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"Gajeel, don't just stand there. The valley behind this mountain is the Iron Dragon's lair."
Doran, who'd already crossed the mountain and was walking downhill, called out to Gajeel.
Ever since he learned they shared the same surname, Doran found the steel-studded youth much more agreeable and agreed to take him to see the Iron Dragon's lair.
What puzzled Doran was that Gajeel seemed both familiar and unfamiliar with Iron Furnace Ridge, like a long-lost wanderer returning home after many years, unable to find his way due to the changes in his hometown.
The jagged ore ridges pierced the clouds like the spines of giant beasts. Gajeel climbed over an exposed rock formation, reaching the summit of a mountain on Iron Furnace Ridge.
"Old Man Doran, why has this place changed so much?"
The hot climate and the abundant ore were exactly as Gajeel remembered, but the surrounding environment had changed too much, as if centuries had passed.
Gajeel's question left Doran baffled. He'd spent most of his life on Iron Furnace Ridge and hadn't noticed any major changes.
Out of concern for the younger generation, Doran still asked, "What kind of changes are you talking about, kid?"
"The mountain opposite wasn't that tall originally."
"There should've been a very large waterfall there."
"I remember a type of raven that liked the heat..."
"..."
Gajeel rattled off more than a dozen differences from his memory, leaving Doran dumbfounded and increasingly bewildered, because everything Gajeel mentioned had indeed once existed.
The elevated peak was caused by an earthquake over two hundred years ago.
According to ancestral records, there was indeed a very large waterfall in Iron Furnace Ridge four hundred years ago.
Flocks of fire ravens that loved the heat did once inhabit this place, but that was also centuries ago.
Doran suspected that Gajeel also possessed ancestral records, otherwise how could he recount the environment of Iron Furnace Ridge from centuries ago in such detail?
"Kid, don't mess with me. Everything you're talking about is Iron Furnace Ridge from hundreds of years ago."
"Impossible!"
Hearing Doran's words, Gajeel reacted strongly, shouting excitedly, "It wasn't like this just six years ago when Metalicana and I were here!"
"Nonsense! I've lived in Iron Furnace Ridge for decades. If the Iron Dragon had returned, how could I not know! Moreover, the Iron Dragon has been missing for nearly four hundred years!"
Doran had led his clansmen in guarding Iron Furnace Ridge for many years. If there truly was a Dragon and a child from their clan in the mountains, they couldn't possibly have failed to notice.
Gajeel also firmly stated that Metalicana lived here, and that Iron Furnace Ridge wasn't like this at the time.
The two each stuck to their guns, arguing fiercely, and eventually even came to blows. If they couldn't convince each other, they'd beat each other into submission!
They truly lived up to the Redfox surname—even their tempers were the same.
Watching this scene, the white-haired youth who'd just returned after going to call for someone immediately tore open a bag of potato chips and stood by, grinning as he watched the two Redfoxes fight.
"Wow! Mira, did you see that? Old Man Doran's muscles are even stronger than Elfman's!"
"Gajeel is a bit all bark and no bite. How come his legs are already getting wobbly after just two hammer blows? He shouldn't be kneeling like that."
"Erza, I suggest you consider buying Doran's blacksmith hammer. This thing is much more effective than your weapons."
Just as Noah was engrossed in the show, a gauntleted hand tapped him on the head, making Noah grimace in pain.
"It's bad enough you don't stop your companions from fighting, but you actually enjoy it. Confiscated." Erza took the opportunity to snatch the potato chips from Noah's hand, her overwhelming presence leaving Noah unable to resist.
In the end, she just wanted to eat potato chips, was it really necessary...? Watching the red-haired girl reach into the chip bag, Noah was speechless. He then pulled out another small snack from his bag, opened it, and shared some with Mira.
Mira took the snack, but her gaze remained on the two fighting figures. "Isn't that enough? If they keep fighting, I'm afraid Gajeel will be beaten to tears by Old Man Doran."
Erza felt the same way.
She'd known Doran for several years, but today was the first time she'd witnessed the combat prowess of this master blacksmith.
Although Gajeel's strength wasn't quite S-Class, he wasn't far from being a top-tier Mage. There weren't many people in the younger generation capable of defeating him.
Yet, Gajeel was now being beaten by an elderly man to the point where he could be described as fleeing in terror. Even the high-defense Iron Dragon's Scales granted by his Iron Dragon Slayer Magic were nearly deformed by Doran's swinging hammer.
A Mage blacksmith was terrifyingly powerful!
Although Magic was the world's mainstream, other combat systems were by no means weak.
Just like Ikaruga, the female swordswoman of Trinity Raven, if Erza hadn't learned Armament Haki, it probably wouldn't have been easy to defeat Ikaruga.
Doran might not have been outstanding in Magic, but years of forging had given him a strong body, and the hammer techniques he learned from blacksmithing were enough to rival powerful Mages.
Doran and Gajeel's fight, to put it unpleasantly, was like a grandfather disciplining a disobedient grandson, just with slightly more violent methods.
One-sided crushing became boring after a while. Noah instantly entered the fray, catching Doran's hammer, which was aimed at Gajeel, with one hand. "Old Man Doran, that's enough."
Seeing Noah catch his attack with his bare hands, a look of surprise appeared in Doran's eyes, and he then took the hint, putting away his blacksmith hammer.
Doran had originally only wanted Gajeel to admit his mistake and stop lying in the future, but who knew that Gajeel's mouth was the hardest part of his entire body.
Gajeel staggered to his feet. Although his whole body ached from the hammer blows, he still insisted, "I wasn't lying. Metalicana really lived with me in Iron Furnace Ridge six years ago."
"Hey! You brat!"
Doran was furious at this. Having lived in Iron Furnace Ridge for decades, how could he not know the situation here? He immediately reached for the hammer he'd put back.
Watching Doran pull out his hammer, Gajeel shivered. Honestly, he'd never been so afraid of anyone. Even Jose, who was strong, gave him far less pressure than Doran.
Gajeel felt that if Doran had a furnace, he could hammer him into a sheet of iron.
Fortunately, Erza spoke up in time, and Doran, out of respect for his longtime customer, did nothing further.
After understanding the point of conflict between the two, Erza was also a bit undecided.
Gajeel wouldn't back down even after being beaten like that, which indicated he wasn't lying. And Doran grew up in Iron Furnace Ridge, was now the patriarch of the Redfox clan, and the guardian of Iron Furnace Ridge. If the Iron Dragon appeared, he couldn't possibly not notice.
Both sides insisted on their own views, which left Erza in a difficult position.
Mira was also puzzled, turning to look at the white-haired youth who was still eating snacks. "Noah, what do you think?"
"What do I think? I'm watching while standing."
After a small, ill-timed jibe, Noah gave his answer. "Is there a possibility that both Gajeel and Master Doran are correct?"
"Since there's Magic that controls time in this world, then it's not impossible for people to travel through time."