When Noah opened his eyes, he saw that same unfamiliar ceiling.
He yawned. He'd stayed up too late reading the night before, but he'd also absorbed a wealth of knowledge from a book called Common Knowledge of Magic. Now he wouldn't have to worry about drawing attention because he knew nothing.
He looked at the other book on his bedside table, General Dark Magic: Amaterasu Style. Last night, when Noah had asked Makarov what kind of magic he could learn to improve his combat strength, this was the book Makarov had recommended.
"Dark magic" meant using magical elements of the DARK Attribute to fight. It was not the same as "black magic," which was inherently evil.
Amaterasu Style contained 108 spells. Makarov had told Noah to pick two and study them; trying to learn more would only hurt him.
At first, Noah had suspected Makarov was exaggerating. But once he opened the book, he understood why Makarov had said that.
The magic circles used to cast Amaterasu Style spells were different from those used for other magic.
The Runic Magic Circles, etched with profound runes, were not only the most important foundation of Amaterasu Style—they were also the reason for its power.
To inscribe runes onto a magic circle with magic power in the instant a spell was cast, a mage needed absolute control over their own magic.
Moreover, runes represented one's understanding of magic. Amaterasu Style required a vast number of runes, and without a huge store of knowledge, it was impossible to complete them.
Effort, a vast body of knowledge, and control over one's magic.
Those three requirements made learning Amaterasu Style incredibly difficult. Only a wise, peerless genius could master it.
Even Makarov only knew a little about the magic and had never chosen to practice it. To this day, the only person in the guild who knew the complete Amaterasu Style was its creator.
The one who had created Amaterasu Style and passed it down was Makarov's most respected teacher, one of the founders of Fairy Tail, the Second Master of Fairy Tail, and a man of astonishing wisdom: Precht Gaebolg.
"That Second Master's knowledge is frighteningly vast."
Noah picked up the Amaterasu book. The night before, the theories inside had been so profound that reading them had let him sleep soundly until morning.
He wondered what the Second Master, who had gone off to travel the world, would think if he knew his life's work had such a powerful effect as a sleep aid.
But that had nothing to do with Noah. Even if the Second Master found out, the first person he'd punish would surely be his unfilial student, Makarov, who had left his books gathering dust in the storeroom.
But Makarov was already over eighty. Whether the Second Master, who had traveled the world and vanished without a trace, was even still alive was another question.
Amaterasu Style was difficult for Noah to learn. His knowledge of magic was practically nonexistent, and even studying a single spell was incredibly hard.
"What a shame."
Noah sighed. Unless he could immediately get a Prayer request offering "a vast body of magical knowledge" as a reward, there was no way he'd learn even one Amaterasu Style spell anytime soon.
[Ding]
[You have a new Prayer request. Please check it.]
The notification in Noah's mind filled him with excitement.
Could it be what he was hoping for? After completing four Prayer requests, would it finally be his turn to have his wish come true?
When he'd awakened Prayer, Noah had already known that the magic couldn't grant his own wishes. Even so, he couldn't help holding on to a little hope.
What if?
He eagerly released his pure-white magic power, and a page-like Prayer request appeared before him.
[Local Prayer Request]
[Cana Alberona's beloved companion, "Little White," has passed away. The grieving girl prays for a miracle and begs for "Little White" not to leave her.]
[Reward: Master the "Card" magic at will]
[Time limit: 24 hours]
Noah frowned deeply as he read the request.
It wasn't the magical knowledge he'd hoped for, but when he thought of the cheerful, boozy girl crying in grief over the loss of her companion, he couldn't help feeling for her.
If his own father, Faust, died one day, he'd probably cry for him too.
But did he have the ability to help Cana?
He should go check on her first. She needed someone with her right now.
Fortunately, Noah lived in the women's dormitory. He didn't know which floor or room Cana lived in, but he knew where Mira's room was.
Noah knocked on Mira's door and explained Cana's situation.
"This is urgent. I'm worried Cana might do something because of her grief. Come check on her with me, Mira."
Still in her pajamas, Mira looked confused. She'd known Cana for a long time, but all she knew was that Cana's mother had died when she was five.
Cana had never mentioned having any other family, let alone someone living with her.
But she trusted Noah, so Mira still led him to Cana's room.
They knocked several times, but there was no answer. Cana didn't respond when they called her name either. Mira said in confusion, "Even if she drank a lot last night, Cana should be awake by now, with her constitution..."
"Could it be—!"
Noah and Mira exchanged a glance. Mira instantly used Take Over to draw on part of Satan Soul's power, then drove the Demon King's hand into the door and smashed its lock.
It was an emergency, so Mira chose to break in by force.
Noah hurried inside. Cana's dorm room wasn't exactly tidy, but it wasn't the booze-soaked mess of empty bottles he'd imagined. It even had a few cute decorations that seemed suited to a young girl.
They quickly found Cana.
In the bedroom, Cana was curled up in a corner, clutching a small white dog tightly.
"Cana, are you all right?"
Mira crouched beside her. The moment she touched the dog's stiff body, she understood.
The little white dog named "Little White" had been with Cana since before she joined Fairy Tail at the age of five. It really had been her family.
"Mira... Little White... Little White..."
Cana was devastated. No matter how tightly she held the dog, its body had already gone cold.
When Cana was very young, her mother had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had little time left to live. Worried her daughter would be lonely after she was gone, she took little Cana to a pet shop and bought her an adorable white puppy.
Cana loved the puppy and named it Little White.
Less than a year later, Cana's mother passed away from her illness.
For the next twelve years, Little White stayed by Cana's side every day. Even when old age left the dog too weak to walk much, it still waited by the door for Cana to come home.
Then, the night before, when Cana had opened the door, she hadn't heard the puppy's happy bark. Instead, she'd found a cold, stiff body lying at the entrance, as if it had been keeping watch for something.
Even at the end of its life, Little White had still been waiting for Cana to come home.
Cana regretted it terribly. If only she'd come home earlier last night... Would she have been able to see Little White one last time?
Mira put an arm around Cana. She'd lost her parents when she was young too, but at least she still had her younger siblings to rely on.
Cana, though, had lost the last of her family.
"Cana, don't be sad. Little White lived to be twelve, which is quite old for an ordinary dog."
Mira tried her best to comfort her. "Little White died peacefully, without ever suffering from an illness. It was lucky. You should be happy for it..."
When Cana remained silent, Mira sighed. She knew what it was like to lose family. She turned to Noah, hoping he could comfort Cana too.
But Noah was staring at the little white dog with a solemn expression.
"Cana, Mira, are you sure Little White was just an 'ordinary' creature?"
Mira didn't understand why Noah would ask that at a time like this, but she still answered, "That's right. Little White was just an ordinary pet dog. It wasn't like those pets with monster blood that could live for a long time."
"I understand."
Noah spoke softly. "Cana, if you had the power to bring Little White back to life, would you do it?"
"Yes! I'd do anything!"
Cana seemed to have seized a glimmer of hope. She waited eagerly for Noah to continue.
Noah gave her a relieved smile. He had a vague sense of what the magic of Prayer was meant to do.
So it wasn't just about the "request and reward" on the surface.
Then what was he waiting for?
He reached behind his back. A flash of pure-white light appeared, and a card materialized in his hand, most of its face a vivid magenta.
A card altered by Prayer, its effect adapted to this world—Soul Resurrection!
Noah held it out to Cana.
"Cana, only a card mage can use this power. It takes an enormous amount of magic, though, and I don't know exactly how much."
"Whether you can awaken Little White is up to you."
Cana took the card in a daze. The instant it was in her hand, she understood how to use it. A ray of hope appeared in her eyes.
She remembered what old man Doran had told her. If her magic really was powerful...
The girl's gaze turned resolute. She poured all her magic into the card, until it glowed red.
"I choose Little White as my target. Soul Resurrection, activate!"
The card vanished between the girl's fingers, turning into a gentle, woman-shaped mist that opened its arms to the little white dog.
The next moment—
"Woof!"
Before you continue