Chapter 2: Disappointment; and 6 months!

A/N: Warning - People might get pissed at reading this chapter, but I tried to find a decent reason to not make pre-timeskip Asta as strong as Post-timeskip Asta x10. Otherwise, I feel like this story would get boring too quickly (since it would just be Asta blitzing every villain). I will do my best to add/change stuff from the canon though in order for it to be different. (I say "do my best", because if I do it, it needs to not fuck up the storyline lmao)

Some things will remain the same, even if it seems forced, but it's because I'd say they're major plot points that acc effect how the story goes.

P.S. If it wasn't clear, there will be more than 1 love interest, most likely 2 max since I don't really wanna add anyone else.

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Previously:

"YUNOOOOO!-" Yuno, who had a massive headstart, could be seen being chased by a wild, small beast, both having smiles occupying their faces as they headed back to where they belong, where their family is.

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In Hage Village, one of the landmarks of the rural place was the skull of a demon slain by the First Wizard King.

In this landmark, you could see Asta, a short, muscular boy, sitting on a log with his grimoire placed next to him.

"Yo, Asta" An excited voice was heard, with an owner nowhere to be seen, presumably.

"Liebe..." Asta looked at his grimoire with a smile, "What's happened to us?" His smile turned into a serious face, to which Liebe - The owner of the voice - responded with a serious tone.

"I have no idea... but it's clear to see you've gone back in time for some reason" Liebe stated, causing Asta's smile to beam extravagantly.

"Then that means...!" He exclaimed excitedly, but not before being shot down by Liebe's next words:

"No. I thought the same when I realised what happened to us... but it appears all your abilities have been locked for some reason, whether it's all your swords, your ki, or our Union form, etcetera"

Asta's smile turned upside down into a frown, and sighed in disappointment.

"Shame... but oh well" His frown then turned into a smirk, "I guess I'll just have to train even harder than before!" He announced, punching the palm of his hand with the fist of his other hand.

- 6 Months Later, The Magic Knights Exam: The Venue -

The magic knights, nine squads of mages specializing in battle that work directly under the command of the wizard king.

This army of heroes risks their lives to protect the kingdom. They are admired by the entire nation.

Currently, the Magic Knights Exam was taking place, with the start consisting of Anti-birds pecking contestants based on how low their magic power is.

And as expected, with no change, Asta was pecked by over a dozen birds all over. He stood firmly with his arms crossed, showing off his well-trained shoulders, biceps, and every other arm muscle - not being effected by the barrage of pecks and pulls of the birds.

'Well... time to do absolutely nothing until the battle phase' Asta sighed on the inside, not forgetting the embarrassment he went through the first time he took the exam.

Suddenly, a contestant on the run from the birds' constant pecking accidentally bumped into Asta's shoulder at full strength, causing him to stumble forward, causing a domino effect and bumping into someone else of large stature.

'Ah shit... not again-!' "Sorry for bumping into you!" 'Man, I forgot how scary Captain Yami was' Asta shivered slightly at the oppressive aura of Yami Sukehiro, captain of the Black Bulls.

"You wanna die, runt?" The captain looked down on Asta with his dead, murderous eyes, letting his aura loose even more, intimidating even the mages purely spectating this scene.

"I've already apologised for bumping into you, sir. Now sorry, but I have an exam to do if you don't mind" Asta spoke calmly, surprising Yami, before walking past him.

'Interesting... his body, he definitely puts a lot of effort in training it, almost as if he's a warrior rather than a mage' Yami thinks, smirking on the inside slightly, 'And not just that, he wasn't intimidated in the slightest when facing my mana so close... what the fuck has he gone through to be able to withstand it?' He finished his thinking.

Shortly after, a calm voice filled the arena, gathering every contestant's attention.

"Thanks for waiting... invited examinees" The welcome was followed by multiple footsteps getting closer and closer bit by bit, causing the anti-birds to disperse in union.

Soon, 8 figures popped up high in the stands, causing an uproar of cheers

"WOAHHHH!" The crowd of examinees cheered in excitement and awe

"That's the captains of the Crimson lions and the Silver Eagles!" A fanboy shouted

"All of the Captains of the magic knights together! Wow!"

Each captain is as strong as 100 mages MINIMUM, truly showing off how impressive their position is, and how strong they really are.

It is also a requirement to become a captain before becoming

"...The wizard king!" Asta cheered, never forgetting his life goal that he WILL achieve, no matter what.

Shortly after, Yami went up and joined the other captains, filling the 9th spot.

William Vangeance, captain of the Golden Dawn squad, as well as the body sharer with Patolli- Wait, does that count as a spoiler? Oh well.

He mutters "I'm going to be in charge of the exams this time..." to the other 8 captains. He pulls out his grimoire and chants "Magic Tree, Descend!", spawning a tree in the sky - its branches growing to each contestant and creating a broom, before disappearing.

He closed his book and announced "We shall now begin... the Magic Knights Exam!" striking nervousness in most of the examinees.

First test was the broom flying test, which obviously, Asta wasn't able to do. Rather than embarrassing himself and nearly breaking the broom in half like previously, he stood patiently... until the final test.

All the captains, minus Yami who watched with interesting and laughed on the inside, spectated Asta's carefree actions and chatted amongst themselves whilst the exams were going on.

"What does that peasant think he's doing... Maybe I should go down there and 'Test' him myself..." A silver-haired captain said calmly in disgust.

"Calm down, Nozel, maybe he's waiting for something?" A Fiery captain responded patiently.

"As if! Kekeke, I'm sure that guys mana reserves are just so pathetic he's not even bothering to do the exam" A scarred man cackled, causing Yami's eyes to widen, albeit very slightly, in realisation.

'Could it be...? Does the lad not have any mana? But there's no way... atleast, there SHOULDN'T be a way' He thought to himself, looking over at William and seeing who also watched on, in his own thoughts.

"Taking the exams with so little mana, what a fool" A big, fat man said deeply.

"Enough, it's time..." William begun, standing up from his seat and stepping forward for the examinees to hear and see, "Next... is the final test! In this test, you will engage in actual combat. Pair up with somebody, and you will fight him or her"

"You're allowed to use your grimoire, as I'm sure most of you have mastered a spell or two at least..." He said ominously, glancing at Asta for a split second, "Feel free to go all out, after all, we have healer mages at the ready. Now pair up" He sat back down.

"Hey you! You can be my opponent!" A familiar Ba-ha guy approached Asta and requested.

'Ba-Ha guy!' "Sure thing" Asta accepted.

"First contestants, get on the battlefield" William commanded, setting the stage for Asta vs Sekke.

"Let's put our ambitions on the line and fight with everything we've got, fair and square, all right?" Asta walked forward, with Sekke behind him, who had put him hand on his shoulder

"Don't worry, you can let your ambitions come to an end now. You may as well as I plan on beating you all the way back to the boons where you belong. Now run along before I embarrass you, and then become a laidback magic knight member living the best life" He said, trying to sound as ominous as possible, having put his face right next to Asta's ear so only he could hear.

"Heh, do your worst..." Asta said as Sekke walked away, expecting the easiest victory of his life.

Little did he know, someone would certainly get the easiest victory of their life... and it wasn't him.

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A/N: I feel like Asta's 'worries'/questions were kinda underwhelming, but at the same time: When writing this, I feel like that was exactly Asta's character.

Thanks for reading

Hope you enjoyed

Have a good day

Any suggestions, etc, put in comments/paragraph comments

I do my best, don't be too harsh ples-