3rd POV
X781
Fiore, Mt. Hokobe
On a freezing mountain peak, a lone figure sat cross-legged in the center of the snow-covered ground. The area around him had melted completely, forming a perfect circle of bare earth despite the blizzard raging on every side. He looked about sixteen—dark skin, short black dreadlocks, and a physique far beyond what someone his age should have.
He sat shirtless, wearing only grey martial arts pants and black shoes. A golden aura, laced with faint streaks of black, rolled off his body like heat waves, and the falling snow melted before it ever touched him.
Heavy footsteps shook the ground, followed by low, feral growls rolling through the mountain air. The teenager opened his eyes slowly, revealing glowing gold irises, and found himself surrounded by Vulcans—at least fifty of them.
He smirked and rose to his feet, looking down at the beasts without a hint of fear.
Vulcans were B-rank monsters with ape-like bodies, monkey tails, and sharp, pointed heads and jaws, their fur color varying with the region they inhabited.
"Alright, this is the final day before I leave, so let's see the results of my training," the teenager said. "I don't have all day—show me what you've got, monkeys."
The Vulcans erupted with rage. The largest of them, covered in black fur, glared at him, let out a deep growl, and pointed straight at him. At the command, the rest of the white-furred Vulcans charged.
Surrounded, the teenager only smirked, rolling his eyes. "Typical," he snorted.
A Vulcan faster than the rest reached him first, throwing a punch at his head. He ducked before it could land and drove his elbow into the creature's chest, sending it stumbling back. It grunted, but before it could recover, his hand shifted into a blade, glowing gold with a black outline, and he cut clean through its neck.
Its head flew off. There was no blood—the heat of the attack cauterized the wound instantly.
He caught the severed head out of the air and hurled it at another Vulcan, the pointed end punching through its eye and into its brain. It dropped on the spot. The rest of the pack froze, staring at the two bodies, then at the teenager.
Fear crept into their eyes, as though they were staring death itself in the face.
"Don't stop now… I'm just getting started," he said, already moving as he charged them.
The Vulcans hesitated for a split second before roaring and forcing themselves forward, instincts screaming at them to run.
"Light God's Sacred Fist!"
His fist ignited, gold edged in black, and slammed into the nearest Vulcan hard enough to send it flying meters away, tearing through several others and gouging a trench in the ground where it landed.
He didn't stop moving. Another Vulcan lunged from the side, claws aimed for his ribs, and he answered without even looking—a backhand coated in the same gold-and-black light crumpled its skull before its body hit the ground. A second one came from behind; he pivoted, drove his knee into its stomach, and finished it with a downward punch that cracked the earth beneath it.
Two more rushed him at once. He stepped into them instead of back. One strike—both dropped. No wasted movement, no real effort.
"Too slow."
A larger Vulcan leapt from above, trying to crush him. He glanced up and vanished in a flash of yellow light, reappearing over it.
"Light God's Divine Heel."
His leg blazed with light as he brought it down, driving the Vulcan's head into the ground hard enough to shatter the earth around it and leave nothing but a crater and a corpse.
He landed lightly and was already turning when the next one charged. He was gone before it arrived—a streak of light, and then he was beside it, his glowing fist punched clean through its chest.
One by one, they fell. Each strike, each step, each movement ended in death, and within seconds more than half the pack was gone.
The survivors' rage curdled into fear. He vanished again, a yellow flash cutting across the battlefield faster than the eye could follow, and reappeared behind the pack leader—a massive, black-furred Vulcan that froze the instant it sensed him. Too late.
"Light God Piercing Hit."
His glowing fist drove into its back. For a moment, nothing happened. Then its body erupted—thousands of golden, black-tinted light spears bursting outward through its flesh in every direction. It didn't even get the chance to scream before it dropped, dead.
Silence fell. The remaining Vulcans stared at their fallen leader, then broke and ran.
The teenager watched them go for a moment, his body starting to glow brighter. "Running already?"
His form blurred into light, a golden streak circling the fleeing pack faster and faster until a wall of light closed around them, trapping every last one inside. They slammed into it and it didn't budge.
He reformed above them, floating as golden energy gathered around his body. He drew a slow breath, light condensing in his jaw, growing brighter and hotter by the second.
"Light God Bellow!"
A massive beam of golden light lined in black tore from his mouth like a roaring dragon and crashed down into the trapped Vulcans, swallowing them whole and ripping into the mountain itself. The ground shattered into a crater, smoke and heat pouring from its depths. When the light finally faded, nothing remained.
The teenager descended slowly and landed at the crater's edge. The wind swept past him over a battlefield gone completely silent. He looked out over the destruction and smirked to himself.
"…Not bad."
"After getting reincarnated into this world and spending a year training my magic, I think it's finally time to leave and join Fairy Tail," he muttered. He looked up at the sky, a confident grin spreading across his face. "Get ready, world—the future strongest wizard, Kai Caelum, is coming!"
Kai was originally from Earth, but one day a truck ended his life. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in a forest in Earth Land, a letter resting beside him. Confused, he picked it up and read it. It explained that, thanks to Truck-kun "not listening again," he'd died far earlier than scheduled—so as compensation, a god had reincarnated him into his favorite anime, Fairy Tail, with a gift attached.
The letter dissolved the moment he finished reading it. Kai looked down and found a golden book lying where the letter had been. The instant he opened it, the book disintegrated into particles of light that flowed straight into his body.
It was a grimoire, and it hadn't just given him magic—it had given him Lost Magic: Light God Slayer Magic, along with the fundamentals, a handful of basic spells, and a few secret arts. The rest he'd have to build himself.
After taking time to understand where he was and what had happened to him, Kai made his decision: train for a year, then set out and join Fairy Tail.
Which brings us to now.
A twig snapped, and Kai spun around to find a man doubled over, clutching his stomach, failing miserably to hold in his laughter. Tears streamed down his face as he pointed at Kai.
The man looked to be in his thirties, brown hair slicked back, dressed in a black shirt, blue trousers, and grey boots, a brown cloak cinched at the waist with a metal belt. Light stubble covered his jaw.
Kai's eyes went wide the moment he placed the face, and embarrassment flooded in right behind the recognition. "Stop laughing!" he shouted.
"S-sorry, kid. I—" The man straightened to his full six-foot-five height, wiping his eyes. "I just didn't expect the same kid who took out a small horde of B-rank Vulcans, plus an A-rank leader, that easily, to act so childish."
"Wait—you saw all that? How long have you been here? I could've sworn no one else was around."
"Since the Vulcans surrounded you. I was going to step in, but you clearly had it handled, so I decided to enjoy the show."
'I could've been ambushed—or worse, if it'd been someone with bad intentions,' Kai thought. 'This world's dangerous. I need to stay sharper and stop getting so cocky.'
"Anyway, that was seriously impressive, kid—no, someone with your strength deserves to be called by name. Kai, right?"
Kai nodded.
"Great job, Kai. I figured you had it handled once I saw you drop the first one, but I didn't expect you to clear the whole pack that fast. This is actually my first time seeing God Slayer Magic up close. With power like that, you'd fit right in at my guild, Fairy Tail. Name's Gildarts."
Kai blinked, momentarily stunned by the sudden invitation to the very guild he'd been aiming for—especially from its ace.
"Wait—Gildarts, why are you even out here on Mt. Hokobe?"
"Was passing through on my way back to Magnolia and stopped at the village at the base of the mountain. The chief handed me a job—said the local monsters had been unusually aggressive and wanted the cause found, along with a good chunk of them cleared out. Soon as I started climbing, I felt this massive surge of magic power and rushed up here, and found you in the middle of all this. Guess the 'cause' was a young wizard." Gildarts chuckled.
Kai rubbed the back of his neck, realizing belatedly just how much trouble he'd caused for the villagers below.
"Yeah… my bad. I was training up here. Figured it'd be perfect—strong monsters to fight, brutal weather to toughen up in, and nobody around I could accidentally hurt."
Gildarts raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised someone this young—and this strong—thought that way. "That's pretty considerate of you. Don't worry, no real harm done, just a few rattled villagers. What were you training for, anyway?"
Kai hesitated. "Is that offer still on the table? I was training so I'd be strong enough to join Fairy Tail. I've heard it's a great guild." 'This could be my shot,' he thought.
Gildarts smiled. "Of course it's still on the table. I'd be an idiot not to invite someone like you."
"Someone like me? You barely know me."
Gildarts walked over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know you well yet, but I can tell a few things from our conversation and your fight. You're thoughtful—you chose to train out here, alone, because you know your magic could hurt someone. Your willpower's solid, training in a place like this. Your body says you've worked hard for that strength, and the fight said you've got real skill to go with the power. Add it up, and you're a perfect fit for Fairy Tail. I'm sure the Master will take you in without a second thought."
Kai was honestly impressed Gildarts had read that much off so little. Then he smiled.
"Then I'll take you up on it, Gildarts. But first—can you do me a favor?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"Spar with me? I haven't fought many wizards, and I can tell you're strong. I just want to know where I actually stand in this world."
"Hmm. Like I said, you're tough, Kai—could probably beat most average mages, maybe even some veterans. You sure you want to fight me? Not to brag, but I'm no pushover."
"Yeah. I really want this."
'I know Gildarts is way out of my league,' Kai thought, 'but this is my shot to see what one of the strongest mages alive can actually do. He's so strong he barely showed up in the anime, because he'd have solved everything in five minutes. I want to know how I measure up against a real wizard, not just monsters.'
"Hahaha! You've got guts, kid. Can't hide it—I can feel your battle intent leaking out. You like a good fight, just like the rest of Fairy Tail. Alright, we'll spar." Gildarts stepped back about ten paces. Kai grinned and matched the distance, and the two sized each other up as Gildarts bent down and picked up a stone.
"When this hits the ground, we start."
Kai nodded. Gildarts tossed the stone high into the air. Both of them tracked it as it fell—and the instant it hit the snow, Kai shot forward.
A streak of gold cut across the ground as he closed the distance in an instant, fist already glowing. "Light God's Sacred Fist!"
Gildarts didn't move. He simply raised a hand and caught it. The impact shook the ground and blasted snow outward in every direction, but Gildarts stood there, unmoved. Before Kai could process it, a flick of Gildarts's wrist sent him skidding back.
Kai vanished in a yellow flash and reappeared behind him. "Light God Piercing Hit!" The strike landed—and for a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the golden-black spears burst out and shattered like glass against something invisible. Gildarts hadn't even turned around.
"Nice try."
Kai came at him again, a barrage of strikes and kicks wrapped in light. Gildarts blocked every one of them with a single hand—no magic, just skill. Kai fell back a step, breathing a little harder, watching him. 'He's not even using magic. Just how strong is this guy?' He exhaled, then grinned. "Alright. Now I'm getting serious."
He vanished and reappeared right in front of Gildarts. "Light God's Dance!" He moved in a blur, a kick snapping forward into a flowing chain of strikes, trails of gold and black light spiraling around him and blurring the true direction of each hit. The final kick drove down toward Gildarts, and the light faded to reveal him standing in the exact same spot, completely untouched.
"That was pretty good."
Before Kai could react, Gildarts moved—one punch, too fast to see, that buried itself in his gut and sent him flying. He crashed through the ground and skidded to a stop, then forced himself back up, shock written across his face. 'That wasn't even magic, and I couldn't even react.' He wiped his mouth and smiled. "…This is awesome."
Gildarts grinned and pressed forward, every punch and movement carrying overwhelming weight behind it. Kai pushed himself to his limit just to keep dodging, barely staying ahead. 'Too fast—!' Before Gildarts could close the gap for good, Kai's body burst with light. "Light God's Glowing Guard!" A barrier snapped into place around him, catching the next strike cold.
For the first time, Gildarts paused—then smiled wider. "Nice one, kid. Maybe I should get a little serious." He gathered magic in his fist and slammed it into the ground. The mountain shuddered as a chunk of it tore away, dust and debris swallowing Kai's vision. 'Where—?!' Gildarts emerged from the cloud and drove a magic-charged uppercut into him, sending him rocketing skyward.
Kai spun, stabilized, and hung there above the wreckage of the battlefield. He smirked and swept his arms in a circle. "Light God's Sacred Jewel!" A storm of golden, black-lined light rained down across the mountain, tearing new craters into the ground and swallowing the area in smoke and fire.
Before the dust settled, Gildarts was already in front of him. "Too slow." His punch drove Kai straight down into an even bigger crater. Kai groaned and pushed himself up—then froze, Gildarts's fist stopping an inch from his face. He gulped. "…I give."
Gildarts held the pose a beat longer, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Good call!" He pulled his fist back, offered Kai a hand, and hauled him to his feet. "Good fight, Kai. You actually made me use magic power. I'd call you A-Class already—maybe even S-Class with some more experience. Just don't get cocky. There are S-Class mages your age who could give you a real run for your money, maybe even beat you outright."
"Yeah, I get it." Kai grabbed his shirt off the tree branch he'd left it on and pulled it on. "Also—you've got a nasty left hook."
Gildarts laughed. "I hear that a lot."
The two of them started down the ruined mountainside together. "Hey, since I took out all the Vulcans, think I can get a cut of the reward money?"
Gildarts laughed again and clapped him on the back hard enough to make him stumble. "Yeah, yeah—you earned it."
'This is the start of my journey,' Kai thought, smiling. 'I can't wait to see what this world has in store for me—and the battles still ahead.'