Fairy Tail: Eternal Adventure, Chapter 10

Practice makes perfect!

On the road to the Mt. Hakobe, there was an awkward silence between the two mages. Wanting to break the ice, Mark started a conversation:

-´So, at which exact point are we going to?´

-´At the very peak´- said Gray in an indifferent tone

-´Oh...I'm a bit curious why exactly are we going there. We could just go to the base and train there...´

-´No! The point of being an Ice-Make mage is that you need to face even the worst of the cold. That's how Ur taught me.´ - said Gray interruptedly, knowing exactly what to say

-´I assume Ur is your master?´

-´She was, before she...´

-´Oh my God! I didn't know. I'm sorry for your loss.´

-´No, it's okay. She was an extraordinary master of this magic for sure, and passed away a hero, but it's better not to go any further with that.´, said Gray with the slightest hint of containing his sadness, ´ What matters is that you should learn the basic patterns of Ice-Make so that you can develop your own style. That's the beauty of it.´

-´It surely seems so. I did have a chance to use it before, after all.´ - said Mark, not wanting to talk about a sensitive topic

-´I've never taught anyone Ice-Make in particular, but I'll do my best to pass my knowledge onto you.´ - Gray said, revealing a small grin, as if he was honored to teach someone about his knowledge of the magic he knows

-´And I'll do my best to learn it the best I can. Now let's just focus on our travel.´ - said Mark in a somewhat happy tone

And from then on, the two spent their time walking in an almost complete silence. Time to arrive to the mountain itself was quite long, not to mention the highest peak of it. However, once they arrived, they were glad they made it, as well as quite exhausted.

-´So, shall we begin?´ - Gray asked, along with a series of quick breaths as a result of a long journey

With Mark agreeing, Gray first started teaching him how to make a stance to perform spells:

-´It is the most important part. Without it, most spells would be very unstable and prone to causing more damage to the user than the intended target.´

-´Then I guess I'm lucky.´ - said Mark with a small hint of surprise that he managed to perform his spells without hurting himself

-´Oh and also...´

Right at that moment, Gray stripped, taking off his shirt. At first, Mark was a bit shocked because it seemed weird to him, but upon more thorough thinking, he realised it only makes sense for an Ice-Make mage:

-´Oh, that's quite an interesting way to learn how to resist the cold.´ - said Mark lastly

-´Yep. Now you give it a shot.´

-´Oh...´

Mark initially started feeling awkward as he heard that, but realised that he doesn't care about that anymore. Hence he took off his upper clothing without any second thoughts. Doing so made him instictivelly shiver to the harsh cold.

-´Quite cold it is, but I guess it's only a matter of adaptation.´

-´You'll get used to it as you learn more, not to worry. So, now that you're suited properly for this environment, try practicing the stance I showed you before.´

And only after very few attempts...

-´Perfect. Now try doing this.´, said Gray before taking the stance Mark learned, starting to utter an incantation for what seemed to be a spell: ´Ice-Make Shield!´

And after certain movements of his hands, Gray managed to create a big shield made entirely of ice. Mark was only astonished to see such an act:

-´Wow, this is amazing!´

-´It will take some time until you master this spell, but you'll get it eventually.´

-´Yes. Practice makes perfect!´, Mark said enthusiastically, ´Well, I guess it's time to learn then.´

From that moment on, Mark was trying to perform the spell, but was unsuccessful in every attempt so far. It seemed a bit impossible for him:

-´This is pretty damn hard to do.´ - said Mark, still visibly shaking from the cold he was experiencing

-´Just keep focus and you'll manage evetually. Don't get discouraged, man. Let me demonstrate it once more´

Saying that, Gray performed the very same spell before Mark one more time, with the student looking at all the details and patterns of performing it as thorough as possible. Confident that he might succeed this time, Mark gave it a shot. Completely putting his focus on performing the spell this time, Mark finally managed to materialise the shield, albeit on a much smaller scale than it should be. Regardless of its size, Mark was more than happy for the results of his efforts:

-´I finally did it!´

-´Yes. Congratulations, dude. Now that you learned it, it's only a matter of time before you master it competely.´

-´Indeed. I'm so happy right now.´ - said Mark, holding excessive happiness of success inside him, which dissipated quickly later

-´Just practice it from time to time, but remember to keep the stance.´

-´Got it!´ - said Mark

-´Well, it's getting dark now. We should better leave for Magnolia. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty damn hungry right now. And there's a long walk ahead of us.´

-´Yeah, we probably should go. I'm starving as well.´

And after putting on their clothes, Mark and Gray left for Magnolia. It all seemed to go okay down the Mt. Hakobe. However, out of the sudden, they found themselves ambushed by a group of Vulcans. Not hesitating, Mark and Gray went in to fight. Even though it was Gray who was the leading fire, Mark took the opportunity to witness all the spells Gray managed to use, from ice lances to practical things like an ice prison. However, despite Vulcans focusing on Gray, one of them happened to turn his focus to Mark, throwing an enormous rock at him.

-´Watch out!´ - said Gray, just noticing the threat due to being busy fighting the other ones

-´Let's try this out.´ - said Mark somewhat confidently, even though he was completely aware of the danger he was in at the moment. After taking a proper stance, Mark started casting Ice-Make Shield. Just as the rock was about to hit him, he surprisingly managed to not only create the shield, but also make it much bigger than on his first successful try. Therefore, the rock was stopped on the spot, and Vulcan soon defeated at the hands of Gray, who managed to take care of the remaining ones without receiving even the slightest injury. As Mark was surely impressed with his advancing, Gray was rather proud and astonished at the same time, impressed that someone managed to do something like that so fast:

-´Wow! That's something.´ - said Gray

-´Yeah, pretty awesome! But then again, it was probably just the urgency of the situation.´, said Mark, happy yet confident in his words, ´We should probably get going now, though.´

-´Yep.´

And so, the two mages went for Magnolia after a long walk. Once they arrived at the guild, they seemed expected by the trio, Lucy, Natsu and Happy.

- ´And how did it go?´ - asked curious Natsu

-´Pretty good. I learned a single yet very useful spell, Ice-Make Shield.´

-´...at a pretty damn impressive speed!´ - Gray continued

-´Wow, that is impressive!´ - responded Lucy briefly after

-´Aye! Looks like Mark has some potential.´ - said Happy, happy for his comrade

-´Yeah, thanks guys. Anyway, I'm going to get something to eat. Want to join me?´

-´Of course!´ said Natsu, suddenly appearing hungry in an enthusiastic way

-´Aye sir!´

-´Sure, yeah!´

And thus, the group went for a dinner together, after which they parted ways and went for their respective homes. Mark was simply enjoying his time with his friends, looking forward to the new adventures ahead of him.

To be continued...