Chapter 45: Half a Year and News
Standing by the window, Moen gazed into the pitch-black sky.
It was 4 a.m. in Magnolia—there wasn't much to see at this hour.
Turning around, his eyes landed on the armor displayed on the shelf inside his room.
Clean, polished, and gleaming with a faint metallic sheen, the armor was impressive and imposing. It was the birthday gift Erza had given him six months ago.
Unfortunately, since it wasn't a product of his system, he couldn't store it in the system's inventory space. His Requip Magic couldn't register or equip it, so it had been relegated to decoration.
Next to the armor sat a variety of other items—gifts from guildmates. Many of them weren't exactly practical and had become mere dust collectors.
For example: a pair of wooden handcuffs from Laki.
He still couldn't believe how someone as graceful and intellectual-looking as Laki would have a hobby of collecting restraints and torture instruments…
"Clink."
Moen flicked a coin into the air. It spun and flipped before landing back in his palm—heads.
Etched on it was his own profile.
It was a "lucky coin" gifted by Cana.
She claimed it had been "blessed by a master diviner" and was guaranteed to keep the bearer safe.
Moen strongly suspected that the so-called "master diviner" was Cana herself.
In comparison, Wendy's gift, a box of handmade desserts, was probably the most practical. He'd eaten them right away.
Oh, and there was also the "bestselling" adventure novel from Levy.
Moen had read it, but he found the quality… mediocre at best.
The fantasy literature in this world was still primitive, and Moen had already started working on his own novel, introducing concepts from his past world—a true dimensional gap-breaker.
He was almost done drafting the manuscript.
He also started composing his own battle BGM execution track—because let's be honest, what's a fight without proper music?
As for the gifts from Natsu and Gray…
Let's just say it was better not to talk about them.
Natsu gave him a magical beast's egg… that still hadn't hatched.
Gray gifted him a life-sized ice sculpture—which couldn't fit in his fridge and melted shortly afterward.
He still had no clue how either of them thought that was "cool."
Moen's room was full of gifts collected over the years.
Whenever a guildmate had a birthday or holiday celebration, Moen always prepared a gift.
So naturally, everyone made sure to return the favor.
Relationships are built with care and effort—if you don't treat others sincerely, why would they care about you?
Slipping the lucky coin into his pocket and putting on his "Sound Pot" music player, Moen stepped outside and began his morning training.
"Pegasus Meteor Fist!"
After a quick jog to warm up, he began throwing punches.
Over the past six months, his mastery of the Pegasus Meteor Fist had improved dramatically.
[Pegasus Meteor Fist · Beginner – Proficiency: 380 / 500]
In just half a year, the proficiency had more than tripled.
There were a couple of reasons for the rapid growth:
He now trained while wearing the Little Horse Bronze Cloth, one of the Saint Cloths.
Though not the actual Pegasus Cloth, this "brother constellation" armor still enhanced the technique's performance.
Real combat experience.
Nothing accelerated skill development like actual battles.
Over the past six months, Moen had taken countless quests, especially beast-hunting missions.
He'd saved up a decent amount of money and earned a bit of fame along the way.
"Hoo~"
After punching for a while, he began meditating.
Unlike Natsu, who somehow leveled up just by existing, Moen had to put in serious effort to grow stronger.
He firmly believed in this saying:
"During training, sweat stays on your face.
But after training, sweat stays on your enemy's."
"Buzz… Buzz…"
The Little Horse Bronze Cloth began to glow faintly.
It resonated with its constellation in the sky, drawing down starlight that bathed Moen's body in shimmering brilliance.
The stardust melted into him, enhancing his magical power.
Over the past six months, Moen's connection with the constellation Equuleus (the Little Horse) had grown deeper, and he reaped more benefits from it.
For example, during meditation, he could now absorb starlight magic directly from Equuleus.
The magic energy was incredibly pure—one drop was worth two, and it greatly helped expand his magical reservoir.
"Huuu~~~"
Moen let out a long breath, and the starlight surrounding his body slowly faded.
He opened his eyes, a brief flash of azure starlight passing through his gaze.
"If I could connect withallthe celestial constellations… would that mean, every time I meditate, the stars of the heavens would light up for me? A sky full of stardust showering down on me?"
Looking up, he allowed himself a moment of fantasy.
The sky was already beginning to brighten, and Equuleus had vanished into the dawn, but Moen could still feel the thread of cosmic connection lingering between him and the stars.
Each star in that constellation seemed to pulse with joy—for him.
After finishing his morning training, Moen returned home.
Just as he stepped inside, he ran into Grandpa Makarov, who was rushing out with an unusually excited expression on his face.
"Moen! Just in time—come with me to the guild! We've got news! "
Makarov's eyes lit up the moment he saw Moen and immediately grabbed him to head out in a hurry.
"News? What kind of news?"
Moen blinked in surprise—and then noticed Laxus following close behind Makarov.
That was rare enough to be noteworthy.
"It's about Iron Forest! The Magic Council finally gave their verdict! "
Makarov's voice was nearly shaking with excitement.
He had been waiting a long time for this day.
"Wait—what?!"
Moen froze.
No way—they finally got around to it?!
If this had dragged out any longer, he would've completely forgotten it ever happened!
"Man, what kind of efficiency does the Magic Council have?"
Moen couldn't help but grumble aloud.
This was the official body responsible for managing all magic affairs across the continent of Ishgar—yet they moved at a snail's pace.
"They're not entirely to blame," Makarov explained, trying to be fair.
"The people you caught were really stubborn. They'd magically erased all memory of their guild's location.
It took the Council quite a bit of time to crack that spell and finally uncover Iron Forest's base."
Even though the Magic Council often caused him grief—releasing pointless notices or criticizing the guild for minor infractions—Makarov still acknowledged the value of their work.
"Honestly, we don't need to rally the whole guild," Laxus cut in with a cold tone.
"I could go wipe out Iron Forest on my own. "
Makarov frowned.
"Don't underestimate them, Laxus. "
That lone-wolf, hero mentality of Laxus had always worried him.
"Tch. "
Laxus turned away with a disdainful grunt, no longer making eye contact.
Moen said nothing.
He simply pursed his lips and stayed quiet—he wasn't going to contradict Grandpa Makarov in front of Laxus.
But truth be told, he remembered clearly—Makarov had also wanted to go solo against Iron Forest in the beginning.
Then again… Moen thought to himself,
Makarov had earned that right. He was the Guild Master, a living legend.
Laxus, on the other hand, hadn't even reached S-Class yet.