"Alright, alright, everyone is a member of the Magic Knights, so let's get along," Magic Emperor Julius said, calming the commotion Zora had caused. "Instead of arguing, everyone should find their respective teams first!"
Following the list floating in the air, Mages began to gather in small groups.
Bai En sighed mournfully.
His senior, Gosen, beside him, was once again full of energy, striking up a conversation with the golden-haired princess: "Mimosa, Mimosa!"
"What a coincidence, I didn't expect us to be assigned to the same group."
He patted the Fire Spear at his waist, which was covered in fiery red patterns, and declared boldly, "Don't worry, I'll take care of our promotion!"
"We're definitely going to win!"
Mimosa smiled politely but did not reply.
Gosen continued to chatter, introducing several famous restaurants in the Royal Capital.
Looking at the incessantly talking senior in front of him, Bai En inexplicably felt a buzzing in his head. He thought that he hadn't introduced himself to the other party during their last meeting at the Magic Palace and the Royal Capital's award ceremony, so he interjected, "This is our third meeting, Bai En Lancaster."
"Please take care of me in the upcoming selection assessment."
Mimosa reacted upon seeing the elegant, black-haired youth with a hint of laziness in his brows suddenly introduce himself: "Oh~ I'm Mimosa Vermillion, just call me Mimosa. Please take care of me."
Mimosa had some impression of Bai En: once, at the end of the Magic Palace exploration, he stopped the Mage from the Diamond Kingdom; another time, during the audience with the Magic Emperor, he said he wanted to defeat the Magic Emperor. She originally thought he was a very arrogant guy, but now he seemed pretty good?
She also seemed to have heard Yuno mention that he and this guy were both from Hage Village.
The conversation between the two was limited to this. After the brief introduction, Bai En began to queue in front of the spatial gate conjured by the Magic Emperor's spatial Mage.
Because the assessment was in the form of practical training, the battleground was not the current arena, but a real-world area outside the Royal Capital, filled with various terrains.
——————
Through the teleportation gate, Bai En and his group were transported to a spacious high platform with a very open view. From here, they could see the clear blue sky, fluffy white clouds, and various beautiful landscapes beneath the sky.
Clear, wide lakes, low hills, forests with towering trees, rugged wetlands... "How vast... Is this the venue for the magic crystal destruction battle royale?!" exclamations of surprise rose from the crowd.
After the last person emerged from the spatial gate, Marx updated the floating projection screen, and Magic Emperor Julius spoke, "Everyone, please unleash your full power in this battleground with all sorts of areas!"
"Everyone, please look above. This is the pre-drawn bracket for the elimination rounds."
"Although the outcome of the battle has no direct bearing on whether you pass the assessment, the more you win, the more strength you demonstrate."
Bai En gazed at the elimination bracket on the projection screen. The entire assessment competition was divided into two groups, with each group having four preliminary battles. Winners advanced, losers were eliminated, until the winning teams of both groups were determined, and then the final winner was decided.
He, Gosen, and Mimosa were assigned to Group I, battling Roland, Wesley, and Nix from Group J. The Mages participating in this Royal Knights Squad selection varied greatly in strength, and he had barely heard of his opponents' names.
It seemed his first battle wouldn't be particularly difficult. Would he meet Yuno in the semi-finals? That would be interesting... In any case, he just needed to fight all the way to the end.
"Very good, very good, it seems everyone is just about ready." Thinking of the various types of magic he would see next, as an avid magic fan, Magic Emperor Julius's eyes sparkled.
"You can attack your opponents—but, without a doubt, you cannot kill them! High-ranking recovery Mages are already in position, so everyone, fight to your heart's content!"
"Now, the first round of battle, begin!"
As the Magic Emperor's words fell, two spatial gates opened and closed, and two teams were transferred to opposing gentle slopes.
Bai En's team was in the second group of matches, and before him were four preliminary rounds for the first group. So, this was free time for spectating. Asta, Zora, and Nancy were up first, battling Katus, Rick, and Falti.
Although their opponents were not particularly famous among the Magic Knights, anyone who could enter the Magic Knights was already an elite. Moreover, Asta's team had a "troublemaker"—Zora, disguised as Zacks Lyugner—so the battle was not particularly smooth.
Fortunately, Zora's Ash Magic was very special and rare, capable of absorbing and returning enemy magic, so the first battle ultimately resulted in a victory for Asta's Group B.
The second round of battle also attracted Bai En's attention, as his Aqua Deer Squad senior, Sesk, was also in this round.
Well... Senior Sesk lost.
It couldn't be helped; his opponent was the vice-captain of the Coral Peacock. Although that guy was very arrogant, his strength was undeniable, far surpassing that of ordinary Magic Knights members, so losing was understandable.
"Oh, oh~ It's okay, Sesk, don't worry, I definitely won't forget you once I join the Royal Knights Squad," Gosen said, patting Sesk's shoulder with a chuckle, comforting him.
"When the time comes, I'll treat you to a big gamble at the tavern..."
Group E, where Leopold was, won the third round of battle, and Group G, where Golden Dawn vice-captain Langris was, won the fourth round.
The pace of the selection battles was not slow, so it quickly came to the preliminary rounds of the second group.
And the first round of the second group was precisely Bai En's Group I.
"Group I members and Group J members, please prepare!"
Two pure white spatial gates appeared on the platform. Bai En, Gosen, and Mimosa walked towards one of them. After the figures passed through one by one, the spatial gate closed and dissipated.
Brown earth appeared in their vision, with green weeds growing around, and gray stones only one-third exposed from the ground.
"This perspective really is completely different from standing on the platform," Gosen said, observing the surroundings. In the distance, some remnants of buildings and tall trees could be seen.
"The view from above is better; you can clearly see both teams' members, whereas now, you can barely see the movements of the other team."
"Plant Creation Magic, Magic Flower's Beacon."
Mimosa cast her magic, and a vibrant red flower bloomed. A light-and-shadow disk appeared above the flower. "My magic can observe the enemy's movements. While they haven't made a move yet, let's first understand each other's abilities and then formulate a battle plan!"