First Battle! Facing Gildarts

"Gildarts is back—!"

Magnolia was in chaos again today.

The newcomers who had never met Gildarts eagerly asked around, only to learn that this man was the guild's strongest S-Class wizard.

"So that guy's strong, huh!"

Natsu did not understand a single thing else, but he was already rubbing his fists together without knowing his own limits.

Gildarts looked half-asleep when he entered the guild. Before Natsu could even get a proper look at him, he charged over shouting:

"Gildarts! Let's have a match! AUV—!"

"Hm? What was that?"

Gildarts yawned. In his groggy state, he felt like he had just swatted away a fly.

"Oh! Hey, everyone, I'm back!"

"Gildarts! Come have a drink!"

"Hahahaha! Gildarts, you just sent one of the guild newbies flying!"

"What!? Is the newbie okay!?"

"Relax! Natsu's tough as nails. He's not afraid of getting beat up."

The guild quickly became noisy again. After Natsu pulled himself out of the wall, he did not hold a grudge and instead kept circling around Gildarts.

With his overwhelming strength and easygoing personality, Gildarts really was popular in the guild.

But after a few rounds of drinks, Gildarts began to feel that something was off. Then he spotted Aibo and Cana hiding in a corner of the guild.

Several books and a pile of notebooks lay on the table in front of Aibo. He was hunched over it, constantly scribbling away, while Cana stood guard beside him without moving.

Hmm? Why isn't Aibo coming over to say hello? And wasn't Cana always the one who admired me most?

Gildarts was unhappy. Carrying a bottle of wine, he staggered over.

"Aibo! Cana! Long time no see!"

The warm welcome he had expected never came.

Aibo raised his head, dark circles under his eyes, glanced at him, said, "Oh," then lowered his head and continued writing and drawing.

Cana merely snorted and turned her face away, completely ignoring him.

Gildarts felt deeply wounded. Cana's snort in particular made him inexplicably nervous, as though he had committed some terrible sin.

Gildarts instinctively sat up straight. After all, Aibo was the child he had brought back to the guild. By all rights, he should have taken more initiative in looking after him.

"What's going on with you two? Aibo, you don't look too well. Have you run into some trouble lately?"

"I've been researching a troublesome spell recently and got a little too into it. It's not a big deal... Oh, right, Gildarts, it's perfect that you're back. The guild doesn't have any books related to [Gravity Magic]. Do you know anyone who uses Gravity Magic? Or you could bring me a book..."

"I know Gravity Magic myself. I'm not particularly good at it, but I can teach you the basics. Still, compared to that, I'm more worried about your mental state, Aibo."

"That would be great. Me? I think I'm fine. Haven't I always—"

"Aibo! You can't keep doing this!"

Cana finally could not hold it in any longer. She pinched Aibo's cheeks and stared into his eyes with a grave expression.

"You've been like this for two weeks already! You're not writing your novel, you're barely sleeping, you don't dress properly, and you even forget to eat! You spend all day clutching those notebooks and scribbling away. You have no idea how worried I've been! If this is for creating some new magic, then I don't want to learn it either!"

Only when Aibo noticed the faint redness around Cana's eyes did he belatedly realize... he really had been a little obsessed lately.

Because he had thrown himself wholly into researching magic, he could no longer even hear the side effects of Telepathy Magic. The world had become quieter than ever before.

His mind was filled with thoughts like The design here is so ingenious, Would changing this make it better? and So magic can be used like this too. Inspiration kept pouring in wave after wave, his mind constantly raging like a storm, while his body had practically gone on autopilot.

Aibo felt as though he had entered some profound state. He was even a little smug and overjoyed, unable to shake that excited feeling of I've made it as a mage.

Yet he had not expected to overlook the concern of those around him.

As his mind relaxed, the sounds around him flooded back into his head.

I have to stop Aibo from going on like this. He can't ruin his body! He's still so young. As his big sister, I have to take care of him.

Heh, I really did pick up a treasure back then. This kid is actually a scholarly genius. I've only seen people like him at magic academies. Should I talk to the old man and send Aibo to a magic academy for a few years?

"Sorry, Sis Cana. I made you worry... It was my fault. I won't do it again."

"You said that yesterday too. Hmph, I'll be keeping an eye on you these next few days!"

Gildarts suddenly let out a hearty laugh, walked behind Aibo, and lifted him up by the back of his clothes.

"Gildarts, what are you doing!?"

"Come on! Aibo, kid! I'm taking you outside town to have some fun!"

"No, put me down first! I can teleport us there!"

Aibo struggled free and jumped down. He grabbed Gildarts's arm with one hand and Cana's small hand with the other. In the next instant, the three of them appeared in an open area west of town.

"Whoa! Incredible. Aibo, your Teleportation Magic is already quite refined."

"It's nothing special. I still have lots of room to improve... So why did you bring me out here? Are you going to teach me Gravity Magic?"

Gildarts released Aibo, walked about ten meters away, and beckoned him over.

"Come on. I'll practice with you."

Aibo blinked his big eyes and pointed at himself in confusion.

"Huh? Me?"

"That's right. Attack me with everything you have. As far as I know, Aibo, you've been in the guild for over a year, but you haven't taken a single request, have you? You've never fought anyone either. You can't improve by shutting yourself away. Come on, let me test how much you've improved this past year."

Aibo felt a little numb. He had no desire to volunteer for a beating. Cana, on the other hand, was extremely excited and kept cheering him on.

"Go, Aibo! Show Gildarts what you can do! Beat him to death!"

"..."

Aibo also heard Cana's rather shocking thoughts.

I knew it. Aibo is my real little brother! That scumbag father probably knows everything! He'd rather secretly give him special training than acknowledge the two of us. That bastard!

What is this even supposed to mean? Maybe I should find a chance to explain things to Cana...

"Aibo, come on. Don't hold back. You can't hurt me."

"All right, then I'll give it a try..."

This really was Aibo's first time taking the initiative to fight with magic. He knew many spells, but he was purely a master of theory, with zero combat experience.

Besides, Aibo did not think any of his Level 1 skills could affect Gildarts. His current skills at Level 2 or above were:

[Telepathy Magic LV4], [Meditation LV3], [Space Magic LV2], [Text Magic LV2], [Magic Power Control LV2], [Enhancement Magic LV2]

Ah... I have no idea how I'm supposed to fight Gildarts. One Crush Magic from him, and I'll be shattered to pieces.

Forget it. Let's see which elemental magic has the most experience... Oh, it's you. Put points into it!

[Light Magic LV1: 6245/10000] → [Light Magic LV2: 1/100000]

He glanced at his mana bar again.

[Magic Power: 620/626]

"Then here I come, Gildarts."

"Bring it on!"

He had no chance in close combat, and there was no point trying. He could only make use of his strengths and act as a long-range turret.

Once he finished thinking, Aibo raised a hand, and three magic circles appeared in the air behind him.

Light Magic: Thermal Ray. By gathering light elements, it continuously fired scorching laser beams. As long as the magic power did not run out, it could keep firing. It was incredibly fast, but its power was average.

"Not bad casting speed. The power's decent too, but it won't work on me."

Gildarts threw a punch at the incoming beams, directly smashing the light in front of him into countless tiny fragments.

But Aibo knew Crush Magic too, so he had long understood its characteristics. His attack was not a single burst, but a continuous assault.

The shattered beams dissipated into magic power, while the beams behind them immediately filled the gaps, ultimately striking Gildarts's arm.

"Tsk, that's pretty hot~"

Naturally, an attack at this level could not break through Gildarts's defenses. But Aibo had already achieved his purpose.

He continuously used Telepathy Magic to monitor Gildarts's thoughts, ensuring that his plan could proceed smoothly.

Another trait of Light Magic was that it was bright!

With the beams shining on Gildarts, he could not see what Aibo was doing. That gave Aibo room to act.

"Text Magic, Eastern script: [Duplicate]."

A huge Chinese character appeared above Aibo's head. This Text Magic could mass-produce magic circles. As long as he had enough magic power, it could theoretically replicate thousands of magic circles in a short time.

So when Gildarts threw another punch and shattered the beams before him, he looked up—and was instantly dumbfounded.

More than a hundred magic circles had appeared behind Aibo, all gathering terrifying beams of light at once. One or two of those beams might not be very damaging, but more than a hundred striking the same place was no joke.

"Hey, hey, hey! Are you serious?"

"I'm firing now, Gildarts!"

"W-Wait! Aibo!? AUV—!"

Before Aibo had even finished speaking, he had already fired the beams. Gildarts tried to dodge, but he could not outrun light. And Aibo's Magic Power Control was not just for show; he kept the beams locked onto Gildarts as they pursued him.

More than a hundred scorching rays pierced straight through the cloak Gildarts flung out, striking his body and making him jolt from the heat.

Gildarts stomped hard, shattering the entire ground beneath him. He instantly hid underground, and the ground beneath Aibo also crumbled apart. Aibo blinked twice in rapid succession, taking Cana back to the guild.

By the time Gildarts emerged from the dirt in frustration, Aibo had also teleported back with Cana.

Looking at the hole in Gildarts's shirt and his bright red chest, Aibo grinned.

"Hehe, I surrender. I'm out of magic power."

"You brat... That fighting style of yours... is seriously shameless..."

"Isn't that how mages are supposed to fight? The bunch of savages in the guild who use their fists are the weird ones, aren't they?"

"...Not everyone can use Teleportation Magic like you."

Gildarts sighed, dusted off his filthy clothes, and began giving Aibo a post-battle assessment.

"I think I understand your fighting style now, kid. Let me make a few simple points..."