One by one, the rest of the Black Bulls trickled into the dining hall—Finral, Gordon, Grey (half-visible as always), and even Gauche, muttering something about Marie.
Finally, their captain Yami Sukehiro strolled in, scratching his stomach and yawning so hard his eyes barely opened.
"You guys tryin' to tear the place down first thing in the morning?" he grumbled, glaring at Magna and Luck, who were already lightly sparring near the door.
"S-Sorry, Captain!" Magna stiffened and bowed quickly.
"Oi, Charmi. You done peeking through the door yet? Let your sheep cook already!" Yami barked.
"Yes, Captain!" Charmi finally shuffled in and summoned her sheep chef, who quickly whipped up an entire feast.
"Let's dig in!" Asta cheered, already halfway through his first plate of meat.
"Slow down!" Noelle snapped, passing him a glass of water. "Do you want to choke again?!"
"Yesterday's training took a lot out of me, that's all!" Asta said between bites. "I pushed past my limit at least five times!"
"Now that's what I like to hear." Yami's mouth curled into a rare smile. "Keep surpassin' your limits. That's the Black Bulls way."
"I feel alive!" Vanessa toasted with her wine, her cheeks already slightly pink.
"Captain, any missions today? Robber suppression? Bandits?" Luck's eyes sparked with glee.
"Nope," Yami said flatly. "Just train your asses off in the base. That's an order."
"Boooring!" Vanessa moaned, stretching like a lazy cat. Then her gaze drifted to Asta. "Hey, Asta. Mind if I watch your training today? Those muscles of yours deserve an audience."
"Of course!" Asta said cheerfully. "And with legs like yours, you should be sprinting past me, not lounging around!"
Vanessa giggled. "Oh, you're hopeless."
"Pfffft!" Finral almost spat out his tea.
Meanwhile, Charmi sniffled over her breakfast. "The sheep chef says Asta's food compliments are sincere, but he's still a nutjob!" Her tears flowed dramatically. "He tried to bet me for snacks again!"
After the feast, Yami let out another yawn. "Alright, I'm goin' back to sleep. Try not to level the base again, got it?"
"Yes, Captain!" everyone chorused.
As Yami walked off, Magna and Luck were at it again.
"Let's fight after breakfast!" Luck said, bouncing excitedly.
"Get lost, I've got chores!" Magna replied gruffly.
"Scared, aren't you?" Luck teased, pressing a finger to his lips.
"I'm not scared, idiot!" Magna flared. "I'm just—responsible!"
"I can help with your chores!" Luck offered with a grin.
"…Deal." Magna folded immediately, shocking everyone at the table.
"Those two are like an explosive spell waiting to go off," Noelle muttered.
"Noelle, let's head to the training field before they blow something up," Asta said, stuffing a slice of bread into her hand.
"Hmph. If you choke, don't expect me to save you again," she said, blushing slightly as she followed him out.
"Oh yeah, Asta—what did you run into yesterday?" Magna asked, scratching his head. "Heard you came back covered in dust."
"Yeah, tell us!" Luck added eagerly.
"Oh, nothing big," Asta shrugged. "Just some creepy, headless monsters."
"Headless?!" nearly everyone exclaimed.
Charmi imagined them like weird white chickens and screamed, "So scary…!"
"They were controlled by magic confinement," Asta explained calmly. "The only way to beat them was to destroy the magic gem in their chests."
"Sounds like fun!" Luck said, his eyes gleaming.
"Magna, let's go find some!" Luck added excitedly.
"I said no!" Magna snapped.
"You're scared~"
"A man is fearless! I just have responsibilities, dammit!"
"I'll help!"
"…Fine!"
Everyone just sighed.
"Another day with the Black Bulls," Vanessa smirked, sipping her wine.
"Let's go train!" Noelle said, dabbing her mouth delicately with a napkin, regal as ever.
"As long as a girl is cute, she can even look cute while eating!" Asta grinned brightly.
"Stupid Asta! What nonsense are you saying?!" Noelle's face turned crimson in a flash.
"I wasn't talking about you—I meant Sister Vanessa!" Asta teased with a wink.
"Cough!" Vanessa, in her usual laid-back style, had been swigging wine straight from the bottle. The unexpected mention caused her to choke, sputtering a little.
"You idiot!" Noelle shouted, standing up in a fluster.
"But Noelle," Asta continued, leaning in with a smile, "your four-leaf clover earrings… they're really pretty."
"Huh?" Noelle blinked, momentarily stunned. "W-Well… I suppose you do have decent taste after all. Enough talking—let's train!"
"Got it! A new day starts with handstand pushups… for ten kilometers!" Asta shouted, flipping onto his hands.
If one looked closely, they'd notice Asta wasn't walking on his palms—but balancing using just his fingers. First his thumbs, then his forefingers, and so on.
This type of training wasn't just superhuman—it was insane. Normal people could barely balance on their index fingers, let alone use their ring fingers or pinkies for locomotion.
But Asta wasn't normal.
"After opening the fifth gate, Dōmon, yesterday… I can feel my body adapting again," Asta thought. "Maybe I can open the fourth gate, Shōmon, without issue now."
Thanks to healing springwater magic—a nod to the Witch Queen's potion in canon—his body could recover rapidly, allowing him to push past his limits again and again.
"No wonder Asta is so strong," Vanessa said with a lazy smile, watching his training. "He works harder than anyone."
"Alright then," Noelle said confidently as she approached the training ground. "Time to sharpen my control!"
Vanessa yawned and reclined, watching them train with content amusement.
"One-finger Zen… with weight!" Asta declared, tossing a massive stone into the air. He flipped onto his head, then caught the falling boulder with his feet—sending shockwaves through the ground as he balanced himself upright on one thumb.
"Boom!"
His thumb embedded into the ground, muscles shaking. Asta grinned through the pain. Yes. This is what training should feel like!
"So strong…" Noelle murmured in awe. She knew it was already insane to balance on a single finger. But Asta was training under the pressure of a multi-ton boulder.
"If only there were a river around here…" Asta suddenly thought, remembering Goku's training in Dragon Ball. "I could train swimming with weight, too…"
That's when he noticed Noelle's magic shimmering nearby.
"Noelle!" Asta called, his eyes lighting up with an idea. "Let's do a combined training session!"
"Huh? What now?" Noelle folded her arms, skeptical.
"You help me make rivers with your water magic! I'll dig out the channels with my sword! That way, I can swim with weights for training!"
"Are you insane? That's—wait…" Noelle's eyes glinted with interest. Actually… it could help me practice precise water control…
"Let's give it a shot!" she said.
"Yeah!" Asta shouted, already digging with the Demon Slayer Sword, tearing through earth with blinding speed.
"Is this guy a human excavator…?" Noelle muttered, jaw dropping. Within minutes, Asta carved out a trench eight meters deep, twelve meters long, and nine meters wide—the size of a public bathhouse!
"That's one channel done!" Asta beamed. "Just three more!"
Noelle inhaled, focusing hard. She raised her arms like forming a massive Sea Dragon's Roar, but instead gathered water into a concentrated sphere—larger than any she had controlled before.
"C'mon, little Noelle…" Vanessa whispered encouragingly.
You've done it before, Noelle thought. You can control it now!
Above her head, the glowing water sphere shimmered—a controlled miracle, not the usual chaotic burst of magic. She launched it forward and filled the newly carved channel.
Up in the castle, Yami Sukehiro stirred in his sleep.
"Huh… another magic surge?" He looked out the window and saw the water bomb. "At least they're not blowing up the base this time…"
He yawned, stretched, and went right back to bed.