MAGIC TRIAL

“We’re here,” Astrea said, as they arrived in front of an inn.

“You said this is the safest place to stay in this town, right?”

“No place in this world can be considered safe, but this is as safe as you would get in this town.” Astrea said.

Norihiko booked two rooms opposite each other so it will be easy for them to meet.

He finally had the bath he had been craving for a long time before placing the desktop photo of his mom on a desk in the room. He changed into one of the clothes Astrea had got before collapsing on the bed.

“A week ago I never would have thought it was possible,” Norihiko said to himself, “but I really am in another world.”

There is a knock on the door.

Norihiko answered the door, and sure enough, it was Astrea. “What’s up?”

“I just thought to discuss tomorrow’s training,” Astrea said as she entered the room.

“Training?”

“Your magic training, remember?” Astrea said, “Before I start your training, do not attempt to use magic.”

“Why not?”

“Your first usage of magic determines a lot; just don’t try to use it before your training.”

“I shouldn’t try to use magic, right, Is that all?” Norihiko asked, still holding open the door.

“Also wake up early tomorrow; I’d like to start as soon as possible.” Astrea stepped out of the room. “One more thing, don’t you dare sneak into my room or try to peek at me.”

“You don’t have to worry about that; you see, I am more into the intellectual types.”

“What did you just—” Norihiko closed the door before she could finish.

Norihiko got on his bed. 'Gotta admit… teasing her is fun,' he thought before he fell asleep.

“Maybe it is because I am not used to having a full night's sleep, but it sure feels good to be fully rested and with no bad dreams at that,” Norihiko said the next morning. Back in my world, I had to work late into the night and sleep with one eye open.

He did his regular exercise before waiting for Astrea while reading a book titled MAGIC FOR BEGINNERS she had gotten him.

“Where is she?” “Isn’t she the one who told me to get up early?” Norihiko said, having waited five hours with no knock on the door. He had already read a quarter of the very large book.

Tired of waiting, he decided to meet her instead; he knocked on her door, but there was no answer, so he tried two more times.

“Is she all right?” He tried to open the door, but it was locked. With a kick he broke the door down before stepping inside to see if the goddess was alright, and she was. “Now I just feel stupid for worrying.”

Astrea was still asleep; she had on a pair of pyjamas which now looked rough, just like the bed she lay on as she slept, showing she turns and tosses in her sleep. She also showed no signs of waking up anytime soon.

“Hey… Wake up,” Norihiko said gently, shaking her.

“Just five more minutes…” she said, still asleep.

“I said wake up, dammit.” Norihiko was clearly not waiting for five minutes as he removed the bed sheet in a sharp motion, making Astrea fall to the floor.

“Ow ow ow.” Astrea said with her hand on her back, “That hurts, you bully.” This is no way to treat a goddess.”

“You are the one who said I should get up early for magic training.”

“What time is it?” Astrea said, rubbing her eyes.

“Eleven in the morning”

“That long? Maybe I overslept a little.”

“That’s putting it mildly?”

Norihiko left the room. Astrea later meets with Norihiko at the inn’s courtyard for his magic training.

“…How does this have anything to do with magic?” Norihiko said in a pained voice.

“It does; you have to strengthen your core for greater mana output and flow.” Astrea said, “Now quit the chitchat and get on with it.”

“You are enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am.”

Astrea had Norihiko doing push-ups while she sat cross-legged on his back.

“But I have to admit, for someone who mostly stayed in an apartment all day, you are surprisingly well built.”

Norihiko had taken off his shirt, so he only wore an inner shirt, which revealed his chest outline and abs.

“I had to stay fit and learn some fighting techniques; with what I did, you’ll never know what might happen.”

Astrea got off his back when he finally lost all energy.

“Right, time to start the real training.” Astrea said to a completely fatigued Norihiko, “Are you ready?”

“Barely,” Norihiko said, getting up and wiping off his sweat.

“What I am about to show you is a secret only the divine should know, so do not go blabbing it off to anyone.”

“Won’t telling me something like that cause problems for you?”

“It’s fine; they would forgive a pretty girl like me,” Astrea said. “But enough about that; get into a meditating pose.”

“You mean like this?” Norihiko sat cross-legged with his hand on his lap.

“Perfect, now close your eyes… Do not think about what is in front of you, behind you or at your sides. I want you to entirely focus on what’s within you and nothing else.” Astrea said as she placed a palm on Norihiko’s back and also closed her eyes.

Astrea could feel Norihiko’s mana flow. She felt the different types of colours of mana within his body and slowly increased their flow using her divine mana. She did this for all three hundred and sixty-one points in which mana enters and leaves the human body. When each point was done, Norihiko would flinch a little but never break concentration, even though he felt his body slowly changing. The process took a total of two and a half hours; when it was done, Norihiko could feel it. He was indeed stronger, inhumanly so.

“Phew, it’s done.” Astrea gave a sigh of relief.

“My body feels so different; I feel like I can take on a tank.”

“Your physical strength is also increased; that’s why you had to completely exhaust yourself.” Astrea took a deep breath before letting it out. “I am just relieved that it actually worked.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I have never done this before, and this won’t be the first time it has been tested on a mortal, but it is surely the first success. The bottom line is, if you had broken concentration for even a split second or I had made a single mistake in locating your mana points, you would have been damaged beyond repair.”

“What?”

“But everything worked out in the end, so it’s all good, right? I knew you could do it,” Astrea said, giving Norihiko a thumbs up.

“Like hell it is.” Norihiko got up to protest but immediately became dizzy.

“Are you all right… “Hey…hey, can you hear me?” Astrea's muffled voice rang in Norihiko's ears as he fell unconscious again.

Norihiko found himself in a space completely dark with the only source of light shining through a corridor; he walked for what seemed like a very long time before he finally got to the corridor where he saw the source of the light. The light came from the end of the hall, where the outline of a woman could be seen; Norihiko immediately identified her.

“Mom,” he shouted before running towards her. He ran and ran but never got closer, only stopping when he noticed his mother turning back.

“M-Mom, is that really you? It is you, isn’t it?” The mother’s full body, wearing a pure white dress, became visible as she smiled brightly at her son and said something which Norihiko was too far to hear before walking into the light.

“Mother,” Norihiko said with an outstretched hand, “I became one; I did it.” The light covered both Norihiko and the entire space before Norihiko woke up, his hand still outstretched.

“Talk about dramatic, were you really that much of a mother’s boy?” Astrea said from the seat by the bedside. Norihiko, realising that he had been talking in his sleep, blushed a little and covered his face with a pillow.

I let her see my vulnerable side; Norihiko started wondering if magic was capable of erasing memories.

“But still, even if it was just a dream, it is nice to know you saw your mother one last time before she went to the afterlife.” Astrea said, “You haven’t been at a hundred percent; my guess is you are still wondering if you made the right choice.”

“Yeah, thanks for that.”

“Why are you thanking me?”

“You should know by now that I am extremely perceptive; you can’t hide anything from me.” Norihiko said, taking away the pillow from his face. “You did something, didn’t you?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Astrea said as she got up. “Anyway, now that you are awake, it’s time to move on to the next stage, so get dressed; we are going to Fiz’s store.” She left, closing the door behind her.

“At least she makes an effort,” Norihiko said, remembering his mother’s words.

“Thank you… Have fun, Norihiko,” was all she said.

“I can finally say it now,” Norihiko said as a tears trickled down his face. “Goodbye, Mother.”