"So, I never got to ask. Have you gotten used to the new life of not having to live with giants?" Eric asked as he & Flare sat in a closed off room from the rest of the restaurant, Flare smirking as she took a sip of her win before nodding.
"I have. It's much better than having to dodge liters of sweat whenever the giants start training or working in the desert sun."
"The smell must have been atrocious." Eric joked, chuckling as Flare made a sour face and shook her head.
"Please, don't make remember that. The stench doesn't get out of my clothes. Do you know how many dresses I've had to burn?"
"From the sound of it, I'm guessing it's in the double digits."
"Try triple, but enough about me. How has your life been ever since we've moved in and I started taking up most of your time, hmm?" Flare asked with a smirk, to which Eric just rolled his eyes and took a sip from his wine.
"Contrary to what you think, life was pretty bland before you moved in. Most of the time I just did one job after the other, with a few bar breaks when I went out with Bacchus & the other guys. Oh, there was that one time I got too drunk & nearly imploded the town, but Bacchus quickly stopped that from happening."
"…What?" Flare asked with wide eyes, Eric bursting out with laughter as he nodded.
"Yep, it was Warcry's birthday and he, Guy, Bacchus and I went out for a few drinks. As it turns out, I'm not very good with strong drinks so after a few vodka shots, I kind of challenged Bacchus to an arm wrestling contest and may have increased the gravity around us by too much."
"How much?"
"…A hundred times I think." Eric spoke with a thoughtful frown before he blinked at Flare's groan.
"So…you got drunk, tried to beat Bacchus while also increasing gravity by a hundred times and in doing so, you nearly imploded the town."
"Oh no, I lost and it appears that I'm a very sore & very angry loser when I'm drunk so I tried to redo the attempt while increasing gravity by one hundred times in every direction. That was not the best thing to do, so Bacchus knocked me out and I woke up with a sore neck & a very strong hangover. After that, though, I tend to stay away from alcohol and one glass a night is my new limit."
"So, I'm not letting you get another glass for the night since I'm not Bacchus that can knock you out."
"Eh, but you can choke me out if that helps."
"My hair is not strong enough to restrain you if you get serious, Eric."
"Who said anything about your hair?" Eric said with a teasing smirk, to which Flare just let out a groan as she couldn't hide her blush & smirk.
"You're a problem. Did you know that?"
"Of course, why do you think I'm so confident?"
"Argh, let's just…order or something before your ego gets out of control." Flare spoke with a shake of her head as she looked at the menu, Eric just nodding as he smiled.
"…What?" Flare asked as she looked up and noticed Eric still staring at her, to which the dragon slayer just shrugged.
"Just wondering how I managed to get you to be my girlfriend."
"(A)That's not been established and (B) It helped that you're the first regular-sized man that I spoke to in a long while."
"True, but there's also (C) My charm." Eric spoke with a smirk, to which Flare rolled her eyes before turning as their waitress walked into their section.
"Hello, sir, madam. Are you ready to order?"
"Yes, I'll have the alfredo linguine please and he'll have?"
"My usual order, Natasha."
"Of course, Mr. Creed. It won't take long." Eric nodded in thanks as the waitress left before he blinked as a rope of hair pulled him around to look at Flare's raised eyebrow.
"'My usual order'?"
"What? I'm a regular and they have the second best steak & fries in the town."
"Oh? Whose number one?"
"You really have to ask?" Eric asked with a smirk, chuckling as Flare blushed before she huffed.
"…Good save." She muttered, to which Eric just rolled his eyes as he leaned his head against his right palm.
"You get jealous really quickly, hmm?"
"I do not." Flare grumbled, not looking at the amused Eric as he hummed.
"Of course, dear. You know, you don't have to worry about another girl taking me, right? Gods know that I'm far too shy to even try getting with another girl."
"You didn't struggle as much with that Erza girl and don't even deny how much I caught you looking at Mirajane & that Lucy girl."
"They're hot. It would have looked weirder if I didn't." Eric responded with a deadpan stare, to which Flare opened her mouth to respond before she stopped.
"…Fine, but you didn't deny the first statement."
"That's because I see her more as a friend or a sibling-like relationship at best. Would I try & get her to go on a date if I didn't join Quatro & didn't meet you? Absolutely, but our relationship is far better to me than just getting with her."
"I don't know if I should be complimented, mad, irritated, enraged or pissed off."
"Let's try the first one and leave the other four for another time."
"…Good idea." She muttered, to which Eric just let out a relieved sigh before he glared at Flare as she giggled.
"I'm just kidding. None of those bimbos are going to steal my man if I have my say."
"It's times like these when I can't help but fall in love with you even more." Eric said with a smirk, to which Flare just rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help her blush as Eric chuckled.
"…Shut up."
"Finally?! What took you two so long? Was the date that nice?" Screecher asked as Eric and Flare floated down to land next to him and Bacchus, the drunk smirking as the duo just rolled their eyes whilst blushing.
"Firstly, we're only five minutes late so there's no need to go off, okay? Secondly, we just went on a date & nothing more."
"Sure~" Bacchus teased with a grin and a nudge to Eric before he groaned as a hand of hair smacked him face first into the ground, both Eric & Screecher looking at Flare who was nonchalantly looking up at the clouds.
"Oh, look. A cumulonimbus. I guess we need to be careful when flying, huh?"
"Should I…?"
"If you want to end up like him, ask away." Eric said whilst gesturing at Bacchus who was standing up, to which Screecher just hummed and nodded before Eric turned to the last addition waiting for them.
"We both know that Bosco is not going to let you pass and that they're probably been supplied with Stellanium with how much both their higher ranks & Zash hate Fiore, so be careful when you fly past them, understand?" Goldmine spoke with a frown, all four mages growing serious as they nodded and their master nodded with a sigh.
"Then, I have nothing further to add. Complete the mission to the best of your capabilities and make sure all of you come back, okay?"
"Will do, sir."
"…I'm still getting used to you actually knowing when to get serious." Goldmine admitted with a smirk, Eric groaning as the others chuckled/ giggled.
"Hey, I am very serious when it comes to national safety, okay?"
"Uh-huh, sure. Well, I'll leave you idiots to do the mission. Good luck, all of you." Goldmine said with a final pat on each of their shoulders before they watched him walking back to the guild hall, Eric taking a deep breath before he nodded.
"Okay, team! Let's get this show on the road."
"And how are we going to get there? We can't expect you to fly us there the entire time." As if to answer him, Eric just smirked as Flare's hair grew out tremendously, Screecher's eyes widening and Bacchus whistling lowly as the rather massive mass of hair quickly transformed into a giant wolf-like form with a pair of rather large wings.
"Eric is going to make us lighter and I'll fly us to Bosco, where he will then take over and fly us around Bosco to Stella." Flare explained from where she was seated in the middle of the beast, to which Bacchus & Screecher just blinked before turning back to the smirking dragon slayer.
"She's such a cool girlfriend, right? Come on." He said as a violet glow coated all four of them before Eric floated the three of them up to be seated on the floor, placing a hand on Flare to cover her in the same glow before her wolf began moving.
It trotted slowly to gain speed, but it was not long before its wings gave a loud & slow flap, Bacchus & Screecher steadying themselves as the wolf began to fly before they watched as an azure bubble surrounded the four of them.
"Say goodbye to Oak Town, gentlemen. Next stop: The borders of Bosco."
"So, what exactly is your magic, Screecher? Is it like some form of Vibration magic that you use with your voice or some variant of Sound Magic?" Eric asked as they sat on the back of Flare's wolf, the redhead in question turning slightly to listen on the conversation as Screecher chuckled.
"It's Sonic Magic, a variant of Sound Magic. It lets me emit sound waves that changes the frequency of the ambient ethernano & my own from a densely compacted shield to a high-pitched sonic burst."
"Or a high-frequency blade that can cut through anything or perhaps a sonic field around you that disrupts anyone that gets close when you constantly increase or decrease both the volume & the frequency, causing them to become more & more disoriented the longer they stay with you. Or perhaps even-!"
"Eric, going off on a tangent again." Flare's words cut through Eric's monologue, to which the mage blinked before letting out a sheepish chuckle at Screecher's wide eyes and Bacchus' smirk.
"I mean, I never tried to do those things because I've never had the ethernano to be able to do those things."
"Really? Have you ever tried opening your Second Origin?"
"How do you know about that?" Bacchus asked instantly as he focused his attention on Eric, both Flare & Screecher staying silent as Eric rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry, I didn't use my eyes to peep on Master's documents, not that he's already gotten me to write jutsu shiki around the guild that negates me using my eyes in the guild hall. There was a report published in the science magazine last week about how researchers have found out that each person has a second dormant ethernano container called the 'Second Origin'."
"Wait, you know what it is, Bacchus?" Flare asked, to which Bacchus just sighed as he nodded, the trio watching as the man took a deep breath.
Eric knew that the Second Origin had doubled Team Natsu's ethernano, but it was one thing to see it on a screen and another to watch a person's ethernano physically double in both potency & quantity for a split second, making it seem as if the world itself was trying to choke you out before Bacchus closed off his Second Origin and let out a sigh.
He smirked as he saw how pale both Flare & Screecher was before chuckling as he saw Eric's wide eyes focused on him, unable to hide the awe, shock & fear in his eyes as the drunk shrugged.
"I do. The Second Origin is essentially a second barrel of energy filled to the brim with ethernano twice as potent as that of your original ethernano container. A 'second wind', if you will. It needs to be manually opened and closed unlike your normal ethernano container that's always opened, but the difference between those that have a dormant Second Origin and those who had activated theirs is like that of Heaven & Earth."
"I-I see. T-Then why doesn't more mages open theirs?" Eric asked, Bacchus shaking his head as he saw how the dragon slayer was clenching his fists to stop them from shaking before he answered.
"Firstly, the stronger a mage is, the more difficult it is to open their Second Origin. For me, the strongest mage of Quatro Cerberus, it took three years before I managed to open it and another year to fully open it. With my teachings, it took Guy & Warcry only two years to fully open theirs. Secondly, most mages' Second Origin opens on its own when they reach the ages between 25 and 40 years old, which is the reason why most mages say that they're at their prime at that point. They believe it's because of all the training they did, but in truth, your Second Origin opening means that that's the peak of your magical life. No more getting stronger through normal means at that point. You can only hope to hone the skills & spells that you have gotten at that point."
"Then…what if you helped us awaken ours?" Screecher asked, Eric grinning as he turned to Bacchus before his grin fell as Bacchus shook his head.
"Teaching someone how to open their Second Origin is not allowed unless the master gives me permission and even if he did, this is not like me teaching you ethernano control or just simple sparring. This is essentially doubling your ethernano's quantity & potency with one simple method." Bacchus explained, to which the two S-Class mages just groaned as the drunk frowned.
"Let me be more frank. For someone like you, Screecher, you would go from your above average ethernano right now to going toe to toe with someone like Guy in terms of pure raw power. Eric, on the other hand, is already nearing my level of both ethernano quantity & potency and if I open yours, there's no doubt in my mind that you would become the strongest member of the guild in three months time tops."
"…Seriously?" Screecher asked with wide eyes, Bacchus nodding at him as he turned to look at the shocked dragon slayer.
"You don't seem to grasp that most mages take years before they reach the level you are currently at. You took just a little under a year and already, you're on par with most S-Class mages in Fiore. Another year or so and I can guarantee you that the only mages stronger than you would be a few of the Wizard Saints, the Four Gods of Ishgar and Fairy Tail's Ace."
"I see." Eric muttered softly with a slow nod as he looked down at his fists, grinning as he could feel the heat under his skin surging before he blinked as Screecher asked a question.
"Speaking of Fairy Tail's Ace, how strong is he exactly? I know Eric told us that the man had the most monstrous amount of ethernano that he's seen, but I don't think that's a good example for most people."
"Ah, then here's a better way to see it. If Gildarts decided to go on a rampage, the only one I can actually see stopping him is God Serena, the strongest Wizard Saint and even then, I could see Gildarts winning most of their fights considering how overpowered his magic is compared to the rest of the world."
"Seriously?" Flare asked in shock as she looked at Bacchus, who nodded with a chuckle.
"Quite serious. While they have many mages on par & stronger than I am, Gildarts is the one reason why every guild does not mess with Fairy Tail."
'…Yeah, that fits with how ludicrously haxed out the man was in the anime/ manga.' Eric thought with a nod before he frowned as he focused more ethernano into his eyes, Flare snapping out of her shock as she felt something tapping against her shoulders.
'Can everyone hear me?'
"What the hell?" Screecher blinked as he heard Eric in his mind, the three of them turning to the mage who nodded before he stood up.
'In the next ten minutes, we're going to reach the border outpost of Bosco. Since I don't know if they would be able to hear us talking using magic, I'm going to use the Archive aspect of my eyes to create a telepathic link between all four of us. Screecher, how long can you use your invisibility for on all four of us?'
'Uh, if I'm not moving my body, five minutes max before I start to feel pain from doing so.' Screecher responded, to which Eric nodded before he turned to Flare.
'In the next five minutes, cancel your spell and wrap your hair around Bacchus & Screecher like a cocoon before jumping onto my back. Screecher, as soon as you're fully in the cocoon, activate your invisibility around all four of us and try to keep the spell up as long as you can. Bacchus…you just keep doing what you do.'
'Okay/ Got it/ Sure.' Flare, Screecher and Bacchus said respectively, to which Eric nodded as Flare stood up and waited for Eric's signal.
As soon as Eric caught sight of the Fiore-Bosco borders on the edge of his vision, he gave Flare a tap on the shoulder, Flare nodding as her ethernano pulsed.
The next moment, all four of them were airborne as Flare's hair retracted within the blink of an eye, Eric falling patiently next to his panicking girlfriend as she quickly wrapped Screecher & Bacchus in cocoons before she dove towards Eric.
'What the hell are you doing?!'
'Well, this is a reaction time training session and you managed to wrap them in less than five seconds. Good job.'
"Eric!" Flare exclaimed, to which the mage just smiled & nodded as an azure glow pulled Flare closer before she quickly stuck herself to his back as Screecher just sighed & Bacchus shook his head.
'Screech, you're up.'
'Don't call me that.' Screecher spoke, but did as Eric asked. Watching as a transparent sheet of ethernano covered them, Eric's eyes widened & scanned the sheet as he watched the ethernano inside the spell changing to fit that of the ambient ethernano in the atmosphere before he nodded.
'Okay then. Hold on!' And before anyone could ask what he meant, both Bacchus & Screecher stuck their heads deeper into their cocoons while Flare just tightened her grip on Eric as he instantly rocketed through the air, the mage smirking as he heard the sonic boom echoing behind him before a serious look adorned his face as a violet-coloured glow covered his body and he accelerated.
'Next stop: Stella.'
A/N: Sorry for the late upload, but since the big Pat site was down earlier, I wanted to wait until I uploaded there before uploading here.
Also, most of the reviews have been about how the power scaling of this world is far above that of what it's supposed to be in the canon universe and all I can say to you all that I told my supporters over at P, patience, my friends. There is a big reason why this world is like that and all will be explained...in the GMG arc.
Also, if you want to read seven weeks ahead on this(We've hit the GMG arc), you can go to the Pat. Re. On. C*m/ KingCrimsonNova and sign up on that.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until next time...
Ba-Bye~!