Training, Training, and More Training

Early the next morning, Magnolia Hospital

Natsu slowly opened his eyes on the hospital bed. "Big Bro Feng Lan? Wasn't I by the lake... Right! Big Bro, you tricked me!"

Feng Lan looked at Natsu innocently. "Hey, what did I do? How did I trick you again?"

Natsu said irritably, "Didn't you say drinking water would be fine?"

Feng Lan said, black lines appearing across his face, "I told you to consume water-element Magic Power, not drink water! If ordinary water was enough, wouldn't you have fused it long ago?"

Natsu looked at Feng Lan like he had been utterly wronged. "So all that water I drank yesterday was for nothing?"

Feng Lan smiled and "praised" Natsu. "You're so smart!"

"Pfft!" Natsu's eyes rolled back, and he fainted again.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? It's not that serious! Doctor, doctor!" Feng Lan hurriedly shook Natsu and shouted.

After a while, when it was nearly noon, Feng Lan finally brought the recovered Natsu back to the training grounds.

Still shaken, Natsu asked Feng Lan, "Big Bro... you're not going to trick me again, are you?"

Feng Lan patted his chest. "Relax, relax. We have no grudge against each other, so why would I trick you?"

Natsu muttered under his breath speechlessly, "Like we don't have enough grudges already..."

Feng Lan turned around with a chillingly "kind" smile. "What did you say?"

Natsu hurriedly shook his head. "I didn't say anything! Big Bro, you must be too tired and hearing things... When do we start training?"

Feng Lan smiled, then stopped and walked over to Natsu. "We'll start now. Are you ready? It might be a little uncomfortable."

Natsu nodded, watching Feng Lan nervously. "Big Bro, bring it on! I want to get stronger!"

Feng Lan nodded approvingly, squatted down, and held out his right hand. A ball of deep blue, mist-like Magic Power appeared in his palm.

"This is my water-element Dragon Slayer Magic Power. Eat it! Then the Magic Power inside your body will begin accepting and fusing with it."

Natsu swallowed as he stared at the clump of Magic Power, then bit into it and gradually sucked it into his mouth.

"Phew... Finally finished it... It doesn't look like much, but there was actually quite a lot to eat." Natsu was drenched in sweat as he slumped onto the ground.

Feng Lan nodded at Natsu. "All right, let's eat first! It's almost noon."

Natsu leaped up and hung from Feng Lan's neck. "Big Bro, let's go to XXX Barbecue Restaurant! The food there is great."

Feng Lan grinned mischievously. "Sure, let's go. My treat."

Once they reached the barbecue restaurant, Feng Lan and Natsu ordered a great deal of meat. Feng Lan also got plenty of alcohol. Of course, Natsu was too young to drink, so he could only have beverages.

But before the meat even arrived, Natsu started feeling awful all over and collapsed onto the table. "Big Bro... I don't have any appetite. I don't have any strength."

Feng Lan nodded calmly. "Mm, that's a normal reaction. It means the Fire Magic Power and Water Magic Power inside you have begun fusing with each other and are draining your stamina."

Seeing Feng Lan's composed expression, along with his strange behavior of ordering only a little for himself earlier, Natsu asked with black lines across his face, "Big Bro, you planned all this out, didn't you?"

Feng Lan turned his head aside, whistled, and said, "Ehehe, I don't know~"

After the two of them... after Feng Lan had eaten and drunk his fill, they walked down the street.

Natsu asked in confusion, "Big Bro, what are we doing this afternoon? Just waiting for the Magic Power to fuse?"

Feng Lan knocked Natsu on the head. "Of course not. I'm buying something first. We'll need it for this afternoon's training."

Natsu nodded and followed behind Feng Lan. "Big Bro, are we training magic this afternoon?"

Feng Lan shook his head. "No. Magic will only be trained along the way. The main focus will be your body and mental strength."

Natsu asked in puzzlement, "Big Bro, it feels like you've always been neglecting magic training. You never seem to pay much attention to magic during training."

Feng Lan smiled and explained, "It's not neglect. Everything has an order. I believe that before a mage cultivates magic, they should first have a qualified physique. Lots of people are incredibly skilled with magic, yet they're as skinny as monkeys themselves. Dragon Slayer Magic especially needs a powerful body to support it. As for mental strength... I'll keep training it, including my own, because every degree of dragonization for a Dragon Slayer Mage requires powerful mental strength to maintain. Otherwise, it's easy to lose control and go berserk."

Natsu nodded as though he understood, and Feng Lan rubbed Natsu's head with a smile. "Don't rush. Once your hand-to-hand combat is up to standard, I'll teach you magic." Then he led Natsu into a shop that sold magical tools.

After Feng Lan and Natsu finished buying what they needed, they headed straight to the lake near the training grounds.

Natsu looked at the item in Feng Lan's hand and asked, "Big Bro, what's that for?"

Feng Lan fiddled with it, then put it on Natsu. "This is a magical tool that can make people dizzy. Wear it while training, and it can strengthen your mental strength."

The instant Natsu put on the magical tool, he staggered and nearly fell. "Then... what do we do next?"

"Follow me." Feng Lan conjured a bubble helmet, placed it over Natsu's head, and led him into the lake.

Feng Lan casually swiped his hands a few times, and Natsu immediately felt the water pressure increase severalfold. At the same time, more than a dozen vortices of varying sizes appeared in the water.

Natsu swam to Feng Lan's side with difficulty. "Big Bro, what now...?"

Feng Lan briefly tested the water pressure and the pull of the vortices. After making a few simple adjustments, he said to Natsu, "In a moment, you'll fight the creations of my Make magic underwater. As time passes, the water pressure, the vortices' pull, and the strength of the creations will all increase."

After Natsu nodded to Feng Lan, Feng Lan swam off to the side. "Water Make—Sailfish, White Shark, Orca!"

"Ah... I'm so hungry..." Natsu got through the afternoon's training quite smoothly, but since he had not eaten a single bite at noon, he was now so hungry he was about to pass out.

Feng Lan carried Natsu on his back as they headed toward the guild. "Hehe, once we get to the guild, there'll be food."

Natsu lay exhausted against Feng Lan's back. "Big Bro... when will this end?"

Feng Lan did a rough calculation in his head. "About three weeks. By then, your Magic Power should be fully fused. And with this kind of training, three weeks should also be enough to bring your hand-to-hand combat up to standard. At that point, I'll start training your magic."

Natsu said confidently, "Then I've already fused the Magic Power!"

Feng Lan smacked Natsu on the butt. "What are you so proud of, brat? That was only today's portion. You have to consume it once a day for three weeks to ensure you can use it whenever you want afterward."

Tears threatening to spill, Natsu lay limply on Feng Lan's back and said no more.

When they arrived at the guild, the other examinees had also returned. Mira and Erza were arguing as usual, Lisanna was telling Elfman about today's training, Cana was looking at Gildarts strangely, Laxus was holding a small meeting with the three future members of the Thunder God Tribe, Feng Lan sat at the guild counter sipping alcohol, while Natsu stuffed himself under everyone's baffled gazes.

Every day was like this. Three weeks soon passed, and just as Feng Lan had said, Natsu's hand-to-hand combat and mental strength had far surpassed those of his peers. His fire and water Magic Power had also almost fully fused. Thus, Natsu's long-awaited magic training was about to begin.