On the bank of a small river, Silas Frost often trained in the open clearing.
Erza, clad in armor, had already removed her blindfold. Her eyes, once injured, had been healed by the waves of magic from Sika's grandmother. She now stood before Silas.
Holding her knight's sword, Erza looked straight at him and asked, "Do you need me to use magic this time?"
"Go all out and attack," Silas replied calmly, gesturing toward her. "I've embraced magic, embraced the soul of a Heroic Spirit. My entire life has been dedicated to gathering strength to serve these Heroic Spirits. And now… I'm much stronger than before."
"So that's how it is. No wonder you're capable of such things." Sitting off to the side, Gray finally understood. He glanced at Silas and said, "Silas, you'd better give it everything you've got."
Just as in the past, Erza remained Fairy Tail's unrivaled prodigy. Aside from Laxus, no one else could truly stand against her.
The sound of thunder echoed in Erza's hands as her magic flared again and again. Seeing Silas preparing to fight her with his full power, the guild members nearby rushed closer, eager to watch the battle unfold.
"Then let's begin," Erza declared, stepping forward to face Silas head-on.
Brimming with confidence, she nodded. "Requip: Heavenly Wheel Armor!"
In an instant, her armor shifted and transformed, gleaming as countless blades spread out in radiant formation the Heavenly Wheel Armor shining in the sunlight.
Looking at the tightly fitted armor, now with two additional steel wings, Silas Frost clicked his tongue in thought. Even so, he realized this was not yet Erza's ultimate armor. Perhaps it was waiting for her to grow stronger before it could fully adjust. Still, what she wore was already formidable perfect in its current state.
"I'm coming!" Erza's eyes sharpened, both hands gripping her twin swords as a fierce aura burst from her body. She leaned forward, muscles coiling, and then like a released arrow she shot toward Silas with terrifying speed.
Her figure blurred, leaving afterimages streaking through the air. In the blink of an eye, she was already in front of him. The twin blades swept outward, glowing as they curved into dazzling arcs of light, sword energy whipping through the air as the strikes descended fiercely upon Silas.
Silas inhaled deeply, his body erupting with radiant light. In an instant, his form shifted his hair turning golden, a light-blue imperial divine robe flowing around him. In his hands appeared two strangely shaped weapons, gleaming with the essence of his wind techniques.
"Too slow!" Erza cried out, her twin swords slashing down with merciless force.
"Slow? Not quite." Silas chuckled, suddenly swinging his blades but not at Erza.
For a heartbeat, Erza faltered. His attack wasn't aimed at her at all. Instead, his body flickered, and in the next instant, he was behind her.
"Missed?" she muttered, puzzled, her slash cutting only empty air.
But then her eyes widened in realization. "No… he disappeared? This isn't speed… it's a spatial ability!" Erza quickly spun around, her instincts screaming that Silas had already repositioned for his counterattack.
The twin swords whipped around and slashed behind her.
"Clang!" Steel rang as Erza's twin blades collided against Silas Frost's weapon. The impact sent Silas skidding backward, his feet carving twin grooves into the ground before he finally halted. Gripping his strange blade tightly, he looked at Erza with a grin.
"As expected of Erza. Your combat instincts are razor sharp."
"This is your new ability?" Erza demanded, pointing her sword at him. "Your speed is decent, but if that's all you have, it won't be enough."
"Of course not. I'm just getting started." Silas chuckled and vanished from sight.
"This move again!" Erza spun instantly, her twin swords flashing as she struck.
But in the next moment, Silas reappeared elsewhere, his weapon spinning through the air as he tossed it forward. Erza's slash missed completely. Her eyes darted toward the landing point of the strange blade sure enough, Silas had materialized beside it.
"So that's it. You switch positions with those odd weapons," Erza realized, tightening her grip.
Just as she prepared to charge, Silas revealed even more of the strange blades seven or eight of them glinting in his hands.
Erza's head throbbed at the sight.
With a swift kick, Silas launched one into the air.
"Whssshh, whssshh, whssshh…" The blades scattered in every direction, embedding themselves into the ground around Erza, hemming her in.
Now surrounded, Erza frowned slightly, but her fighting spirit only burned brighter.
"Quantity means nothing to me!" she roared. Magic surged around her, and in a burst of light, countless knight swords appeared in formation at her back, floating like wings ready to strike.
"As expected of Erza… so young, yet already this strong." Silas muttered inwardly, then flickered and vanished again.
"There!" Erza's sharp eyes caught the faint trace of his movement. She spun and slashed, sending two of her swords hurtling toward him.
But Silas didn't dodge. Instead, energy gathered in his right hand, forming a rapidly spinning, deep-blue sphere of compressed power.
"Rasengan!"
He charged straight into the attack, thrusting his hand forward. The Rasengan collided with Erza's conjured swords, the explosive impact shattering them and sending fragments flying.
A cloud of white smoke erupted around him.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
In the blink of an eye, three identical copies of Silas Frost appeared at his side, surrounding Erza with identical grins.
The scene left Erza and all the spectators watching from the sidelines momentarily stunned.
"Then let's continue. Don't blame me if I get a little rough."
All four versions of Silas Frost spoke in unison before vanishing, reappearing in formation to surround Erza from four sides.
"Shisekiyōjin!"
In a flash, a blazing, transparent red barrier rose up around Erza, forming a rectangular cage. Flames licked along its edges, heat rippling in the air.
Erza immediately tried to break free, her twin swords slashing against the barrier again and again. But no matter how fiercely she struck, the fiery wall held firm.
Her blades sparked uselessly against its surface. Realizing the futility, she gave a small, bitter smile and shook her head. With a shimmer of light, she dispelled her armor and turned to Silas.
"I admit defeat. Right now, I have no way to shatter this barrier."
Hearing Erza's concession, Gray's eyes lit up with shock and excitement.
Silas released the Shisekiyōjin, the barrier dissolving into sparks. His three clones vanished in puffs of white smoke, leaving only lingering traces of chakra. Silas exhaled slowly, feeling the feedback of their experiences flooding back into him, and allowed himself a small smile.
With training like this, his strength would only grow he truly had the makings of a cheat-like power.
Gray dashed over, his face alight with awe. "That was incredible, Silas you actually defeated our great demon queen!"
"Donk!"
A heavy sound rang out.
As soon as Gray finished speaking, Erza's iron fist came down squarely on his head.
"Wham!"
Gray yelped, clutching his skull as he collapsed to the ground, a large lump swelling instantly.
"Serves you right," Silas Frost remarked without a shred of sympathy.
He released his battle state and was about to drag Gray over to test another card when he suddenly felt his attribute sensitivity shift. A strange surge coursed through him.
What… was that?
Silas froze for a moment, then quickly opened his character interface.
Name: Silas Frost
Level: 2
Body: 8+ (184)
Strength: 10+ (173)
Agility: 9+ (201)
Staring at the status board, Silas was dumbfounded.
Could it be because he defeated Erza?
For more than a year, he had experimented endlessly, trying to figure out how to level up. No matter how hard he pushed himself, his level had never budged.
But now he had actually leveled up!
In a flash, countless thoughts raced through his mind. Then his eyes lit up, locking onto Gray.
"Gray! Come fight me!" Silas shouted. "Use your magic don't hold back!"
"Huh?" Gray lifted his head, eyes brimming with tears as he looked pitifully at Silas.
But Silas hauled him to his feet anyway. The two immediately clashed.
Two minutes later, Gray lay sprawled unconscious on the ground.
Silas exhaled, shaking out his right leg as the heat from his Demonic Wind Kick cooled. Opening his character interface again, he saw the change his level had risen by three.
So that was it!
Leveling up required magic colliding in combat… and the victory had to come against a strong opponent. Only then could he grow stronger!
....
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