Chapter 102: Training Begins
"You're here. I just finished the setup. Natsu, Wendy, come and try it out. Natsu, go into the red-lined square. Wendy, go into the blue-lined one."
With curiosity and confusion, Natsu and Wendy entered their respective squares. The moment they stepped inside, they noticed the difference.
"What is this? There's fire coming out of the ground!"
"The air in here is even fresher!"
Seeing they had noticed the changes, Noah explained, "Because your Dragon Slayer magic is so unique, I set up special environments for you. Natsu, your area will have normal flames appear in fixed locations. Wendy, yours has an even higher concentration of Ethernano. The training grounds also have Gravity Magic, but I haven't turned it on for you yet. We'll turn it on when you're training on your own later. Wendy is still too young; we'll wait until she's a little older before using gravity training."
Noah paused, then continued, "Also, if you don't want other people watching you train, you can change the settings directly. All the functions I mentioned can be configured. The location is right here."
Noah pointed to a spot on the dividing line between their two squares. Natsu and Wendy looked down and saw a panel of text instructions on the ground inside their plots. Each line of text had a box next to it, some of which were already checked.
They both stared at it for a moment, completely unable to understand any of it. Tears began to well up in Wendy's eyes. "I... I can't read this. But Grandeeney already taught me how to read."
Noah slapped his forehead. "It looks like the first step is still teaching you literacy. The vocabulary your foster parents taught you probably doesn't appear here, which is why you can't read it. After training every day, you'll join the others to study common vocabulary. For now, just press your palm on that circle over there and infuse your magic power. You can let go when the whole circle lights up."
Natsu and Wendy did as he said. Soon, the entire circle lit up. Text began to scroll up from the dividing line of their respective plots, displaying various words before disappearing.
"This activates and links the plot to you. In the future, you'll have to input your own magic power to enter. The circle is the same, but it's on the ground outside the square," Noah said, pointing to the location. "When you come here, you'll first need to input enough magic power—about half of your total reserves—to activate the training ground. Everyone has to do this. Once you're able to go out on requests, you can bring back certain materials I need, based on your abilities. If you don't have materials, you can just provide magic power. Just think of it as the user fee for the grounds."
Natsu and Wendy both nodded. Noah thought for a moment. "That's all for now. You can learn about the other functions after you get stronger. I'll also be continuously updating this training ground's abilities. For now, I want you to use every Dragon Slayer spell you know so I can see how to train you. Your plots are currently set so anyone can enter. Later, when you learn how, you can set permissions for who is allowed in. Don't worry about breaking the grounds; with your current strength, you're not capable of damaging this facility. Just hit that wall rising up in the center. Natsu, you first. We'll watch from the side."
Noah pointed to a two-meter-wide, two-meter-high, and two-meter-thick stone wall covered in formulas that was rising from the center of Natsu's plot. Every plot here had such a thick training wall, specifically designed by Noah to be incredibly sturdy so he wouldn't have to constantly repair them. Each training plot was 20 meters long by 20 meters wide, with a "ceiling" set at 100 meters, which was enough space for most wizards to train.
Noah led Wendy, Erza, and the others to the edge of the plot. Natsu excitedly began to unleash his magic on the stone wall.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"
Natsu's spells slammed into the stone wall, causing it to ripple slightly. In the air next to the wall, a row of bars appeared. The bottom two bars lit up, and a third flickered briefly before going out. The flames that hit the wall scattered and were contained by the barrier at the edge of the plot, vanishing into the air.
After unleashing his entire arsenal, Natsu was panting heavily and drenched in sweat. He quickly ran over to the flames sprouting from the ground and began to eat them. After eating the fire, his condition visibly improved. Noah then walked over with Wendy and the others.
Natsu, looking at the spot where the flames had been, asked, "Is that it for the fire?"
"For now, I've set it to appear once every 20 minutes for one minute. You don't need to eat fire that frequently yet."
"Then what are these bars? Why did two of them light up?"
"That represents the power of your last attack on the wall. The more bars, the stronger the attack."
"So how many bars does Gray light up? What about Erza?"
"Gray hits three. Erza hits four."
"Damn it! I have to get stronger, fast!"
"You all go over to Wendy's plot first. I'll stay here and get Natsu set up, and then I'll be right over." Noah first set the gravity level for Natsu's training, then said to him, "You are not allowed to overtrain. This place monitors you. If your condition gets too poor, the field will shut down. Got it?"
"I got it."
"Good. We'll all head back together after training."
"Mhm."
After giving his instructions, Noah walked over to Wendy's plot. She was chatting with Ultear and the others and seemed to be getting along well.
"Wendy, show me the magic you know. Let me see... wait."
Noah vanished with his teleportation magic. Wendy looked confused. A moment later, he reappeared, holding a sphere of water with a fish swimming inside it.
"Your healing magic needs a subject. Let's try it on this fish."
"Mhm," Wendy agreed weakly.
Noah immediately used a jet of water to cut a small wound on the fish. He dispelled the water sphere, leaving the fish floating in the air, and told Wendy to begin. Wendy raised her hands toward the fish, and her magic flowed out. The wound on the fish began to heal, the change visible to the naked eye. However, by the time the wound had completely closed, Wendy looked exhausted. It was clear she had consumed a large amount of her magic power.
Seeing this, Noah knew exactly how he needed to train her.
~~~
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