Chapter 7: Dungeon 1

After a short period following the end of the battle, Asta, Noelle, and Magna return to the Black Bull headquarters.

Yami, proudly: "Hahaha, you guys did it! You gave them a good beating over there. Great job, you foolish rascals!"

Fansa: "Thank you for your hard work."

Asta and Magna, loudly: "Oooh!"

Vanessa, continuing: "The forensic mages are investigating the property left by the criminal, but it seems they aren't extracting any useful information from it." She pauses for a moment, then continues, "I fear he might be an extremist from one of the noble families since his watch is very expensive."

Vanessa, admiring: "Ooh!!! This little bird is so beautiful."

Asta: "It just follows me everywhere I go."

Yami, raising a small star between his fingers: "The Magic Emperor acknowledged our work and gave us a star."

Asta, questioning: "A star??"

Vanessa: "They are symbols of honor and for competition among the nine squads. The Golden Dawn is currently in first place with 70 points."

Yami: "We now have only 30 negative stars."

Asta: "What??!!!!!! Negative?"

Magna: "Oh, that's because we destroyed an entire city in the last mission. We're now in last place, 100 stars behind the first place."

Asta, questioning: "But what happened outside? The place is completely destroyed. Were we attacked?"

Finral: "Two dragons fought outside."

Asta, incredulous to the point his eyes bulge: "Whaaaaaaat, two dragons?"

Vanessa: "He means Yami and Satoru."

Luck, fascinated: "It was a battle between disasters. I want to fight at that level of combat, really."

Asta: "Is Satoru that strong?"

Finral: "Yes, his fire magic pushed Captain Yami to his limits and they both injured each other severely. But in the end, Yami-san won."

Noelle, analyzing: "So that means he didn't use his other magic, right?"

Vanessa, raising an eyebrow in surprise: "Another magic??!"

Finral: "Yes, another magic. Satoru-san is known among the nobles for his other magic, which places him close to the Magic Emperor."

Vanessa: "Do you mean his fire magic isn't his strongest ability?!"

Noelle: "No, his other magic enabled him to defeat my brother without any difficulty."

Asta: "Really!!! He defeated the leader of the Silver Eagles?"

Noelle: "Yes, not a single spell reached him."

Yami: "And now, this is your salary for the month," handing a bag of coins to both Asta and Noelle.

Asta, excited with stars in his eyes: "Wowwwww, it's moneeeeeeeey!"

Noelle: "Why is it such a small amount?"

After some bickering between Asta and Noelle.

Vanessa, congratulating: "Congratulations on receiving your first paycheck. Now that you have money, let's go to Castle Town. I'll accompany you since I'm free now."

Asta: "Castle Town?"

Asta: "Why don't we invite Satoru?"

Vanessa: "He's already ahead of us."

At the black market, Satoru is walking with a bag of sweets when he suddenly stops in front of a short, old woman.

The old woman, in a raspy voice: "Do you want to try your luck, young man? If you defeat me, you get to keep everything you earned today."

Satoru, smiling knowingly: "Sure, old lady, but we'll play my game."

Old woman: "Sure, young man, come and sit down." Satoru sits and takes a chessboard from the side.

The old woman (with the white pieces) starts the game with the Spanish Opening, one of the most famous openings in chess, aiming to control the center quickly and prepare for attacking opportunities.

Satoru (with the black pieces) is ready to defend.

Both players develop their pieces to active positions. The old woman focuses on developing the bishop to b3, while Satoru concentrates on positioning his pieces toward the center of the board, transitioning the rook and attacking the bishop through Nc3 and d4.

People start gathering around them to witness the most exciting chess match in the kingdom's history.

The old woman prepares to attack the king's flank by setting up for c4 and Nc3, emphasizing control of the center and pressuring Satoru's king's flank. The move Nh6+ was a strong sacrifice from the old woman. Satoru was forced to take the knight with gxh6, opening up lines of attack on his king's flank. The queen sacrifice by the old woman was very clever and led to severe pressure on Satoru, exposing his king to direct attack. The old woman managed to convert the pressure into a final victory by moving the rook to f8, putting Satoru in checkmate. This move demonstrated her ability to effectively exploit Satoru's mistakes. Everyone claps warmly for this entertaining match.

Satoru, taking out a bag of coins: "This is my loss, this is my salary for the month, old lady. Spend it wisely."

Old woman, with eager eyes: "It's still early for you, my child, but you have a great future."

Satoru turns to see his friends Noelle, Vanessa, and Asta among the crowd.

Noelle, admiring: "That was a good match."

Vanessa: "Yes."

Asta: "I didn't understand anything that just happened."

Noelle: "That's typical of you, Asta."

A raspy woman's voice: "Thief!" They look to see the old woman lying on the ground saying, "Return it, that's this granny's money."

The thief uses magic to escape: "Wind Magic: Thief's Cloud."

Asta rushes off, the little bird by his side, to chase the thief.

Noelle: "How dare he steal under the noses of the Magic Knights?"

Zeke (the boha boy): "Boha!"

Satoru, smugly: "Hahaha, see, old lady, this is what happens when you trick me."

Noelle: "Stop it, Satoru."

The boha boy summons a magical bike made from his bronze magic (it's really ugly), then looks at Noelle and Vanessa: "Leave this to me, ladies, and follow me to watch."

Vanessa, horrified: "It's so old."

Noelle: "So disgusting."

After some unnecessary drama, Asta returns the money to the old woman.

Satoru, with a gangster's face: "Tsk, you're lucky, old lady."

Old woman: "Thank you, young Magic Knights."

Asta: "Take care, granny."

After a while.

The old woman: "Magic Knights, hohohoho."

The granny transforms into a middle-aged man (the current Magic Emperor: Julius Novachrono).

Julius: "I haven't seen this kind of magic before, but is it even magic! What an interesting child."

Then he looks at Satoru, who turns to meet Julius's eyes. "You're still as impressive as ever, Satoru-kun."

To be continued in the next chapters.