Chapter 173: The Five-Person Training
"Good enough for me."
After finishing his meal, Noah returned to his lab to continue his research.
The next afternoon, Noah and the four girls—Erza, Ultear, Sorano, and Mirajane—made their way to the guild's training area and entered Noah's personal training field.
This arena was custom-built by Noah himself, equipped with the most powerful defensive wards imaginable. As long as no one hammered away at the exact same spot on the barrier, it could slowly repair itself, making it the perfect place for them to truly cut loose.
After activating all the defensive measures, Noah looked at the girls. Their faces were grim and serious.
"I'm starting," he warned. "Get ready."
He waited a few seconds, then began to draw on his immense reserves of magic power.
The ground of the arena started to tremble as small pebbles lifted into the air. A golden aura, sparkling with motes of pure light, flared to life around Noah. An invisible pressure slammed into the four girls, and they immediately felt the crushing weight of his power.
As Noah continued to ramp up his magic, the golden aura not only enveloped his body but also erupted into a towering pillar around him, sending countless fragments of stone flying into the air.
Thanks to the powerful wards, the surging pressure of Noah's magic didn't affect anyone else training in the other fields. However, the brilliant pillar of golden light was impossible to ignore, drawing the eyes of everyone nearby.
The sheer force of Noah's rising power distorted the very air, creating fierce gusts of wind that battered the four girls. Just standing against the pressure and the gale-force winds was a struggle for Erza and the others.
Now that they were facing him head-on, they realized they had been a bit arrogant.
They had witnessed Noah's strength during the S-Class Trial and had trained relentlessly since then, improving their own power significantly. After seeing his battle with Gildarts, they thought they could at least hold their own for a few exchanges.
But now, they understood. They had been too far away during that fight; they had completely misjudged the true scale of his power. And it was clear that since that all-out battle, Noah had grown even stronger. The feeling he gave off was more overwhelming than ever before.
Just facing his aura, their eyes widened in shock, pupils dilating as their mouths fell open. Their breathing grew ragged, and the color drained from their faces. Instinctively, they all dropped into a defensive stance.
In their eyes, Noah's image had become monstrously huge, terrifyingly immense. It was an illusion born from the incredible pressure.
Erza was the first to snap out of it. She clamped her mouth shut, grit her teeth, and stomped her foot on the ground. In an instant, she was fully requipped, and she charged forward, slashing her sword at Noah.
Erza's attack broke the spell. The other three shook off the oppressive aura and unleashed their own magic, launching a simultaneous assault on Noah.
Seeing that they had broken free from his intimidation, Noah didn't increase the pressure further. Instead, he retracted the magic radiating from his body and, raising a hand, fired a terrifyingly powerful beam of light.
They wanted pressure? He would give them pressure.
This was also a perfect opportunity for Noah to practice his own variety of spells—many of which he didn't get to use in his day-to-day life.
And so, Erza and the others bore witness to the fruits of Noah's labor. Light, Ice, Wood, Water, Thunder, Fire—all manner of Maker Magic, Solid Script, Wind, Air, Earth, Sand, Darkness, Giant Magic… the spells flowed from his fingertips effortlessly, as if he were painting a masterpiece of destruction.
The girls were sent scrambling for their lives, constantly dodging and deflecting the onslaught of magic heading their way. Thankfully, Noah only ever targeted one of them at a time, giving the others a chance to provide support. But his casting speed was phenomenal, leaving them almost no openings to counterattack.
When he saw that their magic was nearly depleted, Noah stopped.
"Alright, take a break," he said. "You can try fighting me four-on-one later. You'll need more training before you're ready for individual spars."
Exhausted, the girls could only nod. They pulled out the potions they had prepared beforehand, drank them, and stood to the side, panting heavily as they recovered. Thanks to the high concentration of magic particles in the training field and the help of the potions, their magic and stamina were quickly restored.
"Now it's my turn."
Noah assessed their current condition and cast a suppression spell on himself. Instantly, his overwhelming aura plummeted, dropping down to a level comparable to Erza's.
"You can start now," he said. "Wait, why are you all looking at me like that?"
He saw that Erza and the others were sporting terrifyingly wicked smiles. Sorano even burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha! Now it's our turn to get some payback! You had fun knocking us around, didn't you? Well, now we're gonna return the favor!"
Without waiting for a reply, all four of them charged him at once.
Noah was speechless. He leaped aside, narrowly dodging their combined attack.
But they were relentless, surrounding him from all sides. Noah was forced to constantly parry and counter. With his power suppressed to their level, even with his vast knowledge of magic, he couldn't hold out forever against four equally skilled opponents without getting serious. After a short struggle, they overwhelmed and subdued him.
Each of the girls landed a solid punch on Noah, venting the frustration they had built up from being chased all over the arena. Only then did they let him go.
Noah lay on the ground, rolling his eyes as he looked at their refreshed and satisfied faces.
Ultear saw his expression and crouched down beside him. "What, got a problem with that?"
"Not at all. This was my idea, after all. I've got no complaints."
'I just didn't expect you all to be so petty,' Noah thought to himself.
"This kind of training really puts me under a lot of pressure," he said aloud, changing the subject. "I feel like if we keep this up, my combat abilities will improve tremendously."
"It's true," Ultear agreed, picking up on the new topic. "Under your pressure, we could feel our own bodies more clearly. It feels like we've made a breakthrough in our self-control."
The other three walked over.
"Yeah," Erza added. "I felt more aware of my surroundings, too. I noticed details I usually miss."
Mirajane spoke up next. "My connection with my Satan Soul feels deeper. It's like... it was trying to ensure our survival?" She sounded a little confused herself. What was that supposed to mean?
"More like it was trying to save its own skin," Sorano quipped, before sharing her own experience. "I felt my magic flowing much more smoothly. My casting speed feels like it got a tiny bit faster."
"Perfect. Everyone made progress," Noah said, making it final. "This is beneficial for all of us, so we should do this often."
The other four nodded in unison.
~~~
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