The Idea for Drinking Magic

Mira was very proud of herself. Not only had she successfully advanced to S-Class Mage, becoming the focus of the post-battle celebration, but she had also defeated Erza during the assessment, adding another glorious chapter to her record of duels with Erza. However, where there is pride, there is also disappointment. Erik is another story; apart from Kinana, few people cared whether he was disappointed or not. On the other hand, Cana's situation attracted a lot of attention.

The main reason was Gildarts's overreaction, but another reason was that this was Cana's second time taking the test and she failed again, so everyone was inevitably worried that Cana's confidence would be damaged.

Cana herself was indeed quite upset. She had accepted that she couldn't compare to her two best friends Erza and Mira, but now, even with Gildarts' full-time training, she still couldn't compete with Mira, which was a huge blow to her.

Gildarts' training is definitely not the problem, so the issue must lie with me. Am I really that bad?

Gildarts watched his dejected daughter, unsure how to comfort her, and could only frantically try to help.

Although Gildarts knew that the main reason Cana lost was because she hadn't accumulated enough experience, he believed that if he had trained for another two or three years, things would be different.

But I can't say that out loud. If I do, wouldn't that be saying that Cana is weak right now?

So, who should be blamed for Cana's failure to be selected?

Um...

Yes! That's the kid!

Damn it! I'd completely forgotten, this kid dared to punch Cana in the stomach right in front of me! Even if it was for the assessment, as her father, I absolutely cannot forgive him!

At this moment, Gildarts once again lost his temper. Just like when he dragged Eleven away last time, he walked menacingly up to Laxus, grabbed him by the collar, and walked out.

Laxus was also completely bewildered, not understanding what had happened. But since Gildarts had taken the initiative to come to him, he was happy to accept, and was even quite excited.

"Hahaha, Gildarts, you want to provoke me? Perfect, I'll take the throne of Fairy Tail's strongest as well!"

Amidst Laxus's maniacal laughter, the two disappeared outside the guild's gates. Eleven silently mourned for Laxus, that stubborn brat, for three seconds, hoping he would get a good beating from Gildarts.

Soon, Eleven turned his gaze to Cana, who was drinking alone in silence. Taking advantage of Gildarts' absence, he habitually plopped down next to Cana.

"Cana, do you know why you lost?" Eleven said solemnly.

"Hmm, I think I know where my problem lies." Cana gulped down a large mouthful of wine, looking somewhat frustrated.

"Have you thought about solving this problem?" Eleven tilted his head and asked with a smile.

"Solve it? How do you solve it? Eleven, do you have a solution?" Cana immediately became serious upon hearing this, putting down the barrel of wine she was holding and listening attentively to Eleven's words.

While Cana's Card Magic is versatile, its drawbacks are also quite obvious. Under the same magical conditions, the attack power of her cards is significantly lower than that of ordinary magic, let alone comparable to the dragon-slaying magic of Laxus.

Cana was well aware of this, Gildarts was actively trying to find a solution for Cana. However, their idea was to play to her strengths and avoid her weaknesses. In other words, since Cana's combat power was lacking, they would go for a strategy-based approach, and the unpredictable and ever-changing Card Magic just happened to fit that route.

But Eleven felt that playing to one's strengths and avoiding one's weaknesses was completely unreliable. Knowing one's own shortcomings and not trying to make up for them, but always thinking about running away, what good would that do? Sooner or later, things would go wrong.

Just Eleven himself, he doesn't have any advantage in terms of physical fitness, but he hasn't given up and has been actively training! He's even developed various Shields, Telekinesis, and other skills to increase defense and strength to improve his weaknesses.

Only a well-rounded mage like him, with all-around development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor, can be considered a truly outstanding mage!

Therefore, to solve Cana's combat power problem, we still need to start by increasing her attack power, and there are two ways to increase attack power.

One approach is to develop incredibly powerful cards, cards strong enough to flip tables and alter terrain. However, it would be extremely difficult to withstand such power using cards as a medium.

Secondly, it addresses the problem at its root by enhancing Cana's basic magic power.

Since Cana's cards have low attack power under the same magic power, we can use two, three, or even ten times the magic power to activate the cards. In this way, even the weakest cards can possess world-destroying power.

This idea is valid; for example, if Cana and Gildarts activated the same card, the power they would unleash would be vastly different.

Mages who Holder Type on magical power are much more dependent on it than those Caster Type. The more magical power they can expend, the greater the power of their magic will be.

Eleven kept pouring his ideas into Cana, Cana nodded frequently as she listened. However, she quickly realized that Eleven was talking nonsense. Everyone understands the principles, but the key is that magic power isn't that easy to increase. To reach Gildarts' level, who knows how long it would take to cultivate?

Faced with Cana's questioning, Eleven smiled slightly, pointed to the large barrel in Cana's arms, and said, "I once encountered a very powerful S-Class Mage during a mission. His magic was simply concentrating magic power in his palm, quite useless."

"However, what's surprising is that this person can significantly enhance his magical power and combat strength by drinking! Although the improvement in combat is largely related to his Drunken Fist martial arts, which we cannot replicate, the fact that he can increase his magical power through drinking is undeniable, and not just a little bit, but a leap forward."

"Cana, when it comes to drinking, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone on the entire continent who's better than you. Don't you think this kind of magic suits you perfectly?"

Cana's eyes lit up at Eleven's words, and she hugged the barrel of wine in her arms even tighter. The wine inside might not be just wine in the future; it could be full of magic!

"Eleven, do you know the kind of magic you just mentioned?" Cana asked expectantly.

"No way! I don't drink, why would I learn from him!" Eleven matter-of-factly.

Cana:

"But don't worry! I may not know it, but we still have Gildarts! As the guild's strongest mage, as long as you tell him your idea, he can definitely find a similar spell for you, and it's even possible that he can develop one for you!"

Eleven spoke at length with great conviction, but in the end, he dumped all the blame on Gildarts without any sense of guilt. Most importantly, Cana actually agreed with Eleven's assessment, nodding in approval.

Having such a powerful yet clingy father is a real waste not to take advantage of. With Gildarts' abilities, this small problem should be easy to solve.

Having figured everything out, Cana immediately smiled and looked at Eleven gratefully, expressing her thanks. She was completely unaware that Eleven had merely shared a whimsical idea with her on paper; it was utterly useless, and Gildarts would be the one to actually put in the effort later.

Eleven, completely oblivious, casually accepted Cana's thanks, and the two chatted amiably, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts.

Just then, Gildarts finished beating Laxus and walked into the guild hall, looking refreshed. He immediately saw Eleven and Cana chatting animatedly, and his face darkened.

Damn! I was careless!