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CHAPTER START---
"It was fine, until you got here," Wakaba says.
Macao scoffs. "Says the guy who didn't get almost eaten alive by bugs."
"Luck of the draw."
Oberon looks around to see the entrances they used to reach here. "I see. I'll have to go check out those bugs after the trial. And I'm guessing the Barrier won't stop until only one of us is left standing, or the other two give up."
They both push through the main and reactivate their Magics.
"Ahh," Oberon sighs. "Why does nobody ever just give up. I don't like hurting people, especially my friends."
"You aren't the only one fighting for your future," Wakaba forms larger smoke fists beside them while Macao concentrates his purple flames between his palms.
"Just because you're strong, doesn't mean we're going to just give up," Macao grits his teeth and aims Oberon, pouring all of his Magic Energy into this attack.
The instant Oberon's name appeared on the Barrier, it stole any hope of leaving this chamber from both men. So instead of aiming for the promotion, they instinctively agreed on a new goal, on measuring the distance between themselves and Oberon.
On learning exactly what it takes to become S-Class, so they'd better understand why they failed, and what they'd have to sacrifice to reach the heights of Fairy Tail's next Ace.
Oberon doesn't move, doesn't even raise a particular defensive spell or try to interrupt them. His face marred with genuine excitement and curiosity regarding his friends' Magics. Too young and powerful to realize the wall between him and everyone else, to realize that while he sees them as his friends.
As wielders of Magics he wishes to study and talk to them about the nature of this world. They all already look up to him, as a mountain they cannot climb, an obelisk they cannot break through, a reminder of everything they can never become.
So, his doe-eyed curiosity and cheerful smile as their Magic Circles merge only fuel their desires to reach him further.
For the first time, he witnesses it, the rarest of all phenomena among Mages. What can only be achieved when not only compatible Magics, but compatible hearts, minds, and desires, perfectly synchronize. Setting aside all selfish desire and ambition, focused only on helping each other grow stronger.
"Unison Raid!" Macao and Wakaba scream as their purple and grey Magic Circles fuse into a perfectly blended rotating map of runes, hosting the Fairy Tail Emblem in the middle. "Purple Ash Storm!"
Oberon smiles as a cloud of purple ash and sparking embers forms and condenses into a beam, rocketing directly at him. He raises a hand to shield himself, smiling as the attack crashes against his defenses.
'A Unison Raid! I can't believe I actually saw one, they're awesome!'
Purple light envelops the chamber, shining all the way to the daylight past the exit, and outside, Master Makarov and Laxus turn toward the battle. Sensing it within the cave system, feeling the earth rumble as two Wizards put everything they have into their chance of promotion.
"Wow, that feels…so much stronger."
Makarov smiles. "Seems those two knuckleheads finally managed a Unison Raid, and all it took was the right motivation."
"No wonder it feels so strong," Laxus mutters as the ground continues shaking. "Magics amplifying each other, scary."
"In the wrong hands, it can be."
"Will the roof collapse onto them?"
"No, the cave system is reinforced, a precaution I did with some Earth Magic since I know Oberon can go overboard sometimes. Besides, if it collapsed, he'd save them…"
Within the cave, Oberon coughs as he waves away the purple smoke, glancing back at the carriage-sized molten hole punched through the wall behind him, making another exit from the tunnel and into the forest.
He sees a few trees on fire and uses Gravity Magic to lift water from the pond and force it through the hole they made, causing a cloud of steam to emerge as the disaster is avoided.
"That was awesome, but you guys should be more careful," Oberon says as he turns to his friends, seeing them supporting each other while barely standing. "You could have hurt the animals in the forest."
"Ugh," Macao collapses to his knees. "What the hell happened to you? Your Barrier, it felt different."
Wakaba checks on his friend while Oberon hovers in place, completely unbothered by the attack. "Oh, I figured out how to mix Cosmic with my passive Barrier spell, but…it still needs a lot of work."
Macao lies on the floor, rolling onto his back. "Yeah, sure, whatever the hell that means. Anyway, I give up. He's all yours, Wakaba."
"Me?! I'm not fighting him."
The Barrier chimes and deactivates after declaring Oberon the winner.
"Thank you," Oberon says while using Gravity Magic to make both his friends and their gear float beside him. "I really don't like hurting people, especially my friends."
As he carries them through the exit, Macao can't help but release a bitter chuckle. "Were we even close to breaking that Barrier?"
"Not really. My new Cosmic Barrier doesn't just block things like the Gravity Barrier, it blocks Magic Energy, too. It also automatically draws in Magic Energy and crashes it into mine, so you'd have to deplete my reserves or hit me hard enough and fast enough that I can't automatically raise my output to match it."
"Ah," Wakaba's shaky hands stuff more tobacco into his pipe. "So that's how Cosmic works. No wonder when you flare up your Magic Energy, our bodies instinctively do the same. It's just a content of raw Magic Energy capacity we're forced to enter…that's annoying."
"It's unfair," Macao says. "Would be fine, if you weren't…well, you know."
"Honestly, I'd rather be able to learn Teleportation and cool stuff like that, but I guess this is useful too," Oberon mutters as they exit the cave, and see Makarov and Laxus sitting on a log in the clearing.
"How were the eels?" Master Makarov asks while Oberon sets down the exhausted men. Laxus rushes over to treat them, with Wakaba holding out his pipe to the young boy.
Laxus snaps his fingers, and a spark of yellow lightning leaps from his hand onto the tobacco, igniting the herbs. "You should quit that."
"It's been a stressful day," Wakaba says as the boy looks over their injuries. And beside him, Wakaba begins rifling through his bag for his backup flask.
Oberon and Master Makarov chuckle at the sighs while Laxus tends to the men.
"The eels were pretty cool," Oberon says. "I wish I could talk to animals, though. That way they'd listen when I say not to bite the Barrier."
"Any broken teeth?"
"I removed them, just like you said."
"Good. A tooth infection means death to most animals. It is our duty to protect them as best we can. If you pass the trials, you can learn other Magics. I recommend Sleep Magic as a top priority. It will be a bit difficult for you, because of how Invasive Magics work for you. But that way, you can avoid wild animals always hurting themselves against you."
"Well, it'll probably be easier since they won't have Magic Energy of their own to disrupt the process as much," Oberon says. "So, did anyone else come out yet?"
"Nope, you three are super early. Well, they are. I expected you to be out quickly."
"Hey!" Macao and Wakaba voice their annoyance simultaneously, earning a small zap from Laxus as he now has to restart wrapping the bandages.
Master Makarov waves his hands and uses Requip Magic to withdraw a small box from his pocket dimension storage. He then opens it and takes out three small cylindrical objects, each with a string at the end.
Red, green, and yellow.
"These are emergency flares. Red for if you've encountered an intruder on the island. Yellow for if you're cornered by one of the Magic Creatures or get injured. And green for if you're lost."
Oberon takes the items and floats them beside him. "If I use these, do I fail the next part of the trial?"
"No, you'll just be brought back here and treated. Then if you still have time, you'll be sent back on your way again. The last thing I want is someone getting seriously hurt or dying because of this trial."
Macao groans loudly.
"Oh, quit being such a baby. They were just some bugs. Besides, I would have gotten to you before they ate all your skin."
"Not helpful!"
"The Barrier would have protected you enough," Laxus says, surprising the injured men. "It's set up inside the caves to make the Magic Creatures back off if you're too hurt. Doesn't work for other sentient beings, though."
Master Makarov sighs. "Laxus, obviously, part of the beginning Guildmaster is protecting them even during tests such as this. But the false sense of danger must be preserved to show how they'd really act on dangerous jobs. Also, it's far more fun that way."
"Sorry, Grandpa."
"It's fine. I'll just let someone die next year to reinstall the sense of danger," he says jokingly.
"That's not funny," Wakaba says, but Makarov turns to Oberon, ignoring the injured men.
"What's the next part?"
"The next part is to find the grave of Mavis Vermillion, Fairy Tail's First Master. She's buried somewhere on this island."
"Wow," Oberon mutters. "Do I have to wait for the others?"
Master Makarov frowns. "Normally, yes, but two of them are about to fight Gildarts, and the others either got beaten by Magic Creatures…or fell down a hole on the peaceful route."
"Ouch."
Master Makarov places a hand on Oberon's shoulder, looking up at the boy with teary eyes. "Please find the grave so I can promote you! Don't leave Fairy Tail at the mercy of these knuckleheads and that clumsy Gildarts!"
"Hey!" Macao and Wakaba yell, earning another zap from Laxus…
CHAPTER END---
Discord: discord .gg /eHuxNeZfyS [Come chat with me]
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene [Read ahead & support me]
You.tube: @KeanuEugene [Giving away all my writing knowledge]