Whoosh!
A perfectly intact longsword was once again in Erza's hand. She pointed it directly at Phoenix and shouted, "Phoenix, I challenge you!"
"Oh, oh, oh, everyone come quick, Erza is challenging Phoenix!"
"Erza, don't challenge that bastard. Although Phoenix the Undying hasn't shown his face for three years, his strength is comparable to the Old Man's!"
"Go, Erza! I've long been annoyed by that arrogant kid; you must defeat him!"
"We're rooting for you, Erza!"
"I'm also counting on you, Erza. Give Phoenix a good beating!"
The guild completely erupted. Although some people couldn't bear to see Erza challenge Phoenix and make a fool of herself, their voices were quickly drowned out by the clamor of those eager to stir up trouble, especially the encouraging words. This completely solidified Erza's resolve, who had initially felt a bit uncertain.
"Fight, Phoenix! Are you trying to escape?"
"Huh?"
Looking at Erza's unsmiling face, Phoenix couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with her head.
"Damn it! Don't look at me with such pity; I'm serious!"
Erza glared angrily at Phoenix; the feeling of being looked down upon infuriated her. However, her anger didn't make Erza lose her mind. She had heard of the S-Class Mage Phoenix the Undying of Fairy Tail, but rumors were not the same as seeing it firsthand. Especially when they met and she saw that he was about the same age as her, Erza was even less inclined to believe the rumors.
"Erza, Phoenix is really powerful."
A short-haired girl with brown hair came to Erza's side and whispered, trying to persuade her. Her name was Cana. She had joined the guild two years before Phoenix. Although she had never witnessed Phoenix and Gildarts's battle, the fact that a powerful Mage like Laxus was easily defeated by him three years ago made Cana naturally disbelieve that Erza had the strength to defeat Phoenix.
"Don't worry, I'm not weak either."
Seeing Erza's confidence and stubbornness, Cana sighed and shook her head, retreating into the crowd.
"Phew, there's no helping it. I'll play with you for a bit."
Phoenix gestured with his hand, indicating for Erza to attack, which infuriated Erza.
"Don't look down on people too much!"
Phoenix's casual attitude was truly infuriating. Laxus had been consumed by rage because of it back then, and Erza was no different. She rushed to Phoenix and launched a series of frantic attacks, though she carefully avoided Phoenix's vital points.
"Oh dear, don't be so eager. Your stance is a bit unstable, your left-hand posture is wrong, and you shouldn't use all your strength when drawing your sword with both hands..."
Clang, clang, clang!
Phoenix blocked all of Erza's pervasive attacks with just one hand. The attacks that Erza found very satisfying were full of flaws in Phoenix's eyes.
"Your swordsmanship is too crude. Who taught you? Tell me, I want to see which thick-skinned fellow dared to let you graduate!"
"No... no one taught me!"
Erza's face instantly turned red, and her attack frequency increased significantly.
"Bang!"
Phoenix flicked his finger, and Erza's longsword shattered with a crash. Phoenix had grown a bit tired of playing, finding it too boring. Looking at the sword that had once again shattered in her hand, Erza's face flushed with embarrassment; she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
"Tsk!"
Clicking his tongue in boredom, Phoenix turned his head to look at Makarov, who was watching the show with a relaxed air, and said, "Old Man, have you never thought of finding someone to guide her? If this continues, her talent will be wasted."
"Hehe, don't we have you? With the World's Greatest Swordsman in my guild, why would I need to find anyone else! Erza, from now on, you'll follow this kid and learn from him. It will help you."
"Hey! I haven't agreed yet..."
"I've agreed for Fini! For the future of the guild, Fini will definitely cultivate Erza into an outstanding talent!"
"Mavis!"
"What's the big deal? You even guided a girl two years ago," Mavis said as a matter of course.
"How do you still remember that!"
"Now I deeply regret not having her join Fairy Tail, sigh!"
Seeing Mavis's regretful expression, Phoenix knew she was once again worried about the guild's future.
"This... is this really okay? Guiding my swordsmanship?"
Erza looked at Phoenix, feeling somewhat at a loss. Although she didn't know the truth of the rumors, at least this young man, who was the same age as her, was stronger than her.
"It's not just swordsmanship, Erza. You can also ask Fini about magic and other things. The Third said your magic is Requip Magic, right? What a coincidence, Fini also knows Requip Magic, though only for weapons."
Mavis said with a beaming smile, unceremoniously selling Phoenix out. In this guild, most of the Mages older than Phoenix had already set their magical paths, and Mavis was powerless to help them even if she wanted to. However, there were others the same age as Phoenix or younger, like Erza, Natsu, Gray, Cana, and others. These people were the future of the guild and possessed strong magical talent. Mavis believed she absolutely could not refuse to help the future sprouts of the guild grow. Well, although the trouble would ultimately fall on Phoenix, who told him that he had such a close relationship with her? Her affairs were naturally Phoenix's affairs; this was only right.
"I don't have that much time."
Phoenix said with an expression of annoyance.
"It's okay; you're not planning to go out for the next few years anyway. It's good to stay here and relax."
Mavis had thoroughly discussed Phoenix's recent plans with him. With Igneel and Grandeeney gone, besides Wendy, who remained on Phoenix's mind, Phoenix only wanted to live a peaceful life and consolidate his three years of training. Well, although Phoenix's original intention was to go and conquer Dark Guilds, Mavis truly didn't want Phoenix's entire childhood to be spent fighting. Compared to visible strength, inner strength was the most important thing.
"But Wendy..."
"You can inquire about her whereabouts when you're on missions."
Mavis didn't suggest Phoenix waste too much time searching for Wendy. It wasn't that Mavis didn't care about Wendy, but rather that a fruitless search would only fruitlessly consume time. Besides, even if something truly unfortunate happened and Wendy was kidnapped by someone with ill intentions, given her identity as a Sky Dragon Slayer, she probably wouldn't suffer much.
"...Alright!"
Sighing helplessly, Phoenix also knew he couldn't rush it, but as long as he couldn't see Wendy, Phoenix's heart would never be at ease.
Putting aside the issue of Wendy for now, Phoenix's gaze shifted to Erza. Seeing her standing awkwardly in front of him, Phoenix scratched his head in distress.
"Fine, since Mavis has already agreed, I won't object. However, like the previous child, I will only teach you for three days."
"Only three days?"
Not only Erza was surprised; all the other guild members looked at Phoenix with an expression of "Are you still one of us?" But Phoenix ignored them.
"Three days is already a lot, kid."
Rubbing Erza's scarlet long hair, Phoenix unethically messed up her originally neatly combed hair into a bird's nest.
"Don't call me 'kid,' Phoenix, you're the same age as me."
Erza said, her face flushed red. Although being stroked by Phoenix felt comfortable, with her girlish shyness, Erza unceremoniously slapped away Phoenix's mischievous hand.
"You should call me Master!"
Phoenix placed his hand on her head again, his tone leaving no room for refusal.
"Mmm, mmm~~"
Erza looked unwilling. She couldn't accept calling Phoenix, who was the same age as her, Master.
"But you're only teaching me for three days. How can you have the nerve to be my Master?"
"Then you can also refuse my guidance. It doesn't matter to me."
Seeing Phoenix's seemingly indifferent attitude towards teaching her, a hint of disappointment inexplicably welled up in Erza's heart.
"Opportunities are for you to seize. What you do is your problem. Think it over carefully and give me your answer before noon tomorrow."
With that, Phoenix turned and walked towards Mavis. Looking at Phoenix's decisive departing back, Erza pursed her lips.