Chapter 11: Absolutely Not!
Bang!
Natsu, drained of all color, lay sprawled on the ground like a lifeless doll.
His body may have been on the floor, but his soul looked ready to ascend — drifting upward as though he were moments from leaving this world behind.
The expression on his face was one of utter despair.
"That was a clean defeat," Cana said as she hugged her pet white cat, shaking her head in sympathy. "Poor Natsu. That's the second time he's been flattened today. What's gotten into him?"
Still, this time, Natsu didn't stay down for long.
He groaned and began writhing on the floor like a worm in pain, his face twisted in agony as he forced himself upright. Every inch of him screamed from the beating, and it showed.
Erza stood tall with her hands on her hips, not a hair out of place. She hadn't even drawn her sword — just used her fists to put Natsu down. Which, frankly, made it all the more humiliating for him.
But that didn't mean Natsu was weak.
Getting beat by both Morn and Erza didn't reflect poorly on his strength — it was more a testament to how absurdly powerful the two of them were.
Since joining Fairy Tail, Natsu had been hit hard with a reality check. Having spent so much of his life in the wild fighting beasts, he'd assumed he was strong — but stepping into human society had taught him something vital: There's always someone stronger.
"Still want to go another round?" Erza asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Her tone was calm, composed. If he wanted to keep fighting, she'd be happy to oblige — for as long as it took.
"Alright, that's enough, Erza," Morn said with a grin, raising his hand. He looked at Natsu, who was biting his lip so hard he couldn't even speak from the pain. "Let's stop here."
"Besides, Natsu still has literacy lessons later."
He patted Natsu's shoulder as if to console him, but that comment made Natsu's face twist even further — this time in dread.
"I-I can still keep going!" Natsu said weakly, raising his hand in protest.
Truth was, he'd rather get beat up again than suffer through more reading. Those weird symbols — they might as well be ancient curses. Just looking at them gave him a headache.
"Oh? You sure about that?" Morn's grin didn't budge as he narrowed his eyes at Natsu, his hand on Natsu's shoulder slowly tightening its grip.
Natsu winced as the pain returned to his face. "S-sorry, Morn! I'll study, I promise!"
He finally gave in.
He realized something important — if he didn't learn to read, he wouldn't even be able to take a job off the guild's request board.
"Now that's the spirit," Morn said, loosening his grip and patting him again. "Time's tight, so don't waste it. And don't forget — after your classes, it's meditation training."
Morn smiled as he grabbed the scruff of Natsu's neck and started dragging him away.
But Natsu still had some fight left in him.
"Erza! You just wait! One day, I will beat you!"
Dragged away by Morn, Natsu still had the nerve to clench his fist and throw a defiant glare at Erza, shouting one last challenge over his shoulder.
This guy truly never learns. Even after being thoroughly beaten, he still had the audacity to provoke Erza. Clearly, he hadn't been "taught a lesson" hard enough.
"I'll be waiting for your next challenge," Erza replied calmly.
She nodded in acknowledgment, unfazed by Natsu's threat. To her, it was nothing worth worrying about.
But on the side, Gray looked deeply moved. Seeing Natsu's unyielding spirit sparked something inside him. Clenching his fists, Gray suddenly leapt forward and pointed straight at Erza.
"Erza! I challenge you too!"
His face was full of determination — and a touch of desperation. He knew he probably couldn't beat Erza, but at the very least, he couldn't perform worse than Natsu!
"…"
Cana blinked in surprise as she watched Gray issue his challenge. What is wrong with these guys? she wondered. They knew they couldn't win, so why keep asking for a beating? Did they enjoy it?
She couldn't comprehend the behavior of either Natsu or Gray.
And oddly enough, ever since Natsu arrived, Gray had started acting strangely — or maybe it wasn't so strange after all.
Cana's instincts were right. Natsu's presence had awakened a fierce competitive streak in Gray.
Before Natsu joined Fairy Tail, Gray had been stuck in an awkward spot — not strong enough to rival Morn or Laxus, but easily able to beat the likes of Jet or Droy. That left him without much to strive for.
But now, with Natsu in the picture, Gray finally had a rival — someone close enough in strength to push him. And with their clashing personalities, it was inevitable. Neither would back down until they proved who was stronger.
Motivating the two had suddenly become very simple.
In the study room, Morn observed Natsu scratching his head and groaning in despair as he stared at the incomprehensible symbols on the page. He decided it was time for his trump card.
"Natsu, learning to read isn't hard at all. Even Gray picked it up easily. You don't want him calling you an idiot, do you?"
"Absolutely not!"
As expected, Morn's tactic hit home. The moment he finished speaking, Natsu literally caught fire — his head bursting into flames as he leapt to his feet, bursting with renewed energy.
"If that guy can do it, then so can I!"
With a loud shout, Natsu threw himself back into studying, scribbling away furiously. The squiggly lines that had once made him dizzy were no longer intimidating. He had to learn — he refused to be laughed at by Gray!
Natsu was the textbook definition of an instinct-driven creature — a "single-celled organism," so to speak. Dealing with him required no strategy, just a direct approach.
"Pfft~"
Next to Morn, a blue-haired girl giggled, her eyes curving into crescents as she watched Natsu burn with motivation.
"Levy, I'm leaving him in your hands. Make sure he doesn't slack off," Morn said, turning to the small girl beside him.
Levy was two years younger than Morn, and even a year younger than Natsu — just ten years old. Petite and adorable, she looked up at Morn with a bright smile as he patted her head.
"Okay, Morn! I'll keep an eye on him."
Her big eyes sparkled as she gave a serious nod, clearly enjoying the head-pat.
Levy was a bookworm through and through. Even at her young age, she was already learning several ancient languages. Her dorm room was practically a miniature library, and "sleeping on books" was her daily routine — literally.
To aid her studies, she'd even spent a fortune on a magical device called the "Wind Whisper Glasses," similar to Laxus' "Sound Jar." They allowed her to read books at up to 32x speed.
With Levy overseeing Natsu's learning, Morn had no worries. In fact, she might even be better at explaining the material than he was — and certainly more fun to learn from.
Though he'd left the supervision to Levy, Morn didn't go far. He sat cross-legged nearby, entering a deep meditative state. Meditation required full focus, so he couldn't divide his attention. Levy's help saved him a lot of trouble.