Chapter 1: The Youth Struck by Lightning
"Ugh... it hurts..."
Riku felt excruciating pain all over his body.
"Yo! Kid, you're awake!"
A man's voice rang out.
Riku slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a bright campfire emitting a warm glow. Sitting beside the fire was an uncle who appeared to be around forty years old.
The uncle had orange slicked-back hair, some stubble on his chin, and wore a dark green cloak. He had a look of uninhibited handsomeness about him.
"I... died?"
Riku felt his mind was a complete blank.
"Kid, I have to say your luck is pretty good. To be struck by lightning and survive without a scratch, you sure have a tough life!"
Struck by lightning!!
Riku was stunned, and immediately after, a flood of memories surged forth. He remembered.
Not long ago, he had finally made it to his vacation. Full of excitement, he took the high-speed rail to see his long-distance girlfriend, intending to give her a surprise.
But unexpected events happen; instead of a surprise, he got a shock.
His girlfriend was cheating on him!
He originally thought these things only happened in TV dramas, but now it had happened to him, causing him immense pain.
He immediately rushed up to confront them, but the result was a barrage of belittling insults and a breakup.
He walked aimlessly in the heavy rain, looking like a lost soul.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, and he passed out.
Wait, where is this? He couldn't have been dumped in the wilderness, right?
"Uncle, where is this?"
"Here? You don't know where this is? You really are lucky! This is the Magic Beast Forest, where magical beasts run rampant."
"Magic Beast Forest? Uncle, stop joking."
Magic beasts? He wasn't playing World of Warcraft; how could there be magic beasts in this world?
Almost as soon as Riku finished speaking.
"ROAR—!"
A furious roar rang out. From the nearby woods, a creature resembling a mountain boar, seven or eight meters tall, drilled out.
Riku was immediately terrified upon seeing it: "Mon... Monster!"
However, upon seeing it, the uncle showed no fear at all; instead, his eyes lit up: "Oh? Dinner has delivered itself."
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The mountain boar pawed the ground with its front hooves.
"ROAR—!!"
Immediately after, it let out a furious roar and charged wildly in their direction.
Crack! Crack!
Trees as thick as bowls were smashed as easily as tofu upon impact.
Riku instinctively wanted to run, but his body had been struck by lightning; he was in pain and somewhat paralyzed, unable to stand up at all.
At this moment, a figure blocked his front. It was that handsome uncle.
"Uncle, run!!"
Riku couldn't move, but he thought he shouldn't drag others down with him.
That uncle, however, stood motionless in place, raising his palm and aiming it at the giant mountain boar.
"Crush!"
The uncle shouted lightly.
"Buzz—"
Riku seemed to see a mass of white, net-like substance shoot out from the uncle's hand, sweeping over the giant mountain boar.
After being swept by the white net-like substance, the giant mountain boar also stood motionless.
Bang!!!
The giant mountain boar's body suddenly exploded apart, completely separating into uniformly sized cubes.
Riku was dumbfounded. What?!
Superpower?! Magic?! Sorcery?!
"Un... Un... Uncle... just now... that was?!"
"Hmm? That ability? Of course, it's Magic!"
The uncle had an expression that said Riku was making a fuss over nothing.
"Ma... Magic?! Magic?"
"Magic is Magic! Is it strange? Kid, your luck is good. The Steel-backed Beast is a top-tier delicacy. I'll roast it; we can eat soon."
The uncle walked to a tree nearby and pressed his palm against it.
"Buzz—!"
The tree broke apart, and a large skewer appeared in the uncle's hand. He skewered a large piece of fresh, tender meat and set it over the fire to roast.
Then, a handful of uniformly thick skewers appeared in the uncle's hand, and he took another piece of tender meat.
"Buzz—!"
The meat in his hand turned into small, uniformly sized cubes, which he then skewered and roasted.
Riku watched everything before him dumbfounded. During this time, he even secretly pinched himself to confirm he wasn't dreaming.
Magic!
It was real Magic, not stage tricks.
Magic actually exists in this world!
Sizzle! Sizzle!
As the meat roasted over the fire, oozing oil, it also emitted a rich, meaty aroma.
"Grrr!"
Looking at the meat in front of him, Riku's stomach let out a disappointing growl. He hadn't eaten before going to find his girlfriend, planning to take her out for a big meal.
After seeing his girlfriend cheating, getting struck by lightning, and waking up now without knowing how much time had passed, he was already starving.
Hearing Riku's stomach growl, the uncle smiled and said, "Hungry, right? Don't panic, it will take a while to roast properly. If you're hungry, you can eat the fruit you brought first."
Hearing the uncle's words, Riku paused, then looked down at the plastic bag beside him.
On the way, he saw his girlfriend's favorite fruit, a pineapple, and bought one in passing, intending to eat it together when he got back. He didn't expect this.
Forget it! At this point, he couldn't care about that anymore!
Riku took out the pineapple and found that its appearance was a bit strange. Not only were there some mysterious patterns on it, but it also looked like its "hair" had been fried by the lightning.
"Even this got electrocuted?"
He was starving, so he didn't think too much about it. He took large bites, devouring it quickly. Within moments, he had eaten it all.
"That tastes terrible!"
It was the first time he had eaten such a terrible pineapple. Had the lightning caused it to spoil?
Suddenly!
Riku seemed to hear the sound of his own heartbeat.
Crackle!!
An arc of electricity radiated from his body.
Immediately after, more and more lightning began to radiate from his body.
Seeing this scene, Gildarts couldn't help but widen his eyes:
"...Your Magic Origin has awakened!!"