Chapter 262: Three Months Later
"The main reason is that guy is just too tanky. His magic resistance is off the charts."
Ren sat alone on a rocky outcrop overlooking the endless ocean, the salty breeze tugging at his hair. He was analyzing his potential matchups against the ultimate threat of this world: Acnologia.
"Many Rinnegan abilities don't take a physical energy form," Ren muttered to himself, running simulations in his mind. "Banshō Ten'in (Universal Pull) and Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push) manipulate gravity and repulsion forces directly. In theory, they should be effective against anyone. But against Acnologia... it's like trying to push a mountain with a gust of wind."
The cost of mana to affect such a massive, high-density target was astronomical, and the single-target damage was still limited. Dragons in this world possessed Dragon Scales, which nullified the vast majority of magic. Unless the attack had piercing properties or overwhelming conceptual weight, it would just bounce off.
"No wonder Zeref, even after obtaining the Fairy Heart—an infinite source of magic power—only thought about resetting the timeline rather than fighting Acnologia head-on. Even the Alvarez Empire, with its Spriggan 12, was just a distraction to him."
Ren sighed, picking up a pebble and tossing it into the waves.
"The Fairy Heart... Lumen Histoire."
If I were the one who got the Fairy Heart... with infinite mana, I could spam Chibaku Tensei (Planetary Devastation) until I buried the dragon under a literal moon. Or perhaps unleash a continuous Tailed Beast Bomb barrage without end.
"Forget it. Stop day-dreaming and get back to training."
Ren slapped his cheeks to wake himself up. He adjusted his posture, sitting cross-legged on the stone. He closed his eyes and shifted his breathing pattern.
Inhale... Exhale...
The air around him seemed to grow hotter.
He was circulating the Breath of the Sun.
Though it originated from Demon Slayer, a "low-martial" world compared to the magical nukes of Fairy Tail, the technique was profoundly transformative. It was the original Breathing Style, capable of turning the crudest stone into gold through relentless tempering.
As he breathed, he visualized the sun coursing through his blood vessels. His body temperature rose, burning away impurities. Besides raising his physical constitution, he noticed a fascinating side effect: his mana capacity was climbing.
"It works like a cultivation manual," Ren noted with satisfaction.
In the Fairy Tail world, mages had limited ways to increase their magical container. The most common method was Meditation: feeling the Ethernano in the atmosphere through one's skin, breathing in sync with the natural rhythm, and guiding the particles into the body to expand the Second Origin.
Another way was the brute-force method used by Natsu and the others: casting spells non-stop until exhaustion. The repeated depletion and refilling of the mana vessel forced it to stretch and grow, inch by inch, like a muscle tearing and rebuilding stronger.
All roads lead to the same peak, yet the Breath of the Sun compared to those two methods was like the gap between a third-rate manual and a peerless divine art.
"It improves me every second," Ren thought, feeling the warmth spread to his fingertips. "The gain per breath is tiny, almost imperceptible. But it's constant. It snowballs over time."
That was why he could still advance even when he hadn't pulled any high-tier characters recently to recycle for EXP.
Soon, his mana was fully replenished. With the Breath of the Sun, his recovery speed was frighteningly fast—another massive advantage in prolonged battles.
While breathing, Ren didn't idle his mind. He began to sort through the combat experience of every hero he had integrated.
The Gold Legendaries—Whitebeard, Minato Namikaze, Ulquiorra, Hashirama Senju. Each was a one-in-a-million master in their respective worlds. Their muscle memory, their tactical instincts, their understanding of power... every scrap of their battle memory was priceless. Ren absorbed it all, refining his own style.
Evening came, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple.
Ren ended his meditation and returned to the seaside resort where the guild was staying. The rigorous training for the day had finished, and after a gluttonous dinner that nearly emptied the hotel's pantry, everyone headed for the open-air hot springs to unwind.
Steam rose into the cool night air, carrying the scent of sulfur and cypress wood. The boys of Fairy Tail soaked in the hot water, groaning in relief as the heat penetrated their sore muscles.
"Ren, seriously," Gray said, wiping steam from his face. He looked at the black-haired mage sitting comfortably on a rock in the water. "How did you get so strong so fast?"
The question drew the attention of the others. Natsu, Gajeel, Elfman, and even Laxus pricked up their ears.
They all remembered when Ren first joined the guild. His mana had been pitifully low, barely stronger than a civilian's. Yet, in the blink of an eye, it had soared to heights that made even Wizard Saints tremble.
"We've been busting our asses for three months," Gajeel grunted, sinking lower into the water. "And while we're getting stronger, the gap between us and you doesn't feel like it's shrinking."
They hadn't thought much about it before, accepting Ren as a natural-born monster. But now that they were training with such desperation to reclaim their lost glory, they wanted to know if there was a secret—a shortcut they were missing.
Ren opened one eye and spread his hands helplessly, splashing a bit of water. "Sorry, I can't help you there. My growth isn't something you can replicate."
"What's the trick?" Natsu asked, swimming over.
"It's my Magic," Ren lied smoothly, mixing truth with fiction. "My mana seems tied to how many 'Heroic Spirits' I can summon and bind to myself. The more I get, the stronger my foundation becomes. It's like... borrowing power from legends."
It was half true. More character cards did raise his mana and stats, but they weren't for "receiving" in a spiritual sense—they were for recycling in the System. But explaining a "System" and "Gacha" to them would be impossible.
"That's basically cheating!" Gray complained, splashing water at Ren.
The group goggled at him. The logic was simple: the more spirits he received, the higher his mana. No wonder his growth was explosive; he just needed to summon more dudes.
"It's not that easy," Ren sighed, dodging the splash. "Summoning Heroic Spirits is tough. It relies entirely on luck and destiny. With good luck, you might get a few powerhouses in a row. But with bad luck? You can draw blanks or useless items for months."
Thinking of the coming three months of zero gains and the mountain of "Trash" items he had pulled recently, Ren felt a genuine pang of helplessness. The desire sensor was real.
"Still totally broken!" Elfman shouted. "A real man relies on his own muscles, but your summons are manly too!"
"Especially the one that turns into the giant Nine-Tailed Demon Fox—Kurama Mode!" Natsu's eyes blazed with admiration.
He remembered the Battle of Fairy Tail, where Ren had transformed into the golden avatar of the fox. The sheer volume of chakra, the terrifying pressure, the majesty of the beast... "That was awesome! I want to be able to turn into a giant dragon like that!"
"You'll be that strong too, Natsu," Ren said with a smile. "Maybe even stronger."
Natsu was, after all, the protagonist of this world. His potential was limitless, especially with the Seed of the Dragon growing inside him.
"Really? You think so?" Natsu grinned, showing his teeth. "Then I've gotta train harder! I won't lose to you, Ren!"
"I'm all fired up!" Natsu roared, jumping out of the water and breathing a stream of fire into the sky, illuminating the bathhouse.
"Hey! Sit down, you idiot! You're burning the towel!" Gray shouted.
Mage Guild: Lamia Scale
While Fairy Tail trained in seclusion, the rest of Fiore was preparing for the annual festival.
In the guild hall of Lamia Scale, the atmosphere was chaotic.
"We only ever place second in the Grand Magic Games!! It's absurd! Ridiculous!!"
Guild Master Ooba Babasaama was spinning in circles, her body creating a small tornado of frustration. She pointed a bony finger at her members. "Saber Tooth has been sitting on our heads for too long! You're all treating this year like any other, right?! Well, we won't let that happen again!!"
She stopped spinning and glared at her two aces.
"Lyon!! Jura!! You two are competing this time!! No excuses!"
"Fine, fine," Lyon Vastia sighed, crossing his arms. "Though usually, I find these games pointless. Winning first place means nothing without Fairy Tail in the field. Beating a bunch of nobodies doesn't prove I've surpassed Gray."
He smirked, ice magic chilling the air around him. "But I hear Fairy Tail is entering this year. Finally. It's time to see what seven years of 'sleep' has done to them. I'll show Gray how far I've come."
"Since Lord Ren is taking part, I don't mind either," a deep, resonant voice spoke up.
Jura Neekis, the Iron Rock mage and one of the Ten Wizard Saints, sat calmly at a table. "Besides, joining a festival now and then isn't bad."
Seven years had made Jura calmer and more composed. He used to skip the Games partly out of disinterest, and partly because his presence felt unfair to the smaller guilds. He was a Saint, after all.
But with Fairy Tail competing, the playing field had changed.
"Lord Ren..." Jura murmured, stroking his beard.
He remembered the Nirvana incident vividly. He remembered the overwhelming power Ren had displayed—single-handedly crushing the Oración Seis, defeating Brain, and destroying the ancient super-weapon Nirvana with a single blow.
"That power... even today, it would place him at the very top of the continent," Jura analyzed. "Were it not for the Magic Council's bias against Fairy Tail's destructive tendencies, Ren would already rank among the Ten Wizard Saints. Perhaps even higher than me."
"Lyon and Jura are entering this year?!"
The guild members looked at each other, eyes wide.
"We've got this in the bag!!"
"With Jura-san and Lyon-san, Saber Tooth is finished!"
"Lamia Scale is the best!!"
The whole guild erupted in excitement. The Sleeping Lion was waking up.
Mage Guild: Blue Pegasus
In the opulent lounge of the Blue Pegasus guild, scents of rose and lavender filled the air.
"Hmm… did you hear? Fairy Tail is entering this year's Grand Magic Games," Guild Master Bob said, adjusting his sunglasses. He wore a flamboyant pink shirt and tiny wings on his back.
"Tha—that's a dreadful stench! Sniff... Sniff..."
Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki, the ace of Blue Pegasus, twitched his nose. His face contorted into a serious expression. "I can smell it from here, Master. The scent of a wild beast returning from hibernation. I still remember that monster, Ren... Absurdly strong seven years ago, and his Parfum is likely even more intoxicatingly dangerous today."
Bob nodded gravely. "Besides that, Lamia Scale's Jura is joining too."
"Ugh… the stench just got worse! It is the scent of rocks and hard labor!"
Ichiya struck a pose, sparkling stars appearing around him implicitly. "Over these seven years, Jura has leapt from the bottom ranks to the fifth seat among the Ten Wizard Saints. He is far stronger than before."
"Ren's might is monstrous, a force of nature," Bob said. "But Jura is no less formidable; he is the immovable object. Ordinary people can't compare to either of them."
"Looks like we'll have to step it up if we want our beauty to shine..." Ichiya adjusted his collar. "Men! Prepare the Christina! We must polish our skills until they sparkle!"
News of Fairy Tail's participation in the Grand Magic Games swept across the Kingdom of Fiore like wildfire. To most, Fairy Tail was a has-been, the "Last Place Guild," nothing special now.
But those who knew the history, those who remembered the terror and the glory of the past, couldn't help paying attention. The sleeping giants were gathering.
In the blink of an eye, three months quietly passed.