Laxus

When Qian Guang reached a tree near the lightning, he saw a blond-haired boy with a lightning-shaped scar over his right eye staring down a dark golden boar.

The boar was huge, bigger than a truck, with bright golden tusks. Unfortunately, its body was covered in scorch marks.

Qian Guang was a little disappointed. He had thought the lightning just now had come from the Golden Boar, but it turned out to be a mage.

But why did this guy look so familiar? The more Qian Guang looked at that blond hair, the more familiar it seemed.

Boom!

The man and beast collided again. He could not match the boar in strength, but the blond-haired boy turned directly into lightning to evade, occasionally firing a Lightning Burst.

Qian Guang felt that he was completely toying with the boar. No, he was probably tempering himself, using the boar to train his magic control?

After all, Qian Guang could sense that the magic power inside him was like that of a monster, at least far greater than his own right now.

Qian Guang was in no hurry to go down. The boar was not in danger yet, so he ate his pork knuckle and silently cheered for it.

Come on, Mr. Boar! You can definitely beat that blondie!

The blond-haired boy seemed to have grown tired of playing. He pulled back, looked at the red-eyed, panting boar, and smiled. No matter how Qian Guang looked at it, that smile belonged to a villain.

The blond-haired boy's lungs swelled as he opened his mouth. "Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

Holy crap!

Qian Guang suddenly remembered who this blondie was. Wasn't this Laxus, the "third-generation mage"? Sorry, he had not recognized him while he was dressed and his guild mark was hidden.

He tossed aside the nearly meatless pork knuckle and jumped down. Why keep eating when his prey was about to be stolen?

Hang in there, Mr. Boar!

After the smoke cleared, Mr. Boar stood there trembling. Clearly, the rule that no one got hurt when there was smoke did not apply to Mr. Boar.

"Vii!"

The boar panted, looking as though it could collapse at any moment.

Just as Laxus condensed a lightning spear to finish it off, a massive Wind Blade struck Mr. Boar first and stole the kill.

Laxus whipped around and hurled the lightning spear. "Who's there?" Lightning crackled densely around his body.

Boom!

This time, the no-injury-through-smoke rule worked. Qian Guang walked out of the smoke. "Ah, I finally made it. Good job, Mr. Boar."

Laxus looked at the thirteen-year-old brat before him. He felt like he had grown weaker. He had failed to notice a kid like this, and his prey had even been stolen.

Laxus's expression turned serious. "Brat, don't you know you can't steal someone else's prey? Especially my prey."

"This is my prey, blondie. I accepted a commission for it." Qian Guang did not back down at all. He smiled at Laxus, battle intent blazing around him.

Qian Guang did not like fighting, but he wanted to see where his limits lay. After all, he did not believe that shouting a few passionate lines would let him suddenly power up when the time came.

Laxus was not as extreme as he would become at the beginning of the story. At most, he was a rebellious teenager, and at least he would not beat Qian Guang to death.

Besides, Qian Guang felt that with just one more opportunity, he might evolve into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. In other words, he was furious and excited right now. He wanted to fight.

"Brat, looks like you came looking for trouble. You don't think that was all I had, do you?" Seeing Qian Guang's battle intent, Laxus understood. A cruel smile appeared on his face as the lightning around him grew even more violent.

"Well, that's exactly what I wanted." Qian Guang's eyes instantly turned into the Sharingan, and wild winds swept through the area.

Bang!

They charged forward at the same time and collided. One large arm and one small arm pressed against each other as they tested their strength. "Brat, that strength doesn't live up to your big talk." Laxus grinned viciously and shoved him away.

Qian Guang stumbled back several steps before steadying himself and shaking his arm. He was really strong. At least Qian Guang's current Sage Body could not overpower him. But that made it more interesting.

Qian Guang's battle intent surged. A magic circle lit up as wind pressure and Wind Blades filled the air. "Try this."

Laxus was surprised. He knew his own strength well. Forget people his age—even useless old men like Macao were no challenge to him. Yet in that clash of strength just now, he had not gained any clear advantage.

"Yeah, come on, brat!" Faced with the wind rushing at him, the violent lightning around Laxus refused to be outdone and instantly shattered the Wind Blades.

Bang!

Laxus was kicked into a tree.

Qian Guang had closed the distance the instant Laxus used magic, then delivered a kick to his kidney. When Laxus reacted, Qian Guang used the Sharingan's incredible dynamic vision to pull away, tossing in a genjutsu while he was at it.

"So, who was talking big, blondie?"

"Your eyes are interesting." Laxus climbed to his feet and looked at him.

"Very good, brat! Keep going!" Violent lightning instantly blew the tree apart as Laxus charged straight at him.

"So fast!" Qian Guang's eyes narrowed. The Two-Tomoe Sharingan could barely keep up with lightning's speed. He narrowly dodged the attack, but what followed was a barrage of fists like a raging storm.

Qian Guang defended with difficulty, but some of those fists still landed on him.

"Take that, brat!" Laxus kicked Qian Guang into the air, opened his mouth, and fired, "Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

Qian Guang adjusted his body. A magic circle lit up behind him, and a pair of wind-forged wings appeared, allowing him to evade the terrifying attack.

Qian Guang panted heavily in the sky. His offensive and defensive magic was still too weak. Until now, he had relied on his body, the Sharingan's dynamic vision, and magic power.

"Brat, you're tired already? I've only just finished warming up!" Laxus's voice sounded beside his ear. By now, Laxus had fully loosened up. After all, few people dared to provoke him like this, and in the guild, the old man always stopped him.

"Lightning Pressure Rage!"

With one punch, he smashed Qian Guang toward the ground and gathered thunderclouds above him, preparing to give this brat who did not know his place a full-body spa.

"Well, this is pretty bad." Looking at the dark clouds overhead, Qian Guang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lightning descended!

Laxus descended with it, and the two began a new round of close combat. But Qian Guang was in a miserable state. While taking hits, he also had to free up a hand to fire wind bullets against the lightning.

Watching Laxus transform into lightning, Qian Guang's eyes widened to their limit. He felt that he was only a little short of succeeding. The Two-Tomoe Sharingan had completely failed to keep up with Laxus's speed.

The final punch sent Qian Guang into the thunderclouds. Amid the sounds of boom, boom, boom from within, a charred body fell to the ground. Laxus's expression gradually calmed, and the veins bulging in his arms no longer looked so savage.

"So that's all? Still, that was pretty good for a brat." Laxus was somewhat disappointed, but when he considered Qian Guang's age, he accepted it and turned to deal with the boar.

"I never said it was over, bastard! Round two is only beginning!" Qian Guang's voice came from behind him, and it did not sound like he had suffered any serious injuries.

The scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan stared at Laxus's back. The final tomoe had appeared at the very end. At the same time, Qian Guang used Healing Magic on himself. Combined with his Sage Body, he had recovered seventy or eighty percent. That was how terrifying a healer was—they could wear people down to death.

Although the Three-Tomoe Sharingan's influence was no longer as great, Qian Guang had no intention of ending things so miserably.

Hearing Qian Guang's voice behind him, Laxus smiled again. His muscles instantly swelled as he condensed a lightning spear and hurled it over. "Good job, brat. This time, you'd better show me your real skills."

"You don't need to tell me that. Of course I will. I don't want to be covered in injuries while you, blondie, are completely fine!"

Qian Guang tilted his head to dodge the lightning spear and charged forward again. Just like in the first round, they wrestled against each other, but this time howling winds and violent lightning ravaged their bodies. Their shirts were torn apart, revealing their perfect physiques.

Only then did Laxus see the Fairy Tail mark hidden beneath Qian Guang's hair. He grinned viciously. "Newcomers should respect their seniors."

Qian Guang stared at the mark on Laxus's chest and grinned the same way. "Yeah. Once I beat you, you rebellious blond senior, I'll personally heal you."

Bang!

They separated again, but this time their strength was evenly matched. The appearance of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan had strengthened Qian Guang's body as well.

"Looks like your eyes gave you courage." Laxus looked at his changed eyes, battle intent burning in his gaze. "Then let me have a good look!"

"Of course!"

The two clashed at speeds too fast for the naked eye to see. This time, Qian Guang could finally clearly follow Laxus's movements and rarely took a direct hit. But the lightning carried by those attacks still made him suffer, so he used Healing Magic on himself while fighting.

Laxus was not having an easy time either. Those little fists really hurt, and recovering while fighting was far too unfair. He could only increase his speed and deny Qian Guang the chance to heal.

"Raging Volt!"

"Lightning Pressure Rage!"

"Tornado!"

"Wind Kill!"

The two began trading ultimate moves. Poor Mr. Boar was innocently caught in the crossfire, and it looked like he was no longer edible.

A terrifying small tornado rose from the ground, lightning flashing through and above it as the two continued desperately fighting hand-to-hand.

Sunlight slowly shone into the forest.

Bang!

In the end, Qian Guang was the one who fell. The Sharingan could not remain active forever, and the lightning tornado beside them had long since vanished.

Not a single tree remained in the area where they had fought. Both had gone all out.

Laxus sat on the ground, looking at the unconscious Qian Guang whom he had beaten out cold. "The guild really did recruit a monster. But I won!"

Laxus looked at the rising sun, his gaze firm as he declared, "I'll definitely make Fairy Tail the number one guild!"

After saying that, he too collapsed from exhaustion and fell asleep. Only the snoring of the two boys, the whistling breeze, and flickering sparks of electricity remained around them.