Chapter 18 - Magic and Strength

Here's a fun little arc of magic!

…

"Let's just go back to the town, get the money, and go back to the guild…" The blue-haired teen begrudgingly agreed, irritation still present in his demeanor. "Then take a freaking nap…"

"Seconded."

…

Fortunately, the two sullen boys had a mood lift after they went for their reward. Despite being listed for just 60,000J, the man who asked for the job - John Sad or whatever his name is - raised the reward to 400,000J after hearing how they basically cleared the entire area of Vulcans.

200,000J each, not bad at all.

The two split ways after that, but not before giving each other one last look.

Hmmf! Benjin quickly snapped his head away with his chin held high, causing Jellal to do the same.

Cunt.

…

Later at night, Benjin was now in his tree house, sitting in front of the small table with the tome of Light God Slayer Magic that had been unopened for more than a year. Did I seriously not practice this at all? True to that, he had basically been practicing his light-make, tunnel-visioning his spells to counter Jellal's annoying meteor. 5 MONTHS. That's how long it took to make his sentinel spell. He had been so focused trying to outdo his rival that he completely forgotten the big picture!

But no more!

The blonde jumped in the bed, a determined smile on his face.

Because tomorrow… is where I start!

Three Days Later - Magnolia Beach

How do I find that feeling again?

Three days. Three days! Benjin had been trying to relearn the bellow, or even the smallest semblance of that magic. But no matter what he tried, he just, couldn't, get it! The teen knew that simply training his body or just reusing spells wouldn't have gotten himself any closer, but this. This. Was something that he had to get.

Honestly, the feeling was basically night and day. Try as he might to reimagine it, to take it, but he just couldn't. It was like turning on a switch in the dark, it just happens; but he got so close twice!

Okay, you've been sitting at the beach for hours, what have you not tried?

The master actually suggested for him to go meditate, which is what gramps did himself when he wanted to clear his head; but right now, he just couldn't think of anything.

Wait that's it! Fuck thinking!

Benjin closed his eyes, trying his best to clear his mind. Okay, no thoughts. None, at all. Yep none at all.

"…" Hmmf.

"…"

Banana. Shit this is harder than it looks.

Clams!

"…"

The blonde had to put mountainous amounts of effort for the first five minutes, but then, he relaxed. Waves, birds, the winds, even the slight movement of the sand became more and more clear. The light mage took in the bask of the afternoon sun, allowing him to focus inwards, the sounds of his surroundings becoming more and more dull.

As soon as the light mage passed that point, Benjin felt his magic stir in response. What… is this feeling? He had always been able to see the auras of magic. But now, it was as if, it was part of him. Wait no! Not right now!

Just as soon as the feeling came, he felt the presence and feeling of power leave him, the sounds of the beach becoming clear again. Do I REALLY need to have a clear mind? Seriously? Screw this magic!

"Fuck!" Frustratingly, the blonde slammed his fist into the sand, causing some to get into his eyes. ARRGH!

It took him three days to get to this point. Three painfully frustrating days. He might have choked, again. But you know what? Now, he had a direction. There was no more random wandering or just sitting angrily by his lonesome self at the beach for an entire day. It wasn't just a reflex like he did with Laxus and the Vulcan, this time… he had control.

Benjin wiped off the sand on his body, a determined smile on his face. I'll master it, I swear it!

"Is that guy still at the beach? It's been weeks!" Gray, who was somehow magically still wearing his clothes, spoke from his usual counter seat.

Jellal, who had also began trying to learn the 'upper' secrets of his magic, casually responded. "Relax, he's just practicing magic."

"But he's a light mage, not a sand one!" And now, the clothes came off, to the irk of everyone around him, specifically a certain redhead, but ignored it in favour of someone else.

The heavenly body mage sighed, his own annoyance meter building up, "I'm sure he knows what he's doing, besides," the older teen gave an accusatory glance at the shirtless boy, "shouldn't you be practicing as well? All you do is like a ten minute run, three spells, then call it a day…"

Immediately Ur, who had been sitting a few stools down from Gray, slammed her fist on the wood - splintering it, a look of unimaginable rage on her face. "WHAT?!" The black-haired woman now had her student by the ear, "You said you did all the exercises I told you to!"

Gray was now sweating bullets, his eyes dancing around while he tried to think of an excuse. "…Sorry?"

"…Sorry?" The room grew cold, the normally mischievous black eyes of the ice woman were shadowed by a brewing storm. "YOU'LL BE SORRY WHEN I'M FINISHED WITH YOU, YOU SLACKING BRAT! I'M MAKING YOU DO TEN LAPS FROM MT. HAKOBE AND BACK WHILE CARRYING YOUR OWN WEIGHT IN ICE!"

And with that, Ur, with Gray in tow - painfully -, stomped outside of the guild hall.

"…"

"Wow! That was scary!" The kids all turned to the voice, which had belonged to another with blue-hair, one with a milkier colour than Jellal's.

"That's right Levy, you've never seen Ur get mad, have you?" The little girl nervously shook her head in response.

Lyon, who had been sitting beside Gray before the poor ice mage was pulled away, scoffed. "Hah! Our teacher will let him have it for sure," a scowl slowly crept onto the remaining pupil's face, "he thinks he can just slack off everyday because he can eat ice!"

Jellal raised an eyebrow at that. "Eat ice? Isn't that rather… cold?" Frowning, the ice mage irritatingly crossed his arms behind his head.

"No! He just opens his goddamned mouth and literally sucks in my creations!" A contemplative look was now on the heavenly body mage, his thoughts directing to another boy in the guild, specific a certain dragon slayer. "Gray thinks he's so great with his annoying magic! Well I'll show him! Next time I'll ice him so fast he won't even be able to blink!"

*Slap!*

"Ow! What was that for?" The ice mage, shocked and downed, was now recovering from the strike that left a rather red hand mark on his face.

"Pervert!" Confused, Lyon looked down as his clothes - the lack of them rather, then suddenly went red from the fact he just stripped, in front of a girl… again.

"Nobody saw anything!" And out the door he went.

After Lyon sprinted out of the guild doors, Jellal stood up himself, with Erza following suit, "Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to train, I'm not going to that let that blonde bastard get a step over me. Him with his annoying sentinels."

The teen, who was making his way to his own little spot in the forest, noticed that a certain… metallic clang had been following him, before sighing. Does she not have anything better to do than follow me?

"Erza, just come out." The bluehead turned around, seeing his little sister figure hiding behind a barrel, or trying to at least… seriously I can still see her hair.

The knight mage immediately jumped out in front of him, a hopeful look on her face. "I want to come with you!"

"…" The boy nearly meteor'd right then and there, can't she go find her own spot? Ugh. With another sigh, the older mage relented.

"…Fine."

"So um… Cana, are you going to train too?" Back at the guild hall, Levy and Cana was now the only people sitting in the 'kid' corner as the adults called it, especially after they all began moving their tables together after a few weeks.

"Nah, I'm just going to stay here and figure out more card combinations… which is basically the same thing, I think." Absentmindedly, the card mage reached for a large mug filled with bubbly liquid at the corner of the table, then took a huge swig.

"Can I join you? I want to work on my solid script too!" The brunette turned towards the girl, who had been sitting in a near-fetal position on one of the counters. She smiled.

"Sure!"

The script-mage apprentice sat down across from Cana, a excited grin on her face.

Once again, a blonde boy was on the beach, this time standing straight with knife-sharp focus. Benjin had spent weeks trying to do the same spell. Today. He'll get it, no doubt about that.

"Light God's…" The familiar swell of power washed over him, this time with nary a thought in his mind.

"BELLOW!"

A brilliant yellow beam, far surpassing his spell: Solar Wave, blasted towards the distance across the lake, rippling the water and causing a deep trough to form. Yes! As the spell dissipated, Benjin took in the warmth of the afternoon sun, before pumping his fists into the air over and over. I FUCKING DID IT!

It's been over a week since he was able to fire off the spell, but it was this one, just now, that he was actual in full control of. Which meant now… I won't fuck up the spell mid-fight again, Jellal and Laxus can SUCK IT.

The blonde plopped down onto the sand with his limbs sprawled out, before wriggling them around to create a sand angel. Four weeks of sitting here, all worth it!

There was so many possibilities! According to his tome, the Light God's Bellow was the most basic of all spells, basically using the technique of utilizing Light God Slayer Magic and just discharging it through his mouth. Which means if he kept practicing… he can potentially completely upgrade all of his Light Make to the strength of a Bellow. And if I could do that…

"Benjin, you're far too strong for my heavenly ass magic!"

"I'm a blonde prick, lightning magic is garbage, and you're better than me in everyway!"

Benjin could only smirk in satisfaction as he daydreamed about kicking the ass of his rivals. Wait no, I gotta stay on track! Showing his dominance aside, he had to keep practicing. Going complacent after a single breakthrough is absolutely stupid, in my opinion anyway.

Hmm, true, the bellow was no doubt a strong spell; but, if he ever met an strong enough foe, and the bellow was the only magic that worked, then he would be in big trouble. Which means I have to be able to use divine magic for ALL of my spells. Perhaps even… the mech.

The thought caused a rush of excitement, his eyes filled with determination only matched by the exhilarating smile on his face. Just what, would I be able to do? Just thinking about it made his heart beat faster.

Wait, focus, focus!

Excitement was great, but he had to keep it simple. What could he do now that he can use the bellow consistently? Hmm…

Benjin closed his eyes, drowning out the sensations around him, and focused on the light's presence. To his satisfaction, his power responded, and he pushed the feeling towards his staff.

"Light Make: Holy Barrier!" Wait what the fuck is this?

A gigantic barrier capable of warding even the strongest attacks. That was what he expected. What came out was a misshapen mound of light that resembled the landfill to the East of the city. Grr… seems I have a way to go.

What if I just kept the magic in my hand?

The light mage remembered Natsu; he could roar, he could punch with his fire, he could kick with his fire, and he could slash with his fire. If Natsu couldn't form a fire barrier using slayer magic, then how could he on the first try? Actually, maybe using Natsu as an example isn't that reliable…

But he was definitely on to something. If he could do the same things as Natsu does, then he would drastically raise his ability to fight close range. Not really my style, but worth a try!

Once again zoning into his focus, Benjin felt the denser magic enter his form, all of the light coalescing around his arm like thousands of tiny needles.

"Hyah!" A right punch, straight into the ground, causing a shower of sand at the point of impact, while creating a hole as deep as Benjin was tall. Damn, that was pretty weak… even fucking JELLAL could punch that, but we're making progress!

Now he knew he could put the magic into parts of his body, even if enhancing his spells are still out of reach.

I know what I have to do now, the rest will be a piece of cake!

Oh how wrong he was.

Freeze!

Gray, who had been covered head to toe with snow, now stood in front of a lake at the base of Mt. Hakobe, freezing and thawing it over and over. His master was not joking when she said that he had to make ten trips with his own weight in ice. Of course he completely died after the first climb so he had to do the whole thing over a course of two weeks… she IS a bloody slave driver!

Maybe I should actually try to learn dynamic ice make… The ice mage scoffed to himself. Hah! I don't need Lyon's zoo galore to fight! Heh, screw that. What does he need of stupid animals when he could just eat them? In all seriousness though, what kind of SANE person would actually think, to make WASPS. Freaking wasps.

Ignoring his frustration, the black-haired boy focused his magic once again, not a single movement from his muscles.

Freeze!

Gray pushed his magic into the ground, a expanding blue sphere followed by a wave of ice ran over the lake before stopping around the three meter mark. I still suck at this!

Unknowingly, beads of sweat were already dripping from the ice mage's chin. Shit! I didn't even realize I was low on magic. Within an instant, his irritation shifted in a sly smile as he picked up a large piece of ice from the ground. Heh, must suck to NOT be able to do this *Ahem Lyon. Gulping down the large block of ice, Gray felt his magic slowly return to him, ready for another round of training.

Now… Freeze!

"I'm going to kick their ass!" A pink-haired boy, hands glowing with flame, screamed while striking a rock over and over, cracking and chipping it away.

Stupid Gray, stupid Lyon, stupid Benjin, stupid Erza, stupid Jellal, stupid Laxus, I'll kick ALL of their asses! Gildarts too!

"Raagh!" With a final punch to the rock, that was as wide as Natsu was tall, broke off into a hundred different pieces.

The fire dragon slayer was now panting from the intense punching session; his sharp canines gritted against each other as he began using another part of the mountain as a sandbag.

So what if he couldn't melt that stupid pink ice? I'll make hotter fire! So what if he can't catch that stupid blueberry head! I'll just become so fast he won't be even to blink! So what if I can't make a giant freaking mech! I'll just burn it down with BIGGER flames! So what if they're stronger! I'll just become EVEN stronger!

Jumping back, the son of Igneel took a deep breath. The magic flowed into his lungs, a draconic magic circle emerging in front of him.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

A massive plume of flames, larger than any he produced before, rushed into the heavily forested area, wait forest? The pink-haired slayer now had his hands behind his head, frantically darting around for witnesses. Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, aha a log!

Funny thing is, Natsu actually tried to put out the fire, by throwing another piece of wood on top of it. Definitely not one of his smartest ideas. Screw it, I'M OUTTA HERE!

With a trail of smoke, the dragon slayer made his way back to the guild, leaving a blazing inferno in his path.

"…"

"NNNNATTTSUUUUUUUUUU!" The voice of the master came from the direction he was running, no doubt seeing his… handiwork. SHIIIIIIIIT!

"Ice-Make: Pixie!" A blue magic circle appeared, dozens of tiny winged creatures floating out and smashing into a nearby tree, to the caster's satisfaction.

Gray won't see this coming! First it was wasps, then it was dragonflies, and now, pixies. Lyon was not a big fan of tiny-winged creatures, definitely not, but you know what? Every time he and Gray sparred, his fellow pupil basically just opened his dumb mouth, sucked in his spell, and fired one right back. But as it turned out… Lyon smiled to himself, he can only eat ONE at a time.

Of course, this actually brought another problem. Gray could just use a dome shield to block all of his insects, and he would be back to square one!

What if he could dual cast, with one hand?

Spiders on the right, ape on the left. He wouldn't be able to take both at once! Okay one-handed casting, let's give it a try!

The ice mage focused his magic down a single arm, focusing his thoughts to a certain frozen primate.

"Ice-Make: Snow Ape!" Lyon scoffed; as expected, the ape fell apart after taking a few steps. Ur said one-handed creations aren't stable… but I'll make it stable!

He would create a new branch of ice-make, and make it his own!

Just wait and see, Gray!

Back at the guild, in the Library, a blue-haired boy was sitting at a table, reading a book that took him hours and hours to find. A tome on Heavenly Body Magic.

Jellal smiled to himself; he probably should have thanked Benjin sometime for taking just about every book at the library and bringing it here. If it wasn't for that, he would be forced to wing everything blind. And that, will simply not do.

Now, where was the section on True heavenly body magic? This book was written by someone named Gaius, which was not his ancestor. Hmm, Solar heavenly body magic and… Lunar? There are two types? What?! Jellal skipped straight to the beginning of the lunar section, which began around the halfway point of the decently thick tome.

Okay let's see…

Lunar Heavenly Body Magic, or commonly referred to as just Lunar Magic, is a subcategory of the more commonly used Solar Heavenly Body Magic, which works by morphing the magic to the likeness of stars.

Lunar Heavenly Body Magic, instead of using the light of stars, uses the magic of the endless cosmos that exist between the stars itself.

Wait, the 'endless cosmos?' Was he using the Solar form this whole time? What if, the secret to True Heavenly Body Magic, was to master both? If it was, that means he was still far away from the power he needed to beat him. Just thinking of the damned black wizard brought a scowl to his face. Okay, no dark thoughts, just keep reading…

Lunar Heavenly Body Magic was created by Kairos Fernandez… Okay he knew that part. Although much less common than its Solar counterpart, known users… not important, he needed the spells! How to learn it! Instructions! I don't need hundreds of pages of useless history!

The blue-haired mage frustratingly flipped through the book, trying to find a section that would actually give him the information he desired.

There it is! 'Mastering the Cosmos, Part 1'

Okay, this was good! Jellal smiled in satisfaction, reading on.

Lunar Heavenly Body Magic, despite the namesake, has a stark contrast to its Solar Counterpart. While the solar form focused outwards, forming various spells such as the most common spell, the 'Meteor.' Well then, glad to know he wasn't special! The Lunar form focuses inward, granting the user the ability to blend in with the endless nothingness of space, not only that, Lunar Heavenly Body Magic opens the way to some truly fearsome spells… So the Lunar form was more of a 'stealth' magic.

Hmm, he had to focus inwards, and he had to imagine the darkness of space. Wait, truly fearsome spells? Actually never mind, I can read the rest later, I'll just focus on one spell first.

The heavenly body mage continued to flip through the book, taking several minutes until he finally landed on a section titled 'Known Spells.'

Finally! Okay let's see.

Comet: A sister spell to meteor, this spell allows enhanced speed and greatly enhanced stealth. Making it difficult for those even with enhanced vision to see the caster's movements. This spell also hides magical pressure and makes the caster nearly invisible to all of the five senses.

Jellal widened his eyes at the first spell. That flashlight could somehow see him during his meteor, that's how he always tracks him with that annoying 'sentinel' spell! If he learns this - no - masters this. Then he would basically be untouchable. Smirking inwardly, the mage closed the book, returned it to its original place, and left to his own little spot.

Comet… heh, he'll literally not see me coming.

While all the Fairy Tail 'kids', as the older generation called them, were out doing their own things, the adults were more inclined to stay at the guild hall and drink, especially a certain ace. For what reason? It's Fairy Tail, do they really need a reason?

"Hey Gildarts! Drinking again?" The auburn-haired man turned towards the voice, seeing Ur in all her voluptuous glory.

The ace gladly turned towards the voice, "Oh you know, that and enjoying the scenery~" he let his eyes wander downwards… before he suddenly felt a sudden drop of temperature on his nether regions. "YEOWCH!"

Ur gave a taunting smile to the drinking man. "Eyes up here, ya fat drunk!"

Gildarts recovered in mock anger, "Hey! I'm not fat!" he took a huge gulp of the bottle in front of him. Ahh Whiskey. "Can't exactly argue with the other one though, HAH!"

The resting mage took a look at the 'Frozen Empress' as the people started calling her, and widened his eyes at how quickly she actually dressed herself. Huh, quick off quick on I suppose.

"So what are the brats up to now?" Gildarts looked towards the door, a proud smile creeping onto his face.

"They're all trying to improve themselves, your brats too."

Ur now had her own drink in her hand; Gildarts smelled the liquid in her cup, instantly identifying it. Oh? Vodka from Iceberg, not a bad choice. "It's about time they actually started, I had to baby them constantly to get them to do anything." Gildarts gave a hearty chuckle at that.

"You ever think about taking a student?" The ace raised a brow at her question.

"Me?! Teach someone? HAH! You must be out of your mind!" The ice mage took a sip of her drink, before she grabbed some bread from a nearby plate.

"Oh come on, you must have someone on your mind. You always stare at them training!" The ace gave a mocking grin.

"That sounds rather funny out of context, don't you think?" It was the ice mage's turn to chuckle now. "But I have been thinking about it… sometimes."

"Oh really, who?" Ur was now curious at his answer.

"…Cana."

"Really, why Cana?" Gildarts had a downtrodden look on his face.

"She reminds me… of someone, can't really piece it together though." The ice mage had a contemplative look on her face, thoughts about the brunette running through her mind.

"Hmm, didn't she come to the guild because she was looking for her father after her mom died or something?" A scowl crawled up to frame. "Must be a real deadbeat to just up and leave someone like that." Gildarts had the same scowl on his face, before narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah, and if I ever find out who it was, I'll give him a piece of my mind!"

"HaHa! He's as good as dead!" The two were now laughing again despite the subject.

Gildarts had a distant look on his face, as it reminiscing to times past.

"You know, I believe that," the auburn-haired man looked outside the door, just in time to spot tufts of white hair making their way towards the guild. "This generation… will accomplish great things."

Ur leaned back towards the counter, finishing the rest of her drink with a smile. "You know what? I think I agree."

"NNNNATTTSUUUUUUUUUU!" The voice of the master rang throughout the guild, causing the two veteran mages to laugh in tandem.

"They certainly will!"

.

.

.

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Chapter 8 Done! Next Chapter: Reunions

Wow, I just read my arc and story planning, and I just realized how long this story is. Regardless though, I hope all of you have fun following along the journey :)

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