A few hours later, Ray was bubbling with anticipation as the final fights died down. It was soon time for the selection. Asta was challenged by Npc C, only have his ass handed back to him. Yuno also passed the final exam smoothly beating Salim Hapshass with one move.
Once, all remaining fights had died down, vangeance stood up from his seat and spoke,
"And that marks the end of the examination. Now… each examinee will come forward when their number is called out. The squad captains will raise their hands if they want you to join their team. It is up to the examinee to accept their offer or not. And if more than one captain raises their hand, it is up to the examinee to choose. However, as mentioned before, if there are no takers, the examinee will not be able to join the magic knights." Saying, that he turned and sat down once again.
Once, Vangeance sat down, an announcer by the side, began.
"Examinee No.1 please step forward…"
*CHATTER!*
"Examinee No.32…"
"The purple Orcas"
*CHATTER!*
"Examinee No.78…"
"The Crimson lions."
*CHATTER!*
"Number 118… No offers."
"Number 141… No offers."
*CHATTER!*
"Next, Number 164." Yuno stepped forward.
Suddenly, all captains raised their hands. The arena fell dead silent. Asta freaked out, mouth hanging open in unfiltered amazement, While Ray smirked at the famous scene from chapter 3.
{A/N: or was it from chapter 4? I don't remember…}
Yuno smiled to himself. 'I'll take the best path… to become the wizard king…'
"Please allow me to join Golden dawn." Yuno said.
Vangeance simply smiled at his win.
"Next, Number 165." This time asta stepped forward. However, no hands were raised.
"I'm not surprised." Yami stepped forward, "No matter how high your combat skills are, if its based on suspicious powers, no one will want a part of it. In the end... the most important thing about a magic knight is…" Yami raised his hand and took a drag while continuing, "…is his/her magical powers."
He then jumped down to the arena floor and released an incredible amount of magic energy. "You said that your going to become the wizard king. So your saying your gonna surpass us, the captains? How about with me in front of you now? Can you still say that, even though you have no magical powers?" Yami said, stopping right in front of asta. Ray felt like he should intervene. Even though it might not be of much help…
"Even if I can't join the magic knights today… No matter how many times I fall… No matter what anyone says… one day, I WILL become the wizard king!" Asta said resolutely, not backing down infront of captain yami's enormous magic power. The arena fell silent.
*HAHAHA!*
A loud laughter boomed through the silence. Yami laughed heartily. "You are definitely interesting. Join the Black Bulls." Asta looked dumbfounded. So, yami added, with a extremely ferocious face. "By the way, You don't have the right to refuse. One day… prove everyone wrong and become the wizard king."
Asta looked up at captain yami and then after a brief pause replied, "Yes sir!"
Yami grinned then returned to the podium, while the announcer continued calling out numbers.
"Number 183, please step forward." Ray gulped and stepped forward. Nero also flew from his head to his shoulder, pecking his ears lightly in encouragement(?).
*SILENCE…*
No one raised their hands. Ray felt his heart clench up. He had expected this but, still. He hoped that maybe his combat prowess would help but… like Yami spoke earlier, with no 'magic power' there is no chance for him to become a magic knight. Ray nearly gave up. But Nero pecked him back to reality. He took a deep breath and spoke,
"Respected captains. I know you may think that I have no magic power. But that is only because I cant access those reserves, without activating my grimoire. This is a special type of grimoire that seals my internal magic usage and slows down my initial strength progress in exchange for explosive powers latter on in life." Ray lied. Nero looked at him in mild amusement. This statement of his got the attention of the captains, particularly Yami, since he was, in a way a defective product. Yami stood up (again) and spoke,
"Sure kid, you may have your reasons for being weak right now. But from what I observed of your ki, you have no rigid resolve. Many come here with dreams of fame, riches and resolve themselves to achieve those dreams. But you? This entire time you have been watching over this dumbass…" He pointed to asta, "…and mr ice over there…" he pointed to yuno before continuing, "… like a worried parent, with no care of your own performance. You even got ready give up when no one here raised their hands. So tell me. WHERE IS YOUR RESOLVE? WHAT IS YOUR RESOLVE!" He shouted. Ray was rattled to the core. "With no resolve, you're not welcome here. Leave, you disgrace." Yami said, stomping the cigarette he was smoking underfoot.
Ray stood there wide eyed. Not able to process anything. Time slowed down for him. His thinking speedup.
'Why… exactly did I come to this world? Why did I stick around? Because that damn Reio sent me here yeah? But… I don't really have any connection with any characters here. They'r all part of a book. So why… why do I feel the emotions towards them. Aren't they just some 2d characters who became 3d?' Ray looked over to asta, who was shouting something. Yuno looked just as worried. He felt Nero pecking his forehead over and over again. He saw the guards moving towards him, but all of it was in slow motion for him.
*WHAT IS YOUR RESOLVE?!*
*WHERE IS YOUR RESOLVE!?*
Yami's words thundered in his head.
'Asta… Yuno… Nero… why do you guys care about me…?' Ray asked himself. But as soon as he said that, he knew the answer to it.
*You are no longer the boy from Chicago… your no longer Noel…*
A voice sounded.
*Noel died on earth… you are Ray. With Noel's memories… Noel's wishes... Noel's hope...*
The voice faded out.
Ray's eyes widened as something began stirring within him. His soul, which had been a mix of two different souls, one Noel's and the other Ray's began merging into one, as Ray felt a resolve bubble within him.
'What do I want to do in this world?' Ray thought, and yet, without even thinking more about it, he now had an answer, 'I want to protect the characters I love. I want to be a part of their lore. I want to create my own tale. My own story. And… most importantly, I want strength. Strength to stop the disasters that strike this world in future. And my most fastest route to doing that…becoming a magic knight.'
Ray's resolve had formed. A pressure was released from within him. As if a dam had loose all of the stored water within it.
*DING!*
Hidden Criteria met for unsealing of growth potential!
Congratulations User! You have formed a resolve to follow, in this world!
Unsealing all sealed abilities from the last 6 months!
Delivering stored Reishi value!
*DING!*
User Data –
Name: Ray
Age: 15 (+18)
Race: Human (Quincy)
Magic (Reishi): 500 +500 +984: 1984
STR – 20 (Affect's User's Natural Strength)
DEX – 23 (Affect's User's Natura Speed)
DEF – 16 (Affect's User's Natural Toughness)
INT – 143 IQ (Gifted)
Innate talents: [Archery (Unsealed) Lv. 0.5], …, [Hand-to-Hand Combat (Unsealed) Lv. 2]
Grimoire – Quincy Cross
Spells – [Seele Schneider], [Hirenkyaku Lv.1], [Kojaku], [Heilig Pfeil (New!)]
The Captains were stunned at the amount of 'Magic energy' being released from him. His magic power now was approximately 3.5 times more than a second ago. Yami grinned at the display. He light a cigarette and jumped down, releasing his own magic power, which immediately overwhelmed Ray's.
"Looks like you've made up your mind." Yami said, grinning. "Join the black bulls. You'll fit right in. and plus, it doesn't seem like anyone wants you anyway." Yami pointed behind him, at the podium, where the captains looked on with mild amusement, but no real interest.
"Even if they did ask me to join them, I'd still pick you. Take care of me Captain Yami" Ray said, grinning. His eyes now, no longer saw this world from a reader's perspective. Like a superior being surveying and trying to control the flow. No. Now, it was his world. The 'Characters' were a part of his life. Real. Living. Breathing. And most importantly, human.
{A/N: Whew! That was tough work… writing this emotional turmoil part gave me quite a pain. I'm not exactly a professional at writing such scenes, but for my first try, I think its pretty decent. Whad'ya think? Share yer thoughts with me down in the comments!}