Laxus Dreyar.
An S-Class mage of Fairy Tail, Makarov's grandson.
As a child, he'd been too frail to withstand his grandfather's immense magic power. To save him, his father implanted a Dragon Lacrima into his body, turning him into a second-generation Lightning Dragon Slayer.
His power was unquestionable, but growing up under Makarov's shadow meant people always viewed him through tinted glass.
In the original storyline, to prove himself, he even thought about destroying the guild.
Um....
In short, another guild member with issues.
Of course, this version of Laxus hadn't fallen to that extent yet.
At most, his mindset was still stuck somewhere in teenage rebellion. Thus, dealing with him was actually pretty simple. Ur only had to say one thing:
"Laxus, I'll be counting on you."
"Mm."
Laxus gave him a faint nod, put his headphones back on, and resumed brooding (acting cool) in the corner.
Yep. Easy.
This version of Laxus was just a kid who wanted to look cool—trying to act mature in every possible way, yet his actions were still unmistakably immature.
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"By the way, how did the war end?"
After submitting his mission report and receiving his reward from Makarov, Ur suddenly remembered and asked.
"A pyrrhic victory," Erza said quietly, her tone heavy.
"Devil's Fang brought in support from other guilds," Makarov added with a sigh. "In the end, Angel's Wing did win, but their guild master was badly injured. I'm afraid…"
He trailed off, but Ur understood perfectly well. It didn't sound good for Angel's Wing. Their guild master might have been one of the Ten Wizard Saints, but he was far too old.
Sure, a mage's power deepened with age, but even that growth had its limits.
If Ur remembered correctly, Angel's Wing's guild master, Fuwa Krob, was already over a hundred and twenty. Even among mages, that was ancient—half a foot in the grave, really.
At that age, how could anyone still fight at full strength?
"What about the master of Devil's Fang?" Ur asked after a pause. No matter what, Angel's Wing's master was a Wizard Saint. Surely the other side didn't walk away unscathed.
"He's dead," Erza replied bluntly.
Short and to the point. Ur didn't even know how to respond.
Well, not exactly unexpected.
❖≔﴾═══════ﺤ
After getting the details from Erza and the others, Ur soon left the guild.
He still wasn't sure what had been wrong with that guy, Mr. Singer, but since the mission had been marked as completed, he wasn't about to complain.
After a good night's rest at Grandma Isse's place, the next morning Ur threw himself back into the guild's library.
The last mission had brought him huge gains, and that meant even more he now had to study.
First off, his A-Class affinity for earth magic and near B-Class magic power now made him eligible to start learning advanced magic. His A-Class fire affinity meant another entire branch of study. Additionally, his Kuga Combat Techniquestill needed refining. The newly acquired Way of the Wanderer talent gave him a foundation for swordsmanship as well.
His magic power skyrocketing so suddenly, his mental strength was starting to lag—something he'd need to fix soon.
The list went on, and on, and on.
By the time he stacked all the books he needed into neat piles in front of himself, Ur felt the back of his neck go numb.
No wonder people said every powerful mage was basically a scholar. Just learning one kind of magic required this many books! Even if you weren't a study freak before, this would force you to become one.
Suddenly, Ur found himself sympathizing with Natsu's lack of intelligence.
Maybe he wasn't actually dumb; he'd just used all his brainpower learning Dragon Slayer Magic.
Off to the side, Levy watched Ur's lifeless stare and covered her mouth, giggling. After spending so much time together, she'd grown bolder around him, and lately, Ur had definitely noticed this flat-chested little bookworm was getting cheekier by the day.
Ur shot her an exasperated glare.
Then, with a groan, he buried himself headfirst into the sea of books once again.