บท 3: Chapter 3

'Why does my grimoire look so ominous? There must be some mistake, why couldn't I get a more wholesome grimoire?'

Sato tentatively grabbed the book and was surprised by its weight. He even contemplated asking for a do over, but quickly cast that thought aside. He knew that the book chooses the mage. He just couldn't fathom why such an ominous book chose him.

"We'll be taking the magic knights entrance exams in six months." proclaimed the obnoxious boy from earlier.

"We'll be sure to get in." the other added and the others all seemed impressed by their confidence. Sato just ignored them, holding his heavy grimoire in his hands.

"Good, good. I look forward to it." the elderly mage replied with his voice still amplified.

"Um… My grimoire isn't coming." Asta said, attracting the attention of everyone in the hall. Sato looked over and instantly felt bad for almost laughing. He wasn't making fun of Asta, he just thought it was funny how Asta was on one knee with his arms outstretched, as if receiving God's divine embrace.

"Ahem, er… try again next year." the old magician said, nearly sending Sato doubling over.

Suddenly a bright golden light drew everyone's attention. Hovering, in all its glory, was Yuno's grimoire. Once he took it the light faded and it was revealed to be a rare four leaf clover. Sato whistled, impressed and not surprised that Yuno accomplished such a feat. Though he was a little jealous that he couldn't get a nicer looking grimoire. A four leaf clover was truly a rare thing. So rare and filled with tremendous power and golden luck. It was also the same type that the first Wizard King himself used.

"I'm going to become the Wizard King." Yuno stated with absolute confidence. Sato rolled his eyes at his dramatic statement.

'Become the Wizard King? Why would anyone want something like that? I'm getting a headache just thinking about the responsibility of such a position.' Sato thought while rubbing his forehead.

Everyone else in the hall however seemed tremendously impressed with Yuno's declaration. They all cheered for him and wished him good luck. Clearly captivated by the number of leaves on his grimoire.

"Yuno, just you wait. I'll catch up to you in no time. Because I'm your rival!" Asta yelled, causing all to look in his direction.

For a moment it was silent, until everyone started laughing. Sato, becoming irritated at how they were treating his adoptive brother, made his way towards Asta. Just as he arrived Yuno was walking away. Not before leaving Asta with some words.

"Not possible." He said while Asta was left standing alone.

"Don't worry Asta, I'm sure you'll figure something out. I'm sure it'll all work out, let's get out of here, what do you say?" Sato asked with his arm wrapped around Asta's shoulder.

"Yeah! I need to take care of some things, I'll see you at home, Sato!" Asta said with a smile while running off, leaving Sato behind.

"Sigh, I hope he'll be okay." Sato whispered before making his way to the exit. With his relatively slow walking speed it was sometime before he made it outside. Once out however he stumbled across a scene that made his lip curl.

Yuno stood alone, his path blocked by the same two buffoons who couldn't keep their mouths shut the entire time. Realizing the situation, Sato made his way over, to help his adoptive brother. But he took a step back in bafflement when one of them used his grimoire to launch a wave of fire at Yuno. The flames engulfed him, but as they dissipated, Yuno stood unaffected. He had used his wind magic, without the aid of his grimoire mind you, to completely nullify the attack.

'As expected of Yuno, but still, these kids are crazy. All that for pride. Isn't he also from the boonies like us? Noble or not, calm your tits man.'

Seeing that Yuno had the situation under control, Sato walked over to the edge of the path and sat down. He paid no heed to what was going on and opened his grimoire. Flipping through the pages, he was surprised to find that a few of them were filled in a language he had never seen before. Despite that however, he was somehow able to understand their meaning.

The first few pages were like some kind of bestiary. Each page was filled with an image of some monster, and a description of its attributes and abilities. The first page he stopped on was of an imp looking creature. It had red skin with a set of horns and wings. Blck fur covered its arms and legs. It had solid gold colored eyes and a mouth full of sharp needle like teeth. A long tail and large nose completed the demonic looking creature.

"What the hell is this? What a frightening looking little thing. And what's this down here?" Sato spoke under his breath and peered down at the creature's bio.

"Lesser imp, creature of the infernal. Capable of firing balls of flame at targets. It is also mischievous and will act on its impulse for mayhem if not kept under control. Not physically strong, but is capable of providing fire support with uncanny accuracy. Also capable of flight."

The more Sato read, the more impressed he became. Sure the imp was not very strong. But it would be very helpful as a scout, or even a flying turret. And the name Lesser imp, does that mean that there's an improved version? Sato couldn't wait to find out.

"Aaaah!"

With a start, Sato was torn from his thoughts. He looked over and noticed the two that were accosting Yuno, were now wrapped up in chains. Confused by the sudden development, he looked over towards Yuno.

"I can't let you go and burn that. Don't bother to resist. My creation magic: binding iron chain, restricts the magic and movements of the one it captures." A voice said and looking over at its source, Sato saw a man that looked sleazy.

'Who the hell is that guy? That doesn't matter, he looks like trouble. I should help Yuno.' Sato thought. The unknown mage began telling his backstory, but Sato wasn't interested in listening. Sato activated his grimoire and it levitated while it's pages flipped to his desired spell.

"Creature summoning magic: lesser imp." speaking the name of the spell, a burst of flame came into existence at Sato's feet. Once the flame died out, an imp about two feet tall appeared. It looked just as it did in the book. With a flap of its wings, the imp took to the skies and hovered beside Sato.

At this point, the rogue mage had Yuno already bound with his chains. Finally taking notice of Sato, the mage looked confused. Sato, not giving the rogue mage a chance to act, pointed at him and issued his orders.

"Lesser im-" before Sato could finish, Asta came flying into the scene yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Hold it!" As he leapt from the wall he couldn't stop himself from ramming into the wall and falling to the ground in a heap. Sato, unsure of what was going on, decided to let this play out.

"Who the hell are you!?" Asta yelled, pointing at the rogue mage.

"Why do you have Yuno's grimoire you thief!?"

Back with Sato, he just stood with his arms crossed watching the whole thing. Quickly losing interest in the whole conversation, he looked to his imp.

"You got a name?" he asked, not at all expecting an answer. To his shock however, the imp turned towards him and bowed.

"Hello, master, my name is Dobble and I live to serve." Dobble spoke in a tone filled with respect. Still, he also had a toothy grin while he spoke that was very disconcerting to Sato.

"Ah, well hello to you too, Dobble. My name is Sato, I look forward to working with you." Sato said, holding out his hand for a shake.

"Ahh, the pleasure is all mine, master." Dobble said while performing an even deeper bow.

"Yes, well, later I'd love to get to know you a bit more. But I think we should focus on the task at hand." Sato said, and after looking over, he was shocked to see Asta with a black, dirty looking grimoire with a red glow floating before him.

"What the hell is going on?" Sato asked.