The Path Forward

The beaming sun was setting once again in the Clover Kingdom. The darkening orange sky was filled with birds flying back to their nests and the crickets and grasshoppers were chirping as the night was about to arrive.

The Magic Knights Entrance Exam was almost over. The only thing left to do was for the squad captains to choose the candidates for their squads. The Magic Knight Brigade were about to obtain promising new members.

Lucas stood just away from the rest of the group of examinees in front of him. He was leaning against a stone pillar at the back of the area, trying not to let his nerves get in the way of what could be one of his best moments ever. "I-I... I'm so nervous! What if I don't make it? What if I have to go back to my family? Wh-what if... I can't become the Wizard King?!" Lucas screamed internally, his thoughts going haywire.

Whilst the Light mage was worrying about his prospects, the captains began speaking to the mass of people that were gathered.

"Candidates whose numbers are called, please step forward. The squad captains will raise their hands if they would like you to join their squads. The candidates will decide if they would like to accept or decline, or in the event where multiple captains raise their hand, the candidate may decide which squad they would like to join. However, in the event that no captains raise their hands, then the candidate will not join the Magic Knights.

There were a few voices in the crowd that reacted to the information. They were in the forms of oohs and ahs once again, but most of them were people making odd noises as they were very nervous. It made sense as this could either make or break their futures.

The first 50 candidates were up to be chosen, or not chosen, and it did not end well for them.

"Wh-what? They had such cool magic though! This is going to be tougher than I th-thought...". Lucas nervously started to walk around in circles, completely unaware of people giving him weird looks. He had started to worry about his own prospects and his own future.

Whilst the captains were busy in deciding whether or not the candidates joined the Magic Knights. A girl, around the age of 16, slowly walked up to Lucas and started speaking to him. The sun set further to the west and the minimal light illuminated the two individuals.

"Hello! Um... Lucas-san!" She spoke in a very cheery and upbeat voice which, instead of Lucas accepting, he jumped at the sound of it and hid behind the stone pillar he was walking around. "Oops! Sorry for startling you... I was just wondering which squad you'd choose? See, no one wanted to speak to me, so I thought I'd ask you if you wanted to talk about it. Although, I guess we shouldn't really be speaking right now and instead focus on the captains. Hmm what to do, hey my name is-". The girl was interrupted, and startled.

"Number 163, please step forward".

"-Oh! That's me, see you later Lucas-san!" The girl with light-orange hair and a dark green ribbon knotted on the top of her hair skipped away in a happy manner.

Lucas, now regaining his breath and his heartbeat returning to a normal pace, came out from behind the pillar and relaxed. "Wh-who was that? She knew my name though... I guess most people do from that crazy last battle... Why did she want to speak with m-me though?" He wondered but focused his attention on the girl in front to see what would happen with her.

The light-orange haired girl wore a light-yellow sweater with a white t-shirt just underneath, as you could see from the little collar sitting just above her sweater's neckline. She also wore a short, blue skirt that ended just before her knees. Her outfit was finished off by a pair of dark-blue boots that went just above her ankles.

"She's quite... pretty". Lucas said to himself without really thinking, but upon realising what he actually said, he immediately covered his mouth with his two hands. The teen was blushing now, but to his relief, no one heard him.

Suddenly, there was her voice again, but this time she was cheering. "Wahoo!" She jumped in the air. "I accept!"

Lucas looked at the captains above and saw that the Captain of the Blue Rose Knights, Charlotte Roselei, had put her hand up to accept the 16-year-old into her squad. As the girl walked on, she tilted her head around and was aiming to see if she could find Lucas again, but the Light mage had made himself hidden behind Asta and Yuno.

"Oh, I can't see Lucas-san... oh well!" She skipped away.

"Ph-phew...". Lucas let out a sigh in relief. As he lifted his head, he met his gaze with both Asta and Yuno who were staring at him in an odd way as if they were wondering why he was cowering behind them. Just before they could question though...

"Number 164, please step forward...".

It was Yuno's turn to be accepted into the Magic Knights Brigade. Lucas thought there was no way he would be rejected considering his display in all of the exams. In Lucas's eyes, the Wind mage had passed all of his exams by flying colours.

"Hm, I wonder which squad would take him? The Silver Eagles probably wouldn't, the captain seems to have a distaste for peasants and commoners... the Blue Rose Knights only take females from what I've heard... and the Golden Dawn only take royals and nobles, I think. The others seem open for anyone though". Lucas wondered, scratching his chin in thought.

Yuno walked forwards, clutching his blue pendant he wore around his neck.

To everyone's surprise, the Captain of the Golden Dawn raised his hand. The squad that had only accepted royals and nobles was willing to let a peasant enter their ranks. Then, more shouts from the crowd erupted. One by one, all of the other eight captains had started to raise their arms in a bid for Yuno to choose them.

"Please allow me to join the Golden Dawn". Yuno had spoken and made his decision. He was to join the best Magic Knight squad. The black-haired teen then walked away to the side.

"Number 165, please step forward...".

It was Asta's turn. As opposed to Yuno who had passed all of his exams, the ashen-haired mage had only passed one of them. Though, that didn't seem to discourage the teen as he walked forward.

Five seconds had passed.

10 seconds had passed.

15 seconds had passed.

Silence. Asta was not chosen by any squad captain and his face turned pale with fear. He stood still in the same spot whilst moans and groans came from the other candidates to deter him to move away. Then, all of a sudden, the Captain of the Black Bulls, Yami Sukehiro, jumped down onto the stage and walked towards Asta.

"Asta... woah, this burly guy has some crazy mana coming from him!" Lucas looked on at the scene unfolding in front of him.

From their exchange, Lucas found out that Asta actually had no mana whatsoever, but that wasn't going to put Asta down as he spoke back at the scary-looking captain and declared...

"I'm still going to become the Wizard King someday!"

Lucas was in shock. He knew that the magicless mage had the same dream as him from how he constantly yelled it out but seeing how determined he was to actually make his dream come true, gave Lucas determination as well.

Yami, upon Asta's declaration, had started to laugh and told him, or rather threatened him with death, to join his squad, the Black Bulls. With a bit of hesitation and disbelief, Asta accepted and walked on to the side to stand with Yuno.

"Well done, Asta". The Light mage smiled.

It was now time for Lucas to see if he would be accepted, or if he would be rejected by the Magic Knights. He knew he was after Asta, so he braced himself to be called up.

"Number 166, please step forward...".

With a huge gulp and sigh, the teen from Hoffvol slowly walked up to where he could see the nine Magic Knight squad captains looking down at him. He went to close his eyes due to how scared and nervous he was but realised that this is where he'd have to show his resolve, just like Asta had.

"Please, any squad...".

5 seconds had passed.

10 seconds had passed.

It was looking to be a fail for Lucas who had started to sweat profusely. Then, his nervousness was alleviated by the first hand to raise. It was the Captain of the Blue Rose Knights, Charlotte Roselei.

There was silence in the air as everyone looked towards her, even Lucas was shocked at the fact someone in a powerful squad like hers would want to accept him.

"Huh?" is what the crowd said in unison. Then murmurs started to arise from everyone.

"Isn't that the squad who use men as errand boys?"

"He'd be surrounded by girls! What's not to like about that?"

As people started to chatter, another few hands were shot up to accept Lucas.

The Captains of the Aqua Deer, Black Bulls, Crimson Lion Kings, and Silver Eagles also raised their hands for the peasant from the Forsaken Realm. At this point, there were screams and shouts of disbelief from everywhere around Lucas. It was enough to overwhelm him, and he was beginning to be.

"Huh? HUH?!" He thought and screamed internally. "Royalty want me? Even that crazy man wants me? The Aqua Deer AND the Blue Rose Knights?" Lucas thought long and hard about his options.

"The Blue Rose Knights... they prefer women, but if I joined, I'll work my way up through my efforts. I'll also get to see that nice girl who spoke to me".

"The Aqua Deer... The Captain seems very laid back and friendly, but I just don't know too much about them".

"The Crimson Lion Kings... I heard the captain's a very accepting man who doesn't discriminate. If I'm honest, that would be the best place considering my past".

"The Silver Eagles... now, that is a huge shock to me too. The Captain hates peasants from what I've heard. He also didn't treat his sister well either. If he doesn't treat his family right, then what hope do I have?"

"The Black Bulls... I have no idea about them. Everyone says they're bad but is that an exaggeration? I might also manage to make friends with Asta...".

Lucas pondered for a few seconds before looking like he had made his decision. The mage went to open his mouth to speak but was then stopped by one more hand that had risen. It was the man in the centre. It was the man with the most welcoming aura to him. It was the Captain of the Golden Dawn, William Vangeance.

"This... changes things. This man is the closest to becoming the next Wizard King, so my path should be through him...". The dual mage spoke up, and this time without any interruptions, made his decision and spoke his mind.

"I can't let me wanting friends to get in the w-way of my dream...", he thought. Lucas then looked up at the Captain he wanted to respond to. "P-please allow me to j-join the...

... Golden Dawn".

William Vangeance formed a smile on his face and the other captains lowered their arms. They even looked a bit frustrated with losing the Light mage to another squad. After Lucas shyly walked towards where Yuno and Asta were standing, the rest of the candidates were up to see whether or not they would be accepted, and then the ceremony had concluded.

The sun had now set, and it was dark all around the Clover Kingdom. The only source of light were the few lampposts and fires that were lit around. Asta and Yuno were speaking with each other and Lucas was just standing on his own, trying not to let what just happened unnerve him too much.

"Did I j-just join the b-best squad?" The Light mage spoke to himself, surprised that such a thing really happened. "I c-can't believe it. My d-dream..." he teared up.

"Lucas and Yuno, was it?" The Captain of the Golden Dawn had arrived and spoke up to gather his two new members. His purple eyes beamed through the eye slits on his golden mask as he scanned for the two boys from the Forsaken Realm. After Yuno said goodbye to Asta, the two gathered and followed the World Tree mage.

After a few minutes, the new rookies had finally arrived at the Golden Dawn Headquarters alongside William Vangeance. The journey there was a relatively quiet one with Lucas and Yuno only saying hello to each other. The Captain was also silent too, which seemed odd to Lucas, but eventually they had reached the base.

The HQ was a palace-like structure that sat on top of a hill just outside the Royal Capital. It was one of the three closest bases to the Capital other than the Crimson Lion Kings and Silver Eagles. As the two new members, accompanied by Vangeance, got off of their brooms they walked through the huge place. The walls, just like the name, looked to be fitted with golden-like bricks and the pillars were clean and strong that were set all across the area, giving the overall structure support. Other than that, there was a huge courtyard filled with greenery and plant life. A fountain was set in the middle of it all.

"Wh-whoa... This place looks so c-cool..." Lucas gawked at anything and everything possible. Yuno also did, though he didn't make it as obvious. They were both out of their comfort zones, but amazed, nonetheless.

"What are your first impressions of the Golden Dawn Headquarters?" William spoke in his almost melodic-sounding voice.

Lucas was too nervous to talk so Yuno took the lead with this. "It's very different from what we're used to".

"Well of course. We are the best squad in the Kingdom, so we have to look the part as well, do we not?" The Captain grinned. "Say, do you two know each other?" He asked as he kept walking forwards.

"No, we don't, but we've interacted a few times. That's the extent of it". The Wind mage replied back.

"Ah, I see... Well, we're here. To my right is the common room where all of the squad members gather every morning just after breakfast so either I or the Vice-Captain will brief them. I'm sure you two would like to see inside, but your health is the most important thing right now. I'll show you to your rooms so you can rest for the night and then tomorrow morning is when the introductions can start, alright?" William walked ahead and showed the two recruits to their rooms.

Lucas's and Yuno's rooms were not together, but in fact the opposite sides of the courtyard. So, they had to separate for the time being.

Lucas looked at his room from the outside. A singular golden-wood door separated the inside and outside and he opened it. Inside, it looked like a royals room. The floor was nice and hard with a beige-colouring to it and a royal red rug sat on top of it sprawled across.

As he walked in, he saw a large single bed to his right with a dark brown frame to it. It was already set up with a red bed sheet and black duvet and had two small white pillows where he would rest his head against. On top of the left pillow was something he had dreamt of having, something that would make him feel proud. It was the Golden Dawn squad robe.

To the left, was a small desk and chair where he could study and write letters on. It could also serve as a decorative area where he could set any pictures or paintings that he had.

In front of him was a little en-suite area. There was a full bathroom with white and black patterned tiles, which also included a personal shower.

Lucas started to get dizzy at everything he set his eyes on. He couldn't believe the immense difference between his small room in Hoffvol and his big room in the Golden Dawn HQ.

"Wh-wh-where am I?! This looks like a king's room! Woah". He shouted as he gawked at everything possible. His eyes filled with swirling stars and he twirled across the room. He was having too much fun. After a few minutes of dancing around, he calmed himself down and set down his belongings that he had brought with him.

The flower encyclopaedia and the painting of the yellow sunflower would sit at the edge of his desk, and his clothing would hang from the closet that was directly adjacent to his bed. Lucas got out of his dirty clothes that he had been wearing since the exam and got into a new pair after showering.

"That shower is something alright. Before I had to use a common pool with David and the other boys in Hoffvol... and now I have a personal one!"

As he dried his hair, he pulled the curtains together and sat on top of his bed, reminiscing about everything that had happened. From the long journey to the Capital, as well as fighting a royal, to now being accepted and living at the best Magic Knight squad's base. He was on cloud nine. He carefully set aside his squad robe and started to lay down.

"This is only the start... I do miss everyone a lot, so I will write to them when I have the chance, but first..." he yawned. "It's time to sleep".

Lucas got into the duvet and pulled the blanket over him and fell asleep immediately.