"Better forget it for now. I just watched your fight. Other than your strength and reaction speed, which are worth praising, your technique is a complete mess. Compared to how you are now, I would rather fight you after you finish basic training and can use your full power."
Feeling Erza's gaze, burning with the same intensity as his own, Kabe only felt his chuunibyou soul blaze up.
So cool. This kind of duel born from mutual respect, it was exactly like what he had seen in anime.
He agreed on the spot without hesitation, then reached out his hand. He and Erza shook hands and sealed their promise.
Seeing that, Cana adorably clasped her hands behind her back, stepped up with a bright, expectant smile, and asked curiously,
"Now that the fight is over, Kabe, did you feel anything? Like your magic starting to awaken?"
The smile on Kabe's face froze.
"Uh... I think I did feel something earlier, but I am not totally sure..."
He then proceeded to tell them, with absolutely no mental burden, the story of how he had tried to fire a ki blast in the forest, only to end up releasing a fart instead.
Naturally, he got a huge round of laughter from the three of them.
After laughing, they all started sharing their own understanding of magic with great enthusiasm.
Cana said, "Gramps Master says magic is the power of the heart, so if you truly put your heart into it, you can definitely use it."
Gray added, "It kind of feels like your thoughts becoming reality. I just think about using it and I can make ice appear."
Erza said, "More specifically, magic is connected to the magic particles that exist in all things between heaven and earth. Mages are people who can absorb and control these magic particles and fight with them."
The three of them did their best to help him understand what magic and magical power were.
But Kabe knew very well that the thing he called "magic" was really just an excuse. It was a different power system entirely from this world.
Back on Earth in the Dragon Ball world, among those martial arts traditions passed down generation after generation, that power was called ki.
Of course, the two systems still had a lot in common. Kabe listened very seriously to their explanations and quickly built a rough concept of it in his heart.
"Alright, I will try it the way you said."
Cana cheered, "Go for it, you can definitely do it!"
Gray said, "Hold on to your conviction. Believe in yourself."
Erza told him, "Cast aside distractions. Go."
Hearing the encouragement from behind him, Kabe felt his own fighting spirit rise.
He stopped thinking about anything else and walked to the lakeshore. Facing the clear green water, he once again took the Kamehameha stance and focused all his attention on sensing and guiding the power inside his body.
"Ka... me... ha... me..."
Maybe it was because their explanations had really helped, or maybe because he had finally grasped the trick on his own.
In the next moment, a flash of inspiration ran through him. He thrust his hands forward with all his strength, and a sphere of blue energy erupted from between his palms, shooting out in a straight line. Under his control, it flew more than ten meters over the lake, then smashed into the surface, blasting up a pillar of water five or six meters high.
The scattered droplets fell back down like rain, soaking his clothes, but he did not seem to notice at all. He stared blankly at his open hands, dazed.
"I did it!!"
Excited shouts rang out from behind him. The three kids ran over like they were the ones who had just learned magic, laughing and yelling as they surrounded Kabe.
"That was amazing. What kind of magic is that? For a first spell, the power is already really strong."
In answer to Cana's question, Kabe clenched his fists tight, his voice trembling with excitement.
"It is Kamehameha, a type of ki blast. This is great, I can finally fire a wave!"
Erza placed a hand on his shoulder. She understood how he felt. After all, she herself had only awakened her magic a little over half a year ago. That made her even happier for her friend now that he had taken this step.
"Congratulations. To celebrate your first successful spell, I will treat you to my favorite strawberry cake. Though... I do not have much money, so I can only afford one slice."
Obviously, Erza had not forgotten about the terrifying capacity of Kabe's stomach, so she quickly added that second line.
His excitement was instantly wrapped in warmth by that cute little clarification.
"One is enough. Good food is not about how much there is, it is about who you share it with. I am sure this will be the most delicious slice of strawberry cake I ever eat in my life."
Hearing that, Gray and Cana both jumped up in delight and cheered,
"Yay, strawberry cake time!"
Just like that, the four of them walked away from the training ground they had only just begun to use, laughing and teasing each other the whole way.
Chattering and bickering, they headed toward Magnolia's lively shopping street, going together to buy what might just be the best strawberry cake in this world.
...
They spent the entire afternoon wandering through almost all of Magnolia.
The cake shop and clothing shop Erza always visited, the magic item store where Cana bought her divination cards, the ice drink shop Gray loved most.
They even passed by iconic places like Kardia Cathedral, South Gate Park, and Magnolia Hospital.
All of it helped the newly joined Kabe quickly grow familiar with the city.
It was not until evening that the four of them returned to the guild together and saw Makarov, who had just come back from Porlyusica's place.
"So, how was your half-day in Magnolia?"
Makarov sat cross-legged at the bar, eyes half closed, as if nothing at all had happened earlier.
Kabe first nodded to his three small partners, signaling them to go wait at an empty table, then he walked over to a seat at the bar and sat down by himself.
"It was great. I awakened my magic, made three enthusiastic friends, and got to know the town properly."
"Oh? You even awakened magic? You really have some talent, brat."
Makarov opened one eye and glanced at him in surprise, clearly impressed.
Then his expression turned serious and his tone grew heavy.
"Remember this. Magic is, above all, a power to protect. If I ever find out you are abusing it, using it to hurt ordinary people or your comrades, I will not hesitate to kick you out of the guild and hand you over to the Magic Council myself."
"Hi there, I will take one of everything on this menu. I want to try each dish once first. If that is not enough, I will order more later. Thanks."
Kabe completely ignored Makarov's warning. After wandering around all afternoon, his stomach was already caving in.
He grabbed the menu from the bar and eagerly rattled off a huge order to the bar's waitress, a counter girl who had never appeared in the original story.