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Chapter 102

A New Kind of Strength

NO POV

The very next day, everything was quiet over at the Fairy Tail guildhall. Most of the members either didn't show up for the day or were out on the job. Lucy had just walked into the Fairy Tail guild hoping to find some work to do. She had just walked up to the request board when Nab greeted her.

"Morning, Lucy," he said.

"How's it going, Nab?" Lucy greeted back. "Still can't find a job to do as usual, huh?"

"It's not my fault!" protested Nab. "There are so many good jobs here that I don't know which one to choose!"

"Do yourself a favor and just pick a one," groaned Lucy. "Seriously. If you keep standing there, you'll never be able to pick a job."

"I know, I know," Nab sighed.

Lucy then looked at the request board herself and scanned through the many flyers that were up there. She tried to see if there was a job that she could take on her own, but most of the job fliers either described it being very dangerous or the reward that was too small.

"Geez. It's no wonder why Nab's having so much trouble," she thought to herself. "Every one of these jobs looks either hard or too small of a reward. I'd ask Natsu or Gray to come with me, but those two are busy going on jobs of their own for some reason. And Erza's busy talking with the Master for some reason. Man... I know I said it wouldn't be the same without Natsu or anyone else going out on a job with me, but I'm desperate at this point. Maybe I can find someone willing to go on a job with me."

She then looked behind her scanning through the members that were in the guildhall trying to see who she could ask. Unfortunately, she couldn't see anyone who she could ask. She then went over to a table and sat down, plopping her head on the table.

"Ugh... I'm so bored..." she complained. "What am I supposed to do now?"

At that moment, Cana came sitting down next to her drinking a bottle of beer as she always did, looking just as bored as Lucy.

"Uh... I really need a man in my life," Cana sighed.

Lucy then looked up. "A man? What brought that on, Cana?" she asked.

"You know... a boy. As in a boyfriend," said Cana. "I haven't had a boyfriend in a long time and to be honest, I'm starting to miss the touch of someone else and starting to get the urge if you know what I mean."

Lucy was puzzled. Then her face immediately turned a bright shade of pink as she blushed. Now it was Cana's turn to be confused.

"What are you blushing about, Lucy?" the brunette asked.

Lucy looked away, hiding her flushed cheeks. "Bl-Blushing? Who? Me? I'm not blushing!" she squeaked.

A mischevious smile then appeared on Cana's face. "Come on, Blondie. You shouldn't be blushing. I mean you've dated a guy before, haven't you?"

"Y-yeah! I've dated three, I guess," Lucy spoke immediately.

But Cana didn't believe her. "Three? You're such a liar, Luce," she spoke flatly. "Haven't you ever wanted to date anybody?"

Lucy then sighed. "Well, yeah. I've had crushes and stuff. And don't get me wrong, I want a boyfriend, but I don't know. I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

Cana then smirked as she took a deep breath. Then she called out loudly making sure everyone heard her.

"Hey, listen, everyone! Wait until you hear this!" she yelled. "One of the cutest girls in Fairy Tail just told me that she's never had a boyfriend before!"

Lucy, who was now feeling very flustered, immediately covered Cana's mouth more embarrassed than before. "Cana! Shut up already with that!" she cried. "No one wants to know about my personal life, okay?!"

Then Lisanna came over having to have heard Cana.

"So it's true, Lucy? You've never had a boyfriend before?" asked Lisanna.

"See?! Now, look what you did, Cana!" Lucy snapped glaring with a pout.

"But it's honestly nothing to be ashamed of," Cana spoke innocently. "I mean it's not like you're the only one who hasn't been on a date before."

"She's right, Lucy. In fact, if I'm being honest, I haven't exactly dated anyone either if that makes you feel better," said Lisanna.

"Well, that's a bit of a surprise," said Cana laughed. "Guess Lucy's not the only virgin in Fairy Tail."

"Don't say it like that!" Lucy snapped.

"Now, now, Cana. No teasing," Lisanna soothed. "Besides, who's to say that you've never dated a guy before?"

"Actually, I have," Cana grinned proudly. "I've dated at least a couple guys or two. Sadly, they weren't my type."

"Now that you mention it, didn't you date that one guy I met a while back?" asked Lucy. "You know that writer who was supposed to be my "fateful encounter"?"

"Oh yeah. That guy. Well, he was cute and all, but he wasn't the one for me," said Cana. "Not to mention because of my girls."

She then cupped her breasts to show what she meant, which made Lucy blush.

Lisanna then suddenly remembered. "That reminds me. There's I wanna tell you guys," she said. "You got gotta keep quiet about this otherwise, I might find myself in some trouble."

"Interesting," Cana smiled. "Spill the details, girl."

Lisanna looked around making sure that no one was around or listening to them. Then she whispered to the others.

"Speaking of dating, I just found out that a certain someone in the guild is having trouble asking out a guy," she whispered. "In fact, she's in love with him so much, that she bought a figurine of him too!"

"Really? Who did that?" wondered Lucy. "I'll bet it was Juvia. She's the only person I know that would go as far as to buy a figurine of Gray."

"Actually, it's someone else," smiled Lisanna. "And it's probably gonna be so surprising; you guys probably won't believe me."

"Well, don't keep us in suspense, tell us already," said Cana impatiently. "Who's the girl?"

Lisanna then smiled, and she spoke two simple words.

"It's Mira!"

Cana and Lucy stared at Lisanna for a few seconds. Then Lucy suddenly cried out at the top of her lungs.

"SAY WHAT?!"

Cana and Lisanna immediately pounced on Lucy trying to keep her quiet while everyone else in the guild looked towards them wondering what was going on. The three smiled and waved, trying to pretend that nothing was going on as they covered Lucy's mouth by pressing her on the table. Everyone then carried to what they were doing and pretended nothing had happened.

"Geez, Lucy! Can you be any louder?" Cana complained as she uncovered Lucy's mouth. "You want the entire guild to hear you?"

"You're one to talk, Ms. Pot calling the kettle black," Lucy muttered. "Besides, what you just said was crazy! Mira? You have to be kidding!"

"I kid you not. It's true," said Lisanna. "I saw the whole thing the other day at the girl's dorm. Not only that, she was in her room trying to decide how she should ask out Willy to the Akane Resort. She was rehearsing and everything."

"Well, that's a surprise and maybe even a bit adorable," said Cana. "I guess even Mira can have a bit of trouble when it comes to boys."

"You'd think with all the popularity she gets as a model as well as the poster girl for the guild, she would have at least dated a boy or two," said Lucy. "But at that end of the day, I guess Mira's a normal teenage girl just like the rest of us."

"Anyway, she's been wanting to go with Willy for a long time now, but lately I've noticed she's been busy with a lot of work lately," said Lisanna. "She needs to have some time off or at least a couple of days to relax a little."

"She has been working hard," said Lucy. "But I think Kinana is covering for her for the next few days, so there should be no problem, right?"

"Not exactly. Mira still hasn't asked Willy if he wanted to go with her," said Lisanna. "So I figured the three of us would give Mira some help."

"Wait... shouldn't we let Mira ask Willy on her own?" asked Lucy doubtfully. "I mean you guys shouldn't get involved in love affairs because it's their problem, right?"

"Come on, Lucy. If Mira needs a push, then somebody's gotta help with that push, right?" smiled Cana. "Besides, you can bail if you want to, but the three of us are gonna help Mira with her love problems! Right, girls?"

"Right!" agreed Lisanna.

As the two went on discussing how to help Mira, Lucy could only watch them with a confused and bewildered expression.

"What the heck is going on with those two

?" she wondered to herself. Then she realized something which caused her to look around the guild. "Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Willy in a while. I don't think he was even at the apartments last time I checked. I wonder where he could be?"

WILLY'S POV

"HAAAAHHHH!"

I was in the East Forest punching and kicking a thick tree. It wasn't the best method of training, but it was a start. It was a great way of building up my coordination, my power, and my stamina though I wasn't using my magic. I wasn't sure how long I've been at it, but I was convinced that it was for a long time.

I kicked, and I punched, and I punched, and I kicked until I finished with one final punch with all my strength. The tree shuddered slightly as some leaves fell. At the very same time, I felt my arm shudder a bit traveling up my body from my head to my feet. I then pulled back my hand, holding it as it throbbed in pain.

"Damn it... That really hurt! Though I am not using my magic, so I guess that's natural."

I quickly shook my head, trying to get the pain to go away. Then I walked over to the river, deciding to take a break. I then dunked my head into the water drinking the water from it. After taking a few gulps of water, I pulled up my head and shook the wetness out of my head. I then lied on my back by the side of the river and stared up at treetops with the blue sky up above.

I wish I could say that this training has been helpful to me, but for some reason, I felt like something was missing, something that lacked in the training I was doing. Sure, I was by myself, but I felt like this wasn't enough for me.

Not only that, but the recent battles that I had just gone through were still running through my mind. The fight between my Edolas counterpart, the fight with Don Ghira, in both those battles, I fought with everything I had against my opponents, but it wasn't enough. They were both very skilled and powerful wizards and completely overshadowed me, and after that, I completely blacked out.

In the battle with Edolas Me, I remember waking up to find my sword pointed to her throat about to kill her and in the fight with Don Ghira, I found myself in a bed somehow completely unharmed despite the wounds I've suffered. Both those times, I had no recollection of what happened to me nor what I did during the time that I blacked out. It made me wonder what I did during that time, and most of all, wonder why that happened.

"Just what exactly happened back then? I try to remember what happened, but I keep drawing a blank every time. I wish I knew what the heck is going on with me."

As I continued to stare up into the sky, I tried to think about some ideas or least figure out anything. I then looked at the palm of my hand, staring at it, letting my mind drift. My eyes traveled downwards until they fell upon one of the scars on my wrist. When I did, flashbacks of when I was experimented on came flashing into my mind. The thought alone made me sit up and shake my head, trying to get those memories out of my mind. I then looked at my hands and noticed that they were shaking a bit. My heart was also beating a couple of skips faster.

"Damn it... why can't I stop shaking?"

I took some deep breaths and tried to calm myself down. Then suddenly, there was the sound of thundering footsteps that shook the ground as a great shadow cast over me. I looked up and gasped to see a large creature making its way towards me. It had the appearance of something of a dinosaur in origin with four legs with sharp claws, blue skin with green spots, a yellow underbelly, and a long tail as well a long neck. Its face looked human-like with the teeth to match, and it had a bushy green fohawk on top of its head.

The creature took one look at me, glaring with its eyes. To me, it didn't look as intimidating, but I knew that the beast wasn't too thrilled about me being in its territory.

I then stood up facing the creature. "Looks to me that this guy's not really gonna let me walk away," I thought. "Oh well. At least it'll give me a chance to spar with something other than a tree."

I took a stance and got ready as the creature prepared itself too. Then the beast let out a lowing bellow as it attacked swinging with its mighty tail. Quickly reading the attack, I jumped into the air dodging the incoming attack and then attacked with a powerful kick right on it, causing it to let out a low in pain. As I landed back on the ground, the creature repeatedly swiped at me with its claws forcing me to jump backward dodging its attack once again.

"Geez. This is almost way too easy. I should've expected this thing wouldn't be much of a challenge."

The creature now angrier than before stood up on its hind legs and lowed again. Assuming that it was about to stomp me and seeing an opening, I spread my wings and fired water from the bottoms of my feet and shot into the air and clenching my fist and taking aim; I slugged the creature square in its jaw. The force of the punch and because it was standing on its hind legs, the creature fell backward and fell to the ground on its back with a thundering boom.

I then landed back on the ground, dispersing my wings. "Had enough yet or do you want some more?"

The creature took one look at me its eyes now filled with slight fear and not wanting to have anything more to do with me, it scrambled to its feet and took off running into the trees and bushes.

"Man... I didn't even have to use my magic at that time," I said. "I suppose fighting the creatures that live here aren't exactly gonna be good sparring partners if they're gonna run away like that. Maybe doing my training in here was a mistake."

I then shook my head rapidly.

"No. I can't just stop just yet. I said I was going to get stronger on my own and I'm going to do it. I just have to think of something else to do! But what?"

I then sat by the edge of the river staring at my reflection in the water. As I did, I thought back to when I was training with Master and Finn. What did they usually do whenever they were as bored as I am? What did they do whenever they were stuck with what they needed to improve?

Then I realized something. There was something that could help me.

Meditation.

Back when I was training, Master would usually have me and Finn meditate to help us be in a state of calm, however, I would sometimes almost fall asleep after meditating for a few minutes or so. Granted, I didn't know any better back then, but maybe some meditation would do me some good.

I looked around, making sure that I was alone, then I sat down, crossing my legs and closed my eyes. I took a slow deep breath and then began focusing and clearing my mind.

Focus. Focus. Clear your mind and focus.

I kept repeating the manta inside of my mind as I listened deeply to the silence. I cleared my mind shutting out everything around me from the noises to my senses as I breathed slowly in and out.

NO POV

Mira was walking back to the Guildhall just finishing her errands. She was now heading back to the guildhall hoping to find Willy and ask him about the tickets to the Akane Resort. She had walked into the guildhall and went over to the bar while Makarov was waiting for her.

"Ah. There you are, Mira," said Makarov. "I appreciate you helping me with that errand."

"You're welcome, Master," Mira smiled. "Happy to help."

"Now that things have been caught up, why don't you take the rest of the day off?" asked Makarov. "Think of it as a thank you for all of your hard work."

"Thank you, Master. I will," said Mira.

"And don't worry about your waitressing duties," added Makarov. "I've asked Kinana and a couple of the other girls to help out in your place, so you can take it easy as much as you want and even take some time off at a certain resort if you catch my drift."

Mira answered with a small wave as she walked away from the bartender's booth. She was really looking forward to taking some time off and enjoying the time she had on her small vacation. But just as she was about to leave the guild, she was approached by Cana and Lisanna.

"Hey there, Sis. How's it going?" asked Lisanna.

"Oh. Hello, girls," Mira greeted. "I was just about to head out and take some time off. What's up?"

"Nothing special. We were hoping to talk to you for a minute, Mira," said Levy. "You mind?"

"Sure. I don't mind," said Mira. "What did you girls need?"

"Well, it just so happens, that a little birdie told us that you were having somewhat of a problem," said Cana raising a teasing eyebrow. "Is that true?"

Mira tilted her head in confusion. "Problem? With what exactly?"

"Come on, Mira. You know what we mean," Cana winked. "With asking a certain someone to the Akane Resort?"

Mira flinched a bit as she bit back a gasp trying not to blush. "Wh-Who told you that?" she wondered sounding normal.

"As we said, a little birdie told us," said Lisanna. "Anyway, if it's advice you're looking for in the dating department, we'd be willing to help you a bit."

"But only if you're willing to take our advice," Lisanna quickly added. "You know if you really need it."

"Well, I appreciate your concern girls, but I don't think-" Mira began to say, but Cana quickly cut in.

"Come on, Mira. It's not every day that a girl like you needs help," the brunette said. "Besides, you could learn a couple of things from girls like us, especially from me considering that I've dated before."

"Please, Sis? Just humor us for just a few minutes?" asked Lisanna.

Mira then thought about this for a moment. Now, she had no idea why they were so willing to help her, and she also wanted to know how they knew about her little problem. However, she couldn't turn down her friends wanting to help her.

"I'll humor them for just a little bit," she thought to herself. "Who knows? Maybe I'll learn a thing or two from them."

"Alright then," she said aloud. "I've got nothing else to do, so sure."

"Knew you'd start seeing things our way," grinned Cana. "Now come on. There's a lot of stuff you need to do while you're over there and you might wanna take notes."

WILLY'S POV

Black. There was nothing but black as I kept my eyes closed. Thinking that I wasn't getting anywhere, I decided to open my eyes. When I did, I found myself standing in a strange dark void. Everywhere I looked, there was nothing, but darkness. Then a light suddenly turned on, and I could then see where I was.

I was standing in a large and spacious room. The walls, as well as the floor, were colored blue with a strange green design that looked like stripes. The only things that were in the place was a couch to my right and a fish tank on my left. The sofa was blue, made of leather, and seemed big enough to take at least like three people. The fish tank was also fairly big, but the only two creatures that were in there were two fish, one being black and the other being blue.

"What the heck is this place? Where am I?"

I glanced to my right and my left seeing nothing but blue and green. Then I heard something. A strange sound that was quiet and seemed to be coming from all around me. The sound of peculiar mumbling.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I called out. "Hello?"

No one replied. I then walked towards the couch, sitting down upon it. As I did, I began to feel a strange feeling in my chest — a sense of deja vu like I've felt this somewhere before, but couldn't place where.

Then suddenly, I heard mumbling again. This time the mumbling was louder and seemed to be closer. I sat up and looked around, trying to see where it was. Then I heard a sound. The sound of footsteps clicking and clacking on the floor. I then looked to my right, and I saw where the noise was coming from.

Appearing seemingly from out of nowhere was a young girl. She was wearing a thigh-high blue dress with black lines in a grid-like pattern on the hem with a black petticoat underneath, a pair of black gloves, and a pair of blue high heels. She also had light-green skin and had hair that was a gradient color of blue to black went to her shoulders.

She walked over to the fish tank and picked up a small can which appeared to be one of fish food. She opened it and began to sprinkle some food into the water. The fish sensing the food, swam to the top of the water, and began to eat. Then the girl turned around and smiled when she saw me.

"Well, hello there," she said. "I see you managed to make your way here. Congratulations."

Being unable to respond, I just sat there staring at her as she continued sprinkling the food in the tank. However, I took notice that she was putting too much food in the tank, which made me feel a bit worried.

"Um... excuse me, but I think the fish have enough food in there," I said. "You don't wanna kill them."

"Don't worry about that. These fishies are my pets you see, so it's fine," said the girl. "Besides, these fish have to eat a lot of food so that they can grow big and strong. And they're not the only things that need to grow big and strong."

She then placed the can of fish food on the counter next to the tank and turned facing me.

"Tell me something, you were almost killed twice, correct?" she went on walking towards me. "The first time was when you were fighting your Edolas counterpart and the second time was from that Don Ghira fellow. That must have been so scary for you."

I felt a sudden chill go through my spine as flashbacks from the events came into my mind. "H-How do you-"

The girl now was standing in front of me, smiling ominously. Then she gently pushed me with her hands until I fell back sitting on the leather couch. As soon as I was sitting down, the girl sat on top of my lap before I had a chance to react as she lifted my chin with her finger.

"I know everything about you, my dear Willy. I know your strengths, your weaknesses, your past, and even your strange little quirks," the girl said sweetly. "I even know that you're searching for a way to grow stronger. What if I told you that there was a way for you to get stronger?"

I couldn't help but flinch from hearing that as the girl inched a bit closer to my face.

"That's right. I know of a way for you to get stronger," she went on. "A way for you to get so much stronger that you won't have to be afraid of anything ever again. You won't feel any pain, nor sorrow, nor terror, and most of all, you will have the power to utterly crush your enemy whoever who or what it shall be."

"But... that's next to impossible," I spoke squeezing my hands. "How can you not feel fear or pain? And why would I want to crush my opponent? Those who have power shouldn't use it to crush people. You should use that kind of power to help people. At least, that's what I was taught."

"Come now, I applaud you for being so kind, but do you honestly think that your enemies will show you the same level of kindness?" asked the girl as she traced my chin. "I hate to break it to you, but this is the real world. A kill or be killed one, and if you want to stay alive, you're going to need to let go of that said kindness. It's the only way you'll be able to gain more power than what you've got right now. Power so incredibly strong, that you'll never feel the sorrows of pain ever again. Without it, you're absolutely nothing."

I stared at the girl, being unable to respond. Then the girl got off of my lap and took my hand, pulling me up to my feet and snapped her fingers. A couple of lines suddenly appeared in the middle of the floor, making a shape of two rectangular-shaped doors. The doors slowly opened, emitting a creaking noise revealing a pool of water underneath it.

"Now then, I think it's time you got going," the girl said as she led me towards the water. "The power that you're seeking is right down there. Keep going until you find what you're looking for. Once you find the power that you seek, I've no doubts that you'll become stronger. Stronger than you ever thought possible."

I looked down into the water, curious as to what this girl was talking about. Then suddenly, the girl gave me a hard shove on my back, causing me to lose my balance and fall into the water with a splash. Water completely overtook my vision as I tried to swim to the surface, but for some reason, I kept on sinking. It grew darker the deeper I fell, making it a bit difficult to see, and I was starting to suffocate losing my air. I thrashed around, trying desperately to swim up to the surface, but it was no use.

Then I sensed something. Something was coming and fast.

I turned around behind me, and I felt my blood run cold. Swimming towards me was a creature that was big, black, had sharp fins on the sides and a big fin on its back with glowing green eyes and razor-sharp teeth.

It was a shark.

Typically, these things didn't scare me very much, but this one was completely different than the others. It was about as big as a whale, and its eyes were glowing green and filled with a hunger for me.

I immediately swam away, trying to get away not daring to look back, but I could feel the shark getting closer and closer snapping its jaws. I had to get out of there. Otherwise, I'd be as good as dead. Then I swam upwards heading towards the surface with the shark in hot pursuit of me.

"Come on! Come on! I don't wanna be fish food!"

The surface of the water grew closer and closer as I swam as fast as I could, but the shark was getting closer too. I shut my eyes tight as I kept on swimming, feeling the darkness of its mouth from the bottom of my feet. Then just as I was about to break the surface...

My eyes snapped open as I woke up from my meditation. I looked around, checking my surroundings, and was quick to realize that I was still in the East Forest by the bank of the river. I placed a hand on my chest as I listened to the quick thumping that was my heart.

"What... what the heck was that?" I wondered aloud. "Was... that a dream...? Or was it something else? It felt so real."

As I sat there contemplating on what just happened, there was once again the sound of heavy footsteps which shook the ground followed by another large shadow cast above me. I looked behind me to see that another creature now stood before me, but this time, it was a creature that I was familiar with, a certain large forest gorian.

"Well, well, well. Lookie what we have here," he growled. "A Fairy Tail wizard in my territory. And wouldn't you know it, you happen to be the member that I'm looking for. Long time, no see."

"So, it's you again," I said slowly standing up. "I hadn't seen you since back when I was a kid in Osia. I suppose you wanna get some payback?"

"Damn straight," the forest gorian smirked. "And this time, I made sure that I'd get that payback and then some."

He then snapped his fingers, and then four more forest gorians came out, all of which were as big and mean as their boss. They all surrounded me, cracking their knuckles or pounding their fists into their palms, eager to beat me up.

"How interesting. You must have thought this through for someone a bit shy of brains," I said. "But do you honestly think that numbers are gonna be enough to beat me? Surely, you realize that numbers don't mean a thing when it comes to someone like me?"

"We'll see about that!" the gorian leader growled. "You won't be so cocky when we're finished with you! Get him!"

All five of the gorians then pounced, forcing me jumped up, dodging the five. I was hoping to jump into the trees and get on top of a branch, but to my surprise, I found myself shooting straight into the air with a lot more force. I went so high that I even went over the treetops, maybe even a few feet higher.

"What the heck?! I only meant to jump as high as the tree branch. How the heck did I get so high up?!"

"Hey! Where'd he go?!"

"He was just where a second ago!"

I then refocused my attention to the gorians that were now several feet below me, confused and wondering where I was. At the very same time, gravity began catching up with me as I began to fall towards the ground. I clenched my fists cloaking them with water bringing them behind my head as I fell towards the ground gunning straight for them. And then, while letting out a loud yell, I slammed my fists into the ground with all my might. Upon impact, a giant spout of water erupted from where I slammed. A water spout that was so massive, it ripped the ground and sent all five of the gorians flying along with a couple of trees.

When the spout died down, along with everything dripping wet, I found myself standing in a small crater with the river oozing water inside of it and the area around me leveled within a ten-foot radius. I was shocked as I was amazed.

"Did... did I do this?" I wondered aloud. "I... I only meant to use my Geyser Wall to throw them off, but I didn't think it'd be this strong."

The gorians then all grabbed large boulders that were large, and threw them at me at the same time. Seeing them, I crossed my arms and summoned forth a water sword in each of my hands. Then by swinging them with both of my hands, my swords released a powerful wave of water that cut straight through them with ease like paper. As the rubble fell to the ground, I heard the gorian yell out.

"Now, you guys! Dogpile this punk!"

At that moment, I looked up in time to see a gorian fall straight toward me. I immediately brought my hands up and caught the gorian with them. Then another gorian came jumping into the fray and then another and then another. All four of the gorians were now on top of me trying to pin me down. I was expecting them to be super heavy due to their weight and height, but surprisingly, they weren't that heavy at all. Then I heard the leader gorian laughing.

"How'd you like that, punk? You may be a wizard, but you're still a weakling compared to the others!" he crowed triumphantly. "Now you're squashed like a bug!"

"You might want to retake that statement," I grunted as I walked towards the leader.

The leader gorian then turned around, and when he saw me carrying his for buddies at once, his eyes went wide as saucers. Taking advantage of his surprise and with a mighty heave, I threw all four of the gorians at the leader, making them all end up in a heap.

"All right, you troop of monkeys," I spoke in a threatening tone. "I'm going to count to five. And if you don't get out of my sight by the time I reach five, I'm going to blast you all so hard; I send you back to Mount Hakabe. One..."

The gorians immediately looked towards me as I prepared to unleash my breath attack my body glowing in blue.

"Two..."

"H-He's not serious, is he?!" one gorian gulped.

"I think he is..." said a second.

"Three..."

That was enough for the leader gorian's friends. The four immediately took off running disappearing into the forest, leaving their leader slack-jawed and alone.

"Screw this! I don't wanna die!"

"Yeah! I'm getting out of here!"

"Hey! Get back here, you cowards!" he yelled. "Come back here and help me fight this punk!"

"Looks like you're all by yourself now," I called looking at him. "Have you had enough? Or do you want some more? Either way, it's fine by me, but if you choose to fight me all by yourself, don't expect me to show any mercy. Four..."

I puffed up my cheeks as I prepared to fire as the glow surrounding my body grew bigger and brighter. The gorian gulped and broke into a cold sweat, taking a step back. Then just as I was about to say five, the leader gorian took off running as fast as he could

"You'll pay for this!" he wailed. "Just you wait! I'll get you someday!"

Once I knew that I was alone, I let out my breath as the glow around my body dissipated. I walked out of the crater as I brushed the dust off of my clothes. I then looked at hands still feeling a bit surprised as to what I just did as a grin worked its way to my lips.

"My gosh... I don't know how, but I feel as if my magic just got an upgrade," I murmured. "I didn't even know I could do all of that stuff. I feel faster, stronger, and more powerful than before. Just imagine what I can do once I've mastered it. I like it!"

As Willy reveled in his newly discovered abilities, his eyes gave a slight gleam that was colored green. But it only lasted for a moment as they returned to their standard color.

After staying in the East Forest a little bit longer, I decided to head back home and call it a day. I felt pretty pleased with myself and felt more pumped than ever to start training again. Soon, I could see the apartment, but that wasn't the first thing that I saw. I could see someone standing outside, looking troubled and confused. Upon closer inspection, I could see that it was Mira that was standing there.

"Hey there, Mira. How's it going?" I greeted.

Mira jerked her head towards my direction and jumped appearing to be startled. "O-Oh! Willy! There you are! Wh-When did you get here?"

"Just now. I was training in the East Forest," I said. "What about you?"

"Oh... I was... just in the neighborhood," Mira said.

There was a long silence as Mira looked down towards the ground, making me raise a brow.

"Mira? Are you feeling okay?" I asked. "You seem a bit tense."

Mira then smiled. "I'm fine. Just peachy keen," she said. "It's just... that... well..."

She then looked down towards the ground again playing with her fingers while being shy. Not wanting to be rude and feeling a bit curious as to why she was being so shy, I decided to humor her by waiting for her to answer. Then after a few seconds, Mira looked at me seeming to be a bit less shy.

"Willy, listen. There's something that I wanna ask you about," she said. "Something that... I want to ask you in your room. Do... you mind if we talk there?"

"Well, sure. If that's what you want, Mira," I said. "Come right in."

I was wondering why Mira was acting so strangely, but I wasn't about to be rude to turn down a guest. So, Mira and I walked inside the apartments heading up to my room.

That a bit long, but I managed to get it done!

If you liked what you read or have any pointers or questions, make sure to Review or PM me!

Dragoman, signing off!