"Also, just call me EZ," Ezreal said with a gentle smile. "Since we both use Summoning Magic, if you encounter any problems while practicing Celestial Spirit Magic, you can come to me. I have some accomplishments in Summoning Magic, so I should be able to help you with common issues."
Levy pulled her chair closer to Lucy. "EZ is being too modest. He's the strongest summoner in our guild, and in all likelihood, he might also be the strongest summoner in the entire Kingdom of Fiore."
Droy, who had been busy eating, also chimed in, "Don't let this guy's refined appearance fool you. I haven't heard of any summoner stronger than him within the Kingdom of Fiore."
Lucy looked at Ezreal in astonishment, completely surprised that this kind, smiling blond young man was so powerful. "Mr. EZ is such an amazing person!"
Ezreal smiled. "It's just because there aren't many people practicing Summoning Magic in the kingdom."
"Celestial Spirit Magic has immense potential. Each of the Zodiac Celestial Spirits possesses great power. If you practice diligently, you will also become very strong."
Ezreal's tone was very serious. He truly approved of Celestial Spirit Magic and believed in Lucy's potential.
After Jude witnessed his beloved wife pass away from a lack of magic, he was hesitant about Lucy pursuing the path of a Mage for safety reasons.
The Heartfilia Merchant Guild was a powerful force within the kingdom, with astonishing financial resources. From Jude's perspective, Lucy had no need to practice any magic.
Therefore, the courses arranged for Lucy were all to lay the foundation for her to take over the merchant guild in the future.
Lucy's current weakness was because she hadn't had the opportunity to properly practice magic since her mother passed away, so her weakness was quite reasonable.
However, Lucy's talent was not bad.
The Heartfilia family, starting with Anna Heartfilia, known as the Great Celestial Spirit Mage, was a Grand Mage who had collected all the Zodiac keys and could communicate with dragons as equals.
Since Anna, her descendants have practiced Celestial Spirit Magic for generations, spanning over four hundred years. Their family's constitution has long since changed, making them practically Celestial Spirit Magic Saints.
Lucy's talent is at least on the same level as Gray and Mira.
With her potential, she could definitely become an S-Class Mage with diligent practice, and as the heroine of Fairy Tail, it's not impossible for her to even reach the level of her deceased ancestor, the Great Celestial Spirit Mage.
Celestial Spirit Magic and Dimensional Summoning both belong to Ancient Magic. As long as a Celestial Spirit can successfully open its gate, it will be summoned with the power of an A-Class Mage.
But this doesn't mean Celestial Spirits only have the power of an A-Class Mage.
As the summoner's own strength grows, the more power the Celestial Spirit can unleash.
Dimensional Summoning, as an Ancient Magic, has the greatest advantage in that the summoned life forms do not require the summoner to continue providing magic, greatly reducing the summoner's magic endurance pressure.
The greatest advantage of Celestial Spirit Magic, however, is that all Celestial Spirits possess astonishing power and there's no need to worry about growth issues. They are only limited by the summoner's own magic, and when summoned for battle, Celestial Spirits need to suppress their own magic and duration.
Otherwise, with the powerful strength of Celestial Spirits, if they appeared at full power, they could directly drain all of the summoner's magic and life force.
Among the Celestial Spirits, there are also the strongest Zodiac, and these twelve have special magic Celestial Spirit Clothes.
This is a powerful ability similar to the armor of the Saints.
The magic known as Celestial Spirit Clothes can directly lend the power and magic of the corresponding constellation to the summoner. Theoretically, the Celestial Spirit Clothes of the Zodiac can be worn by one person simultaneously.
Not to mention simultaneously possessing the magic of the Zodiac, the sheer increase in power alone is unimaginably strong.
In the later part of the original story, Lucy demonstrated the use of Celestial Spirit Clothes and even wore two Celestial Spirit Clothes, Leo and Virgo, at the same time.
The increase in power allowed her to even fight alongside Natsu and others, gaining an advantage over enemies.
The blond young girl looked at Ezreal with a slight surprise. She was very sure that this blond young man, whom she had just met, genuinely recognized her future potential, unlike the flattery and perfunctory praise from so-called friends at the banquet.
He truly believed she would become very strong.
This inexplicable trust made Lucy feel a little uneasy.
Even Levy and the other two were nodding very seriously, giving her plenty of emotional support.
Droy wiped his mouth and said with an envious look, "That's so great, I wish I had a Celestial Spirit partner too!"
Jet glanced at him. "What do you need a Celestial Spirit for?"
Droy said as a matter of course, "That way, when I go out on requests, the Celestial Spirit can stay home and help me take care of my plants."
Levy nodded seriously. "That makes sense. That way you won't have to bother Sister Mira every time."
Lucy looked at their serious expressions and explained weakly, "Um… after summoning a Celestial Spirit, the Mage needs to provide magic to sustain it. If you're out for a long time, you might not have enough magic."
Droy was a little confused. "Does it still need magic to stay in existence? Don't they not need magic once they're summoned? EZ's cat is in the guild every day, and I don't see it consuming magic."
Lucy shook her head. "No, Celestial Spirits summoned to the human world need the Mage to provide magic to sustain them. Long-term existence consumes a lot of magic."
After speaking, Lucy looked at Ezreal in confusion. "Mr. EZ's Summoned Beast doesn't require additional magic for upkeep?"
Ezreal nodded. "That's its only advantage. Compared to Celestial Spirit Magic, which can summon an A-Class Mage-level Celestial Spirit just by successfully opening a gate, it's not worth mentioning."
"The growth of Summoned Beasts is my biggest headache."
Just thinking about the cost of raising Summoned Beasts gave Ezreal a headache.
Jet again gave Lucy a thumbs up. "Being able to summon A-Class Mage-level Celestial Spirits is also very impressive!"
After the Newborn City incident, Jet and Droy had made progress, but they hadn't undergone a rapid qualitative change. Their strength was only at a B+ level, and they only reached an A-Class level with Levy's assistance.
So Jet's praise was very sincere.
"Alright, it seems I'll still have to bother Sister Mira." Droy sighed with a slight regret.
Levy cleared her throat, attracting everyone's attention. She first looked at Ezreal, who nodded slightly. Then, the bespectacled girl looked at Jet and Droy again. The two exchanged glances, each looked at Lucy, and then silently nodded.
Lucy looked at them, not understanding why.
Levy smiled and said, "If you encounter any trouble while searching for the horologium key on this trip to the North, you can ask us for help. After all, protecting the safety of our employer is our duty."
Lucy looked at them gratefully, then picked up a chocolate cake and took a small bite. "Thank you all! Oh, by the way, what do you usually do at the guild? I heard Fairy Tail is a very interesting guild."
Throughout the Kingdom of Fiore, Fairy Tail was definitely renowned, and Lucy had heard of it long ago.
Jet immediately said excitedly, "Our guild is the strongest in the kingdom! There are all sorts of interesting requests every day, and we get to go on adventures with our companions!"
Droy also chimed in, "That's right! Although sometimes we cause some trouble, everyone is very nice, and we get along great."
Levy pushed up her glasses, her tone gentle. "The guild is like our home. Everyone helps and cherishes each other."
Ezreal leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed, and said with a smile, "If you're interested, you can come visit our guild after this mission is over."
A glimmer of anticipation flashed in Lucy's eyes. "Really? I've always wanted to visit Fairy Tail!"
Ezreal nodded with certainty. "Of course."
The few of them exchanged smiles, and the atmosphere became relaxed and pleasant.
The sea breeze gently blew, and the sunlight sprinkled on the deck, illuminating their young and vibrant faces.
Just like that, Lucy and Ezreal and the others gradually became familiar with each other.
They enjoyed desserts while chatting about their experiences and interesting stories, as if all the dangers and unknowns of the journey had been cast aside.
And in Lucy's heart, she was filled with anticipation for the upcoming journey to the North.
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