Sparring

"Okay!"

With that crisp reply, Erza's entire bearing changed.

She was no longer the little girl who followed Jiang Bai around and needed his protection.

Now, she was a true warrior!

Without a moment's hesitation, Erza pushed off, leaving a shallow crater in the ground. Like a scarlet cannonball, she hurtled toward Jiang Bai with a fierce rush of wind!

Fast!

Too fast for the naked eye of an ordinary person to follow!

To Jiang Bai, that speed... well, it was only decent.

He simply stood there, not even blinking, with that confident smile still on his face.

Even as Erza's tightly clenched little fist rapidly grew larger in his field of vision, Jiang Bai still made no move.

Just when Erza thought Jiang Bai would dodge or block, he remained completely motionless.

Erza's brows knitted sharply.

She didn't want to win this way!

She wanted a fair and honorable spar, not meaningless concessions from her opponent!

In a split second, Erza forcibly pulled back all the strength in her body. Her powerful straight punch came to an abrupt halt less than ten centimeters from Jiang Bai's abdomen!

The wind from her fist stirred the hem of Jiang Bai's clothes, but not even a strand of his hair moved.

"Why didn't you dodge?"

Erza lowered her fist, her scarlet eyes full of confusion and a trace of hurt. "Jiang Bai, are you looking down on me?"

She thought Jiang Bai was only trying to go easy on her, and that made her very sad.

Jiang Bai looked at the girl's hurt, tearful expression, smiled helplessly, and reached out to gently ruffle her hair.

"Erza, I'm not looking down on you. Quite the opposite, I'm taking this very seriously."

He withdrew his hand and looked into Erza's eyes. "Do you remember what I said at the beginning? What I created was a kind of 'defensive' magic."

Defensive magic?

Erza froze.

That was right. From the beginning, Jiang Bai had said he wanted her help testing his new defensive magic.

She had actually forgotten about that.

Looking at Jiang Bai's eyes, full of trust and encouragement, Erza felt the hurt in her heart vanish instantly, replaced by a fiercely burning fighting spirit.

She trusted Jiang Bai unconditionally.

"I understand!"

Erza nodded firmly and took several steps back, putting enough distance between herself and Jiang Bai.

This time, there wasn't a trace of hesitation left on her little face, only an unprecedented solemnity.

"Jiang Bai, I'm going all out!"

With a low shout, a burst of scarlet magic power erupted from her small body and coiled around her right fist, forming a visible halo of magic.

"Ha—!"

With a sharp cry, Erza moved again!

This time, she was thirty percent faster than before!

Her figure left a scarlet afterimage across the training ground. Her magic-enhanced fist, like a burning meteor, tore through the air with a piercing shriek as she drove it straight at Jiang Bai's chest, holding nothing back!

This time, Erza didn't hold back. She wanted to see just how strong the defensive magic Jiang Bai was so proud of really was!

Then her fist landed a solid "hit."

Erza could clearly feel her fist striking Jiang Bai. The tremendous opposing force left her entire arm tingling.

But...

Jiang Bai was still standing where he had been. Far from being knocked back, he hadn't even swayed, and his expression remained as calm and unruffled as ever.

What was going on?

Erza stared in disbelief at her fist, which had stopped in front of Jiang Bai's chest, unable to advance another inch. Then she looked up at Jiang Bai.

Looking at her cute, shocked expression, as if her whole worldview were about to collapse, Jiang Bai finally couldn't help laughing out loud.

He reached out a finger and gently flicked Erza on the forehead.

"See? I told you, you can't touch me."

He withdrew his hand and looked at Erza, who was still in a daze, then explained with amusement, "My magic is called 'Infinity.' Simply put, there's a distance between you and me that can't be crossed, no matter what."

"Your fist really is moving forward, but it can never reach me."

"Because what you're attacking isn't me, but the space between us that's been stretched infinitely."

Erza stood there in a daze, Jiang Bai's calm, unruffled expression reflected in her scarlet eyes. Her little mouth hung open, and she couldn't close it for a long time.

Infinity?

A distance that could never be crossed?

This was completely beyond her understanding of magic!

After a long while, she finally recovered from the tremendous shock, and the way she looked at Jiang Bai had completely changed.

Her eyes were full of stars, filled with undisguised admiration and adoration.

"Jiang Bai... you're amazing!"

The girl's voice carried a tremor she didn't even notice herself. It was the most direct, sincere praise she could think of.

Being gazed at with such sparkling eyes by the girl he loved and praised so directly, Jiang Bai instantly felt his spirits soar.

It felt even better than drinking ten cans of ice-cold cola, filling him from head to toe with a giddy sense of pride.

He forced down the corners of his mouth, which were threatening to stretch to his ears, and coughed twice, putting on a solemn air.

"Ahem, I'm nothing special, just third best in the world."

No, I need to find something to do, or my tail's going to stick up into the sky.

Now that he had some basic ability to protect himself, it was time to experience a wizard's everyday life.

Take jobs! Make money!

Having made up his mind, Jiang Bai said goodbye to Erza, who was still pondering the concept of "Infinity," and rushed off to the guild hall without delay.

He was full of drive now.

As soon as Jiang Bai rushed into the guild, he spotted Makarov sitting at the bar, leisurely enjoying an early-morning drink.

He immediately went over.

"Old man, you're here this early today? Did the sun rise in the west?"

Hearing his voice, Makarov lazily raised his eyelids. When he saw it was Jiang Bai, he cleared his throat, set down his glass, and assumed an air of authority befitting a guild master.

He certainly wasn't going to tell the brat that he'd drunk too much the night before, only to be woken early in the morning by an urgent need to pee, and had come to the guild because he couldn't get back to sleep!

That would be far too damaging to his dignity as one of the Ten Wizard Saints!

"Ahem!" Makarov said solemnly. "This old man has the guild at heart. I wanted to come by early and see if any of the children needed help."

Jiang Bai looked at the old man's "I'm just this diligent and responsible" expression and found it amusing.

He didn't believe him, but he couldn't be bothered to expose the face-conscious old man.

He got straight to the point.

"Old man, I want to take a job."