The magical lights of the Colosseum hummed with a low, static buzz, illuminating the stone floor where dreams were being weighed, measured, and mostly discarded. The air was thick with the scent of ozone and teenage anxiety.
Lencar stood in line, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his rough tunic, watching the scene unfold. He watched as Asta, the boy with no magic, screamed his lungs out. He watched the silence of the captains, the mocking laughter of the crowd, and then the sudden, crushing pressure of Yami Sukehiro descending from the balcony. He witnessed the moment the Captain of the Black Bulls gambled on the "variable" and recruited the anti-magic boy.
As Asta ran off, tears streaming down his face, screaming "Thank you!", the energy in the arena shifted. The freak show was over. The main event—Yuno—had been claimed by the Golden Dawn. Now, the captains were looking at their watches, bored, ready for the night to end.
"Candidate Number 166: Lencar."
Lencar stepped forward.
This was the moment. Phase Six: The Reject Protocol.
In his previous simulations—the mental drafts he had run hundreds of times—he had considered joining the Green Prayer Mantises for their chaotic neutrality. He had considered the Purple Orcas to exploit their corruption. But as he stood there, feeling the weight of the Soul Crystals in his chest, he realized that any squad was a leash.
A squad meant reports. A squad meant supervision. A squad meant that if he used [Absolute Replication] and turned a man into a husk, he would have to explain it to a Captain.
Strategy: Lencar activated his [Void Pulse]. He didn't use it to turn invisible. He used it to invert his presence. He took the "sharpness" Jack the Ripper had sensed earlier and dulled it. He took the "mystery" Yami had smelled and flattened it into mundane fear. He projected the aura of a boy who had gotten lucky in the prelims and was now terrified of the consequences.
He slumped his shoulders slightly. He kept his gaze on the floor, avoiding eye contact with the balcony.
"Number 166," the Proctor repeated. "Step forward."
Lencar shuffled. He looked unremarkable. He looked like a statistic.
Up on the balcony, the Captains glanced at him.
Jack the Ripper, who had been intrigued by Lencar's evasion earlier, squinted. "Hmph. The kid looks like he's about to wet himself. I thought he was sharp, but maybe he just panicked and got lucky running away. I don't need cowards." Jack crossed his arms.
Gueldre Poizot checked his ledger. "Commoner. No backing. Magic is decent but attitude is weak. Not worth the investment."
Charlotte Roselei didn't even look at him.
Yami Sukehiro took a drag of his cigarette. He stared at Lencar for a long second. His Ki sense was usually infallible, but Lencar's suppression was using the stolen mana signatures of four different souls to create a "white noise" effect. To Yami, Lencar didn't feel dangerous anymore; he felt like background static.
"Boring," Yami grunted.
Silence.
Not a single hand went up.
The silence stretched out, longer and heavier than it had for Asta. For Asta, the silence was shocked. For Lencar, the silence was indifferent. It was the world saying, You do not matter.
"No hands," the Proctor announced, his voice devoid of sympathy. "Candidate 166, dismissed."
The crowd murmured.
"Guess his luck ran out."
"He beat that noble, but he has no spirit."
"Just another peasant going back to the farm."
Lencar bowed low. It was a perfect, humble bow. A mask of disappointment was plastered on his face for anyone watching.
"Thank you for the opportunity," he whispered, his voice cracking just enough to sell the performance.
He turned and walked back to the exit tunnel. As soon as he hit the shadows of the archway, the "sadness" evaporated from his eyes, replaced by the cold, blue light of a compiler executing code.
Result: Success.
Status: Unaffiliated Mage.
Freedom: Absolute.
He leaned against the cold stone wall of the tunnel, waiting. He wasn't leaving yet. The exam wasn't truly over until the protagonists had their final moment. And besides, he had a specific target to acquire in the capital tonight—a criminal broker known to operate in the lower distracts—and he needed the cover of the post-exam chaos to move.
He waited as the numbers climbed to 200, then 300. The sun began to dip below the high walls of the Colosseum, painting the sky in bruises of purple and orange.
Finally, the exam concluded. The massive wooden gates groaned open, spilling hundreds of dejected rejects and excited new recruits into the courtyard.
Lencar moved with the flow of the crowd, drifting toward the secluded area near the restrooms where he knew the "event" would trigger.
Sure enough, voices drifted around the corner.
"I really gotta go! The nervousness is hitting my stomach!" Asta's voice was unmistakable.
"Just go, you idiot," Yuno's cool voice replied.
Asta bolted for the latrines. Yuno stood alone, the golden insignia of the Golden Dawn already pinned to his cloak. He looked like a prince of the wind, untouchable.
But shadows have a way of finding the light.
"Heh... hey there, Yuno."
Sekke Bronzazza stepped out from behind a pillar. He looked wrecked. His clothes were dirty from where Asta had smashed him, and his eyes were bloodshot with humiliation. He had been selected by the Green Prayer Mantises, but only as a meat shield. His pride was shattered.
"Sekke," Yuno said, not even turning fully.
"You and that midget... you think you're better than me?" Sekke's voice trembled with malice. "Just because you got into the top squad? I'll show you... I'll show you the real world!"
Sekke's grimoire flipped open. [Bronze Creation Magic: Sekke's Poison Lizard].
A construct of bronze, shaped like a vile, hissing serpent, materialized. It wasn't a sparring spell; it was coated in a vile purple aura.
"Go! Bite him! Let him rot!" Sekke screamed.
The lizard lunged. It was fast—a cowardly attack from a blind spot.
Whoosh.
A blade of wind severed the lizard's head before it even crossed half the distance.
Yuno hadn't moved his hand. The wind spirit around him simply reacted to his will. The bronze lizard clattered to the ground as scrap metal.
"Pathetic," Yuno said cold. "Is this all you have?"
Sekke turned pale. "I... I..." He scrambled back, terrified by the sheer gap in power, and ran into the night, cursing them all.
Yuno sighed, the wind settling around him. He turned to leave, to head toward the Golden Dawn headquarters.
"That was efficient," a voice spoke from the shadows.
Yuno stopped. He didn't attack. He recognized the voice.
Lencar stepped out from the darkness of the pillar. He was wearing his plain traveler's cloak, his hood down. He looked calm, unbothered by his "failure" in the arena.
Yuno turned fully, his golden eyes narrowing. The two boys from the Forsaken Realm stared at one another. One bathed in the light of the Golden Dawn, the other wrapped in the grey of twilight.
"Lencar," Yuno said. His tone wasn't hostile, but it was probing. "I saw your exam. And I saw the selection."
Lencar leaned against the stone pillar, crossing his arms. "I saw yours too. Unanimous. Impressive, even for you."
Yuno ignored the compliment. He took a step forward. "Why did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Don't play dumb," Yuno's voice sharpened. "I've known you since we were kids. I saw the crater you made in the forest back in Hage. I saw how you moved against that noble today. You didn't dodge because you were scared. You dodged because you didn't want to hit him."
Yuno pointed at Lencar's chest. "You suppressed your mana during the selection. You made yourself look weak. No Captain raised their hand because you forced them not to. You threw the exam, Lencar. Why?"