Three Punches

The old man trembled all over with laughter. He took a step forward, and his entire bearing changed abruptly. His tiny body seemed to contain energy as terrifying as a volcano.

"Since you put it that way, wouldn't I seem awfully stingy if I didn't oblige?"

"Boy, you'd better stand firm! Don't go crying afterward and say I was picking on a child!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Makarov's right fist was suddenly enveloped in a layer of dazzling golden light. The surging waves of magic power made even the surrounding air hum!

He didn't use Giant Magic, but everyone knew that even the most ordinary punch from one of the Ten Wizard Saints could split mountains and shatter rocks!

"Here it comes!"

Someone in the crowd cried out in surprise.

Under the crowd's nervous, excited, and gloating gazes, Makarov's golden fist shot straight toward Jiang Bai's frail chest with an unstoppable force!

Yet Jiang Bai remained where he was, his hands in his pockets. He didn't even change his stance, and there was a faint, almost bored smile on his face.

The next second, a sight so bizarre that it made everyone's scalp tingle unfolded before them.

Before everyone's eyes, Makarov's fist drew infinitely, infinitely closer to Jiang Bai's chest.

The wind from the punch had even pressed Jiang Bai's clothes inward, making it look as though the fist had struck solidly into his flesh!

And yet, between that golden fist and the thin layer of fabric, there remained a gap that seemed not to exist, but was undeniably real! The fist was moving forward, yet it could never reach its destination!

The expected sight of Jiang Bai being sent flying by the punch never came.

There wasn't even the slightest sound of impact between the fist and his clothes.

Time seemed to have been paused at that moment.

Deathly silence fell over the crowd.

The guild entrance, which had been incredibly noisy just moments ago, was now so quiet that a pin dropping to the ground could have been heard clearly.

The cigarette hanging from Wakaba's mouth fell to the ground with a clatter, but he didn't even notice.

The smile froze on Macao's face, and his mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg.

Everyone who had bet that Jiang Bai wouldn't last a single punch now stood gaping as though someone had cast petrification magic on them, looking as if they had seen a ghost.

"Wh... what happened?"

Makarov's smile had vanished too, replaced by unprecedented shock and gravity.

He could clearly feel that his fist hadn't been blocked by any force. Instead, it had... fallen into a strange region.

"Interesting!"

A sharp light flashed in Makarov's eyes. He drew back his fist and struck again!

This time, he was faster and hit harder!

The result was exactly the same as before!

Once again, the instant his fist was about to touch Jiang Bai's clothes, it fell into that bizarre "slowness" and couldn't move!

"That's the second punch!"

Someone in the crowd whispered, snapping everyone out of their daze.

Makarov refused to believe it. He took a deep breath and raised his magic power again!

"Then how about this?!"

Instead of launching another physical attack, he opened his hand, gathered a rapidly spinning ball of golden magic power in his palm, and thrust it forward!

It was a blast of pure magic power!

Yet the instant the golden ball was about to hit Jiang Bai, its flight visibly slowed to a crawl.

In the end, like a pebble that had exhausted all its kinetic energy, it hung motionless less than a finger's width from Jiang Bai's chest for a moment before silently vanishing into nothing.

Three punches!

Jiang Bai had taken three attacks from one of the Ten Wizard Saints head-on without a scratch!

Even if Makarov hadn't been serious, that was three attacks!

Wakaba went deathly pale. He glanced at the lone gold coin on the barrel and felt his heart bleed.

But luckily, Jiang Bai was the only one who had bet on three punches or more. Hmm? In that case, it seemed he had still made a profit.

Wakaba's expression changed in an instant, crying one moment and laughing the next.

Makarov stopped moving altogether. He stood there, staring blankly at Jiang Bai, who had kept his hands in his pockets and hadn't so much as raised an eyebrow from beginning to end. The old man was plunged into deep self-doubt.

Who am I? Where am I? What was I just doing?

After a brief silence, Makarov's serious face suddenly blossomed like a chrysanthemum.

"Bwahahahahahahaha!!!"

A deafening roar of laughter, full of surprise and pride, rang out over the entire guild.

"Good boy! Good boy! You monster!"

Makarov's deafening laughter echoed for a long time in front of the guild's entrance.

His laughter not only made the ears of the people around him ring, but also utterly shattered the frozen atmosphere.

Everyone seemed to wake from a long dream, their previously dazed gazes turning fervent in an instant.

"He... he blocked them? The master couldn't even touch that kid's clothes in three punches?!"

"I'm not dreaming! He really blocked them! Those were attacks from one of the Ten Wizard Saints! Just what kind of monster is this kid?!"

The crowd that had been waiting gleefully to see him make a fool of himself now erupted into an uproar.

Was this a joke?!

A kid who had joined the guild only a few days ago had actually taken three consecutive attacks from Makarov without a scratch!

He was no mere genius. He was a monster come into the world!

At the center of the crowd, Makarov finally stopped laughing.

The old man slowly composed his face, once again assuming the dignified, unassailable bearing of a guild master. But his slightly trembling hands still betrayed the extreme turmoil in his heart.

That was too bizarre!

In those three punches, he had used less than half his strength, intending only to test the boy's abilities. He had never meant to hurt him.

(Let me explain here: Jiang Bai hadn't been in this world for very long, after all, and still needed some time to grow. Jiang Bai was only six years old right now, and I personally felt the cheat he had been given was already strong enough.)

(In less than half a year, he could already withstand half of Makarov's strength, though it was only three punches, not even enough to warm Makarov up.)

But even a tenth of a Wizard Saint's strength was enough to leave a veteran wizard scrambling.

Yet this boy hadn't moved an inch from beginning to end!

That invisible spatial barrier was like a black hole, swallowing his attacks and magic power without a trace.

Just what kind of freakish magic had this kid cooked up in the past few days?