"Stop! Stop! Stop!"
Susan cut off Ur's rambling nonsense. "Wizard Saints" this, "rankings" that—to Susan, none of it mattered. She only cared about one thing: Ur's love life.
"I asked if there were any new sparks flying between you and Ide," Susan pressed.
"Huh?"
Ur tilted her head, thought for a moment, and replied, "Well, we fight every day, so we're definitely getting more familiar with each other's bodies."
"Great job, Ur."
"From now on, you can just go marry your battles, your magic, and your precious Wizard Saint rankings!"
Susan laughed, shaking her head in defeat.
"Eh?!"
"Did I do something wrong, Susan?"
Ur looked at her, completely bewildered. She had been following Susan's advice—"give him what he likes"—to the letter!
How could she be wrong again?
"Nothing."
"Just go home, Ur."
"Leave your marriage prospects to me. I'll handle it."
Susan gave Ur a mysterious smile. She already had a plan.
"..."
Confused but obedient, Ur finished buying her daily supplies and headed back to the cabin on the mountain.
By the way, Ur's income came from two sources: selling the high-quality beast pelts Ide hunted every month, and a monthly salary from the town mayor for serving as the "Town Guardian."
The pay wasn't huge, but it was more than enough for Ur and Ide to live comfortably in the small town.
After her monthly shopping trip, Ur returned home and immediately jumped into another exhilarating sparring session with Ide.
Ur was starting to enjoy this simple routine: eat, sleep, fight. Someone else cooked for her, and all she had to do was run errands once a month.
Most importantly, she could feel herself getting stronger every single day.
I'm getting so spoiled by Ide's cooking and care that I won't be able to take care of myself anymore, she thought.
---
Three and a half months flew by.
It had now been over six months since Ide first started learning magic.
BOOM!
Ide finally raised his Ice-Make Magic to LV6.
[Magic Origin:]
First Magic Origin:
Gains 1 MP every 1 second in Deep Meditation.
Gains 1 MP every 10 seconds while Sleeping/Resting.
Current Total MP: 0
[Magic:]
Ice-Make Magic: LV6 (+)
"Strong!"
Ide assessed his own power, feeling the mana coursing through his veins.
In fact, with his current strength, even if he were in the future Fairy Tail guild, he would have a solid shot at passing the S-Class Wizard trial.
At the very least, he was S-Class candidate material.
In any other guild, reaching System Level 5 would guarantee S-Class status.
But in Fairy Tail, System Level 6 was just the baseline for being a "promising candidate."
Fairy Tail was just too competitive. In the future, almost every active S-Class wizard there would be at or above Wizard Saint level.
Natsu, who started the series with near-Wizard Saint power, couldn't even guarantee passing the S-Class trial.
Cana, who would be a pillar of strength in any other guild, failed four times in a row, nearly breaking her spirit.
Cough.
"Ur, let's fight!"
Now that his magic power was finally on par with hers, Ide was itching for a fight.
BOOM!
But just as Ide was about to make his move, a terrifying wave of magic power erupted from Ur.
After months of constant battling with Ide, Ur finally broke through the bottleneck that had held her back for years. She had reached the level of a Wizard Saint.
Even if it was just the lowest rank of the Saints.
"Eh?"
Ide was shocked.
Usually, it was Ur who was shocked by his breakthroughs. Now, the tables had turned.
"Ide, fight me!"
Fresh off her breakthrough, Ur didn't hesitate. She launched herself at him like an arrow released from a bow.
"Bring it on!"
Ide laughed and charged to meet her.
BOOM!
When their magic collided, the shockwave was felt in the town two kilometers away.
---
In Town.
"Ur and Ide are fighting again?"
"Yeah, seems like it."
"Their battles are getting more intense. If this keeps up, this little town won't be big enough to hold them."
"True that."
The mayor and the townsfolk looked at the vibrating air in the distance and shook their heads.
---
Back on the Mountain.
"I yield."
Ide lay in the snow, shaking his head and smiling at the now incredibly powerful Ur.
With her current strength, even in the One Piece world, Ur would be a top-tier fighter—easily Warlord level or a high-ranking officer (like a Sweet Commander or All-Star) in an Emperor's crew (think Doflamingo level).
Of course, she still had a way to go to reach Katakuri's level, which was borderline "monster" tier.
"Ide."
"Do you have any plans for the future?"
Lying next to him in the snow, Ur tentatively asked the question that had been on her mind.
"Train hard until I surpass my 'mortal enemy,' then go find her and get my revenge."
Ide answered without hesitation.
"Is that so?"
Ur fell silent for a moment.
His future... didn't seem to include her.
She knew he couldn't stay by her side forever.
"In that case..."
"Train as hard as you can!"
"Ide, you have to succeed in your revenge!"
Ur had a healthy mindset. She quickly let go of her melancholy and offered him her sincere blessing.
"I'll win."
Ide nodded firmly.
---
Training knows no time.
Another four months passed in the blink of an eye.
It had been exactly ten months since Ide started learning magic.
Ide's magic had reached LV7—the threshold of the Wizard Saint realm.
In reality, the "Wizard Saint" title covered a vast range of power. The lowest-ranked Saint and the top-ranked Saints were in completely different leagues.
Especially the Four Gods of Ishgar at the very top—each one of them could single-handedly wipe the floor with all the lower-ranked Saints combined.
But that's a story for another time.
[Magic Origin:]
First Magic Origin:
Gains 10 MP every 1 second in Deep Meditation.
Gains 1 MP every 1 second while Sleeping/Resting.
Current Total MP: 0
[Magic:]
Ice-Make Magic: LV7 (+)
BOOM!
On this day, after their sparring session ended, Ur smiled at Ide.
"Ide, your mastery of magic is no longer inferior to mine. I have nothing left to teach you!"
"If you want to gain even greater power, you should head west. There are stronger people out there."