“Cain, I’ve been looking forward to this fight with you for a long time,” Laxus said, excitement radiating from his body as he stood quietly across the clearing.
“Then let’s do this, Laxus.
Let me show you the results of my training this past year.” Facing the impending battle, Cain felt his blood begin to pump with equal excitement.
Seeing that both combatants were ready, Cana, who was acting as the temporary referee, shouted, “Start!” She immediately turned and sprinted a safe distance away, terrified of getting caught in the crossfire.
The moment Cana’s voice dropped, a crackling bolt of golden lightning shot directly from Laxus’s hand.
Seeing the lightning bolt—which was as thick as his arm—surging toward him, Cain reacted instantly.
“Radiant Shield!” A massive, golden shield of light materialized in front of Cain, perfectly absorbing the incoming lightning strike.
Feeling the heavy impact shudder through his shield, Cain couldn’t help but marvel.
To think a casual, one-handed strike from Laxus packs this much power.
“Cain, spacing out during a fight isn’t a very good habit.” What?!
Cain snapped his head around in shock.
He found that Laxus had already closed the distance and was standing right beside his flank.
His speed was completely beyond Cain’s expectations.
Laxus pulled his right arm back and, like a cannon loaded with explosives, hammered a vicious punch toward Cain.
He’s not holding back at all!
The thought flashed through Cain’s mind as he stared down the brutal fist.
With no time to dodge, Cain was forced to channel his Holy Light magic, gathering a dense concentration of it into his arms to brace for the impact.
Bang!!!
A heavy, muffled thud echoed across the open training grounds behind the guild.
Sent flying onto his back, Cain didn’t even bother to stand up.
He forcefully swung his right hand toward Laxus from the ground.
A golden magic circle instantly bloomed in the air before him.
“Radiant Rain!” Six golden arrows of light shot rapidly toward Laxus.
Watching the light arrows swarm toward him, Laxus didn’t panic in the slightest.
He took a deep breath, his chest expanding, and exhaled a violent storm of golden lightning from his mouth.
The lightning storm instantly shredded the six light arrows into nothingness.
But it didn’t stop there.
After neutralizing the arrows, the roaring vortex of lightning continued hurtling toward Cain without losing an ounce of speed.
Fortunately, the moment Cain saw Laxus take that deep breath, he knew Radiant Rain wouldn’t be enough to stop that particular spell.
He had already rolled out of the way.
Seeing his attack miss, Laxus praised him with a grin, “Cain, to think you could dodge my Lightning Dragon’s Roar at such close range.
Well then, I guess warm-up’s over!” That’s right, the spell Laxus had just used was Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic: Lightning Dragon’s Roar.
It was an ancient magic specifically designed to slay dragons, yet ironically, it was a magic originally taught by dragons themselves.
It was an incredible paradox.
However, Laxus’s Dragon Slayer Magic hadn’t been taught to him by a dragon; it was artificially gained through the Dragon Lacrima implanted inside his body.
Crackling with electric arcs, Laxus’s speed exploded.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Cain again.
Faced with a similar rushing attack, Cain was prepared this time.
He sidestepped Laxus’s punch and launched his own right fist—which he had kept tucked near his waist, gathering power—in a vicious counterattack.
Catching Laxus slightly off guard, Cain’s punch successfully forced the older boy back several steps.
Rubbing his struck chest, Laxus bared his teeth into a wild grin.
“You pack a real punch, Cain.” “I’m not going to fall for the same trick twice.” “Hahaha, now my blood’s pumping!
Bring it on, Cain!!!” Fully swept up in the thrill of the fight, Cain shouted back just as passionately, “Let’s go, Laxus!!!” Laxus’s physical strength and speed were completely abnormal for a twelve-year-old.
Even most fifteen or sixteen-year-old kids probably couldn’t match his raw physical stats.
Outmatched in both strength and speed, Cain’s only option was to rely on the mixed martial arts and fighting techniques he vaguely remembered seeing in action movies and short videos from his past life to mount counterattacks.
Of course, knowing a move in theory and executing it flawlessly in a high-speed magical brawl were two completely different things.
During the exchange, Cain also noticed that he wasn’t being paralyzed by the residual electricity coating Laxus’s body.
He guessed his Holy Light Magic was passively purifying the paralyzing effects.
Thank god for that, otherwise he would have lost almost instantly.
Eventually, the battle ended with Cain lying flat on his back, utterly unable to stand up.
Gasping heavily for air, a massive, swollen lump throbbed on his face.
“L-Laxus…
didn’t anyone ever tell you…
not to hit the face?” Laxus was in much better shape than Cain.
He wasn’t lying on the dirt; instead, he was resting his hands on his knees, panting and recovering his spent stamina and magic power.
Hearing Cain complain, Laxus immediately shot back indignantly, “You have the nerve to complain?!
Who do you think did this?!” He pointed to his face.
Both of Laxus’s eyes were currently sporting deep, dark bruises—a pair of perfect black eyes caused by Cain fighting desperately until the bitter end.
Looking at Laxus rocking the giant panda look, Cain couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
However, the moment he laughed, the sharp pain from his bruised cheek quickly wiped the smile off his face.
Watching Cain grimace between his pained laughs, Laxus couldn’t help but start chuckling too.
“Alright, enough laughing, you two.
Drink your potions,” Cana said as she walked over.
She pulled out the healing vials Cain had given her beforehand for safekeeping and handed one to each of them.
Although they only had minor bruises and cuts that would naturally heal in a day given their wizard vitality, neither of them was going to refuse a fast track to recovery.
After downing the potions, the three of them chatted and laughed as they made their way back to the guild.
Cain had fully expected this outcome.
After all, Laxus outclassed him in every single category right now; losing was only natural.
But his entire year of relentless training hadn’t been for nothing.
At the very least, he made sure Laxus had to work hard for his win—those panda eyes were proof enough of that.
When the guild members saw the state Cain and Laxus were in, they instantly knew the two had gone out to brawl.
Nobody was the least bit surprised.
If a Fairy Tail wizard didn’t know how to throw a punch, could they even call themselves a Fairy Tail wizard?
Cana didn’t head inside the guild hall with them.
Instead, she announced she was heading back to the dorms to train seriously.
Seeing her determination, Cain figured his intense fight with Laxus had probably fired her up.
Speaking of which, Gildarts hadn’t returned once during the entire previous year.
Cain had originally planned to tell Gildarts about Cana the moment the man stepped through the doors.
He figured he should be back sometime this year—after all, it was just an S-Class request.
Later that afternoon, after finishing his daily delivery errand, Cain didn’t head straight back to the guild.
Instead, he stopped by a local magic equipment shop.
“Mr.
Barker, do you sell any magic items that let you adjust their physical weight?” “An adjustable weight-bearing magic item?” Shop Owner Barker frowned and thought for a moment.
“Sorry, Cain.
I don’t have anything like that in stock right now.” “Ah, okay.” Just as Cain sighed in disappointment and was about to leave, Mr.
Barker spoke up.
“If you can wait, Cain, I can look for one and bring it back during my next supply run.
Did you have any specific requirements for it?” “Really?
That would be amazing, thank you!
Hmm, let’s see…” Cain thought for a second before listing his needs.
“It would be best if the weight could be adjusted anywhere between 5 and 20 kilograms, and it needs to be something I can easily wear under my clothes.
That’s about it.” “Alright, got it.
I’ll write that down.
Come back and check with me in about two weeks.” “Will do!
Thanks again, Mr.
Barker!” Thanking the shopkeeper, Cain walked back toward the guild in a great mood.
The reason he wanted to buy adjustable weight-training gear was that his body had completely adapted to the one-kilogram wrist and ankle weights he currently wore.
While buying regular iron weights was cheaper upfront, having to constantly buy heavier sets as he grew stronger would eventually end up costing about the same as one good adjustable magical item anyway.
When Cain entered the guild hall, he noticed a young boy with messy black hair talking to the Master.
He walked over to Cana and asked curiously, “Who’s that?
A new recruit?” “Yeah, he just joined the guild today.
His name is Gray, and he uses Ice-Make Magic.”