Opening his eyes, it was that unfamiliar ceiling again.
Noah yawned. He'd stayed up too late reading last night, but he'd absorbed a lot of knowledge from a book titled Magic Common Sense, so he didn't have to worry about being noticed for knowing nothing.
Looking at another book on the nightstand, General Dark Magic · Amaterasu, this book was the answer Makarov gave when Noah asked him last night what Magic he could learn to improve his combat power.
Dark Magic referred to fighting by manipulating dark-attributed Magic elements—not the evil Black Magic.
Amaterasu had a total of one hundred eight Magic techniques. Makarov told Noah to pick two of them to study, as forcibly learning more would only harm him.
Initially, Noah suspected Makarov was exaggerating, but only after he opened the book did he understand why Makarov said so.
The Magic Circle for Amaterasu was different from other Magic Circles when the Magic was activated.
The Rune Magic Circle, filled with profound runes, was not only the most important foundation of Amaterasu Magic but also the fundamental reason for its immense power.
To inscribe runes onto the Magic Circle with Magic Power at the very instant of activating Magic—only a Mage with absolute control over his own Magic Power could achieve this.
Moreover, runes represented an understanding of Magic, and Amaterasu required a large number of runes. Without vast knowledge reserves, it would be impossible to complete.
Effort, vast knowledge, Magic control.
These three necessary factors made the difficulty of learning Amaterasu skyrocket. It couldn't be mastered by anyone less than a genius sage.
Even Makarov only had some understanding of this Magic and chose not to practice it. To this day, only its creator in the Guild knew the complete Amaterasu Style Magic.
And the one who created Amaterasu and passed it down was Makarov's most respected teacher, one of the founders of Fairy Tail, the Second Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Precht Gaebolg, who possessed astonishing wisdom.
"The knowledge of this Second Guild Master is terrifyingly extensive."
Noah picked up the Amaterasu book. He'd been able to sleep soundly until dawn last night precisely because he'd read the extremely profound Magic theories within the book.
He wondered what the Second Guild Master, who'd gone traveling the world, would think if he knew his life's work had such a powerful sleep-inducing effect.
But that had nothing to do with Noah. Even if the Second Guild Master found out, the first one he would surely punish would be his unfilial disciple, Makarov, who'd left his writings to gather dust in the warehouse.
However, Makarov was now over eighty years old, and whether the Second Guild Master, who'd been traveling the world and had been out of contact, was still alive was a question.
Amaterasu was very difficult for Noah to learn. His Magic knowledge reserves were already so weak as to be almost nonexistent, and even learning a single Magic technique from it was an uphill battle.
"What a pity."
Sighing, Noah knew that unless he could immediately get a Wish order with a "vast Magic knowledge" reward, he had no way to learn a single Amaterasu Style technique in a short time.
Ding!
"You have a new Wish request. Please check it."
The prompt in his mind made Noah a little excited.
Could it be exactly what he was thinking? After completing four Wish orders, was it finally his turn for "wishes to come true"?
Although Noah knew when he awakened Wish that this Magic couldn't fulfill his own desires, at this moment, he couldn't help but harbor a glimmer of hope.
What if?
Impatiently, he unfurled pure white Magic, and a page-like Wish order appeared before his eyes.
[Local Wish Request]
["Cana Alberona's beloved family member, Yuki, has passed away. The grieving girl prays for a miracle, begging Yuki not to leave her."]
[Reward: Self-mastery of Magic Card.]
[Deadline: 24 hours.]
Looking at the Wish order, Noah frowned deeply.
Although it wasn't the Magic knowledge he'd hoped for, thinking of the cheerful, drunken girl crying sadly over the loss of her loved one, Noah couldn't help but feel empathetic.
If his father, Faust, were to pass away one day, he would probably cry for him too.
But was he capable of helping Cana?
He should go visit Cana first. She needed company now.
Fortunately, Noah lived in the girls' dormitory. Although he didn't know which floor or room Cana lived in, Noah knew where Mira's room was.
Knocking on Mira's door, Noah explained Cana's situation to her.
"It's urgent. I'm worried Cana might have problems from excessive sadness. Come with me to see her, Mira."
Mirajane, in her pajamas, was a bit puzzled. She'd known Cana for so long and only knew that Cana's mother had passed away when she was five years old.
She'd never heard Cana mention any other family members, let alone living with her.
But because she trusted Noah, Mirajane still led him to Cana's room.
After knocking several times with no response and calling out to Cana with no answer, Mirajane wondered, "Even if she drank a lot last night, with Cana's constitution, she should be awake by now..."
"Could it be!"
Noah and Mirajane exchanged glances. The latter instantly activated a portion of her Satan Soul power, and her Demon King's hand forcefully broke the lock cylinder of the door.
The situation was urgent, and Mirajane chose to break the door down.
Noah quickly entered the room. Although Cana's dormitory wasn't particularly tidy, it wasn't filled with the expected smell of alcohol and scattered bottles. Instead, it had some cute decorations that only a young girl would have.
They quickly found Cana.
In the bedroom, Cana was tightly hugging a small white dog, her body curled up in a corner.
"Cana, are you alright?"
Mirajane knelt beside Cana, and as she touched the dog's stiff body, she immediately understood everything.
This white puppy named Yuki had been with Cana since before she joined Fairy Tail at the age of five. It truly could be considered Cana's "family member."
"Mira... Yuki... Yuki..."
Cana was heartbroken. The puppy in her arms, which had already lost its warmth, couldn't be warmed no matter what she did.
When Cana was very young, her mother had contracted a terminal illness and didn't have long to live. Worried that her daughter would be lonely after her death, she took little Cana to a pet shop and bought a cute white puppy.
Cana loved the puppy very much and named it Yuki.
Less than a year later, Cana's mother passed away due to her severe illness.
And for the twelve years after that, the little white dog accompanied Cana every day. Even when it was old and too weak to walk much, it still waited at the door for Cana to come home every day.
Until last night, the moment Cana opened the door to come home, she didn't hear the happy barking of the dog—only a cold, stiff body lying by the door, seemingly watching for something.
At the end of its life, Yuki was still waiting for Cana to come home.
Cana was filled with regret. If only she'd come home earlier last night... would she have been able to see Yuki one last time?
Mirajane hugged Cana. She, too, had lost her parents when she was young, but at least she had a younger brother and sister to rely on.
But Cana—she'd lost her last family member.
"Cana, don't be sad. Yuki lived for twelve years, which is quite long for a normal dog."
Mirajane tried hard to comfort Cana. "Yuki died of old age and didn't suffer from any illness throughout its life. It was lucky. You should be happy for it..."
Seeing Cana remain silent, Mirajane sighed, knowing how painful it was to lose a loved one. She turned to Noah, hoping he would also comfort her.
To her surprise, Noah was staring at the white puppy with a solemn expression.
"Cana, Mira, can you two confirm that Yuki is just an ordinary creature?"
Mirajane didn't understand why Noah would ask this question at such a moment, but she still replied, "That's right. Yuki is just an ordinary pet dog, not like those pets with demon beast blood that can live a long time."
"I understand."
Noah spoke softly. "Cana, if you had the ability to revive Yuki, would you do it?"
"Yes! I'd do anything!"
Cana seemed to grasp a ray of hope, eagerly anticipating Noah's next words.
A relieved smile appeared on Noah's face. He vaguely sensed the meaning behind the Wish Magic's existence.
It wasn't just a straightforward "commissioned transaction," was it?
So, what was he waiting for?
His right hand reached behind him, and a flash of pure white light appeared and vanished. A card with a magenta front occupying most of its surface appeared in Noah's hand.
A card modified by Wish, its effect adapted to this world—Soul of Rebirth!
Noah handed the card to Cana.
"Cana, this is a power that only Card Mages can use, but it requires an enormous amount of Magic Power, and I don't know exactly how much."
"Whether you can awaken Yuki ultimately depends on you."
Cana took the card dazedly. The moment she received it, she understood how to use it, and a glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.
Recalling what the old man Doran had told her—if her Magic Power was truly strong...
The girl's gaze became firm. She channeled all her Magic Power into the card with all her might until the card emitted a red light.
"I target Yuki. Soul of Rebirth, activate!"
The card dissipated between the girl's fingers, transforming into a gentle, feminine-shaped mist that embraced the little white dog.
The next moment—
"Woof!"