"Coach" Noah

The sky was clear, and a light autumn breeze drifted by.

Magnolia was a seaside city, where the temperature varied little outside of winter.

Behind the tavern-like three-story building lay a large open space, connected to a vast lake.

That's right—Fairy Tail, besides its public guild hall, actually had a sizable private territory. But for years, the guild's finances had been tight, leaving no spare funds for further development.

On the weed-surrounded clearing, the usual venue for guild activities, a man and a woman stood facing each other.

At the edge of the grounds, a few figures lingered. Having heard that Erza was going to spar in hand-to-hand combat with a new guild member, they had nothing better to do and came to watch the fun.

"What a rarity—Erza actually invited Noah to spar. Natsu's going to be heartbroken when he finds out, don't you think, Gray?" A handsome man with brown hair and sunglasses smirked at Gray. "After all, Natsu's challenged Erza plenty of times, and he either gets taken down in a few moves or gets flat-out ignored. Friendly sparring? Never happened. Tough luck."

"Loke, you're using Natsu to take a jab at me," Gray clicked his tongue. He was just like Natsu—had challenged Erza countless times since childhood, and the result was the same: defeated within three moves. To this day, both he and Natsu maintained a perfect zero-win record against Erza.

Nobu, still without a suitable job request, was also in the "audience." He stared curiously at the handsome man chatting with Gray.

"Loke, I remember you only joined the guild this year. How do you know so much about Natsu and Gray biting off more than they can chew by challenging Erza?"

"Hey, hey, hey, Nobu! What do you mean 'biting off more than they can chew'? You only break through by fighting the strong—that's something you clearly don't get."

No sooner had Nobu spoken than Gray retorted in annoyance.

Loke nodded along beside him. "Right, right. Gray and Natsu have been getting beaten up by Erza since they were kids. Their faces sure got a good workout from it—otherwise, how could Gray strut around the guild naked?"

"True. In broad daylight, Gray wouldn't feel a shred of shame stripping down."

Loke and Nobu's sarcastic back-and-forth sent Gray into a red-hot fury, because he only then realized he was down to nothing but his underwear.

"Loke, where are my clothes?!"

"No idea."

The commotion from the sidelines made Noah take a deep breath. He'd been watching Gray's bare body for several minutes now, and the guy only just noticed—and only because his comrades pointed it out.

Anytime, anywhere, lightning-fast undressing.

A pervert isn't scary; what's scary is a pervert who doesn't know he's one...

Erza was a bit embarrassed too. Couldn't these guys leave a good impression on the new member? She reluctantly covered for Gray. "Noah, don't mind it. Gray's habit of stripping comes from his training in Ice-Make magic—he's kept it ever since."

Who studies magic by taking off their clothes...

Though Noah didn't say it, Erza could feel the silent complaint from his gaze.

Erza knew that no matter how much she tried to explain away Gray's perverse behavior, it would only ring hollow—because he really was an oblivious exhibitionist.

"Forget them. Let's start."

A palm-sized magic circle unfolded beside her, and Erza pulled a wooden sword from it. "Noah, if you need any weapon, just tell me. I have plenty."

Noah shook his head. He had plenty of confidence in his hand-to-hand skills and didn't need a weapon for now. What interested him was Erza's magic.

The magic: The Knight.

Equip magic belonged to the Holder category—a self-awakened type. Such mages possessed a magical space of unknown capacity, used to store magical tools corresponding to their magic.

As long as Erza deemed something armor or a weapon, she could store it in her magical space.

Compared to her on-demand storage, the Space Ring Noah had bought for 600,000 was a complete joke.

Truly, comparison is the thief of joy.

"Don't zone out. Here we go."

Erza's warning arrived almost simultaneously with the sword in her hand.

Noah tilted his head, narrowly dodging the strike—a strand of hair nearly shaved off.

"A wooden sword used to this level? Not bad."

Noah's casual remark made Erza a little displeased. Though it was just a friendly spar between guild members, she still hoped he'd take it seriously.

To make Noah buckle down, Erza held nothing back and launched a full-force assault, striking six or seven times in quick succession.

Her sharp sword momentum bloomed like a flower.

Noah, however, only dodged without attacking, his body light as a drifting leaf, brushing past each oncoming sword blossom by a hair's breadth.

Steady, precise, ruthless—those three words summed up Erza's swordsmanship.

But to Noah, her technique was too crude. It was probably something she'd figured out on her own, since no one in the guild could teach her in that area.

Another round of swordplay came to an end.

Erza naturally noticed that each of her strikes fell just short of landing on Noah, as if that tiny gap were a vast chasm, completely cutting off contact between them.

This wasn't mere "luck," nor was it Erza holding back for fear of hurting him. It was that he had fully seen through her moves and predicted every follow-up action.

What level of martial skill must he have to face her so casually?

Erza stopped her sword. She understood now that Noah's hand-to-hand ability surpassed hers. In pure martial arts, no one in the guild could likely match him.

Since that was the case, she might as well turn this spar into a lesson for herself.

The Requip magic circle opened again, and another wooden sword was drawn by Erza and tossed toward Noah.

Was she asking him to instruct her in swordsmanship? Noah smiled faintly and did not refuse.

In the world of Edolas, Erza had once been ordered by Faust to teach Noah the spear technique, though Noah soon surpassed her.

He never expected that in the parallel world of Earth-land, he would have the chance to instruct this world's Erza.

"Erza, your strength and speed are more than sufficient, but your technique is a complete mess."

"Abandon all those flashy moves. Just remember these eight basic techniques, and that will be enough."

Noah said no more; some knowledge was best understood through personal experience. He suddenly raised his sword and thrust it at Erza.

Erza drew her sword to block, but saw Noah abruptly change his grip, turning the vertical blade horizontal, shifting the vertical thrust into a horizontal one.

The wooden sword's blade slid along the edge of her own sword, stopping at her throat. Erza broke out in a cold sweat. She had never imagined that a simple "thrust" could have distinctions between "vertical" and "horizontal."

The vertical thrust was swift and fierce; the horizontal thrust was nimble and clever.

Just a change in the blade's posture could produce such variation. Erza felt as if she had opened the door to a new world.

Once Erza had recovered, Noah began his "teaching" again, raising his sword to chop down. Erza once again blocked with her sword. Amidst the exchange of attack and defense, the wooden sword in her hand was suddenly cleaved in two.

"The 'chop': connect your arm and the sword blade in a straight line, transmitting your strength to the edge, making the sword's momentum as heavy and powerful as an axe."

Swapping for a new wooden sword, Erza continued to defend. She had already memorized two techniques; only through personal experience could she understand the changes in Noah's instruction.

And Noah held nothing back, unleashing all the remaining six sword techniques he had summarized.

"The 'point': raise your wrist and point the sword downward, concentrating your strength at the tip to catch the opponent off guard."

"The 'flick': the opposite of the point, lift the sword upward to flick an enemy's weapon away to either side."

"The 'slice': hold the sword and slash diagonally upward from below in front of your body, used to deflect force and defend."

"The 'hook': circle the sword blade close to your body on the left and right sides, usable for both offense and defense."

"The 'cut': sweep the sword downward, capable of striking an opponent's lower body or cutting off their attack."

"The 'twist': use your wrist to circle the sword blade while transmitting strength through the blade."

After the session, Erza was drenched in sweat, and the wooden sword in her hand was knocked loose and fell to the ground by Noah's final move, the twist.

Such exquisite technique. Compared to this, her own swordsmanship had been nothing more than wild, random hacking.

If she could integrate the techniques she learned today into her magic, Erza felt that she might soon be able to thoroughly defeat Mira.

Just like Natsu and Gray, Erza and Mira were also "incompatible," both always wanting to defeat the other one day.

Not far away, Gray, Loke, and Nobu had their mouths wide open, enough to stuff two eggs inside.

"This isn't right. This newcomer is unexpectedly strong."

Loke had lost his usual playful grin. Even though he knew nothing about swordsmanship, he could clearly see the gap in skill between Noah and Erza from their exchange just now.

Because of her Requip magic, Erza fought with many weapons, but the sword was her most used one. She never expected to be utterly crushed when facing Noah.

Gray was silent, lost in thought.

It was Nobu who moved, jogging over to the field.

"Noah, besides the sword, do you know any other martial arts?"

Looking at Nobu, who had suddenly popped up, Noah was puzzled but still nodded. "Fists, horns, spears, blades—I know a little of everything, about the same level as my swordsmanship."

'A little?!'

Loke and Gray, who had followed over, felt that this newcomer was way too good at humblebragging.

After hearing this, Loke stared at Noah with burning eyes. "Master Noah, please instruct me in fist techniques!"

The sudden "Master" caught Noah off guard, but inwardly, he felt a surge of delight.

Mages from the world of Edolas had no magic power within them; their magic actually came from the magical tools they used.

And most combat magical tools took the form of various weapons, so Noah had been forced by his old father to train in martial arts, mastering everything from swords and spears to halberds and ji.

He never expected that this would lead to someone calling him "Master" one day.

But teaching took time, and Noah wasn't really willing to do it.

He had instructed Erza because she had both natural talent and high comprehension. Her swordsmanship was rough simply because no one had guided her; he only needed to point it out, and she would immediately grasp it.

But the others...

[Ding~ You have a new local Prayer commission]

[Nobu Lazaro has always been troubled by his lack of strength. After witnessing your prowess, he finally understands which aspect to improve. Please guide him through a complete set of fist techniques.]

[Reward: Self-mastered magic "Possession: Beast"]

[Deadline: No time limit]

The "Possession" magic might not be as good as "Take Over" magic, but to Noah, it could only be described with two words: too tempting.

He simply lacked combat magic too much.

Patting Nobu's shoulder encouragingly, Noah spoke, "No problem, Nobu. I will definitely make you a master of fist techniques."

Nobu hadn't expected Noah to be so agreeable. "But Noah, I don't have anything valuable to repay you with..."

"Don't say that. We're comrades."

The firmness in Noah's voice warmed Nobu's heart, and he immediately knelt before Noah. "Master above, please accept this disciple's bow!"

You're actually serious!

Noah didn't want a disciple four years older than himself, so he quickly helped the man up. "I can teach you the fist techniques, but don't call me 'Master.' If you have to change how you address me, 'Coach' will do."

"Understood, Master!"

Noah's mouth twitched slightly, and it took him a good while to get Nobu to change the form of address.

"Noah... no, Coach. I want to learn too."

Loke looked in surprise at Gray, who had just made the request. "What's going on? Loke's magic requires physical technique coordination, but what does a Shape Mage need with physical techniques?"

"Sorry, but my master told me that 'Ice-Make' must be combined with physical techniques."

Gray turned his head toward Noah, waiting for his answer.

Two minutes passed. Noah sighed. He'd thought he might get a Prayer commission from Gray, but nothing came.

It seemed that in Gray's heart, there was a wish more important than training in physical techniques.

This put Noah in a bind. He'd just spoken so righteously to Nobu about "comrades not needing payment," and now he couldn't very well ask Gray for compensation.

No reward meant giving it away for free.

Refusing wasn't easy either. He'd dug himself into a hole.

Just then, Erza spoke up. "Noah, I can suggest to the Master that you instruct the guild members in physical techniques. It would improve everyone's strength. I think the Master would be happy to pay you as the guild's 'Physical Technique Coach.'"

A great idea—one that would slim down Makarov's wallet.

Noah could see it now: Erza had no clue about the guild's expenses. As an S-Class Mage, she earned a lot.

But Makarov had to take responsibility for the entire guild.

Still, what did that have to do with Noah? It wasn't him making the suggestion.

Erza moved fast. That same day, she proposed the idea to Makarov, who was already using his personal savings to subsidize the guild's funds. His brow furrowed deeply.

As an experienced senior, Makarov understood the importance of physical techniques all too well.

Though magic was the theme of this world, many spells couldn't be fully utilized without a strong body to support them, and quite a few combat magics also demanded physical technique coordination.

For the kids' future development—add it!

And so, Fairy Tail's newcomer, Noah, suddenly transformed into the guild's Physical Technique Coach, instructing comrades with such needs and earning a monthly salary of 200,000.