(3rd person POV)

No one anticipated such thing to happen.

While all of the Fairy Tail mages are in the midst of verbal conflict, they instantly sensed the sudden pulse of huge magic energy. A magic that they have never sensed before from the guild. The feel of the magic was intimidating to some while it was straight up terrifying.

Of course their immediate reaction is to turn to the source of magic. There, they saw a huge green and brown tornado that erupted to the sky, hitting at least twenty in its wake. Some compared it to that of a dragon slayer's roar, especially those who have seen Iron Dragon Slayer's green magic circle.

"What was that?" most of the people from the telepathy line asked.

What went unexpected is that as soon as they've heard the voices of their guildmates, they have once again started their bickering. No one wanted to the one to blame for their previous actions during the Battle of Fairy Tail. Instead, it was almost as if they were about to start the battle again, now at their own will.

This went on until Lucy gave her speech about wanting to save Fairy Tail and Magnolia because of how much she loved them. The action made the mages rethink of their actions and words. A thing that they should have already did after they saw the signal that Hachiman gave them.

With every mages now in full agreement of what to do, they all strike the remaining lacrimas as hard as they could, finally destroying the thunder palace once and for all.

Of course what happened next is everyone being struck by a lightning bolt, with Erza taking two hundred of them. All of them limped and instantly fell to the floor beneath them, crying out for the indescribable pain they felt.

Even though everyone just overridden the thought about the strange tornado earlier, few people actually took notice of that after the thunder palace was dealt with. One in particular identified whose magic was that from.

After regaining enough strength to stand back up, Laki immediately went to the direction of the strange magic. She couldn't be more sure of where it came from but she just can't believe he was capable of such power. It was something that she felt from a certain guild utility.

'What have you done to yourself, Hachiman?' she thought to herself while running towards the site where she have seen the attack.

Her suspicion was been confirmed upon seeing the guild utility in a very undesirable condition. He received a lot of burns all throughout his body while his clothes are also not doing any better.

"Oh no! Hachiman!"

She immediately ran towards him checked his pulse by holding the underside of his left wrist. Much to her relief, he was still alive, well, barely. She checked him further to find other injuries that she should be wary about but she found nothing.

"Thank God you're alright!"

Just finding out that her student was alive was enough for Laki to forget her wariness of the opposite gender and immediately embraced him out of instinct. She cannot express enough how relieved she was to know that her socially awkward friend was doing fine, at least as fine as he can get from getting hit by twenty lightning bolts.

"Come on tough guy, let's get you fixed up at the guild infirmary." she said as she lifted his unconscious body without much effort.

Many people turned their eyes towards her, more specifically to the unconscious injured man riding on her back, but she did not mind all of those. All that is important to her right now is to get Hachiman to someone who can give him proper medical attention.

...

(Hachiman's POV)

Damn, every part of my body hurts like hell. Even lifting my arms feel like torture and my fingers seemed like they've been pierced by needles. I'm also being wrapped by bandages all around my body that looked that of a mummy.

Well, beggars can't be choosers. This is already a blessing compared to the amount of abuse that I gave to my body on such a short period of time.

I tried to get up but my shoulder was been restrained by the hand of an elderly woman with a pink hair. "Don't rush it, young man. Seriously, are you really that willing to die?"

"Uh, I'm not." I replied.

"Well, the only real injuries you got are just burns all around your body. They will heal in a week considering how active your body is in healing. Other than that, you're already at a stable condition so I'll take my leave now." the woman said as she stood up and left the what I assume is the guild infirmary.

As what the woman said, my injuries are nothing that can't be healed in few days. Thank goodness that my injuries are not that severe because there's no one else here to pay for my medical expenses other than myself.

So, if I'm here at the guild infirmary, then who's that kind soul that brought me here? I scanned the room, only to find Olietta sitting at a chair beside my bed. Well, I have to expect someone who would drag my body here, it would be her considering that we're friends. I still feel weird admitting that.

"You're finally awake!" Olietta said.

She looked like she isn't injured that much. Maybe she also has that resistance to lightning like me and the other grass type pokemons. That is if she participated in destroying those lightning lacrimas.

"Uh, yeah. How long was I out?" I asked.

"Just a few hours. The sun hasn't set yet."

That was surprising on my part. Sure I didn't receive that much injury but the fatigue from using too much magic must have knocked me unconscious until tomorrow morning. At least now that I'm awake, I can finally eat wood and speed up the recovery of my energy.

"Olietta, can I have a request?"

"What is it?"

"Can you bring me a few wood pieces? I'm quite hungry but I can't chew any regular food in this state." That is because if it was wood, I can just siphon them.

She did provided me a wood piece to it but she used her Wood Make to create a wooden chair, instead of going to the backyard and getting some. I still remember that time when she said that she won't be providing wood for me to eat. Luckily, I'm the only one who remembered that conversation.

"Here, is this enough?" she asked as she held the chair in front of me.

"You don't have to mold it into anything complicated, you know?"

It was my tactless question that made her frown in annoyance. "Are you eating it or not?"

"Y-Yes ma'am. Itadakimasu."

Before her very eyes, the wooden chair deformed similar to a river that flowed into my mouth. Even I myself can't properly explain that method of eating. Because it's magic? The chair didn't fill me up completely but it's already more than enough sate my hunger. For some reason, it also tastes better than most trees and wood pieces I eat.

"Thank you very much, Olietta."

"You're welcome. But in return, you have to answer a few questions from me."Of course there's a catch.

"Okay, I think I can handle a few questions."

Olietta put her thumb and index finger on her chin to make it obvious that she was thinking, maybe about the order of her questions or just the questions themselves.

"So, what was that attack you used earlier?"

Oh, that. To be honest, I didn't think much about that attack. All I did was just gather my magic power on a point which happens to be my mouth. I then shoot it to the sky where lacrimas are located.

"That? I just pulled the remaining accessible magic power on my reserves and just launched it. My tank was newly refilled that time so that was to be expected."

"Oh, so did you know what happened to you afterwards?"

"No, I just fell unconscious after seeing those yellow glitters falling from where the lacrimas were located."

"So you didn't feel the twenty lightning bolts that struck you afterwards. You're one tough guy to be in that condition right now, you know that?"

Now that is what you would call a perfect excuse for not letting her know about what happened prior to that. All I need to do now is to act like I know nothing of the events and say that I was just lucky.

"By the way, did they managed to destroy all of the lacrimas? Last thing I remembered, everyone was just bickering instead of getting the job done."

"Yeah, but it took Lucy to finally put them on track and begin destroying those things. To be honest, I'm kinda jealous that you were unconscious when the lightning bolts hit you. As for me, I only destroyed one but I was awake the whole time when the lightning bolt struck me."Trust me, you don't want to be jealous of me.

Well, I was also awake when the first thirty of them struck me but she doesn't need to know that. In fact, I need her to keep about that strange magic attack I pulled off also as a secret. Yeah, all I've been doing all this time is keeping secrets but I still intend on telling things to them when either they can help with it or when I feel more open to them.

"Hey, can I make another request?" I asked.

"You sure have a lot of requests today, huh?" She sounds bitter for some reason.

"Don't worry. This time, you can help by not saying anything. I actually want you to keep that info about my new spell as a secret. Is that okay?"

"Fine, but I won't fabricate some elaborate lies if someone asked me. All I will say is that I don't know."

"That's good enough. Thank you."

At least that one has been solved immediately. To be honest, I actually wanted her to say that it was Mystogan who generated the huge tornado just because he's known here to be strong but mysterious. However, there was an agreement between us that we won't compromise each other's identities. It would indeed compromise his identity if i were to shift the responsibility of that to him.

As usual, there is a limit to how long I can keep up a conversation. This time, it's of no exception. With my agenda about the lightning lacrimas and my health condition now resolved, I have no idea what topic to throw next.

From the looks of it, it seems that she still wanted to keep the conversation going because she hasn't left me here and go to her friends yet. Either that or she's just caring enough to keep me company which is highly unlikely but appreciated.

"So... how does it feel being struck by a lightning while still awake?" I asked.

"I can't speak for the others but it's just so so. Maybe it's because wood resists lightning considering that you didn't die while being hit by twenty of those."

"I take it that the others didn't do very well, yes?"

"Yeah, they've all been down for at least half an hour. I wanted to bet that Erza have it the worst because she destroyed all two hundred at once but she's actually one of the firsts to recover."

She then played with her long hair, twirling it around her index finger like someone who's just killing off some time. Wait, long hair? I thought she wanted to cut it so that she would look 'fresh' for the Fantasia parade. To be honest, I kinda like her hair long so I'm somewhat relieved that she didn't do so. Where did that came from?

"I thought you were going to cut your hair. Did you get back with your boyfriend or something?"

As expected, she suddenly glared at me for my tactless choice of words. "No but why would you even think of that?"

"Because women tends to cut their hair as a symbol of moving on from something, mostly from previous romances." And to preserve this conversation that you're seemingly begging to continue.

"Well, good for you, you're wrong. Besides, I haven't been in a relationship yet and I won't easily let them be a factor of my choices if so."

"Uh, okay..."

"I guess you're fine now so I'll take my leave."

Without waiting for my reply, she went outside of the infirmary to join the other guild members with their "victory" party after the successful destruction of the thunder palace. I must have angered her a bit from what I've said that's why she just left like that.

Occurrences like this often happens to me and Olietta. She'll go talk to me about something, then after running out of topics, she'll go back to the other guild members. Though it may seem rude of her to do so, I don't really mind being treated like that. In fact, it's already one of the nicest I've ever received from people my age.

Maybe that's just what it means to have a friend who's not with your usual group of friends. Yuigahama was also like that when dealing with her usual clique and with Yukinoshita, and maybe by extension, me.

Damn it. Now I was been reminded again that I'm not at my home world anymore.

It's been more or less two months since I vanished from that world and arrived here. Last time I remember doing on that world was I was just lazing on the winter vacation and the only productive thing I did was to help Komachi with her reviews for the Sobu High entrance exams.

It makes me wonder about what is happening there right now. If the time flow here and there are the same, the entrance exams should be over about a week ago already. I just hope my absence didn't prevent Komachi from passing it.

As for my parents, would they really be affected by my absence? Gah, who am I kidding? Of course they would be devastated because their eldest son just vanished without a trace. Despite their kind of imbalanced treatment to us siblings superficially, I can easily tell that they love both of us equally.

This may not be on the same emotional scale as the first two I've mentioned but what bugged me the most is what would be my clubmates' reaction to my disappearance. I admit that during the past months that we spent on that room on Sobu's special building, we actually grew closer towards each other. There are a few emotional bumps here and there but we did grow more than just clubmates.

And just after I opened and made myself vulnerable, when they also did the same to me, I was gone from their world. When I was so close to that something genuine I've been looking for, some gods decided to transport me to another dimension. And not just some dimension, it is where genuineness is much harder to find from all the magic of this world.

Sometimes, I missed the time when the most difficult problems I have to deal with are just highschool dramas. Now, I have to deal with the literal life and death. At least it's not everyday that I'm facing death but even just an occasional one is way too much for a japanese boy of modern age to face.

Well, there's no use thinking about it right now. All I can do is focus what I have to do on this world to survive on this world while trying to find some ways to return to my world.

...

I woke up at the bed of the guild infirmary and this time, I actually gotten a full night of rest. No more overtime work, and more importantly, no more rampaging man-child.

This time, I'm now capable of moving my body without the excessive amount of pain but the bandages are still there, making me look like a walking mummy out of a Halloween party. At least I'm not the only one in this condition as there are also Dragneel and Redfox on the other beds, also wrapped in the same "costume" as me.

Without bothering the other infirmary occupants, I get off my bed and walked out of the room to look for something to eat. Maybe this time, I should settle for a normal meal instead of a wooden one just because I wanted to.

I went to the counter where Strauss was manning again. Like everyone else, she looked like she wasn't really affected that much by the thunder palace. Although for some reason, that odd aura I felt from her when I first entered the guild seemed to have strengthened.

"Oh, hello Hachiman. It looks like the thunder palace got you really bad, huh?" Strauss greeted.

"Yeah, just a single lacrima did this to me. Maybe I should consider training for the future to avoid this from happening." I replied.

"That's for the best, but don't overdo it, okay?" she advised, which I only responded with a nod. "By the way, what would you want to order?"

I thought for a moment what I wanted to eat right now. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of anything specific. That is why I just settled for whatever cheapest there is.

Strauss was quick with the serving as I only waited for a couple if minutes to get it. As she placed the food on the counter, I immediately shove them in my mouth. Well, this is my first real meal in twenty-four hours so you can't really blame me for the behavior.

While eating, I overheard some people talking about the strange attack I did to the lacrimas yet they didn't know who really did it. Some guessed that it's probably from Mystogan, the most mysterious man of the guild, which was immediately being supported by the others. At least now I don't have to fabricate some excuses and I don't think I'll be clearing that misunderstanding up anytime soon.

After I finish my meal, I didn't wait for Strauss to clean up the counter as I just did it by myself. Sure, I'm injured but this much work isn't that much of a deal.

Huh, weird. The me from my original world wouldn't say such things and just take full advantage if this injury to avoid working as much as possible. However, I already fallen way too deep to this rabbit hole they call workforce. As much as I hate to admit it, I finally understand why corporate slaves willingly dove to, well, corporate slavery. The money I spend now is my own and I am the one to earn it also.

Because I'm not yet allowed to get my hands wet from washing the dishes, I just put them at the sink. What I didn't account for was Strauss following me here. She must be told by that old medic that I'm not yet allowed to do my usual tasks.

"Mmm Hachiman, what do you think you're doing?" she asked while putting her hands on her hips like a scolding mother.

"Just putting the dishes to the sink." I simply replied.

"Okay, I think that much is allowed."

I was about to go out of the kitchen when my path was blocked by her. Damn it, why does every beautiful women I encounter somehow finds a way to scare me at some point?

"Is there something you need from me?" I asked, feeling the bandage of my face absorb a bead of sweat.

"Hmm, it's just that it's very suspicious that you're that injured from a single lacrima. Is there something you wanted to share with your senpai here?" she asked with a sly smirk on her face.

As expected of a former S class mage of almost the same caliber as the Titania, she's able to see through me instantly. Maybe other strong mages already have their suspicions but just decided to keep silent about it. If that's the case, I'm kinda thankful to them for that.

"What do you mean? Did you really think someone with no actual battle training can endure more of those?"

"You have a point but you can't fool me."

Her expression suddenly turned serious but not yet threatening. Well, it's also what I would do if I'm curious enough to want the information I'm interested into.

"Fine, I took down fifty of those. You happy now?"

"That's what I want to hea – Wait, fifty? how is that possible?"

"Ask Scarlet, she took down quadruple of those" I shrugged.

After that, I don't know how she did it but she made me tell her all about my magic ability and how I destroyed twenty lacrima after already destroying thirty of those. I also told her about my ability to directly transform any part of a tree to my nourishment, the reason why I managed to survive all of that lightning bolts. Of course, her first reaction is that she wondered if I'm a dragon slayer, which I immediately denied.

"So, how many of us know your similarity to dragon slayers?" Strauss asked.

"As of now, only Olietta, Mystogan, Dragneel and Happy, Redfox, Scarlet, and Master Dreyar. So yeah, just a handful." I replied. "As for that strange attack I used to instantly destroy twenty lacrima, only you and Olietta."

"I'm surprised Natsu and Happy managed to keep a secret for you."

"Actually, it's their fault master, Scarlet, and Redfox found out so I think they did a not so good job of keeping it."

"For them, it's already a good job, you know?"

"I guess you could say that."

Suddenly, I feel somewhat threatened from the way she looks at me. It seems that she now have some blackmail materials for me because I just told her quite a lot of secrets. I just hoped that she won't actually use those for nefarious reasons, though I doubt she has any. I just stared at her, puzzled by her look.

"Uh what?"

"You sure have a lot of secrets shared to Laki. Are you sure those are the only secrets you have together?"

With those words, I immediately got what she meant. Wow, this childish behavior of people still persists even when I'm literally on another world. To be fair, this is actually the first time I heard that someone "shipped" me with another girl because the people from my past world would say that I'm just way too disgusting to be paired with someone. Come on, why wouldn't they want a man who wants to be a househusband and will support them in their quest to be a strong independent woman?

Ahem. Back to the problem at hand.

"Are you implying that we have a somewhat romantic involvement with each other." I asked.

"Hey, you said it, not me." she replied in a sing-a-song tone.

"Well no, we're not." I immediately denied.

"Too bad, I really thought you two were already a thing. You know, the classic trope of a training session that became a start of a blooming romance. Sounds sweet if you ask me."

Well, it certainly is a sweet romance story if I were to read that from a light novel. But let's face it, Hikigaya Hachiman is not really a sweet romance material. If you wanted shoujo manga levels of sweetness, the leading man should always be the popular bad boy who's always at the center of trouble and pair him with a rich transferee. Wow, I unconsciously just described the possible love story of Dragneel and Heartfilia.

Even though I didn't ask about it, she then proceeded to tell me about how she got her powers back. Without anything to do at the moment, I just listened to her because it's also interesting to hear other people's magic abilities. Upon hearing her, now I kinda want to learn more about transformation magic just because it sounds fun.

She then told me how she defeated the "Freed" guy with her Satan soul, a power I didn't expect from a kind onee-san personality. Wait, Yukinoshita Haruno also displays a kind onee-san personality but I always view her as scary demon. Maybe that was it.

"I think that's enough for now. Let's go back to the counter!"

"Uh yeah."

...

A/N: This was supposedly just an extra but I decided to hit the 4k words to make it a regular chapter. So yeah, nothing much really happened here.