Friends

Unlike the erratic way he had previously used ki in the cave, Grim finally had the time to sit down and properly feel the ki around him and gain a deeper understanding of this new ability. Coupled with the hypersensitivity brought along by the effects of the Transparent World and the natural way mana bent itself for him, Grim felt like nothing could escape his senses. Even that weak mana signature in the lower regions of the Black Bulls base couldn't escape his detection...

'Wait! Why is there an unfamiliar mana signature in our base?! Are we being invaded!! Are there enemies nearby!!!'

Confused and slightly more excited than he should be, Grim dropped his whole mana control training and charged into the base.

Through the halls, down the stairs and into an unfamiliar room, Grim found himself staring at a thin looking bedridden man with unruly long white hair that covered his eyes and reminded Grim of something called a he*tai protagonist.

Seeing the bedridden man struggling to lift his head, the excitement that Grim previously felt quickly diminished.

'What the hell?! Is this guy really an enemy?'

Seeing his door burst open, the unfamiliar man raised his head and with a smiling face he said. "H-Hello Grim."

Frowning at the sound of his name, Grim suddenly realized that his mana was diminishing and being transferred to this guy.

Surprised and wary, Grim immediately materialized his flame sword and pointed it at the stranger.

Seeing him, the unfamiliar man couldn't help but smile.

"Hot headed and quick to use violence... You're exactly as Asta described."

'Asta?'

---

"Henry Legolant." The man held his hand out.

Shaking his hand, Grim introduced himself. After listening to what the man had to say, he learnt that he was actually an OG member of the Black Bulls that was stuck down here due to his ability to unintentionally siphon off other peoples mana. Luckily for him, he met the mana-less Asta and was able to learn more about the Black Bulls and the current things happening in the Clover Kingdom.

After spending a bit of time here, Grim eventually let his guard down and the two got to know each other better. After being abandoned by his parents from a young age due to his unintentional mana siphoning curse, Henry felt a connection to the amnesiac Grim who couldn't remember his parents and was forced to survive alone in that forest by himself.

For Grim, Henry's siphoning ability wasn't too much of an issue. Due to his ridiculous mana reserves, the amount being siphoned away was pretty insignificant in his eyes.

"So you think you could beat this Licht guy?" Henry asked after hearing Grim's version of how things went down during Licht's fight with Yami.

"Not at my current level." He shook his head. "But if I keep improving at the same rate that I am now, it won't take too long."

Listening to him, Henry nodded. "What will you do after you beat him?"

"Find someone stronger then beat them." Grim answered without hesitation.

"Wow..." Henry said before falling silent.

"What?"

"Its just... Its nice to have a goal." He smiled sadly.

"You don't have one?"

Shaking his head, Henry hung his head.

"What about talking to the others?" Grim suddenly said.

"What?! I can't do that." He shook his head wildly. "If they come near me I'll start siphoning off their mana."

*Sigh* "Y'know, for someone who's been watching us for ages, you sure don't know shit about the black bulls."

"What?!"

"I said you don't know shit about us. Look, I can't speak for everyone but I'm pretty sure that nobody would mind if you siphoned off their mana. Hell, you're siphoning off my mana right now and I'm not complaining."

"But that's because you have so much."

"That's irrelevant to what I'm saying."

"It is?"

"It is." Grim nodded. "You want to be friends with everyone right?"

"I- I do!" Henry said with conviction.

"Good." He smiled. "Then let that be your goal."

"My goal... Yeah, that's my goal! But what if I start siphoning their magic again?"

"Then surpass your limits and stop siphoning." Grim said taking a page out of Yami's book.

"Surpass my limits..."

"Yeah." Grim grinned. "Don't let a shitty curse stop you. Surpass your limits and go make some friends!"

"I- OK!"

---

"I'll come visit you again, don't forget, surpass those limits." Grim waved leaving the room.

"Thanks Grim! I promise to surpass my limits and make friends!!"

Smiling, Grim eventually closed the door and made his way back up to the upper levels.

'Encouraging others really isn't really my thing, but I guess doing it once in a while isn't too bad.' He smiled.

'Now then, should I return to practicing mana control or take advantage of the Black Bulls being gone?'

Thinking about the advantages of each options, Grim eventually went with the later. While he could practice mana control whenever he wanted, he doubted that such an opportunity like this would happen again soon.

Knowing what he wanted to do while the others were away, Grim went to his room and pulled out a map of the Clover kingdom. After finding the location he was looking for, he nodded to himself before grabbing a tattered black cloak and his broomstick.

'I won't be able to use my swords or any defining spells while I'm there, if things go wrong I'm screwed.'

Standing on his broom, Grim took the sky and started flying in the direction he had marked on his map.

'I need to do this quickly, if too many of them gang up on me then I'll probably get discovered and will probably go to jail. *Sigh* It'd be so much easier if I could just fight without having to worry about them discovering my identity... Then again, it'd be pointless if they couldn't force them to use their strongest spells. That reminds me, I should only use one type of magic until I escape.'

Thinking about it, Grim really hated that he didn't know many other mages.

'Is this what its like to feel unpopular?'

Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he saw that he was approaching his destination.

Slowing down, Grim came to a halt and took in the sight.

'So this is what this place looks like... I've got to say... the Blue Rose's base is much nicer than ours.'