Inside the room, Aether stared at the card floating in mid-air.
Her light blue long hair fluttered in the wind, and her gorgeous knight’s uniform outlined her tall figure.
She held a claymore that emitted a bone-chilling frost, her eyes proud and cold.
“Eula Lawrence,” Aether murmured the name.
Paimon did a somersault in the air, cupping his cheeks with both hands as he shouted, “The Spindrift Knight!
A gold pull in a single draw!
Traveler, you must have used up all your luck on these pulls!” Aether ignored Paimon’s teasing.
Golden light surged from the card, turning into a physical torrent that poured directly into the top of his head.
This time, the pain far exceeded the last.
Aether let out a muffled groan and fell to one knee.
His bones let out a tooth-aching creak, and his muscle fibers were forcibly torn apart in the golden light, only to be reorganized and reinforced at a visible speed.
Bennett’s physical shortcomings were completely crushed in this moment.
Eula was the Captain of the Knights of Favonius Reconnaissance Company, who fought in snow-capped mountains and wilderness for years, swinging a claymore that ordinary people could hardly lift.
Her physical fitness, muscular explosive power, and bone density were entirely at a monster level.
Chilly frost surged wildly through his meridians along with his blood, eventually gathering in Aether’s left hand.
While the lingering warmth of Bennett’s pyro element remained in his right palm, bone-chilling frost condensed in his left.
A massive amount of information flooded his brain.
The swing trajectories of Favonius Bladework, the force-exerting techniques of a claymore, and the methods of condensing the cryo element.
Heavy, lethal, yet possessing the elegance and ruthlessness of a noble’s dance.
Aether slowly stood up.
He clenched his fists.
A powerful sense of strength filled his entire body, and the soreness left over from hauling ores yesterday vanished instantly.
He opened the system panel.
[physical Fitness Level: Significantly Increased] [New Abilities: cryo element Mastery, physical DMG Bonus, Favonius Bladework: Claymore Edition] Aether walked to the table and pulled out the Dull Blade.
The iron sword that had felt heavy yesterday now felt incredibly light in his hand.
He gave it a casual flourish, the blade slicing through the air with a sharp, explosive pop.
“I’m ready to fight,” Aether said softly.
The next morning.
The guild’s backyard.
Laxus was shirtless, venting his frustration on a row of thick wooden posts.
Golden lightning jumped across his fists; with every punch thrown, a post was split apart, charred and broken.
Yesterday’s frustrating draw had kept him awake all night.
The wooden door of the backyard creaked open.
Aether pushed the door open and walked in.
“Laxus,” Aether called out.
Laxus stopped his movements and turned his head.
His gaze instantly became dangerous.
“You dare come back?
Didn’t get blasted enough yesterday?
Do you want to be carried back today?” “We didn’t finish yesterday,” Aether lifted the Dull Blade with one hand, its tip pointing toward the ground.
Laxus let out a cold laugh.
He slammed his hands together, and blinding lightning shot into the sky.
“The old man isn’t here today; no one can save you.
I’ll blast you into charcoal!” Before the words had even faded, he turned into a bolt of golden lightning and vanished from his spot.
His speed was nearly twice as fast as yesterday.
Aether stood his ground, not retreating a single step.
Eula’s combat instincts completely took over his body.
He caught the burnt smell left behind by the lightning moving through the air.
Left rear.
Aether spun around abruptly, gripping the hilt with both hands, and swung the Dull Blade out.
No crimson flames emerged from the blade.
Instead, a layer of white frost rapidly spread, enveloping the grayish-black blade.
“Clang!” The blade and Laxus’s lightning-clad fist collided violently.
Ice and lightning met in mid-air.
[Superconduct Reaction Triggered] Purple-red currents exploded violently on the surface of the ice with a crisp crackle.
Laxus felt a strange ripple penetrate his lightning defense and sweep through his entire body.
Before he could react, Aether twisted his wrist, using the recoil to draw an arc in the air.
With a piercing whistle, the Dull Blade smashed heavily toward Laxus’s shoulder.
This wasn’t a swordsman’s slash; it was the crushing blow of a claymore.
Laxus instinctively raised his left arm to block.
“Crack.” A bone-chilling sound of impact rang out.
Laxus’s expression changed instantly.
The power of this strike was more than double that of yesterday.
More terrifyingly, his body seemed to have lost some sort of defense mechanism, and the pain from his arm was magnified several times over.
Superconduct significantly reduces physical resistance.
Combined with Eula’s physical DMG bonus, Aether’s current normal attack lethality was extremely horrifying.
Laxus was forced to one knee by the blow.
The soil beneath his knee shattered, forming a shallow pit.
“You changed your magic?!” Laxus gritted his teeth and roared, a more violent burst of lightning erupting from him in an attempt to force Aether back with an area attack.
Aether gave him no chance to create distance.
Stamping his right foot heavily on the ground, Aether lunged forward.
The frost on the blade vanished instantly, and crimson flames soared.
Bennett, pyro element.
Frost still lingered in the air around Laxus.
The scorching flames slashed directly into this frigid zone.
[Melt Reaction Triggered] Fire counters Ice; DMG doubled.
“Boom!” A violent heatwave instantly engulfed Laxus.
He let out a roar, desperately channeling the lightning magic in his body for defense.
The violent lightning collided unreservedly with the scorching flames.
[Overloaded Reaction Triggered] A violent explosion erupted between the two.
A red-and-purple airwave tore through the backyard ground.
This time, Aether did not retreat.
The powerful constitution brought by Eula allowed him to stand firmly in the center of the explosion, his legs rooted deep in the soil, without even a wobble.
Laxus, however, was sent flying by the violent airwave.
He crashed through the thick wooden fence of the backyard and slammed heavily onto the stone pavement of the street.
Splintered wood littered the ground.
Passing townspeople stopped in their tracks, watching the scene in shock.
Laxus struggled to climb out of the debris.
His clothes were in tatters, a trail of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, and his left arm hung limply at his side.
He stared intently at Aether, who stood in the yard.
Ice, Fire.
Two completely different types of magic.
And that bizarre explosion and the defense-shattering effect that directly dismantled his protection.
“Just what kind of monster are you?” Laxus’s voice carried an unmistakable tremor.
Aether slowly put away the Dull Blade.
Both the fire and frost dissipated from the blade, returning it to its original grayish-black appearance.
“A Traveler,” Aether replied.
On the balcony of the guild’s second floor.
Makarov stood there, though no one knew when he had arrived.
Holding a half-finished cup of coffee, he looked at the mess below and stared fixedly at Aether.
Extreme shock flashed in the old man’s eyes.
“Dual attributes of Ice and Fire.
And he can switch and fuse different elemental magics instantly to create this kind of chain destruction.” Makarov stroked the beard on his chin.
“This kid’s talent…
he’s simply a monster.” Aether turned and walked back into the guild hall.
Laxus did not pursue him.
He needed time to process this total defeat.
Aether went straight to the request board.
His physical shortcomings had been addressed, and a combat system based on elemental reactions had been preliminarily established.
Continuing basic tasks like hauling heavy objects was now meaningless.
He needed high-intensity combat.
He needed more Primogems.
Aether’s gaze bypassed the low-level blue requests and looked toward the very top of the board.
Several pieces of red parchment were posted there.
[Subjugation Request: Rock-Armored Earth Dragon of Valgon Canyon] [Rank: A-Rank] [Reward: 500,000J] [Description: This monster’s shell is extremely hard and immune to most low-level magic.
Extremely dangerous.
It is recommended that multiple veteran Mages form a party.] Aether reached out his right hand and tore down the red request form.
The originally noisy guild hall fell silent instantly.
Several Mages who were drinking turned around, staring dumbfoundedly at the red paper in his hand.
Makarov, who had just come down from behind the bar, almost crushed the glass in his hand when he saw this.
“Aether!
Are you crazy?
That’s an A-Rank mission!” Makarov strode over, shouting, “How many days has it been since you joined the guild?” Aether turned around and waved the request form in his hand.
“Old man, I need the money,” Aether said calmly.
“That’s still a no!
Even swords and spears can’t pierce the hide of a Rock-Armored Earth Dragon!
Wakaba and the others wouldn’t dare take this thing on alone!” Makarov reached out to snatch the request form.
Aether sidestepped to dodge.
He stuffed the request form into his pocket and pushed open the guild’s main doors.
The morning sunlight spilled onto his Dull Blade, reflecting a cold metallic luster.
Canyon.
Earth Dragon.
Hard shell.
Perfect for testing the armor-piercing limits of Superconduct combined with a claymore.
Aether walked out the door, leaving the guild members behind with a back that never turned around.