The two were already prepared. Gray said, "I see you're using a sword. Draw it." Gray had noticed Ryūjin Jakka at Finn's waist.
Finn shook his head. "My sword is very powerful when drawn, so let's try not to use it."
Gray placed his right fist on his left waist, and a deep blue magic circle appeared. "In that case, don't blame me if you lose without using your sword."
"Ice-Make: Lance."
As Gray finished speaking, a series of ice lances instantly formed and flew towards Finn.
"What incredible speed! Gray is still strong," the onlookers exclaimed, amazed at how quickly Gray had formed the lances. For molding magic, speed often determined victory.
Seeing this, Finn tapped his foot, instantly disappearing. A large crater appeared where he'd been standing.
After adapting for a while, Finn was completely familiar with his body. The crater was caused by his sudden burst of strength.
Finn moved incredibly fast, dodging several ice lances and appearing before Gray in the blink of an eye.
Gray hadn't even retracted his hands from casting the spell when Finn appeared. His eyes widened, but Finn didn't give him time to react.
His fist landed on Gray's face. Finn's physique was incredibly strong. In the forest, he'd sent a ton-class Tyrannosaurus Rex flying with a single punch.
Gray didn't have such strong defense, and so…
"Bang——"
"One-hit knockout…" Makarov announced in surprise. Gray was knocked unconscious by Finn's punch, a large bump swelling on his head.
Makarov said to Gildarts, "I thought I'd overestimated Finn, but I underestimated him. Gray isn't weak."
Gildarts nodded. "I told you he was a monster. And Finn only awakened his magic ten days ago."
"Ten days? He's this strong? He really is a monster," Makarov exclaimed. "Thankfully, he met you. If this genius had been taken by a dark guild…"
Makarov paused, then continued, "We can imagine a future where the magic world faces an unstoppable demon."
"Gray, are you okay?" Finn was surprised that Gray had been knocked out so easily. This guy was so fragile, he couldn't even withstand one punch?
…
A new day dawned, and Finn arrived at the guild early. Last night, the Master had said he was strong enough to take on missions, but his first mission would require someone to guide him.
He was looking forward to it.
As soon as he entered, he saw Gray, sporting a large bump on his head and shirtless, standing on a table, shouting, "I'm telling you, if I hadn't been unprepared yesterday, Finn wouldn't have knocked me down so easily!"
Macao laughed, drinking his beer. "Haha, stop bragging, Gray. You couldn't even withstand a single punch yesterday."
"Annoying! I told you I wasn't prepared! If Finn were here now, I'd prove it to you!" Gray clenched his fist, seeming serious.
"Oh, what are you going to prove?" A voice suddenly came from behind Gray.
Gray's boasting stopped abruptly.
"Haha, Gray, Finn's here. Prove it to us!" Wakaba said, stirring things up.
Finn looked at Gray amusedly. "Doesn't your bump hurt?"
Gray touched his head, then, seeing Macao and Wakaba's disbelief, gritted his teeth. "Let's fight again! I'm strong! I didn't even show my full strength yesterday!"
Finn shook his head. "I'm going on a mission soon, so I don't have time to fight you today."
Gray's eyes widened. "You can already take missions?"
"Can't you?" Finn asked, puzzled.
"Of course not! The Master said mage missions are very dangerous, so you can't take them without his approval."
"I see," Finn nodded.
Then he said, "The Master's here. I'm going on a mission. We can fight later." He left.
"Yo, Finn. Have you decided who will guide you on your first mission?" Makarov had told Finn about this yesterday.
Since it was just to familiarize Finn with the mission process, any experienced guild member would do.
"Master, if Gildarts is free, I'd like him to guide me on my first mission. He's the one I'm most familiar with in the guild."
Makarov nodded. "In that case, ask Gildarts if he's free, then you can check the mission board."
Makarov added, "You can only take missions from the first-floor board. You can't go to the second floor yet."
"Second floor? What kind of missions are on the second floor?" Finn looked at the second floor, where there was another mission board, but with very few missions.
Makarov said gravely, "Those are S-class missions. One wrong move could cost you your life."
"You can't take missions from the second floor until you become an S-class mage."
"How do you become an S-class mage?" Finn asked.
"S-class mages have to pass the guild's exams. They're extremely difficult. So far, we only have one S-class mage in the guild," Gray explained, adding a complaint.
"The difficult exams are to ensure you have the strength to handle S-class missions, to increase your survival rate," Makarov tapped Gray's head with his cane.
"That's not something you need to worry about now. It's too early for you."
Finn went to the mission board and looked at the various missions: defeating thieves, driving out bandits, exterminating monsters, etc.
He even saw a mission to help an old lady find her dog.
Finn muttered, "Mages' jobs are so diverse? Even finding a dog for an old lady?"
"This one," Finn said, taking a monster extermination mission.
It was to exterminate the monster, Kidoken. According to the description, Kidoken would go to the nearby Volk City to feed at night, and its food was humans.
Over 100 people had died in just a week.
The bounty was 400,000Jewels.
According to witnesses, Kidoken was a flying moth.
Finn was stunned. How big was a magical moth? A moth that ate people? He'd never seen such a thing.
Of course, he hadn't seen many things in this magical world, so he could only say he was learning.
After deciding on the mission, Finn showed the request to Makarov. In this world, mages had to register their missions with the guild for later payment.
The guild, as the provider of missions, also took a certain percentage of the bounty to maintain its operations.
It's worth mentioning that in other guilds, the mage-guild split was usually 70/30.
Fairy Tail's split was 90/10, only charging a basic management fee.
Even so, most Fairy Tail mages weren't rich, as most of their bounties went to paying for the damage they caused.
"Um...Finn, are you sure you want to take this mission? Your first mission should be simpler. It'll help you understand your strength."
"And it's your first mission, just to familiarize yourself with the process."
"You're starting with an extermination mission, which is quite difficult," Makarov said, looking at the request with a serious expression.
"Master, you said to understand my strength. I think intense battles will help me understand my strength better."
"Sigh, alright. If Gildarts guides you, I'll approve this mission," Makarov took a sip of his drink, pausing as if thinking, then said.
"Okay, thank you, Master," Finn smiled, taking the request and heading towards Gildarts' house.
He'd learned Gildarts' address yesterday, so he wasn't worried about finding it.
…
"Honestly, it's hard to imagine that the strongest mage of Fairy Tail lives in such a humble house."
Finn looked at the simple wooden house.
"Knock knock" A knock came, startling Gildarts, who was asleep. Gildarts looked at the still-early sky, sighing.
"Alright, alright, stop knocking. Wait a minute, ha~~"
Hearing the yawn, Finn stopped knocking. After a while, a sleepy Gildarts opened the door, peeking out.
"Finn, what is it so early? I was finally getting some sleep."
Hearing Gildarts' complaint, Finn scratched his head. "Sir, I'm going on my first mission, and Master wants you to come with me, to guide me."
Finn cleverly misinterpreted Makarov's words, as the result was the same.
"Oh boy, the Master really likes to give me work. I just got back from a mission!!" Gildarts complained, but still followed Finn.
He couldn't disobey the Master's orders.
Soon, they arrived at the guild.
"Master, Gildarts is coming with me. Can I take this mission?" Finn showed Makarov the request.
Seeing Gildarts was already there, Makarov didn't say anything and nodded in agreement.
"Alright, don't back out now," Finn put the request in his bag and headed for the door.
Then Gray suddenly ran to Finn, blocking his way. "Finn, can you take me with you? I just want to see it, I won't interfere with your work."
Finn looked at Makarov for help.
Makarov sighed. "Since Gildarts is guiding you, it's fine if Gray comes along."
He looked at Gildarts. "I trust you. I leave these two children to you. Bring them back safely."
Gildarts could only agree. "Alright, I'll keep an eye on them."
Hearing the Master's approval, Gray excitedly clenched his fist. "Finn, don't worry! With my help, we'll complete this mission perfectly!"
Finn shook his head helplessly. "It seems like your help is unnecessary."
"Kaa~~" Gray instantly turned to stone.
Finn patted Gray's shoulder. "Let's go. If you keep standing there, we'll leave you behind." He walked out the door.
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