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CHAPTER START---
"Oh crap, don't tell me we've got two of them now."
"I hope not, another destructive klutz like Gildarts is no good for my heart," Makarov says as he shakes his head.
Master Makarov was currently walking out of the back door, now changed out of his costume and back into some more casual clothes.
The full moon was slowly climbing into the sky, illuminating the lake, and a cool breeze was blowing against his moustache.
The young man beside him -who crashed into him when he returned to the guild hall today- was average height and sporting a head of short, spiky, blue hair. He was also wearing some casual clothes and a necklace with an iron 'S' as the pendant.
They were both walking out of the guild hall after a day of rehearsing and building parade floats, now strolling toward their pair of sleeping monsters.
Literally...
Both Gildarts and Oberon were asleep on the grass beside a small wood-fire.
"The kid seems a bit closed off for Fairy Tail, don't you think, Master?" the man asks, trying to be quiet.
"He'll warm up to how rowdy we are," Makarov says. "But you must also remember he recently lost everything he's known for the past 8 years, and anyone along with it. He's using Magic as a distraction, but the scars and pain are there. He only needs time..."
After a few moments, they silently approached the sleeping duo.
Standing above them they can hear Gildarts snoring, and looking at Oberon, they see some dirt and holes in his clothes already.
Inspecting the surroundings, Makarov sees a tree stump at the edge of the clearing, with the rest of the tree scattered about as perfectly sliced cubes.
'Well, at least Gildarts didn't destroy more than that with his Magic...' Makarov thinks.
"So, should I get some cold water?" The other man chuckles.
"No need," Makarov raises a hand and snaps his finger, aided by some subtle Wind Magic the snap echoes through the clearing.
"Uh!" Oberon wakes up, completely confused, trying to figure out what's going on.
"Ha!" Gildarts immediately throws a punch at nothing as he wakes up, sending a small gust of wind across the clearing.
Then both the dazed mages notice their guests. "Oh, hey Master, what's up?" Gildarts asks, as Oberon is still rubbing his eyes.
"Well, rehearsals are done. Everyone is about to go home to get some rest for tomorrow," Makarov said.
"Damn, guess our nap got out of hand," Gildarts says as he presses against the ground to get up.
Sitting only a meter from him, Oberon then observed what they had all subtly mentioned.
The most ridiculous and clumsy lack of Magic Energy control he'd ever seen, especially from such a powerful Wizard.
As Gildarts pushes off the ground, the earth below him glows.
"Crap," he mutters.
Makarov leaps backwards, clearing a dozen meters.
As he does so, both his hands and arms grow, stretching out to more giant proportions and grab Oberon and the other man with ease, moving them away with him.
The ground below Gildarts immediately breaks into perfectly cut cubes, and unfortunately, they were at the campfire rather close to the cliff-side.
"You could have grabbed me too!" they hear Gildarts scream as he and the rocks fall into the lake below.
"Gildarts!" Oberon yells out, watching in horror.
"He'll be fine," Makarov says as he puts them both down on their feet. "It'll take more than a little fall to kill that knucklehead. Now, tell me how your lessons went."
Oberon was still staring at the cliff-side until Makarov reaches out and shakes his arm.
"Like I said, he'll be fine. If a fall like that could kill him, then he wouldn't be S-Class, especially since it's into water."
"Plus, Gildarts is stronger than regular S-Class people either way, nothing to worry about, kid," the other man shrugs. "I'm Macao, by the way."
"Nice to meet you," Oberon says, still looking apprehensively at the cliff-side. "Well, if you say he'll be ok, I guess."
"Yes, now, how did the lessons go?" Makarov asks.
"Well, I still can't really sense Magic Energy...at all."
"Mhm."
"But at least I made a bigger funnel!"
"Uh, what?" Makarov asks.
"The thing with removing all the thoughts in your brain that don't let you take in as much Magic Energy as you should. I'm starting to figure it out, but it gives me a headache."
Makarov looks at him for a moment, puzzled, unsure of how to react, then he smiles. "Well now, it normally at least takes a week or two before someone gets it the first time, if they get it at all... took this brat two years," he gestures to Macao.
"Hey!"
Makarov ignores the man. "But you're clearly a talented little monster, and at 8 years old you're already less of a hazard to be around than Gildarts. That's a good sign. Although to be fair, most children break fewer things than him..."
"Ain't that the truth," Macao grimaces.
"You aren't supposed to use that technique while doing anything else, so it's fine that it's mentally taxing. It's meant to help you recover overnight or between periods of heavy Magic Energy use while on missions.
But with your personality, you'll probably use it more for recovering between training sessions. You see, since it requires you to focus on the flowing Magic Energy within the body, it makes many Wizards vulnerable to sneak attacks, so it's best to use it only when you know you're safe or with an ally who can protect you.
This goes double for you, since you can't sense Magic sneaking up on you will be incredibly easy compared to, well, literally anyone else. Your reaction to Magic will also be slower in fights since many Wizards subconsciously prepare for attacks and threats the moment they sense them, but you'll have to either see, hear, or feel them directly before your brain braces for the attack."
Macao winces. "That's definitely a nightmare for me. I've had so many times where the only reason I got out of the way was because I sensed an attack coming, makes me wonder if you should even go on any missions."
"I'm sure Oberon can figure out a way to compensate for such a severe disadvantage. Finding another way to predict or detect attacks isn't impossible, at least for someone with his level of Magic Energy control. I'm sure we'll all be impressed by how he overcomes this.
Oberon frowns and looks down at his hands. "Sensing Magic without being able to sense Magic."
"Problems for later," Makarov says. "Now, tomorrow I'm sure you'll be excited to come practice Magic here, so return to the guild first thing in the morning and I'll give you your lessons for tomorrow. I always open the building at 8 AM."
"Ok!" Oberon excitedly nods along.
"Right, and as for where you'll be sleeping tonight, my apartment isn't exactly big or hospitable since I literally only use it for sleeping, so..." Makarov gestures to Macao. "Macao will let you stay at his place."
"Yup." It takes a few seconds for Macao to process what he just heard. "Wait! What? No! I was gonna have some girls over later tonight!"
Makarov gives him a harsh glare, scaring the man into reconsidering his words.
"I mean, of course, I'm happy to have our rookie at my place."
"You don't have to do that if you don't want to," Oberon says sweetly. "The Rune Knights gave me some money so I can find a place, at least for tonight."
"Nah, it's fine, kid," Macao says. "You're part of Fairy Tail now, so it's the least I could do."
As they continue chatting for a bit, the sound of stone breaking calls their attention to the cliff-side.
Then they see Gildarts climbing over the edge, by digging his fingers into the rock and pulling himself up.
He was soaked, and clearly annoyed.
"You could have at least stopped my fall, Master," he says while trudging over to them, hugging himself and shivering.
As he joins the group, without a word Macao snaps his fingers and a purple flame appears in his hand. It then extends like a rope and floats around Gildarts. It makes a few loops around him, hovering just close enough to warm him up and dry him off.
"Ahh, thanks Macao," Gildarts releases a comfortable sigh.
"If you can't control your own Magic, you deserve to suffer some consequences. As a Wizard, that's how things should be. Just be happy you didn't destroy anything important this time."
"Yes, Master," Gildarts says before looking over at Oberon, seeing the boy's eyes wide as he stares at Macao's line of fire. "It's called Purple Flare. Pretty cool, right?"
"I don't remember seeing this in the fight earlier," Oberon says.
"That's because I was knocked out," Macao reminds him. "I slammed into Master Makarov at the door, remember?"
"Oh yeah! How does it work?"
"Well, it's like any other Fire Magic in the sense that it can burn and make explosions. Granted, it's a bit less powerful, but more than makes up for it in versatility," Macao says.
"What do you mean?" Oberon asks.
"Well," Macao looks at Gildarts, seeing the man is all dried up now. With a mental command, the flame retracts into his hand, then extends again like a rope, and hovers in front of Oberon. "Touch it."
"Huh?"
"Go on," Makarov says. "This is an important lesson."
"That fire hurts and I shouldn't touch it. I already learned that. I'm 8, not stupid."
"I meant a Magic lesson."
"Oh," Oberon immediately pokes the flame. But instead of being burnt, it feels like a gentle and comfortable warmth. He then grabs it with his entire hand and squeezes, and the fire moves like water in the way it reacts to him. "Wow, so it's not normal fire?"
"It is," Macao says as he retracts it, but keeps a flame in his palm. "But Fire Magic doesn't have to be all destructive and harmful. You see, Magic is us using internal energy we metabolize from the atmosphere and environment around us to create a change in the world around us.
Creating something like fire with Magic isn't the same as rubbing sticks together to make a fire. We get to determine the properties of what we make. Of course, not all Magic can do this, but since fire is the closest to raw Magic Energy, well, maybe lightning is but either way...
It takes fewer steps to make fire, which is why Fire Magic is so common and easy to learn. All I do is change the properties when I'm creating Purple Flame. This Magic was originally intended to be a flame that could change shape like you just saw, allowing the used to attack from different angles.
But by being able to also make it not burn things, I can also use it to grab onto things or people. See if you equate Magic fire to natural fire, you limit yourself to only destroying things. As Wizards we don't create fire. We just make an imitation that may be stronger or weaker, but just like we can change the strength, we can change the other properties.
This goes for most types of Magic that imitate nature, but sadly, most people are a bit too simple-minded to think outside of the norm like that. But you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone normal at Fairy Tail." Macao begins, laughing.
"Well said Macao," Makarov compliments him, seeing Oberon staring at the man in wonder.
"Mhm, now enough with the Magic lessons for today," Gildarts stretches his arms. "Macao, how about you and me go hit the town, see what beautiful ladies came to visit for the parade tomorrow, huh?"
"I'll meet you at our usual spot, after I get the kid to my place," he gestures to Oberon.
"Sounds good, I'll see ya tomorrow, your majesty," Gildarts ruffles Oberon's hair, much to his annoyance.
Oberon cutely pushes away Gildarts's hand."Okay, goodnight."
"Rest well, child," Makarov says.
"Alright, let's go." Macao gestures for Oberon to follow him. "We'll have to stop and get you some food since my place doesn't have anything. What kind of food do you like?"
Macao and Oberon quickly leave the backyard, leaving Makarov and Gildarts staring out at the lake.
"So, what do you think?" Makarov asks. "You spent a day with him, anything?"
"You mean aside from him basically having a disability? You seriously gonna let him go on missions like that?" Gildarts asks.
"It's not impossible to overcome. He'll just have to move slower and more deliberately."
"I still don't like it. A mage that can't sense Magic Energy might as well be a blind soldier... well, a deaf soldier."
"Anything else about it?"
Gildarts sighs. "You should know the rest by now. His Magic Energy control is even more insane than being unable to sense it. And what did you mean by what he sensed from the Dragon Lacrima wasn't exactly Magic Energy?"
"Dragon Lacrima are supposedly a piece of a dragon's being refined for human use. In the same way Magic can carry emotions, they have been said to awaken primal fear and other sensations in people around them. It would make sense that he felt that instead of actual Magic Energy."
"I guessed right, damn. His control is still even weirder, a mage with the ability to stop any Magic Energy from leaking out. Have you ever heard of someone like that before?"
"No," Makarov says, rather simply and without hesitation. "His unique Magic. Did you learn anything about it? How powerful is he right now?"
"Not really sure with that second question since, well, you know."
"Its hard to judge the strength of regular people against your own," Makarov sighs. "I'll just test it when the lessons start."
"But I noticed one thing, the kid never used Cosmic, at least to my knowledge."
"Well he said it simply enhances and mixes Light and Gravity Magic. Right, that gives a fair idea of what it can do."
"Yeah, hit hard. I recall him mentioning it takes a lot more Magic Energy to use that so breaking it into Light Magic and Gravity Magic is just more efficient."
"Mhm, well, I can study him closer after the parade, then properly plan his lessons accordingly."
"And how is the other kid we have running around the guild going to take that?" Gildarts asks.
"Hmm? You think Laxus will be jealous?"
"Well, a kid his age with better control of his Magic suddenly shows up and is getting personal lessons from his grandfather while having a Light Magic affinity..."
"I see your point, but I've also been teaching Laxus for the past few months. But just to be safe, I'll explain Oberon's situation tonight. Hopefully they'll be friends. Laxus doesn't have anyone else even close to his age in the guild, after all."
"Or maybe they'll hate each other and fight all the time."
"Don't even joke about that, the headaches that would cause me. I'd rather not imagine it!"
END CHAPTER---
Discord: discord .gg /eHuxNeZfyS [Come chat with me]
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
You.tube: @KeanuEugene [Giving away all my writing knowledge]