Yuuki's mana cap surged to First Domain–level in an instant. Even though he had been mentally prepared, the sudden explosive increase still caught him off guard.
This was the first time he truly understood what abundant mana meant.
Crack!
The black bracelet on Yuuki's wrist—meant to conceal his mana—instantly filled with fractures. A heartbeat later, it split apart, shattered into fragments, and scattered across the ground.
"Hah…"
Yuuki exhaled heavily and glanced at the broken pieces of the magic tool.
Mana at the level of the First Domain was already far beyond what such an item could suppress.
Fortunately, this astonishing state did not last long.
After all, it was merely the result of a sudden spike in mana that Yuuki had not yet fully brought under control—equivalent to releasing his entire mana output at full power, causing such an overwhelming phenomenon.
Once Yuuki regained control, the changes quickly subsided. The crimson mana reverted to silver, wrapped briefly around his body, and finally withdrew back into him.
"It's done."
When his aura completely stabilized, a smile appeared on Yuuki's face.
Rustle—
Pages flipped as Fuegoleon's magic was fully recorded onto a single page of the grimoire.
Fire Magic
(Small Sunlight, Great Fire Lion's Roar, Spiral Flame Pillar, Fire Lion's Palm)
Yuuki brought the silver grimoire—still floating in midair—back into his hands and examined the three-leaf clover emblem on its cover. There was no change at all.
"So even First Domain–level mana isn't enough to trigger a transformation of the clover?" he murmured softly, a trace of disappointment in his voice.
As expected, evolving a three-leaf clover grimoire into a four-leaf clover was far more difficult than he had imagined.
Shaking his head, Yuuki set that thought aside for now. He clenched his fist, feeling the overwhelming mana coursing through his body, and decided to find somewhere suitable to adapt to his new power.
"If I remember correctly, there should be a strong magic zone near the border not too far from here."
With that thought, Yuuki activated spatial magic and vanished.
—
In the world of Black Clover, the four great kingdoms occupied a single vast continent. The Clover Kingdom lay in the far south, the Spade Kingdom to the north, with the Heart Kingdom and Diamond Kingdom bordering the Clover Kingdom on either side.
The Clover, Heart, and Diamond Kingdoms were all situated relatively toward the southern region, with vast strong magic zones separating their borders—natural barriers formed by extreme environments.
Ten minutes later, Yuuki arrived at an unfamiliar strong magic zone.
The area resembled a desert, yet was littered with shattered hills and massive boulders that periodically fell from the sky, crashing down with thunderous force.
Boom—!
The air itself was filled with violent, turbulent mana, exuding an ever-present sense of danger. Blowing sand lashed against the face like needles, and the grains underfoot were unnaturally hard—polished sharp over countless years by relentless winds.
Standing atop a small hill, Yuuki extended his senses into the natural mana permeating the air.
As his own mana increased, his perception of the natural mana flowing through the world became increasingly clear.
Among the elements—fire, wind, water, and earth—the most concentrated here was earth-aspected natural mana.
Boom!
At that moment, a massive boulder nearly five meters across plummeted from the sky, hurtling straight toward the hill where Yuuki stood.
The air screamed as it fell, its speed terrifying.
Yuuki neither dodged nor cast a spell. Instead, he gathered his surging mana into his right fist and punched upward.
Pure mana condensed into a faint silver fist, erupting outward and colliding head-on with the falling boulder.
RUMBLE—!
The explosion echoed through the sky.
The massive rock shattered into countless fragments, scattering in all directions.
Yuuki's expression remained calm, as if smashing the boulder were nothing worth noting. His attention stayed focused on his surroundings.
The danger of strong magic zones did not come merely from harsh environments or the way turbulent mana interfered with spellcasting.
The creatures that lived here were often far more terrifying.
Whoosh!
A black, whip-like shadow suddenly burst from the ground, snapping toward Yuuki.
With a step, Yuuki leapt off the hill and landed on the sand below.
BAM!
The hill he had just stood on was split cleanly in two, as though sliced apart from the middle.
At the same time, the sand churned, and a gigantic scorpion—over three meters long, gray-brown in color—emerged from beneath the ground. That black whip was its tail.
The tail alone was nearly twice the length of its body, lined with spikes and blade-like protrusions that ran from base to tip.
"No wonder it could cut through such hard rock," Yuuki remarked, studying the cold gleam of the tail under the sunlight.
"Hiss—!"
The giant scorpion fixed its gaze on Yuuki and charged, releasing a low, menacing screech.
"Dangerous indeed. Mineral Magic—Sword of Victory."
Yuuki spoke softly and swept his arm through the air.
A colossal mineral greatsword—larger than the scorpion itself—materialized in midair, then slammed downward with overwhelming pressure.
Thud!
The scorpion was smashed straight back into the ground.
Just then—
Rumble!
Another roar echoed from above.
This time, not one, but five enormous boulders—each over four meters long—came crashing down.
Yuuki casually flicked his wrist and slashed upward.
All five boulders were cleaved into powder by the mineral greatsword, fragments raining down like a storm of stone.
Shhk!
The greatsword rose again, hovering above Yuuki's head.
"Down in one hit? That's disappointing," Yuuki said, glancing at the distant crater. He had planned to use this environment—and its beasts—to properly test his new strength.
"HISSS!!"
A far more violent screech erupted from the pit.
The scorpion he had crushed crawled back out.
"That shell is tough. Now this is interesting."
Yuuki's eyes lit up as he noticed that aside from a deep dent, the creature's gray-brown carapace was otherwise intact.
Boom!
The mineral greatsword swung again, blasting the scorpion away just as it climbed free.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The sand-like ground rippled violently. One depression after another formed as more gray-brown giant scorpions emerged.
In the blink of an eye, Yuuki found himself completely surrounded.
"Now this is fun," he said with a grin.
However—
Just as Yuuki prepared to strike, the scorpions suddenly seemed to sense something far more dangerous. One by one, they burrowed back underground.
In less than two breaths, they vanished without a trace.
Yuuki froze in surprise. Before he could react, his perception picked up an astonishing surge of mana rapidly approaching his position.
BOOM!
He looked up—
A figure appeared ahead of him, carrying the very scorpion he had just sent flying.
"Well, this is unexpected," a bold female voice rang out.
"To run into someone in a place this dangerous—are you from the Diamond Kingdom, or the Clover Kingdom?"
She had fiery red hair like a lion's mane, sharp red-rimmed eyes brimming with ferocity and curiosity, and wore simple, practical clothing.
Yuuki's pupils contracted instinctively.
This person was—
Mereoleona Vermillion.
The eldest daughter of the Vermillion family, Fuegoleon's sister. Undefeated on the battlefield, she was known among the Clover Kingdom's nobles as the Uncrowned, Undefeated Lioness.
(End of Chapter)
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