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CHAPTER START---
While sailing under the scorching sun toward Tenroujima Island, Master Makarov's boisterous laughter echoes out of the captain's quarters and across the deck. Some of the Wizards competing in the S-Class Trials are startled, looking up from their huddle for a moment before returning to their whispering.
Their strategic alliance meeting continues, hosting all the competitors of this S-Class Trial, with the sole exception of Oberon.
Macao remained silent during the meeting, merely nodding along. Unlike the others, he's seen Oberon fight firsthand on real Jobs and trained with him one year ago for the last S-Class Trial, so there was not an ember of hope for victory in his heart.
The S-Class Trial can only have one winner, and looking around, he didn't believe the other competitors, himself included, could even get past Oberon's obnoxious Barrier if the boy truly puts his back into the battle.
Their only advantages were the fact that they outnumbered him, but he expected Master Makarov to expect these tactics and plan duels instead of free-for-all brawls. And Oberon's pre-existing injuries. Torn flesh and muscle concealed beneath layers of bandages.
Injuries that would have most people spending months in bed, yet Oberon was below deck studying Magic as if it were just another day. The strategic discussion fades away as Macao recalls the first time he saw Oberon heal on a Job together, and he doubts those injuries would be there by the time they dock.
Another round of laughter pulls their attention to the captain's quarters, as if mocking their efforts against the inevitable, and Macao resigns himself to giving it his all in the next S-Class Trials.
In the captain's quarters, Master Makarov laughs while holding a baseball-sized Communication Lacrima in his hand. Sitting at the desk in this room, Laxus clutches an empty bucket, hollow cheeks and sunken eyes marking his exhaustion and dehydration.
The joys of being a Dragon Slayer at sea overnight. He looks up to see his grandfather smiling at the Communication Lacrima, before an angry, gruff voice snaps back from the other side.
"This is serious, Makarov!" the man says, although the Lacrima only showed his office. "I need that tablet, it's too dangerous to have them with the public!"
"That doesn't mean I'm going to risk my Guild Charter by revealing confidential information. If you told me why they were so dangerous, maybe I'd reconsider…"
"You know I can't do that," the man grumbles out.
"Then, as far as I'm concerned, you're just upset that my Oberon beat your Jura. How is the baldie taking it?"
"Tch, apparently your boy said something that got it into Jura's head that he should join a Wizard Guild, to get stronger and better fulfill our mission."
Makarov sighs. "Well, Fairy Tail doesn't usually accept losers…but I'll make an exception, since you're begging. From one Wizard Saint to ano—"
"He's going to Lamia Scale."
Makarov bites his tongue, wincing in pain. "You gave him to Ooba? That old bat!"
"It was his choice, the fact that I'm friends with both of you made Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail the best options. But Lamia Scale already has deep connections with certain historians and archeological societies on the four continents, they better suit our mission."
Makarov grumbles under his breath. "Whatever, Fairy Tail could dig up boring old rocks if we wanted to, just as good as Ooba."
"Makarov," the man's voice becomes calm and serious. "The tablets aren't something I can set aside so easily. I believe something big is stirring. Can we talk about this in person, in a more official capacity?"
"Important enough for a meeting between two Wizard Saints, huh. Alright, I'm going to Tenroujima for the S-Class Trials. We should be back at the guild within two days. You can show up after that."
"S-Class Trials? Would that boy, Oberon, be competing?"
"I already got enough lectures from my uncle Warrod about letting an 8-year-old become S-Class, so save it."
The man laughs. "No no. I'm glad he's competing, and I for one hope he wins."
"Why would you want that?"
"Sorcerer Weekly picked up the story about his battle with Jura, they'll be publishing it in next week's issue. That could damage Jura's reputation now that he's a Guild Wizard. But if the person who defeated him is a true prodigy, nobody would bat an eye at his defeat."
"Heh, I'm almost tempted to remove him from the trials just to stop that. But fortunately for you, I'm always a fair and just Guildmaster."
"From what I hear about that boy, if you were either of those things, you would have skipped the trial and promoted him, if for no other reason than to give your other members a real chance to advance."
"Sometimes life, and Magic, pick favourites, and Oberon is beloved by Magic."
"I'll see for myself when I meet him, until then."
"I'll be expecting you," Makarov ends the connection, setting aside the Lacrima and turning to Laxus. "Well?"
Laxus strains to focus his whirling mind, feeling his lunch trying to make an appearance with each passing second. "I hate boats."
Makarov pinches the bridge of his nose. "I meant about the conversation I just had. Laxus, I'm training you to not just be a Guildmaster, but to be the master of Fairy Tail. If you're half as powerful as I expect, that means you'll be dealing with the other Wizard Saints, pay attention. Now, what did you learn just now?"
Laxus gives his grandfather a dazed and confused look before dumping his lunch back into the bucket, groaning as he wipes his mouth. "I hate boats…"
Makarov rolls his eyes. "Dragons, legendary primordial beings of pure Magic. But Dragon Slayers, the Mages designed to kill such creatures…defeated by any wobbly ground."
"Boat—"
"I know, I know. And unfortunately for you, this is likely a permanent feature of being a Dragon Slayer. From what I hear through the grapevine, God Serena hates trains. He prefers to use his Magic and fly everywhere, even between continents."
Before Laxus could respond, everyone on the ship feels a calming warmth spread through them. They instinctively turn toward the southeast, even Laxus and Makarov, looking at the wall as if they could see through it to the sacred island on the horizon.
Below deck, standing in front of the mirror, Oberon wears only a pair of shorts while carefully floating the mirror in front of him. Ignoring his messy hair and tired eyes, focused on the left half of his body, which was almost entirely exposed muscles and leaking blood.
His skin had only now begun healing as he had become familiar with the poison that coated the sand and adjusted the flow of his internal Magic Energy to overcome such things from this point onward.
He winces, wishing the painkillers weren't also nullified by his healing while controlling the fresh bandages with Gravity Magic to dress his wounds.
"How is this place hotter than the desert?" Oberon mutters while carefully using Gravity Magic to clear the sweat from around his injuries. He hovers above the ground to wrap his left foot, then moves up his leg all the way to his shoulder and face.
Rapid and painful commands have his wounds dressed in minutes, electing to simply get it over with rather than drag out the process again. After yesterday's fiasco with Master Makarov and the others helping him, everyone decided it was best he took care of this himself.
Oberon adds a layer of Gravity Magic on his body to keep the bandages in place during any upcoming challenges, then forms his new Cosmic Barrier like a second skin, coating his body.
His previous Barrier only included Gravity Magic when applied subconsciously, causing energy-based attacks to penetrate it if he wasn't aware of them. However, after his battle in the desert, he figured out how to meld his Cosmic into the Barrier formula, creating an automatic defense that blocks even Light Magic surprise attacks from reaching him.
The cost of this is too great for most to pay. Even for Oberon with his absurd reserve of Magic Energy, he can only maintain this for a few hours at a time. His Gravity Barrier can remain indefinitely thanks to his constant and passively refilling Magic Container, achieved through mastery of the meditation exercise he learned after joining Fairy Tail one year ago.
This passive effect also causes him to automatically heal at a visible rate, but much slower than if he simply focused on the wound or injury. Both of these effects could remain active both subconsciously and indefinitely, even while asleep.
But until he masters the Cosmic Barrier, neither of these can be used passively, leaving his active time a mere few hours. Far superior to the time a regular Wizard can last in combat, as most lengthy fights end within minutes, but Oberon is never satisfied with being normal.
As he finishes dressing his wounds, ready to use this S-Class Trial to test out his new Cosmic Barrier and get some training done, Oberon senses a strange yet calming presence behind him, and turns to the southeast.
The calming effect instantly fades, replaced by worry and dread, as Oberon knows he's unable to sense Magic Energy to any extent, and the only memory he has of sensing anything beyond his biological senses, was the primal fear of Acnologia…
CHAPTER END---
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