Early morning, Fairy Tail training grounds.
Lucy stood in the center of the training grounds, hands on her hips, a determined look on her face: "Today, I must become stronger!"
She tossed and turned all last night, her mind filled with thoughts of how to get stronger.
Although Natsu and Gray, her two partners, didn't seem very reliable, their strength was top-notch.
During the Ice Sculpture Festival, Gray effortlessly created a vast ice sculpture park, each ice sculpture unique in shape and size, almost no two alike; even the horses' manes and pupils on the carousel were sculpted with clear visibility.
Lucy was deeply impressed by such astonishing sculpting speed, immense magical reserves, and control over Ice Make Magic.
Aside from always taking off his clothes, Gray's strength was truly dependable.
As for Natsu, despite his boisterous and somewhat impulsive personality, that was only because he didn't care about things when there was nothing serious going on, so he couldn't get serious.
Lucy remembered clearly that the first time she met Natsu, she sensed his magical aura and found Natsu and Happy flying in the sky, observing the movements of the fake Dragon below.
Even when his name was misused, he didn't get angry; instead, he only decisively flew in to deal with the opponent after they made a move and he confirmed they were bad guys.
Moreover, the most important thing was that Natsu, who was usually clumsy and often burned things, precisely defeated all enemies in the instant he acted, and the unconscious children on the ground and she were not harmed in the slightest.
It was common knowledge in the magical world that fire and lightning were the most volatile and difficult magical elements to control, and Fire Dragon Slayer Magic was the ultimate volatile, high-level fire magic.
But Natsu could control it with ease.
This level of magical control made Lucy very certain that Natsu wasn't bad at controlling his magic; rather, he was just used to being carefree in the guild and knew that even if he was a bit reckless, he wouldn't harm his comrades, so he was too lazy to control it.
As for Erza, who proactively joined this small team because she was worried Lucy would be led astray by Natsu and Gray, her strength was undeniably powerful.
This was evident from how Natsu and Gray were always being chased and beaten by her.
And besides the three mentioned above, Lucy felt the most embarrassing thing was that she seemed to be weaker than Happy.
She had always thought Happy and Yuumi were in the guild as mascots, but it wasn't until she recently witnessed Happy possessing Natsu, providing a shield, healing magic, and an all-attribute boost, a trinity of enhancements, that significantly increased his strength, allowing him to contend with Erza in training without falling behind.
That's when she realized that this little guy, who always liked to fly around with a small fish-carrying backpack, was actually a powerful companion.
Happy could not only possess others, but his innate Wing Magic was also very well developed; when he spread his pair of white wings, his speed was incredibly fast, making him difficult to catch even for Mages specializing in speed.
As for Lucy herself, although she had made progress this year, she could only open individual Celestial Spirit Gates without pressure; abilities like multiple gate openings had not yet been mastered, and her magic was temporarily insufficient.
Lucy felt that, one-on-one, she might not even be as strong as Happy, who had extensive combat experience always by Natsu's side.
As a newcomer, she felt she couldn't drag down Fairy Tail's reputation!
So, after much reflection, she resolved to train hard… "Alright! Let's start with physical training!" Lucy clenched her fists and did high knees in place, "One, two, one, two…"
An hour later.
"Huff… huff… So tired…" Lucy collapsed onto the ground, sweat beading on her forehead, "Why is training so hard…"
"Lucy! What are you doing?" Natsu's voice suddenly came from behind her.
Lucy whipped her head around and saw Natsu and Happy standing behind her at some point, Natsu still chewing on a piece of bread, looking at her with curiosity.
"I'm training!" Lucy wiped away her sweat, "I can't always be a burden to everyone, can I?"
Natsu's eyes lit up: "Training? I'm good at that! I'll teach you!"
"Really?" Lucy stood up in surprise.
"Of course!" Natsu gulped down his bread in a few bites, clenched his fist, and ignited flames, "First, you need to learn how to take a hit!"
Lucy: "…Huh?"
"The essence of combat is—getting back up immediately after being knocked down!" Natsu struck a fighting pose, "Come on! Hit me!"
Lucy hesitated for a moment and gently swung her fist.
"Pat."
Her soft fist touched Natsu's chest.
Natsu: "…"
Happy: "…"
Lucy: "…I tried my best!"
Natsu sighed: "Lucy, you can't even beat Happy like that."
Happy nodded: "Aye! I'm super weak!"
"Then what should I do?" Lucy asked dejectedly.
"Simple!" Natsu grinned, "I'll punch you first, and you can feel the force!"
Lucy froze for a second, then waved her hands repeatedly, "Wait! What kind of training is this—"
"Fire Dragon's—Iron Fist!"
"Bang!"
Lucy flew backward, crashing into the training ground fence, seeing stars.
"Lucy! Shout 'I can still get fired up'!" Natsu yelled from a distance.
Lucy lay on the ground, trembling as she raised her hand: "I… I choose death…"
"Natsu, that idiot, doesn't know how to teach anyone." Gray appeared at the edge of the training ground at some point, looking disgusted.
Lucy struggled to get up: "Gray! Save me…"
Gray, hands in his pockets, coolly said: "The most important thing in combat is style, like this—"
He waved one hand: "Ice Make: Rose!"
An ice rose bloomed in the air, spinning gracefully.
Lucy: "…What does that have to do with combat?"
Gray: "It's cool, that's all."
Lucy: "…"
"Watch closely, real combat is like this." Gray suddenly took off his shirt (Lucy covered her eyes), clapped his hands: "Ice Make: Battle Axe!"
A giant ice axe slashed towards the training dummy—
"Crack!"
The dummy shattered, the ice axe also shattered, and fragments flew, one of which precisely hit Gray on the head.
Gray: "…That was an accident."
Lucy: "I think I'd better go find Erza…"
…"You want to get stronger?" Erza crossed her arms, her red hair fluttering in the wind.
Lucy nodded vigorously: "Yes! Please guide me!"
Erza gave a satisfied smile: "Very well, let's start with the basics."
She handed Lucy a wooden sword: "Attack me."
Lucy nervously gripped the sword, took a deep breath, and charged—
"Thwack!"
Erza lightly blocked with her sword sheath, and Lucy's sword flew out.
"Insufficient strength." Erza commented.
Lucy picked up the sword and tried again.
"Thwack!"
"Too slow."
"Thwack!"
"Unstable center of gravity."
"Thwack!"
"…"
Half an hour later, Lucy lay on the ground, panting: "Erza… are you really doing 'basic training'…?"
Erza tilted her head, a serious expression on her face: "I've already gone easy on you."
Lucy: "…"
…In the guild hall in the afternoon.
"Give up." Cana sat at the bar, swirling her cup, "You'll never win against that bunch of monsters."
Lucy slumped in her chair: "But I don't want to be a burden forever…"
Cana drew a Tarot card: "The'Strength' card, which means you already have the answer."
"What answer?"
"Getting stronger doesn't mean you have to be like them." Cana winked, "You have Celestial Spirit Magic, just play to your strengths."
Lucy mused: "But my Celestial Spirit Magic isn't strong enough yet…"
"Then special train!" Natsu suddenly popped out from under the table, "Fight with Celestial Spirits!"
"Aye! Lucy, summon Taurus to punch Natsu!" Happy cheered.
Gray's voice floated from nearby: "Or use your whip to tie Natsu up."
"Hey!" Natsu protested.
Lucy couldn't help but laugh: "You guys…"
In the evening, Lucy sat at the guild entrance, staring blankly at the sunset.
"How was it? Any progress?" Mirajane walked over and handed her a glass of juice.
Lucy took the juice and sighed: "Natsu taught me how to take a hit, Gray taught me how to be cool, and Erza made me question my existence…"
Mira chuckled: "That's Fairy Tail's special training method."
"I understand now," Lucy took a sip of juice, "Instead of learning combat from them, I should focus on studying Celestial Spirit Magic."
"A wise choice." Mira nodded, "After all, not everyone can take magic to the face like Natsu."
Lucy let out a giggle: "That's true."
In the distance, Natsu and Gray were fighting again, this time over "who was more suitable to be Lucy's coach."
Erza walked over and punched each of them: "You two, that's enough!"
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