Master?

Mages were too powerful for the kingdom to restrain, so the Magic Council was established. It oversaw the guilds and punished guilds and mages that broke the law, becoming an organization that kept mages in check.

The Ten Wizard Saints were the ten strongest mages in the country, selected by the Magic Council. Their formidable strength far surpassed that of the average mage guild's S-Class Mages.

This old man was one of the Ten Wizard Saints?

"One of the Ten Wizard Saints asked me for food?" Chiba looked unconvinced.

"Ahem... well... I didn't know how to start a fire, did I? I'm not a fire mage. I've learned a lot of magic, but never any fire magic," the old man said awkwardly.

But he didn't want to discuss that with Chiba. Instead, he said with considerable dignity, "Boy, I can take you as my disciple and teach you magic."

"Oh, come on. I'm not interested in magic. Consider that meal my treat." Chiba rolled his eyes.

What a joke. He had the Sharingan, a Ninjutsu cheat, as well as the Ninjutsu Chamber, which was packed with Ninjutsu. With his talent for Ninjutsu, given enough time, he might well become a ninja like "Madara Uchiha" (Madara Uchiha). Learn magic? Wouldn't that be a waste of time?

Well... it would be great if I could really be as badass as Lord Madara.

But when the old man saw Chiba's disinterested, impatient expression, he grew anxious. He was one of the illustrious Ten Wizard Saints, and he had offered to take a disciple, only to be rejected?

Incomprehensible! Incomprehensible!

"All right, you've had your meal, so I'll keep this book of yours. Sayonara." Chiba waved and started down the mountain, speaking indifferently. He couldn't be bothered getting too involved with this baffling old man.

"You brat..." The old man leaped in front of Chiba, bristling and glaring. "I'm a stubborn old man, and I'm following you today! Think of me, a grandmaster of magic of my generation. How many students have I taught in my life? Other people line up to become my disciples, yet you don't want me?"

Chiba was speechless. Why had the old man gotten so stubborn? He still had hunting to do...

"All right, then, sir. Tell me your name and what magic you use."

Chiba really couldn't win against the old man, so he reluctantly sat down on the grass and spoke.

The old man clasped his hands behind his back and said with a touch of pride, "My name is Hodrian Cross, known as the Grand Mage. I'm proficient in five types of magic: water, earth, wind, lightning, and light. I've read extensively on all kinds of Lost Magic and Super Magic. Although my strength isn't among the best of the Ten Wizard Saints, my teaching ability is definitely among the top three on the entire continent."

Yeah... his strength definitely isn't among the best. I've watched Fairy Tail several times, and I didn't even know there was a Wizard Saint like him. He's probably a weakling among the Ten Wizard Saints.

Chiba took a deep breath. "Sir, honestly, I just want to be an ordinary person, build a big house in the mountains, and chop firewood and hunt every day. I really have no interest in magic!"

"Bullshit! An ordinary person beat a wild boar to death with his bare hands?" The old man, Hodrian, glared at him.

"Sir... what will it take for you to leave me alone?" Chiba was at his wits' end.

"Leave you alone? Only if I'm not capable of teaching you. In other words... if your mastery of magic surpasses mine," the old man huffed.

There was no way a youngster like him could surpass the old man's mastery of magic, no matter how much of a genius he was.

But Chiba had noticed a different part of what he'd said.

Only if I'm not capable of teaching you...

"Old man, you said it!" Chiba said.

"That's right." Hodrian nodded.

Heh, in that case...

Ram, Boar, Ox, Dog, Tiger!

Substitution Technique!

"Poof!"

A branch suddenly appeared where Chiba had been standing, and he reappeared in a large tree.

"Well? Are you sure you can teach me something like this?" Chiba asked with a smile. Up in the treetop, his feet clung to the underside of a branch, his body hanging upside down and his arms folded across his chest.

The old man frowned deeply.

There had definitely been a flow of energy, but it wasn't magic power. Swapping places was a bit like spatial magic, but no magic circle had been formed.

And then there were his unusual hand movements...

This looks like...

"Legend says that on an island east of the Kingdom of Fiore, there's a group of people who call themselves ninja. They cultivate an energy called Chakra and use Hand Seals to unleash Ninjutsu. You... couldn't be a ninja, could you?" the old man asked.

Chiba froze, nearly swearing aloud.

Did you fucking transmigrate here too?!

But once he calmed down and thought about it, Chakra existed in this world, so it was possible that ninja did too. Besides, hadn't the word "ninja" appeared in the Fairy Tail movie Dragon's Tears?

So he simply admitted it. "That's right, I'm a ninja. Ninja cultivation depends on the individual. You're not a ninja, so how can you teach me?"

"True... I can't teach you Ninjutsu..." The old man smiled. "But I can teach you Taijutsu!"

Before Chiba could speak, the old man continued, "Times have changed. Whether they're powerful mages or powerful ninja, they all need powerful Taijutsu. Otherwise, when faced with a troublesome enemy, they can only throw up their hands and surrender. And I can teach you powerful Taijutsu."

"You?" Chiba looked at the old man's frail body, highly doubtful that the guy could deal damage with a basic attack as well as cast forbidden spells.

Could this guy be one of those legendary melee mages?

"Can you show me something?" Chiba asked, half convinced and half doubtful.

The old man seemed to have forgotten his venerable status by now. All he wanted was to prove to Chiba that he was absolutely capable of teaching him.

So he reached out, his eyes sharpened, and he slammed his palm into the ground.

"Rumble..."

His palm struck, and the earth shook. In an instant, the ground split open and rocks shattered, forming a deep ravine about a hundred meters long.

Pure physical strength!

Chiba had been so frightened that he had already used the Body Flicker Technique to leap into a tree. He stared at the old man in shock.

Holy crap! This old man looks lecherous and a little dopey. I never thought he'd be this badass!

"Well, boy?" the old man asked proudly.

"It's okay, I guess. Not bad." Chiba suppressed the surprise on his face and pretended to be unperturbed.

The old man knew Chiba was putting on an act, so he quietly waited for him to speak.

Chiba coughed twice. "I can see you're pretty good. How about this? I'll take you to where I live, and whether I become your disciple or not, we can discuss later."

"No problem." The old man wore an expression that said, "Finally settled," as he spoke.

Chiba was beginning to wonder whether the old man was really determined to teach him magic or simply wanted somewhere to live.

After casually beating up another two or three wild boars and two or three black bears, the two led them away alive and returned to the village at the foot of the mountain.