Time passed, and three days later.
The mountain behind the Fairy Tail Guild.
Aether stood before a massive boulder.
On a wooden stake in front of him sat that empty wine cup.
He closed his eyes, sensing the spatial fluctuations around him.
The theories in Makarov’s notes weren’t complex; the difficulty lay in concentrating mental strength and the precise guidance of magic power.
However, Zhongli’s inheritance had not only given him the Geo element but also greatly enhanced his mental resilience.
Aether extended his right hand, aiming his palm at the wine cup.
Magic power surged.
The air around the wine cup distorted for a moment.
In the next second, the cup vanished into thin air.
Aether opened his eyes and flicked his wrist; the wine cup landed steadily in his palm.
“Paimon, time it.” “Two point four seconds!” Paimon emerged from the Akasha.
“That’s a whole second faster than yesterday!” Aether placed the wine cup back on the stake.
It wasn’t enough.
In actual combat, a two-point-four-second delay was enough for an enemy to take his head.
The sound of snapping dry branches came from behind the woods.
Makarov walked out with his hands behind his back, his eyelids twitching as he looked at the wine cup on the stake.
“You’ve mastered it?” The old man suppressed the shock in his heart.
Aether nodded.
Right in front of Makarov, he waved his hand, and the cup disappeared; he raised it again, and the cup appeared.
The entire process took less than a second.
Makarov fell silent.
He had given a one-month deadline, yet this kid had done it in three days.
This was no longer a genius; this was a monster.
“Very good.” Makarov coughed to hide his loss of composure.
“You’ve mastered anchoring spatial coordinates.
Next is expanding the spatial capacity.
Come to the guild tomorrow to get the Advanced Manual from me.” “Thank you, Master.” Makarov turned and left, only letting out a long breath once he was far away.
This kid’s control over magic power was simply unreasonable.
One week later.
The blacksmith shop in the south of Magnolia.
“Clang!” The final hammer blow fell.
Aether dipped the glowing red blade into ice water.
White steam billowed up.
He pulled the blade out with iron tongs.
The sword was three feet long with a hollowed-out crossguard, and the blade possessed a cold, dark silver sheen.
The sacrificial sword was complete.
Along with the Greatsword and Polearm he had forged previously, his basic arsenal was finally settled.
Aether held the sacrificial sword in his hand.
Its weight was moderate, and magic conduction was smooth.
With a thought, the sacrificial sword vanished into the air.
The personal space of his Magic of Re-equipping had already expanded to the size of a wardrobe, more than enough to store three weapons.
“Let’s go, time for a field test.” Aether shook his wrists.
In the clearing on the mountain behind the guild.
Thunder light exploded.
Laxus hovered in mid-air, bringing his hands together as a thick bolt of lightning shot straight for Aether’s face.
Instead of retreating, Aether advanced.
Hydro Elements spread from beneath his feet.
Xingqiu’s combat memories took over his body.
He made a grasping motion with his right hand, and the sacrificial sword instantly appeared in his palm.
He slashed upward.
The water transformed into a curtain, meeting the lightning.
The moment lightning touched water, the current was conducted away through the stream.
“This level won’t stop my lightning!” Laxus sneered, increasing his magic output.
Aether had no intention of blocking.
The water curtain was just a cover.
He grabbed with his left hand; the sacrificial sword vanished, and a broad Iron Greatsword fell into his grip.
Eula’s cryo element erupted violently.
“Frozen.” Extreme cold air surged up along the lingering water.
The droplets in mid-air froze instantly, and even the air around Laxus solidified.
Laxus’s movements stiffened for a split second.
In that instant, Aether used the weight of the Greatsword to launch himself like a cannonball.
The Greatsword swung toward Laxus with a terrifying howl of wind.
Laxus gritted his teeth, his right arm glowing intensely with lightning as he took the strike head-on.
“Clang!” Lightning and frost collided.
Laxus was knocked back three steps by the massive force, his feet plowing two deep furrows into the dirt.
Before he could steady himself, Aether had already abandoned the Greatsword.
The Greatsword vanished.
A Polearm appeared in his hand.
Zhongli’s Geo element coated the tip of the spear.
A cold light struck first.
Laxus’s pupils constricted.
He felt an extremely heavy pressure from this spear strike.
It wasn’t sharpness, but weightiness—as if an entire mountain were crashing down.
“Lightning Dragons Roar!” Laxus opened his mouth, and a pillar of golden lightning erupted forth.
Aether didn’t dodge.
“Solidify.” The golden Jade Shield instantly expanded.
The lightning pillar crashed into the shield without stirring even a single ripple.
Bracing against the lightning, Aether drove the Polearm straight through, the tip stopping just an inch from Laxus’s throat.
The thunder light dissipated.
The surroundings fell so silent that only the sound of the wind remained.
Laxus stared intently at the spear tip before him, his chest heaving violently.
He had lost.
He had been suppressed to the point of breathlessness by a newcomer who had joined the guild less than two months ago using a series of combos.
“Just what kind of magic is this?” Laxus asked through gritted teeth.
“Just a few survival skills.” Aether put away the Polearm.
Laxus wiped his face hard and turned to leave.
“We continue tomorrow!
I will definitely smash your turtle shell to pieces!” Aether watched his retreating figure.
Over the past half-month of sparring, Laxus’s lightning had grown increasingly powerful, but Aether’s elemental reactions had also become more proficient.
Using Hydro and Cryo to freeze for control, and a Geo shield to tank bursts—this combo was almost invincible at this stage.