Back Mountain Training: Sharpening the Axe Doesn't Delay Chopping Wood-The Same Goes for Paying Off Debts!

Ed got up early, washed up, and headed into town. With the money left over from his first job, he bought a batch of training supplies—yes, balloons and Rubber balls! Then he took everything to the mountain behind the dormitory to begin training.

"Let me think. As I remember it, Rasengan training is divided into several stages. The first stage is to place a water-filled balloon on your hand, then release chakra to make the water inside move with Zero regularity until the balloon bursts."

"The second stage uses a rubber ball. It's an advanced version of the balloon, and the goal is still to break it."

"The final stage is to gather and release chakra. Combine everything from the previous stages, concentrate high-density chakra in your hand, and keep releasing it. The key is maintaining it, turning it into a miniature typhoon. It's extremely powerful and can pierce trees and shatter rocks. All right! Steps confirmed! Time to train!"

No sooner said than done, Ed began training in the Rasengan. Thanks to his experience with bouncy balls, Ed's exceptional talent once again played a crucial role, and his training progressed with Zero equal in smoothness.

As the sun rose and set, a week passed. During that week, Ed came to the back mountain early every day to train the Rasengan. He had now successfully completed all three stages and was preparing to formally unleash the Rasengan once to see how powerful it was.

As a pale golden sphere of light formed in his hand, the surrounding air seemed to be drawn along with it. A small gust began swirling around Ed's hand.

"So my magic power is pale gold. I thought it would be blue like chakra. Speaking of which, I wonder if I can pull off Wind Release: Rasenshuriken..." Ed stared at the stable Rasengan in his hand, his thoughts drifting toward an even bigger sphere.

"Enough thinking. Let's test its power, then it'll be time to work and pay off my debt!" Ed walked up to a massive boulder and pressed the Rasengan in his hand against it.

"Rasengan!" As he shouted the technique's name, the golden sphere touched the rock and embedded itself into it with Zero pause. Wherever the Rasengan made contact, the rapidly spinning magic power ground the stone into powder.

Once Ed saw the entire Rasengan sink into the boulder, he stopped maintaining the magic power's stability. In an instant, the magic forming the Rasengan lost the guidance keeping it stable and surged outward in every direction on pure momentum. The entire Rasengan exploded at once.

"Boom!" With a deafening Hibiki, the boulder shattered into pieces like a ceramic chamber pot with a double-bang firecracker under it.

Ed looked at the scene before him with great satisfaction. "Mm, the power passes. Now I've got a single-target technique too, and if I want more power, I just need to increase the magic output. Let's go back and start working. This time, I'm definitely taking a high-paying job!"

Back at the guild, Ed went straight to the job board and began picking through the requests.

"Oh, Ed, are you finally going to start taking jobs to pay off your debt?" Macao called out.

Wakaba, standing nearby, also said to Ed, "Gray has already completed two jobs. You're only starting now?"

"Sharpening the axe doesn't delay chopping wood, and the same goes for paying off debts. I've now mastered a stronger single-target attack spell, and it's easier to control its power too. That means I can take on higher-paying jobs without worrying about causing massive damage to the surroundings." Ed put his hands on his hips and declared arrogantly, "A mere fifteen million in debt? Watch me settle it in no time!"

As he spoke, Ed suddenly spotted a job request. It read: The town is about to be attacked by a magical beast horde. Fairy Tail mages are specially requested to eliminate it. The horde mainly consists of Wind Wolves. Base reward: 1,000,000 J, with additional compensation depending on the extent to which the horde is defeated.

"Ah, this one. It's pretty suitable if you have wide-range attacks. Wind Wolves aren't particularly powerful magical beasts, after all. They just stick together and move in packs." Seeing that Ed intended to choose the job, Wakaba offered his thoughts, then complained, "My smoke magic can handle a small number of those little wolves that can shoot wind blades, but if there are too many, it really gets troublesome for me."

"Oh! Isn't that perfect? This job is practically made for me!" Ed declared that no one understood beast hordes better than him.

Makarov, behind the bar, saw Ed settle on the job. He took a sip of beer and said to him, "Ed, you little bastard, get moving once you've picked a job. You're still carrying fifteen million in debt. That's all my retirement money, so pay it back fast!"

Hearing Makarov, Ed stuck a finger into his ear and dug around. "All right, old man, don't get so worked up. I'm about to leave, aren't I? I'll bring you back some local specialties."

"Wait. For this job... have you considered bringing someone else along? It is a beast horde, after all." After seeing the request Ed had chosen, Makarov thought for a moment and made the suggestion.

"Don't worry, old man. It's just a magical beast horde made up mostly of Wind Wolves, not anything particularly dangerous. I'm off." Ed immediately set out for the station to depart.

Before long, Ed boarded the magic train bound for Loguetown, I hope this job has at least a little challenge to it, he thought silently. Then he remembered his debt. Forget it, I should play it safe. Otherwise, if I spend more than I earn, I'll be screwed for life. God of transmigration, please let this job not go too wildly wrong.

As Ed's thoughts ran wild, night gradually fell.

After a day and a night, the train finally arrived. Ed stretched and got off, heading straight for the center of Loguetown. After asking a passerby for directions, he arrived at the mayor's office.

"Hello, I'm a mage from Fairy Tail. I'm here to deal with the beast horde problem." After knocking, Ed entered and spoke directly to the mayor.

"That's wonderful! The number of Wind Wolves around here has been growing lately. I was even planning to raise the reward so your guild would send someone sooner!" As if he had seen a savior, the mayor rushed forward, grabbed Ed's hand, and looked behind him.

"How many mages did you send this time? Are they all outside? Get them in here quickly! The sooner we understand the situation, the sooner we can resolve this beast horde."

"It's only me, but don't worry, I'm very strong!" The moment Ed answered that he was alone, the mayor stood frozen as if his soul had left his body, so Ed hurriedly reassured him.

"Really...? Because of the beast horde, our town's trade routes have been suspended, and supplies are beginning to run short. Can you really handle it by yourself?"

"Leave it to me." Ed spoke with absolute certainty. "In the name of Fairy Tail."

"All right... If it gets too difficult, please call for reinforcements immediately. The reward won't be a problem." Though reluctant, the mayor still agreed and began explaining the situation with the beast horde to Ed.