One Year

Laxus, who had recovered considerably after drinking a recovery potion, looked at Cain in amazement. "I never thought you'd grow this fast. I could still beat you before, but now we can only fight to a draw."

Cain, who understood Laxus's strength, shook his head. "I wouldn't think that was all your strength. You should still have other magic you haven't used, right?"

Laxus scratched his head. "Those spells are too destructive, and I haven't fully mastered them yet. They aren't suitable for a situation like this."

Cain nodded after hearing Laxus say that.

After having a Dragon Crystal implanted, Laxus's body had gradually grown stronger. That immense magic power was no longer a burden to him, but an aid to his growth.

Over the next few years, Laxus would enter a period of rapid growth and become an S-Class Mage of the guild before the story began.

In Cain's eyes, Laxus was the strongest S-Class Mage in the guild during the early stages, aside from Gildarts.

But as the story progressed, Laxus's strength no longer stood out as much, and he was gradually surpassed by the main cast.

Even so, he remained incredibly powerful. Cain remembered that during the Grand Magic Games, Laxus had defeated Jura, who ranked fifth among the Ten Wizard Saints.

Of course, that also had something to do with Jura not going all out.

"All right, we've rested enough. Let's head back."

"Wait, Laxus. I have something I'd like to ask of you."

Laxus, who had been about to stand, paused and looked at Cain in confusion.

"Could you show me the magic circle for Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic?"

Hearing Cain's simple request, Laxus smiled. "I thought it was something serious. Just wait."

A golden magic circle appeared before Laxus. So Cain could see it clearly, Laxus deliberately enlarged it until it was as tall as a person.

Looking at the complex magic circle before him, Cain could not help but marvel. As expected of the protagonist's magic. It really is complicated.

After looking for a while, Cain said to Laxus, "All right, that's enough."

"You're done already?"

Cain smiled and shook his head. "The magic circles of Dragon Slayer Magic are more complicated than I imagined. Once I go back and prepare what I need, I'll come find you again."

Laxus asked in confusion, "Cain, are you planning to learn Dragon Slayer Magic?"

Cain shook his head. "Not exactly. I just want to study it. Dragon Slayer Magic is one kind of Lost Magic, after all, and there are no records of it even in the guild library."

Hearing that, Laxus nodded and did not think much of it. The two returned to the guild together, while Gray, spurred on by the two of them, had already left to train hard.

In truth, Cain had only told him half of it. He wanted to study Dragon Slayer Magic because the final boss of this world was a dragon, and only Dragon Slayer Magic could harm dragons.

But there seemed to be only two ways to obtain Dragon Slayer Magic. One was to be taught by a dragon, like Natsu and the others. The other was to have a Dragon Crystal implanted, like Laxus.

As for whether there were other methods, Cain did not know. At least by the time of the Grand Magic Games in the anime, there had only been those two methods. He had not watched the story beyond that.

Cain wanted to know why Dragon Slayer Magic had such a special effect on dragons, while ordinary magic felt like nothing more than a tickle to them.

Cain was not sure whether his Holy Light Magic would work against dragons. It would be best if it did, but if it did not, then his current research might come in handy.

If you enjoy this book, please add it to your bookmarks so you can find it again next time.

Over the next few days, Cain finally copied the magic circles for [Lightning Dragon's Roar], [Lightning Dragon's Crushing Fist], and [Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd] onto paper.

"These are really complicated." Cain rubbed his forehead as he looked at the magic circles drawn on the paper. "I'll try breaking them down first. I just need to identify the core magic circle."

After studying them carefully, Cain discovered that breaking them down was extremely difficult because the circles that made up Dragon Slayer Magic differed from modern magic circles.

Cain felt at a loss. "Could it be that, because it's magic used by dragons, its magic circles are made up of the dragon language? This is going to be troublesome!"

Cain decided to check the guild library to see whether he could find any relevant information.

While looking up records related to dragons, Cain did not neglect studying knowledge related to medicine and potions.

A year passed quickly, yet Cain made no progress in his research on Dragon Slayer Magic and remained stuck in place.

However, he progressed rapidly in his studies of medicine and potions. At first, Cain had only learned how to make potions, but as he continued studying knowledge related to them, he gradually began to grasp medical knowledge by analogy as well.

With Porlyusica's help, Cain's medical skills improved by leaps and bounds. In less than a year, he was already able to cure common minor injuries and illnesses.

Cain would occasionally provide free diagnoses for Magnolia's residents beside Cardia Cathedral.

As a result, Cain gained a little fame in Magnolia.

Another incident occurred during that year: Ivan was expelled from the guild by Makarov. Makarov did not explain the exact reason, only saying that Ivan had done something harmful to the guild and was therefore banished.

This made Laxus dissatisfied with Makarov, and his personality began to change. However, his relationship with Cain remained very good.

Cain, now ten years old, had earned Makarov's recognition through his strength, and Makarov no longer placed restrictions on the commissions he accepted.

At that moment, he had accepted a commission and was heading to Bagya Coast, where he needed to collect ten sea pearls and deliver them to Baron Ross's Estate.

Cain had accepted the commission not only because the reward was generous, but also because it included an ancient book among the payment.

That ancient book was Cain's true goal. Perhaps it contained records of the dragon language.

Bagya Coast was a seaside city. This was not where Cain would carry out the commission; the actual location was an island twenty kilometers away from Bagya.

After resting for a night and restoring his energy, Cain took a small boat to the island east of Bagya.

According to the boatman, the area was filled with reefs and dangerous undercurrents. That was precisely why the sea pearls below were so valuable.

After checking the surroundings and finding no danger, Cain plunged into the seawater. As he descended deeper and deeper, darkness gradually engulfed him.

The hardest part of this commission was maintaining his air supply and lighting after diving into the depths of the sea, but neither was a problem for Cain.

With his powerful physique and the enhancement of magic power, holding his breath for more than ten minutes was no issue. As for lighting, that was even simpler—one Radiance spell solved it.

Perhaps because humans rarely came here, Cain quickly gathered all ten sea pearls and even found several extra.

I can take them back as gifts or sell them for money. Not bad at all, Cain thought happily.

"Whew, I'm out. Fresh air really is wonderful."

"M-Mermaid... a male mermaid!"

A shocked voice rang out beside Cain's ear.

At the request of many readers, an ad-free VIP membership feature is now available.

Click to view