“No problem.”
Byakuran replied, looking slightly excited.
Seeing that both of them were ready, Makarov jumped into the middle and took the role of referee.
“Ahem. Then I shall announce it.”
He raised his hand.
“The battle… begins!”
With that, he quickly stepped aside, leaving the arena to the two of them.
Only Byakuran and Laxus remained.
Laxus kicked off the ground.
Lightning crackled around his raised fist as he charged toward Byakuran.
He didn’t bother with any unnecessary probing.
His first punch went straight for Byakuran’s face, an arrogant smile spreading across his face as the force of his fist tore through the air.
Looking at the charging Laxus, Byakuran didn’t panic.
Instead, a trace of excitement flashed through his eyes.
I can see it.
Before his Take Over, Byakuran’s eyes wouldn’t have been able to clearly track a lightning-fast attack from Laxus.
His only option would have been to go all out, rapidly casting magic and reshaping the surrounding terrain to deal with the attack.
But now…
He could see it.
And he could react to it.
For the first time, Byakuran felt almost invincible.
It wasn’t that Mahoraga’s power surpassed his Infinite Magic.
Rather, he was simply experiencing the excitement of a squishy mage suddenly changing into a close-combat mage.
Byakuran raised his arm, his palm meeting Laxus’s fist head-on.
Boom!
A short, sharp explosion rang out.
The grass beneath their feet was instantly pressed down into a shallow circular depression by the shockwave.
Laxus’s eyebrow twitched.
Byakuran had taken his punch head-on…
And hadn’t moved an inch.
Laxus lowered his head and looked at his own fist before looking back at the noticeably shorter Byakuran.
A flash of surprise appeared in his golden eyes.
“Your body… has gotten stronger.”
Both Byakuran’s strength and speed had exceeded his expectations.
Byakuran himself was stunned for a moment.
His excitement was indescribable.
Sure, instantly crushing an enemy with overwhelming magic was satisfying.
But deep down, he had always felt that a real fight should involve exchanging blows, with fists colliding with flesh.
Mahoraga’s physical abilities were truly no joke.
“Not bad, I suppose.”
A smile appeared on Byakuran’s face, revealing an irrepressible excitement.
“I just finished the Take Over, so I’m still getting used to it myself.”
“Then let me test it again!”
Before Laxus had even finished speaking, his second punch had already arrived.
Lightning crawled up his forearm from beneath his short sleeves.
Brilliant lightning magic erupted along the momentum of his punch, while the wind from his fist carried the smell of something scorched.
Byakuran raised his hand and caught it just as before.
He didn’t fall behind in strength.
In fact, he even managed to force Laxus half a step backward.
But only half a step.
Laxus’s shoulders suddenly sank.
His frontal punch had been a feint.
The instant Byakuran’s center of gravity shifted with the punch, Laxus’s other attack slammed directly into his side.
Boom!
Lightning exploded upon contact.
Byakuran was sent flying sideways, his heels carving two long marks through the grass.
The punch taught him a painful lesson about arrogance and impatience.
That hurt.
It wasn’t that his strength was insufficient.
Nor was his physical fitness lacking.
His problem was his combat reaction.
It was more than a step behind Laxus’s.
The difference in combat experience was overwhelming.
His physical abilities had reached Mahoraga’s level, but the person controlling that body was still the same close-combat novice he’d always been.
Byakuran’s heart tightened.
As expected, I was thinking too much.
I’m still better at one-sidedly crushing opponents with overwhelming power.
Using my weakness to challenge someone else’s strength is simply stupid.
Laxus didn’t give him time to think.
His third punch came down, wrapped in an even denser web of lightning.
Byakuran immediately clapped his hands together.
Wood Release: Wall!
A thick wooden wall instantly erupted from the ground.
The lightning slammed into it.
The surface of the wooden wall immediately charred and cracked, but at least Byakuran wasn’t blown away head-on this time.
During those two or three exchanges, the golden roulette wheel above Byakuran’s head suddenly trembled.
Click.
A soft mechanical sound, almost drowned out by the thunder.
The golden roulette wheel turned one notch.
Electricity exploded.
But Byakuran only took a single step backward.
The sharp pain that should have numbed his fingertips had noticeably diminished.
Laxus’s movements paused for a moment.
He lowered his head and looked at his still-discharging fist.
Then he looked at the burn mark on Byakuran’s arm.
It was so faint that it was almost disappearing.
His brow slowly furrowed.
“…Has the attack weakened?”
Byakuran felt it too.
It wasn’t that Laxus had held back.
The lightning magic itself had become less effective against his body.
The initial adaptation has begun.
“Wood Release: Binding!”
Byakuran clapped his hands together again.
Several thick vines burst from the ground and shot toward Laxus.
Laxus reacted quickly.
He struck the vines with lightning.
Electricity raced wildly across the vines, crackling and hissing as green smoke poured into the air.
The vines quickly lost their momentum.
At the same time—
Click.
The golden roulette wheel above Byakuran’s head turned another notch.
Byakuran’s eyes lit up.
Interesting.
The lightning hadn’t touched his body at all.
It had only come into contact with his magical creation.
Yet Mahoraga’s adaptation had still progressed.
So adaptation doesn’t require me to take the attacks personally.
His magical creations were essentially extensions of himself.
As long as they came into contact with an opponent’s magic, the adaptation could still accumulate.
There’s no need for me to stand here and act as a punching bag.
I can simply use Wood Release to feed the adaptation first.
This discovery made Byakuran’s movements noticeably more relaxed.
Laxus raised his hand.
Ordinary lightning condensed in his palm before several pillars of electricity crashed down from above.
Byakuran immediately created several enormous wooden doors to block the attack.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Lightning scorched and shattered the first wooden door.
But there were several more behind it.
The remaining wooden barriers held firm.
And once again, the roulette wheel above Byakuran’s head spun.
Click.
Click.
It was adapting faster and faster.
Laxus had obviously noticed that something was wrong.
The raw power of his lightning magic hadn’t decreased.
But its destructive effect had become drastically weaker.
“The effect of my lightning magic is gradually weakening…”
Laxus spoke in a low voice.
But he didn’t retreat.
His figure flashed as he closed the distance again, the lightning surrounding his fist blazing brightly.
This time, Byakuran didn’t use magic to block it.
His body, which had already undergone several stages of adaptation, told him that this attack no longer posed any threat.
Laxus was slightly puzzled by Byakuran’s lack of defense.
But he didn’t think too much about it.
He raised his arm.
His entire forearm was wrapped in lightning as he smashed his fist toward Byakuran’s chest.
Bang!
The fist landed solidly.
But the electric light scattered with a sharp crack, as though it had struck an insulator.
The lightning slid harmlessly across Byakuran’s white hair and the hem of his clothes before silently dissipating into the grass.
The shockwave flattened the surrounding grass.
But Byakuran himself remained completely motionless.
There wasn’t even a scorch mark on his chest.
At that moment, Byakuran seized the opening.
He threw a powerful punch straight into Laxus’s abdomen.
Boom!
Laxus was sent flying backward.
He crashed into the ground before quickly getting back to his feet.
He didn’t appear to have suffered much damage.
But his pupils contracted as he stared at his own fist, which was still faintly discharging electricity.
Then he looked at the motionless golden roulette wheel above Byakuran’s head.
His throat bobbed.
His voice was filled with disbelief.
“…has been completely nullified!”
It wasn’t a guess.
He had experienced it personally.
The lightning falling on Byakuran was now no different from striking empty air.
“This trait…”
Laxus slowly forced the rest of the sentence out.
The eagerness in his eyes gradually transformed into solemnity.
“…is truly terrifying.”
On the sidelines, Makarov’s jester hat was almost knocked crooked by his own movements.
His eyes were wide open.
“It hasn’t even been two minutes since the battle started, and he’s already nullified the magic?!”
Although surprised, Makarov couldn’t help thinking to himself that Byakuran’s talent might actually surpass even Laxus’s.
After gaining this ability, his final weakness had been filled.
His magical power, stamina, and calm personality were all far beyond those of his peers.
He was already qualified to participate in the S-Class Mage examination.
Should I let him participate in the exam…?
Makarov looked at Byakuran.
The boy wasn’t much taller than him.
After thinking for a moment, he ultimately dismissed the idea.
Let’s wait a little longer.
It’s still too dangerous to send a child who hasn’t fully grown into high-difficulty missions.
Let’s wait another two years.
Byakuran will be fourteen by then, and he’ll have passed the most important stage of his growth.
Meanwhile, Byakuran raised his hand and looked at his completely unharmed chest.
He couldn’t help feeling a little guilty inside.
Outwardly, however, he spoke with a faint hint of pride.
“I already explained Mahoraga’s abilities.”
“If it isn’t killed in a single attack, it will continuously adapt.”
“And now, its adaptation to lightning magic is complete.”
Laxus remained silent for two seconds.
The lightning around his forearm slowly faded.
Then excitement returned to his face.
Powerful magic surged from his body.
It was obvious that he was preparing to use something far more powerful.
“Then it seems the ability test is over.”
His grin widened.
“Next, it’s time for a serious fight.”
Byakuran’s back quietly tensed.
Of course, he knew that Laxus hadn’t used his true trump card yet.
The ordinary lightning he’d been using was nothing more than an appetizer for their spar.
Laxus’s true magic was—
Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic.
Dragon Slayer lightning was completely different from ordinary lightning.
It was on an entirely different level.
I wonder if ordinary Wood Release can still withstand it.
Byakuran took another stance, preparing himself seriously.
“Come on.”
“I’m ready!”
Laxus took a deep breath.
Lightning flashed around his body once again—
“Enough!!”
A thunderous shout suddenly exploded from the side.
Makarov’s body expanded in the blink of an eye.
The enormous wind pressure created by his Giant Magic flattened the surrounding grass.
A gigantic fist thrust horizontally between the two fighters.
Its five fingers spread wide, completely separating them like an enormous wall.
The Guild Master looked sternly at the two brats.
The eyebrows beneath his hat stood straight up as his voice became severe.
“Enough.”
“This was supposed to be nothing more than a test of your magic and a casual spar!”
“If you keep fighting, someone is going to get hurt.”
Makarov’s giant palm remained between them, firmly keeping the two apart.
“There’s no need to continue.”
The lightning surrounding Laxus flickered for a moment before gradually disappearing.
He glanced at his grandfather, whose tone left no room for argument.
Then he looked at Byakuran, who remained unharmed and was still holding his defensive stance.
Laxus’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he suppressed the restlessness in his heart.
“…Got it, Grandpa.”
Byakuran also relaxed his hands.
The golden roulette wheel remained above his head, while his white hair fluttered gently in the wind.
But even he couldn’t help letting out a quiet sigh of relief.
If we keep fighting, things will get troublesome.
If I don’t get serious, I’ll be the one getting hurt.
But if I get serious, Laxus will get hurt.
What a dilemma.
Makarov stopping the battle had come at exactly the right time.