"Ah!"
Ryoma immediately felt a sense of collapse.
This time, he really dug his own grave. He had only just joined the Magic Knight Squad and he was already drafted.
Yami's large hand remained on Ryoma's shoulder.
"Kid, your magic is suitable for that mission."
Yami withdrew his hand, exhaling a thick smoke ring. In the swirling smoke, his voice deepened.
"Compared to pure destructive power, this ability to control battlefield information and toy with an enemy's senses is much rarer and much more dangerous."
Yami's words made everyone present fall into deep thought.
That's right.
Ryoma had not unleashed a single offensive spell from beginning to end. He had only created distorted illusions.
Illusions so realistic that even Luck's beast-like intuition could be deceived.
This had led two battle-hardened Magic Knights to make fools of themselves, exhaust all their magic power on their own, and almost dismantle their own base.
This kind of power was terrifying to think about. However, it also held a very strong advantage when others didn't understand it.
Large-scale attacks were indeed effective, and didn't even require much power.
Magna and Luck failed to break through entirely because they were interfered with by the opponent, and they hadn't hit the right area.
Yami ignored the others' shock, changing the subject. A hint of sharpness gleamed in his lazy eyes.
"Perfect, your ability can be put to use right now. But for tonight, get some good rest. You'll go on your first official mission tomorrow morning."
Mission?
"Oh! A mission! I want to go too!"
Before Ryoma could react, a figure shot in front of Yami.
Asta instantly became hyped up, raising his hands and shouting, his face full of anticipation.
But Yami's glare, which seemed to say "Make another sound and I'll kill you," sent him recoiling.
While Asta was petrified, Yami had already ignored him, yawning and turning to walk further into the base.
As Yami walked, he suddenly turned back to look at Ryoma and said, "Tomorrow morning, gather in the hall."
"If you dare to be late…"
As Yami spoke, his expression instantly turned dangerous.
"I'll kill you."
Ryoma immediately felt a bit dispirited.
Damn it! Forced labor, and employing child labor, I'll sue you!
Ryoma could only follow behind Magna into the Black Bulls' headquarters.
Magna led Ryoma and Asta to their respective rooms.
They were two small cubicles, the light feeling even dimmer than outside, and a faint scent of dust hung in the air. It was clear they hadn't been cleaned in a long time.
A bed, a desk, a nightstand, and a small floor-standing bookshelf almost completely filled the room's space.
Asta, however, was very excited about this. It was his first time having a room all to himself. He immediately pulled out a pile of tools from somewhere and began to clean.
Ryoma, on the other hand, felt like he might be regretting his decision.
Thinking about Yuno's luxurious room, and then looking at his own small, shabby room, he felt a bit unbalanced.
He suddenly wondered if the rooms assigned would have been better if he had joined one of the other Magic Knight Squads.
...
The next morning.
Ryoma arrived early in the hall below, where a few other people were already present.
Asta, in particular, had woken up very early, or perhaps he hadn't slept all night from excitement.
Yami saw Ryoma arrive, looked over, and began to explain the mission in detail.
"Recently, a group of spies stole confidential documents from the kingdom."
"The contents are research materials about some ancient magic, and they absolutely cannot fall into the wrong hands."
"According to intel, they are currently hiding in an abandoned mine. That place has been converted into a huge labyrinthine stronghold."
Hearing this, Magna snorted disdainfully, "A labyrinth? Just leave it to me. I'll blast my way through and flatten the whole place."
"Too noisy!"
Yami scolded unceremoniously, "If it were that simple, it would have been dealt with already."
He explained the true difficulty of the mission.
"The core of that stronghold is protected by an extremely troublesome barrier."
"And the documents must be brought back intact."
"Once inside the barrier's range, all of an intruder's senses will be completely disrupted."
"What's more troublesome is that it interferes with your five senses. What you see, hear, and smell could all be false."
As Yami spoke, he looked at Ryoma.
Luck and Magna, who had experienced something similar, also turned their gaze to Ryoma.
Yami's expression grew serious as he said, "Our scouts reported that this barrier has an especially huge impact on sensory magic users. It will make your teammates appear to have an enemy's magic fluctuations in your perception. It will turn the shouts of your companions into the roars of enemies."
"The result is that teams that went in were completely wiped out due to infighting before they even found the enemy."
"So, this mission isn't about fighting. It's about getting the items back."
Yami's voice trailed off.
"Tch, making it so complicated." Magna pouted, "It's not manly at all."
"Can't we have a big fight? How boring." Luck mumbled, looking unenthused.
Ryoma stood by, listening quietly, his brain working at full speed.
A barrier that distorts space and perception…
Isn't this exactly his specialty?
As if to confirm his thoughts, Yami looked directly at Ryoma. "Your magic is perfectly suited for this mission."
Hearing this, Luck and Magna had completely lost interest and were about to sneak away.
"As for your partners…"
Yami spoke slowly, as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
He extended two fingers, one pointing at Luck, who was about to slip away, and the other at Magna, who was also thinking of leaving.
"It'll be the two of them."
The air, in that instant, solidified.
Two seconds later.
""Ha?!!!""
Two deafening screams erupted simultaneously.
"Are you kidding me?!"
Magna exploded first, pointing at Luck as if he were pointing at a pile of trash.
"I refuse to work with this battle-crazed lunatic! He'll attract all the enemies!"
"Eh? With Magna?"
Luck furrowed his smiling face, scratching his head with a troubled expression.
"How boring. Magna is too weak, he'll just drag us down."
"Who are you calling weak, you bastard?!"
"You! The fire magic idiot who was spun around by the dummies earlier!"
"You idiot who only knows how to discharge electricity aren't any better!"
Seeing a new round of base demolition about to begin, a heavy surge of mana erupted from Yami.
That abyss-like pressure instantly silenced the two rampaging idiots.
Yami grinned, a smile that seemed more terrifying than a demon's to them.
"Perfect, this mission will also teach you two idiots a lesson."
Luck seemed to remember something, his eyes lighting up. He instantly regained his vigor, excitedly darting in front of Yami.
"Captain, after the mission, will you fight me?"
Ryoma stood by, watching these two problem children, feeling a throbbing in his temples.
Oh god.
He just wanted to be a quiet Magic Knight, occasionally slacking off and taking it easy.
But on his first day in the squad, he was assigned work and he had to go with these two guys.
Wasn't this difficulty a bit too high?
He felt his future was bleak.
Ryoma took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, trying to maintain a calm expression.
"I understand."
Despite his internal complaints, he calmly accepted the mission.
"Very good." Yami nodded in satisfaction.
"Finral."
"Yes! Captain!" Finral quickly ran over.
"Open a gate for them and send them near the mission location."
"Alright."
Finral glanced at this "death trio" composed of Ryoma, Luck, and Magna, his face filled with sympathy and relief.
Fortunately, it's not me who's going.
He swiftly cast Spatial Magic, and a distorted silver-gray vortex slowly opened before the three of them.