The next day started off as usual: doing chores and then some time to do whatever. All the Black Bulls were in the lounge area except for Finral and Captain Yami who were called to the Royal Capital for something. Magna was eating pudding while sitting on top of Asta who was doing one -handed push ups. Luck kept pestering Magna to spar with him which he turned down. Noelle came up with the name Silvantus Schnauzer for the anti bird that was seated on top of Asta's head that had been hanging around him. Vanessa said it should have a different name and came up with Wine after her favorite alcoholic drink. Gauche said the bird could use one syllable of his little sister's name Marie and came up with the name Ma. Magna said that the bird needed a cooler name than the one Gauche suggested and came up with Magnum Fire. Noelle said that was a lame name and Magna said she had the worst taste ever. She disagreed saying that he was the one with the worst taste. Grey just breathed out smoke and Gordon muttered that he had an idea for a name and wondered if they were going to ask him for a suggestion. Then Charmy asked if she could fatten the bird up so she could eat it to which Noelle said no. Then she wondered out loud if the bird would lay eggs. Asta stopped counting and added his suggestion to the mix.
"This guy's Birdie Boy." Asta said, stopping mid pushup as Noelle disagreed.
"No, his name is Silvantus Schnauzer!" Noelle argued.
"No, it's Birdie Boy." Asta said back.
"He likes Silvantus Schnauzer better!" Noelle yelled.
"Birdie Boy!" Asta said as the bird was getting fed up with the arguing and pecked him on the head.
"Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow! What's that for Birdie Boy?!" Asta yelled at the bird.
"See? I was right." Noelle said with a smug look on her face.
"You prefer Silvantus Schnauzer don't you? Huh? Huh?" Noelle said in a cutesy tone to the bird who didn't react at all.
"He likes Magnum Fire!" Magna said with enthusiasm.
"Ma!" Gauche threw in his name suggestion again.
"No, Wine." Vanessa added in her suggestion. Luck stared at the bird for a bit.
"Huh... How about we name him Nero?" Luck said as the bird raised its wing in approval.
"There I think he likes it. It means Black. Cool, huh?" Luck said. Asta and Noelle repeated the name, trying to decide if it fit the bird or not.
"I think Nero is the best name of the lot to be honest." Lily said right as a portal opened in the lounge. Captain Yami and Finral emerged from the portal, returning from the Royal Capital.
"Okay, listen up guys." Captain Yami said.
"Yes Yami Sir!" Magna said as he suddenly stood up on top of Asta to greet Captain Yami, pushing him to the floor. Charmy welcomed them back and Vanessa asked what they wanted them to go to the castle for.
"Well Sir? Is it a mission?" Luck said, punching the air in front of him out of anticipation and excitement.
"Kinda. Pay attention everyone. Here's what's going on. I was called in because they discovered a new dungeon." Captain Yami said as Magna got super excited along with Asta who then asked what a dungeon was to everyone's shock, especially Magna who then started to explain what dungeons were: basically tombs where people from long ago hid their valuables. Saying they sometimes contained powerful ancient magic techniques or magic items. Luck added that they also contained trap magic to keep people from getting to their stuff and misusing it, saying that they were really dangerous and fun.
"Exploring a dungeon is like going on a treasure hunt where you could die at any second. You can see why it's the sort of thing they only leave to Magic Knights." Vanessa summed it all up. Noelle then put the pieces together and came to the conclusion that the Black Bulls were being sent to explore it. Captain Yami confirmed her assumption then added it was in a dicy location: near the border of the enemy neighboring Diamond Kingdom. The mission needed to be carried out swiftly and thoroughly to take the good stuff before the Diamond Kingdom could get their hands on it. He added that sometimes explorers have come out of dungeons with items that could change civilization or use the most powerful magic. Asta got super excited and volunteered to go.
"Ooh ooh! Send me, please send me Captain Yami Sir! Maybe I'll be able to learn how to use the most powerful magic." Asta said, raising his hand in the air.
"Yeah? How're you gonna do that without any magic?" Captain Yami brought up a fair point.
"It could work! I won't know until I try!" Asta said with determination.
"Magic power or not, you are going on this mission kid. So are you Lily. Wasn't my call this time so don't look at me. The Wizard King asked for you two." Captain Yami said as both Lily and Asta seemed shocked. Asta yelled in disbelief.
"Hey that's awesome you guys. Good for you two. So, what's the deal? You gotten in with the Wizard King or something?" Magna said as he wrapped his arms around both Lily and Asta.
"Not that I'm aware of." Lily said with a shrug.
"No, not at all. The Wizard King actually chose me and Lily. I don't know why, but oh wow! Wizard King Sir, We've got this! Count on us! We will devote ourselves to this mission bodies and souls." Asta said, speaking for both Lily and himself. Captain Yami then told Noelle she should go too, saying it's all about getting experience. Then he asked Luck to take the lead on this mission, told him to look out for the newbies. Then Finral made a portal to get them near the dungeon. Magna wished them good luck and Charmy said she'd have food ready for them when they got back. After the portal closed, Luck led them towards the entrance of the dungeon. It was a little bit of a walk there.
"Couldn't he have just taken us right to the entrance of the dungeon?" Noelle asked because of the slightly inconvenient walk. Luck chuckled.
"Nope, sorry. Finral can only send people places he's already been." Luck explained how Finral's spatial magic worked. After a little longer, they arrived within view of the dungeon entrance.
"Whoa, looks like he dropped us off pretty close." Luck said in excitement as he, Lily, Asta, and Noelle walked right up to the entrance and stared inside the dark corridor.
"Alright let's do this!" Luck said excitedly as he ran inside. Right as he did, Asta noticed the anti bird sitting on his head.
"Who asked you to tag along anyway?" Asta asked the bird who just blinked twice. He lit the lantern then the three of them followed Luck into the dungeon. Noelle clung to Asta as they walked through the dark corridor. Lily wasn't exactly scared so she didn't feel the need to cling to Asta. She let Noelle cling onto her boyfriend because she knew Noelle knew that Asta was taken already.
"Could you maybe stop clinging like that? I can barely walk over here. It's not like I'm your boyfriend anyways." Asta said to Noelle who seemed quite offended.
"Excuse me?! I do not cling!" Noelle said right as she tripped and accidentally fell on top of Asta, making him drop the lantern which broke and left them in complete darkness.
"I can't see anything!" Asta said as Luck just laughed. Noelle got up off of Asta who then stood up and the four of them then continued to make their way through the dungeon in the dark.
"Ow ow ow. Thank you! I love having my foot stubbed." Noelle complained.
"What do you want from me? It's pitch black in here. Calm down would you?." Asta said to Noelle.
"Well maybe I would be calmer if you hadn't broken our only lantern. You klutz." Noelle said, trying to blame Asta for the broken lantern.
"I only broke it because you tripped and ran into me!" Asta brought up the real reason the lantern was broken.
"I am royalty. Royals don't trip." Noelle said haughtily.
"Clearly, they do." Asta said to Noelle who called him an insect again.
"Actually, I can vouch for that. I was born to a royal family and even I've tripped a few times. There's no shame in admitting making mistakes, even if you are royalty." Lily said.
"See?! Even Lily admits to tripping and she's also royal too!" Asta said to Noelle who just huffed.
"Hmph! Well Lily has no magic power of her own." Noelle said which made Lily a little mad.
"Magic power or not, that doesn't change that I was born to royalty." Lily said right as Luck noticed a glowing brick in the wall. He pushed it and the wall crumbled, revealing the actual interior of the dungeon. They looked around there were glowing particles floating all around with glowing rivers flowing through channels up, down, and sideways on the floor, walls, and ceiling of the massive space. There were sideways and upside down bridges and stairs on the walls and ceiling too.
"Whoa this is like the most awesome place ever! It's so sparkly... so cool!" Asta said, his eyes full of amazement. Luck then commented about how the space was warped because of all the mana. Noelle said she could feel it too. Asta and Lily couldn't sense a thing. Probably because they didn't have any magic power. Asta then sunk to his knees and started to go on a rant about how lucky everyone else was to have magic power and that he wanted it too. He pound his fists out of frustration on the ground and activated some trap magic that made a large wall of sharp rocks shoot up towards Asta who immediately grabbed his sword and cut through it, making it dissipate. Luck then found another magic circle that would trigger a trap and pointed Asta in the direction of it. He then pushed Asta so that he landed on it, setting it off and making the same thing happen again. Asta cut through it with his sword. Luck then landed on multiple trap magic circles, setting them all off. Some of them were fire traps and some were water traps. Lily and Asta sliced through them with their anti-magic weapons while Noelle just stood there freaking out. Suddenly, Luck seemed to sense something and encased his feet with lightning boots and took off, saying something important had come up and to explore the dungeon on their own.
"You have got to be kidding. This is just ridiculous. Captain Yami tells him to look after us and he leaves us the first chance he gets? What a jerk." Noelle said as the three of them walked through the dungeon together.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. Whatever traps are in this place, Lily's scythe and my sword will slice right through them, no big deal, easy." Asta said as Lily nodded.
"Taking on a dungeon like this is nothing. And do you know why? Because I'm gonna become the Wizard King." Asta said told Noelle.
"Or I become the Wizard Queen." Lily added.
"Here we go again. Wait, the Wizard Queen?" Noelle said.
"Yeah it's the same title, just different gender. I'm competing with Asta and Yuno for the title." Lily said.
"That's right Yuno, that job is gonna go to me!" Asta said with confidence.
"Or me." Lily added.
"Yuno?" Noelle said, seeming puzzled.
"Oh yeah, haven't I mentioned him before? He's an old friend. We grew up together in Hage Village. We both took the Magic Knight's Entrance Exam this year. The Black Bulls got me, and the Golden Dawn got Yuno." Asta told Noelle about Yuno.
"That's pretty amazing. They took a commoner? That's rare, or maybe unheard of." Noelle said, seeming surprised.
"He's also my long lost twin brother." Lily said as Noelle started to connect the dots.
"That suddenly makes a bit more sense. You did say you were born to a royal family in the Spade Kingdom after all." Noelle said.
"Yeah Yuno's pretty amazing alright, but he isn't gonna beat me. Not a chance!" Asta said, looking ahead. Noelle then thought more about what Lily said about Yuno and her being siblings and got confused.
"Wait, how did Yuno end up in Hage Village? Did he run away with you?" Noelle asked Lily who shook her head no.
"No, Yuno disappeared later the same day we were born. I think he was kidnapped or something. All I know is that Yuno was found abandoned at the church in Hage Village on our birthday according to the priest of the church. So I'm assuming someone with teleportation magic took him, considering how long it takes to get to the Clover Kingdom from the Spade Kingdom. I would know, I've done the trek. It was only by some crazy chance I was reunited with him." Lily said as Noelle listened intently.
"I see." Noelle said. Asta then clarified some details.
"Yeah Yuno and I were both found abandoned at the Hage Village Church as newborns. Lil didn't join us until about ten years later." Asta said.
"Actually it was almost eleven years later. Remember I met you on September 24. Our birthday was next month on October 4." Lily corrected Asta.
"Oh yeah. Anyways, come on let's go. Ready?" Asta said as he and Lily continued to walk through the dungeon while Noelle stayed in place.
"What's up? Something wrong?" Asta asked Noelle, itching the inside of his nose with his pinky finger.
"No! Of course not! Insect. Well? Hurry!" Noelle said as she briskly walked on past Asta and Lily. Suddenly, she stepped on a trap magic circle. Vines grabbed and restrained her and a giant carnivorous plant appeared. It brought her closer to its gaping jaw-like leaves towards its center where there was an opening like a mouth with purple acid inside. There were skulls and bones of its victims floating in the acid. Asta acted quickly and cut the vines with his sword, yelling at Noelle to get away from the monstrous plant. But then the plant grabbed him and Noelle again. Lily grabbed her scythe and cut the vines, freeing Asta then Noelle but shortly after got grabbed herself. Asta and Noelle got ensnared again. Right as the three of them were about to be eaten by the plant, Lily had her grimoire open to her water spells section. She cast several water balls at the plant. At the same time, knives made of wind pelted the carnivorous plant from behind them, killing it.
"Such powerful magic... with precision too. But... whose spell was that?" Noelle said as she, Lily, and Asta looked in the direction from where the wind spell came from to see Yuno and two of his squad mates.
"And with that, my debt is paid... Asta. Good to see you again, Lily." Yuno said with a smile.
"Hey Yuno." Asta said, returning the smile with one of his own.
"Yuno, twin! Heyy! It's been a while." Lily said, excitedly waving at her twin brother.