Black Bull HQ—several days had passed since everyone had returned from the Sea Temple.
Asta, still wearing a sling on his injured arm, walked into the usually chaotic and noisy hall only to find an eerie silence. The only person present was Yami, casually reading a newspaper on the couch.
"Captain Yami, is no one else around?" Asta asked curiously.
Yami, cigarette in his mouth, replied, "Who knows? Maybe they're all out somewhere slacking off."
Lifting his eyes to glance at Asta, Yami couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Truth was, Yami knew exactly where everyone had gone.
Magna and Luck had teamed up to explore a dangerous dungeon, Charmy had taken Grey on some "ingredient-seeking" training trip, and Finral and Gordon were off in the capital's library. As for Vanessa, she'd taken Noelle and Gauche to investigate leads regarding the magic stones.
Everyone, it seemed, was busier than ever.
But Yami understood. No matter the reason they gave, they were all seeking to get stronger in their own ways.
And the sparks that had lit their fire?
Were standing right in front of him—the short little squirt, Asta, and the other new recruit: Charles.
During the Sea Temple mission, Charles had stunned them all with his strength. For their seniors, it had been nothing short of humiliating. Watching a junior risk his life in battle while they could only stand by... that was unacceptable. It made their desire to grow stronger burn even more fiercely.
And in Asta, they saw what it meant to never give up. He'd erased the word "despair" from their vocabulary.
With two such rookies around, there was no room for slacking off.
'Speaking of Charles,' Yami thought, 'I haven't seen that kid in a while.' He kept the thought to himself, though.
It was true—ever since returning from the capital, Charles had vanished. He'd even missed the mission debriefing. But knowing his personality, Yami guessed the kid was off training somewhere, hell-bent on getting stronger. That was just who Charles was.
In truth, a lot had happened since the Sea Temple mission.
Yami had taken Asta to the capital to report the mission and hand over the magic stone. Charles had insisted on coming too, especially to speak about Vetto and the strange curse magic flowing through him.
Charles had dropped a key hint to the Magic Emperor—suggesting that the curse might be related to the elves. It was subtle, but deliberate.
Asta's arm, shattered in battle, had mostly healed thanks to the capital's top-tier healing mages. Compared to the original timeline, where Vetto's curse had nearly destroyed both his arms, this time was far better. Unfortunately, before full recovery, the Diamond Kingdom invaded and Asta was right back on the battlefield—so the sling remained.
Yami had guessed only half right. Charles was indeed training—but also, he was planning something.
The mission had been a success: the magic stone retrieved, Asta relatively unharmed, and the others each with personal breakthroughs.
But Charles hadn't managed to save Kahono and Kiato.
He didn't blame himself out of guilt—he wasn't the saintly type. But what frustrated him was that he still hadn't changed fate.
Had he been just a bit stronger—had he defeated that chain-magic flunky faster—maybe things would've turned out differently.
More than that, Charles realized another uncomfortable truth: he'd been too passive, always following Asta and the plot's natural flow.
Perhaps some part of him had feared altering the story too much—losing the advantage of foreknowledge. But clinging to that fear had shackled him.
He couldn't go on half-wishing for change while half-fearing it.
It was time to stop being afraid.
His subtle nudge to the Magic Emperor about the elves was just the beginning.
…
Yultim Volcano, a strong magic zone.
Charles had returned to this brutal land to continue training.
After fighting Vetto, he could feel it—his strength had leapt forward. Especially after hitting his limit, his mana and physical resilience had both skyrocketed. His Dragonblood Mode was more stable now, its duration extended even further.
But Charles wasn't training near the volcano—he was inside it.
His current goal: mastering the advanced skill Mana Zone.
With Mana Zone, a mage could freely manipulate mana in all directions. They could strike from impossible angles, walk on air, and even override the natural mana around them.
Some elite mages, like Mereoleona Vermillion, could dominate ambient mana so completely they could suppress even the elves' natural advantage.
Her Mana Zone was so powerful that if she hadn't been up against four opponents, she might've flattened Fully Awakened Raia single-handedly.
Charles absolutely wanted that power.
That's why he was in this hellish place.
The Yultim Volcano existed because of a massive fire-mana source underground. That fire-mana melted bedrock and created constant eruptions.
The deeper you went, the hotter it became.
With Mana Skin, you could withstand the outer edge—but down here, even a moment's lapse would turn you into cinders.
Charles steadied his breathing, forcing mana to circulate faster through his body. With each step deeper into the cave, the temperature soared.
But there was another reason he'd chosen this place.
The magma surged. From it, a giant made of molten rock emerged.
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
Two concentrated fire lashes slammed into the magma giant. With a blast, half its body exploded back into lava.
Charles caught his breath and kept walking.
Deep inside this strong magic zone, there were plenty of creatures to spar with—not just magma giants, but strange mutated beasts adapted to the harsh environment. All of them highly resistant to fire.
Even Charles had to push himself to defeat monsters that bathed in lava for fun.
He hadn't yet found the hidden magic dungeon deep within the volcano—supposedly filled with treasure and a magic tool capable of turning animals into beasts.
Charles was especially interested in the spider mutated by that tool—the one who managed to escape from Mereoleona. That would be a fight worth having.
"Man, this heat's killing me. How's anyone supposed to sleep in this furnace?"
A lazy voice echoed through the cave.
Charles didn't flinch.
"So you finally showed up. Took you longer than I expected."
Turning, he saw the man standing there, relaxed and unbothered.
"Geez, with that reaction, I almost thought I walked right into a Magic Knight ambush," the man said—Raia the Disloyal, one of the Three Eyes of the Eye of the Midnight Sun.
Charles waved him off. "Not really an ambush. But yes—I arranged this meeting."
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! Only $5 per novel or $15 for all!!] [www.p@treon.com/Mutter]
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]