the same thing. This leaves Argan shattered with tears in her eyes. Jra then throws the question to the class again, but no one is ready to suffer the same fate as Argan. Suddenly, she points to a student, Iple, startling him. He nervously stands up, and since he doesn't know the answer, he just goes with mana quantity being the most important. Ipel says there is a chance that in large scale battles total mana would have a bigger impact. Aa agrees with him to some extent saying there are instances where quantity can outweigh quality. Basically the two are vital but it depends on the variable on which they are operating. Just as Argan, Jra is disappointed in the answer that she got and she gives Epipel the same treatment that Argan got. Jra is not ready to give up until he gets a suitable answer and she continues calling on the students one after the other. The class is already mumbling about how annoying she is because she is stressing them out on the first day of school. On the other hand, Asta is already thinking of what answer would pass JR's question. Just then, Jra mentions that she has already heard everything that needed to be said and she admits that they were all close to the answer. In fact, there was no correct answer from the start and she wasn't looking for a correct answer. JRA then asks them if the answer they gave her was truly from their hearts or if they were just trying to say what she likes to hear. JRA reminds them that a mage is not allowed to lose their conviction no matter when or where. In addition, they must not be swayed by temptation and they must have the strength to uphold their will to the end. She then asks them that with the answer that they gave her, if they can call their mindset that of a true mage, Jra tells them the most important thing, saying they have to become true mages.
With this message passed across, Jra urges them to keep the message close to their hearts. In the end, Asta realizes that he was right and he concludes that the lady has a really weird way of teaching. Once it is time for the Mona measurement test, the first person she calls is Argan. JRA shocks her when she says she is going to be the class representative. JRA admits that her earlier answer was impressive and since she is the rep, she will be the one to record the measurement. Aa is shocked to see this and he figures out how JRA teaches her students. Staying true to himself, Asta was totally impressed. The students are surprised to see the equipment, which is said to be really hard to come by. JRA knows that most of them haven't seen one before, and she smiles evily, saying it is time to know their mona levels. The entire purpose of the test is to find out if there is a monster among them. JRA explains that it is pretty simple to use the device. To show the entire class how it works, she tells Argan to place her hand on the crystal orb and channel her mana into it. Argan walks up to the ball and does as told, and the device lights up really brightly. This blows her mind and JRA points to the main indicator out of all the indicators that are present there.
She says the quality of mana ranges from 1 to 10 and Argan's level is four which makes her an impressive young lady.
Apparently last year's freshman averaged three on the indicator. Argan blushes hard when she hears this and she thanks Jra for the compliment. After this, Jra says the next thing to measure is the amount of mana and she is required to just pour her mana into the device. For her mana quantity, she stops at 17.
Surprisingly, JRA says this is also an impressive score because the last freshman stopped at 15. JRA commends her saying she appears to be a hardworking lady with the crazy score that she has seen. This immediately sets the standard for the rest of the students who start to pray that they get something good, too. Asta, on the other hand, can already see that Argan will grow to become decent. Jra soon takes her leave because she has something she needs to attend to, but she tells her assistant professor to continue with the measurement. The students start stepping out one by one to check out their potential. With the measurement, they all know where they are lacking and where they need to improve. Just then, Chenby walks up to Asta, urging him to stand up so that they can measure their mana level. Asta agrees to this, but Damian is busy sleeping like a sheep again. Suddenly, a student named Furion steps up to measure her mana level, and her score blows everyone's mind. Furion reaches level six for quality, while her quantity reaches 20. Asta is surprised that Furion is from the same house as Dalia, but they have different hair colors, which means that she is from a branch family. The assistant also understands why her scores are impressive because she is from a prestigious family. However, he lets her know that there is still a bit of work to do. Moments later, Damian finally wakes up from his sleep, totally confused about what is happening. Asta initially tells him to go back to sleep, but he changes his mind and tells him that they are undergoing the mana measurement. Damian seems uninterested and asks why they are conducting the experiment in the first place. Aa says he has no idea, but since it takes nothing away from them, they might as well check. Because it is during the class session, Damen gets excited and shouts that he will try measuring his mana, too. Aa cannot believe that Damian is seriously rushing in and people are already talking about how young Damen looks. Aa has also gained popularity since he beat up. Among the group, Chenby is the only unknown dude. Asta is not pleased that he has been tagged a student beater when Damen was even the one excited about the whole thing. Damen reaches the stage and the teacher urges him on telling him to try out the device. After confirming what he needs to do, Damen touches the ball and the moment the indicator takes the reading, the entire class is left in shock. No one believes what is happening right in front of them and even Furion almost breaks her neck while staring at the board. Damian is basically in the category of those who are called monsters. He has a mana quality of level 9 while his mana quantity is 67. Out of everyone in the room, Asta is the only one who is not surprised one bit. Asta understands that everyone freezes in the presence of greatness. Asta is aware that Damen is a genius, but he never expected him to entirely trash the high scores. Damian, as usual, doesn't even know the implications of what he just did, and he starts asking if his score is considered high. Asta finally realizes how Damen became a monster.
However, he's pretty sure that Damian would have been a better person who could have changed the world if he had followed the good path. This time around, he is there to nurture him and make sure that he takes the right path.
This is because the Blandor family is the only one that can rival Declan. Aa plans to make Damian transcend beyond a level he thought impossible. The teacher then urged Damen not to allow the score to get to his head because he still needs to work hard. Damian assures the dude that he is aware of this. Damian rushes over to Asta asking him if he has measured his but he says no. Damen urges him to measure his and Asta knows that the students will be waiting already to compare him to Damian. Since he has no choice, he walks up to the ball and he decides to keep things low-key to make sure there is no attention to himself.
Aa touches the ball after adjusting the mana the way he wants. But he soon realizes that the ball is set so low, which means his small mana has done something crazy. The system initially reads 10 for Asta, but the machine suddenly goes off, displaying an error message because the threshold was crossed. Damian celebrates in excitement, but Asta quickly tells the teacher that they might need to rerun the test because the machine malfunctioned. Damen is the only one who knows that Asta is just trying to be moderate. The teacher then resets the machine and this time Asta set his mana so low that it only read three for quality and 15 for quantity. The students immediately believe this just like Asta wanted. Asta is glad that he was able to pull it off. However, Damen is not pleased with what just happened, and he even uses a curse word. At the first department of magic, Jra stands in her office to watch the reconstruction of the second mage hall. Moments later, the assistant teacher, Yurvy, shows up with the Mona measurement records. Jra checks it out and talks about the scores that catch her eye, and she says Damen is going to need guidance. Suddenly, her eyes come across Asta's score, and she realizes that there was a retest due to an error message. The moment she sees this, she figures out that Asta is not an ordinary kid, and she needs to keep an eye on him. Later on, the trio is seen creating toys with magic, and Chenby is blown away by how much mana Damian can exert, like it's nothing.
Seeing this, Chenby comes to the conclusion that he is just a small fry in the whole affair of things. Aa sees Chenb's reaction and immediately understands how he's feeling, but he wishes that Chenby could just face reality and move forward. After they are done playing, Damen admits that it's been fun and he is glad that he came to the academy. Asta hears this and heaves a sigh of relief. Thankful that Damen is adjusting to life at the academy.
Sometime later, Asta finally gets access to the spatial pocket that he procured earlier. Because of his lack of magical sense, he had to use a whole month before he could get access. In that period, he had also absorbed the elixir he got from Blandor into monoiform. In addition to this, he has gained a considerable amount of knowledge at the academy, too. Now that he is able to open the spatial pocket, he immediately dives in. The first thing he sees is a potion. And after this, he pulls out a cloak, which he believes is useless to him. He finds a defensive artifact also, which he believes is a good pull. In the end, he finds one of Declan's secret grimmooars, the red flame. This is basically a lesser secret spell derived from the blue flame, and it is used by Faren. Apparently, it is a powerful magic that is strong enough to burn through forces. Since he can't immediately learn it, he figures out that it is going to take him some time.
Sometime later, the students gather for the midterm performance evaluation. Asta is surprised at how many people are present and Chenby mentions that all the first years are gathered. Chenby then tells Asta that the rumor is that their test might revolve around the canyon breakthrough because they heard one of the staff members talking about it.
Apparently, the midterm performance evaluation is split into three parts.
There is the trial corridor, which is a maze-like sewer, where one must reach the goal. The second is the canyon breakthrough, where students race to the finish line. The third and last is the simulator where one duels against a person or a monster. Even though he knows about the three tests very well, Asta is not worried since all he has to do is pass. However, he is worried about Chenby who is not capable like him or Damian. The students are still debating what the test will be when a thunderous voice appears on the scene telling them to keep quiet. It turns out to be Pin and he introduces himself to the students telling them that he will be the one to oversee the performance evaluation. In no time, Pin lets the students know that their test is going to be the trial corridor. Chenby almost pisses his pants when he hears this because the little plan he has in his head is already cooked. Perun then tells the students to line up their classes while he explains the rule to them. He lets them know that the trial corridor is a maze-like sewer and they are expected to pass through it to reach the final gate. Basically, the paths all lead to the end no matter which one they take. Chenby smiles when he hears this, believing that the test is going to be a piece of cake. Just then, Peroon mentions that what he just mentioned is basic and would make the test meaningless. It turns out that Peroon has something else cooked up, and he unveils the golems he has stored up.
Chenby freaks out when he sees the golems because he can't believe that they are now using golems in a performance test. Peroon mentions that the golems might be slow and dull, but they are still tough given their current level. However, their cores are exposed and their durability has been adjusted, so this should give the students the upper hand. Nonetheless, Peroon warns them that the golems will easily catch up in a closed space. Peroon can see the reaction on the students faces and he is disappointed. However, he is convinced that there are some students with potential among them. After taking a good look, he assesses them and he believes that Damian is not among the top contenders because he looks really dull. Peroon continues to speak his rule and he mentions that the golems are there to be gatekeepers, which means it is left for the students to defeat them or move past them. He then reveals that each of them will be given a test bracelet that has a protective power similar to a force field. He lets them know that the moment their force field breaks, they are disqualified and the golems will ignore them from then on.
After he has laid down the rules, Peroon realizes that the students are still unmotivated and he decides to add an incentive. He tells them to impress him in whatever way they can and he promises to give the winner a personal reward which they will definitely adore. The moment Asta hears this, he gets fired up because he wants whatever Peroon is offering. In a quick revelation, it appears that Rapita is the largest library on the eastern continent, and the library is divided into three tiers: upper, middle, and lower. Given Asta's status, he is only able to access the lower tier. And when he went there to look for clues, he couldn't find any trace of what he went there for in the lower tier. With this in mind, Asta figures out that he has to gain access to the middle of the upper tier if he wants to find what he is looking for.
However, these two tiers are restricted to royalty, arch nobles and distinguished houses. Apparently, there is another way to gain access and this recommendation from three or more professors. With this in mind, Asta figures out that he has to impress Pyon.
After Perun is done laying out the rules, he tells them that he is going to give them a short prep time to collect supplies from the professors to help them during their test. The students immediately rush over to the assistants, demanding to obtain several highlevel items to help them during the test.
However, most of their requests are denied because they are not allowed to take in anything that will give them an edge. While the students are all shouting and panicking about what to get, Damen simply requests 20 vine seeds. The assistant professor is surprised that Damen is asking for vine seeds contrary to his primary element.
But Damen replies that he doesn't have a primary element, which means he can still use plant magic. Asta is surprised when he sees this because he doesn't believe that the nonchalant Damian is also making preparations. At the same time, Asta is eager to see if Chenby will finally break out of his shell.
Once they are done with preparations, Peroon tells them that he is going to assign starting locations, and they are to check their names to know their assigned starting point. Aa then checks where he falls under, and he realizes that he has been assigned to starting point three. He looks around to see that the other two are assigned to different starting points. In Asta's group, he realizes that there are six other guys there, and he doesn't even know their names. Moments later, Asta is approached by an arrogant dude who is accompanied by two of his lackeyis. He introduces himself as DB and tells Asta that he has a proposition for him since he is not bad with the blade. Asta tells him to go ahead and Debeay reveals his interest in buying the bracelets of students who get eliminated. He tells Asta that he is ready to pay 30 gold coins each. He mentions that he, Asta, and his two friends are off the list, which means he is ready to pay 90 gold coins. When Asta hears this, he is surprised because 30 gold coins are about a peasant family's monthly income. Debeay expects Asta to jump at the offer since he is from a poor background. At the same time, Debbe's goal is to protect himself. And Asta agrees with this. Even though it might look like cowardice to some, it is basically an art of making the best of what one has. And since they are rich, they might as well throw the money at their problems. Just then, Asta asks Det why he calculated 90 gold. Dbeet assumes that the money is not enough for Asta and he offers to add five gold coins each to make it 105 gold coins. Asta then tells DB that this still doesn't add up as he suggests that they redo the math since there are three other guys on the team with DBE and his lackey making six. AA then asks why DBE removed the price of his life from the calculations.
From Asta's calculations, he tells Dubet that the right amount should be 210 gold. The moment he says this, the trio is left in shock and total disbelief.
Debbay is pissed at the amount of confidence oozing out of Asta's body.
Debay then decides to raise the price to 40 gold coins each, believing that 35 is not enough. Asta still uses this against him, telling him that the total of the money is now 240 gold coins. Debay reacts angrily at this because he doesn't believe that Asta is trying to make the best of the profit from the deal, even though it might cost him his life. Since he doesn't see a way through with Asta, Debeet believes that it would be better if they just back off. He tells Asta that the negotiations are off and just as he is about to leave, Asta calls him back asking him where he is going. Asta lets Debeet know that he owes him already and this fully triggers Debet. He demands to know what Asta means by this. Asta then uses a simple analogy explaining to Debay that there are three packs and three people loaded in a carriage. Even if the packs are removed, Asta tells Deb that he is supposed to pay for the people in the carriage. With an evil smile and arrogant face, Asta tells Dubet to pay up 120 gold coins, which is 40 gold coins per member. DBay's lackeyis immediately jump in to defend their master, telling Asta that he has nothing in DBay's presence. One of them gets over excited and walks up to Asta, threatening to beat him up. However, he realizes that it is the wrong move when he sees the difference in Asta's stance and voice. Trying to avoid any trouble with Asta, Debbay decides to pay up the 120 gold coins. Just as Dubet is about to pay, Asta raises the price to 160 gold coins, saying his targets are nobles. Dubet has no choice but to pay the money, but he assures Asta that he is going to suffer for the money. When it is time for the students to make their way into the corridor, Pyune reminds them that they are going to be eliminated if the bracelet's function is disabled. He adds that the field barrier activates against spells that directly strike the body or attacks that are imbued with mana. Basically, if the barrier is destroyed, the bracelet remains where it is and the wearer will be forcibly transferred out of the testing grounds. With this, Peroon assures them that they have nothing to worry about when it comes to injuries.
Once all the instructions have been laid out, Peroon tells his assistants to begin the test. Momentarily, the students are warped into the testing grounds and the inner footage starts to broadcast. While checking out the starting points, Peroon realizes that Damian and Dalia share the same starting point. Suddenly, something goes horribly wrong as the broadcasting feed from starting point 3 freezes. Panic ensues among the assistants who believe that they didn't check properly, but Peroon urges them to calm down, telling them that he personally checked everything before they began. Unknown to them, a battle has ensued between Asta and Day's lackeyis. Some minutes earlier, Detay and his lackeyis wasted no time attacking Asta the moment they stepped into the testing grounds. Since getting hit by magic means instant disqualification, Asta makes a quick dash for it, dodging their initial attacks. Asta is so fast that Debay and his guys are left in shock as he reaches them like lightning. Before they can react, Asta has started hitting them, not enough to kill them, but to get them out of the game. He runs around like the Flash, dealing devastating blows to their bodies to knock them down. After he is done putting them in their place, AA still makes DB pay, telling him that he has to give him 320 gold coins for his insulence. In addition, Asta lets him know that he is going to get paid one silver coin per hit. By the time Asta is done with Dubet, he looks like an inflated balloon. However, Asta makes sure to get Dubet and his gang disqualified, leaving him to easily pick their bracelets. Since he needs Peroon's recommendation, Asta figures out that he needs two more bracelets to claim his reward. Asta then sits down to think about his next move because he is still going to need another professor to vouch for him. He thinks about destroying the trial corridor since there are only four pillars holding up the ground. However, he dismisses this thought because he is just going to make an enemy of the entire eastern continent, which will ultimately lead to his death. In the end, he figures out that he just has to keep moving till he finds something.
Meanwhile, Damian has resorted to something crazy. He used the vine seeds to take control of some golems, and he started controlling them, making life hard for the students in his vicinity.
Panic erupts everywhere as they wonder how Damian is able to control golems with vine seeds. They try to take down the golems, but the vine seeds around the golems make their spells pretty useless. As the whole chaos continues, Chenby soon concludes that he has no reason to involve himself in any problem since his goal is to qualify. He makes a run for it, hoping to hide somewhere safe. Suddenly, the bracelet starts sparkling and Chenby assumes that he got hit with magic without realizing it.
Because of this, he dejectedly sits down, waiting to be transferred out of the testing grounds since he believes that he has been disqualified already.
Minutes later, he realizes that nothing is happening, leaving him totally confused as to what is happening.
Suddenly, a voice echoes through the grounds, and with it comes something sinister. The voice addresses the students, saying, "They have no demands, but their only mission is to bring consequences to those who have angered the great being." Damen is about to trash one of the students, but he stops so he can hear whatever the voice has to say. Just then, the voice declares its intention, revealing its plans to kill all the students. It is at this point that Peroon and the assistants realize that there is trouble. Everything has practically gone offline and there is nothing under their control again.
Peroon realizes that the assistants are panicking and he tells them to stop shaking, urging them to find the professors at once. He tells them that JRO should be their priority when fetching the professors. Immediately, the assistants ran off to call the academy professors. At the same time, Peroon is pissed that there is someone or a group of people who would dare mess with the academyy's midterm evaluation.
On the other hand, all the golems in the corridor have fallen under the enemy's control. With the golems now in the wrong hands, they start moving really fast and are deadly. Aa is also surprised that the golems are able to precisely track him down. Aa quickly figures out that someone had tampered with the control. Given the large number of golems outside, Asta figures out that all the golems in the storage have been released. Aa being the battle addict that he is, decides that he has no choice but to have fun with the golems while also dealing with the main culprit. Chenbby is thinking about his trash life when he hears someone running toward him. He turns around and when the person finally emerges from the dark. It turns out to be Asta. Just as he is about to rush over to hug him, he realizes that he is being chased down by a bunch of Gollums. Aa easily catches up to Chenby and he tells him to make a run for it. Seconds into the chase, Asta can clearly see that Chenby doesn't have the stamina to outrun the golems and he would just get caught in no time. Aa then decides to switch to plan B and he tells Chenby to hand over his bracelet.
Chenby is confused when he hears this and Asta explains to him that the Gollums are targeting the bracelets because they are linked to the control system which basically makes it an alarm bell. With this explanation, Chenby hands over his bracelet, but he asks Asta what his plan is. Asta tells Chenbi that he will buy time for you to run so you can find Damian. Aa reminds Chenbby that he has a family, so it is logical that he should be the one to survive.
The moment Asta says this, Chenbi remembers his father's words, telling him to focus on his magic. Basically, everyone in the family has been encouraging him since he was young.
Chenbi finally summons the courage to leave Asta behind, but he urges him to make it out alive. As he runs away, Chenby convinces himself that he has no choice but to stay alive because his family deserves so much since they have sacrificed a lot to support him.
Suddenly, he remembers his father calling him his proud son and a moment of realization hits him. He starts questioning himself, wondering if he is something worth being proud of. He realizes that he has been indecisive, timid, and basically nothing special.
The fact that he even abandoned his friend gives him the reality check that he wanted. With this, he decides that he is not going to add any other guilt to what is already there. Chenbby then turns around with the determination that he is not going to give up. He decides that he is going to use the best magic that he is capable of, and this is one that his teacher left for him. As he cooks up the spell, he prays that it works. It turns out that the spell is known as the spear of earth, which has a nice ring to it. Basically, the spell is designed to pierce anything since it is like a cavalry lance. Aa is still dealing with the golems when he hears Chenby calling out to him. Asta turns around to see Cheni bleeding in the nose while cooking up the powerful spell.
Thanks to the late warning, Asta is able to dodge the destructive spell that destroys anything and everything in its path. When the dust settles, the spell has left a long crater in the ground.
And thanks to how powerful the spell is, Chenby starts coughing up blood. Chenbby crashes to the ground, but Asta grabs him before he reaches the ground.
Exhausted, Chenbby talks about how his master came to name the spell. He talks about how grand the spell is, but Asta disagrees, telling him that the caster is the one who proves how powerful the spell can be. Asta says the caster's usage of the spell determines everything. Just then, Chenbi starts acting like he is about to die, and Asta forces a potion down his throat, telling him that he will be fine. In no time, Chenbi regains his strength, leaving him dazzled. Meanwhile, Asta is wondering what he is supposed to do with Chenby since he can't possibly just drag him along. Asta then takes a moment to track down the flow of mana in the surroundings. Once he has determined the safe path, he tells Chenbi where to go so he can find the other students.
Chenbi then asks Asta what he plans to do, and he replies that he has business to attend to. Basically, Asta has traced the bad mana to the control room, and he's excited to check it out. Asta then makes his way toward the control room, and as he gets closer, he remembers that he has come across the same feeling before. He can clearly see that it is not Declan. And after racking his brain for a couple of minutes, he realizes that what he is up against is the demonic realm. Everything immediately starts coming back to him because he can clearly remember the demonic energy emanating from the demonic realm. Asta's expression immediately switches to his psycho personality as he remembers that one peculiar dude Fryzen is behind it all. Meanwhile, inside the control room, Fryzen is ecstatic that his little experiment is working because the demonic beasts have manifested already and everything is functioning the way it should. Basically, everything went well thanks to the ancient artifact he is wearing on his hands. Thanks to the spatial severing function of the artifact, Frizzen was able to access the demon realm without casualty and even sees complete control of the control room. Frisen is celebrating his success when his counterpart standing behind him questions his methods, asking him if he really went ahead with something that he wasn't sure of. Friezen then tells the dude that just by creating the demonic energy, he has been able to fulfill the contract between them. The dude finally appears from the dark and he has a mask covering his mouth. He lets Friezen know that he is free to do whatever he wants as long as it works for him. Basically, all he wants is for a certain professor to be disgraced. Freszen then bows his head to the dude, addressing him as the great hound of House Vimar. The Hound replies, telling Fryzen not to utter his family's name with his trash mouth. Deep down, Fryen is pissed that he has to bow to someone like the Hound because his family is just a vassal family under Declan. Basically, Fryzen is doing all these so that VHimar can give him a place for his experiments. And because of this, he concludes that he is going to endure whatever dishonor the Hound throws at him. In addition to this, he and his group have been able to finally form a forbidden magic sect called Salvation. Just then, the Hound asks Friezen how long he needs to take total control of the core because a student is approaching. Instead of being scared, Friezen is excited that he has finally gotten his hands on his first test subject. Apparently, he is eager to see what will happen when someone is exposed to a high concentration of demonic energy. From common knowledge, they are supposed to die. But Frisen says the ancient texts say something different.
Apparently, it works differently on those with mana or ether, ultimately creating a human beast. Meanwhile, Asta is stuck in the middle. He can't go back because there are golems behind him, and in front of him are demonic beasts.
Since he is stuck in a dilemma, Asta decides to move forward. Frizzen is still smiling until he suddenly realizes something off about Asta. Aa smirks while telling Frizzen that he is coming for him. Frizzen's smile fades away instantly, and the Hound asks him if he has seen Asta before. Frizzen replies that he hasn't, demanding to know who he is. Fzen is left shaking as he wonders how Asta knows his name. Suddenly, he sees Asta pulling out bracelets that he had collected. With blinding speed, Asta dashes toward the demonic beasts, and he slaps the bracelets onto their bodies.
This basically pits the demonic beasts against the golems, leaving an easy path for them to destroy themselves while Asta does nothing. Friezen holds his head in frustration as he screams out, watching his creatures tear each other apart. However, Fryzen soon realizes that he has a bigger fish to deal with when he sees Asta dashing through the barrier just to reach the control room.
Before the Hound can even react, Asta has reached the room and he tells Frisen that it's been so long he has wanted to see him. Meanwhile, Chenbi and Damian have reunited and Chenbi almost pisses his pants when he sees what Damian has done to the golems. There are other students with Damian, too, and Dalia asks Chenby how he made it to them. This is when it dawns on Chenbby that the bracelets need to be discarded because the golems are tracking them. Chenby tells the students this, but they don't believe him as they conclude that he is there to steal their bracelets. Chenby is shocked to hear this and he reminds the others that with the way things have been, no one really cares about some damn bracelets. Chenby explains that the bracelets are connected to the control room, which is why they act like a bell.
One of them then asks Chenbby if he was the one who figured this out, but Chenby replies that it was Asta. The moment he says this, the girl makes fun of him, telling him that trash like Asta managed to trick Chenby into throwing his bracelet away. The dude believes that Chenbi is scared of failing alone, which is why he is suggesting that they ditch their bracelets, too. The dude continues to trash talk AA, but this doesn't sit well with Chenbi because he knows what Asta did. Before Chenbi can say anything, Damen's voice catches their attention as he talks about the first time he met Asta. He lets them know that the first time they met defined their relationship, which is why he trusts them. With this, Damen removes the bracelet and throws it on the floor, telling the others that they are free to take it. He then calls on Chenby, telling him that it is time to go.
Chenby is totally stunned by Damen's reactions, forcing him to question what he knows about Damian. Now in the control room, Asta tells Frizzen how eager he has been to kill him, but Frizzen remains confused because he doesn't even know who Asta is. Frizzen turns to the Hound, reminding him that he is supposed to protect him. The Hound then asks Frizzen if he is really sure that he doesn't know who Asta is.
Friezen confirms that he has no ties with Asta, and the Hound finally decides to step in since they are already under a contract. The Hound unveils his scary weapon, which is a chain sword, as he tells Asta that he is going to kill him without a trace. It turns out that Asta knows the Hound because of the Vhimar family. Apparently, they are a prestigious family known for their piercing power like that of an archer.
However, they raised one of their children separately, and this child is the Hound. The Hound is a dude who acts like a real hunting dog on the front lines of a hunt. Just then, Asta asks the Hound why he is sticking around trash like Frison. The Hound is shocked to hear this family's name in Asta's mouth, and he asks him if he knows who they are. Asta ignores him and asks the same question again. At this point, the Hound believes that the fear of death has made Asta go crazy. The Hound demands to know what Asta wants to do with the information, but Asta continues asking the same question. Agitated, the Hound angrily throws his weapon at Asta, but he dodges it, and he continues with the question again. Meanwhile, Asta is moving closer, but the Hound believes he can get him before he reaches him. He plans to use the retrieval spell on his weapon to catch Asta offg guard, but to his utmost surprise, Asta catches the weapon just as he is about to reach him.
Now face tof face with the Hound, Asta tells him that he has raised dogs before, and they get agitated when a sound is repeated. The Hound is pissed when he hears this because he can't believe that Asta is comparing him to a dog. However, Asta lets him know that he is telling him exactly what he is.
Before the Hound knows what is happening, Asta has struck him with his own weapon. Fear grips Frisen when he sees this and he screams at the Hound, reminding him that he can't lose to some unknown brat. However, the Hound is already under Asta's thumb. Before he can make any more moves, Asta delivers a body shattering punch to finish him off, leaving Fryzen in shock. Once he is done with the hound, Asta turns to Fryzen to make fun of him, asking him if he is still hiding behind someone else, just like he usually does. Frisen is pissed and he whips out a demonic device. But before he gets the chance to activate it, Asta relieves him of his hand.
Frisen screams in pain as blood gushes out of the severed hand. It is at this point that he knows that he is done for and he starts screaming at Asta, telling him to stay away. Just then, Fzen resorts to threats, telling Asta that he won't be able to stop the demonic realm if he kills him. Frizzen reminds Asta that his comrades are going to die in the demonic realm if it stays on. But Asta's reply shocks him as he tells him that he is willing to wait for the demonic realm to consume everyone. Asta urges Friezen to enjoy the show because he is next. And this is when Friezen figures out that he has run into a psycho. Fzen cannot believe that Asta doesn't even care if he is staring at the demonic realm or not. In fact, he is willing to let his friends die. And because of this, Fzen starts asking himself if Asta is human at all. Frisen then reminds Asta of what he said about everyone dying if he doesn't stop the demon realm but Asta maintains his stance that he doesn't care. Fzen demands to know why and Asta dashes at him telling him that he doesn't care because he knows that the method is quite simple. Just then Asta grabs his right hand and removes the artifact.
Asta then tells Friezen that he is not the only one who knows how the artifact works and how to use it. Asta puts on the artifact and he places his hand on the core to successfully dislodge the demon realm. Frizzen is left in shock when he sees this and Asta lets him know that there is no way he is ever going to forget him. Aa mentions that Declan pinned a bunch of crimes on Fryen before having him executed. Basically to prevent this was why Asta started chasing Fryzen. Aa narrates just how long he was chasing Frisen that he almost lost his mind. Even though AA was the best in tracking, he couldn't find Fryen. Aa admits that Fryzen was quite the runner because he moved basically everywhere on the planet. Asta mentions that he searched everywhere, leaving his hands soaked in blood. After chasing for so long, Asta mentioned that he tracked frisen to the demonic realm. Asta didn't hesitate before entering the demonic realm. Monsters kept coming at him left and right, and even the demonic energy eroded his body and mind. At last, he still couldn't find fris, and he gave up. He crawled out of the demonic realm to be met by a troubleshooter who was already waiting for him. He mentioned that he had news, but he was too scared to enter the demonic realm to tell him.
This was why the dude stayed outside until Asta came out. In the end, the news turned out to be about Frisen and the fact that he was dead. Apparently, Declan had caught him and squeezed out every last detail about forbidden magic and the artifact. Asta talks about how empty he felt, causing him to sit in front of the demonic realm for days, just staring at the sky. After hearing Asta's story, Frzen replies that he has no idea what he is saying because he is just an attendant. Asta ignores his words when he realizes that he is bleeding too much. Asta quickly opens up a bottle of potion and forces it down his throat, telling him that he can't die yet because he has to hear the end of the story. Deep down, Frzen is trying to find an escape route since Asta has just given him a fighting chance. Asta continues the story and he talks about how he saw a wyvern in the sky and it looked free. This was when it dawned on Asta that he had become an empty person who was just venting emotionally.
Because of this, he erased the idea of revenge from his mind. However, as fate would have it, he ran into Frizzen.
Frizzen is still cooking up his plan to escape when Asta dashes toward him and slams his head into the ground. Asta looks absolutely dangerous as he tells Frizzen that he had researched everything about the demonic realm and Fryzen's experiments just for the sake of when he finally meets him. Asta tells Fryzen that he managed to document how his comrades died. And because of this, he is going to take his time to recreate every bit of the pain in Frisen's body.
Tears and sweat run down Frizzen's face with the grim realization that Asta is going to enjoy what he is about to do to him. 2 hours later, Jara finally gains access to the testing ground and she screams at the attendants to find the students so that they can save them. She is pissed that an ancient magic took her two hours to break and at the same time she is not ready to lose any of her students. Just then, one of the assistants came running to her to show her the systems core, revealing that everything had been restored to normal and all spells had been removed. Jra then tells the assistants that they should prioritize rescuing the students over catching the intruder. In addition, she doesn't want any announcements because they have no idea how the intruder will react. Soon afterward, all the students are accounted for, leaving Jara utterly confused. She can't believe that they were under attack for over 2 hours and none of the students died in the process. Just then, Peroon reaches out to Jara, telling her that he has gained access to the internal control room. He then displays what he saw in the control room, and Jara is horrified when she sees two mangled bodies lying in the control room. Jara is left wondering who could have carried out such a brutal killing, and suddenly she remembers Asta's profile that she saw the other day. Jara turns around and she ends up locking eyes with Asta. Without a doubt, she can clearly see that Asta has something to hide. Moments later, the headmaster also shows up, saying he had to come as fast as he could. Jra is surprised that the headmaster made it all the way from the eastern outskirts of the continent in such a short space of time. The headmaster, on the other hand, is pleased that Jara wrapped things up nicely. At the same time, the headmaster has taken up interest in the report that JRA sent to him, claiming that AA was the one who dealt with the intruders in such a brutal way.
Basically, every mage has what is called a heart demon, and it always appears without warning. Most times, this heart demon of a thing never ends well. Due to the fact that he always followed orders in his past life as a troubleshooter, Asta didn't have this. However, his comrade's death at the hands of forbidden magic was what made him really furious. But he ended up burying the rage. At least, this is what he thought until he ran into Fryzen at the trial corridor, which ultimately released all the emotions he had been bottling inside. Aa felt like he was carrying a bomb in his chest that could go off at any given time. Now that it is already a week after the whole incident, Asta believes it is the perfect chance for him to start absorbing the Crimson's Fire secret tome. Basically, the secret art he mastered in his past life was a non-attribbute secret art that was given to troubleshooters. However, this will be his first time learning an elemental secret art like Crimson Fire. This is why he has made sure to read the first stages over and over again, but at the same time, he looked at the ending to make sure everything feels right. Even though the primary mana circuits are not that different from the heavenly origin technique, simply circulating mana through the crimson fire circuits only grants firepected mana, which means the form of the mental image must be carefully maintained. Just then, Asta is able to activate the tome, and he starts absorbing the mana, igniting a flame in his heart that burns through his hands.
After he is done with manifesting it, he proceeds to the compression of the spell. He soon realizes that the toll it is taking on his body is much greater than his usual non-attribute mana. In the end, he is about to successfully absorb some of it and Asta believes that he is now one step closer to Faren. He is glad that he has finally added the fire attribute to the basic art. Just after he is done and thinking about how to go about the whole thing, he senses a great presence outside the building.
Without a doubt, he could see that the person was trying to call him out. Asta doesn't hesitate and he steps out of the building and to his surprise, it is the old dwarf, the headmaster. The headmaster then mentions that he finally understands why JR was suspicious because Asta handled the fire mana cleanly. He admits that Asta is something else and Asta casually calls him principal, but the old man suggests he call him headmaster instead.
Suddenly, the headmaster releases a massive amount of aura from his body, causing Asta to start questioning what is happening. However, he is a former troubleshooter who has no business in the field of fear. He manages to stand his ground and the headmaster finally speaks out telling Asta that he is the highest authority in the academy and he deserves some form of respect and greetings. Asta immediately bows his head to the headmaster offering his greetings at the top of his voice. The headmaster then urges him to keep his voice down because he is free to shout as much as he wants, but no one is coming because he has blocked out the surrounding sound. Asta is surprised and impressed at how intuitive the old man is. Asta was trying to get people's attention but the headmaster already moved ahead of him. Asta then asks the headmaster why he came and he mentions that he came because he has questions.
However, his replies would be the tipping point. Just then the headmaster proceeds to sit down. But this releases so much pressure that Asta is crushed to his knees. The headmaster tells Asta that Jara told him Asta is hiding something and he is interested in whatever it is. Asta is totally blown away at how powerful the headmaster is, and he can't believe that he is the same man who couldn't deliver a straight speech at the Grand Hall. Asta has no choice but to admit that the headmaster is a monster on its own. However, Asta doesn't think the headmaster can be compared to Declan. With this, Asta is able to find a way through the headmaster's monoflow and cuts it off.
Once he is free of the headmaster's influence, Asta lets the headmaster know that he is aware that he came because of the events that happened at the trial corridor. The headmaster is surprised that Asta is not trying to hide it and Asta replies that it is not worth hiding. Asta would have preferred that it remain a secret but at the same time it is too great to hide. With this Asta asks the headmaster if there is anything he would like to know. Asta is totally confused by how the headmaster moves because one minute he is serious and another minute he is smiling. The headmaster then replies that he would ask questions and Asta is free to reply to the ones he can because this is better than beating Asta up. With the two in agreement, Asta sits down to listen to what the headmaster has to say. However, Asta uses a parable before the headmaster starts asking his question. He talks to him about a wyvern getting prayed on, ultimately getting the headm's attention. This pushes the headmaster to equate their situation to a battlefield, and he tells Asta to regard him as his senior or he will knock him out. Asta obediently bows to the headmaster, calling him senior, and the headmaster compliments his obedience. Once they are on the same page, the headmaster unleashes a furious aura before asking Asta why he left the intruders in such a brutal state. Asta is surprised when he realizes that the headmaster's anger is directed at the intruders and not him. Asta then asks the headmaster what he plans to do about the whole thing. The headmaster replies that he is going to crush the intruders and their sponsors. In addition, he assures Asta that the emperor will grant his approval for the whole thing. He also plans to gather his old comrades.
And when Asta hears this, he figures out that he is talking about the war mages or knights who once fought alongside him. With this, he is pretty sure that they are not ordinary forces. Asta then replies that everything traces back to Declan, but the headmaster sees through Asta's BS. Asta is impressed by how sharp the headmaster is because it would have been nice if he were able to pin everything on Declan. Asta finally comes clean, revealing that the culprit is Vimar. The headmaster demands to know if the two are from the VHimar family, but Asta says one of them is Fryzen, a Magitech engineer. The headmaster wants to know if Asta has material evidence for this, and Asta teases him, asking if he is supposed to spoon feed him with everything. The headmaster cannot believe how insolent Asta is. He then asks Asta how he knows about Vhimar and Frisen. Asta then calmly explains everything to the headmaster. In the end, Asta is able to answer the best way he can without mentioning his regression or the grimoire. Even at this, Asta could sense just how pissed the headmaster is. After the headmaster is done venting, he expresses his impression that Asta wants to build a tower. He then tells Asta that he would be willing to fill the entire shelves of the first floor for him. Aa is glad to hear this and he thanks the headmaster for his cooperation. The headmaster then tells Asta that he is willing to give him the admission ticket if he carries out a favor for him. The moment Asta hears this, he realizes that he might just find himself in a bind. The headmaster can already see that Asta is worried and he urges Asta to cheer up.
He tells him that the favor can wait till later and he jumps on the artifact that constructs the demonic realm. The headmaster says it might be dangerous, but at the same time he believes that it is useful in the library Asta wants to build because of its spatial severance ability. Aa cannot argue about this because the artifact is pretty much useful. Since the academy professors found it hard to break through, Asta is convinced that it would be useful in defending the tower. However, he has a problem and this is the fact that he is not very knowledgeable when it comes to magitech. The headmaster then tells him to see Jara about this. The headmaster assures Asta that he is going to put in a word for him because she is someone he can trust. However, he is pretty sure that JR will be interested in his identity unlike him who doesn't really care. To counter this, the headmaster comes up with a cooked up story just in case. The next day, AA is studying when Damian and Chenbby show up. He is shocked to see how much weight the two have gained in one week. Asta is surprised to see that the students have gotten closer to Chenby and Damian.
Chenbby tells Asta that everyone has been grateful to them thanks to the bracelet info he provided at the trial corridor. In fact, they were even given elixirs as gifts and their parents helped out too. Chenbi thanks Asta for the help, but Asta replies that there is no need to thank him because Chenby was able to convince the students on his own. Aa tells Chenbby that he was the one who created the change himself. Asta then asks Chenbby what Damen did in the trial corridor. Chenbby replies that Damen was able to bind a golem with plant type magic and put it to work.
Basically, he controlled golems and he named them Cberus 1 through 3. Just as Chenbi sits down to have a proper conversation with Asta, Jra shows up telling Asta to come see her in her office at that very moment. When Asta arrives at the office, Jara asks him if he knows why she summoned him. Asta simply replies that he is pretty sure that she didn't call him for counseling.
Jra confirms this saying she has heard the story. Basically, the headmaster has told her that Asta is the descendant of an old war mage. She has also heard that the one behind the incident is Vimar, and Asta affirms this, saying they are all trash, including Declan. Aa is impressed that the headmaster has already set everything up. Instead of drawing attention to Blandor under a disguised identity, the headmaster suggested that they go with a descendant of an old war mage wandering the continent while hiding his identity.
Basically, the war mage has a beef with Declan and Vimar. And Asta agrees with this because it goes with his main goal.
Jra then mentions that the whole thing has loopholes, but she is not going to probe further since the headmaster already spoke to her about it. She assures Asta that she is going to cover everything up because she can see that Asta is not a threat to the academy.
Suddenly, Asta spices the mood by staring at Jara's bouncy melons before telling her that she is way older than him. Jara initially gets angry but finds a way to calm herself. She believes that Asta is just trying to compliment her and she calmly accepts it. Jra compliments Asta saying it was all thanks to him that they were able to preserve the students in the corridor.
Just then Asta tells Jara about his plan to establish a library and he asks her if he could get her support in the form of publications. Jra doesn't hesitate before telling Asta that she is on board with this and Asta heaves a sigh of relief. He has basically concluded the three academic ties that he wanted with this. Jara then moves to the main point of the way which is the artifact and she tells him that research into it could take a long time. JRA mentions that there are risks attached to it, but she doesn't think this is a major problem because they can always just destroy it.
However, she is mainly worried about the bad guys who will want to get their hands on the gauntlet. And with this, she is talking about the forbidden magic cabal, Salvatium. Aa is completely oblivious of this cabal. And Jra explains that the cabal is a union of those who have mastered forbidden magic.
Basically, they operate differently, but they have one goal, and this is to recreate the demonic realm. She is pretty sure that Fryzen is connected to Salvation since he is the first to bring the whole thing to reality. Since Fryzen is dead, JR warns Asta, telling him that the Cabal will come after him in an attempt to recover the artifact. JRA reveals that they are persistent enough to even rival Declan. She tells Asta that there is every possibility that he might die, even though she has no idea how strong he is. When Asta hears this, he gets even more excited. Instead of being scared because the thought of fighting the salvation brings joy to him, he plans to find them and trash them in hell. Jra is surprised to see the type of funny and dangerous expression that is on Asta's face. Just then, Asta pulls out the gauntlet and he hands it over to Jara, telling her to conduct research on it. Jara assures him that she will, and suddenly, one of the assistants barges into the room, looking all worried. He then reveals that the head of the Declan house, Faren, has just arrived at the academy, leaving a wave of shock coursing through Asta's body. The whole academy immediately goes into full panic mode and the headmaster tells everyone to get their things right. The students are sent back to their dormitories while security is tightened. The headmaster, Parn, and JRA then wait to welcome Declan to the academy. This is the first time the headmaster will be seeing Declan who became the head of the family at the age of 30 thanks to his great achievements.
However, it is common knowledge that Declan's atrocities grew larger when Declan took over. Nonetheless, the headmaster doesn't want to react to Declan on the basis of this. At the same time, the headmaster is not pleased with the fact that Declan is riding into the academy. While it is customary that no matter how prestigious one is, they need to walk. Declan finally arrives at where the trio is waiting and he asks them if it is time yet. The headmaster is confused by this, asking Declan what he meant. Declan then mentions that he heard about the attack on the trial corridor. The headmaster returns the same energy, telling Declan that he is saying what has not been confirmed. The headmaster is pissed that the Declan family is the one behind it, but Declan is acting as if he knows nothing. Just then, Declan lets off a fake smile before revealing that he came to the academy to offer his assistance. Declan unveils his pocket space as he talks about how he was able to capture those behind the attack. Sitting in his pocket space are the heads of those who are behind the attack, and he mentions that VHimar was the leader. Declan mentions that he did a clean job by wiping out VHimar and his children. Meanwhile, Asta is watching everything from a rooftop and he is not surprised that Declan killed Vimar. However, he is worried about how perfect the timing is. He remembers that the only person he mentioned Vimar and Declan to is the headmaster and Declan just happened to show up the next day. He wonders if it is just luck or if Declan is truly meticulous. Nonetheless, Asta is relieved that he finally has the chance to get to Declan in his current life, even though he is still way above his level. Some days later, the academy returned to the usual fun life that it always has. However, Faren had done something during his last visit. He mentioned his plan to send a direct descendant of Declan's bloodline as an academy undergraduate. Basically, he is trying to play the hostage card, which is only available to prestigious houses.
Just as if he and the Imperial House had planned it, the Imperial House announced the enrollment of the third princess.
Nonetheless, this is going to happen later, and Asta believes that it is going to happen the following year. To lift the spirit of the school, they organized the Pistaniki Festival. This is a victory celebration for academy students who had been mobilized during the age of war. AA believes that the academy is treating the trial corridor as equivalent to war, which is a good way to lighten up the mood. To further make it sweeter, the academy permitted alcohol, ultimately providing freedom for everyone. Even Damian was interested in drinking alcohol with the mercenaries. Just then, an announcement comes on telling the students that the award ceremony is about to take place.
Those who are interested in attending are told to gather in front of the sage hall. Even though Damian is not interested, Asta makes sure to drag him along. Asta is excited to visit the award ceremony because he wants to collect the reward for what he has done.
After the headmaster is done with the speech, they proceed to the award presentation. The recipients are urged to come to the stage as they call out their names. The first person on the list is Dalia, followed by Damian, and then Evelyn. There is also Chenby and Asta. And as the five walk to the stage, Asta is left questioning exactly what Evelyn did to be given an award. Asta is worried about Evelyn because he doesn't remember anything about her in his previous life too. Nonetheless, Asta concludes that she must have done something worth noting during the trial court event which earned her the award.
When it is time to give Asta his award, he is given a top grade elixir in an expensive box and it is presented by the headmaster himself. After the award ceremony, Asta and his friends ran around the school and had fun until later that night. The school unleashed a bright fireworks display that caught everyone's attention. Even though Asta considers it a waste of money, he plans to launch one on the day he builds his library. Asta plans to stay at the top of the tower to see the ground. Asta's plan is to hold a festival that will last a whole week and after this he will organize the sage ascension ceremony.
The next morning, the headmaster delivers a message to Asta via his white owl. The headmaster tells Asta to meet him at the usual place and Asta immediately dives out of the window toward the arranged location. The location is a deserted building that was once used by troubleshooters in the past. This basically makes it the perfect place in the academy for secret talks. Aa steps into the building and he is surprised that the headmaster has brushed it up to make it look nice. Once they have settled in, AA asks the old man why he called for him so early in the morning. The old man then reminds him that he owes him a favor. This is when it finally dawns on Asta that he traded a favor for the library pass. The headmaster then reveals that the favor is an easy one. Basically, the headmaster wants Asta to deliver a letter to his friend. Before taking the letter, Asta already knows it is not going to end well. Asta asks the headmaster where he is supposed to go and he reveals that his destination is the Hammer and Great forest where the target has hidden himself. Asta is shocked when he hears this because the Hammer and Great forest has been preserved since ancient times and there are loads of monsters and magical materials lying around. Asta cannot believe that the headmaster is telling him to find someone in such a place. The headmaster teases him saying it is not supposed to be difficult because there are other people living there too. He urges him to check a few base camps and he will definitely find him. Asta is worried about the dangers and just as he is about to complain, the headmaster cuts in saying he forgot to tell him that he had already prepared something beforehand. The headmaster places the list in front of Asta and is left dumbfounded. Everything on the list is really expensive and rare. The headmaster then asks him what he wanted to say. But Asta quickly swallows his words before telling the headmaster that he is up for the task. Basically, the reward for the mission is just too great for Asta to afford to refuse. Aa is basically blown away by the level of rewards he's been getting lately. In addition to this, he managed to get the Ira workshop artifact production voucher, which is a production voucher from a prestigious workshop where even noble houses step back and wait till it's their turn. Thanks to all of these, Asta just can't say no to the headm's proposal. The headmaster then reveals that he had plans to call the target back to the academy. And with the demon realm and Declan's fuss, the headmaster believes it is time he finally receives help from his said comrade. However, the dude claimed he was attending to something personal, which is why the headmaster wants AA to go over there and help the dude sort out his personal affairs. In the end, AA managed to squeeze out more compensation for the mission before he finally left the meeting. After the meeting, AA thinks of his next plan. He had initially thought of increasing his mana capacity using the top grade elixir. But now that he has three, he believes that there is no need to be fixated on mona capacity.
Since this is the case, he concludes on a technique that was created by referencing the knight's reinforced body which is achieved through ether. And this technique is known as monoly. It is basically a technique that lets someone like Asta surpass the limits of a troubleshooter in his past life. With this in mind, Asta is glad that he is about to finally upgrade the frail body he has. He is ecstatic about the fact that he is a mage, but he is also about to gain knight abilities. Without wasting time, Asta sits down to absorb one of the top grade elixirs. He follows the same breathing technique, but this time he poured every drop of the top grade elixir's mana straight into his body. This allows Mana to soak into every joint, muscle fiber, and nerve cell. In just a minute of taking it in, Asta's body starts burning up thanks to the firebrand. However, he is able to maintain his focus and move past the first limitation. He continues to move slowly by circulating the mana through his entire body and not the mana circuits. After this, he injects the mana into the muscle fibers, ultimately pushing his body to the extreme. This causes him so much pain that he feels like he is being torn apart. At some point, he thinks of stopping, but he still proceeds further. He pushes to the last strand of energy in his body, but in the end, he is able to succeed in acquiring the monols. In fact, he believes that he has exceeded what he wanted to reach. Even though his durability can't fully support the output, he is pretty confident that his reinforced flesh wouldn't allow him to lose to a knight, he figures out that he is going to be a problem for knights when his body finally reaches the maturity stage. Aa then decides to try out his body's regeneration. He cuts himself and expects the wound to heal back up in like 15 minutes, which is the usual time in his past life. However, to his greatest surprise, the injury closes in no time, ultimately making it a troll level regeneration. Asta cannot believe that he has somehow gained an unexpected bonus. He figures out that including the healing light tome from Wji would basically make him invincible like Damian the monster of Blandor. Just then he realizes that there is a slight presence of mana in his blood droplet on the floor. He tries to control and to his surprise this lets off a bright light ultimately telling him that his blood reacts to mana. He figures out that the Blandor's family healing art will come a long way if he manages to get it right. Apparently, there is a proliferation formula for regenerating flesh and blood in the tome, and Asta starts considering the possibility of talking to WJI about it. However, he discards the idea because he doesn't want anything to do with the dude. Asta then decides that he is going to talk to Lance about it since she will be coming over for a parent consultation very soon. Shortly afterward, Lance shows up and she expresses her relief that Asta and Damen are safe. She asks if there is any problem, but Damen assures her that he is doing just fine. Lancancy then reveals that Gamo asked her to pass along a message concerning the bland door inner lake construction and statue design that Damen proposed the last time. Lance admits that the proposal was detailed, but Gamo doesn't approve of it. This shocks Damen, who was already excited, but Lance tells him that there is still a chance. She tells Damen to place within the top 16 overall in the academyy's midterm evaluation so she can have leverage when talking to Gamo on his behalf. Aa immediately figures out Lancy's game plan the moment she says this. Lance then tells Damen that there is no need for him to worry because he has Asta and Chenby to help him out.
Lance then tells the two that they are going to be rewarded bountifully if they are able to help Damian out. Asta realizes that he has been pushed to the wall, but he has no choice but to dance to their tune because he needs the proliferation formula and Lance is the way out. With this, Asta assures Lance that he is going to help. Damian is then asked how well he understands the basics of magic, but he stands there looking like a goat's head as he doesn't even know what the basics are. He is asked if he has any books and he pulls out his box which is filled with all the books he brought. Chenbby cannot believe his eyes and he just concludes that they are about to go through hell. Chenby asks Damen if he submitted the assignments the teacher gave on time and Damen says yes. Chenby heaves a sigh of relief because they just dodged a bullet when it comes to that. However, Asta is not even sure if Damian is telling the truth. When Asta checks out Damian's current standing, he realizes that he is doing almost badly in all the subjects except cultural, and he believes that this is thanks to the education he received from his family. The places where he is having issues are classes that are related to magic, and Asta is not entirely sure that he won't hit him while teaching him. They are in the middle of this when Furion shows up, telling them that he overheard their conversation about helping Damian with his studies. Aa asks him why he is coming to them about this, and he reveals that he might be able to help with this. Damian's face immediately brightens up when he hears this.
However, Asta is not entirely impressed and Furion can see that Asta doesn't trust him. He then decides to show them something that would make them do.
Furion whips out a sheet which Asta immediately recognizes. It turns out that it is the completion of the most recent exams given at the academy and it also includes all the exams each of the professors gives. Basically, everything from classes M1 to M3 has been summarized into the sheets and this leaves Chenby totally blown away. Asta, on the other hand, doesn't essentially like what Furion did at the trial corridor. But with this, he believes that there is a ray of hope at least.
Even though he seriously wants to hit the dude, he decides to just hold back.
Just then, Furion mentions that there is one condition attached to this, and Asta immediately concludes that he might not have to hold back for long before hitting the dude. Furion reveals his condition and he mentions that he wants Asta to help him in the combat that will take place after the midterm evaluation because with Asta's combat knowledge, he can definitely scale through. Asta wastes no time accepting this and he even tells Furion that he can follow him to the training room that instant because he is itching to beat him up.
Furion quickly lets up, revealing that the help is not for him but for someone else and Asta's mood immediately changes. Furion tells Asta to come with him to where the person is. And in no time, the two head outside the academy.
After taking so many alleyways, Asta is already considering beating the dude up when they arrive at a private training center. With the look of things, Asta could see that whoever he is meant to train has a lot of money. Moments later, Asta finally gets to meet who needs his help, and it is none other than Dalia dei. Furion calls Dalia to the side, asking her if she really has to go for Asta, and Dalia lets him know that it is Asta or nothing because she has no interest in using her family's influence. Dalia begs Asta to help her out, and Asta lets her know that he has an offer. Aa suggests that Dalia use Furion instead of using him. He tells her to use Furion to train until the exams are over because he is currently busy giving Damen private lessons.
Furion is shocked to hear this and even more shocked when he realizes that Dalia might be considering the offer. Furion yells at Asta, reminding him that he already paid the price of the deal with the study materials he provided. And Asta replies that he's paid everything he owed him, but he still hasn't paid for what he did to Chenby in the trial corridor. Furion is shocked because he never expected to be caught that way.
And Dalia comes in, telling Asta that his offer is okay by her. Furion yells in protest, asking why they are deciding for him when he has not even made the intention of accepting. Furion claims that he is a proud descendant of the Dai family and Asta teases him telling him that he is free to claim whatever he wants but since he is in need of a punching bag at that moment he might just suffice. Furion's pride shatters and he has no choice but to walk away telling them that he has exams to prepare for. Asta heaves a sigh of relief because with this Cheni would at least be able to relax a bit. Asta then tells Dalia that he is going to do what is asked of him since he has already received the full payment. Asta asks Dalia if she wants him to train her in persontoperson combat, but she stands there totally overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Eve is meeting with one of her associates, and it appears that Eve wants him to steal the exam questions for her. She gives him an address to go to where he would meet someone who is an expert at things like this. Back to Asta, he still can't believe that he has to train Dalia because in his past life, they would have started beating each other up. Basically, the two had a beef going on among themselves. In fact, Asta would have killed her loads of times if it weren't for the reinforcements. But after she became Dai's chief mage, she and Asta never crossed paths again.
However, if he sets aside the grudge, Asta can see that raising Dalia would be quite profitable at least. At some point, Dalia suppressed Declan and this excites Asta, leaving him to wonder if he should move the timeline up a bit.
Asta is thankful that he agrees to the deal because if he doesn't beat Dalia up at that moment, he might not get the chance again. Asta then asks her what she thinks is the most important thing when it comes to one-on-one combat. And Dalia says she has no idea, but she wants to learn the movement Asta used when he faced Exter. Asta is surprised that Dalia is hellbent on learning his own method. And he tells her that she has to find a method that suits her. He tells her to imagine who will win between an official rank eight mage and a rank nine mage if they are to fight.
Dalia says the eighth rank would win, but Asta lets her know that she is wrong. He tells her that the one who cracks the other's head first will win.
Dalia is confused by this and Asta explains with a practical example by firing off a mono bullet to hit Dalia's head, saying whoever gets the first strike wins. By the time Asta starts heading back to the academy, it is already late in the evening, but he knows that Dalia would improve if she gets beaten up more often. Just then, he remembers that Damen is still in the picture. On the other hand, Evelyn's lackey is wondering what to do concerning the task that was given to him. It soon dawns on him that what Evelyn wants through the contract she is dashing out is connections with noble families. and if he plays his game properly, he might become part of the network, too. He remembers how everything got ruined the last time, but he is convinced that everything will be different this time around. He soon arrives at his destination, which looks like a normal tea house, and the attendant asks him what he would like to order. The dude mentions the code phrase that he was given, which is freeze the dragon horn tea hot. The attendant tells him to give him a moment. With this, the dude confirms that this is where he was sent because it would have been so embarrassing if he had said the code in a normal shop. When the attendant returns with the tea, he mentions that he can see that the dude is nervous and it is quite normal because when many people hear the term dark merchant, they assume that it is a hidden location.
However, no one would have thought that such a bright and beautiful place would be a black market. The attendant then asks him how he found his way to the tea house and he reveals that he is there to get the exam papers for the academyy's basic firstear class. The attendant mentions that there is someone willing to sell the academyy's exam papers and he asks him which department he is looking for. The dude replies that he wants the magic department and the attendant reveals that he is in luck because he is scheduled to meet the seller the next weekend. He asks Evelyn's lackey if he would like to come along for the meeting and it immediately dawn on the dude that the attendant is trying to rile him up completely.
Nonetheless, he agrees to go with him, saying it is basic merchant practice to verify the seller and inspect the quality of the goods. Deep down, the dude knows that there is no place to retreat to. The attendant is glad that he agreed to this and he tells him that he is going to relay the time and place to him. However, he tells him not to write it down anywhere. And while he is busy telling him the information, Asta is listening in from outside. Asta doesn't want to believe that everything is a coincidence because an exam paper seller and buyer just happened to show up at the same time. Asta realizes just how messed up the whole thing is and not one person has mentioned the price.
>> Nonetheless, he decides to just see the whole thing for himself. And since he has some Declan clothes that fit the role, he decides to do it at that moment. He reaches into his subspace and pulls out the outfit, wondering if he should start by robbing the richest dude on the block. Meanwhile, the attendant is thinking about how dangerous his job is when Asta walks into the tea house dressed in the Declan outfit. The attendant is shocked to his bones as he doesn't expect one of Declan's elite mage units to appear in the tea house.
Aa tells the dude to drop the act and not to worry about the whole code thing, and he quickly falls in line, asking Asta what he is looking for. Asta replies that he is looking for a subspace pouch. Sweat runs down the dude's face when he hears this as he doesn't want to believe that the dude is looking for Callahan's subspace pouch which disappeared after he died. He is more concerned about why Asta would be looking for it at their store and he quickly tells him that they have never seen such an item there before. Aa then asks him about his conversation with the boy who just left as he looks really suspicious. The attendant is stunned by the question leaving him to wonder how he should answer or handle the situation. Asta immediately shows him how dangerous he is by emitting a scary aura from his body when he realizes that he is taking too long to answer. The attendant sees this and fear grips him because he realizes that he is not standing in front of an ordinary Declan mage. He folds telling Asta that he would confess everything that he and the boy discussed because it has nothing to do with Declan. Aa tells him that he is ready to listen and he will be the one to decide whether there is nothing to be hidden there. Just as he is about to start talking, Asta cuts him short, telling him to confess everything. As they head to the warehouse, the dude nervously asks Asta why they need to head to the warehouse, and Asta tells him that he has to check the warehouse himself. Aa makes the dude more nervous as he stares into his eyes, asking him if he is hiding something from him, just to gaslight him into agreeing. As they descend into the basement, the attendant asks Asta if they really have to go that far, and Asta assures him that he has nothing to fear if he is innocent while swearing it on the name of Declan. Asta tells him that what he says or confesses is going to remain a secret forever as long as it has nothing to do with Declan. The attendant then reveals that the boy came under Evelyn's instructions. He admits that he is someone who does business for money, so he doesn't know the exact details, but he believes that she is trying to get the academy papers on the black market.
Aa is surprised to hear this since Evelyn is the talk of the academy. She is always seen as a role model to others because of her impressive morals. This leaves Asta wondering why someone like her would do something like this. Aa can't believe that someone is stuck working as a private tutor while another person gets the luxury to hand out money for what they want. Upon arriving at the warehouse, Asta could see that it contained a bunch of nice items. He tells the attendants that from first glance there is no issue, but he still wants to verify to make sure that there is no problem. Aa then tells him to prepare two subspace pouches because they are going to take any suspicious items with them. The attendant freezes in fear because he is ultimately done for. Meanwhile, Chenby is having a hard time teaching Damian because he is always arguing that his own way is better. Damian is always arguing that the spell is working, but Chenby is forced to tell him that the stabilization formula is quite important. Furion almost screams out in frustration as he realizes that he is in a different kind of hell. He knows that Damian is a genius, but he is the kind of genius who doesn't know how to apply common sense. In fact, whatever Damian is doing doesn't seem to work with common sense. Because even though the spell is not supposed to work, he finds a way to easily manifest it. This leaves him wondering what would happen if Asta calms down to teach Dalia. Just then, Dalia shows up on the scene and Furion almost loses his mind when he realizes that Asta has beaten her up all in the name of training. Before they know it, one week goes by and Chenbi asks Furion how the parts he graded are looking because everything he graded is correct.
Furion tells him that it is the same on his own path, too, and Damen is shocked to hear that he got everything right.
Furion is totally overwhelmed because Damen exceeded his expectations in just a week and he can only hope that Asta is getting everything right on his end.
Meanwhile, Asta is watching Evelyn's lackey debate. And even though he is itching to beat him up, he knows he has to wait until he meets the seller. He also considers ruining everything for Debeet and Eve at that moment, but he knows that there would be others who would buy the exam papers, too. Moments later, Debbay arrives at the location that he was given, and he has to go through a bouncer. Later that evening, Debeay returns to Evelyn's chambers to give her the materials that he acquired and after assessing them, they realize that it is the real deal. Evelyn then tells her mysterious assistant that they are going to continue giving Dubet opportunities. When DB hears this, he smiles because he believes that the family will no longer ignore him. Eveene then tells Debet that he can leave, assuring him that they are going to reach out again once they have confirmed that everything is intact. Evelyn adds that from that moment forward, Debeet will be in charge of distributing exam papers to their clients, and Debeet agrees to this. After he leaves, Evelyn smiles with a sense of accomplishment on her face while mocking Debeay for being a big idiot. Evelyn then asks her assistant if the work she put him on is going smoothly, and he says yes, revealing that in a few days, every job that Evelyn was involved in will be replaced with Debay's name and the trading company, Ping Groove. Evelyn tells his assistant to make sure that everything goes smoothly because the only reason they are using Debay is for this. Unknown to them, Asta just heard everything they talked about and he can't believe just how rotten she is.
This leaves Asta wondering if there is a way that they can handle it because he has to ruin the whole thing while guiding Eveene to make sure that she doesn't do something like this again.
Even though he recorded the whole thing with a crystal orb, Asta knows it would be a waste to use it right away. Asta is left in a confused state because he is used to smashing things but he doesn't want to take that route with this current situation. Just then an idea comes to his mind and this is an idea on how to guide Evelyn down the right path.
Asta then reaches for the exam papers and he starts copying everything out to a new sheet. He is impressed by his handwriting and this is because he used to copy handwriting a lot when he was young. Asta didn't expect that he would do it again for something like this but he is proud of himself for getting it done. After he is done copying it, he lets Evelyn know that she is about to become a good person. On the other hand, Dalia has finally understood what Asta was trying to teach her about landing the first strike. Soon afterward, the exams come to an end and everyone is left wondering if they wrote the right answers in their answer sheets. A particular student, Demin von Heramar, who is Evelyn's client, is exceptionally pleased with what he wrote in the exam, and he boasts to his peers about how he crushed the exam. Apparently, Dean is the eldest son of Viccount Heramar, and his family controls the kingdom's main grain warehouses. Evelyn is glad that she was able to secure a good partnership with someone who controls the serial fields because of leaked exam questions. Basically, she has four deals just like this one that are running simultaneously, and she concludes that this is a deal of the century. In fact, she is confident that this is how it is going to continue. Suddenly, an examiner enters the hall and tells Demonin to follow him because the director is waiting for him. Fear grips Evelyn when she hears this because this can only mean one thing. The next morning, the students gather and the firstear students are ordered to gather in the grand hall for an emergency meeting. The students are confused because the innocent ones don't have an idea of why they are being summoned out of nowhere.
There are some who are aware that there was a massive cheating scandal and Evelyn is shaking where she is, wondering if the whole thing can be traced back to her. She is confident that it can't be because she didn't leave a trace. At the same time, she wonders if it was DBay, but she trashes this thought because Dubet might be slow, but he is not reckless. The examiner soon enters the room, telling everyone to keep their mouth shut. The examiner says he is aware that the rumors are already spreading, but he is going to clarify the situation for those who have no idea what is going on. The examiner reveals that several students were caught cheating during the first year's midterm exams, and he talks about how shameful it is that such a scandal occurred in their academy. This immediately confirms it for those who were already suspecting that something like this is happening. The innocent ones know that the guilty students are done for and Evelyn is already her trousers in fear. The examiner says the main instigator has been found and it is DBay who has been expelled alongside his other four accompllices.
In addition, the academy will also demand full compensation for damages.
The examiner then continues by saying it wasn't their faculty who uncovered the plot because it was a student with an unwavering sense of justice who did. The examiner informs them that they are gathered to commend the exemplary courage of the said student and just then he calls Evelyn's name telling her to step forward. Evelyn is ultimately shocked when she hears her name and the students start hailing her. She tries telling them that she wasn't the one but they just believe that she is a modest student without giving her a chance to even plead her case. She is pushed to the front as the hero who saved the day.
Eveene is totally confused and her spirit couldn't settle on how wrong everything is. Meanwhile, Asta is in the back clapping for Evelyn while urging her to stay on the right path from that moment forward since she is known as the champion of lost causes. She is more or less the benevolent judge who corrects the corrupt. One week after this, the students are informed that rankings have been posted and the students rush over to the board to check their results.
Damen and his friends are blown away when they find him sitting in the 18th position as he has exceeded their expectations. Aa maintains his cold stance and he tells Damian to look closely because Deminin is ranked seventh which is higher than him. Just then an examiner shows up telling them that they posted the wrong result. He goes to the board and he plasters the right test result. This time around Damen moves higher to 16th and he almost goes crazy with happiness. Aa on the other hand is glad that Damian passed because he can finally collect his reward which is the multiplication formula. Chenby celebrates Damen's win, saying he might have a talent for teaching, and after graduation, he might just remain in the advanced class so he can apply as an assistant. Asta hears this and he immediately tells him to shut his mouth. It turns out that he didn't want to say it out loud, but he ends up doing that because of how important Chenbi is to him. Aasta tells Chenbi that an assistant was involved in the cheating incident, and this was because he was so broke that he had no choice but to sell exam answer sheets just to pay his bills. Aa asks him if he has any idea how long it takes for an assistant to become an associate professor. and Chenbi says he heard that it is 3 years to four years. Aasta asks him who said this and he reveals that it was Pun. Asta then genuinely asks him if he wants to become a professor and Chenby replies that it appears to be rewarding in a way. Chenby asks Asta if he believes that he is not cut out to be a professor and Asta tells him that there is a way for him if it is his dream to teach. Asta tells him to become an arch mage and this is someone so powerful that no one would dare to challenge him. With a smile on his face, Asta tells him that once he becomes an arch mage, he can train his students whatever way he wants, just as he did with Damian. This word hits Chenby deep and Asta can already see that he is thinking about it. This is exactly what Asta wants because he is pushing Chenbby to dream very big. He has seen that after what he did with Damian. Being a mere assistant would be a waste because he is more talented than this. Asta wants Chenbby to become an arch mage so he can finally repay him for saving his life. Meanwhile, two strange individuals are seen holding a meeting concerning ancient ruins that have just been discovered in the forest of Hamlin. And it appears that it is going to be a big deal. Some days later, the trio meets Lancancy for their reward. And she lets them know that the multiplication formula they are asking for is not particularly hard. In fact, she assures Asta that she is going to give him a high tier formula. And Asta is blown away because he wasn't expecting a high tier formula. Lance then tells Chenbi that she did some digging and there seems to be a problem with his family.
She asks him if he is aware of this and Chenby admits that he knows, but it appears that things are only getting worse. Lance tells Chenbby that Blandor can actually resolve everything for him and they can even provide his family with a better environment. Chenby doesn't take long before giving his answer, thanking Lancie for the offer, but assures her that he is fine. Lance tells Chenbi not to think about it in a rude way, and Chenby assures Lance that he is not thinking about it that way.
However, he lets her know that he would like to stay friends with Damian forever. And Damen subtly blushes when he hears this. Lancancy is impressed by his answer, and Chenby asks her if he can ask for something else instead, and Lance tells him to go ahead. Chenby reveals that if he ever gets the chance, he would like to study magic at House Blandor because he would like to broaden his horizons. Lancancy asks him if this is enough for him, and he says yes. When Gamu hears what Chenbi said, she is completely overwhelmed with joy that her son was able to find a reliable friend.
She decides to reward Chenby and they send a letter to Chenby telling him that from that moment forward, House Blandor has become the patron house of Chenby.
Chenbby almost passes out in shock when he reads the letter that was sent to him and he sheds tears of joy. In the end, the midterm evaluation concluded with results that pleased everyone. Soon afterward, JRA informs the students that they will soon engage in interpersonal combat and this applies only to the first year basic class. All education classes will be fully suspended with every lesson focused on practical combat. However, she lets them know that the training will be left to the students discretion. She informs them that the preparation classes will proceed as usual, but they are not mandatory. One of the students asks JR what she means by their own discretion, and she reveals that this means that they are free to attend classes or not.
In fact, they are allowed to return to their houses to train. She tells them that they don't have to worry because the professors will fully handle the preparation classes, and at the very least, a large number of active combat mages certified by the Imperial Court at grade 5 will be invited. After they are done with the announcement, Asta is left wondering why the interpersonal combat schedule was suddenly changed. He figures out that the professors are hiding something. And from the look of things, the decision came from higher up and not from the professors. Later that day, AA gets a message from the headmaster telling him to meet him by 8:00 p.m. that day. That night, Asta heads to their usual spot, and he is completely shocked to see that everything has changed. In fact, the headmaster has even set up barriers strong enough to hide the abandoned warehouse. Since the headmaster has turned the whole place into a private resort, Asta figures out that he can test the multiplication formula that he just learned. Asta unleashes the ruby and he infuses the formula with it.
Surprisingly, the formula works because the rubies drew in ambient mana and perfectly mirrored the original.
However, their magical power is still insufficient and he's about to go all out when the headmaster shows up, asking him what he is doing. He is surprised to see the headmaster, but the headmaster is more surprised at the rubies. He asks him if he can use any magic with the rubies, and Asta says yes. He shows the headmaster an example, shocking the old dwarf. He expresses his surprise that Asta can store unrefined mana in the rubies and then cast spells with the mana. He yells in curiosity, asking Asta about the range, but changes the question to know where Asta got the rubies from. Asta assures the old man that he will tell him everything, but he wants a favor from him first. Deep down, Asta is seeing the perfect punching bag for his new power. The headmaster confidently tells Asta that no matter how much power he throws around, he won't be able to touch a single hair on his head. Asta doesn't even argue with him and he simply gets down to business by merging the rubies together until they get sufficient mana. At this point, the headmaster realizes what is going on and he starts screaming at Asta. But Asta refuses to back down. Once Asta believes that the skill is ready, he unleashes it on the old dwarf, leaving a big explosion which Asta still finds underwhelming. When the dust clears off, the headmaster can be seen clearly losing his mind, and he screams at Asta, asking him who exactly he is and where he came from. The headmaster admits that he already knew that Asta's mana is pure for his age, but what he just did is beyond anything he understands. Asta replies that he is just a regular ordinary dude, and he asks the headmaster if he thinks he is some great demon that possessed someone. The headmaster replies that Asta's definition of ordinary is far from his own definition, and he suggests beating him up to help him fix it. The headmaster admits that the magic is so strange that he can barely grasp the principle behind it. He then asks Asta where the red rubies vanished to, and instead of giving him an answer to this, Asta just flicks him off. When the two finally settle down to talk, Asta asks the old man why he summoned him, and the old man reveals that it is concerning the great forest. However, before saying anything, he activates the orb on his table so that they can see why he called him. Aa sees what is displayed in the orb, and he is left in total shock with fear written all over his face. Talking about the great forest of Hamlin, the forest has remained untouched since ancient times because all sorts of monsters live there. Humans are creatures that adapt and even inside this forest, they manage to survive.
However, only elite mercenaries can operate within the great forest. But in the image shown to Asta, he sees the mercenaries of the great forest trembling in fear. This is because what they faced is the undead, but not just the regular kind of undead. These are a type of undead that move by soul, not memories, which basically means that they are self-born undead. The headmaster then reveals that the scary creature called the destroyer that was sealed within the ancient ruins in the forest has broken free. Apparently, vengeful spirits have crawled up from the depths after the destroyer. The headmaster says the situation is actually urgent, but among his disciples, no one can leave on short notice. He reveals that they have to set out not later than 2 days from that moment forward. The headmaster asks AA what he thinks while assuring him that even if he refuses the offer, he is not going to take back the reward he already gave him. He tells him to consider it a gift for the younger generation which means there are no additional rewards.
The headmaster lets him know that everything basically depends on his will because it is not a matter of where material temptation can be used since lives are at stake. He is still telling Asta to be careful when Asta cuts in telling him that he is open to going.
The headmaster is shocked to hear this and Asta says he knows that the headmaster is worried about his friend because it appears that the dude won't turn back even if it costs him his life.
Asta admits that he is not a moral ideal, but at the same time, he is not a trash who will bargain with someone else's life. Deep down, Asta would have left even if the old man had forbidden it. Asta believes that what he wants to learn lies in the forest, and there is no way he is missing the chance to go to the forest. After they are done talking, the headmaster gives him a teleportation ticket, telling him to show it to the official, and they will allow him to pass without delay. He also gives him an artifact cloak with protective magic.
Asta teases the old man, telling him that he is already giving him a lot and he might not have anything else with him again. The old man tells him to shut up, telling him that when the time comes, it will be too late to prepare. Finally, he gives him a mask, the sock wall mark, since he is going to want to keep his identity hidden. The old man tells him that with the mask, his friend won't lose track of him unnoticed. The headmaster then reveals that based on the battle results and the final examination, he is going to register everything under his name, but he wants to know Asta's arrangement with House Blandor. Asta then tells the old man that he doesn't have to worry about that, promising to deal with it himself.
Asta proceeds to send a letter to Chenby and Damian, telling them that he is leaving for training and they shouldn't look for him. Instead of getting mad, Damen decides to step outside to train too. Later on, at Greentown, which is a city near the great forest of Hamlin, Asta finds himself sitting alone in a warehouse, thinking of his next move.
Meanwhile, the old man's friend, Ourn, is meeting with a guide, Rey, who is to take him to the forest. Ray tells Ourn how scared he is to return to the forest, and Obern reminds him of the escort contract between the fourth base camp and Greentown. In addition, Rey has been paid a four-fold advance for the risk, but he is trying to cancel the contract. Ry teases Obernour, telling him that there is no place he's going to find another guide at that time. Ray plays the emotional card, saying he also wants to live, and it is obvious that monsters could appear at any moment.
Deep down, Ry is looking to make as much money as he can from Ourn because he is not crazy enough to go into the forest and back. He plans to find a way to ditch Ourn and then use the earnings to set himself up in a quiet village. Just then, Asta shows up in the room, but his face is covered with the mask that the old man gave him. The two freak out and ask Asta who he is, but Asta throws the question back at Ourn, asking him to identify himself. Once he does, Asta confirms that he is the headmaster's mentee. Asta then concludes that he is in the right place and he tells Oberin that he is free to call him senior. Once Ry realizes that Oberin's subordinate has arrived, he decides to play the smart game of telling Oberin to take his map so they can enter the forest themselves. He says it in such a way that would make the map really important. And the unsuspecting Obern agrees to this saying he and Asta would find a way to manage themselves. Ray thanks Obern and just as he is about to walk off with a smile on his face, Asta orders him to stop. He continues with a scary voice telling Ry that he is giving him one second to take a seat. Ray still doesn't understand what is happening, but since the one second he gave him has elapsed, Asta descends on him, beating him up like a drum. Obern watches in horror as Asta beats the dude to the ground, leaving him to wonder if they have a chance at defeating the destroyer. Meanwhile, the two strange men are seen meeting again. This time around, it is at an unusual spot where they are trying to get a seal undone, but things are not going as fast as they thought they would. They are surprised that the beast has not yet woken up, even though its aura has filled the air with death. Since they know that AA will be going for the monster in the forest, the destroyer, one of them, decides to intercept him while the other works on the seal. The first dude, Solon, asks his friend, Kellogg if he would be able to handle Asta, and he boasts about how many mages he has killed. So Asta doesn't even pose a threat to him.
Meanwhile, Asta and his party are already heading into the forest with Ray leading them after being beaten up mercilessly. Oberin is glad that everything is going so well because Asta showed up to rescue the day. Since Asta has his face and body covered, he can't judge how old he is, but because of his height, he believes that they are of the same age. It turns out that the nickname that was given to Asta is the new moon and he is someone who easily provides solutions to problems. Just then, Asta asks the guide if he would like to hand over his big backpack so he can help him to store it in his subspace since it looks pretty heavy. Ry humbly rejects the offer, saying the pack has emergency supplies that he might need in an instant, so it is better that he keep it on him. Aa immediately realizes that Ry has not given up on his quest to rob Ourn, but nonetheless, they are still in the forest. Moments later, Ray senses something coming in their direction, and he tells Oberurn to be careful. Just then, they spot orcs on a wolf's back riding toward them at high speed. Ray freaks out when he sees this because they are nowhere near the second base camp, which is the orc's territory.
Oberin freezes in fear, thinking of what to do, but suddenly, red rubies fill the air, and before unleashing the attack, Asta tells Ourn to put up a shield. The moment the orcs get in range, AA unleashes his devastating attack. And as the rubies fly toward the orc, they realize that they are done for already.
The attack lands, releasing a massive explosion that forces Oberin and Ray to even cover their eyes. By the time the smoke clears off, what is left is pure destruction. And when Ry sees how powerful Asta is, he finally accepts using his subspace because he's finally set his mind to the fact that there is no escape for him. Aa agrees, telling him that he is free to use it. As they continue their journey, they run into jacked goblins that Asta oneshots. Asta is completely shocked at the appearance of the goblins, leaving him to wonder if they changed because of the destroyer.
Ray then suggests that he take a closer look and Asta agrees to this. After a quick observation, Ray says the goblins are from the second base camp and they are called the Kenty goblins. However, the fact that the goblins are out there means that they are either expanding their territory or something is chasing them. Aa says the obvious choice is that they are being chased. And judging by their claws, which are covered in dust and tree bark, and their feet, which are completely shredded, it all points to the fact that they are running from something. Ray suggests that they take a detour to a safer route because the goblins hunt in packs and they are at the top of the food chain in that area.
Ry knows that whatever scares the goblin is no joke, and he tells Asta that it would be better if they avoid unknown variables if they can. Surprisingly, Asta agrees with him, telling him that unexpected risks are the worst kind, so they are just going to do it his way.
With this, AA confirms that Ry has sharp senses because even with his wide-range sensing, the area is full of interference. But Ry managed to find the optimal route to avoid all of these. Aa has no choice but to admit that Ry is more competent than he thought. He decides to follow Ray's lead in the meantime. Soon afterward, Ry tells the two that they are almost at their destination because once they cross the swamp in front of them, they will reach the first base camp. However, he urges the two to get some rest as he scouts the area before they cross. As they settle down, Asta can sense how nervous Oberin is, and he doesn't even blame him because the detour they took cost them a day. Oberin tells Asta that they don't have the time to waste because the monster is definitely coming. He tells Asta that they have to find the destroyer fast and kill it before things get out of control. The dude blames himself for what happened and instead of offering his sympathy, Asta agrees with him because he doesn't understand why the dude is venting out his frustration to him when he is not his psychiatrist.
Suddenly, Rey shows up with fear written all over him. And he tells the two that they have to run because the ruler of the swamp is coming. It turns out that deep inside there in the forest, there lies a hellish place which is referred to as the depths. The ruler of the swamp is one of the primeval creatures that emerged from there. Apparently, no one knows why the swamp ruler abandoned the depths and made its home in the forest swamplands. Ry complains about how bad it is that the swamp ruler has now shown up after so many years. Asta asks if they can avoid it and cross the wetlands some other way because even if the marsh is the king's domain, it is quite big.
Ry then replies that there is no chance of this because the moment one touches the water, the monster will pick up their scent, chase them to the ends of the world. Oberin asks Rey how long it is going to take them if they decide to take another route. And Ry says it is not as simple as it is because they are going to need a huge detour. This is why the guides work really hard to secure a direct route through the wetlands.
However, if they are to take a detour at this point, Ray reveals that it is going to take them 10 days at least, and on the worst side, it can take a month.
Oberin is shocked to hear this, but realizes that he has no choice if they are going for safety. Ry asks him if he should prepare the route, but AA steps in, telling him that they are going through the wetlands. Ry is shocked to hear this, and he tries to explain to AA how dangerous the monster is because it has killed loads of soldiers, mages, and knights. Asta then tells Ry that he is getting it all wrong because they are not just passing through but they are going to kill the ruler of the swamp.
Rey realizes that Asta is serious and he can only sigh in frustration. Obern cuts in telling Asta that he doesn't have to go to such lengths for him because he is already thankful that they even came that far. Asta cuts him short telling him that something has to be done about the monster. He asks him if this is how he is going to freeze in fear when they face the destroyer. Oubber tries to use a stupid analogy, but Asta lets him know that it is already decided that they are going to kill the ruler of the swamp the next day. Seeing that there is no changing Asta's mind, Obern tells him that there might be a way for him to assist. Asta asks him if he was planning to stand on the sidelines before, Obern reveals that his talent hasn't completely awakened, but he is pretty sure that it can still help. Oberin calls it a gift, saying the name of the power is overclock. This is a power that brings a target's hidden potential to the utmost limit for a short time. Asta immediately becomes interested in the power and he tells Obern to explain further. The next morning, Ourn gets up early to prepare himself for the mission at hand. He is surprised when he sees Asta showing up in the distance, dragging Ray with him. Asta had caught him trying to escape and beat him up more. Aasta asks him which tree he prefers so he can tie him to the tree next time he tries to escape for the waiverss to eat him. Seeing how serious Asta is, Ray assures Asta that he no longer has any reason to run away. After they are done eating breakfast and Asta's condition is at the optimal level, he asks Oberin if he is ready and he says yes. Just as expected, Ray says he is not ready and Asta tells the two to stand back while he engages the beast. Asta then proceeds into the swamp to get the beast's attention because the moment one steps into the monster's territory, it starts tracking. To make the monster even more interested, he cuts his hand and lets his blood into the water. Seconds later, a massive whirlpool hit the water and the beast emerged from the water. The beast is so giant that it stands so high above Asta.
And while Oberin and Ray are shaking, Asta remains steadfast. Asta casually turns to Ourn, telling him to go ahead with his own part, and Ourn unleashes his skill on Asta to unlock his potential. Asta can feel the power surging through his body, and he finally gets the sense of freedom that he has been lacking for a while. The monster tries to attack Asta and it thought it had him, but Asta had already flown into the air to get the height advantage over the monster. Asta thanks the monster because he's about to test his limits because of it. During the explanation of how the overclock power works, Obern admits that he doesn't fully understand how it works, but it is said that it unlocks potential beyond all limits.
However, he lets him know that he has to follow one particular rule. Apparently, overclock lasts for 5 minutes and anything beyond that becomes dangerous.
So he has to finish the fight in under 5 minutes. Now that Asta is standing face tof face with the monster, he unleashes a bunch of magic circles while concluding that 5 minutes is a whole lot of time for him to have fun with the monster. Asta activates fire magic that sets the monster on fire and it is so intense that the fire starts burning even in the water. Oberin and Ray can't believe their eyes when they see that the fire Asta is using is actually burning in the water. Ry can't believe his eyes because the monster is already crouching, which means Asta might actually get the chance to kill it. Just then, Rey notices something dangerous and he urges Asta to be careful because the monster is about to roar. Before he can even send out the warning, the monster roars and the fire magic starts vanishing. Asta figures out that the monster's roar has the ability to disrupt the natural monoflow. And he is not entirely surprised because he wouldn't have expected anything less from the ruler of the swamp. Just then, Ray yells at Asta, telling him not to look into the monster's eyes for too long because 3 seconds of eye contact will freeze his mana. Asta is shocked that Rey is just telling him such an important piece at such a crucial stage.
It turns out that Rey has always dreaded the King of the Swamp because of its ability to disrupt mana and also freeze the target's magic. In addition, its skin is so tough that it can even repel a knight's ether, which is why Ray's master told him back then that the best move against the king of the swamp is to not engage it at all. However, instead of planning his escape, Ray now believes that Asta has the chance to win against the monster. Ray clenches his fist because he wants to believe in the monster. Asta turns to Rey, telling him that they are going to have a brief discussion later, and Rey agrees, but suggests that they survive first. Since he can't look at the monster's eyes for more than 3 seconds, Asta decides to take care of that. Aa lunges toward the monster and hits it in the eyes with the rubies, causing it to scream in agony as its vision is disrupted. The monster scratches its eyes in pain, and as it opens them, it spots Asta lunging toward it. Suddenly, Asta hits it with a punch to the body, activating the collision strike skill that sends a wave of blast through the monster's body, but it still manages to tank this. Aa admits that the monster is pretty strong, but he tells it that it is way too slow, so he decides to end the battle once and for all. Asta tells the monster that it kept him entertained, so he is going to show it something really interesting. Asta pulls in a bulk load of mana and activates a new skill, which he calls explosive annihilation. The monster gets hit and it appears that everything is normal until it starts to swell from the inside till it explodes. The monster is defeated and Asta crashes into the water going unconscious from exhaustion. He is disappointed that a mere monster is still enough to push him to his limits.
He wonders what would have happened if he had used this skill against Declan back then. He's pretty sure he would have blocked it, but he definitely wouldn't have escaped unhe hurt because no matter how sturdy the force field, the vicious explosion would tear it apart. and Asta basically named it explosive annihilation because it destroys everything in its path.
Meanwhile, the whole thing was witnessed by someone who was spying on Asta. It turns out that the spy is none other than Kellogg. He is surprised that Asta was able to kill the ancient beast that he set up as bait. And this is something that he did by engaging in a brawl and destroying the monster's eyes. Kellogg wonders if Asta is a mage, but he doesn't want to think so because the amount of mana he's using is way too high. At the same time, the monster doesn't look like a martial artist. Even though Kellogg can also take down the monster, he is still surprised and impressed. In fact, Kellogg actually felt fear during the whole thing, and he laughs out maniacally because he is thrilled about the hunt. Suddenly, it dawns on him that Asta appears to be a hunter just like him, leaving him to wonder how he looks to a fellow hunter.
However, seeing how dangerous everything is, Asta figures out that he has to put more effort into his preparations. Soon afterwards, Asta wakes up and he asks Ourn how long he was out for. Oberin is surprised to see him awake and he tells him that he was out for about 2 hours.
Asta groans saying his head is still spinning and Oberin tells him that this is a side effect of being hit with overlock. Obern tells him that he doesn't need to worry about it because he kept the duration short so the strain should be minimal. However, he tells him that he will probably feel like this for the rest of the day. Deep down, Asta feels like he is dying and his hands are still trembling from the whole event. He realizes that he would have drowned in the swamp if Oberin and Ray hadn't saved him. It then dawns on him that Rey is nowhere to be found and he asks Asta where he is. Just then, Rey emerges from the bush, telling Asta that he doesn't have to worry about him because he has no intention of running away anymore.
However, Asta tells him to keep his mouth shut and just tell him where he is. Ry then confesses that he was checking out the Lord of the swamp to see if there was anything valuable. Ry then asks Aa what he plans to do with the body of the beast, and Asta tells Ry that he is free to take it as payment for his life. He even offers him a Subspace pouch to carry it, and Rey happily thanks the man when he hears this. Asta plans to give Ry one of the pouches that he collected from the black market dealer. While Rey is busy celebrating acquiring the beast's body, Obern asks Asta if he is sure about his decision because the Lord of the swamps remains are worth a fortune. Asta tells Oberin that there is nothing he wants to do with the corpse and Rey needs to earn a living. Ouburn is blown away when he hears this and he concludes that Asta is such a noble man who is considerate and kind. However, Oberin is so wrong and he has no idea that Asta has his reasons for not taking the lord of the swamp's corpse. The hide and fur are famous for blocking ether, which means if one made a robe out of it, they could sell it very high. However, there are situations in which the materials lose their properties once the monster dies. And this is why Ray's blade easily cuts into the monster's skin, but he doesn't even know it. Basically, what is left is nothing but a pile of junk. Oberin asks Asta what their plan is and he replies that they are behind schedule. But according to Ry, it appears that they can still rest for another day. However, Asta has no interest in resting because he wants to get back moving as soon as possible. Later that night, they arrive at base camp 1 and upon arriving at the entrance, Asta talks about how dark it is. Ry reveals that the camp doesn't light fires at night because the light may attract monsters. Ry then suggests that they find the base camp keeper because they need to get their quarters assigned. Asta asks him what he means by base campkeeper and Ry explains that it is basically the mercenary group that owns the camp. It turns out that they take a cut of the materials from every mercenary who stays there. In simple terms, they are glorified bandits who are lured over the place. Suddenly, a scary voice cuts through the dark, telling Ry that he's gotten bolder to have compared them to bandits. Ray looks up to find the base chief, Fixer, standing on the watchtower, and he freaks out. Even Obern is intimidated by the man's looks and it appears that the name of his group is Aviot. Fixer jumps from his post and lands in front of the group. He then stretches his hand to Asta, but Asta doesn't make a move until Fixer tells him that he is trying to say hello by shaking him. Aa finally agrees to shake him and the two end up unleashing a tiny bit of aura as a show of force. After they are done with their power struggles, Asta asks Fixer why he came out to greet them and Fixer reveals that he has a proposition. He's heard that they are heading back to base camp 4 and Oberurn asks him how he knows this. Fixer throws Ry under the bus saying he heard from him because he was busy blabbing about how he plans to scam some naive mage. However, this isn't really his concern because what he wants is for them to take him along with them to base camp 4. Aa is shocked to hear this and Fixer explains that if base camp 4 fails, their camp is next, which is why they are interested in fighting.
Aa is not entirely against the idea because the more help they have, the better. He is about to agree to this when Oberin cuts in, rejecting the deal, shocking Asta. Even Fixer asks him why he's refusing, and he replies that the area around the fourth base camp has long since become a land of death.
Oberin tells him that things have gotten worse than he imagined, and Fixer cuts in with a strong tone, asking Obern if he is basically saying he can't go because it is a death trap. Oberin confirms this and Fixer loses it, unleashing his overwhelming aura while calling Ourn an arrogant mage. Fixer is insanely mad and he asks Oberin who gave him the right to decide this because he has survived this long, relying on nothing but his sword. Fixer says it might appear that he is just a lousy cell sword, but he and his squad have a lot to protect and lines they will never cross. At this point, Ourn is already stressed out and Fixer yells at him, telling him that they have the same right as him to defend their home. Fixer turns around, telling Oberin that he expected more from him since he is the headmaster's disciple, but he just disappointed him. He tells Oberin that they are going to find them a spot to sleep so he can just go ahead and sleep.
The whole atmosphere becomes awkward and Asta heads into the camp to take a shower. After Asta is done taking a shower and his teammates have slept, Asta decides to meet with Fixer in his office. Fixer asks him what he wants and he replies that he doesn't want anything serious, just that he wants to talk.
Fixer berates Asta, calling him a kid while telling him that he has some nerves on him. Aa then asks him how old he is and he replies that he would be 50 in the year to come. Asta shocks him, telling him that he was 50 the year before. But Asta doesn't believe this and tells Asta to leave if he knows he is there to talk trash. Asta replies that he is pretty sure that Fixer is planning to go to the fourth base camp no matter what. Since he is hellbent on doing this, Asta suggests that he come with them instead because he is not supposed to worry about what Ourn said.
Asta knows that it would be better if they went together. Fixer is shocked to hear this because he assumed that Obern was the one in charge. Asta lets Fixer know that Ourn is just a figurehead. And he, on the other hand, is not like him.
In fact, he acts his age, and it turns out that Asta wants Fixer to follow them because he assesses the aura he showed when he snapped at Obern. He could see that he was experienced, and it was also hard to find a knight with such power.
Fixer figures out that Asta is trying to use his men as meat shields, and Asta confirms this. Fixer then asks if he should consider it a formal request, and Asta reminds him that he is basically giving him what he wants, which is an escape route. Fixer reveals that he will be sending the young mercenaries home while he takes only the experienced mercenaries with him. Asta tells Fixer how commendable it is that he would sacrifice himself for the young ones.
Fixer then tells Asta that he is going to need Ry to find a path for the young ones because he is the best at what he does. In fact, he is willing to trade their own guide for him. Aa then asks him why he is bothering himself with this. Fixer tells him about the ruler of the swamps in the wetlands, saying their guide isn't skilled enough to find a way around the swamp. Asta then lets him know that if it is about this, he has nothing to worry about and Fixer is confused by this. Aa asks him how he thinks they went to the first base camp because if they had gone around the swamp, they would have ended up at the third base camp. Fixer is surprised to hear this and he asks Asta if the ruler of the camp retreated and Asta lets him know that he sent the monster to the afterlife, shocking Fixer to the bones.
The following morning, the mercenaries start preparing to leave while the young ones head home. Asta asks Fixer if he's sent a scout to confirm, and Fixer says yes. They have been able to confirm that the ruler of the swamp is dead, forcing Fixer to ask Asta who the hell he is. Aa replies coldly, telling the dude that he is his employer while asking him if he's made up his mind yet. Fixer says yes, telling Asta to just make sure the young one gets out safely as he promised, and Asta says he will. Fixer asks Asta what he wants, and Asta replies that he wants men who will be cannon fodder, just like he said before. Aa tells him that after this, he is free to do whatever he wants, and Fixer acknowledges this. Asta goes ahead to tell Fixer to drop the formalities because he might be two years older than him, but it doesn't mean anything. Fixer watches in shock as he doesn't want to believe that Asta is truly two years older, but at the same time, he starts thinking he might be an old mage who drank a rejuvenation elixir. One of Fixer's men soon shows up to tell him that they are done. And Fixer orders them to get everything ready because they can't keep Asta, their employer, waiting. Once the men have assembled, Fixer tells them that half of them, who are experienced, will head deep into the forest while the younger ones will head outside. Fixer motivates his men, telling them to protect the name of Aviat. The mercenaries start to volunteer for who is going to go. Fixer sees how hyped they are and tells them to keep their mouth shut. He tells the young ones that he has no intention of hearing anything from them and suggests that they get a move on. Even with Fixer insisting that they leave, they don't want to go and Asta is watching this from behind. Ry then shows up asking Asta if it is true that the Aviot mercenaries are coming with them and Asta confirms this, asking him if he is deaf. Ry believes that this is a good thing because they are monster hunters who have guarded the base camp for nearly 200 years. Upon hearing this, AA realizes that they are guys who basically know how to win. Ry says he is pretty sure that any monster would not be much of an obstacle for him, but he is pretty sure that the mercenaries would still be of great help. Aa hopes this turns out to be true and he asks Ray and Obern if they have packed their bags already. Ober assures him that he is fully packed already, but Asta teases him that he doesn't even need anything if he is a dead man. Ray yells at Asta not to jinx his fate, but ends up asking Asta to take him if they survive the whole ordeal. Asta realizes that the dude is making a gamble with his life, but to be fair, he is not going to get a reliable lifeline other than him if he doesn't get killed by Declan. That is Asta then tells Ry that he is free to do whatever he wants. Ry thanks him, assuring him that he is going to do his best, but he can't go as far as selling his soul. Aasta then meets with Fixer and he asks him if he can persuade someone for him before they leave. Asta asks him who the person is and where they are. Fixer replies that they are at the second base camp. He wants Asta to head to the second base camp to persuade the base camp chief Hollague for him. He says even if Hollig is not able to come, he would like to borrow his competent vice because he is a brilliant tactician. Meanwhile, at the second base camp, it appears that they have also gotten themselves ready to leave for the fourth base camp. Hollig's vice says all that is left is to clear out the facilities. But Hollig says there is no need for this because even if goblins move in, they can just take it back later. Deep down, the vice is worried about this because this is only assured if they come back alive. Hollig then starts talking about how everything feels like vanity because he basically thought he had everything when he rose to the position of chief. Holly lets his vice know that he wishes to die very fast so he can take his position and see what he is talking about. The dude scolds Holly, telling him to stop making morbid jokes as if they are nothing. In fact, he doesn't appreciate the fact that he is acting out of character, and the dude replies that he might be behaving that way since it is his time to die. The vice is shocked to hear this, and it soon dawns on him that Hollig has plans to join Fixer and his men. He yells at Hollig, telling him that the destroyer is not a monster to be messed with because it hasn't even mutated yet, but it has already started mutating the forest. He asks him why someone like him is trying to get himself involved in things like this because he was never like that. Hale asks his vice what kind of person he thinks he is and he replies that he is someone who is looking for a big payout.
Hallelague lets his vice know that every seasoned warrior will be there which means the battle will be worth it. Even with this Hollig's vice doesn't think it is worth it and he urges him to reconsider. He tells Hollig that the guys are ready to run away already and he just needs to reconsider his decision to go to the fourth base camp. Hollig says he could clearly see that his vice is afraid to die. And the dude confirms this, saying he has no intentions of seeing his ancestors just yet. Hollig then shocks him, telling him to become the chief so he can at least sit in the chief's seat, even if it is once. In fact, he lets him know that he is free to run things however he sees fit. The dude stands there in shock as Hollig declares that he is now the chief of the second base camp. He tells him that he can rename the camp to what fits him.
What is supposed to be a good farewell suddenly turns morbid when a strange arm impales Hollig's chest from behind. It turns out to be Kellogg, who maniacally tells Hollig that he is sending him and his men to the afterlife. The vice screams in horror at the sight of this, but to protect the new chief, Hollig puts all of his strength into kicking him really high away from the danger zone. The new chief watches as his former boss dies at Kellogg's hands, and Hollig's last words to him are to tell him to live because he is now the new chief. Well guys, that's the end of the video. If you like this video, comment next part in the comment section. Also subscribe to the channel, hit the bell and like the video.
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