Bestowal from a Companion and Gifts from Family

(Many thanks to 'Wu Fa Ru Yuan' for the 1888 tip! And to 'Bing Yue Ying', 'Lin Jiang Xian Hun', 'Long Qian Yue', 'Long Tiani', 'You Are My i', 'An Heilong Pozhan', 'Molu Yongheng', 'Qinxun Luopo', 'Sing Zai', 'pokémon', 'Yun Qi Qing Gu', 'Tian Di Shuang Shang', 'Diying', 'Zhai Yifei 2012', and 'Ming Xue' for their tips!)

(The recommendation spot will be decided tomorrow! Please collect! Please recommend! Please click!)

In a forest not too far from the Fairy Tail guild, Noah brought Erza to a small river where he used to train his magic control. Standing on the riverbank, he took a deep breath.

"I haven't been here for a few days. This place still feels great."

"I didn't know you had a secret spot like this." Erza glanced around, seeming quite satisfied with the location.

"The scenery is nice, and it's quiet enough. It's perfect for training."

"Right?" Noah winked at Erza.

"This is where I usually practice controlling my magic power."

"Not bad." Erza withdrew her gaze and fixed it on Noah, her expression turning serious.

"But bringing me to a place like this, where people rarely come, means the favor you want to ask isn't something you want others to know about, right?"

"It's not that it can't be known." Noah shook his head, signaling Erza not to be too stern.

"It's just that this place makes it easier for you to do what I want to ask of you!"

"Easier for me to do what you want to ask?"

"Yes!" Noah faced Erza, meeting her resolute eyes directly.

"I want to learn combat techniques from you!"

"Learn combat techniques from me?" Erza, her face full of solemnity, was stunned on the spot.

It wasn't her fault—Noah's request was simply too unexpected.

"I know springing this on you out of nowhere must be surprising." Noah gave a wry smile.

"But this is genuinely what I want to ask of you."

Seeing Noah's bitter expression, Erza furrowed her brow and began to understand his thoughts.

Clearly, the encounter with Phantom Lord three days ago, where Noah couldn't fight, had sparked his desire to grow stronger.

However, because Noah possessed an overwhelming amount of magic power that he couldn't control freely, even if he wanted to get stronger, he couldn't do so by learning magic. Naturally, the only option left was to focus on honing his combat skills.

And in that regard, Erza did have some insight. It wasn't strange that Noah had come to her.

What truly puzzled Erza was the very nature of this seemingly ordinary request.

"Why me?" Erza asked bluntly.

"Maybe you saw me take down three mages with one sword strike during the fight against Phantom Lord and thought it was impressive, so you came to me. But Fairy Tail has plenty of powerful mages—wouldn't it be more fitting to ask them?"

"True, Fairy Tail has many strong mages." Noah shrugged.

"But saying they'd be more fitting—that's where you're wrong."

Erza blinked, confused.

"You said it yourself—they're powerful mages. Honestly, when it comes to pure skill, I don't think many of them can match you!" Noah didn't beat around the bush.

"Plus, even though they gather at the guild every day, they're seasoned mages who can't always stay put. They have to take jobs from time to time. You, on the other hand, aren't starting work yet and have plenty of time for training. Right now, no one is better suited to teach me than you!"

Hearing this, Erza found it reasonable and couldn't help but admire Noah's analytical skills.

For an eleven-year-old to think this clearly wasn't easy.

Moreover, Erza hadn't forgotten that three days ago, during the battle with Phantom Lord, it was this boy her age—who hadn't even learned a single spell or even touched magic—who stepped forward without fear, took a blow for her, and even caught Moglia off guard with a clean punch.

From any angle, an ordinary eleven-year-old couldn't have done that.

So, Erza genuinely admired Noah from the bottom of her heart.

But still, she didn't agree.

"To be honest, I do know some combat techniques, but they weren't taught by any famous master or learned from anywhere else—I figured them out myself!" Erza's face tightened as she stared at Noah.

"Naturally, I can't guarantee they're outstanding, or even effective or useful. Even so, are you sure you're okay with that?"

Hearing this, Noah didn't hesitate at all. Instead, he broke into a relaxed smile and said, "Hearing that makes me want to learn from you even more!"

Erza was predictably stunned.

"During the fight with Phantom Lord that day, I didn't take the field, but I saw your moves clearly. A swordsmanship that can take down three mages from a legal guild in an instant—who could call that ineffective or useless?" Noah met her gaze frankly.

"And since you figured out that swordsmanship yourself, I can't find a reason not to learn from you!"

"This..." Erza was at a loss for words, half-laughing.

"What? Is there a problem?" Noah scratched his cheek.

"If there's really something bothering you, just ignore what I said."

"No, it's not that. I just never expected you to think so highly of me!" Erza's expression relaxed, and she smiled back.

"In that case, don't come crying later!"

The two eleven-year-olds exchanged smiles and, with perfect understanding, reached out their hands, clasping them tightly together against the backdrop of the small river.

It wasn't until after dark that Noah finally said goodbye to Erza on the first floor of the guild and, utterly exhausted, returned to his room.

Even Noah hadn't expected that the moment he asked Erza for help, she would agree without hesitation and immediately drag him into training without a single delay.

That wasn't really a problem—after all, Noah wanted to pick up some combat skills as soon as possible, and he wasn't the type to slack off. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent a whole year training his magic control without a break. Seeing Erza so proactive, Noah was more than happy to go along.

But now, Noah realized he had been too naive.

Erza herself had said that all her combat techniques were self-taught—no one had taught her, and she hadn't learned them anywhere else. Naturally, she had no idea how to teach someone else.

So the only teaching method Erza could think of was to fight him directly.

And so, Noah spent the entire day being drilled by Erza. It would be strange if he weren't exhausted.

"Looks like I need to build up my physical condition more... otherwise, I won't be able to keep up with this kind of training pace..." Noah muttered to himself as he pushed open the door to his room.

But the moment he pushed it open, his footsteps froze.

Because on the bed in Noah's room lay something that didn't belong to him.

A sword!

A knight sword with a slightly curved, half-arc guard, its entire body gleaming like ice—dazzling and crystalline!

And beside this strikingly radiant knight sword lay a piece of paper with only two words written on it—Keep it up!

Looking at those loose yet steady strokes, like an old pine tree, Noah didn't need to guess who had left them.

After all, wasn't it that old man who had suggested he seek power from other avenues?

A wave of warmth surged through Noah's heart. He stepped forward, carefully and reverently lifted the magnificent knight sword lying before him, feeling the sharpness of its blade and an extraordinary aura emanating from it, and murmured softly.

"Thank you... Grandpa..."