Kazu nodded. "Yup. After seeing you create the One Hit Ko, I was pretty inspired that there are more smart ways to progress."
Cana stared at him for a few seconds before nodding to herself. "Yup, yup. I am just that awesome for you to take inspiration and create such an awesome technique."
She then strongly 'patted' Gray. "See? You should learn from me."
Gray deadpanned. "But, you didn't even do anything."
"That's the point. Just my presence is enough to cause change." Cana lifted her head, as if actually feeling proud.
'Is she actually proud or is she joking?' Even Kazu couldn't tell what Cana was actually feeling.
"Ehh.." Kazu turned to the blue-haired girl.
"Yes?"
"Is the technique inspired by you know interference phenomena that happen in waves, like sound or light?"
Kazu blinked. "...Yeah." 'She even knows that? I only came to know it due to my school material, that also when I was 14ish?... Guess, she really loves reading stuff.'
Levy looked at him in wonder. "That's awesome. You said that this is the first of two. Does this mean that the other technique is 'Constructive Interference'?"
Kazu nodded in respect. "Yup, exactly. I have yet to start working on it, but the idea is the same. Instead of destroying the spells, it would work on amplifying them."
"What exactly are you guys talking about? What's Interference?" Gray made a confused expression.
Erza and Cana nodded along with him.
"Well..." Kazu thought for a few seconds to explain in simple terms.
"Hmm, I don't know in detail, but I saw the term in a novel I was reading. So, to understand that, I did some research. Basically, imagine a door. What would happen if Cana and Gray tried to push the door from opposite ends?" Before Kazu could say anything, Levy beat him to it.
"The door will open for me. She will get pushed back." Gray said, throwing a smug look to Cana.
"Yeah? You want to try." Cana snorted.
"You guys..." A vein popped on Erza's forehead.
The other two shut their mouth, stopping any bickering they would have normally done.
'When did this happen?' Kazu looked at the scene in surprise.
"Right. That wasn't the point I was trying to make. Imagine two people with similar strengths trying to do that. What would happen?"
"The door won't budge," Erza answered.
Levy nodded. "And what if two people tried to open the door from the same side?"
"It would open twice as fast."
"That's it. Kazu is doing that with magic particles. He creates a pattern similar to your spell, but it goes against your spell, such that it effectively nullifies it."
"So... shouldn't it be easier for him to like double the output of a spell?" Gray turned to Kazu.
"Well, the principles are the same as what Levy said. But, the thing is, creating a pattern that would exactly oppose or amplify a spell is... a bit tricky. They are quite different, let's say that."
Gray nodded.
Cana made a pondering expression. "I guess I will try to create a proper copying aspect of my card magic. It's worth it even if it takes months."
Though others didn't say it, their feelings were similar. They would be exploring different ways to create a technique, which would give them high returns.
"That's cool, though, do remember that the chances of failure are pretty high. I wasn't actually expecting any success until the end of this year, even then, not much. I guess I lucked out a bit, but you guys might not get that luck.
For that, I would recommend you all to get whatever you could from the training process, such that at any point if you want to quit, you could do with having something on your plate, rather than nothing."
Erza tilted her head, "Getting whatever from the process...?"
"Hmm, what I mean is that, like, let's say at this point, I didn't complete this technique, and I want to quit. Then, I could say that my control over Ethernano had increased considerably, which has increased my overall combat power. So, my last few months weren't a complete waste."
"I see. I will keep that in mind." Erza seriously said.
"Anyway, let's throw a party at the tavern. It's a pretty good occasion." Cana clapped her hand, attracting everyone's attention.
"Yeah, Kazu did create a pretty good technique. It's definitely a good occasion." Gray nodded.
"I am not paying...right?" Kazu looked at the two.
"Boo! You are so stingy despite earning so much here." Cana was the first one to retort.
"Just kidding. The tab is on me." Kazu grinned. He then said to Erza, "Also, you haven't told us how your first solo mission went?"
"Right..."
---
3 days later.
Kazu was sitting on the riverbank, watching the river.
"What is it?" He asked without turning back.
"Whoa...How can you tell I was here?" Cana raised a brow.
"Instincts."
"You always say that whenever I ask a question like that. You should get more creative with your excuses." Cana shook her head, not believing him.
"..." Kazu didn't know how to react to it. Though he had kept his Instinct magic a secret, he wasn't technically lying.
"Anyway, a new member of our age joined."
Kazu rolled his eyes. "Bruh, I told you before, but you should only inform me about such things if something unique happened. Last time, you also said the same thing about 2 people joining."
'I thought some important characters had joined, but it was just Jet and Droy.'
"You should hear me fully before criticising." Cana folded her arms.
"Yeah? Sure, go ahead." Kazu sarcastically quipped. The same scene had already happened 3 times inthe past few months.
"Well, the guy is also strong. He almost beat Gray. Also, he was saying something about dragons."
Kazu's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Wait... what date is today?" He said as he quickly got up from the ground.
"9th July... 9th July x777" Cana took a step back. 'Why is he reacting like that? Does he know something?'
"Fuck! There was an ice-cream shop that was supposed to open yesterday. It's one of the famous throughout the entire Fiore and decided to open their branch here." Kazu made a disappointed expression.
"Oh... The shop, which was called something like... Ice-dragons?" A look of realisation dawned on Cana's face.
"Dessert Dragons." Kazu corrected her.
"Well, we could go today..." Cana shrugged.
"Yeah, though I did talk with Erza about going together. How about going in a group?"
"Sure. Let's go to the tavern first." With that, Cana turned around and started walking.
Kazu smirked as he followed behind. 'Sometimes I think I should be an actor...' He internally shook his head at the cover-up he made for the accidental slip he had made about the date.
'Anyway, Natsu is finally here. I really want to meet him.' A grin found its way on Kazu's face.
Saying that he was excited would be an understatement. Natsu was his second favourite character in the entire series.
'The aura farming he did in the Final series was just so... satisfying. Like melting steel around him easily. Like, how much temperature does it require? 5000 degrees Celsius? Then, there was melting the entire lake with just one roar. What level of power scale is even that? I don't even think a Wizard Saint could do that.'
The more Kazu thought about it, the more he felt excited. 'I wonder if I will be able to reach that level. It's almost so gratifying seeing a person's progress over the course of months or years.' This was one of the main reasons Kazu had been diligent in training.
Just seeing the difference between his current self and the version who joined the guild 3 years ago is like the difference between day and night.
"Why are you grinning like that?" Cana furrowed her brows.
"Just excited about the ice cream. After hearing about them using magic in their techniques, I really want to see how it would be."
"...Maybe we should first go to the shop directly. We could come the second time with the others." Seeing Kazu's enthusiasm and her own curiosity about the taste, Cana also wanted to taste it.
Kazu threw her an astonished look. "Uhh...Even though I agree with you, unfortunately, if somebody came to know that, I would be setting a bad example, so no."
"What type of argument is that?"
They soon reached the tavern.
Just as Kazu was going to open the door, he heard a sound from the backyard.
A familiar yet unfamiliar sound.
'It's quite weird that he sounds similar to how he sounded in the anime? Or are my memories messing with me?' Kazu walked towards the backyard.
There stood a boy bickering with Gray.
Pink hair in the wind.
Scales at his throat.
A child raised by a dragon.
A brother who was supposed to be dead.
An identity unknown even to himself.
Etherious.
Natsu.
Dragneel.
E.N.D.
***
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