"Asta, I thought I told you not to interrupt any of my meetings.", Kasto was visibly upset seeing him walk in. Lucas then turned back to Kasto with a questioning look.
"I thought you said that all the people under you are commoners?"
"Asta is a hired mercenary, so he is technically not under me. And since he already revealed it, there's no point in hiding it. A mercenary can fight for us and gain rewards from it, but immunity is impossible to get.", Kasto knew that Asta would correct him if he spun the truth too much, so he stopped hiding it.
Still, that didn't mean the negotiation was at its end. Hearing that immunity was impossible to get while working as a mercenary, it didn't answer the question if his actual need would be possible to fulfill.
"If I work for you as a mercenary, can I get this mark removed?", Lucas asked while Asta smiled next to him. Seeing that grin Kasto knew that he wasn't going to be able to make a profit from this exchange.
Asta was someone who had proven himself on the battlefield, and despite being a noble, worked very well with his men. The only issue was his personality, he was extremely studious and knowledgable, giving him the upper hand in almost any negotiation... while also being extremely prideful.
"Fine, you can get it, but it would take a lot of work. Besides, you're still not part of our group.", Kasto decided to take his chances since recruiting mercenaries costed a lot of money and as a group that was already discriminated against, he didn't have a lot of funds.
"What do I have to do to get hired, and what's the payout?", Lucas realized that he would most likely work for Kasto, but if that was the case, there had to be a good deal.
"We give you missions, depending on the difficulty, you'll gain points. You can spend those points in the shop. But if you join us, I want to be sure that it's worth the effort. So not only will you have to prove your strength, but I want the garantee that you'll stay with us for an entire year."
Kasto laid his demands on the table, and to Lucas, who had been running around without any direction, this seemed like a good deal. While Lucas was thinking it over, Kasto glanced at Asta, who just kept grinning. The fact that he didn't say anything to Lucas's advantage meant to him that Asta had his own plans.
Grinning, he waited until he got a firm nod from Lucas. Moving to the back of the mansion, there was an open area.
"During your missions, you'll have to fight against a lot of different people, so I want to check if you have the power to survive. First, show us one of your strongest attacks.", while a simple request, it would reveal his trump cards.
If he didn't show anything impressive, they wouldn't hire him and if he gave away too much, they would be able to copy or recreate the spell or even create countermeasures. So while it seemed like a simple and superficial request, the intend behind it was less than friendly.
Cal and Kasto stood behind Lucas as they assessed his power. Asta was also there for some reason, Kasto wanted to shoo him away, but knew that he held no real authority over him. While he might be a commander of an entire regiment in the army, he was a commoner in a failing regiment that only accepted those of low status.
If Asta at any point decided to cause a ruckus, he would be at the losing end. Besides, Asta was an extremely valuable asset in their group, giving him even less wiggle room.
Lucas summoned a basic Blue Flame Sword and threw it in the air, letting it explode, the power was considerable. Yet both Cal, Kasto and Asta looked disappointed.
"Get your act together, Lucas, is this all you amounted to after all this time?", Asta mocked him, but there was no malicious intent, he was simply saying to Lucas that he needed to really prove himself.
"Fine.", gathering his mana, he released a Dark Beam, it obliterated the trees, rocks, ground or anything else in its way as it moved forward relentlessly. Cutting of his supply, Lucas could see a circle shaped opening for at least a hundred meters.
Asta smiled while Kasto frowned. Using Dark Magic was completely allowed in the Frigus Kingdom, but it was still not a pleasant sight, especially with the Holy Kingdom breathing down their necks. Any sign of blasphemous magic could trigger them to unleash their forces upon Frigus. Still, it proved his strength, so he couldn't complain too much.
'He has an innate gift and has decent powers. He learned spells at an extreme speed and is capable of adapting to the situation during a fight. The reports stated as much, he is worthy of bringing in.'
Kasto thought about it for a little longer before giving Lucas the approval. It didn't take long before Lucas had to sign a contract and was bound to Kasto for about a year. Having Cal lead him around the mansion, Asta stayed behind with the commander.
"Seeing you withheld information in front of him, I assume you want him in your debt?", Kasto asked while he stared at the hole Lucas left behind.
"I see no reason to reveal my plans to you. Lucas is a powerful ally to have."
"I can tell, but still, this attack is easily blocked. If he used this against an actual mage, it would be pretty useless.", Kasto was harsh, but spoke the exact truth. It was a flashy spell with no real weight behind it. He could think of hundreds of ways to block it. The reason he accepted Lucas wasn't because of the firepower of that spell, it was something entire different.
Asta nodded in agreement at his evaluation. "Exactly, using dirty elements is already a sin, but please think of Lucas's background. He's a commoner with two teachers who barely taught him anything, yet he won not only the local competition, but also the national one."
"His achievements are indeed praiseworthy, although I still don't quite understand your belief in him.", while Kasto believed that Lucas was a powerful mage, he was still a beginner in his eyes.
Asta had proven himself and sung praises of Lucas's insight and power, so Kasto had no real issue hiring him.
"Without any backing or help, he achieved this much.", Asta turned around as he prepared his next step, "What do you think would happen if he was given all the resources he needs?"
Kasto frowned as he raised his head to look at the sky. There were plenty of talents where this was applicable, it wasn't a reason to hold such a belief in Lucas. Shaking his head, he thought it would come with the time.
Lucas had been guided through the entire mansion, which didn't take all that long. At the end of the tour, Asta was waiting for him.
"How do you like the place?", Asta asked with a slight smile.
"It has all the facilities as expected of a headquarters and everyone seems to be very focussed on their work."
"An accurate description. Now then, Lucas, how about a deal?"
"We barely said our hello's, and you're already coming up with unnecessary schemes again?", Lucas grinned, Asta was one of the few people he felt close with. While Thurin was an amicable person and could also be seen as a friend, he was never challenged.
With Asta, almost each and every single word could and would be used against them. Yet they both knew that they would help each other out.
"What do you have in mind?"
"I'll give you the points to remove your mark, free of charge.", Asta smiled while Lucas stared into his eyes trying to discern his reasons. But he couldn't find anything. Gratefully accepting Asta's generosity, they moved to the shop where a higher ranked mage removed the mark on him.
It took quite some time and Lucas wasn't able to understand anything of it, but he was glad to be free.
Still, his last location was known and if they looked into his past enough they would figure out how he looked. Luckily, as a mercenary, he had the choice to do missions and seeing the other possible rewards in the shop, Lucas felt inclined to help out.
"Do you know any good mission I can do?"
"I do have one, but alone you stand no chance. So I'll come along to help you out."
"Why do I feel like you're helping me with an ulterior motive?"
"Because I do have one.", Asta smiled widely, not caring if he tipped his hand somewhat. "I have a favor to ask of you, but I know you don't do charity. So, I'll help you out until I believe I'm in a position to ask you for help."
Lucas chuckled, looking back on all his interactions with Asta, he certainly never gained something without paying some kind of cost. But even so, Lucas had changed a bit in the Underground. He wouldn't mind doing some small things for free, as long as it improved his standing or relationship.
He was curious what Asta wanted to ask him, but the fact that he was freed from the beacon while also gaining a good position with a lot of independence in the army already showed Lucas he was in debt to Asta. Yet he still didn't ask for anything yet, making Lucas think whatever the favor was, it would be something impossibly difficult.
Luckily, Lucas had a few cards he could play. Finding all of those complex arrays in the Underground were useless to him, but for Asta? They would be a goldmine.
"I can already guess it's not going to be an easy one, but so be it. I don't mind putting in some effort if it's for a friend.", Lucas smiled like he normally would, but Asta clearly didn't comprehend his gesture correctly. Lucas had trouble acknowledging his friendships, but Asta was definitely someone he wanted to call a friend.
"So what's this mission?", instead of answering, Asta signaled to Lucas to follow him. Walking back to the office of Kasto, he entered without knocking.
Kasto looked in his eyes and knew Asta wouldn't bother him for any reason. Pulling out a piece of paper from thin air, Asta placed it on his desk. "We would like to take this mission."
Looking at the mission, Kasto instantly knew what it was about, he had to give approval to most of the missions anyway.
"Are you certain this is what you want?", Kasto looked at Asta and Lucas separately, only Asta nodded with full confidence.
"This mission would have you see defending a small outpost near the western border. You need to hold this post for at least a few weeks. There's a possibility of getting into contact with a hostile Rank 3 mage as well.", Lucas flinched as he stared daggers at Asta.
He was just freed from higher ranked mages, to take a mission where he would have to fight against one didn't sit right with him. "But we'll be backed up by a Rank 3 mage as well, right?"
Kasto closed his eyes for a moment, recounting his previous visit to that specific outpost. "There is a Rank 3 mage there, but he has retired."
'Retired?'
'So he's an old bag of bones?'
'That or he simply doesn't want to be a mage anymore.'
'Then he should just get rid of his core.'
'Either way, we can't rely on him, we should avoid this mission.'
While Lucas was quite sure that taking this mission on would be a bad idea, Asta wasn't convinced. "Retired doesn't mean he won't help. If his life is threatened, I would be surprised if he wouldn't step up."
Shaking his head, Kasto gave the two approval to take it. Seeing the logic in Asta's reasoning, Lucas wouldn't mind giving it a shot. If he was confronted with a Rank 3 mage, then all he had to do was run away, something he had absolutely no qualms about.
Accepting the mission, they went outside. "This mission will net us each around a hundred points, enough to buy a few precious items from the shop.", Asta explained.
'Hold on a second.'
'What's wrong?'
'With a hundred points you can get a lot of shit from that store, right?'
'Yes.'
'And this mission is just to defend a single place while there's a Rank 3 there as well.'
'I get it now.', having such a seemingly easy mission giving out so many points only meant that there were a few hidden dangers that weren't explained. Still, he trusted Asta enough to guide him.
"I assume you already know how to fly? Or did you fall for their trap?"
"I wouldn't fall for something so simple.", Lucas started to float as they ventured towards the outpost. They knew each other quite well, so Lucas was able to just mention his thoughts, giving Asta enough to work with.
"What can you tell me?"
"Everything you want to know. The outpost has long-lost its strategical value. It's the only outpost that is in mostly hostile territory.", Asta kept his smile as he kept his speed consistent, making it a bit harder for Lucas who still had trouble with flight.
"What front?"
"An internal one, the Holy Kingdom hasn't officially declared war yet, but there are parties fighting against one another."
"Royalty?"
"Mostly, there are forces of the Holy Kingdom dispersed within, but they keep their allegiance hidden or are hiding under one of the royals. In the end it doesn't matter though, they all die the same."
Lucas nodded his head in agreement. Their journey took a bit longer than expected since Lucas still needed some breaks to recover his mana, Asta on the other hand didn't have that problem, showcasing his breakthrough to Rank 2 was more than successful.
Seeing that he was moving along the path to Rank 3, Lucas got greedy. "If you want my help for that favor of yours, why not help me out with my Rank?"
Asta stared at Lucas for a moment in confusion. "You don't know how to reach Rank 3?", the question was posed with genuine, or what felt like it, curiosity and dumbfoundedness. Perhaps intentional or not, it hurt his pride a bit hearing that from Asta, who was walking a similar path to his, yet figured it out by himself.
"I don't, okay?", Asta was surprised, even if Lucas could only see it from a sarcastic or arrogant view.
"Well, information on each Rank is carefully hidden or protected, not only to get as much profit from one another, but also to keep the total amount of stupid powerful mages limited. The requirements also ramp up with each Rank, so even if I tell you, you won't be able to achieve it that easily."
Lucas was only capable of interpreting this as part of a negotiation, Asta and him rarely gave things for free. "So you're saying that I'll have to pay up?", but this time he was wrong.
"No, I'll just tell you.", Lucas was thinking on how to price his arrays and try to trade arrays for pieces of intel, but the man was transparent. "I don't mind giving that to you for free."
Shocked, Lucas lost control over his flight, making him almost fall down. Asta slowed down and smiled softly at him. There was no critique or remark like he expected, instead, he just waited patiently. The change in Asta was so big that Lucas couldn't see him as the same person.
"What happened for you to become so..?", Lucas was flabbergasted to see Asta laugh out loud.
"Hahaha, what do you mean? I see you as a friend and partially as a rival. And while I despise your usage of elemental spells, I accept those differences since you've proven your strength in multiple ways.", spoken with a smile, there was a strange pride in his voice.
Feeling this acknowledgment from Asta, Lucas felt strange, similar to how he felt with Thurin.
Unable to deny it, Lucas saw Asta as a friend, and couldn't help but smile in return. "You still have a vendetta against elemental spells? You're flying right now, you're literary using elements right now."
"Hah! That's where you're completely wrong! I've modified this spell to remove any and all elemental parts and replaced them with the superior Pure Mana versions.", Asta hit his chest out of pride as he lightly lifted his chin.
Lucas laughed in response, while Lucas thought that Asta was smarter than him, Asta had the same idea about him.
Their journey was soon completed as they arrived at the designated outpost, but that was perhaps the wrong term.
"This is just a small village, isn't it?"
"That would be an accurate description.", Asta nodded as he scanned the place, spreading his willpower far and wide, surprising Lucas. He had just learned that he should be careful where he used it so blatantly, yet Asta stomped on those rules.
"There's nobody interesting here, except that Rank 3 fellow.", speaking so lightly over someone who could essentially kill them in a single blow if they wanted to, was a step too far for Lucas.
"At least try to be careful."
"What's there to be careful off? We're hired to do this job. We have full authority over this place."
Descending into the village, the people around them looked at them with a hint of fear in their eyes. Asta confidently walked forward, looking for the few mages in this place. Lucas followed him side to side.
"This place is doomed if it's meant to survive two to three weeks of fighting."
"The mission is so easy because this place is a bit more tricky than you might expect. There's a Rank 3 mage here, retired or not, it scares off most people. But this place is in enemy territory and is practically surrounded from all sides except from behind."
"Don't stir a hornet's nest?"
"Something like that. There's no reason to conquer this place since nobody here wants to fight in the first place. Of course, the moment that we bolster this place's defenses, they might rethink their strategy and finish this place off."
"Great. I'll keep a look-out for spies."
"Oh? That's not a bad idea."
"I've had my fair share of trouble because of them.", Lucas sighed lightly as he spread his willpower, keeping track of every inhabitant of the village. It was rather small, similar to the size of Lucas's hometown. There were only a couple of larger buildings, one of which was the town hall, or it more or less functioned like one.
Stepping inside, Asta and Lucas scanned the room. Their powers weren't hidden in the slightest, making the people here frown or stare at them with a glint of anger in their eyes. To them, they were only here to cause trouble.
One of the men approached the duo with a bit of bravado in his step. Raising his voice slightly, he called out to them. "Who are you and state your reason for being here? We do not welcome or house vagrant mages. We have nothing to do with the war, internal or external."
The man had the same Rank as both Lucas and Asta, yet they didn't feel intimidated in the slightest. Lucas fought against all manner of beasts, monsters and humans on his level and above and Asta was someone who refused to use normal elemental spells yet was as powerful as Lucas.
Compared to the average Rank 2 mage, both Lucas and Asta far exceeded their powers. This Rank 2 mage in front of them was such a mage, someone who was an absolute monster among Rank 1's, Rank 0's or normal human beings, but when confronted with actual mages, was easily bested.