This is part 50 of this book, Woah. We have come a very long way. Thank you guys for 100k reads! ♥

*****

"Should we go on ahead?"

I smile sweetly as he gives me a soft smile.

"Yeah, I'm rea- AHHHHHHHH!" Yuno yanks my hand and runs through the hoard of Crimson Lion members trying to prefect their mana skin with me dawdling behind, struggling to keep up.

"DO YOU MIND SLOWING DOWN?!" I yelp. My foot hits something and I begin to fall forwards, my hand slips from Yuno's. On instinct, he whips behind and catches the falling me.

God damn rocks.

I curse under my breath as Yuno helps me up.

"You're so clumsy."Yuno sighs as he looks back towards the summit of the volcano.

"I'll take that as a compliment." I sigh along with him as I look behind us, I spot Asta sweating a few meters behind.

"Yo! Ast-"I feel my hand being yanked again before Asta notices us.

"HEY! GUYS!" He yells as Yuno turns his head around.

"Asta, get to the hot spring before I overheat from soaking too long!" Yuno calls.

"EHHHHH?!"Asta yells as we drift further and further away from him. We continue on our path when I spot a magma monster a few meters up ahead.

"Hey Yuno, should we defeat it first?"I ask as I point to the monster, he shrugs.

"It'll be a pain."He bluntly answers, he jumps on top of the monsters head and lunges forwards, with me flailing behind.

Hmmmm? The mana is...?!

I look behind me.

being cut through?

I spot Asta charging towards us with half of his body covered in black.

Are those horns?!

My eyes widen as I see him. Yuno looks back and jumps on top of a cliff as Asta dives straight towards the foot of the cliff, before he crashed his face into the cliff he bounces up and lunges in a loop towards the magma.

He's going straight in?! Actually, on second thought, he'll be fine.

I shrug away my thoughts as Yuno grips my hand. I look up at him in slight concern.

"Are you okay?" I ask him.

"Fine." He bluntly replies, he yanks my hand and we soar again.

After a while...

After a while, the whole group eventually made it to the summit of the volcano.

"You fools finally made it! This Yultim Volcano stops erupting when night falls!! You had to reach the summit before then! The ones who weren't able to reach the summit during the day, do it again tomorrow!" Mereoleona howls at the guys behind us.

"YES MA'AM!" They yell back in slight horror of Mereoleona's wrath along with a salute. Mereoleona smirks.

"Good, I'll allow everyone to soak in the hot springs!" Mereleona announces. I glance behind me to see a plain big crater in the centre of the volcano.

Just how is that a hot spring?Wait...

Fluid spills from the centre of the crater, filling it with steaming water.

Woah! Hot water just came out!

Everyone around me gasps in awe.

"It became a huge bath!" Asta beams in awe.

Wait...

I look around me, other female members giving each other uncomfortable looks.

"THERE'S NO WAY I'M GONNA LET YOU MALES SEE THE BOSS'S PHRE NAKED BODY!" Sol yells in slight irritation.

"Earth Magic: Earth Wall Partition!" she yells as she plants her plams on the edge of the bath, a think was of earth rises up from the centre of the water and parts it into two sections.

"OK! YOU FOOLS! HURRY UP AND GET IN!" Mereleona yells. Everyone cheers as we went to our respective sides.

We all strip our clothes when I feel a small twinge in the hood of my robe I was holding. A small head pokes out with a drowsy face.

"I almost forgot..."I sigh as I grab Revel with my palm, I swing it and he flies across to the male side of the bath.

Problem solved.

I shrug and enter the bath, the warm water sends it's heat up my body as my aches muscles relax against the rock behind me.

I look around, everyone was enjoying themselves, talking and reminiscing the old times.

I'm fine just by myself I guess, it's relaxing.

I close my eyes, sinking into the water.

"Hey! Your (Y/n) right?" A voice calls out to me.

I open my eyes and meet a pair of aqua orbs.I sit up as the said girl sits next to me in the water. She had short black hair and beautiful aqua eyes with thick lashes.

"I'm Raquel, I'm a member of the Crimson Lions, like you, welcome aboard rookie!" She smile as she holds out a hand. I shake her hand and smile back.

"Thanks, I'm (Y/n). I thought there weren't any female members in the Crimson Lions." I say was a sign of relief.

"There isn't many of us, all the members of the Crimson Lions are passionate about being a knight, there are only about 15 female members in the brigade, we have our own group and take on big missions across the kingdom, so we're not around much." Raquel explains.

"Oh I see, are the other female members here now?" I ask her, looking around and spotting a few unfamiliar faces.

"Only 7 of us made it today, the rest on a mission, the males are really passionate about getting stronger and are often at head quaters, but we females like to fight."

"Oh right."

I'm so goddamn socially awkward.

"Hey, is it just me or is the bath getting hotter?" Raquel questions as she runs her fingers across her forehead.

"Now that you mention it, it is quite hotter than when I first came in." I say.

I have a really bad feeling about this...

I shake my head and get out of the bath.

"I'll go on ahead, you enjoy yourself." I smile at Raquel.

"Alright, I'll see you another time." She waves as she goes to join the other girls. I grab my clothes and put them on after I dry.

So much mana here..Might as well use the best of it.

I sit down in a meditation pose and start to collect the mana on my palms.

After an hour I hear shuffling behind me. I stop, jump back and get into a fighting stance. I see all the boys naked looking back at me in slight horror. I look them up and down.

"What do you think you're doing?" I say as I eye their every move.

"Peeping!" A voice says proudly from the back.

"Leopoldo?" I question the voice.

"(Y/n)! I must ask you to move as we men must go peep in the women's bath-" He gets cut off as Yami slaps him at the back of the head.

"Mission busted, go get her men, it is a man's duty to peep." Yami yells as points at me while smirking.

"Like hell you're getting past me." I mutter.

They charge at me with their grimoires at their sides.

"Heavenly Sky Magic: Messiah's Faith." Blades of light form around me, I reach out and direct them towards the males charging at me, in a flash they dropped to the ground as I cut behind their ankles to stop their movement.

"What's going on over here?" A voice yells as a naked figure appears behind a rock.

"(Y/n)?-" Noelle shrieks as she sees the naked men at my feet, she covers herself and hides behind the rock. Her shriek catches the females attention and they all come, they spot the males and beat the crap out of them.

Well, that's that. I'm glad Yuno and Asta didn't come, they would've gotten beaten too.

I sigh as I look up into the night sky, stars blotted around the crescent moon.

It's a beautiful night, I wish it would last.

Day of the Trial for the Royal Knights

"Thank you got coming here today. Let's begin the Royal Knights selection exam!" Julius announces.

"Hmmmmmm!" Revel smiles brightly besides me.

"Why are you so excited today? You sleep most of the time." I say to him as he buzzes around my head.

"Well...it's because....not. Telling. You." He says with a bigger smile.

"Alright, you keep your secrets." I murmur as I look back up at Julius once the crowd had calmed down.

"Allow us explain the exam." The King appears next to the Magic Emperor.

"After all, it is the 'Royal' Knights exam, so 'royalty' should present it!" He smirks as he brushes his beard.

"The exam will consist of...

"A team competition, Crystal Destruction Battle Tournament!"

Interesting....

"You'll be trying to break this crystal!" The King presents a shining blue crystal floating behind him.

"The rules are simple, while protecting your crystal which has been stationed in your area. The first to destroy their opposing team's crystal will be the winner!" The King explains.

What if both of the crystals are not destroyed?

"In the event that neither of the crystals are destroyed within the time limit of 30 minutes, whoever has inflicted the most amount of damage on the other crystal will be the winner. annndddd~errrrrr~ the reason we are using this method is errrrrr~ummmmmmm...."The King pauses mid sentence as he thinks about the conclusion.

"To battle the Eye of the Midnight Sun, all of your individual squads must learn to work together. Which means that your strategy will require cooperation, not just fighting and pushing forward through pure brute force. We determine this exam method will be the best possible way to assess it." Julius explains for the King.

I see...Wait, does that mean we have to work with members from other squads?

"Without further ado, let's announce the teams!" Julius smiles as a magic board appears with names inscribed on it. I scan it and look for my name, I spot it on the bottom.

Let's see, Asta, Mimosa Vermillion and... Xerx Lugner...? Who is this person?Hm!? This magic!

I whip my head up and see a shadow dropping down from the wall above the Magic Emperor

"Excuse me~! Sorry for being late~!" A deep voice calls cherrily.

"Though, being our Magic Emperor, I'm sure you can forgive a little tardiness on my behalf, right?" The man gives a slight snicker.

Spiky red hair and sinister blue orbs.

"Who's that!?" Asta yells in slight anger. The man looks me in the eye as I stood next to Asta, slightly protective.

"I'm Xerx Lugner, pleased to meet you."

He's trouble, for sure.