"I am not a Dragon Slayer Mage? I am a weapon…"
"But I can use Dragon Slayer Magic, and Dragon Slayer Mages all use Dragon Slayer Magic…"
"But I do not have a cat? But the other Dragon Slayer Mages all have cats."
"Then who exactly am I?! Where did I come from? What am I going to do? And where am I going?"
Gajeel became confused. His eyes flickered with endless confusion. He raised his head and looked at the sky. Today's sky was azure and incomparably clear, but Gajeel's heart was covered in a gray mist.
In fact, even Erza did not know that her words had made Gajeel fall in love with philosophy besides rock music. Of course, that was a matter for later…
"Alright, enough nonsense. Son of the Fire Dragon King, son of the Iron Dragon, and daughter of the Sky Dragon~"
"Tell me the methods you usually use to train! Let me understand them…"
Animus was too lazy to continue wasting words. He had already grown tired of everyone's nonsense. His brows tightly furrowed, and his eyes firmly stared at Natsu as he spoke coldly.
"Our usual training methods?"
Natsu seemed not to have expected Animus to come looking for them just to ask such an unnutritious question. Thus, his expression first paused, then he continued speaking.
"Yes. Because I have no experience teaching others Dragon Slayer Magic, I want to ask how your father and mother taught you…"
Animus crossed his arms before his chest and asked Natsu and the others.
"That's too long ago. I don't remember at all how I first learned Dragon Slayer Magic."
"And besides that, we don't really have any systematic training methods normally. Basically, we train however we want! Ah, right, speaking of which, Big Brother Evan developed training methods exclusive to each of us according to our different situations…"
Natsu scratched his cheek. The question Animus asked was far too ancient. How could he still remember things from when he was three or four years old?
As for normal training, there was no fixed training method either. Basically, it was rather freewheeling…
Speaking of which, if there really was a slightly more systematic training method.
In Natsu's view, there was only the training method Evan had individually designed for each of them back then.
"Oh? A plan personally designed for you by His Majesty Evan? Tell me about it…"
The moment Animus heard that it was a training plan personally designed by Evan for Natsu and the others, he immediately froze. Then his expression became wildly delighted as he asked excitedly.
"Oh, so you want to know the training plan Big Brother Evan designed for us?"
Only then did Natsu understand Animus's meaning. So Animus wanted the plan Evan had customized for them back then.
"Big Brother Evan made different training plans for each of us back then. I remember I didn't throw it away! Happy, do you still remember my training plan book from back then?"
After thinking for a moment, Natsu looked at Happy flying in the sky and asked.
"Aye~"
Happy lightly nodded, opened the backpack he had always carried, and took out from inside a small blue booklet he had always used to wrap salted fish, handing it to Natsu.
"Oh! This is it…"
Natsu's eyes lit up as he looked at the booklet in his hand that had been soaked wet by seawater.
"Animus, if you need it, take it! I have already done all the training methods written on it. This booklet is already useless to me."
Then Natsu cheerfully handed the booklet in his hand to Animus.
"This…"
Animus looked at the small booklet in his hand that had been soaked by seawater and carried the smell of salted fish. His entire head felt big. He looked at the wet booklet in his hand, his eyes filled entirely with disgust.
"That training plan? I didn't expect Brother Natsu to still keep that training plan~"
Just as Animus looked at the training plan in his hand, his eyes filled with unconcealable disgust, Wendy suddenly revealed a nostalgic look. She seemed full of affection toward Natsu's training plan, which was used to wrap salted fish.
"How nostalgic! Back then, when Brother trained me, he also made a training plan like this…"
Erza likewise revealed nostalgia as she recalled the happy days when she had trained alone with Evan in the past.
"Hmph~"
Laxus coldly snorted. Although he did not say anything, he clearly also knew about Evan's training plans.
After all, back then, he had trained under Evan together with Erza and Mirajane…
"I see. So this book is actually so impressive? As expected of the plan written by His Majesty Evan."
Animus froze as he looked at everyone's expressions. Through everyone's expressions, he understood how extraordinary the training plan in his hands was.
"In short, let me see what training methods His Majesty Evan prepared for these children!"
As Animus spoke, he opened the booklet in his hand with the words "Potential Development Plan" written on the cover.
"Potential Development Plan Chapter One, Cliff Jumping!"
"A method of training Dragon Slayer Mages through the use of cliff jumping!"
"The higher the cliff jumped from, the greater the effect…"
Animus had only read the first chapter of the Potential Development Plan, yet the corners of his eyes already began twitching slightly. Mainly, the things written in this book were a bit too outrageous.
"Chapter Two, Fight Poison with Poison…"
"Chapter Three, Throw the Dragon Slayer Mage into a group of magical beasts…"
"Chapter Four, Throw the Dragon Slayer Mage into an extreme environment…"
"Chapter Five, Use meteorites to develop the Dragon Slayer Mage's resistance to being hit."
Animus flipped through the Potential Development Plan in his hand. As he read, the corners of his eyes twitched. He was somewhat confused. Was this really a training plan written by His Majesty Evan to develop Natsu's potential? Was this really not an execution order Evan had written because he had a grudge against Natsu and intended to execute him?
"Haha, Animus, I'm really looking forward to you using the methods on the training plan to help Sister Sonya develop her potential~"
Just as Animus was flipping through the training plan in his hand while feeling frightened, Natsu's voice suddenly entered Animus's ears…
Natsu's voice sounded especially grating in Animus's ears…
Animus even felt that his eardrums were about to leak. He expressionlessly looked at Natsu, his heart complicated.
"Are you certain this was written by His Majesty Evan?"
Animus looked at Natsu and the others before him and asked. Because there were no outsiders present, Animus did not conceal how he addressed Evan.
"Of course…"
Natsu lightly nodded, confirming Animus's words.
"Are you certain you trained according to the things written on this?"
The corners of Animus's eyes twitched slightly, then he continued looking at Natsu and asked.
"Of course…"
Natsu nodded repeatedly, expressing certainty.
Natsu's childhood was like this. Perhaps if Natsu possessed the childhoods of those villains, he might not necessarily grow up kind, but if those villains possessed Natsu's childhood, they might not necessarily still be alive…
"..."
Hearing this, Animus fell silent. He no longer knew what to say.
"Boom!"
After remaining silent for several seconds, Animus did the only good thing he had ever done in his life.
Using Fire Magic, he burned the evil Potential Plan in his hand into countless ashes…
Animus stared at Natsu. He simply looked deeply at Natsu like this.
"Farewell…"
Several seconds later, Animus turned around, spread his wings, and flew into the distance.
"Sonya, let's go. I will raise you using normal methods. Believe me, even with normal methods, you will not be weaker than these masochists and abuse maniacs…"
Before leaving, Animus did not forget to call Sonya. At the same time, Animus decided that in the future, he would make Sonya stay farther away from Natsu and the others. The brains of these people like Natsu were not normal.
"Then I am truly sorry for disturbing everyone. Everyone, please continue training! I will leave first!"
Sonya froze when she saw Animus leaving. Then she immediately turned around and respectfully bowed toward Natsu and the others.
Only then did she get up and chase after Animus's figure…
"Hmm?!"
Not long after Sonya and Animus left, Laxus seemed to notice something. He bent down and picked up the remnant page of the Potential Development Plan written by Evan, left on the ground after being burned by Animus's flames.
"Ah, this training plan really is different from ours…"
"This is not the training plan we used."
"This is the punishment book Evan specially prepared for disobedient children like Natsu…"
Laxus looked at this training plan and muttered to himself. The reason he had not spoken earlier was because he had realized there was something wrong with this training plan. After carefully looking at it, he discovered that it was indeed wrong, because a small line of words was written on the lower left corner of this training plan's cover, and the small words said: (Punishment Version).
This training plan was not the Potential Development Plan they used, but the punishment version of the training plan Evan specially prepared for Natsu. It was completely different from the one they used…
And after Laxus saw this punishment version training plan before him, he instantly understood why Animus had previously looked at them with that kind of gaze and also understood why Animus had called them masochists…
"Forget it~"
Laxus raised his brows. He briefly considered whether he should chase after Animus and explain the issue with the training plan, but in the end, Laxus gave up.
Laxus, who was slightly socially anxious and did not know how to communicate with others, gave up communicating.
"Wu…"
Just as Laxus felt helpless while looking at the training plan burned into charcoal before him, Erza tightly furrowed her brows. Her beautiful eyes carried a hint of hesitation.
"What's wrong?"
Laxus looked at Erza, whose gaze flickered, and asked aloud.
"I am hesitating whether I should go find Animus and explain that I am a sadist…"
Erza's delicate brows slightly furrowed. After thinking for a while, she looked at Laxus seriously and asked.
"..."
Hearing this, Laxus fell silent.
"If you chase him now and tell him that you are a sadist, you will probably scare him to death directly, right?"
After thinking for a while, Laxus slightly opened his mouth and explained to Erza.
Just imagining the boss's younger sister running before him, not to say anything else, but only to prove to him that she was not a masochist but a sadist, felt terrifying…
The most important question was, how would the boss's younger sister prove she was a sadist?! Cough cough…
"Then forget it!"
"I will continue training my proficiency with the Divine Artifact Gajeel!"
After briefly thinking for a while, Erza, like Laxus, gave up the intention to find Animus and explain. As she spoke, she looked toward Gajeel beside her.
"Uh…"
In response, Gajeel's entire person was silent.
"Sonya, believe me. I refuse to believe that I cannot use my method to cultivate you into a powerful Dragon Slayer Mage."
Animus stood on Sonya's shoulder, his gaze solemn.
At this moment, Animus, who carried the mentality of an old father, truly regarded Sonya as his child. He could not allow his child to undergo the tortures written in the Potential Development Plan! Even if this Potential Development Plan was written by Evan, it was still the same…
"Mm!"
Sonya looked at Animus on her shoulder and nodded hard. At this moment, Sonya was very happy, because she sensed Animus's care and love for her, and she also sensed the change in Animus's view toward humans.
Animus had changed. He was no longer that dragon who believed dragons were supreme, looked down on all living beings other than dragons, and was always high above others. He had already become capable of getting along with humans, at least capable of getting along with Sonya in a friendly way.
Besides the Dragon Slayer Mages continuing to compete internally…
Kagura continued on the path of making her blade sharper. Besides making her blade sharper, she also felt she needed to systematically learn Gravity Magic.
For this reason, Kagura found herself two teachers…
One was naturally Ikaruga, the beautiful swordswoman with long cherry-pink hair, a graceful figure, gorgeous appearance, and a beauty like cherry blossoms. The other was Bluenote, the vice guild master of the Mage Guild Grimoire Heart.
"Kagura, the magic in this world is endless, but the lifespan of humans has limits. Even if one learns all magic, what meaning would that have? It is better to properly master the magic one can master within our limited time…"
Bluenote cut off his long whip-like hair and trimmed it into a buzz cut. His gaze had also become much gentler.
After Precht gave up on the Great Magic Era, and after he was defeated instantly by one punch from Gildarts, Bluenote achieved enlightenment. Rather than pursue the so-called primordial magic "One," it was better to properly master the magic in his own hands and turn his own magic into that "One"!
After enlightenment, Bluenote became increasingly unfathomable. He seemed to have chosen the same path as Gildarts, completely merging his own magic and magic power together, making himself and magic inseparable…
It was just that Bluenote's talent was weaker than Gildarts's, so he had not yet succeeded at present. But even so, Bluenote, who possessed strength rivaling the Ten Wizard Saints, was naturally also qualified to serve as Kagura's mentor.
"Little Kagura, if you want to achieve some accomplishments in both swordsmanship and your Gravity Magic, you must put in effort beyond what ordinary people can imagine, pay several times more effort than ordinary people, and taste suffering ordinary people cannot endure. Only then will you have the possibility of success. Even so, have you decided the direction of your own path? Have you truly prepared yourself mentally?"
On Ikaruga's long and fair leg was stamped the emblem of Grimoire Heart Guild.
Yes, she had now joined Grimoire Heart and become a Mage inside Precht's guild. She was working hard to do some beautiful things for this world.
In Ikaruga's view, joining Grimoire Heart, putting forth all her effort to fulfill Fairy Tail and Evan's wishes, was what she should do in this life…
As for standing beside Evan, she had never thought about such a thing. Even if she had this opportunity, she would not want to do it…
Because Ikaruga deeply knew that if one wanted to forever admire a person, then it was best to keep some distance from the person one admired. What she admired had always been that powerful man standing in the sky, cold and emotionless in his eyes, throwing meteorites toward the ground…
Since the person she admired stood in the sky, then it was better to let him forever stand in the sky! In Ikaruga's view, a distance that her blade could not reach was the most beautiful~
"I have already decided. I want to combine gravity and the blade! I want to be like Big Brother Evan, control the blade of gravity, and become a user of the Gravity Blade!"
After hearing Ikaruga and Bluenote's words, Kagura slightly raised the corners of her mouth. She was not afraid of failure, nor was she afraid of suffering. She was only afraid that she was still not strong enough.
Everyone inside Fairy Tail Guild called her the genius with the most hope of becoming the guild's S-Class Mage, but a genius was only a genius. A genius who had not become powerful had no meaning…
She wanted to become a strong person, not a genius who possessed the qualifications to become strong!
Kagura did not want to encounter things like last year and this year again.
Just because a strong person joined Fairy Tail Guild, she ended up missing the qualification to become Fairy Tail Guild's S-Class Mage…
At this moment, Kagura only had one thought in her heart. She wanted to become stronger!
"We understand…"
In response, Bluenote and Ikaruga exchanged a glance. The next second, magic power like an abyss and sea erupted from Bluenote and Ikaruga!
Among them, Ikaruga's magic power had already reached an astonishing Level Six. Without question, with Ikaruga's strength, no matter which light Mage Guild she was placed in, she possessed the capital to become an S-Class Mage. She might even be stronger than some guilds' S-Class Mages…
As for the magic power inside Bluenote's body, it had already approached Level Eight! After being defeated by Gildarts with one punch and receiving Precht's education, Bluenote had even broken through his own limits. In this lifetime, he already possessed the potential to glimpse the realm beyond humans!
Combined with the fact that Bluenote had a top-tier magic mentor like Precht accompanying him, perhaps in another eight or ten years, Bluenote would possess the qualifications to fight Warrod, currently ranked fifth among the Ten Wizard Saints…
Although because Warrod fundamentally did not know how to fight and had magic power but no offensive magic, among Mages of the same level, there was not a single one Warrod could defeat…
"Inhale!"
Kagura faced these two opponents and mentors before her, whose combat power was incomparably astonishing.
She suddenly took a deep breath. Kagura naturally knew the strength of the people before her, but so what?!
Her blade was a blade capable of cutting everything, whether space or gravity!
"Boom!!"
Accompanied by a burst of smoke and dust, the young girl drew the katana at her waist.
"Buzz~"
Accompanied by a metallic roar, blade light shone across the entire world.
"Hehe, Warrod, and that brat Makarov, it seems we are all already old…"
"The brats nowadays are all monsters! Back when I was their age, I hadn't even learned any magic and spent all day idling around~"
Precht stood on a distant mountain summit, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the endless blade light before him, the corners of his mouth slightly rising.
At this moment, Precht felt somewhat emotional. The more he tried to integrate into this time, the more he could feel that the era had already changed. The era that belonged to them was slowly disappearing. The old era would eventually exit the stage, because a new era was about to arrive! The future belonged to the young…
"Sigh."
Thinking this, Precht helplessly sighed.
"Perhaps in a few more decades, these brats will catch up to the current me! At that time, without the heart, I definitely won't be their opponent! Sigh, truly terrifying! Looking at it this way, my research cannot stop either…"
As Precht spoke, his figure disappeared from the mountain summit. A completely new magic airship was astonishingly parked on that vast mountain summit. More terrifyingly, this new airship had installed one main cannon and six secondary cannons. Each secondary cannon had greater power than Jupiter, while the main cannon was ten times more powerful than the secondary cannons…
These magical technologies were already not something that could be created by the level of magical engineering on the continent of Ishgar. Even if Precht gave every person on the continent of Ishgar a copy of this airship's design blueprint, probably ninety-nine percent of the people on the continent would not even understand it! Perhaps among the people Evan knew, in terms of magical engineering, the only one capable of defeating the old man Precht was Wisdom.
"Guild Master Precht, you finally came. I have been waiting here for you for a long time~"
After Precht entered the airship, three beautiful young girls stood in the airship hall. They were Mirajane, Seilah, and Ultear.
"Mm, since you have come, then let us begin! I know why you came to find me. I will teach you… the magic of the Books of Zeref!"
Precht lightly nodded as he looked at the people who had come. Then he spoke shocking words.
Besides Kagura, Mirajane, Seilah, Ultear, and the Dragon Slayer Mages, the others were not idle either. Mystogan returned to the world of Edolas and continued modifying his equipment. Gray and Lyon clung to Ur and Silver while continuously cultivating ice-attribute magic…
Just as all the Mages of Fairy Tail continued this insane internal competition, time continued moving forward!
Very quickly, four months passed. Time arrived at the end of March, X780, when spring was warm and flowers bloomed. Evan received a message from August.
August, far away in the Alvarez Empire on the western continent, had already confirmed that the Alvarez Empire would launch a probing attack against Ishgar in the coming days. The mission began.