The Dungeon Exploration Begins!

The Golden Dawn base sparkled against the sunlight that bounced off from it. The sun was high above the land and its rays hit anything and everything in the area. The small animals on the ground basked in the warmth whilst the birds in the sky had their feathers ruffled in the cool breeze that mixed within.

"Now, today is such a nice day", Lucas thought to himself as he walked forward. The sunlight adding his to his positive mood. He gazed at the birds overhead and smiled to himself and when he looked to his right, he saw some sunflowers on the ground shining from the light.

Lucas was in his element and the two mages in front of him smiled and giggled at seeing Lucas so happy.

"Does he always get like this even when he's with you?" Mimosa spoke to Yuno who was walking right beside them. She looked at the Light mage and just admired how relaxed he was.

"He definitely wasn't at first, but he's become more open with us these past few weeks and this is the result of that", Yuno responded.

By now, almost everyone knew how shy and timid Lucas was, and at times still is, but he had focused on trying to overcome that within the squad. Over the few weeks he had been in the squad, he's slowly made a few friends which, at the start of his journey, he never thought he would be able to do so.

Lucas finally snapped back to reality and saw the two mages staring at him and smiling. "H-hey guys, sorry about that. It's just such a nice day!"

Mimosa waved her hand. "Haha, no worries. We're enjoying the sunshine too. A part of me even wants this morning briefing to be like the one yesterday where we just have a free day to simply relax again... but maybe that's a bit too hopeful!"

Lucas and Yuno both looked at each other and it seemed like they were on the same wavelength about what Mimosa just said.

"Another day off would be nice...", Lucas started.

"...But a mission would be even better", Yuno finished the sentence off.

The Vermillion looked at the two and smiled once more. "Oh yeah, I forget that you two are always raring to go for missions. Maybe it's just a boy thing!"

The three continued for a few minutes before they entered the common room, ready to be briefed for the morning. They opened the door and entered before they knelt down with the other Golden Dawn members and saw the Captain and Vice-Captain on top of the stairs.

A few minutes passed as Langris gave out the orders for the day and when he moved on to Klaus, three other nights were shocked with what was said to him.

"Klaus, today we're sending you off to explore a dungeon that has recently been discovered near the border between our kingdom and the Diamond Kingdom. It won't just be you on your own though, so we've decided to send the two new recruits alongside Mimosa. I assume you have no quarrel with that?" The Spatial Magic user spoke.

Though Klaus didn't say anything, he was thinking about why he had to be with two peasants on a mission like this. "I understand sending Mimosa, but I don't see how these two could be useful... urgh I guess Captain Vangeance's and the Vice-Captain's orders are final...".

Langris noticed the annoyance in the Steel mage's eyes but didn't comment on the fact. Instead, he turned around to the three mages he mentioned. "Did you two hear that? This dungeon will be good experience for you both. I heard you did a good job with the other dungeon a few days ago, Lucas, so you can help Yuno out if he needs it", he then turned to Mimosa. "Mimosa, this is nothing new for you, so I assume you'll be alright?"

"That will be no problem, Vice-Captain!" Mimosa assured her superior.

"Great", Langris responded and ended the briefing. He walked up towards Vangeance and the morning briefing had concluded. Everyone left for their respective duties including the four that were heading out to the dungeon.

"Woah another dungeon mission! I can't wait..." Lucas turned towards Yuno. "I guess I'm your superior since I have dungeon experience!" he giggled.

Yuno turned around and stared at the ginger-haired mage. "You can't be serious", the mage then tossed a small gust of wind that ruffled Lucas's hair, slightly annoying him.

As the two spoke to each other, Klaus walked forward. "You will not be anyone's superior at all, Lucas. That will be and you two will listen to me this mission. Understood?"

"... Yes...", Lucas and Yuno replied with a low tone of voice.

Mimosa stared at the three mages in front of her. "Will be really okay...?" Sweat fell from her head.

The four mages eventually, after a few hours, made it to the location of the dungeon. The sun was at its highest signalling that it was the afternoon. The way they travelled was in Klaus's steel chariot that he made with his magic which left an embarrassed feeling with the three other mages.

"I never want to get on that ever again", was the uniting feeling that Lucas, Mimosa, and Yuno shared.

As the four Golden Dawn mages walked through the entrance, Klaus began to speak about this particular dungeon and what the dangers that could be brought with it.

"As you know, dungeons are filled with traps from hundreds or thousands of years ago in a bid to protect any treasures that were sealed away. From Letoile's report, the last dungeon she explored with Alecdora and Lucas had a trap that resulted in the three almost suffering fatal wounds. I will not allow that to happen on my watch!" The Steel mage spoke up.

Lucas walked at the back alongside Mimosa whilst Yuno was slightly forward next to Klaus. They traversed the dark hallways that were only illuminated because of Lucas's Light Magic. He simply formed a bright light with his left arm and held it which gave the other three no problem with walking.

Lucas listened to what Klaus was explaining and had mixed feelings about the Steel mage. He turned to Mimosa and whispered these concerns. "Hey, Mimosa. It's clear that Klaus cares about us when he's giving us this information... but why does he treat Yuno and I the way he does?" Lucas spoke with a sad expression towards the end.

Mimosa heard this and tensed up. She knew that differences in status was what essentially governed the Clover Kingdom and she knew the royalty that she was born under was part of that problem. "It's definitely a huge problem with people of a higher status... but I feel as if Klaus is different to most nobles. Our squad is filled with nobles that do not actually care about status as much as the rest, such as Shiren, Hamon, or Letoile... I guess it's something we have to live with...", Mimosa ended her response in a saddened manner.

"That's just weird... surely a person should only be judged on their behaviour or what they do as a person, not because of something that's out of their control", Lucas responded back to which Mimosa simply had no answer for.

Yuno was listening in on the conversation, whilst Klaus was giving orders to the rest, or rather spoke to himself thinking he was being listened to.

"That's what our promise is... what Asta and I promised to change when one of us became the Wizard King...", Yuno thought to himself as he reminisced about a past memory.

FLASHBACK - 10 YEARS AGO:

A snowy and dark day covered the Clover Kingdom, more specifically the Forsaken Realm. A beaten up Asta was on the floor panting and with bruises and cuts to his entire face. He had just gotten into a tussle with an older man who was bullying and stealing from his foster brother, Yuno.

The two came together and spoke about their future goals. As Asta spoke these words;

"I'll become the Wizard King!"

"I'll get stronger and protect you and everyone else!"

"I'm gonna make everyone happier! So we can have nice things!"

Yuno then repeated the same;

"I'll become the Wizard King!"

"I'll get stronger and protect you and everyone else!"

"I'm gonna make everyone happier! So we can have nice things!"

And then in unison, Asta looked to a beaten up Yuno, and Yuno looked to a beaten-up Asta, they declared their challenge to each other;

"Even if you're poor, an orphan... or even us..."

"We can become greater than anyone else in this world. And to prove that..."

"To make Sister and everyone else happy..."

"Let's see who can become the Wizard King!"

FLASHBACK - END

Yuno thought about his and Asta's challenge towards each other. Their entire reasoning for becoming the Wizard King was to help their friends and families to become happier but it was also much more than that. The discriminatory nature of the Kingdom, that the two have now experienced first hand, had touched Asta to his core and he made his decision to eliminate that and to make a free Kingdom for everyone living in it. This promise also resonated with Yuno and they became rivals soon after.

"Asta... I'll be the one to make this Kingdom a more accepting one", Yuno smiled.

At the back, Lucas and Mimosa were just chatting away though they were listening as best as they could to Klaus's instructions that he was telling them. Though, it was hard since he kept on rambling on and on about it. The main things that he listed off were about the traps and information about the treasures that lay inside.

"More treasure, huh? I hope today doesn't result in injuries like the one I explored with Alecdora and Letoile... Now that was scary!" Lucas shuddered at thinking back at the incident with the stone statues. He then paused as he thought back to his dungeon exploration. "I tried to forget the weird sensations of familiarity I felt back then... but why did I feel that way? Why was I able to read some of that ancient writing? Maybe this dungeon is a bit less weird!"

Mimosa noticed the odd behaviour Lucas was exhibiting though. She thought back to yesterday where he seemed to be in a daze during the morning briefing. "Lucas... has been acting odd lately. Perhaps it's nothing too serious so maybe I'll let it go for now".

The four mages kept on walking, still not finding any sort of treasure but still being wary of the potential traps that could be placed anywhere when Klaus stopped in front of them and turned around to face his teammates.

With a deep breath, he spoke, or rather shouted. "Are you three even listening to me?! For the past ten minutes I have been trying to give you information about the dungeon but Lucas and Mimosa and talking with each other and Yuno was daydreaming! Honestly...", Klaus exhaled and sighed.

Mimosa walked up to the Steel mage and tried to calm him down. "Klaus, don't worry. We heard everything you had to say!"

"Oh really? Did you hear about the traps?" Klaus wondered.

"Yes, we did", Mimosa responded.

"Hm, did you hear about the fact that there could be a treasure room?" Klaus asked.

"Yes, we did", Yuno replied.

"O-okay... how about the danger of running into bandits or military from the Diamond Kingdom?" Klaus spoke up.

One second passed...

Two seconds passed...

Three seconds passed...

Klaus then kept on walking. "I knew it. Now let me repeat myself. Since this dungeon is on the border between-", the man was interrupted by two high-pitched screams that came from further down the hallway.

"Wh-who could that be? Citizens? We have to help immediately!" Klaus rushed ahead whilst giving orders to the other three mages.

"It sounds like there are two people! We have to hurry!" Lucas shouted as he joined with Klaus up front.

"Is that...", Mimosa wondered as she heard a familiar sounding scream.

"Is that...", Yuno wondered as he heard a familiar sounding scream.

The two hurried almost immediately upon the realisation of who the screaming was from.

The scene now changed to a huge and open area that was lit up everywhere. There were clear and running lakes on the ground, on the side of the wall and even on the ceiling. This, together with gushing waterfalls, was just a small part of what this enormous room showcased. There were also different staircases leading to other parts of the dungeon.

In the middle of the room, the source of the screaming could be heard.

"Run, Noelle! I've slashed the plant's roots with my sword so let's make a break for it!" Asta screamed as he looked at the monstrous plant that came to attack them. The short-statured Magic Knight was doing his best to escape the situation he and Noelle were in, but it was proving to be difficult.

"A-Asta!" Noelle screamed back as she saw the plant's roots reform and constrict Asta within its grasp. "I know, I'll use my new spell to form a barrier!" The Water mage went to grab her grimoire, but she too was constricted by the plant's roots.

Asta had bright, green eyes and was wearing a plain white tunic with a dark-blue jacket over it, though the sleeves were quite short and only extended to his elbows. He also wore matching shorts which went down to just below his ankles. His shoes were the same colour but with a white colour on the tips. Finishing off his attire, he wore a black headband, with the Black Bulls logo, that kept his spiky, ashen, hair up.

Noelle's eyes were pink and it accompanied her long, silver-coloured hair that was tied in pigtails. She was wearing a short, purple dress that was underneath a custom, silver blazer with an open, backless design. The blazer also had frilly edges, a tailcoat that extended down to her knees, and it also extended up to her neck with a choker that was held together with a gold locket. Apart from all this, she also wore white leg warmers with a pair of sandals.

The two started to scream as they were pulled closer to the huge plant's mouth. Asta's eyes gazed within the plant's mouth and saw a group of three skeleton skulls that were bobbing up and down within the ferocious acidic liquid that was forming inside.

"This... can't be the end...", Noelle thought.

"Where the heck is Luck?!" Asta thought.

"We're almost there!" Lucas spoke to the other three as he could see the light ahead of the hallway that they were running through. The Light mage was running as quickly as he could but Yuno breezed past him with ease on his Heavenly Wind Ark. "Hmph, no fair!"

"This screaming... there's no doubt it's him. I wonder what sort of mess he's gotten himself into this time?" Yuno wondered, slightly worried about his rival's health.

Eventually, the four mages reached where the source of the screaming was coming from. They saw an enormous purple and green plant in the middle of the open area with two people in its grasp.

"Wind Creation Magic: Wind Blades Shower!" Yuno quickly summoned and created sharp blades of wind and sent them to destroy the thing that was overpowering both Asta and Noelle. With a few swift strikes, the plant was destroyed. Asta and Noelle landed on the floor, with the former on his face.

"Wait... this wind! I know just who it's from!" Asta spoke out, cleaning his clothes from the dirt.

"You... you do?" Noelle wondered, brushing the dirt off her clothes as well.

The two Black Bulls slowly turned their heads in the direction from which the wind came from. They were met with a powerful gust but saw who came to save them.

"Now... I've paid back my debt, Asta!" Yuno smiled down towards his rival.