Arduous Training

Late at night, in the Magnolia Town, inside the small villa that Hughes bought for a "huge sum".

The loud knocking forced Hughes to grab another pillow and cover his ears tightly like a meat sandwich, but it was no use at all; the relentless knocking still penetrated his ears through the pillow.

Damn it, he had just closed his eyes...

Ten seconds.

Twenty seconds.

Thirty seconds... one minute.

The knocking continued incessantly, as if he intended to keep knocking until Hughes opened the door.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Hughes jumped out of bed, bursting through the door in a fit of rage. "Laxus, are you crazy?! What time is it? Why are you knocking on my door?"

Laxus lowered his arm, which was raised halfway in the air, and said seriously, "Yesterday before I left, you stopped me and asked me to take you to the eastern forest to train."

"Yes, I said that, but do you want to check what time it is?" With that, Hughes, still angry, pointed to the magic clock in the hall, then turned around, went into the room, and drew back the curtains, revealing a dark expanse outside.

"Who would go to cultivate at four in the morning?"

Faced with Hughes's questioning, Laxus pointed to himself; he usually went to the eastern forest to cultivate at this time.

As dawn breaks, the magic of heaven and earth is at its most vibrant, and meditating and comprehending magic during this time is like receiving divine assistance.

No mage who strives for power would miss this time of day.

Thinking of this, and worried that he might miss the best time for cultivation, Laxus urged him a few more times.

Hughes:(￢_￢)

Is this kid so single-minded? Can't he tell he doesn't want to go?

Hughes waved his hand, then pulled the doorknob, preparing to close the door. "You go first, I'll sleep a little longer and then come over!"

Laxus frowned and reached out to close the door.

The atmosphere momentarily froze...

Just then, Mira appeared from behind Laxus, her hands behind her back, her bright round eyes slightly narrowed, revealing perfectly curved corners, and she looked at Hughes with a grin. "Alright, Hughes, wake up, everyone's waiting for you!"

Hughes's arm, which was about to slam the door shut, relaxed, and his questioning gaze lingered on Mira's smiling face, "Everyone?"

Didn't he only have an appointment with Laxus yesterday?

Mira smiled and nodded, "Lisanna, Elfman, and I are going with you. Also, I heard from Laxus that Natsu and Erza are going too."

They're not going the same way as us; they're heading straight from the guild dormitory. Laxus already told them the location beforehand!

Hughes frowned and glanced at Laxus: "With so many people going together, won't it disturb your cultivation? Don't blame us if you fail the S-Class Exam!"

Hughes didn't care whether there were many or few people; they couldn't disturb him. He Laxus to train in the eastern forest to figure out the remaining two moves Six Powers.

But Laxus is different. Mages always need a quiet environment to cultivate. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the eastern forest to cultivate in seclusion. Too many people would definitely disturb Laxus's cultivation.

Laxus understood the underlying meaning in Hughes's words, but he didn't care; Natsu, Gray, and the others couldn't interfere with his cultivation.

"Hurry up, don't waste time, Elfman and Lisanna have been waiting for you outside the gate for ages!"

Having said that, Laxus turned and left decisively, leaving Hughes and Mira alone on the second floor.

"There's no one else around, "Mira said, slightly nervously reaching out to poke Hughes.

Hughes lowered his chin and gave her a disapproving look. "What?"

"Hughes, do you think Natsu and Gray will laugh at you if we're late?"

Hughes paused for a moment, then a slow smile crept onto his lips, "Mira, if that's what you mean, then I'm not sleepy anymore!"

Knowing Natsu and Gray as he did, if Hughes were late, there was no doubt that the two of them would make fun of him for days.

That's how kids are at that age; they compare everything.

No matter how small the matter, as long as they beat an adult, they can brag about it for days.

Thinking of this, Hughes straightened up, a contemptuous smile playing on his lips. He wouldn't give these brats any chance.

He always enjoyed disciplining children.

"Mira, let's go, we're off right now!" With that, Hughes lifted his heels slightly, pushed off the ground with the balls of his feet, and leaped from the second floor to the first floor, then rushed towards the door.

Standing on the second floor, watching Hughes's slightly anxious back, Mira shook her head helplessly.

Hughes is sometimes even more childish Lisanna.

"Mira, hurry up!"

"Yes, I'm here." Mira responded softly as she closed the door for Hughes.

In a small valley in the forest to the east of Magnolia Town.

The rushing waterfall cascades down from the top of the steep cliff, crashing continuously onto the rocks in the pool, creating a constant, resounding roar.

This small valley was Laxus's retreat site, and the cliffs, boulders, and meadows are covered with charred marks from electric shocks.

At this moment, Laxus and the others closed their eyes to comprehend magic atop the cliff, Hughes descended alone into the valley to hone the Six Powers.

The Six Powers is a general term encompassing six physical techniques: Shave, Tekkai, Geppo, Shigan, Rankyaku, and Kami-e.

These six physical techniques are not independent; some of them are closely related.

Shaving is the foundation of Geppo and Rankyaku; once you learn shaving, mastering Geppo and Rankyaku becomes much easier.

There is also a certain connection between Shigan and Tekkai.

He has mastered four Hughes: Shave, Tekkai, Geppo, and Shigan. He has reached the perfect level of proficiency in the first three, and there is no further progress to be made.

In the panel, the proficiency level of special skills is divided into beginner, intermediate, advanced, and perfect levels.

The higher the proficiency, the fewer restrictions there are on the moves of the ultimate technique, and it can even be said that they disappear.

Take the Perfect-Level Tekkai as an example. After Hughes activates the Tekkai, he can move freely and doesn't have to stay in one place and get beaten up.

Initially, Hughes intended to first upgrade his basic Shigan technique to the perfect level; so, following the Shigan training method in his mind, Hughes used his fingers to poke various hard stones.

But not long after, Hughes's expression gradually turned strange. He activated the Tekkai and raised the finger he had just used to fire the Shigan.

This looks like Shigan...

Shigan makes your fingers as hard as steel, allowing your fingertips to easily pierce through the human body and even steel, with power equivalent to close-range gunfire.

But once he unlocks his Perfect-Level Tekkai, his entire body becomes as hard as iron. If he pokes with his fingers quickly enough, it becomes Shigan!

So, Hughes activated the Tekkai and rapidly poked at various stones on the ground with his index finger. After a moment, a notification sound rang in Hughes's mind.

Hughes was shocked to open the panel; his Shigan proficiency had reached intermediate level.

... Is the cheat system bugged, or did he find the bug?

Forget it, whatever, it's a good thing for him anyway. Hughes decisively closed the panel, his eyes burning as he looked at the stones on the ground of varying hardness. If there's a bug and it doesn't lag, then he's an idiot.

Practice now, practice now! If the bug gets fixed, I'll be devastated.

Half an hour later, Hughes stared blankly at the panel; the proficiency level of his Shigan, marked in brackets, had reached the Perfect level.

Therefore, the golden finger (referring to a powerful technique) approves of his method of practicing Shigan...

Hehe, it seems he knows how to push the Rankyaku to its perfect level!