The sun hadn't risen. The birds hadn't sung. The world was still asleep.
But in the forest clearing of Magnolia, 4:30 AM had arrived.
And with it Erza and Gray.
They stood side by side, arms crossed, breath misting in the cold dawn air.
"Where is he?" Erza asked, scanning the trees.
The one person who should have been there… wasn't.
Minutes passed.
"...He's late," Erza said flatly.
Gray chuckled. "Bet he's still drooling on his pillow."
Her eyes narrowed.
Erza's sighed. "He was supposed to be here."
She turned on her heel. "Gray. We're going to his house."
Gray groaned. "Do we have to? Last time you punched a hole through his wall."
"It was already broken," Erza said. "And it's his fault for not leaving his door locked."
Gray" {-'__'-} "
—————————————————————————
Ten minutes later, they stood outside Lucky's house.
No lights.
No movement.
"Lucky!" Erza barked.
No answer.
She didn't knock.
She kicked the window in again and leapt inside.
Gray followed, sighing. "You're gonna owe him for that window, you know."
Lucky was, indeed, drooling on his pillow. Wrapped in his blanket, snoring softly, dreaming of roulette wheels spitting out mountains of jewels.
The dream shattered when the window to his house exploded inward.
"LUCKY!" Erza's voice thundered.
The blanket was ripped away. A shadow loomed over him. Before he could even open his eyes, a steel gauntlet grabbed him by the collar and yanked him upright.
"WAKE. UP."
"Wha..?! I-I didn't oversleep!" Lucky protested, flailing like a ragdoll.
"You missed training," Erza said. Her tone was so calm it was terrifying.
Gray appeared behind her, smirking with evil glee. "Told ya."
"Back to the forest. Now."
"W-Wait! I just woke up! I didn't even have breakfast! I'm still..."
His protests died as Erza threw him over her shoulder like a dead man. Gray followed, laughing all the way.
"Put me down! This is illegal! Cruel! Barbaric!" Lucky shouted.
Nobody listened.
—————————————————————————————
Back at the clearing, Erza dropped Lucky to the ground. He landed with a thud, groaning.
"Training begins."
"Eh?" Lucky sat up, eyes wide. "Already? I haven't even..."
Gray raised his hand. A swirl of cold mana condensed into shards of ice.
Lucky's blood ran cold.
"Wait. Gray. We can talk about this..."
SHINK!
An ice spear shot past Lucky's face, grazing his cheek and embedding into the ground.
"Endurance training," Erza said calmly. "ice will toughen you up."
Gray cracked his knuckles, grin widening. "Don't worry. I'll start slow."
Lucky backed away. "Y-You're joking, right? RIGHT?!"
BOOM! Ice erupted beneath him, throwing him skyward. He flailed, screaming.
Gray clapped his hands together. "Ice-Make: Cage."
Spikes of frost rose, trapping Lucky midair. He crashed into them, bouncing between freezing bars before tumbling back to the ground.
He wheezed. "I-I think I saw the afterlife…"
Gray leaned over him, smirking. "Not yet. Endurance means we keep going until you do."
"THIS IS TORTURE!" Lucky shouted, eyes wide with despair.
Gray crouched, grinning ear to ear. "Exactly. I want to see you despair."
Lucky Gave Gray an angry look and Said "Is it because the beating that i have given you?" ¬‿¬
Which caused Gray to ignore him but nothing the less he increased the intensity of the ice
Erza nodded approvingly. "Proceed."
And so the morning turned into a parade of misery. Lucky was encased in ice, blasted with frost bullets, dropped into frozen pits, and pelted with snowballs harder than iron.
By the time it was over, Lucky was shivering, bruised, and barely conscious.
His eyes were hollow. His lips trembled.
"I… hate… mornings…"
Gray looked proud of himself. Erza looked satisfied.
Lucky looked like he'd lost his soul.
Just as Lucky was about to open a portal Erza spoke
"Enough for today"
Which caused Lucky to give a sigh of reilef
—————————————————————————————
later, Lucky stumbled back into the guild like a zombie. His clothes were soaked, hair frozen stiff, steps dragging.
He stopped in the doorway.
And froze.
Not because of the ice still clinging to him...
But because of the sight before him.
All five roulette wheels. Spinning. Constantly.
Guild members were packed in a massive crowd, shoving jewels forward, cheering and cursing as prizes appeared. Trinkets clattered across the floor. Potions glimmered. Socks glowed. Instruments played themselves.
The sound of spinning wheels and clinking coins filled the air.
Lucky's jaw dropped. His eyes filled with tears.
"M-My… my profits…"
His legs wobbled. His hands trembled. His voice cracked.
"My precious, beautiful profits…!"
He collapsed to his knees, sobbing openly.
At the bar, Makarov watched the storage pouch fill with jewels. His mustache trembled.
"OUR PROFITS!" he sobbed, clutching his heart. "It's beautiful… it's glorious…"
Together, the two wept like businessmen watching the stock market rise.
Gray, walking in behind Lucky, gave him an angry look becuase after all till now Gray didn't win anything good.
—————————————————————————————
Lucky limped toward the counter, arms outstretched.
"Hell…"
Then...
BOOM.
The ground shook.
The laughter stopped.
The walls trembled, bottles rattling, tables skidding across the floor.
"WHAT NOW?!" Lucky screamed.
"GILDARTS SHIFT!" someone shouted.
(AN: i dont know when gildarts shift fully started but i will just add that it was always the case)
The buildings shifted. Walls moved. Floors shifted. The entire structure reconfigured.
And in the chaos three of the five roulette wheels vanished.
One flew into the kitchen.
One crashed into the bar.
One was gone.
Spins were cut off mid-roll.
Guild members screamed.
"MY SPIN WAS ALMOST DONE!"
"I WAS GONNA WIN A SWORD!"
Lucky and Makarov stood in the center of the wreckage.
They looked at each other.
Then, in perfect unison, they fell to their knees.
Lucky screamed. (╥╯ᗝ╰╥)
"MY WHEELS!! MY PROFITS!!"
Beside him, Makarov screamed too. (╥╯ᗝ╰╥)
"MY PROFITS!!"
Both of them collapsed dramatically, clutching their chests like dying men.
The guild hall trembled. Glasses shattered.
—————————————————————————————
SLAM.
The guild doors burst open.
A man stepped in.
Tall. Wild red hair. A grin on his face
"Yo," came the casual voice.
Gildarts Clive had arrived.
The guild erupted in cheers. "Gildarts!" "He's back!"
Lucky and Makarov, however, were still mourning on the floor.
He waved casually. "Hey, everyone."
Makarov wiped his tears. "You broke my shop!"
Gildarts blinked. "Huh? Oh. Sorry. Didn't see it."
Lucky glared at him. "You ruined my business!"
Gildarts squinted. "New kid?"
Lucky nods
Gildarts "Sorry about this"
Gildarts looked at the remaining wheels. "What's this?"
"Lucky's Roulette!" Gray announced. "Spin once for 2,000 Jewels! Guaranteed good item every 1,000 spins!"
Gildarts grinned. "Sounds fun."
Lucky twitched. "D-Don't touch..."
Too late.
The S-Class mage casually tossed 2,000 Jewels into the slot.
The wheel spun.
Everyone held their breath.
CLICK.
A golden light burst from the portal.
Gildarts reached in and pulled out a sleek, glowing pendant.
—————
Rejuvenation Bead
—————
World: LOL
—————
Tier: 4
—————
Type: item
—————
Use: 1
—————
Effect: User's 100% base health regeneration
—————
note: it only works on Base health no outside effects
—————
Gildarts grinned. "Not bad. I like it."
"OF COURSE HE GETS SOMETHING GOOD!" Gray shouted.
The guild howled in frustration. Lucky sighed in relief that the Roulette was not broken.
————————————————————
Makarov Looked at Gildarts and asked "How is the Quest?"
Gildarts smiled "Don't worry master all sorted out"
which caused Makarov to nod in Satisfaction.
As Gildarts continue he laughed then stared at Makarov "only issue is maybe a mountin... is missing"
wich cuased Makarov to almost collapse but he still held on after all there was a source of income to him so it is managable for now.
Makrov then Spoke "Gildarts we need to tal..."
Gildarts cut Makrov off while he sipped his drink, then turned to Lucky.
"Kid."
Lucky blinked. "Yeah?"
Gilldarts"Come here"
Lucky stand next to Gildarts and Makarov
Gildarts studied him. "You're pushing too hard."
Lucky frowned. "What?"
"I can feel it. Your mana's straining. Your body's breaking i can only sense this becuase of My magic is highly destructive magic. You're like a kid holding a Bomb."
Lucky forced a grin. "I've got it under control."
Gildarts shook his head. "Don't gamble with your life. I've seen mages like you. They burn bright… but they all meet one Fate...."
The weight of the words hung in the air.
Makarov looked down.
Erza's expression darkened.
Lucky's smile faltered.
Then he laughed. "Relax, old man. I've got a solution aleady"
Gildarts didn't look convinced. But after a pause, he chuckled and leaned back. "Fine. We'll see."
Lucky froze. "Wait, what?"
"Let's test you."
Lucky's heart stopped. "…Test me?"
Gildarts grinned. "Show me what you've got."
Before Lucky could protest, Gildarts' fist blurred.
BOOM!
A casual punch.
But the air shattered.
Lucky dove, rolling across the floor as the punch cratered the wall behind him
Lucky screamed, dodging at the last second.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!"
The guild cheered. "GO, GILDARTS!" "CRUSH HIM!"
Lucky scrambled, throwing Solid Script spells left and right. [FIRE – BURST!] [STONE – SPIKE!]
But Gildarts' every punch crushed reality, splitting the ground, ripping through spells like paper.
Gildarts raised a hand.
The fire dissipated.
"Cute."
Lucky was a fly in a hurricane.
Gray laughed so hard tears streamed down his face. "This is even better than training!"
"STOP CHEERING AND HELP ME!" Lucky screamed.
"NOPE!" Gray yelled back, grinning.
At last, Lucky collapsed in a heap, smoking and battered but alive.
After all Gildarts was playing with him after all if he went for the head Lucky knew he could'nt dodge it.
Gildarts laughed, slapping him on the back so hard he nearly faceplanted. "Not bad, kid. Not bad at all. You've got guts."
Lucky groaned into the floor. "…Please… just let me rest…"
———————————————————————
As the guild roared with laughter and chaos, Lucky dragged himself onto a table, barely breathing.
He closed his eyes, muttering: "This guild will kill me before my condition does…"
A shadow loomed over him.
'He opened his eyes.
Erza.
She stared down at him.
"Gildarts is Strong"
Lucky nods
with a whisper Erza continues
"No.... i... can... save... them"
Lucky gave her a smile and said "yes"
Out of no where Cana comes and stared at Lucky "Lucky can you help me?"
Lucky said "Is it Time?"
Cana fidgets but nods.
"Ok let's go"
Lucky then Walks with cana to Makarov who is still chatting to Gildarts which caused makarov to know and gave cana and Lucky a smile and a nod