Asta and Yuno walked in the forest with excitement written all over their faces–at least for Asta.

"The magic knight exam is near. I can't wait to pass before becoming the Wizard King."

"If you pass," replied Yuno. "And I'm the one who will be the Wizard King."

The two then argued for a few minutes about this issue before continuing their journey.

"Do you think that the Wizard King will show up? I would like to meet him in person instead of a screen."

"He has not shown up for the Exam in the past few years, so I doubt he would," replied Yuno calmly, despite the fact he was also secretly hoping to meet the legendary man.

A few days later, this year's Magic Knight Entrance Exam began. Asta and Yuno stood in the middle of the Colosseum and the other participants. Soon, the two arrived in the Noble Realm in the town of Kikka.

Yuno remained calm, but Asta kept looking at everything with shining eyes. He looked at the ten seats on the balcony.

"This should be the seat of the Captains? How exciting."

Soon, all the captains showed up one by one. And each time they appeared, the participants immediately recognized them and talked about their legendary tales.

That was until one person showed up with a black leather strap covering his mouth and neck, leaving an opening to show his sharp teeth.

"As popular as always, Zora," said Yami while laughing aloud.

"Our Punishment Squad does not need to be like, as long as we do our job correctly."

The other captains gave him a side-eye before ignoring him. The Punishment Squad created the Wizard King to combat corruption in the kingdom or the magic squads.

Their mission is to capture and imprisoned any corrupt individual in the kingdom. It did not matter whether you were a commoner, noble, magic knight, or Captain; they would go after you.

Their reputation was never good because of how much power they had and how ruthless they were. However, things became even worse when this Zora Ideale took the position.

He was more ruthless than all the previous captains. In one event, he wanted to place the current king on trial, almost causing an extraordinary incident. Luckily, the Wizard King intervened and prevented the other nobles from rioting against him.

Ultimately, the king of the Clover Kingdom was forced to stay inside the castle and never leave because of that incident.

Although many people do not like how the Punishment Squad do things, they still respect them greatly because of how many great things they have to do for the kingdom.

Plus, the selection process for this squad is very rigid, and each member must sign magical contracts to prevent them from abusing their powers and becoming corrupted themselves.

"Anyway, why are you here, and even arrived in time?" asked Zora.

Yami clicked his tongue before saying: "Edward said I had to be here. Plus, he even sent his assistant Marx to force me to arrive in time."

Zora gave him a loot before focusing on the exam. Captain William Vengeance was in charge of this year's exam, so he officially began things. The exam was the same as Edward's time.

Mages were tested on their ability to control brooms, the amount of mana they had, to hit targets, for magic creation, and to make a seed bloom. As in the main timeline, Yuno did excellent in the test, while Asta failed all the others since he did not have an ounce of mana.

However, this fact showed that he was an anomaly, so the captains noticed him. The following exam stage was not a battle like in Edward's time, but a bunch of other tests.

The first was a comprehensive physical test, including stamina, endurance, reflexes, etc. It has been proven over the years that the more powerful the physical body, the easier it is to control mana. Additionally, being fit is excellent for combat, so this was one of the new requirements added for the test.

The second test was a Willpower and Spiritual Power test: both were new criteria discovered with the boom of magic development in the Clover Kingdom.

People with high Willpower and Spiritual/Soul Power can more easily control their magic and develop spells suitable for them in dangerous situations. It is also the main requirement to learn techniques like Mana Zone or Mana Skin.

For this test, participants were given two magic orbs. One measured their soul strength, while the other placed them in an illusion where they had to experience countless inhuman experiences.

And based on they react, a score will appear to dictate their Willpower.

In the second stage test, Asta began to display his uniqueness. In both the Physical Strength Test and the Willpower Test, his results overshadowed all the participants and even broke a new record for the Willpower Test.

And when it came to the Soul Strength Test, he was second to Yuno by 3 points, while Yuno's score was considered second in the kingdom so far, only behind the Wizard King.

However, the latter was considered an anomaly, so his results did not count. So, all eyes were on these two once the result was revealed.

The final test before the battle was a magic knowledge and theory test. But people with a high score can get bonus points. Yuno passed with flying colors while Asta barely scored a few points. But people with a high score can earn bonus points for this entrance exam.

Although the two of them attended schools in the village at a young age, Asta was never the most intelligent one regarding this kind of thing.

When it was time for participants to choose their partners, it was as if fate cast a wide net on these people. A young man named Sekke Bronzazza challenged Asta.

He did not care about the impressive results the latter had in the second stage of tests. All he cared about was that he had no magic power, and he could stand out in front of the Captains by defeating him.

Regrettably, he was horribly wrong. Even without mana, Asta took out a massive sword from his Grimoire and defeated Sekke with one swing. Now, all eyes were on Asta.

Soon, all the participants fought with each other for the eyes of the captains. Then, it was time for them to choose. Participants after participants will stand in front of the Captains, and if they are chosen, they could join the squad.

If multiple Captains want a candidate, they can choose which squad they want to enter. Soon, it was Yuno's turn, and as in the main timeline, he decided on the Golden Dawn since they were the most powerful squad; he wanted the fastest and best way to become Wizard King, and joining this squad would be an opportunity.

When it was Asta's turn, all the Captains raised their hands.

"Why are you guys raising your hands? Don't you always go for the talented ones full of magic power and soul strength?" asked Yami with a ferocious look.

"It is obvious this kid is special; who would be stupid enough to pass out such an opportunity?" replied Captain of the Green Mantis, Jack.

"Charlotte, why are you also raising your hand? Isn't your squad only accept women?"

"What are you talking about? Our squad has plenty of men," she replied calmly. Of course, she would not say they there mostly servants.

"All of you already picked some people while I have nothing, so this kid belongs to me," said Yami. "Plus, it is common knowledge that all the weird ones or oddballs go to my squad."

"Well, not this time," responded Fugeleon, Captain of the Vermilion Bird Squad.

"Do you guys want to settle this in a fight?"

"No one is scared of you, Yami," said Nozel Silva, Captain of the Silver Eagle Squad. All of them started to release a powerful aura through the use of their mana, pressuring all the participants.

However, Captain Vengeance seemed to have noticed something and immediately stood up from his chair: "Your majesty."

All the captains turned their attention to the stadium and found a handsome man standing in front of Asta:

"Your majesty," they saluted, but Edward just waved his hand to appease them.

"Your name is Asta, right?"

"T-The Wizard King… You're the Wizard King. I saw you on the magic television when I was a kid. I can't believe I'm seeing you in person. Wait, you know my name. How do you know my name?"

"I knew your mother, Lichita; she was a wonderful woman, full of kindness and joy. I'm sorry I could not save her."

"My mother? Lichita, is that her name?" muttered Asta.

"Don't worry. You'll get to see her one day soon. You'll be joining the Black Bull Squad. Do you have any problem with that arrangement?"

"No, Sir," replied Asta in confusion.

As soon as he said these words, chains appeared all over Edward's body before they were broken. Then, a powerful Mana Pressure, along with his voice, was released from his body that reached the entire kingdom.

"Hahaha, I'm finally free. Curse you, Universe Will. Someday, you will feel my wrath."

Edward's voice echoed through the Noble Realm, the Common Realm, and the Forsaken Realm. All the Clover Kingdom's Citizens could hear the joy and anger behind that voice.

And many people understood that things were about to change. The monster finally broke free from his chains, and nothing could restrain him. Although many people knew that this day would come, they also prayed that it never arrived.

After laughing for a few seconds, Edward smiled before looking at Asta. He patted the kid on his shoulder.

"Kid, it seems that you were the last straw. Alright, let me test your power."