"That's not entirely impossible." Marco's words immediately brightened Natsu's mood.
"So, what kind of powerful magic can I learn?"
The moment Marco spoke, Natsu eagerly pressed for details.
"I prefer something fire-related. If it's dragon-related, that works too."
Natsu counted on his fingers as he laid out his demands to Marco.
"..."
Marco was speechless.
Natsu was already customizing his own training plan?
Fire-related—the "Phoenix" constellation naturally fit the bill.
The Phoenix Flame, with its ability to rise from ashes, would have been highly compatible with Natsu who could recover fully by consuming fire.
Unfortunately, Marco hadn't drawn that one yet.
Currently, the only fire-based constellation Marco had was the newly acquired Leo Minor.
After testing it, the compatibility with Natsu was decent—after all, Natsu was the Fire Dragon, so fire-based magic naturally suited him.
Still, it was nowhere near as compatible as Gray's pairing with the Cygnus constellation.
Marco also tested the "Draco" constellation, but the compatibility wasn't high—even lower than "Leo Minor."
Thinking about it, that made sense.
It wasn't the same kind of dragon, and "Draco" wasn't particularly fire-aligned—if anything, it leaned more toward water attributes.
So, was "Leo Minor" the only choice?
Marco hesitated.
It didn't feel like the best option.
Though Leo Minor was one of the 'Five Bronze Weaklings,' its reputation had somewhat recovered in Saint Seiya Omega, where it managed to shine in battle.
While Leo Minor wasn't weak, the Phoenix was undoubtedly the better choice.
For now, using it as a transitional option wasn't out of the question.
Marco considered letting Natsu train with it first and then switch to "Phoenix" once he drew it—just like how Lucy was currently training with "Cygnus," though she was aiming to upgrade from Bronze to Gold.
Natsu, on the other hand, would just be switching from one Bronze to another.
But that didn't matter.
What suited him best was what mattered.
"Learning Celestial Spirit Magic requires extreme dedication. If you give up halfway, you won't grow at all."
After weighing his options and making a decision, Marco spoke firmly to Natsu.
"I'll definitely stick with it! If Gray can do it, so can I!" Natsu didn't back down.
He was determined to master Celestial Spirit Magic—if only to one-up Gray.
He refused to believe he was any worse.
"Good. Then you'll train under me." Marco nodded, accepting Natsu as his student.
....
"Leo Minor? Draco? Isn't there a Fire Dragon constellation?"
Natsu wasn't entirely satisfied with the two options Marco presented.
One was a lion, the other was a wind dragon.
Though the latter had "dragon" in its name, "Draco" was tied to Wendy's Dragon Slayer Magic and had little to do with his Fire Dragon abilities—Natsu clearly misunderstood what "Draco" represented.
After comparing the two, Natsu ultimately chose the fire-aligned "Leo Minor."
He was intrigued by Marco's mention of switching to "Phoenix" later—that one sounded impressive.
"Focus on mastering Leo Minor first."
Marco shook his head, stopping Natsu from getting ahead of himself.
"Leo Minor," Natsu muttered, finding it difficult to establish a connection.
After all, his compatibility with Leo Minor wasn't as high as Gray's with Cygnus.
It would probably take some time.
Marco thought to himself that by the time he managed to summon Phoenix, Natsu might still be struggling to connect with Leo Minor.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Natsu, as always, brimmed with confidence.
.....
Half a year later, summer of X781 arrived.
Natsu's confidence finally wavered—he still hadn't succeeded in forming a bond with Leo Minor, while Gray had managed to connect with Cygnus in roughly the same timeframe.
"Patience, Natsu."
Marco wasn't surprised at all and calmly reassured him.
Natsu's magical aptitude was higher than Lucy's, and his compatibility with Leo Minor was also better than Lucy's with Cygnus.
Since Lucy had taken about a year to connect with Cygnus, Natsu shouldn't need that long.
Success was likely just around the corner—another month or two at most.
"Ugh! How much longer?!"
Natsu was losing his mind.
It was hard not to feel restless, especially since the S-Class trials of X781 had just concluded a few days prior.
This time, "Demon" Mirajane had passed the exam, becoming Fairy Tail's fifth S-Class Mage.
That alone wasn't too much of a blow to Natsu—what really stung was that Mirajane's opponent in the finals had been Gray!
What did that mean? It meant Gray had nearly made it to S-Class!
Meanwhile, Natsu, who had reached the finals in the previous year's trials, had been knocked out in the semifinals this time—by none other than the newly promoted Mirajane.
Both had lost to Mirajane, but Natsu's performance paled in comparison to Gray's.
That frustration made him desperate to complete his training as soon as possible.
Over the past six months, Natsu had been training under Marco.
Though he hadn't yet mastered Celestial Spirit Magic, his body had grown significantly stronger—after all, physical conditioning was unavoidable under Marco's guidance.
So it wasn't as if Natsu hadn't improved.
On the contrary, he'd grown a lot—at the very least, he was far stronger than he'd been during the S-Class trials a year ago.
That was the only reason he could still sit still.
If he hadn't improved at all, he would've bolted long ago.
"Alright, your mind's too scattered. Take a break—go clear your head."
Seeing Natsu's agitation, Marco sighed and decided to let him blow off some steam.
The fact that Natsu had lasted nearly half a year in this training regimen was already impressive.
This year's S-Class trials had clearly shaken him, and forcing him to stay wouldn't help.
Better to let him run wild for a bit.
"Seriously?! Awesome!"
The moment Marco mentioned a break, Natsu perked up instantly.
He really had been growing more restless lately, and meditating on star charts was unbearably dull for someone like him.
He much preferred active training—no wonder he'd bulked up so much over the past six months.
With Marco's permission, Natsu wasted no time rushing back to the guild.
He wanted to take on jobs.
He wanted to fight!
"That kid…"
Marco shook his head helplessly and followed Natsu back to the guild.
"Mira? Elfman? Lisanna? Are you three going on a mission together?"
As soon as Marco arrived at the guild, he spotted the newly promoted S-Class Mage Mirajane.
Mira was discussing something with her younger brother and sister.
"That's right, Marco. We're actually considering asking others to join us," Lisanna spoke up before Mira could answer.
"Is it that dangerous? Can't you three handle it alone?" Marco's expression showed surprise.
With an S-Class Mage like Mira present, they actually needed additional help?
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