Star Burst!

"Magic!"

At last, he was going to learn magic! Bell immediately perked up, focusing all his attention.

Thor looked at him and asked, "Before we begin, how much do you know about magic?"

Bell honestly shook his head. "I only know that it's a very powerful and rare force, and that you have to chant to use it. I don't know anything else."

Thor nodded and gave him a brief explanation.

"Common knowledge in this world holds that magic is a force that causes supernatural phenomena. It usually requires an incantation to activate, and the longer the incantation, the more powerful the magic tends to be. It consumes both mental and physical energy."

"There are two ways to obtain magic: awakening it innately or having it awakened through a Blessing. Many people never learn magic in their entire lives. Its power is closely tied to the 'Magic' stat in one's abilities. Of course, there is also a kind of magic that can be released without chanting."

He paused. His voice suddenly grew profound, carrying a hint of detachment that seemed to transcend the rules of this world.

"However, what I'm going to teach you isn't an ordinary spell that relies on language to take shape. It's the real thing: magic that directly drives the source of all things and stands above language."

"Real magic!" Bell's eyes widened. He instantly sensed the extraordinary weight behind Thor's words.

A single strand of [Stardust] appeared at Thor's fingertip once more, its light shimmering.

"Then experience for yourself what real magic is."

He lightly tapped Bell's forehead.

In an instant, an overwhelming flood of knowledge surged into Bell's mind, shattering all his senses.

The universe seemed to explode inside his skull, hurling him into a wholly unfamiliar realm. In this void of thought, he witnessed the birth and death of stars.

Every star's explosion was incomparably magnificent.

He had no idea how much time passed.

A hundred million years? Countless millions? Perhaps neither. Here, the passage of time had lost all meaning.

Then a strange, emotionless voice sounded directly in the depths of his consciousness.

"What is magic to you?"

Bell's mind answered instinctively. "It's power... great power, a weapon that can help me cast aside my weakness and stop running away."

"What does magic look like to you?"

Bell thought of Thor's dazzling, transcendent figure and replied with yearning, "It's the stars... dazzling and elegant, like Lord God, a brilliant star utterly unlike me."

The strange voice asked again.

"What do you seek from magic?"

The grandeur of the starburst that had created the world flashed through his mind once more, along with its moment of ultimate splendor. Bell's resolve strengthened. "Greatness! A power as fierce and decisive as an exploding star!"

Boom!

As if answering his yearning, a torrent of searing power burst open inside him, like a supernova!

He jolted awake, springing up from the sofa and gasping for breath.

He looked around. The morning sunlight was already slanting in through the window.

Thor sat on the old sofa across from him, calmly drinking a cup of hot tea, as if nothing had happened.

"You're awake?" Thor set down his teacup and looked up at Bell.

Bell shook his still-heavy head and slowly sat up. "How do you feel?" Thor continued.

Bell looked down at his hands, opening and closing his fingers as he tried to grasp that strange sensation. His brow furrowed slightly. "Lord God, I feel strange. It's as though I've gained something, but at the same time, I can't seem to grasp anything."

He rubbed his temples. "Lord God, the things in my head... they're too jumbled. I can't make sense of them at all. I can't even quite remember what I dreamed about."

Thor's voice remained calm. "When people encounter something their minds can't comprehend, they tend to forget it. It's a normal form of self-preservation."

While Bell was still trying to digest Thor's words, a loud growl suddenly came from his stomach.

A fierce hunger swept over him. His stomach was completely empty.

Hunger overpowered his confusion, and Bell hurriedly jumped to his feet. "Sorry, Lord God, I overslept. I'll go make breakfast right away!"

He rushed over to the storage chest in the corner and eagerly lifted the lid, only to find it empty!

Bell froze, staring at the bare bottom of the chest.

He whipped around to look at the calendar hanging on the wall. Yesterday, the day before, and the day before that... He realized with a shock that he had been asleep for three whole days!

And the food in the house... had only been enough for two...

"Uh..."

Bell's face turned deathly pale.

He stiffly turned toward Thor.

His Lord God sat serenely on the shabby sofa, calm and detached, elegantly holding a chipped ceramic teacup. It contained clear, boiled water—the only thing left in the house that could just barely be called "tea."

He was leisurely sipping it.

A rush of guilt and panic surged through Bell.

"I'm terribly sorry, Lord God! I'll go earn some money and buy groceries right now!"

He stammered and bowed repeatedly to Thor in apology.

Thor gently set the empty teacup back on the equally battered little wooden table. Instead of scolding him, he smiled lightly.

"Perfect timing. You've gained an initial grasp of magic. Let's head to the Dungeon now, get some Magic Stones, and then have a proper feast."

"I learned a new spell? Really?" Bell was still stunned and unable to make sense of what had happened.

The next moment, the scene before him abruptly changed.

Dark, damp air, tinged with a faint smell of mildew and blood, surrounded them.

They were now standing in the vast, deep passageway at the entrance to the Dungeon in the Labyrinth City of Orario.

The instant Thor's toe touched the gravel floor of the first-floor passage—

Vrrrmm!!

The entire passage seemed to be struck by an invisible sledgehammer. The Dungeon began to shudder violently!

Cracks split the walls, and rubble came tumbling down.

With a piercing screech, a section of the stone wall beside them burst open. One Goblin after another, with oily green skin and bared fangs, tumbled out of the fissure in a dense mass!

Twenty of them!

For twenty Goblins to appear at once on the Dungeon's first floor was an unheard-of nightmare for any rookie adventurer!

Any experienced adventurer who witnessed this would have been left dumbfounded by the utterly abnormal sight.

Thor's presence had driven the Dungeon's hostility and retaliation to its peak!

But Bell had no idea. Seeing the Goblins swarming toward them, their eyes glinting with malice, he simply thought this was the Dungeon's "usual" level of danger.

"Try your new magic." Thor's voice rang out evenly. He didn't even look at the approaching monsters, merely reaching up to give Bell's tense shoulder a light pat. "You should know how to use it."

"I know how to use it? What's the spell?" Bell was thoroughly confused, his mind completely blank.

But the monsters didn't give him time to think!

The nearest Goblin had already raised its claws, its stench washing over him! It was mere inches away! Danger was right in front of him!

Every hair on Bell's body stood on end. Driven entirely by instinct, he abruptly raised his right hand without a second thought!

"Star Bur..." He didn't even realize he had spoken the words.

As he raised his arm, several tiny, dazzling stars suddenly coalesced out of nowhere in the middle of the charging Goblins!

They hovered for an instant, radiating waves of destructive energy—

"—st!"

Boom!!!

A tremendous blast erupted! Its shockwave swept outward, and light instantly swallowed the passage ahead!

The deafening boom was accompanied by the Goblins' shrill, anguished cries.

The blinding light flashed and vanished. Dust quickly settled. The passage that had been crammed with monsters was now completely empty.

All twenty Goblins had disappeared. In their place lay a dozen or so dull Magic Stones, dust clinging to them.

Silence returned to the passageway, as if the surging horde of Goblins had been nothing but an illusion.

This was the first magic Bell had learned under Thor's influence: Star Burst!