Pushing open the wooden door of the dormitory, Aether pressed the magic switch on the wall, and the warm yellow light illuminated the cramped room.
Laxus closed the door behind him and pulled out a chair to sit down.
He crossed his arms over his chest, golden electricity dancing at his fingertips, revealing his inner restlessness.
“Speak,” Laxus stared at Aether.
“You’ve been taking on missions like a madman for the past half year, even running into other guilds’ territories.
What exactly are you planning?” Aether walked to the table, poured two glasses of water, and handed one to Laxus.
“I’m cleaning up the mess for Fairy Tail,” Aether said, pulling out another chair to sit down, his tone calm.
Laxus frowned.
“Cleaning up the mess?” “Your grandfather Makarov is getting old,” Aether took a sip of water.
“Gildarts is away executing missions all year round and barely comes back a few times a year.
In the current Fairy Tail, besides those two, who else can hold up the facade?” Laxus snorted coldly.
“There’s still me.” “You’re not enough yet,” Aether interrupted him mercilessly.
“Your current strength is barely enough to deal with ordinary A-Class Mage monsters, but if you encounter true powerhouses, like Jura or Ur, you wouldn’t even have room to fight back.” Laxus stood up abruptly, the water in his cup spilling onto the table.
“Do you think you’re strong just because you beat a few pirates?” Aether ignored his anger.
“I take on missions everywhere and achieve zero destruction to restore the guild’s reputation.
I accept cross-regional joint commissions to make Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale owe us favors.
Fairy Tail is too fragile right now; we need allies.” Laxus braced his hands on the table, staring fixedly at Aether.
“Fragile?
Then kick out all those weak losers!
Wakaba, Macao, and those guys who only know how to drink and cause trouble.
Fairy Tail doesn’t need weaklings.
As long as we keep the elites, the guild will naturally become stronger.” Aether looked into Laxus’s eyes.
This future Lightning Dragon Slayer’s thinking was already starting to go astray.
“Kick them out?” Aether asked rhetorically.
“And then what?
The guild would only have you, me, the Master, and the occasionally returning Gildarts left.
Is that even a guild anymore?” “It’s better than being sent warning letters by the Council every day!” Laxus gritted his teeth.
“Laxus, you’re mistaken about one thing,” Aether set down his glass.
“A guild is not an army, nor is it a machine that exists for war.
A guild is a home.” Laxus was stunned for a moment.
“Would family members be kicked out of the house because they are sick, old, or have mediocre Talents?” Aether’s voice was not loud, but every word was clear.
“Master Makarov took everyone in.
They might lack strength, but they will bandage you when you are injured and cook for you when you are hungry.
This is Fairy Tail.” Laxus turned his head away.
“Weakness is the original sin.
Without strength, you can’t even protect yourself, so what’s the point of talking about family.” “Then let them become stronger,” Aether stood up and looked directly at Laxus.
“You think they are weak because no one taught them how to use magic correctly.
Master Makarov coddles them too much, and Gildarts is a hands-off manager.
But I am different.” Aether extended his right hand, and the cyan element of wind swirled in his palm.
“I will help them,” Aether said.
“I will find everyone’s potential and teach them how to fight.
Whether it’s the current members or the newcomers who join in the future.” Laxus watched the wind element in Aether’s palm.
He remembered the incredible magic combinations Aether had displayed during various missions over the past half year.
Water and lightning, ice and fire, and the elemental aurora that shocked the whole city tonight.
“What gives you the right to guarantee that?” Laxus asked.
“Based on my battle record over the past half year,” Aether put away the wind element.
“And also the fact that I can suppress your lightning.” Laxus was silent for a long time.
The electricity on his body gradually subsided.
“Fine,” Laxus sat back down.
“I’d like to see how you turn those losers into powerhouses.
But if they are still mud that can’t be plastered onto a wall, I will still stick to my ideas.” “As you wish,” Aether poured another glass of water.
“But before that, you’d better take care of yourself first.
Your current goal is to obtain the S-Class Mage qualification as soon as possible.
Don’t think about purging the guild when you can’t even beat me.” Blue veins popped out on Laxus’s forehead.
“Don’t get cocky.
I will definitely pass next year’s S-Class exam.
When that time comes, I will show you what true lightning is.” Laxus stood up and pulled open the door.
“Hey,” Aether called out to him.
Laxus stopped his footsteps.
“Try to get to know everyone better,” Aether said.
“Don’t always act so high and mighty.
Your grandfather actually cares about you very much.” Laxus didn’t turn back; he just snorted coldly and strode into the darkness of the corridor.
The room became quiet again.
Aether leaned back in his chair and rubbed his brow.
Persuading a rebellious, chuunibyou teenager was more exhausting than fighting an A-Class mission.
But he knew that these words had already planted a seed in the kid’s heart.
As long as he could demonstrate enough strength and truly lead the guild members to become stronger, Laxus would not walk down that extreme path of civil war.
Aether closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank.
The virtual panel lit up in the darkness.
[Primogem Count: 18500] The crazy mission-taking over the past half year, combined with the huge sensation caused by the Fantasia parade tonight, had earned him rich rewards.
“System,” Aether murmured in his heart.
“Organize the current character template status.” The information on the panel refreshed rapidly.
[Unlocked Character Templates: Amber, Bennett, Eula, Zhongli, Xingqiu, Kaedehara Kazuha] [Current Magic Rating: A+] Aether looked at the data on the panel.
After half a year of high-intensity actual combat, his total magic power had finally ascended past the bottleneck, reaching the peak of an A-Class Mage.
Combined with various elemental reactions and Kazuha’s swordsmanship, he now fully had the ability to defeat an ordinary S-Class Mage head-on.
But this was not enough.
There were still a few years until the story officially began and Natsu, Gray, Erza, and others joined the guild.
In these few years, Fairy Tail would face many challenges.
Phantom Lord had been watching from the shadows, and the Council’s suppression would also become increasingly severe.
Aether opened the drawer and took out a thick notebook.
He wrote down a long-term plan on the first page.
Item 1: Improve own strength.
Before the story begins, must reach the top level of S-Class Mage.
Total magic power is still a weakness; need to expand the magic container through constant extreme consumption and recovery.
Item 2: Increase trump cards.
Primogems cannot be squandered casually.
Must perform ten-pulls at key nodes.
Before the story begins, must ensure at least 4 more powerful companions can be summoned.
Rule-level power is the key to fighting those monsters in the future.
Item 3: Guild member training plan.
Aether drew a highlight symbol under this item.
Wakaba’s smoke magic can be developed into wide-range vision deprivation and poison gas control.
Macao’s purple flames can be attempted to combine with the wind element to increase the Burning temperature.
As for Laxus, his lightning needs more precise control, rather than blindly pursuing destruction.
Aether turned to the next page and wrote down the fourth plan.
Buy a house.
Aether looked at this plan and sighed.
Fairy Tail’s dormitory is too small.
As he unlocks more character templates, he often needs to conduct various elemental experiments in reality.
The dormitory’s soundproofing and defensive barriers simply can’t withstand it.
Besides, he can’t always go mooch off someone else’s furnace for blacksmithing.
“Aether!” Paimon suddenly popped out from mid-air.
“What are you writing?” Aether closed the notebook and shoved it back into the drawer.
“Researching how to get stronger.
Get some sleep early; we have to take missions tomorrow.” “You’re working too hard.
Can’t you just take a few days off?” Paimon complained.
“Rest is something we can talk about when we have our own big house, plus you don’t even have to walk,” Aether walked to the bed and lay down fully clothed.
“Tomorrow’s mission location is Hargeon in the south.
I heard there’s a group of merchants smuggling magic items there.
The reward is very generous.” Paimon’s eyes turned into the shape of money and said, “Smugglers?
They must be rich.
Can we snatch their money?” “That’s called confiscating illegal gains,” Aether corrected.
“Then turn it over to the Council in exchange for a bounty.” “Tch, how boring,” Paimon floated to the head of the bed and found a comfortable spot to lie down.
Aether looked at the ceiling.
Outside the window, scattered auroras were still flickering in the night sky of Magnolia.
He had been here for nearly a year.
The gears of Fairy Tail, under his push, were slowly deviating from their original trajectory.
Maybe it’s not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”