The moment Ur spotted the figure ahead, his eyes lit up with excitement.
He immediately shouted, "Natsu, help me out here!"
"Huh?"
Hearing someone call his name, Natsu looked around in confusion until he finally spotted Ur sprinting toward him at full speed.
His face lit up with that signature sunny, goofy grin.
"Yo, Ur! What kind of game are you playing now?"
"No time to explain. Just help me take care of the thing behind me! Huff... huff..."
Even with Ur's solid physical stats, being chased for half an hour had left him feeling strained.
Natsu glanced behind Ur. When he saw the massive blue-furred ape barreling toward them, his expression instantly turned gleeful, as if he'd just found a new toy.
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
Compared to Ur, Natsu was a certified battle maniac.
One of his hobbies?
Fighting.
Natsu might love a good brawl, but at heart, he was still one of the guild's most kind-hearted members. What he enjoyed was sparring, not killing.
Even when it came to enemies, that principle didn't change. Honestly, Ur didn't know how to evaluate that personality.
But if given a choice, he'd love to be Natsu's enemy, because that would be the safest role possible.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Bam!
"ROARRGH—!"
It was over in a flash.
Natsu let out a yell, threw a single punch, and that terrifying monster that had chased Ur for half an hour was laid out cold on the forest floor.
Ur watched the entire process and didn't even bat an eye.
No surprise at all.
Come on... He's a Dragon Slayer.
If Natsu couldn't handle a small fry like this, then Ur would have been shocked.
He may have only been fourteen, but having trained with the Fire Dragon King since childhood, Natsu's magic was already nearing the level of an A-Class Mage.
That was just under normal conditions.
If he went all out? His strength would be terrifying.
After knocking out the gorilla monster, Natsu still looked a little unsatisfied. With a faint pout, he strolled back toward Ur, Happy fluttering loyally behind like a fuzzy blue sidekick.
"You two heading out on a job?" Ur asked, noting the travel packs on their backs.
"Not a job. I'm going to look for Igneel!" Natsu chirped.
"Aye, sir! Bet you can't guess, Igneel is a dragon!" Happy declared with exaggerated mystery.
Ur simply nodded with a calm face. "Oh."
Natsu: "?????????"
Happy: "?????????"
Something… felt off.
Whenever they told people about Igneel, reactions typically included disbelief, laughter, or flat-out mocking surprise.
But Ur's reaction?
A flat "Oh"?
That was a first.
For a second, the boy and cat just stood there, brains buffering.
Even with their already limited brainpower, it felt like both their systems had momentarily crashed. Ur might not be a mind reader or facial expression expert, but from their reaction, he had a pretty good idea what was going on.
And his internal response?
Heh.
So what if Igneel's a dragon? Big deal.
Ur not only knew Igneel was a dragon. He also knew that the guy had never actually gone missing. The Fire Dragon had been hiding inside Natsu's body all along, just biding his time.
So no matter how hard Natsu searched, he'd never find him.
What's so impressive about that? You want him to act shocked or something?
Ridiculous.
Okay, fine.
Ur wasn't saying anything because he didn't want to accidentally mess up Igneel and the others' plans.
More importantly, he wasn't entirely sure that spilling the truth wouldn't result in a bunch of dragons popping out and beating him into the dirt.
Risking my life for a hot take? Nah, I'll pass.
After taking care of the gorilla monster, Natsu and Happy quickly resumed their journey.
Natsu's bond with Igneel, who had raised him from infancy, was incredibly deep. So any time there was even the slightest rumor about dragons, Natsu would chase it down immediately.
Of course, the result was always the same.
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Ur sighed.
"Guess even dragons can be deadbeat dads…"
It was a heartfelt sigh of mutual understanding.
Once the emotion faded, Ur turned his attention back to the unconscious gorilla monster lying on the ground.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
In the next moment, he slowly raised his hands. Magic surged from within. Beneath the monster, a yellow magic circle appeared, its hue noticeably darker than before.
Lower-Tier Earth Magic, Earth Spike!
Squelch!
From the magic circle shot up a jagged earth spike, piercing the gorilla monster's chest clean through, sending blood gushing into the air.
The monster's life force rapidly faded.
In just a few moments, it lay completely lifeless.
At that very instant, Ur suddenly felt a notable surge of magic power from within.