Black Bull Magic Knights.
There were four people in total who came to the Dungeon.
Asta, Sylvar Crowe, Luck, and Noelle.
When they entered the maze, Luck looked at the bird on Asta's head and asked with interest, "What's its name?"
Asta blinked and said, "It doesn't have a name."
When Asta lowered his head and began thinking about giving it one, Luck tilted his head and said with interest, "Why not call it Nero?"
Sylvar glanced at the bird, then at Asta, and said calmly, "I agree."
Under Luck's lead, the group stepped into the dangerous magic palace and passed through a long and dark passage.
The corridor was narrow. The stone walls were damp. The air felt heavy and cold.
Luck suddenly stopped.
He tilted his head slightly, as if he had sensed something. Then, without warning, he threw a punch at an ordinary wall.
The wall shattered instantly.
Bright light burst through the opening and shone into everyone's eyes. Because they had been in darkness for too long, Asta, Noelle, and Sylvar all raised their hands subconsciously and covered their eyes.
After a few seconds, they slowly lowered their hands and looked ahead.
What appeared before them was an empty hall.
Water flowed abnormally through the space. The walls on all four sides were uneven, with bulges and depressions that looked misplaced.
It was as if pieces of a puzzle had been forced into the wrong positions.
The hall looked extremely strange.
"What's going on?" Asta asked.
Luck closed his eyes and stood still. He remained silent for a moment as he sensed the magic in the air. Then he opened his eyes and said excitedly, "The space seems distorted. The magic here is much denser than outside!"
Noelle widened her eyes slightly and said, "This is the first time I've seen such strong magic power."
Asta scratched his cheek and said, "Really?"
Sylvar looked around slowly and murmured, "Is this some kind of magic that gathers magical power? Interesting."
While Asta was walking around and looking at the walls, his foot suddenly stepped on a trap magic array.
A sharp magical blade shot upward.
Asta reacted instantly. He swung the Demon-Slayer Sword downward and cut the trap in half.
The magic shattered.
Sylvar looked up at the warped ceiling and said calmly, "The artistic level of these ancient people wasn't very high. The architectural style is too random."
Asta looked around and smiled. "Is that so? I think it's beautiful."
Noelle folded her arms and turned her head slightly. "Of course it's not beautiful."
"Really? I think it's pretty nice," Asta insisted.
Noelle lifted her chin. "Of course it isn't. I'm royalty."
Sylvar glanced at the two of them and thought silently, This invisible dog food makes me want to vomit.
Suddenly, there was a soft "Ai!"
Luck had shoved Asta forward.
Asta stumbled directly into another magic trap.
A blade of magic shot out from the floor again, and Asta barely managed to cut it apart with his sword.
He turned around with lingering fear and shouted, "What are you doing, Luck-senpai?!"
Luck smiled brightly. "It's interesting."
Then Luck began activating traps on purpose.
He dashed forward and struck walls and floors at random, triggering trap after trap. Magic blades, spikes, and beams erupted from every direction.
Luck laughed and said something that made everyone shiver.
"This is so fun!"
At that moment, Asta, Noelle, and Sylvar all had the same thought.
If we keep playing with this guy, we'll die.
Luck turned around and said cheerfully, "As long as Asta keeps swinging his sword like that, there won't be any problem with this maze!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he accelerated and ran off.
He ran away.
He ran away just like that.
Asta and Noelle both rolled their eyes and let out a stunned "Eh?"
Sylvar sighed softly and said, "I knew he was unreliable."
Luck's voice echoed faintly from the corridor ahead.
"I've got something urgent to do! I'll leave clearing the maze to you guys!"
"Wait!" Noelle shouted urgently.
But Luck ignored her and disappeared deeper into the maze.
After a brief and useless argument, the three of them stood in silence.
Then Sylvar stepped forward.
He raised his hand and summoned chain magic.
A chain shot forward and lashed across the corridor ahead.
It struck the floor, the walls, and the ceiling one by one.
Each hidden trap was triggered by the chain instead of by them. Blades shot out. Spikes erupted. Magic arrays activated and shattered harmlessly.
Sylvar carefully confirmed that there were no remaining reactions.
Then he nodded toward Asta. "Go ahead."
Asta walked in front with his sword ready.
Sylvar followed behind him and continued clearing the path with his chains.
During a brief pause, Sylvar said, "These seniors are really unreliable."
Asta nodded seriously. "Yeah."
Sylvar glanced at Noelle and said, "By the way, Noelle, your water magic could also be used to explore the way."
Noelle raised her chin and replied, "I am royalty."
Sylvar felt a vein twitch on his forehead.
…
After turning several corners, they reached a fork in the maze.
They did not know which path to choose.
Suddenly, a magical reaction came from one of the passages.
Sylvar immediately became alert. His body tensed and a chain appeared in his hand.
But when he saw the figure walking out of the corridor, he relaxed slightly.
He smiled faintly and said, "Finally, we meet, Yuno."
Yuno also smiled lightly. "Finally, we meet, Asta, Sylvar."
Asta grinned. "Finally we meet, Yuno!"
Sylvar gestured casually. "Introduce your new teammates. Asta, you go."
"Why me?" Asta complained.
"No reason," Sylvar said.
Asta sighed helplessly. "This is Noelle. She's royalty and our teammate. I'm Asta. And this is Sylvar."
Yuno nodded calmly. "This is Mimosa. She's my classmate. This is senior Klaus. I'm Yuno."
Klaus adjusted his glasses and said coldly, "Yuno, why waste time talking to such people? Our mission is to reach the depths of the Dungeon and claim the treasure hall. We cannot afford to be delayed by them."
Asta's expression darkened immediately. "Who are you calling 'such people'? You've been saying that since earlier, four-eyes!"
Yuno said flatly, "Senior."
Klaus lost his composure. "How rude! You're a commoner, aren't you? How dare you speak to me, a noble, like that!"
At that moment, Mimosa stepped toward Noelle. "Noelle, good afternoon. The last time we met was at the royal dinner last year."
Asta looked at Noelle. "You know her?"
Noelle replied stiffly, "I suppose."
Mimosa looked slightly worried. "I heard you joined the Black Bulls… that barbaric order. Are you alright?"
Noelle's expression turned sharp. "I was just about to ask if you're alright. Mimosa, someone as clumsy as you can really survive in the Golden Dawn?"
"No problem at all," Mimosa replied with a polite smile.
When the two women began speaking, Sylvar quietly stepped aside.
On the surface, their words were polite.
But an invisible pressure filled the air.
It felt suffocating.
Terrifying.
Mimosa covered her mouth gently and said, "A few days ago, because of our excellent performance, our squad was personally praised by the Magic Emperor and awarded stars."
Asta and Noelle both froze.
They glanced at each other.
Asta laughed loudly. "We got a star too!"
Klaus frowned deeply. "Stop lying. The Black Bulls' newcomers receiving stars? Impossible."
After several rounds of argument, Klaus's expression grew serious.
"I heard there were four of you. Where is the other one? Did he abandon you and run away? Or did he fall into a trap and die?"
Asta and Noelle fell silent.
Sylvar spoke calmly. "Luck went to find the strongest person in this maze to fight."
Asta and Noelle thought at the same time, How can you say that so calmly?
Klaus pushed his glasses up again. "Regardless, it doesn't change the fact that you were abandoned."
"The Black Bulls are a filthy and disgraceful order that shames the Magic Knights."
Asta clenched his fists. "Listen carefully! We'll capture the Dungeon first! We'll beat your weird masked leader!"
Klaus shouted angrily, "How dare you insult our captain!"
Sylvar grew tired of listening.
"Enough," he said. "Start conquering the maze. Stop wasting time."
Klaus straightened up. "Very well. I'll show you the difference between first place and last place."
Mimosa opened her grimoire and summoned magic flowers that spread out and mapped the structure of the palace.
Yuno used wind magic and surged forward at high speed.
Noelle frowned. "What do we do? We don't have exploration magic."
At that moment, the anti-magic bird on Asta's head flew down and hovered near a different passage. It flapped its wings and pointed toward the corridor.
Asta blinked. "You mean this way?"
"There's no other choice," Sylvar said. "Let's follow it."
The three of them moved forward under the bird's guidance.
Sylvar used chain magic again to trigger and destroy traps along the way.
Soon, they entered a strange area where gravity felt unstable.
In the center stood a treasure chest with legs.
Asta's eyes lit up. "We found a treasure chest!"
He rushed forward.
Before he could touch it, Sylvar flicked his wrist.
A chain shot out and wrapped around the treasure chest's legs.
He yanked it upward and slammed it violently against the wall.
The chest burst open.
Blood and internal organs splattered across the wall.
The scene was grotesque.
Sylvar grimaced. "It was obviously a trap. Don't get close to it. It's disgusting."
Noelle swallowed. "It was clearly a trap. Good thing I didn't touch it."
She turned her head slightly and tried not to vomit.
Asta wiped sweat from his forehead. "Yeah… good thing…"
Sylvar looked ahead and saw the bird already flying toward the next turn.
"Hurry," he said. "Follow it."
They reached the entrance of another passage and looked out.
Smoke rose in the distance.
Noelle narrowed her eyes. "Is Luck fighting someone?"
Asta leaned forward. "Really? Let's help!"
Noelle crossed her arms. "There's no need. He's too self-willed. Others are searching for the treasure too. If we're slow, we'll fall behind."
Sylvar considered briefly.
"You two go help Luck," he said. "I'll head for the treasure hall."
Asta immediately shouted, "Okay!"
Noelle frowned. "You're just as self-willed."
They ran toward the battlefield.
The bird followed them.
Sylvar remained behind.
He closed his eyes.
Two and a half seconds passed.
He activated his Nen.
He used En and Hatsu simultaneously, reshaping the perception field into a focused direction.
He could not sense both front and back at once.
But one direction was enough.
He extended his aura like tentacles and explored the deeper sections of the palace.
Soon, he located Yuno's group and grasped their route.
He released his Nen immediately.
Maintaining full-power En and Hatsu at the same time consumed too much stamina and prevented movement.
He moved quickly through the corridors.
After several turns, he peeked out from a passage.
He saw Mimosa injured on the ground.
Yuno and Klaus were both slightly wounded and fighting a man with a stone embedded in his forehead.
Sylvar did not hesitate.
He launched a chain from behind and struck the man.
The attack failed.
The opponent generated extremely hard ore and shielded himself.
But the attack drew his attention.
The man turned toward Sylvar.
His grimoire flipped open.
Sylvar continued attacking with chains.
At the same time, he sent a healing potion toward Yuno with another chain.
Yuno caught it and passed it to Mimosa.
The situation was bad.
Mars raised his hand.
A massive sword of ore formed instantly.
He swung it downward.
The slash tore through the air.
Sylvar judged instantly that he could not block it.
He wrapped a chain around a pillar and pulled himself sideways like Spider-Man.
The sword carved into the ground where he had stood.
He swung through the air and taunted, "You can't hit me."
Mars dismissed the ore sword.
Sylvar's expression changed.
Large-scale attack incoming.
Mars flipped his grimoire again.
He created multiple mineral clones.
Ore dolls surrounded the battlefield.
Yuno and Klaus launched attacks simultaneously, but their magic was too weak. The ore puppets blocked them easily.
Mars used the clones to restrict their movement while launching deadly slashes.
The battle escalated.
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Author's Notes:
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