Erza knew this approach wouldn't work. Her stamina was being depleted, and if she didn't dodge quickly enough and got struck by the boar, she'd be unable to fight back. Noah would have to step in, but wouldn't that mean her first job request would end in failure? She didn't want that to happen.
At that moment, the wild boar began charging again. Erza quickly gathered her thoughts and focused all her attention on the wild boar before her.
Suddenly, Erza's eyes lit up with realization. She noticed that the wild boar's charging speed was much slower than at the beginning. This was likely because the beast's stamina had decreased due to the continuous blood loss from its wounds.
This discovery filled Erza with renewed confidence and opportunity. She dodged the wild boar's charge once more, and while evading, she swung her sword at the wild boar's hind leg. The blade's tip easily sliced a deep wound across the boar's leg.
The wild boar howled in pain, stumbled, and limped as it turned back toward Erza.
Erza's expression grew more serious. The wild boar was obviously more dangerous now in its wounded state, and she had to avoid its final desperate counterattack.
The wild boar and Erza faced off for a moment, with the boar's condition visibly worsening. It let out a fierce roar and launched into its final charge. An overwhelming sense of menace rushed toward Erza.
The wild boar's charging speed nearly matched its initial assault. Erza hastily dodged to the side, not even attempting to strike back this time.
The wild boar's continuously bleeding wounds had drained much of its strength. It could no longer control its momentum. Its legs gave out and it crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. Inertia caused it to slide forward several more feet.
Erza held her sword ready against the fallen boar, maintaining cautious vigilance.
After waiting a moment and seeing that the wild boar hadn't gotten up and showed no signs of movement, she carefully approached from behind. She remembered Noah's teachings that she must finish off an enemy to prevent any counterattack.
So she thrust her sword into the wild boar's hind leg. "Aaaah!" The anguished cry startled Erza. She quickly withdrew her sword and jumped back. She watched as the wild boar struggled to rise and fight back, but it couldn't get up.
After the wild boar stopped struggling again, Erza approached and stabbed its hind legs several more times. The boar's movements grew weaker and weaker until finally there was no movement at all.
Erza remained cautious, so she waited a bit longer before moving to the wild boar's head. From a safe distance, she delivered one final sword strike to ensure the wild boar was truly dead.
After confirming the wild boar's death, Erza suddenly felt all her tension release. She staggered and was about to collapse when a figure flashed to her side and caught her.
Noah supported Erza and dispelled the magic energy from his hands. Erza's chest heaved heavily, and sweat mixed with blood had soaked through her clothes.
Erza leaned against Noah to rest, her heart filled with joy as she gazed at the wild boar lying motionless on the ground. Although the process had been challenging, her first commission was finally complete, and she had taken another important step forward.
After a while, having recovered much of her strength, Erza gently pushed away from Noah and stood up straight. Noah asked her:
"What do you plan to do with this wild boar?"
"I want to bring it back to the villagers so they can make up for their losses."
"That's a thoughtful idea. I'll carry it back for you."
"Thank you, Brother Noah."
Noah used his gravity magic to levitate the giant wild boar, then followed Erza out of the forest.
The village chief saw them emerging and hurried over. Noticing Erza covered in blood, he asked with concern:
"Are you alright, young lady? You're covered in blood."
"Village chief, I'm fine. This is all wild boar blood."
After Erza reassured the village chief, she pointed at the wild boar floating behind Noah and said:
"I'm giving you this wild boar."
The village chief looked somewhat puzzled:
"Don't you want to keep it?"
"No, we've already received the commission payment. I'll leave this wild boar with you to help make up for your losses."
"Then we thank you greatly!"
The village chief's face lit up with a smile. He thought this giant wild boar should be able to compensate for some of their losses. Then he would see if the destroyed fields could still be salvaged to minimize the damage.
After saying goodbye to the village chief, Noah took Erza and teleported directly back home, asking Erza to shower first before they returned to the guild to report to Makarov.
Erza emerged from the bath still steaming, her scarlet hair damp from washing. Noah noticed this and gathered magic power in his hands:
"Let me help you dry it."
After saying that, a magic circle appeared in his palm, and Erza's hair instantly became dry, with droplets of moisture floating away.
Erza shook her hair, her scarlet locks flowing gracefully. She was wearing a purple kimono and looked absolutely radiant. Noah was momentarily speechless.
Erza noticed Noah staring at her in a daze and couldn't help but feel puzzled:
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing... nothing at all. Let's go report to Master."
Noah snapped back to reality, shook his head, reached out to take Erza's hand, and instantly transported them to the guild entrance. Erza couldn't wait to push the door open and rush inside to report to Makarov.
Makarov saw them both returning and noticed Erza had changed clothes, so he asked with concern:
"Erza, are you alright?"
"Master, I'm fine. The wild boar's blood just splattered on me. Noah took me home to bathe."
Makarov turned to look at Noah, and Noah nodded, confirming Erza's account. Makarov felt relieved and began inquiring about how the commission went.
Erza recounted the story, with Noah adding details and reporting the specifics of the commission to Makarov.
After hearing everything, Makarov was very pleased with Erza's performance in this battle:
"When facing an enemy stronger than yourself, you must first protect yourself, then look for your opponent's weaknesses and exploit them. If there are no weaknesses, create them.
As long as you don't give up, you will always find an opportunity to achieve victory."
Erza nodded earnestly, and Makarov continued:
"Now Erza can begin taking on commissions independently, but do you remember the requirements?"
"The commission must be within Magnolia's vicinity and must be approved by the Master. I remember everything."
"Excellent. When your strength improves in the future, these restrictions will be relaxed. Work hard to grow stronger."
"I will, Master. I'm going to look for another commission now."
Erza excitedly rushed to the job request board, found a suitable task for Makarov to review, and then ran out of the guild to complete the commission.
Noah followed quietly for a while, but when he saw that Erza had completely settled into her routine, he left her to it and went home to work on his own magical and potion research.
A few days later, the Ul family also returned from the snowy mountains. Originally, Ul had planned to take on commissions alone, but after learning that Simon and Erza were going on jobs, Lyon and Gray also clamored to go on commissions, and Ultear looked equally excited.
Ul had no choice but to take them on several nearby commissions to familiarize them with the process, and she also required them to accept jobs only within Magnolia's scope and have them approved by the Master.
Noah also made a specific request of them, asking them to spend half of each day training themselves under his guidance, with the rest of their time devoted to completing commissions. Erza, Simon, Ultear, Gray, and Lyon all agreed to this arrangement.
Noah was concerned that they would become too focused on completing commissions and neglect improving their own magical abilities.