Having downed a recovery potion, Laxus felt much better.
He looked at Cain with amazement.
“I can’t believe how fast you’re growing, Cain.
Last time I could at least secure a win, but now we’re dead even.” Aware of Laxus’s true strength, Cain shook his head.
“I’m not going to sit here and pretend that was everything you had.
You’re still holding back a few spells, aren’t you?” Laxus scratched the back of his head, looking a bit sheepish.
“Those spells pack a bit too much destructive power, and honestly, I haven’t fully mastered controlling them yet.
They really aren’t suited for a friendly spar.” Hearing his explanation, Cain nodded.
Ever since the Dragon Lacrima was implanted, Laxus’s physique had been continuously adapting and strengthening.
His massive magic power was no longer a life-threatening burden, but rather a rocket booster for his rapid growth.
Over the next few years, Laxus would enter an era of explosive development, easily earning the rank of S-Class wizard long before the main storyline even kicked off.
In Cain’s estimation, during the early stages of the story, Laxus was undoubtedly the strongest S-Class wizard in the guild right underneath Gildarts.
It was only later, as the plot progressed, that his strength would seem less overwhelming as the main characters experienced their own ridiculous growth spurts.
Even then, his combat prowess remained elite.
Cain distinctly remembered that during the Grand Magic Games arc, Laxus successfully defeated Jura Neekis, who was officially ranked fifth among the Ten Wizard Saints.
Of course, that victory was partly due to Jura not going entirely all-out from the start.
“Alright, I’ve caught my breath.
Let’s head back.” “Hold on a second, Laxus.
There’s something I need to ask you.” Laxus, who had been about to push himself off the grass, paused and looked at Cain with a puzzled expression.
“Can you summon your Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic Circle and let me look at it?” Hearing such a simple request, Laxus laughed.
“Is that all?
Hold on.” With a soft hum, a brilliant, golden-yellow magic circle manifested in front of Laxus.
To make sure Cain could see it clearly, Laxus intentionally expanded the array until it was the height of a grown man.
Staring at the incredibly intricate, multi-layered formula before him, Cain couldn’t help but marvel.
As expected of the magic reserved for primary characters.
This is insanely complex.
After analyzing it for several minutes, Cain looked up.
“Alright, you can disperse it.” “Finished already?” Cain let out a wry laugh and shook his head.
“Dragon Slayer Magic is far more complicated than I ever imagined.
I need to go back, gather some proper sketching materials, and then I’ll come find you again.” Laxus looked curious.
“Cain, are you trying to learn Dragon Slayer Magic?” Cain shook his head.
“No, I just want to research it.
After all, Dragon Slayer Magic is classified as a form of Lost Magic.
There isn’t a single record of its core formulas in the guild’s library.” Hearing this explanation, Laxus nodded, not thinking much of it.
The two boys strolled back to the guild together.
Gray, who had been heavily motivated by watching their high-level clash, had already left early to kick-start his own brutal training regimen.
In reality, Cain had only told Laxus half the truth.
His primary motivation for researching Dragon Slayer Magic was the ultimate final boss of this world: a dragon.
And it was a universally accepted rule in this world that only Dragon Slayer Magic could inflict meaningful damage on a dragon.
But from what he knew, there were only two known methods to acquire it.
The first was being personally raised and taught by a real dragon, like Natsu and the others.
The second was having a Dragon Lacrima artificially implanted into your body, like Laxus.
As to whether a third method existed?
Cain had no idea.
At the very least, up until the Grand Magic Games arc—which was where he had stopped watching the anime—those were the only two options.
Cain wanted to crack the code on why Dragon Slayer Magic possessed such a unique, devastating modifier against dragons, while standard magic struck their scales like a gentle tickle.
He couldn’t be entirely certain if his Holy Light Magic would be effective against a dragon.
If it worked, great.
But if it didn’t?
This research could very well become his ultimate insurance policy.
Over the next few days, Cain spent his free time meticulously sketching the Magic Circles for Laxus’s three primary spells: Lightning Dragon’s Roar, Lightning Dragon’s Breakdown Fist, and Lightning Dragon’s Heavenward Halberd.
“Man, this is a total nightmare,” Cain muttered, rubbing his throbbing temples as he stared at the sheets of paper covering his desk.
“Let’s try deconstructing it first.
I just need to isolate the Core Array.” However, after a thorough, microscopic analysis, Cain realized the difficulty was astronomical.
The underlying formula structure of Dragon Slayer Magic was fundamentally different from modern magical geometry.
This left Cain completely stumped.
Could it be because it’s a magic meant for dragons, so the array formulas are written entirely in the ancient Dragon Language?
If that’s the case, I’m in deep trouble.
Cain decided to camp out in the guild library to see if he could dig up any historical texts or Rosetta stones regarding the ancient lore.
While hunting for clues about dragons, he didn’t slack on his alchemical studies either.
An entire year slipped away in the blink of an eye.
Unfortunately, Cain’s research into the Dragon Slayer formulas yielded absolutely zero breakthroughs; he was still stuck at square one.
However, his progress in medicine and alchemy shot forward at a breakneck pace.
Originally, Cain had only focused on brewing basic potions.
But as his theoretical knowledge of magical herbs expanded, he naturally began to comprehend advanced medical and anatomical concepts.
Paired with the strict, no-nonsense mentorship of Granny Porlyusica, Cain’s medical capabilities experienced a massive surge.
In less than a year, he had completely mastered treating common illnesses, setting fractures, and closing standard lacerations.
Occasionally, Cain would set up a small table near Kardia Cathedral and offer free medical consultations and basic treatments to the citizens of Magnolia.
Because of this charity work, the name ‘Little Doc Cain’ became quite well-known throughout the city.
During this year, another major event shook the guild: Ivan Dreyar was officially caught running illicit schemes and forcefully exiled from Fairy Tail by Master Makarov.
Makarov never publicly detailed the exact nature of the crime, only stating that Ivan had committed acts that directly threatened the safety of the guild.
This execution triggered a massive wave of resentment from Laxus toward his grandfather.
His personality began its dark, brooding shift, though he notably maintained his close, friendly relationship with Cain.
Now ten years old, and with his combat capabilities officially recognized by Makarov, all safety restrictions on Cain’s request-taking were finally lifted.
Currently, he had accepted a high-paying request that required him to travel to the Bogoya Coast to harvest ten Marine Pearls and deliver them straight to Baron Ross’s manor.
The only reason Cain had been willing to take this specific job wasn’t just the hefty Jewel reward; it was because the client had listed a rare ancient manuscript as part of the completion bonus.
That ancient manuscript was Cain’s true target.
He hoped against hope that it might contain some records regarding the ancient Dragon Language.
The Bogoya Coast was a thriving seaside city, but it wasn’t the actual location of his harvest.
The target zone was a tiny, uninhabited island located roughly 20 kilometers off the coast.
After booking a room for the night to fully replenish his stamina, Cain chartered a small rowboat the next morning to head out to the island east of Bogoya.
According to the local boatman, the waters surrounding the island were plagued by jagged coral reefs and violent, unpredictable undercurrents.
It was incredibly treacherous, which was precisely why raw Marine Pearls fetched such an astronomical price on the market.
After surveying the area and confirming there were no immediate aquatic monsters nearby, Cain took a deep breath and dived headfirst into the ocean.
As he swam deeper, the bright sunlight faded, and a crushing, pitch-black darkness began to envelope him.
For an ordinary wizard, the greatest obstacles of this request would be underwater oxygen management and visibility.
But for Cain, these were complete non-issues.
Thanks to his rigorous physical conditioning and massive magic reserves, holding his breath for ten to fifteen minutes was a breeze.
As for visibility?
He casually cast a low-level Radiance spell, and a warm, glowing orb of light instantly illuminated the seafloor like broad daylight.
Because this treacherous reef was almost never visited by human divers, the Marine Pearls were practically lying out in the open.
Cain quickly gathered his quota of ten pearls, even pocketing a few extra for himself.
Nice.
I can take these extra ones back as gifts or sell them for pure profit, Cain thought happily as he kicked his legs to ascend.
Splash!
“Phew!
Finally out.
Man, nothing beats taking a deep breath of fresh air.” “M-M-MERMAID!!!
A male mermaid!!!” A shocked, trembling voice suddenly erupted right next to Cain’s ear.