At this moment, Luo En's gaze fell on the silvery-white dust in his palm.
With a slight thought, a few wisps of dust, shimmering with a silvery-white glow, seeped from his fingertips like specks caught in an invisible wind, floating in the air above his palm.
This was the result of his magic awakening—a special magic whose nature he didn't understand.
After discovering the magic within him, Luo En had specifically studied it for some time, realizing he could manipulate pure magic dust that contained no inherent properties!
Perhaps they weren't merely condensed magic, but more like... the world's most minuscule fragments, the "primordial sand" that constitutes all things.
They remained silent, as if awaiting a correct "command" to reconstruct reality.
He had a vague premonition that this power, and the terrifying force that had "crushed and reassembled" him seven years ago, originated from the same source. It was destruction, and also creation.
He had also tried to learn other magic, but even if he could understand it, he couldn't truly master it.
And his dust magic, possessing no special properties and unable to be condensed in large quantities to form effective offensive means, left him utterly perplexed as to its purpose.
"Luo En,"
Makarov's voice interrupted his thoughts. The old man had appeared beside him at some point, his eyes as gentle as they had been years ago.
"Still troubled by your magic?"
Luo En subconsciously withdrew his gaze from the silver dust in his palm.
The Master sighed and patted him on the shoulder:
"Don't rush, child. Everyone's magic is unique. Perhaps you could try taking a simple mission; in practice, you might discover something new."
Luo En's transmigration to the Fairy Tail World happened in X777, the same year Natsu traveled through time and joined Fairy Tail.
Seven years had passed since then. He had witnessed Mirajane and her siblings join the guild, and seen the new generation—Natsu, Gray, Mirajane, and Erza—grow step by step.
In X782, when Mirajane had just been promoted to an S-Class Mage of the guild, Luo En had given her a veiled warning:
"Mirajane, S-Class missions... perhaps you could put them aside for now. There's no need to challenge the high-difficulty ones right from the start."
However, Luo En, arguably the weakest Mage in Fairy Tail, was powerless to help Mirajane. He also didn't know how to tell others about future events like that.
He wanted to try and change the plot, so he could only give subtle hints, hoping to avoid Lisanna being absorbed into Edolas.
Yet, at that time, Mirajane was the guild's flamboyant "Demon," hot-tempered, viewing Erza as a formidable rival, and brimming with the drive to prove herself. She still took on that S-Class mission with her younger siblings.
After witnessing her sister's "death," the burning flame in Mirajane's eyes suddenly extinguished, replaced by bottomless pain and self-reproach.
The once sharp-edged "Demon" vanished, and in her place, the guild gained a gentle-smiling, understanding barmaid who no longer took missions—Mirajane.
Slightly slow-witted but possessing a gentle nature and a sunny smile, she became known as Fairy Tail's "poster girl."
Mirajane also regretted not taking Luo En's advice then, so her feelings towards Luo En were somewhat complex.
This unspoken guilt transformed into her silent care for Luo En.
Working together at the bar, she would always subtly save an extra snack for him, or hand him a glass of milk when he was engrossed in magic books.
For many years, Luo En had also frequently read various magic books of the guild near the bar and experimented with the uses of his own magic.
But he had found little success; or rather, not entirely none, as Luo En's magic power had increased significantly.
At this moment, a few wisps of magical light, emanating from Luo En's fingertips, floated lightly in the alcohol-laced air like unmoored fireflies.
One wisp swirled down, landing squarely in Wakaba's freshly poured beer mug.
With a soft "fizz," the silver light merged into the liquor, leaving a fleeting sparkle.
"Hey! Luo En!"
Wakaba, pipe in mouth, grinned broadly, his voice booming,
"Playing with your 'atmosphere magic' again? Thanks, you just added some free sparkle effects to my beer!"
As he spoke, he deliberately smacked his lips, feigning a connoisseur's taste.
"Pfft—"
Natsu, who was nearby wrestling Happy for a skewer of grilled fish, turned his head, his mouth full, and mumbled indistinctly:
"Wakaba, what do you know! Luo En's magic... ugh... Happy!"
"Aye!"
The blue cat flapped his wings, answering earnestly:
"It's 'Sparkling Dust' that makes you feel good! Look, it's so shiny and pretty!"
"Hahaha!" Laughter erupted all around.
Luo En was long accustomed to such scenes. He twitched his lips, feigning annoyance with an eye-roll, and retorted without ceremony:
"Be careful, you'll get diarrhea if you drink that! If you have money to waste on beer here every day, you should go take a request and earn some money for a wife!"
Before his words finished, his fingertips twitched, and the floating magic dust, like burst soap bubbles, instantly dissipated into the air without a trace.
He also knew that everyone meant no harm; they were just using their own way to tell Luo En not to dwell on these things.
By the railing on the guild's second floor, a small figure stood silently. Master Makarov took in everything downstairs. He knew a little more than the others in the guild.
When he first found Luo En, he had sensed a strange, spatial-like fluctuation nearby.
The magic power within this child seemed completely absent at first glance, yet it had steadily grown over the years. His magic power was definitely not lower than Natsu's and the others'.
But it also carried an indescribable, blank characteristic of "nothingness." Was this "nothingness" a complete dormancy, or... the beginning of some terrifying, unrecognized potential?
A shriek, excited to the point of distortion, suddenly exploded in the guild hall, interrupting Makarov's contemplation.
"What?! News of a Fire Dragon in Harujion?!"
A shriek, excited to the point of distortion, exploded, interrupting Makarov's contemplation.
Natsu's figure flashed, dragging Happy, who was still frantically swallowing grilled fish, and burst through the guild doors.
"Happy! Let's go!"
After all, from the first day Natsu arrived at this guild, he had said he was raised by the Fire Dragon Igneel, so Natsu had been searching for news of the Fire Dragon all these years.
This wasn't the first time, and everyone in the guild was used to it.
"Wait..."
Luo En's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, futilely pointing in the direction Natsu had vanished.
"Harujion... It seems the official plot is about to begin!"
Harujion... Bora... human trafficking... Lucy Heartfilia.
A series of keywords flashed through Luo En's mind like lightning.
This so-called "Fire Dragon," if he remembered correctly, should be a dark Mage named Bora, involved in human trafficking, who had impersonated the "Fire Dragon" title Natsu had made famous in Fairy Tail to lure young girls—a farce.
"That guy... still so impulsive."