Gildarts Returns

After making sure he had not misheard, Gray rolled his wrists and neck. "Hehe, it wouldn't look too good if Cain started crying later."

Seeing Gray with the face of a villain, Cain said helplessly, "All right, why are you being so dramatic?"

"Here I come!" Gray said, swinging his right fist hard at Cain's face.

Facing the fierce blow, Cain's mouth twitched slightly. Did I somehow offend Gray? Why was he acting like I had murdered his father?

With a slight movement of his feet, he dodged the punch that would have disfigured him.

Gray stared at Cain in shock. Didn't you say you wanted me to hit you? Why are you dodging now? Are you messing with me?

Understanding what Gray meant, Cain said helplessly, "Don't hit my face."

"Oh, you should've said so earlier."

Gray threw another punch, this time aiming for Cain's chest. A dull bang echoed through the room.

Feeling the pain in his chest, Cain had to admit that Gray was surprisingly strong.

After throwing that punch, Gray looked at Cain. "Want another one? I'd be more than happy to help with something like this."

Cain nodded. "Yeah, wait a moment."

[Holy Light: Guard]

A magic circle appeared beneath Cain's feet before vanishing. Gray looked him over from side to side but could not see anything different about him. Then Cain said, "Come on. Just don't hit the same spot."

Gray punched again, but this time Cain's experience was noticeably different. Gray seemed to be using about the same amount of force as before, yet the pain in Cain's chest was much weaker.

"The defense really has increased, by around forty to fifty percent. The exact figure would need professional equipment to test, but it's enough for me."

Cain was quite satisfied with the result. It proved that his approach had been correct.

"Cain, was that the magic you developed?" Gray finally caught on and asked curiously.

"That's right."

Cain then explained the process behind developing it. Gray got a headache listening to things like mid-stage magic circles and connection nodes, but he understood one thing: this magic could increase defense.

Seeing that, Gray said eagerly, "Cain, let me try it too."

"Sure."

Cain cast [Holy Light: Guard] on Gray. A magic circle appeared beneath Gray's feet, then quickly disappeared just as it had beneath Cain's.

Gray felt around his body but could not sense any difference. "Cain, hit me and let's try it."

Cain did not hold back. He stepped forward with his left foot, instantly gathering strength, then drove his right fist fiercely into Gray's chest.

Seeing the vicious fist coming at him, Gray instinctively wanted to use Ice-Make Magic to block it, but then remembered that Cain's defensive magic was on him.

He forcibly suppressed the urge to use magic.

Bang!

The fist landed on Gray, and the tremendous force sent him staggering backward until he finally stopped against the wall.

Yet Gray found that the spot on his chest where he had been hit did not hurt that much. If he had not known Cain's magic was protecting him, he would have thought he had hallucinated.

"Cain, this magic is amazing! When I fight people from now on, their hits won't hurt me, but my hits will hurt like hell!"

Cain wholeheartedly agreed. "Exactly. When fighting an opponent of similar strength, this might be the deciding factor between victory and defeat."

After saying goodbye to Gray, Cain, in high spirits, ate a quick breakfast and then threw himself back into developing magic.

He had only completed Holy Light: Guard. He still had two more spells waiting for him.

With the experience of developing Holy Light: Guard, Cain completed Holy Light: Speed and Holy Light: Strength in just one week.

Tests showed that Holy Light: Speed and Holy Light: Strength increased performance by around forty to fifty percent, roughly the same as Holy Light: Guard.

Cain also discovered that the better someone's physical condition was, the greater the enhancement effect would be.

This pleasantly surprised Cain. After all, he had never slacked off when it came to training his body.

After obtaining the adjustable gravity vest, Cain wore it at all times except when bathing. He also never removed the weights on his wrists and ankles.

The extra nine kilograms was manageable in daily life, but it became very noticeable during training.

For example, Cain had previously been able to run around Magnolia five times while wearing wrist and ankle weights. Since putting on the vest, however, he was already drenched in sweat after two laps.

The intense expenditure forced Cain to eat frequently to replenish his nutrients, and as a result, his savings were about to run dry again.

As Cain stood before the guild's request board, searching for a suitable job, a series of loudspeaker announcements suddenly rang out.

"Gildarts has returned. Activating Gildarts Mode."

"Gildarts has returned. Activating Gildarts Mode."

"Gildarts has returned. Activating Gildarts Mode."

The once-noisy guild suddenly fell silent, then erupted into even louder commotion. Discussions such as "Gildarts is coming back!" and "This S-Class Request took quite a long time!" filled the air.

Cain, who had been about to accept a request, froze for a moment. I didn't expect Gildarts to return at this time. Then Cana...

Cain looked toward Cana, who was chatting with Gray nearby, and saw panic, excitement, unease, anticipation, and many other emotions on her face.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

Violent tremors suddenly came from beneath their feet, leaving Gray, who had never experienced this before, panicked. "What's going on? Is it an earthquake?"

"Hahaha, little Gray, it's not an earthquake. Magnolia is activating Gildarts Mode," Macao explained with a laugh, having clearly been prepared for it.

Although this was Cain's first time experiencing it as well, he had seen it in the anime, so he was not alarmed.

Gildarts Mode was a system Magnolia had developed specifically for Gildarts. It split the entire town into several sections, leaving broad roads for Gildarts to walk through.

This was because Gildarts wielded the ultra-high-tier magic, Crush. That magic alone would not have been a problem.

The real issue was that Gildarts would unconsciously zone out while walking. Whenever he did, he would unknowingly activate his magic and crush the objects around him.

That was why Magnolia had specifically developed Gildarts Mode.

Looking at the divided Magnolia before him, Gray, seeing it for the first time, wore a stunned expression. The scene before him was truly breathtaking.

Even Cain, who had known about it beforehand, was deeply shocked. Seeing it in person felt completely different from watching it in animation.

Looking at the split-apart Magnolia, Gildarts said with a smile, "Looks like everyone still welcomes me."

Gildarts walked down the wide road. As he walked, his eyes gradually went blank. Clearly, he had started spacing out.

With a loud boom, the guild wall shattered, making Makarov's eyes bulge with rage. "You bastard, use the front door!"

Gildarts did not care in the slightest and laughed. "Hahaha! Everyone, I'm back!"