The sky was orange as the sun set at their backs. Yuuto and Senji headed on their way home from the Grand Mall Utopia. Both of them carried bags which were filled with their various spoils from 3XT. Yuuto carried one bag filled with miscellaneous items such as clothing, a brand new video game and some posters. And another which was filled with treats that he acquired after the ruckus with En’s gang. Most of the items were from 3XT but the pair did stop at one other store on their way out to get a few more things.

Man even though I got all this stuff my turtleneck is still ruined. And on top of that I attracted way too much attention to myself with my last attack. I should have held back…easier said than done. If those boneheads hadn’t ruined my turtleneck maybe I wouldn’t have been so tempted to smash them. That’s not really a good enough excuse though since I didn’t hold back I ended up making a giant hole in the wall. I’m actually surprised the people at 3XT didn’t make a bigger deal about it. I mean it was pretty cool of them to let it slide. I’m sure I cost them more in damages then they would have lost from whatever was stolen anyway.

Yuuto puffed out his cheeks as he examined his turtleneck.

“Aw man, goodbye limited edition. Those bastards ruined you.”

“Sorry about your turtleneck, but at least you still managed to get the rare marshmallow chocolate. Plus, you got that and a bunch of other stuff you like, even some clothes for free.”

With that Yuuto perked up a bit and smiled.

“Yeah and don’t forget. 3XT was so grateful that I get a lifetime discount on all 3XT items. Pretty surprising since I did end up making a giant hole in their wall. Either way a lifetime discount is nothing to sneeze at. I just wish their selection of candies were bigger, they only have three brands. I mean one of them is gummi which is the most inclusive. But still. Yeah that reminds me.’

As the two continued walking Yuuto began fishing through his bag until he pulled out one of the special marshmallow chocolates. Meticulously Yuuto opened the chocolate bar and broke it in half handing a piece to Senji.

“Here.”

“Oh thanks. Hey, this is actually really good.”

“I know right.”

A look of pure joy went across Yuuto’s face as he enjoyed his chocolate. Senji smiled for a moment then paused for a moment thinking about something before he glanced at Yuuto.

“Those En’s gang guys seems pretty tough but you and that blonde guy handled them without much trouble.”

With a glance in Senji’s direction Yuuto responded with. “Actually I would have done much better if I wasn’t so rusty. I haven’t been in a real fight for a while so my body is kinda stiff. If I had been fighting a real opponent instead of those thugs I would have been in trouble.

“Is that so? Hey Yuuto, I know you told me it’s because of magic. Which by the way isn’t a real answer but why are you so strong? I mean I know I said if it was a secret I wouldn’t ask about it but after today I gotta know.”

Yuuto glanced over at Senji while finishing the rest of his chocolate he looked to the sky for a moment and thought about it for a moment.

Wow he’s got weird timing. Well I just got to try some rare Gummi candy so I’m in a pretty good mood. Well aside from the fact those assholes ruined my turtleneck. Well let’s see should I tell him. Maybe I shouldn’t. Should I? Maybe not. Should I? Sure I don’t see why not…

“Uh Yuuto, earth to Yuuto. You still there.”

It took Yuuto a moment to realize Senji was waved a hand in front of his face.

“Huh yeah, what is it?”

“You spaced again. Just like the last time I asked why you were so strong.”

“Oh. Well firstly it is because of magic…”

“Seriously that’s not an answer…”

“I wasn’t finished. Specifically, it’s a type of enhancement magic. With it I can enhance my physical ability depending on the level of enhancement I use. Like for example Iron which I used to punch En should increase my strength by a quarter of my regular total.”

Senji nodded while placing a finger against his chin. “Yeah you did say something like strength enhance. When you punched En through the wall. Wait but that doesn’t explain how you’re so strong when you’re not using enhance.”

Yuuto smirked for a moment. “I’m always using enhance though.”

Senji stopped in his tracks and stared at Yuuto who continued walking for a moment then turned to look at Senji.

“How’s that possible you’d have to be consuming a massive amount of mana and the strain of focusing on just that all the time would making it difficult to perform other tasks. I don’t think a normal person could possibly generate that much magic constantly.”

Yuuto tilted his head to the side like he didn’t understand what Senji was getting at. “I don’t know about all that but its second nature for me.”

“For that to be second nature you would have had to practice day in and day out. It would have to be drilled into you. Learning something like that must have been truly agonizing I can’t imagine what it must have been like to learn how to use enhance like that. Wait, you were homeschooled right? What the hell did you learn there? And who taught it too you?”

Yuuto avoided eye contact with Senji and then sighed. “Good questions. But I’m not gonna answers them. I will tell you this though, there is more than one reason why I can use enhance all the time. The first is the method that I learned more on that at a later point in time. The second is because I my body passively absorbs ambient magical energy. Well I guess to a greater degree than a regular person since everyone technically does that.”

Yuuto had raised a finger as he spoke as if he was reading off a list. A second later the expression on Senji’s face began to change as something donned on him.

“Yuuto? You’re a conduit aren’t you?”