The tunnel stretched forward like the throat of some ancient beast, damp stone glistening faintly in the dim light.
Footsteps echoed softly. Slow. Careful. Alive.
Haruto walked in silence with the mask resting over his face, Hana perched on his head like a lazy crown, while the young goblin guided them deeper into the winding dark.
For a while, only the sound of breathing and dripping water filled the air.
Then the girl spoke.
"Astrons... are what we use to cast spells. They're also our life energy. Everything born with magical origin carries its own Astron reserves."
Her voice was quiet, but steady.
Like she was reciting something precious.
"They flow through the body... and through the world itself. Creatures who mature and awaken their affinities can feel Astrons everywhere. Inside themselves. In the air. In the ground. Training is simply... learning how to sense and move them."
Hana tilted slightly.
"How do we train that?"
"The simplest way is to discover your affinity," the girl replied. "Astrons respond differently to each person. That reaction determines the element you control best. Through that element... you learn true manipulation."
Haruto hummed thoughtfully.
"So affinities aren't limits," he said. "They're shortcuts. Find the element that listens to you first, and it becomes easier to reach everything else."
The goblin blinked.
"Y-yes... exactly, Master."
He made it sound obvious.
Too obvious.
"But you'd still need to feel Astrons before reaching that point," he continued casually. "How do we do that?"
She hesitated only a moment.
"Astrons are life energy. They move like blood. If you focus inward and—"
"Oh... I see it."
A faint shimmer flickered around Haruto's body.
Soft. Unstable. Gone within seconds.
He smiled under the mask.
"Nice. So I can do something, at least."
The goblin froze.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
No training.
No ritual.
No guidance.
And yet... manifestation on the first try.
Her chest tightened.
The apostle...
This must be the apostle...
Haruto tried again.
The aura appeared. Collapsed. Appeared. Collapsed.
"Well... it's easy to feel," he muttered. "But I can't hold it."
Hana stared.
"I think the real question is how the hell you did that at all."
He shrugged.
"If you were as handsome and genius as me—OW!"
A slime fist bonked his head.
"Explain. Now."
"Okay, okay... It's messy. Like moving blood that listens to your thoughts. Gather it... hold it... but it keeps falling apart—"
"Got it."
Hana closed her eyes.
A soft aura bloomed around her small body, flickering like pale fire before fading.
She exhaled slowly.
"Well. I did better than you."
"No way. Mine lasted longer."
"Excuses~"
They both turned toward the goblin.
She was staring.
Completely motionless.
Two beginners... achieving in minutes what took others weeks.
"Did we do something wrong?" Hana asked.
Haruki's quiet voice slipped between them, unheard by the girl.
"No... you're just not supposed to learn this fast."
"...Oh."
The goblin shook herself back to reality.
"N-next... you must gather Astrons into one place. When enough gathers, your affinity will appear. Like this..."
She whispered a chant.
Wind gathered into her palm, forming a spinning orb of pale air.
---
---
Haruto's vision pulsed blue.
Knowledge flooded in.
Technique. Structure. Flow.
As if the spell itself were being explained directly inside his mind.
He could only explain it as...
Analysis.
The girl hurled the orb.
It struck the wall, shredding stone into spiraling fragments before fading, leaving behind a whirlpool-shaped crater.
"Whoa... that's cool," Hana said.
She turned—
—and froze.
Haruto held out his palm.
Energy gathered.
Faster.
Denser.
The orb darkened into deep violet, humming with something heavy... wrong.
The goblin's instincts screamed.
"P-PLEASE, MASTER! STOP!"
He stopped.
Then realized the unstable sphere trembling in his hand.
"...Right."
He threw it.
The moment it touched the wall—
it vanished.
Silence.
A breath of relief—
Then the wall disappeared.
Not shattered.
Not broken.
Erased.
A perfect circular tunnel yawned open, ten times wider than before.
No one spoke.
Hana exploded first.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! YOU COULD'VE KILLED US, YOU IDIOT!"
Haruki said nothing.
The goblin nearly collapsed.
Haruto scratched his cheek.
"...Sorry?"
That did not help.
---
They stopped later where the tunnel opened into a vast chasm splitting the earth like a wound.
The opposite side lay far beyond an easy jump.
The goblin stared across silently.
Memories of claws.
Breath.
Pursuit.
She had escaped by luck alone.
Yet the terror behind her now...
felt smaller than the boy beside her.
Truly... the apostle of God...
Haruto peered down into the darkness.
"...You sure we can cross that?"
"With wind magic, yes," she said softly. "But the path isn't what worries me."
"Oh?" Hana asked. "Then what is?"
"...Magic beasts. Strong ones. They chased me here. If we go back... we must be careful."
"I see..."
Haruto thought for a moment.
"Then first things first. Teach us that wind magic."
She stiffened.
"I... I've never taught anyone before. I can try, but the method is complicated."
"We need it," he said simply.
"Well, we need it, don't we? ." Haruto said.
"Don't worry. Despite how we looks, we're... pretty good learners." Hana reassured.
The girl just sighed as she remembered what kind of monsters these two are.
"O-of course..."
...
