Next Morning — Lower Courtyard of the Demon Castle
You're escorted—barefoot and half-awake in your hoodie—into a vast blackstone courtyard. The sky overhead swirls with violet clouds. Floating runes form a protective barrier around the perimeter.
In the center, standing like he just stepped off a manga cover:
The Demon King.
Flowing dark cloak. Chest partially exposed because… of course. Long silver hair tied back. Holding a book in one hand and absolutely no patience in the other.
He looks up at you, raises an eyebrow.
"You're late."
You're exactly two minutes early.
What you know so far:
You have mana.
A LOT of it.
Way too much for someone your size. It leaks off you like heat from a star.
You have no control.
You nearly made a flower explode yesterday by sneezing near it.
You have no class.
And no training. But also no restrictions.
The Demon King closes his book and speaks:
"We're not starting with spells."
He flicks a hand.
A small stone pedestal rises from the ground with a single crystal orb hovering above it.
"We're starting with control."
He gestures to the orb.
"Touch it. Channel only a drop of your mana into it."
"Anything more than that…"
He glances at the barrier runes. They're already humming in warning.
"…will destroy half the courtyard."
He crosses his arms.
"I'm not helping. Show me what your soul remembers."
You nod with absolute confidence.
"Okay. One... drop."
You walk up to the pedestal. Eyes narrowed. Hoodie sleeves flopping. Hands shaking slightly, but not from fear—from excitement.
You lift your palm over the crystal orb.
You focus.
You imagine a single drop of magic.
Just a drop. A tiny whisper. A teaspoon of power.
Unfortunately—
Your "drop" is the Pacific Ocean.
The orb doesn't just glow—it screams.
A blinding light bursts from it like a dying star.
Runes along the barrier walls flare red.
Winds explode outward, kicking up dust, petals, and a poor lizard that had nothing to do with this.
The orb shoots into the air like a firework, violently spinning.
Then—
BOOOOM.
A pulse of raw magic detonates upward into the sky like a mana nuke.
The entire courtyard rumbles. Birds flee. Somewhere, a tree screams in infernal.
When the smoke clears, the orb is now hovering slightly burnt, cracked, and afraid.
And you're just… standing there.
Charred at the tips of your hair. Hoodie now puffed with static.
Looking up at the Demon King like
"Oops."
He stares at you.
Silence.
Then, very slowly, pinches the bridge of his nose.
"…One drop."
Another pause.
"…That was a tsunami, Ryuu."
He walks over, kneels, and taps your forehead once—your mana dims to a faint flicker.
"Okay. Training starts... now."
After the mana tsunami incident, the Demon King walks calmly to the center of the courtyard—through swirling smoke and flickering runes—his cloak dragging across the scorched ground.
He gestures for you to follow.
"Sit."
He points to the blackstone floor.
Then himself.
"And breathe."
Step One: Mana Control Basics
You sit cross-legged (crisscross-apocalypse) while he kneels in front of you, back straight, hair slightly glowing from residual magic.
"You have too much mana," he says bluntly.
"More than I've seen in any living being your size."
"Your soul doesn't store magic. It is magic. And that's dangerous."
He raises a hand, places two fingers over your chest—right where your heart is.
You feel it:
A pressure inside you.
Like a second heartbeat.
Like the whole sky curled up inside your ribs.
"Focus on it. Don't suppress it. Listen to it."
As you breathe in, your mana answers.
It flutters, pulses, rises.
Images flicker behind your closed eyes:
Stars being born.
Darkness with a heartbeat.
Flickers of flame, dreams, and void coiling like smoke.
You're not just made of one thing.
You're made of everything.
Suddenly—his voice. Calm, commanding.
"Stop."
Your eyes snap open.
He's closer now, his hand hovering above your head. A faint barrier hums between his palm and your skull.
"You have no alignment yet."
"No school. No attunement. Your soul hasn't chosen."
He exhales, then looks at you with something between awe and caution.
"That means it might never settle."
"You could wield… anything."
He frowns.
"Or be consumed by it."
Step Two: Affinity Test
He stands, flicks a finger—and six colored crystals rise from the ground in a ring around you.
Red — Fire
Blue — Water
Green — Air
Brown — Earth
Yellow — Light
Black — Void
"Focus on one," he says.
"Breathe. Let your mana lean toward whatever calls to you."
The others will dim. The one that reacts... is your first known affinity.
You sit there, totally serious—eyes narrowed, lips pursed, dramatic wind that doesn't exist blowing your hoodie like you're the protagonist of a 300-episode anime.
You extend your hand slowly.
The crystals begin to glow.
You breathe in…
You focus…
You—
CRACKLE.
The moment your mana pulses outward, the six affinity crystals squeal—like actual high-pitched "NOPE!" noises—and immediately scatter like terrified ducklings.
The fire crystal zips behind a pillar.
Water dives into the nearby fountain.
Air shoots straight up into the clouds, screaming
Earth burrows underground.
Light zips away up into the clouds, following air.
Void simply vanishes mid-air like "you don't see me—bye."
You're left sitting cross-legged in silence.
Hand still outstretched.
Looking at… nothing.
The Demon King just stares.
Then sighs—deeply, like a man mourning the loss of his last nerve.
"…You scared the crystals."
He pinches the bridge of his nose again.
"They're animated artifacts, Ryuu. They've survived a thousand years."
"And you scared them."
Another long pause.
"…Impressive."
---
He kneels beside you again, quieter this time.
"You may not have a single affinity."
"You might be what the old world called…"
His voice lowers.
"An Unbound."
That word hums in the air like thunder under your skin.
Unbound:
A caster with no natural limitation. No element. No structure.
Pure soulborn mana.
Dangerous. Legendary. Extinct.
The Demon King finally leans closer, looking you in the eyes—not as a teacher. Not as a king.
As someone... awed.
"You're not meant to cast like others."
"You're meant to reshape magic."
Your eyes light up like twin moons, completely forgetting that you just terrified magical relics into fleeing the scene.
You spin dramatically in place, hoodie swishing as you point a finger up at the Demon King with unrestrained curiosity:
"Ooooh~! What about your affinity, your majesty?!"
"Is it like, darkness? Hellfire? Infinite sword rain?"
You're practically vibrating.
The Demon King blinks.
His mouth opens slightly—then closes.
It's the same look he had when you first called him handsome.
A moment of regal pause.
Then—
"Death."
His voice is low, steady.
"My affinity is Death"
He steps back, raising a hand—
Instantly, the courtyard darkens.
Shadows stretch unnaturally.
Fire blossoms from his palm without heat.
Symbols of old infernal script swirl in the air.
And then—
He clenches his fist.
All of it disappears.
Silence returns.
"But I didn't inherit these."
"I claimed them."
He turns to you.
He kneels, eye-level again.
"You're not a mage, Ryuu."
"You're a source."
A pause.
Then, unexpectedly—
"…But if you had to pick a 'cool title,' what would it be?"
A rare smirk.
"Since you already scared the crystals, might as well name your legend early."
You throw your arms wide, grin splitting your face, voice ringing through the courtyard like an overpowered Saturday morning anime protagonist:
"AZURE DRAGON—"
"DESTROYER OF WORLDS—"
"AND SNACKS!!"
Your hoodie flutters dramatically. Mana ripples from you like storm-charged air.
A small infernal bird perched on a wall passes out from secondhand embarrassment.
The Demon King stares.
Just… stares.
Then closes his eyes. Takes a long, quiet breath. And whispers to himself:
"…I erased the trauma."
"…But somehow I created a gremlin."
When he opens his eyes again, you're still standing there, arms raised, grinning like you just soloed a raid boss with a breadstick.
He exhales. Straightens his back.
And raises one solemn hand:
"Then let it be known throughout the castle—"
"That Ryuu, First of His Name, henceforth answers to…"
A dramatic pause. He gestures to you.
"Azure Dragon, Destroyer of Worlds… and Snacks."
A sudden gust of wind swirls your hoodie like a cape.
A faint magical ripple carves your title into the air in glowing blue letters.
"Your training," he adds with the ghost of a smile, "will be… modified accordingly."