Black Clover: Starting from the Sign-in

The following day, in a small town nestled in the mountains to the east of the royal capital:

A sharp sound cut through the air as something flew low and fast, swiftly descending behind a defensive line. The guards stationed there were immediately alerted and rushed over in haste.

They all carried magical books, but judging by their attire, they clearly weren't part of the Magic Knights. At best, they seemed to be militia stationed in the town, with strength comparable to that of adventurers.

"Who are you?" asked the leader of the militia, dressed in armor, as he quickly approached. Upon seeing the magical broom under Black Feather's feet, his pupils constricted in surprise.

"This is a San Bamboo Magic Broom. May I ask why you, sir, are here in such a remote place?" 

In any kingdom, magical equipment was rare. It was already a great privilege for an ordinary person to join the Magic Knights and receive a basic magic broom. Otherwise, even adventurers would have to save up for months to afford one. 

The San Bamboo Magic Broom was considered a prized possession, akin to a "luxury vehicle" for the common folk, extremely difficult to come by.

"I'm just a wanderer; there's no need for such formalities," Black Feather replied, glancing back. He held the sleeping Noelle tightly in his arms and casually handed over his Steel Seal to the militia leader. "Here is my identification."

"You're a Steel-tier adventurer?" the militia leader asked in shock.

The man in front of him was only around 15 or 16 years old, possibly a noble with such a rare broom. However, he never expected that Black Feather, as a wanderer, could be a Steel-tier adventurer. This meant that at such a young age, Black Feather had the potential to become a member of the Magic Knights, a remarkable feat. 

Especially as someone from the lower class, Black Feather's success and talent made the militia leader regard him with newfound respect.

"Brother, please wait for a moment. I don't have the authority to verify this, so I'll report it to higher-ups," the militia leader said hurriedly.

"However, you might have come at an inopportune time. Two nobles, who seem to have high status, just arrived in the town. The Magic Tower is hosting them, so you'll need to wait a little."

Seeing the change in attitude from the militia leader, Black Feather couldn't help but appreciate that strength truly was crucial when one had no status. 

No! 

After looking at Noelle, who had fallen asleep in his arms, Black Feather's thoughts settled on one simple truth: strength is everything! 

In this world, strength was like money in his past life—nothing could be done without it. 

"Please wait here. You've worked hard guarding this place. After your mission, go have a drink on me," Black Feather said, flipping his hand to reveal several silver coins, which he tossed to the militia.

The sudden generosity stunned the militia, but they quickly brightened. The older militia man excitedly patted Black Feather's shoulder, saying, "Brother, I'll thank you on behalf of these guys."

"You're the only one who treats us common folk as equals. If it were a noble, they'd have kicked us out by now. And your young wife is beautiful, too!"

"By the way, there's a resting room over there. You and your wife can go rest. Don't worry, we've all been through it—if anything happens in there, we won't hear a thing."

At this point, a group of lecherous men started winking and exchanging knowing glances.

Black Feather rolled his eyes in exasperation and didn't bother to explain. "Thanks, I'll go now."

"Good luck, little brother. If you need anything, I've got some good medicine at home. It works wonders," the older militia man said with obvious excitement.

Feeling uncomfortable from the lewd remarks, Black Feather quickly mounted his broom and flew toward the nearby room.

"Clink, random sign-in task activated. Please head to the Beast Cave to sign in. Upon successful sign-in, you will receive a rich reward."

The ethereal voice of the system echoed in Black Feather's mind.

A rich reward?

Black Feather was taken aback for a moment. While he had received tasks before, it was the first time he had heard the system highlight the reward.

A rich reward! 

That meant this sign-in task wasn't going to be trivial.

But as his mind raced, Black Feather quickly realized that he had no idea where the Beast Cave was.

Looking at the vast, seemingly endless mountains in the distance, he couldn't help but laugh bitterly. Even with his San Bamboo Magic Broom, searching blindly felt like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Surely the Beast Cave wasn't going to have a flag sticking out saying, "I'm here!"