Creekside Village lived up to its name.
Scattered wooden houses stood between the hills and the water. A clear stream flowed through the village, surrounded by lush green farmland, while an ancient, verdant forest stretched over rolling hills at the farthest edge of sight.
Following their map, Blanc and Gray had walked for most of the morning before finally reaching the village on the outskirts of Magnolia.
All along the way, Gray had complained endlessly to Blanc about his past experiences finding cats and dogs. Clearly, the boy had been bored out of his mind, and his excitement for this combat mission was through the roof.
As they entered the village, they could see plenty of villagers working in the fields. Blanc stopped a man carrying a shoulder pole and politely asked:
"Hello, sir. We're mages from the Fairy Tail guild, here for the village's commission. Could you tell us how to get to the village chief's house?"
At the words "Fairy Tail," the man's face lit up. But when his gaze landed on Blanc and Gray, two little kids who barely reached his chest, his delight instantly froze into deep uncertainty.
"Uh... you're mages? Are you two little kids the only ones coming for this commission?"
Gray's eyebrows shot up at that. He immediately puffed out his chest and protested:
"So what if we're kids! We're officially registered mages, you know! We might be young, but that doesn't mean we'd lose to adults in a fight!"
Taken aback by Gray's fierce, prickly confidence, the man instinctively looked toward the more composed Blanc.
Blanc smiled faintly and raised his right hand, deliberately displaying the white Fairy Tail emblem on its back. His voice was calm and confident.
"It's just the two of us, yes. But don't worry. The guild approved us for this mission because it recognizes that we're strong enough to handle it. Please take us to the village chief-we can discuss the details more clearly in person."
Seeing the genuine guild mark, the man scratched his head. His doubts hadn't entirely vanished, but he could only nod.
"...Fair enough. Since you're mages from Fairy Tail... follow me. The village chief's just up ahead."
The villager led them between the houses to a small home in the village center that looked no different from the others. An elderly man with graying temples sat outside in a chair, basking in the sun. Seeing them approach, he slowly rose.
"Chief, the Fairy Tail mages are here," the villager called.
The village chief initially looked delighted and relieved. But once he got a good look at Blanc and Gray, his smile froze just as perfectly as the other villager's had.
"These... are the two mages who accepted the commission?"
The chief looked them up and down. Though he tried to remain polite, he couldn't hide the worry and disappointment in his eyes.
"I don't mean to judge by appearances. It's just that this commission concerns the entire village's livelihood for the year. Those wild boars come out every night to destroy our fields. They've even bitten several young men who tried to drive them away."
"And there are so many of them, moving in herds. If it were only two or three, we could beat them to death with clubs ourselves. But against an entire herd... you two really are rather young. If something happened to you, I wouldn't know how to answer to your guild."
Gray was about to explode again, but Blanc stepped half a pace forward to stop him and gave the chief a slight nod.
"I understand. Our appearance alone hardly inspires confidence-so let's demonstrate our strength right here."
With that, Blanc turned and slowly walked to a large open space outside the yard.
He planted his feet, his expression turning serious, and slammed his hands together before his chest!
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon!"
Rumble!
The moment he spoke, the earth began shaking violently without warning. Under the horrified gazes of the chief and the villager, the soil split apart. An imposing wooden eastern dragon, nearly ten meters long and fully armored with scales, roared out of the fissure amid billowing dust!
The wood dragon circled once in the air, stirring a powerful gust that sent the surrounding leaves rustling. Then it obediently descended, its enormous body coiling quietly around Blanc.
Its sheer size, fearsome head, and overwhelming presence made every villager there hold their breath at once, their minds going blank.
The silence lasted several seconds. Then the villagers who had gathered to watch erupted into an uproar.
"Th-that's a dragon? A dragon made of wood?!"
"Heavens... it's enormous..."
"They can even make something like that? Are all mages this outrageous?"
After the amazement came barely contained delight. Some rubbed their hands together and laughed, while others looked toward the fields, finally letting go of the worry that had weighed on them for days.
"With power like that, what are a few wild boars!"
"Fairy Tail really lives up to its reputation!"
"Chief, this job's as good as done, right?"
The chief swallowed, looking at the dragon's head right before him, then at Blanc. His embarrassment over judging them by their appearances gave way entirely to heartfelt admiration. He bowed deeply, his voice bright with hope.
"...Remarkable. With strength like this, dealing with the boars will be no problem at all. We're counting on you two for this commission!"
Meanwhile, Gray stood beside them with his head tilted back, staring at the wood dragon with wide, round eyes. He unconsciously rubbed his wrist, where the memory of being helplessly bound by vines back at the guild still lingered.
"...Hey," Gray murmured, his earlier prickliness and defiance now replaced by genuine awe.
"Blanc, you bastard... just how much were you holding back when we sparred at the guild?! The vines and wooden walls were one thing, but this dragon's size and magic output aren't even in the same league!"
Blanc dispelled his magic. The enormous wood dragon burrowed underground, and the cracks in the earth closed and healed at a visible pace. He turned to Gray with a faint smile.
"Different situations. At the guild, we're friends having a spar, so there's no need to go too far. Here, we're reassuring the client, so of course I went with whatever looked most impressive."
Gray clicked his tongue hard. His words remained defiant, but his eyes shone fiercely.
"Hmph... sneaky bastard. Just you wait. Next time we spar, I'll definitely force you to show your real strength!"
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."
Despite saying that, Blanc felt a little sorry for Gray. As Gray grew stronger, he would only grow faster. Forcing him to go all out would be tough.
Having witnessed what the mages could really do, the chief warmly invited them inside, served them tea, and began explaining the mission in detail.
"It started about two weeks ago. A huge number of wild boars suddenly came out of the forest depths. They hide in the woods during the day, then come out in herds at night to eat and trample our crops."
"At first, we organized the village's young men to stand watch at night and drive them off. But for some reason, more and more boars kept gathering. Eventually, the villagers couldn't drive them away anymore. They didn't even dare approach them."
"We don't have the courage to venture deep into the forest and investigate, either. All we could do was put our hopes in a mage guild. We hoped you could head into the hills, find their nests, and either wipe them out or drive them deeper into the forest."
Blanc picked up on a key word. Holding his teacup, he asked, "Chief, you're saying... these boars appeared in herds 'suddenly'? Were there this many boars around the forest's edge before?"
"Absolutely not." The chief shook his head firmly.
"Our families have lived here for generations. At most, there were a few wild rabbits and pheasants near the edge. And a few days ago, a bold hunter took a look along the tree line. He said it wasn't just boars-even lots of harmless little animals were fleeing toward the edge. As though... something terrifying deep in the woods was driving them out."
At that, Blanc and Gray exchanged a glance.
The surge in animals around the forest's edge and their abnormal migration sounded very much like an immensely powerful magical beast had appeared in the forest's heart, claimed its territory, and forcibly squeezed out the wildlife that had lived there.
"Interesting." Blanc set down his teacup and stood, looking out the window at the sinking sun.
"Chief, it's nearly dark, and entering the forest at night would be difficult. Please arrange somewhere for us to rest. We'll head into the forest first thing tomorrow to investigate."
"No problem. Stay here. I happen to have a spare room," the chief said, nodding eagerly.
As they spoke, Blanc walked outside and cast his magic again. The wood dragon reappeared, circling overhead. Blanc looked up and gave it an order.
"Patrol around the village tonight. If any wild boars appear, drive them away or hunt them down."
The wood dragon let out a low roar. Its enormous body slipped into the gathering darkness as it dutifully flew toward the forest boundary.
The sunset stretched the dragon's shadow long. Villagers finishing work, heading home, or looking out their windows raised their heads and burst into another round of astonished cries-even livelier than the scene outside the chief's yard.
Gray exclaimed at the sight. "Your creations can even patrol on their own? The more I see of your magic, the more ridiculous it gets."
"Yeah. Combining it with Nature Magic gives the spell a certain degree of autonomy, allowing it to carry out simple commands," Blanc explained.
Beside them, the chief watched the wood dragon circling over the village and let out a long breath. The weight that had hung over his heart for two weeks finally lifted.
"With it standing watch, the villagers can finally sleep peacefully tonight. Thank you both so much."
"Of course. It's part of the commission," Blanc said with a smile.
The next morning.
Well rested, Blanc and Gray rose early. After a hearty farmhouse breakfast at the chief's home, they gathered their equipment and prepared to head into the hills.
The chief escorted them to the village entrance. Pointing at the dense green woods to the north, which looked rather ominous in the morning mist, he spoke worriedly.
"Most of the boars came from that direction. The terrain in the woods is complicated. Please be careful, both of you."
"Don't worry." Gray rolled his shoulders, his joints cracking crisply as youthful enthusiasm surged through him again. "We'll finish this today."
The two headed straight into the woods.
The thin morning mist had yet to lift, and the smells of damp earth and decaying leaves washed over them.
They could still see the enormous claw marks left by the wood dragon's patrol the previous night. Farther in, human footprints vanished entirely, replaced by a dense jumble of animal tracks.
"Look here." Blanc crouched beside a bush and pointed to the marks on the ground. "These should be boar tracks. They look fresh, which means they passed through here not long ago."
Gray leaned over to inspect them, then stood excitedly and slammed his right fist into his left palm.
"Then what are we waiting for? Follow these tracks, and we're bound to find their base! Let's go!"
The two began moving swiftly through the thick undergrowth.
Along the way, they did indeed encounter huge numbers of small animals. Creatures that should have lived deep in the forest were now gathered at its outermost edge. The abnormal sight made Blanc frown slightly.
He stopped and slowly approached a tree so large that several people would have been needed to encircle its trunk. He gently pressed his palm against the rough bark, sending a pulse of Nature Magic into it.
In an instant, the magic within Blanc spread outward through the ancient tree's roots.
He closed his eyes. A mental map composed of countless "sounds" slowly unfolded in his mind: heavy panting, the scrape of snouts rooting through dirt, countless chaotic footsteps... and, in the deepest reaches of the forest, a presence that unsettled the small animals.
"How's it looking?" Gray asked, warily watching their surroundings.
"The boar herd is ahead, a little to the north. There are quite a few." Blanc withdrew his hand, his voice slightly grave. "But... there seems to be something else deep in the forest. That's probably what drove these animals out to the edge."
"So what do we do next?" Gray's eyes lit up. Far from frightened, he looked eager to try his hand. "Charge straight into the deepest part and take out the culprit?"
Somewhat speechless, Blanc gave Gray a knock on the head.
"What are you thinking? We clear out the boars first and fulfill the basic commission. As for whatever's deeper in... we'll cautiously scout it out afterward. If it's beyond us, we retreat immediately and tell the villagers to go to the guild and update the commission."
"You sure are cautious. Fine, let's go. Half the boars are mine," Gray grumbled, rubbing his head in mild displeasure.
"Sure." Blanc nodded.
The two moved on. After they had walked for a while, the bushes ahead suddenly shook violently.
"Roaaar!"
With piercing roars, five or six burly, black-skinned boars with sharp tusks burst out. Driven away by the wood dragon the night before, they were especially irritable now, charging straight at the two with bloodshot eyes.
Rather than panic, Gray was delighted. He laughed and swiftly brought his hands into his molding stance before his chest.
"Here they come-Ice-Make: Ice Lance!"
Several sharp ice lances formed out of thin air and shot forward, whistling fiercely through the air.
At the same time, Blanc clapped his hands together.
Several thick wooden stakes instantly rose from the ground, crossing into a sturdy fence that forcibly halted the two enormous boars at the front.
Before the boars could turn around, thick vines erupted from the fence. Like nimble snakes, they wrapped around all four legs and dragged the beasts hard to the ground.
Gray's ice lances arrived a moment later, precisely piercing the restrained boars. Their teamwork was flawless.
Gray caught his breath and laughed with satisfaction.
"This mission's way more exciting than finding cats! Keep going?"
Blanc nodded. Working together, they soon finished off the herd.
The two took a moment to get themselves in order, then set off again, venturing deeper into the forest.
Overhead, the morning sunlight was increasingly broken apart by dense foliage. The shadows of the trees ahead grew deeper and darker.
The commission from Creekside Village had only just begun to reveal its most dangerous side.
As the two ventured farther in, the surrounding vegetation grew increasingly strange and dense.
The towering trees around them stood like dark-green pillars reaching straight into the clouds, their thick crowns forming a canopy overhead that blotted out the sky.
Occasional fragments of light filtered through, falling on moss-covered rocks and damp ground in dappled patches. If not for the potential danger, the scenery could have been called tranquil and beautiful.
Yet in contrast to those lovely surroundings, both boys grew increasingly tense.
It was far too quiet. There were hardly any animals in sight. Only their footsteps and breathing echoed around them.
"...It's too quiet. Something's wrong." Gray unconsciously clenched his fists, scanning their surroundings warily.
Blanc nodded and looked at the trees around them. Once again, he activated Nature Magic, resonating with the surrounding natural world to try to sense whether any other creatures were nearby.
Within his perception, the vast area around them contained not a single animal. Yet roughly thirty meters ahead and to their left, high in the crown of an exceptionally tall tree, lurked a tightly coiled presence.
Blanc's eyes snapped open, a sharp gleam flashing through them. He raised his head and fixed his gaze directly on that treetop.
As though realizing its perfect concealment had been exposed, the monster lurking in the shadows erupted into action!
Boom!
The dense treetop burst apart in an instant, sending green leaves flying everywhere.
A magical beast nearly two meters long shot out of the shadows! Its body was covered in dark-brown bone armor, and it resembled a cheetah with a pair of savage fangs.
It landed lightly on all fours without making a sound, then immediately attacked the two. It moved so fast that it left several blurred afterimages in the air, the gust from its charge sending fallen leaves flying across the ground.
Clearly alarmed by Blanc's gaze, it abandoned its ambush and instead relied on sheer speed to lunge straight for his throat, intent on killing him in one strike!
"Watch out!" Gray stepped forward and swiftly cast his magic. "Ice-Make: Ice Lance!"
Several ice lances flew toward the beast. But it shifted nimbly, its shoulder armor skimming past the spear tips without even touching them. Its charge undiminished, it circled to their flank in the blink of an eye.
Blanc clapped his hands together, and wooden stakes burst from the earth to block its advance-
But the sudden obstacles didn't startle it at all. Before the stakes could rise fully, it leaped high, tapped its claws against the top of a stake, and vaulted lightly over, continuing to close in.
What incredible speed! What terrifying combat instincts!
Whenever Gray's ice lances formed in the air, the beast had already used its instincts to dodge their trajectories, causing the two boys' ranged attacks to miss again and again.
But when it truly closed in on Blanc, the situation changed abruptly.
In that instant, all the vegetation around Blanc seemed to gain a will of its own, growing and writhing in unison!
Vines transformed from the surrounding plants sprang from the shadows without warning like an enormous hunting net, sealing off every space it could use to dodge or maneuver!
"Roaaar?!"
Unable to gain purchase in midair, the beast slammed its forepaws into the abruptly rising vine net. Though it tore through the first restraints with brute force, the dense vines that followed clung stubbornly to its hind legs.
Just as it shredded the bindings around its legs, a thick vine whip lashed toward it.
Crack!
The sharp sound of the blow rang through the forest as the beast was hurled away by tremendous force. It rolled several times across the ground, putting distance between them again, then stood farther away and growled warily at Blanc.
The situation had become rather interesting.
At a distance, the magical beast could use its terrifying speed to easily dodge Gray's ice lances and Blanc's single-target Wood Release attacks.
But the moment it tried to close in on Blanc for melee combat, it fell into an inescapable net woven from countless plants. The closer it came, the less room it had to react, and the more likely it was to get beaten.
For a while, the battle settled into a strange stalemate.
What an agile beast. It's much faster than I am right now. My body's slow reactions are costing me, Blanc silently reflected, reviewing his combat experience. But it's not as though I'm out of options. If single-target attacks can't hit, then let's see it take an area attack.
At that thought, Blanc turned his head slightly and spoke to his companion.
"Gray, protect yourself. I'm about to use a big move. Things might get a little loud."
Gray swallowed.
His repeated attacks had failed to even touch the enemy, leaving frustration simmering in his chest. Hearing that Blanc was about to unleash a major attack, he felt somewhat reluctant, but sensibly stopped attacking and answered quietly:
"...Tch, don't look down on me-who needs your protection! Whatever you've got, bring it on!"
Before he had finished speaking, the magical beast seemed to sense something. Its golden, slit-pupiled eyes abruptly narrowed, and it lunged again on a gust of rank wind.
"Ice-Make: Ice Shield!"
"Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"
Gray formed a shape with his hands, and several thick ice shields erupted from the ground, guarding him firmly from the front.
Blanc clapped his hands together, and a tremendous surge of magic poured out of his body.
Rumble! The raging magic swept outward from beneath his feet like a tangible hurricane, making the entire forest shake violently.
The earth within hundreds of meters split open as though answering a summons. Countless thick trunks twisted, rose, and tangled madly together, growing in an instant into a vast Forest Sea that blotted out the sky.
Before the magical beast could even let out a whimper, the towering Giant Wood engulfed it, binding and pinning it down, sealing off every inch of room it had to maneuver.
The battle ended just like that.
Gray stood frozen in place, still holding his ice-shield stance.
The terrifying magical beast that had left them helpless moments earlier, moving so fast they could see only afterimages, now looked like a tiny insect caught in a spiderweb, swallowed whole by the primeval forest that had abruptly erupted from the ground.
Within hundreds of meters, the trees thrashed and closed in. This went far beyond anything he understood to be the normal scale of Make Magic.
"...So... so strong," he murmured, his throat dry and his eyes fixed straight ahead.
"That covers way too much ground! What's the point of the beast dodging fast when there's nowhere left to set foot...? Blanc, just how strong are you?"
"That was already everything I had. I don't have any stronger moves right now."
Blanc casually wiped the thin sheen of sweat from his forehead and answered modestly.
It wasn't exactly a lie. He didn't normally have the combat power to reshape the terrain on a whim. That attack had been his absolute maximum output, draining all the magic he currently had. Only because they were already in a forest, which naturally boosted his Wood Release, had he been able to spread it across hundreds of meters in one go.
But this wasn't actually a normal approach. If any other wizard tried concentrating all their magic into a single attack like that, they would suffer magical exhaustion at best, or drop dead on the spot at worst.
Blanc, however, had Infinite Magic serving as his power bank. The moment he finished casting, Infinite Magic immediately replenished the magic inside him, which was why he could do this. What looked like a basic attack was actually an ultimate move, yet he really could use it like a basic attack.
"You..." Gray turned toward him, his mouth twitching. "You're getting harder and harder to figure out."
Just then-
"Hey!! Is anyone there?! Help!!"
Deep within the Forest Sea, a wretched, desperate cry for help suddenly rang out.
Both of them froze, then turned warily toward the sound.
Among the interwoven branches at the edge of the Forest Sea, an adult man hung in midair, trussed up from head to toe.
The Giant Wood constricted his entire body, leaving him unable to move. Only his head and half a shoulder remained exposed. The sunglasses on his nose had slipped crookedly to one side, making him look like a ridiculous sculpture carved into a tree.
It was none other than Macao.
"Macao?!" Gray's eyes widened. "What are you doing here?!"
"Quit talking... ngh, get me down first!" Macao's face flushed crimson. As though detecting his movements, the Giant Wood actually tightened slightly around him.
"I-I was following the Guild Master's orders... secretly trailing you two as backup! I figured if you got in over your heads, I'd make a cool entrance-but who knew this brat Blanc would unleash a natural disaster the moment he made a move! I couldn't dodge in time and got swept right in! I can't break free at all!"
Blanc: "..."
Gray: "..."
An eerie silence settled over the forest, broken only by the distant, defiant growls of the magical beast and the sounds of Macao struggling.
Gray stared blankly at first, then his expression went through a wonderfully vivid series of changes. His shoulders shook, and finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"So... the Guild Master was worried and sent you to protect us in secret, but instead, you got caught up in Blanc's magic and had to call us for help?"
"Did you have to spell it out?!" Macao snapped in embarrassment, still unable to move. "Hurry! If these things squeeze any tighter, I'm seriously going to become a tree ornament!"
Blanc gave a dry cough and gestured with both hands. The trees binding Macao loosened in response. Macao tumbled unceremoniously to the ground, landing flat on his back and gulping down air. He looked up at the magnificent Forest Sea still imprisoning the beast, his expression caught somewhere between laughter and tears.
"My god, this magic is ridiculous. You used a spell covering this much ground just to deal with one magical beast. What an incredible monster we've got joining us," Macao said.