The journey's final stage was an exercise in pure mental dominance. For the last two weeks, Lencar had maintained the [Aura Cloak: Regulator] at a constant Stage 6 mana output. It was a tedious, exhausting focus, but it was essential. He needed to be noticed, but only just enough to be ignored.
When the massive, shimmering white walls of the Royal Capital finally appeared on the horizon, Lencar paused. He knelt by a stream, washing the grime of the road from his face and hands. The boy who had left Hage was gone. The Heretic was fully assembled.
He stood up, pulling his simple, dark traveler's tunic straight. His lean, dense physique, built by fighting the mana of a prodigy, was hidden by the loose cloth. His mind was a quiet storm of power and strategy.
He entered the city through the massive eastern gate. The sheer density of people and magic was a shock. High-ranking noble mages in bright, flamboyant robes flew overhead, their Stage 1 and 2 mana signatures overwhelming the senses of ordinary people. Lencar, filtering the noise through his Regulator, felt a cold surge of certainty. The nobles were loud, arrogant, and predictable. They would not see him.
He activated [Phantom Sight], his integration of Stone and Fire Magic, which allowed him to map the city in layers of magical and thermal energy. He navigated the crowded, bustling streets with the surgical precision of an analyst walking through a spreadsheet. He saw mages casting spells casually, their power levels flashing in his vision. He watched the Royal Knights swagger, their uniforms sharp and their contempt for the populace palpable.
Lencar spent the next week in a small, cheap tavern near the commoner district. He subsisted on meager meals and continued his final preparations.
Final Preparations: The False Identity
He needed to solidify his cover story for the exam. He couldn't appear too strong, or he would attract the Purple Orca Captain, Gueldre Poizot, whose corrupt interest would be an unwanted distraction. But he couldn't appear too weak, or he would be dismissed entirely.
He set the final, unchangeable parameters for his public persona:
Name: Lencar Abarame (The truth).
Origin: Sosie Village (The truth).
Magic: Dual-Attribute: Chain Magic and Fire Magic. (The lie of omission. Both are low-tier, fixed magics, easily explained by commoner parents).
Mana Level (Public): Stage 6. (Just high enough to bypass the initial dismissals, low enough not to be considered a threat to nobles.)
He practiced casting a small, controlled [Compressed Ember] that looked exactly like a standard commoner Fire spell. He practiced summoning a single, stiff, unimpressive [Magic-Sealing Chain]. His true power—the Concealment, Stone, Iron, Needle, and the vast Yuno Mana—remained silent, hidden deep beneath the Regulator.
The Day Arrives
The day of the Magic Knights Entrance Exam dawned bright and loud. The sprawling examination ground was already a whirlwind of color, noise, and magic. Hundreds of hopefuls—from wide-eyed commoners to bored, arrogant nobles—milled around the massive arena.
Lencar blended into the crowd near the back, his three-leaf clover grimoire visible on his hip. He was silent, observing.
Then, he saw them.
A magnificent golden chariot, pulled by shimmering light magic, descended. The Captain of the Golden Dawn, a figure shrouded by a simple mask that nevertheless radiated immense power, stepped out. William Vangeance. Lencar's internal assessment screamed Stage 1/2.
Next, the Black Bulls arrived, loud and chaotic, led by Yami Sukehiro, who Lencar assessed as Stage 0 (Arcane) due to his Dimension/Dark Magic. Lencar felt a sudden chill, realizing how close he was to the plot's epicenter.
And then, he saw them together.
Yuno arrived with the Golden Dawn, standing tall and aloof, his four-leaf clover gleaming. Asta arrived with the Black Bulls, screaming and already getting into a fight with a noble.
Lencar watched them, his mind running a comparison.
Asta: Unpredictable, physically monstrous, carries the ultimate hard-counter (Heretic Mode's inverse). Lencar could fight Asta to a standstill now, but only by risking the devastating Toggle and a full physical confrontation.
Yuno: Total battlefield control, impossibly precise Wind Magic. Lencar's Stage 5 volume and Regulator now gave him the control to understand Yuno's tactics, but not the raw mana volume to overwhelm him.
They were the protagonists. They were the unavoidable variables. Lencar's path was now intersecting with theirs, exactly as the data predicted—only now, Lencar was ready.
The Captains took their seats. Lencar adjusted his Aura Cloak, ensuring his mana signature remained docile and unassuming. He was ready to execute his final, most audacious bluff.
The Wizard King's proxy stepped forward. The ritual of the exam began.
"For the purpose of today's examination, you shall be given numbers," the announcer declared.
Lencar felt the wave of magic wash over him, assigning him a number: 137.
He looked across the arena. The Captains, twelve seats high, stared down at the nervous crowd, judging, calculating, and dismissing.
The announcer raised his hand.
"Magic Knights Entrance Exam... START!"
The die was cast. Lencar was officially in the game.