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CHAPTER START---
After nearly an hour of Master Makarov giving Oberon a guideline of what spells he should focus on to begin his training, he got a quick breakfast at the guild hall bar and rushed into the backyard.
Eager to get to work, and to get away from the loud Fantasia Parade preparations.
Now Oberon was in the backyard, eating a chocolate bar while reading the Light Magic and Gravity Magic Grimoires.
He has his legs crossed while sitting on the ground, both books floating in front of him.
Occasionally he'd read a few lines from the open Grimoires, then glance down at the large and empty book in his possession.
The cover was blank, as was the spine.
A simple blue book, the same size as the journal Master Makarov showed him earlier, but this one was blank.
Another gift from the Master, to detail his own journey to the summit of Magic.
It also serves as an easy way for Master Makarov to check up on his progress.
Reading a few lines from each book, he takes a few notes into his mostly empty journal.
"I see, so the problem was me trying to mix them instead of simply manifesting it as a separate entity entirely," Oberon mutters as he stops writing to re-read a page from each Grimoire.
Oberon carefully re-read the spells he was trying to learn, then sighs and lets go of his journal.
It and the pen he was using float in place as he leans back and lay on the soft grass behind him.
Closing his eyes, he focuses on his Magic Energy, recalling the instructions for the spells.
"Collect my Magic Energy, expel it outward while giving it shape and structure. Manifest my intent. To boost the efficiency, I need to make the structure more intricate at a microscopic level. Uh… or just add more Magic Energy. Yeah, that'll probably work for now.
Well, I guess I could ask Master about the structure part. He'd probably know how to do that. But for now, maybe I should just use the Magic Energy method. Building a thicker wall until I can somehow build a 'better' wall."
Oberon holds his head, "why does Magic have to take so long to learn!" he screams out, then sighs and spreads out on the floor.
"Why does learning structured Magic have to be this hard... the way I did it before was so much faster and easier..."
"And wasteful and less efficient and unfocused—"
He opens his eyes to see Makarov floating above him, just a meter off the floor.
"And would take at least 5 times as long to get to a useful stage for a powerful Wizard," Makarov says.
By now, Oberon sits up, staring at the floating Wizard with wide eyes. "You're flying!"
"Ahh, so your eyes do work," Makarov chuckles. "I wanted to see if you could detect my approach without hearing my footsteps." With that, he drops to the floor, standing before the boy.
"Why?"
"Because if you decided to lay down like that on a mission, well, if I were an enemy Wizard, you'd be dead..."
"Oh, right," Oberon frowns. "Which is why you have me learning Light Barrier and Gravity Barrier first, I know."
Makarov walks beside him and drops down to sit in the grass, observing the three floating books.
"You aren't going to ask me to teach you Flight Magic?"
"If I learn that, you won't give me your Magic Journal," Oberon says.
"Mhm," Makarov gestures to the three floating books. "Such fine control of small objects, yet you can't properly fly. Why is that?"
"I don't like heights," Oberon says plainly.
"Really?" Makarov twirls his mustache. "The Magic Council told me that the Rune Knight stopped you from throwing yourself off the mountain. You didn't seem scared of heights then."
Oberon stiffens up. "They told you about that?"
"Well, they showed me a Memory Lacrima from the soldier," Makarov says. "I can't blame you, or speak for what you've felt. I'm sure in that situation, having lost as much as you did, most people would welcome the edge of a mountain like that.
But life is a gift, and to endure is to win. We only fail when we give up, so part of me is glad you're now scared of heights again. And I obviously hope you never experience turmoil like that again."
They both sit quietly for a moment, enjoying the view of the lake.
"I didn't think there was anything else in the world for me," Oberon says. "I thought that was it."
"Mhm, and has that changed? I certainly hope so."
"Yeah." Oberon furrows his brows. "I never want to feel like that again. I want that when I'm around, nobody important to me will be taken away, not even if Acnologia shows up again."
"That's an excellent dream to have, and it will temper your ambition."
"What?"
"Well," Makarov takes a moment to gather his thoughts. "To reach the summit of Magic you must have a selfish desire to become your greatest self. To surpass your greatest self, to surpass everyone. But that desire and ambition can be easily corrupted and lead you down the path of Dark Magic and evil. Having people you wish to protect tempers that desire with a spark of good, while not simply making yourself a tool to serve others."
"Because you would make them cry if you turn evil," Oberon says.
"Exactly, that would be a very sad thing for everyone."
They enjoy a peaceful moment watching the lake until Makarov gestures to the floating books. "You know, you can't fight a Dragon if you can't fly, otherwise they'd simply go into the sky and use their breath attacks on you."
"You don't have to rub it in." Oberon folds his arms.
"Heheh, can't sense Magic Energy and you're afraid of heights. No Wizard girls are gonna like you at this rate!" Makarov erupts in a hearty laugh.
"Good! That gives me more time to learn Magic!" Oberon looks away from him.
"You say that now, but in 5 years when puberty hits it'll be a whole other story," Makarov continues laughing.
"Yeah right," Oberon was adamant he'd never be interested in girls. He was very, very wrong.
"So, how has Magic training been going? Have you memorized the steps yet?" Makarov asks.
"Oh, I did the spells already, but making the Cosmic version is pretty tough," Oberon says casually, ignoring Makarov's shocked expression as he continues rambling. "I used to just go with the flow and make the barriers, but now that I actually have to apply a structure, it's harder.
I can feel that it's already stronger than what I was doing, but it's just so annoying because my Magic still wants to do it how I've been doing it for years. Also, there was something about adding a structure to the barrier when forming the Magic. It had a diagram in it, but I still haven't wrapped my mind around that.
But that's for just the Light Barrier obviously. For the Gravity Barrier all I need to learn is how to regulate it at and position it exactly where I want it. Since it isn't a physical construct like the Light Barrier it's harder to position because I can't see it and the ground and air don't react unless the Magic starts pushing the ground away.
But I also need to figure out how to properly gauge the range and expand or shrink it without wasting Magic Energy, so I'm trying to—"
"Enough!" Makarov puts a hand over Oberon's mouth. "While I appreciate your enthusiasm for learning Magic, let's take things one step at a time, please."
Oberon just stiffly nods as he removes his hand. "Ok."
"Right, so you're telling me you've already done both the spells?"
"Well, my versions, but yes."
'This boy might be the most problematic of all my brats,' Makarov thinks as he gets up. "Alright, show me."
"Ok!" Oberon hops to his feet and waves his hand.
Both Grimoires and the journal float over to Makarov, and he holds them in his arms.
Makarov watches as Oberon carefully stands, spreading out his feet and thrusting his hands forward.
Closing his eyes he focuses, and Makarov can sense his Magic Energy, for the longest he's ever sensed it.
Because the Magic Circle at Oberon's feet stays the entire time the spell is being cast.
Even as a circular Light Barrier appears in front of him, glowing with golden light and very transparent.
Makarov's eyes widen in elation and absolute horror as he makes a few more realizations.
'On one hand, I've lucked into some kind of monstrously talented Wizard, and Mavis like him so maybe he'll be S-Class... but if he's anything like my other brats, or worse, Gildarts... I won't be able to afford the damage he causes!'
Oberon maintains the Light Barrier for a few seconds before dropping it and taking a few deep breaths.
"And how does the Gravity Barrier look?" Makarov asks, keeping a stoic façade the entire time.
"Just one second," Oberon says as he repeats the process, but this time nothing appears in front of his hands. "It's invisible, but I promise it's there," he says with some obvious strain in his voice.
"Mhm," Makarov points toward where the barrier would be with one finger, and fires an ice crystal from his finger at it.
The pebble-sized crystal shatters against seemingly nothing before Oberon drops the spell.
As he takes a few deep breaths, Makarov collects his thoughts.
'Those spells were supposed to take at least 2-3 days each, but he learnt the basics of them in a few hours. It's not unheard of considering his affinity, but still, at this rate and factoring his current Magic Energy capacity.
If he continues training this aggressively, it won't be much more than a decade before he overtakes Gildarts...'
"So, what do you think?" Oberon asks as Makarov gets up and walks over, leaving the books on the grass.
Fairy Tail Grimoires were all enchanted to resist water, fire, dust, and dirt, so they'd be fine.
Makarov walks over and thinks for a moment before casually snapping his finger.
A perfect circle of solid golden light appears before them.
"Woooww," Oberon immediately touches it, noticing it's much more magically dense than his.
"Well, I am a master of Light Magic. What did you expect," Makarov gloats.
"Yeah, well, you've had a hundred years to practice."
"I'm not that old!" Makarov rolls his eyes. "The problem I detected in your spell is that of layering. You see, my spell is much more magically dense, meaning I put more Magic Energy into it, but I also structured my spell in my mind much differently.
You see, when we create constructs, even the ones made of energy, if you want them to be as sturdy as possible you have to envision them from the smallest level. Imagine building blocks stacking onto each other to form your shield, or if you want the most durable kind, try hexagons or triangles stacking onto each other.
Spheres work too, but just don't smash the Magic Energy together as if pouring it into a mold because that will be less efficient and weaker. That's what most people do.
As for the Gravity Magic, well, I'm not able to use that but as you learn more of Light Magic you can transfer many of the lessons into Gravity Magic.
Usually, this wouldn't be the case, but since you divided Cosmic to get Light Magic and Gravity Magic, it should be fine. Make the Light Spells into Cosmic Spells, then reverse those back into Gravity Magic."
"So it would be like you're teaching me Gravity Magic at the same level. I get it, that's really smart."
"Well, I am your Master for a reason," Makarov cancels his spell. "Now, show me the Cosmic edition of this spell. What would you call it, Cosmic Shield? Cosmic Barrier?"
"Well, the book had the spell as Light Barrier and Gravity Barrier, but... they seem more like a shield, right? Barriers sounds like they'd protect me from all sides."
Makarov shrugs, "It's your Magic, call it whatever you want. But if you want to make ridiculously long and stupid names, just ask Gildarts for advice on that."
"Why would I ever need that? I'm the only person that would know the names."
"Not necessarily," Makarov says. "Speaking the name of a spell often helps Wizards focus their Magic Energy, and some people just like to be dramatic. But personally, I prefer to strike first and talk afterward."
"That makes more sense to me, too."
"I do recommend speaking the name if your Magic is destructive, however, at least when you're fighting with allies. It gives them precious time to avoid it."
"But so will the enemy."
"Yes, but hurting an enemy is never worth hurting a friend, remember that."
"I will."
"Good, now on with the Cosmic edition, I want to see this..."
"Ok!" Oberon excitedly takes the same stance, focusing his energy, then feels a hand on his side.
"Don't mind me, just studying to flow of Magic Energy in your body, to maybe fix that efficiency issue you mentioned earlier."
"Oh, ok," Oberon gets back to the spell.
As the Magic Circle appears, Makarov immediately feels his own hand begin to subconsciously expel Magic Energy, in response to what Oberon is releasing.
'What the hell?!' Makarov's eyes open in surprise at this, before he immediately reigns in his Magic Energy.
He then sees Oberon manifesting a circular barrier in front of him, only a meter wide, but he could already feel the structure of this spell was much more complex than the others.
'He implemented my lesson immediately, I see. Perhaps the gods game him that Magic Energy sensing disability and a negative affinity with so many Magics, to make up for this freakish talent and the absurd amount of raw Magic Energy.
I can feel Cosmic taking more than the combined total of his other Magics, granted it's a more refined version of the spell that would take a bit more Magic Energy, but this consumption is absurd.
Nobody else his age would have this much Magic Energy... maybe Laxus if he pushed the limits of his Lacrima...'
Makarov sees the spell complete, and he almost gets lost in the beauty of it.
As if part of the cosmos appeared in front of them, a wonder that was truly mesmerizing.
Void black and seemingly filled with stars shining in the distance. They even shone in more than one color. Not simply black and white, as if it were a vision into space.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think that's a portal to a sea of stars," Makarov says in genuine wonder and amazement.
He then steps away from Oberon, who immediately drops the spell.
"Whew, not bad, right?" Oberon asks.
"Well, it's a lot better than that," Makarov walks to the edge of the cliff, which has since been repaired after Gildarts's blunder.
Oberon follows a few steps behind him.
Makarov stands at the edge and looks back, "No need to fear the edge my boy, with your Master here you won't slip and fall in, besides, it's water down there, you can just swim to the shore..."
"I can't swim," Oberon says as he slowly approaches the edge.
"Really?"
"I lived on a snow-covered mountain. Why would I be able to swim?"
"Good point. I suppose I didn't think of that," Makarov admits as Oberon stands beside him, and he feels the boy tightly grip his shoulder.
"Now, regarding your Magic. Don't let this go to your head, but I had actually hoped you wouldn't be learning quite this fast, gives me more time to prepare you to survive Wizard Jobs."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I expected this kind of progress, for you to be able to manifest all three versions of the spell after maybe a week or 2, not 5 hours," Makarov sighs. "It seems I've been blessed with by far my most talented student yet, not to mention the amount of raw Magic Energy you have is quite worrying."
"Sorry..."
"Nothing to be sorry for. This is great news. I simply underestimated your innate affinity for these Magics."
"I guess I'm pretty good at this, huh?"
"That's quite the understatement. Just don't go around destroying things like the other brats. If you did that with your Magic, my heart would really explode."
"I'll be extra careful, promise!"
"Good, and regarding your raw Magic Energy, it seems different."
"How?"
"Well, when I was sensing you earlier, it began drawing out my own Magic Energy, but not to absorb. It was more like my Magic saw it as some kind of threat and reactively leaked out to counter it. Quite troublesome if you didn't have some terrifyingly good control of it."
"I'll be extra careful with it, oh, and maybe I'll be able to focus even that bit of Magic Energy into my spells. So I'd waste even less."
"Good idea. Other mages can't finely control their Magic Energy like that so we always waste a bit, but you should be able to manage that feat."
For a few minutes, Oberon and Master Makarov went back and forth, with him explaining the next steps to refining the spell-casting process.
And the boy just got more excited as the explanation went on.
And far behind them, through one of the windows of the guildhall, a young boy only a few months older than Oberon.
Blonde, with a lightning bolt-shaped scar over his right eye, watched his grandfather talking to the newest guild member.
'Why is he spending so much time with this new kid...' Laxus wonders as he narrows his eyes at them.
Meanwhile, Makarov had finished explaining the next steps Oberon had to take.
"Ahh, well, I should get back to rehearsals now. You should get something to eat from the bar soon. Enno will be busy with rehearsals before long."
"Oh, I'll just try the spells a few more times then."
"Good good, now, swimming or flying, I wonder which you'll learn first," Makarov rubs his chin and closes his eyes, deep in deliberation.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, one way to find out..."
Before Oberon could realize what happened, he was pushed off the cliff by an enlarged hand.
As if time slowed, he quickly realized what happened, looking down to see the lake 100m -300ft- below him, and suddenly it was rapidly approaching.
"AHHHHHH!!!"
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]