Lucy took a deep breath, determined to give it a try. She closed her eyes, focusing inward on her magic source, attempting to guide the magic power to her feet.
Normally, summoning Celestial Spirits was a breeze, but redirecting her magic along a new path was like trying to herd a group of mischievous kids. She'd tell it to go one way, and it'd dart in the opposite direction.
Lucy frowned, sweat beading on her forehead from the effort. Her magic stalled at her thighs, stuck like it was nailed in place, refusing to budge no matter how hard she tried.
A bead of sweat slid down her cheek as she tensed up, her whole body rigid.
Just then, Roger's voice reached her ears. "Relax. Controlling magic is like catching a feather. The harder you try, the farther it floats away because of your force."
"Your magic is part of you, like lifting your hand. Keep it natural."
"Don't treat it like something separate. Feel it, guide it."
"Take deep breaths. With each exhale, let the magic flow downward a little."
Following his voice, Lucy inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly. Her tense body began to loosen, her shoulders dropping and relaxing outward.
She focused on her magic source again, imagining it as an extension of herself, gently coaxing it toward her feet like soothing a child.
This time, it felt completely different. Gone was the frustrating resistance. Instead, her magic flowed as smoothly as when she used her Celestial Spirit magic, effortlessly moving where she wanted it to go.
"I did it!!" Lucy's eyes snapped open, spotting a faint golden glow at her feet. But the next second, it flickered out.
"Ugh, it's gone again," she said, slumping in disappointment. "This is so hard. The moment I lose focus, it just stops. How do Erza and the others manage to do this while goofing around?"
"Pfft," Happy snickered, flying over and laughing without holding back. "Lucy, you're so bad at this~ Can't even do something this simple~"
A vein popped on Lucy's forehead. "What gives a meowing little cat like you the right to mock me?!"
"If you're so great, let's see you walk on water!!"
Happy smirked, flapped his wings, and soared over the ocean. He spun half a circle in the air before landing steadily on the water's surface.
Lucy's jaw dropped as she watched, stunned. The next moment, Happy started wiggling his body, breaking into a full-on breakdance on the water!
Pulling imaginary ropes, wiping invisible windows, his legs shaking wildly—Happy's performance drew a crowd of onlookers. Two minutes later, he finished his dance, and the crowd erupted in applause.
Happy placed his right paw forward, gave a little bow, then looked up at Lucy with a smug grin spreading across his face.
That smirk was like a dagger to Lucy's heart. She stared at the cat on the water, incredulous.
Happy?! He can walk on water too?! And he's freaking dancing on it?!
Happy flew back to her side, his voice dripping with sass. "Oh my~ Oh my, my~ No way, no way! There's not really a wizard who can't walk on water, is there?"
"Even a little cat like me can do it~"
"Some Celestial Spirit wizard's looking pretty lame right now~"
"Orz—" I'm worse than a cat?! Lucy felt like she'd been struck by lightning, collapsing to her knees on the sand.
A deep sense of defeat washed over her. Sure, the other guild members were strong, but they either had contracts with Roger or were way older, so Lucy had always felt her weaker skills were normal. But Happy? He wasn't contracted, and he wasn't old! Yet he'd mastered walking on water and could dance on it!
Her confidence took a brutal hit.
Happy kept gloating, spreading his paws. "As expected, Happy-sama is the greatest~"
Ugh! Lucy clenched her fists, dying to argue back, but she couldn't walk on water!
Fire sparked in her eyes. No way! I'm learning this today! I'll show Happy what a Celestial Spirit wizard's determination looks like!
She took a deep breath, marched to the shore, and focused on guiding her magic again.
Fail? Try again. Fall in the water? Climb out and keep going.
The sun sank from overhead to the horizon, the beach crowd thinning. By the time the sky turned orange-red, Lucy was finally standing shakily on the water's surface!
"I did it! I actually did it!!" she shouted, overjoyed, bouncing twice on the water.
Clapping came from behind. Lucy turned to see Mirajane and Erza, who'd appeared on the beach at some point, smiling at her. Mirajane clapped gently. "Congrats, Lucy! All that effort this afternoon paid off~"
Lucy puffed out her chest proudly, shooting a look at Happy. "See that, you blue furball? I learned to walk on water too!"
But Happy tilted his head, putting on an innocent act. "There's a lake right behind the guild. Why'd you have to practice here, Lucy?"
"We're only staying here two days, right? You wasted half a day of vacation time."
"And at a hotel that costs 500,000 jewels a night. Five. Hundred. Thousand. Jewels."
Lucy froze.
Oh… oh no. Why did she have to practice now?! Couldn't she have done this back home?!
500,000 jewels a night… and I spent it learning to walk on water…
She collapsed to her knees on the sand, letting out a wail of despair. "What was I even thinking?!"
Erza walked over, her face lit with excitement. She grabbed Lucy's head and pressed it against her freshly equipped armor with a clank.
"That was so inspiring, Lucy! You didn't even slack off on vacation—you kept training!"
"Ow, it's hard!" Lucy yelped, her neck trapped in Erza's grip, her head throbbing from the impact.
Why is Erza wearing armor on a beach trip?!
Erza nodded enthusiastically, her face full of praise. "I need to follow your example. Even on vacation, I should wear armor to train in my spare time."
"You've got half the Zodiac keys, and with this kind of dedication, I'm sure you'll become the strongest Celestial Spirit wizard someday!"
She clenched her fist, her eyes blazing. "No! If you train with me and get my extra coaching, you could be the strongest in no time!!"
Lucy felt like she was suffocating. She frantically tapped Erza's arm, gasping for air when Erza loosened her grip. She scratched her head sheepishly. "Haha, strongest? Nah, I'm not that good."
"Thanks, though," she said, about to agree to train with Erza when she heard Natsu and Gray muttering behind her.
"Lucy's gonna train with Erza?!" Natsu whispered, trembling.
"And get coached by her?! That's terrifying!!" Gray added.
"I trained with Erza once, and she broke eight of my ribs. I was bedridden for three days!"
"And she kept saying stuff like, 'If I were the enemy, you'd be dead, so I won't hold back!'"
Lucy broke out in a cold sweat, eyeing Erza's fiery enthusiasm. She took two steps back, waving her hands. "Uh, Erza—thanks for the offer! But I'm good training on my own!"
Erza slapped her chest plate with a clang, grinning confidently. "We're guildmates—there's no trouble at all! Don't worry, I've got it all planned out. Back at the guild, we'll train from 7 a.m. to noon, then 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.!"
"Fourteen hours a day, and in three months, I guarantee you'll hit S-Class!"
She rubbed her chin, musing, "Though, passing the S-Class exam is tough. Should we up the intensity?"
Lucy's jaw dropped. (O_O) That'll kill me! I'll definitely die!!
Seeing Erza seriously planning a "hellish regimen," Lucy glanced around in panic, her eyes landing on Happy, who was watching the drama unfold. She grabbed the smug cat and held him up, shouting, "I think just surpassing Happy is enough! I don't need to aim for S-Class!"
Happy dangled in the air, his tail stiff and paws flailing, whining, "Lucy's comparing herself to a cat? So lame~"
Lucy's eyes welled up. "Shut up! If I followed that three-month plan, I'd be dead!!"
Her mind raced for a distraction. "Uh, how long did everyone take to learn to walk on water?"
Happy perked up, wriggling free and landing on her shoulder, puffing out his chest proudly, his tail swishing. "Hmph! I took just three hours to walk on water—pretty fast for the guild~"
Gray crossed his arms, glancing at Natsu, who was spacing out, with a teasing tone. "Took me about three hours too. Way better than a certain idiot who took three whole days and still fell in with a splash."
"What's that, you ice-spitting jerk?!" Natsu snapped back to reality, rushing up to Gray's face. "I only took two days! Two!"
He crossed his arms, putting on a smug, "what can you do" face. "Oh, I get it. You're just jealous I became a Wizard Saint before you."
He spread his hands, grinning. "Guess being too strong makes people jealous~"
"Hah!" Gray's temple vein pulsed, sneering. "You? Strong? That's the best joke I've heard in a while."
Frost gathered in his hand, his eyes challenging. "Feeling proud of that magic you got from sneaking extra missions?"
"Wanna jog your memory about who got pummeled and cried, 'Dragon Slayer Magic's the strongest!' when they first joined the guild?"
"Oh yeah?!" Natsu slammed his left fist into his right palm, flames sparking around him. "You only joined a few days before me—what's there to brag about?"
"And I still surpassed you!"
"If I'd joined first, you wouldn't even see my shadow!"
"It's 'left in the dust,' idiot," Gray laughed. "You've got Wizard Saint magic but not a Wizard Saint brain."
He pointed skyward, mocking, "Don't forget an umbrella when it rains, and pick up food off the ground when you're hungry. Wouldn't want to be the first Wizard Saint to starve."
"You jerk!" Natsu grabbed Gray's collar. "Who're you looking down on?! If I'm hungry, I'd pick food off the table, not the ground!"
"Aye!" Happy covered his face, waving a paw. "Natsu, it's from a bowl, not the table—"
Lucy slapped her forehead, unable to watch anymore. "Are you guys idiots?! If you're hungry, you cook or buy food! Who picks it up off the ground?!"
Natsu and Happy froze, then said in unison, "Oh, right!"
Lucy's mouth twitched. "You two are hopeless…"
She blinked, suddenly curious. "Wait, you and Natsu are both Wizard Saints now? How big's the gap between S-Class and Wizard Saint?"
"Huge," Gray said seriously, brushing off Natsu's grip. "I feel like I could take on a hundred S-Class versions of myself now."
He held out his hand, a piece of ice forming, radiating intense cold. "It's not just the amount of magic—it's the quality too."
"When we beat Joseph and gained his magic, my magic source felt like it exploded, expanding and condensing. Now, 50 points of magic make ice that's colder and tougher than what 100 points used to do."
"No way!" Lucy's mouth fell open. "That's insane! When I went from B-Class to A-Class, I didn't feel that big a change!"
Roger chimed in. "The higher the rank, the bigger the jump in magic quality. You only really feel that transformation at the Wizard Saint level."
Lucy nodded, half-understanding, then turned to Erza and Mirajane. "So, what level are you two at now? Wizard Saints too?"
"Nope," Mirajane said with a cheerful smile. "After fighting Joseph, our magic broke through to another level."
She tapped her cheek, looking puzzled. "But there doesn't seem to be a name for the next rank. I asked the guild master, and even he wasn't sure."
Lucy's eyes widened. "What?! Even the guild master doesn't know?! Is there really a next level, or is Wizard Saint the top?"
"There is," Roger said. "I call it the Nation-Breaker level—strong enough to destroy an entire country single-handedly."
Lucy's jaw dropped. "(O_O) Destroy a country?! All by yourself?!"
Roger nodded calmly. "Yup. At Nation-Breaker, your magic quality leaps again. A spell that used to take 100 points of magic now needs only 10, but it's way more powerful."
"The Nation-Breaker level has three stages. Each stage brings another qualitative leap, and someone at a lower stage can't compete with the next."
Mirajane tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, it's like in those cultivation novels. Wizard Saint is like the 'Great Ascension' stage, and Nation-Breaker is the 'Tribulation' stage."
"And each stage of Tribulation could be split into early, mid, and late Tribulation?"
Roger paused for a few seconds, then nodded slowly. "You could put it that way."
"Great Ascension? Tribulation?" Lucy, who'd never read a cultivation novel, was totally lost.
Happy wagged his tail sagely. "See, Lucy's such a newbie~ Never even heard of this stuff~"
"Oh, really?" Lucy pointed at Natsu, who looked equally clueless. "Looks like a certain 'veteran' doesn't get it either."
Erza summed it up. "Basically, after Wizard Saint comes Nation-Breaker, with three stages, each one a huge leap in strength."
Natsu slammed his fist into his palm, eyes gleaming. "Got it! Just keep getting stronger—super strong—and I'll hit that Nation-Breaker thing!"
Lucy sighed. "I can't tell if you understand or not…"
Mirajane glanced curiously at the keychain on Lucy's waist. "I've always wondered, Roger, can you use Lucy's Celestial Spirit keys?"
"Huh?" Lucy blinked, unsure. "Probably not, right?"
"Roger's got Celestial Spirit magic now and became a Celestial Spirit wizard, but my spirits are all contracted to me. Other wizards can't use my keys."
"So Roger probably can't summon my spirits, right?"
"Really?" Mirajane tilted her head. "But every time I take on a new demon form, Roger can use it too. So I thought maybe he could use your keys."
"If you're curious, let's find out," Roger said, holding out his hand.
"Who can you summon today, Lucy?"
Lucy hesitated, then pulled the Virgo key from her waist and handed it to him. "Everyone except Loki is available, but Virgo might be the best fit."
Roger took the key, channeling his magic. He held it to his chest and turned it gently.
[Open the Gate of the Maiden: Virgo]
Ding!
A massive golden magic circle flared beneath Roger's feet, its radiant light nearly covering the entire group. Intricate patterns swirled, pulsing with powerful magic.
Lucy's eyes went wide. "(O_O) No way! He actually summoned her?!"
"And that magic circle's, like, way bigger than mine!!"
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