Still Need to Train

After more than half a month of recuperation, Ed had finally recovered. Although his injuries had been lighter than Laxus's, that beast had somehow recovered a whole week before him. Ed silently cursed Laxus's absurd physical constitution.

He casually removed the bandages from his body, only to be driven out by Granny Porlyusica the moment they came off. Ed scratched his head. "Why is that old lady's temper so bad? Whatever, I'll head back to the guild~"

Ed activated Flying Thunder God and left the forest, arriving at the guild entrance. Hearing the boisterous noise from inside, he could not help saying, "This feeling is still so familiar~ I'm back!" Ed kicked the door open and strode inside.

"Ed! I was just saying that your injuries seemed almost healed a couple of days ago. Lisanna and I were talking about when you'd come back!" Mira called Ed over to sit with her when she saw him enter.

"Now that you're healed and have successfully become an S-Class Mage, do you want to take on an S-Class job together? We can pick a difficult one!" Mira said excitedly.

"Oh! Ed! Come fight me! I'll beat you even now that you're an S-Class Mage!" Natsu, who had been trading blows with Gray nearby, saw Ed sit down and literally burst into flames. He charged at Ed and threw a punch.

"Long time no see, Natsu." Ed greeted him calmly, forming a Miniature Rasengan in his hand and slamming it into Natsu's abdomen. Natsu was sent flying straight back beside Gray.

"Let's save the duel for next time. I've only just recovered, and besides, you should at least deal with Gray before challenging me~" Ed took the chance to stir them up. As expected, the two immediately tangled up again.

"As for jobs, I'd like to wait for now." After dealing with Natsu, Ed turned to Mira. "After fighting Laxus, I realized I still have some shortcomings. I'll probably need to train for a while before taking jobs once I've made some progress."

"Hmm... I see... That works too. Then I'll take Lisanna and Elfman to do a couple of jobs first, and we'll come find you afterward. Come to think of it, what do you plan to train this time?" Mira thought it over, showing her understanding while curiously asking about Ed's training plans.

"To be honest, I don't have much of an idea yet. Right now, I feel like I have enough single-target moves, but dealing with someone like Laxus, who's physically tough and can activate a power-up state, is pretty troublesome... That damned Lightning Armor... I'll steal that technique from him sooner or later..."

Thinking back on his fight with Laxus still made Ed uncomfortable. The range had been too limited, so the difference between his teleportation and Laxus's lightning-like speed had not been particularly obvious. And once Laxus activated Lightning Armor, he had been incredibly hard to hurt—tough as Mundo with six items.

"Hmm... a power-up state... I don't think I can help you much with that. After all, my Take Over Magic doesn't seem to have anything similar to Laxus's Lightning Armor." Mira sounded a little dejected that she could not help.

Ed gently took Mira's hand and comforted her. "Don't think too much about it. Laxus may have a terrible temper, but his strength is the real deal. His techniques probably won't be that easy to copy."

"Alright then~ Just remember to come to my house for dinner tonight~ I'll make beef stew to celebrate your recovery." Mira stopped dwelling on it. After inviting Ed, she hugged him once more, then got up and left.

"I'm looking forward to it!" Ed waved goodbye to Mira, then walked to the bar and greeted Makarov, who was sitting there. "Old man, how have things been these past few days?"

"Hmph... I'd be thanking the heavens if you lot caused a little less destruction. Just say what you want." Makarov glanced at Ed and spoke bluntly.

"Ah, it's not really anything major. I just wanted to ask if there are any enhancement-type spells like Laxus's Lightning Armor that I could learn?" Ed scratched his head, sounding somewhat embarrassed.

"Enhancement magic..." Makarov thought for a moment before saying, "There are some, but they aren't particularly suitable for you. After all, elemental mages like Laxus, Natsu, and Gray can get good results from ordinary enhancement magic as long as it boosts the power of their respective elements or lets them wrap those elements around their bodies."

"Take Laxus's Lightning Armor, for example. The lightning wrapped around his body not only increases his defense, but also strongly restrains enemies attacking at close range. At the same time, it raises the power of his lightning magic. You should know that better than anyone, right?"

"Exactly... I want that kind of flashy and practical ability too..." Remembering that Super Saiyan-like aura, Ed could not help feeling envious.

"That's why I said it doesn't suit you very well. Your most proficient magic is spatial movement magic, and there are basically no enhancements for that kind of magic. After all, you can't increase the power of spatial movement. At most, you can increase the distance and the like, which doesn't have much impact on combat."

"Old man, you don't have any suggestions either..." Ed said disappointedly.

Makarov took a sip of wine and continued, "It's not like there's no way at all. Since you can't strengthen yourself in a targeted way like they do, you can try taking the route of overall enhancement."

"Directly enhance your physical strength, physique, magic power, and so on. The guild library has similar spells in that area, though most have some side effects, such as leaving you exhausted after using them. You can use them for reference, but the techniques themselves are quite difficult, so be prepared in case you can't learn them."

"Don't worry, I'm a genius! I knew asking you was the right choice, old man! I'm off!" Having gotten the answer he wanted, Ed eagerly ran toward the library.

"What an energetic young man~" Makarov sighed as he watched Ed leave.

Before long, Ed found the relevant records in the library. After comparing them, he discovered that most of them used methods similar to stimulating the body's potential to increase magic power and achieve enhancement.

"Hmm... Potential Burst? It's a little like the Eight Gates, but not nearly as powerful... though the side effects seem about the same... Let's look at the others." Ed continued searching.

"Magic Stacking? Let's see. By using this special method to make half of one's magic power resonate with the remaining magic power in one's body, the resonance can greatly increase the power of magic... The downside is that half of one's magic power is consumed at the start, and because the enhanced spells are more powerful, they consume even more magic power... Hmm, it feels like using three times the magic power to produce twice the power. That's a bit wasteful... Next..."

"This is Magic Storage and Release? Store magic power during ordinary times... release it when needed... it can greatly improve endurance in battle... What kind of save-now-withdraw-later scheme is this... Hmm? Wait?"

Seeing this, Ed suddenly thought of something. "Use a large amount of magic power to resonate with the remaining magic power in my body... store magic power normally, then release it when I need it..." Ed picked up the two books and looked back and forth between them. In an instant, it was as though enlightenment had struck him.