Golden Dawn Squad!

Carl immediately smiled.

"Then tell me, if I punched you, would it hurt?"

Asta immediately jumped back.

Was this a joke?

Carl's strength was unfathomable at this point. If she really smashed that terrifying fist into his head, he would probably be unconscious for days.

So Asta became extremely vigilant and started muttering under his breath.

Carl smiled and said:

"If you want to grow stronger, you naturally have to endure greater pressure. And now, it's time for you to prove yourself."

"Finral-senpai is exhausted, so it's your turn to keep draining your stamina. I know the most traditional training method: squeeze out every last bit of your strength. Once you recover, you'll definitely be stronger than before."

Asta's eyes immediately lit up.

A moment later, he nodded frantically.

"Carl, you really know your stuff! When I trained my stamina alone before, I noticed something similar, but I never thought about it that deeply."

Asta scratched his head somewhat sheepishly.

After all, aside from bonds, his head was practically all muscle.

Seeing that Asta had taken the bait, Carl smiled and said:

"Then next, carry Finral-senpai and race forward at full speed. Use your fastest and strongest pace."

"The rest of us will be responsible for catching up to you. How about it?"

Asta leaped high into the air, cracking the ground beneath him.

Then, like an arrow loosed from a bow, he shot away.

The fierce wind lashed against his face.

Finral swayed wildly behind Asta.

"Slow down! The wind is going to tear my face apart!"

But Asta roared:

"Finral-senpai, tempering yourself is an essential part of becoming stronger! Please restore your magic power immediately. Don't let Carl's efforts go to waste!"

Finral was on the verge of tears.

But he also knew that if he did not restore his magic power quickly and create even a small barrier, his physique would truly be shaken apart by Asta.

The others looked at one another.

Magna, standing nearby, looked like he was about to burst into flames.

Naturally, he truly lived up to his reputation as a troublemaker.

The next moment, he somehow produced a motorcycle like the kind ridden by delinquent punks.

The flames spewing from the motorcycle actually carried the aura of fire-attribute magic power. And the source supplying that magic power was Magna himself.

Good grief, he was using himself directly as the "fuel tank."

Magna shouted excitedly in agreement, then chased after Asta.

Looking at Vanessa and Noelle, who remained behind, Carl laughed.

"How should the three of us travel?"

Noelle immediately blushed, then haughtily turned her face away.

"This lady doesn't need you two to worry about her! I have Water Magic. As long as there's a river nearby, I'll naturally be the fastest one here!"

Carl immediately laughed.

"But there isn't a river anywhere nearby. There isn't even a lake."

Noelle froze completely.

Then she clenched her fists.

"I'm telling you, Carl, will you die if you don't tear someone down?!"

However, Carl ignored her and turned to Vanessa, asking:

"Big sis, do you think your magic broom can carry three people at high speed?"

Vanessa immediately began considering the possibility.

Then, the magic broom beneath her gradually grew larger.

When Carl sat in the middle, with Vanessa and Noelle close to her front and back, Vanessa said somewhat shyly:

"After your help, it seems my Fate Creation Magic's magic power recovery speed has increased quite a bit. But I'm not sure by how much, so this is a good chance to test it."

Carl immediately nodded.

Then Vanessa's broom began accelerating in a straight line.

Red threads continuously extended from the broom's tail, like an enormous natural umbrella.

Every red thread bloomed with endless magic power, seemingly drawing greater strength from the air.

And with Carl's encouragement, Vanessa finally reached some kind of bottleneck.

The next moment, a terrifying Mach ring erupted behind her broom.

The entire broom raced away like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Carl immediately leaned back, and Vanessa felt like the two big breakfast meat buns she was carrying had been flattened.

[ Ding, congratulations to the host for receiving Vanessa's temptation. Converted favorability +999 ]

They sped along like lightning.

A luxurious flying carriage emitted a dense magical aura.

Pale green wind-attribute magic power constantly swirled around it.

When several people descended from it, Klaus Lunettes, wearing black-rimmed glasses and exuding an aura of rational intelligence, pushed up his glasses with one finger and revealed an elegant smile.

"Yuno, among all the juniors I've met, your talent is first-rate, nearly at the very top."

"No wonder Captain William Vangeance favors you so highly."

"With your wind-attribute Four-leaf Grimoire, if you can obtain benefits from the Dungeon Ruins during this trial, your future accomplishments will be unimaginable."

Yuno revealed a steady smile.

"Senior Klaus, you flatter me. I still need to work much harder if I want to keep improving."

"My goal is to become the Wizard King."

Even hearing Yuno's dream again, Klaus was filled with admiration.

Then he looked at Mimosa Vermillion, who had light golden hair.

Klaus frowned slightly.

"Mimosa, your task is to protect Yuno and allow him to output magic calmly and continuously."

"Although your plant healing magic is not especially useful, I still hope you will always prioritize supporting Yuno."

Mimosa's face reddened slightly, and she nodded seriously.

"Senior Klaus, I understand."

Klaus jumped down from the carriage and looked at Yuno and Mimosa.

"For this Dungeon Ruins exploration, besides our Golden Dawn, the Black Bulls will also be participating."

"That group of rude and hot-tempered people won't be so friendly, so I intend to make the first move."

"We'll enter and explore first. That way, we'll avoid a lot of trouble."

Yuno's eyes immediately brightened.

"The Black Bulls? Then Asta will be coming too."

As for Carl, Yuno fell silent.

Carl's talent was absolutely no less than his own. He wondered how much she had changed by now.

However, his Four-leaf Grimoire was complete.

The current him was completely incomparable to who he had been before.

Even against someone like the magic thief Revchi, he could definitely win in battle. He would never suffer such humiliation again.

If Carl came, he would definitely give her a huge surprise.

So Yuno was filled with anticipation as well.

Perhaps he could gain even greater improvements in the Dungeon Ruins before they arrived.

Yuno glanced up at the refined Klaus, then prepared himself for departure.

After all, the Golden Dawn's highest priority was completing missions and obeying orders.

Klaus Lunettes-senpai's words were commands.

The three looked at the Dungeon Ruins, which seemed to float above the enormous pit, their eyes gleaming with an unusual light.

Klaus, standing at the front, adjusted his glasses once more, then calmly extended his palm.

"Steel Creation Magic—Earth Drill!"

As Klaus's voice fell, the surrounding air immediately condensed into an enormous magic drill.

Then, in an overbearing display, the magic drill directly bored an opening into the massive Dungeon Ruins.

Yuno revealed an awed expression behind him.

"Senior Klaus's strength is truly extraordinary."

"With magic like this helping us, we'll save far too much time."

"This time, our Golden Dawn is destined to complete the mission first."