At this moment, Ryoma's gaze fell on the silver-white dust in his palm.
With a slight thought, a few wisps, glowing with a silver-white aura, seeped from his fingertips like specks of dust caught by an invisible wind, floating in the air above his palm.
This was the result of his magic awakening—a special magic of unknown nature.
After Ryoma discovered he possessed magic, he had specifically studied it for a period, finding that he could control pure magic dust that contained no specific properties.
They might not be mere condensations of magic, but rather... the world's most minute fragments, the 'primordial sands' that constitute all things. They were silent, as if waiting for a correct 'command' to reconstruct reality.
He had a faint premonition that this power, and the terrifying force that had 'crushed and reassembled' him seven years ago, originated from the same place. It was both destruction and creation.
He had tried to learn other magic, but even if he could understand it, he couldn't truly master it.
And his dust magic was lacking any specific properties and couldn't be condensed into an effective attack. He still hadn't figured out its use.
"Ryoma."
Makarov's voice broke his thoughts.
The old man had appeared beside him at some point, his eyes as gentle as they had been years ago,
"Still troubled by your magic?"
Ryoma subconsciously withdrew his gaze from the silver dust he was observing in his palm.
Makarov sighed and patted his shoulder. "Don't rush, child. Everyone's magic is unique. Perhaps you could try taking a simple mission. You might discover something new through practice."
Ryoma had arrived in the Fairy Tail World in X777, the same year Natsu joined Fairy Tail.
Seven years had passed since then. He had witnessed Mirajane, Elfman and Lisanna join the guild, and he had watched the new generation—Natsu, Gray, Mirajane, and Erza—grow step by step.
In X782, when Mirajane had just been promoted to an S-Class Mage of the guild, Ryoma had given her a subtle warning:
"Mira, perhaps you can put off S-Class missions for a while. There's no need to challenge high-difficulty missions right from the start."
However, Ryoma, arguably the weakest Mage in Fairy Tail, was unable to help Mirajane. He also didn't know how to tell others about future events like that.
He wanted to try to change the plot, so he could only give subtle hints to avoid Lisanna being absorbed into Edolas.
However, at that time, Mirajane was the flamboyant 'Demon' of the guild, with a fiery temper, viewing Erza as a formidable rival, and full of the drive to prove herself. She still took on that S-Class mission with her younger siblings.
After witnessing her sister's 'death,' the blazing flame in Mirajane's eyes was suddenly extinguished, replaced by bottomless pain and self-reproach.
The once sharp 'Demon' disappeared. In her place, the guild gained a gentle-smiling, understanding barmaid who no longer took missions—Mirajane.
Though a bit slow-witted, her gentle nature and sunny smile earned her the title of Fairy Tail's poster girl.
Mirajane regretted not listening to Ryoma's advice back then, so her feelings towards him were somewhat complex. This unspoken guilt transformed into her silent care for Ryoma.
Working together at the bar, she would always discreetly save an extra pastry for him, or hand him a glass of milk when he was engrossed in those magic books.
And for so many years, Ryoma had often browsed various magic books of the guild near the bar, as well as experimenting with the uses of his own magic. But he had gained little, or rather, not completely nothing. At least his magic power had increased significantly.
At this moment, a few wisps of magical light, emanating from Ryoma's fingertips, floated lightly in the air mixed with the smell of alcohol, like ownerless fireflies.
One wisp swirled down and landed precisely in Wakaba's freshly poured beer glass.
With a soft sizzle of foam, the silver glow merged into the liquor, leaving a fleeting star-like glint.
"Hey! Ryoma!"
Wakaba, pipe in mouth, grinned broadly, his voice booming,
"Playing with your atmosphere magic again? Thanks, you just gave my beer some free sparkle effects."
As he spoke, he deliberately smacked his lips, pretending to savor it.
"Pfft—"
Natsu, who was not far away, wrestling with Happy over a skewer of grilled fish, turned his head at the sound, his mouth full, and mumbled indistinctly, "Wakaba, what do you know? Ryoma's magic... uh... Happy!"
"Aye!"
The blue cat flapped his wings and earnestly chimed in, "It's sparkling dust that makes you feel good. Look, it's so sparkly and pretty."
"Hahaha!"
A burst of laughter erupted around them.
Ryoma, long accustomed to such scenes, twitched the corner of his lips.
He feigned annoyance with an eye-roll, and retorted without hesitation, "Careful you don't get a stomach ache from drinking that. If you have money to waste on beer every day, why not take a request and earn some money for a wife?"
Before his words finished, his fingertips moved slightly, and the floating magic dust, like popped soap bubbles, instantly vanished into the air without a trace.
He knew that everyone meant no harm, they were just using their own way to tell Ryoma not to mind these things.
By the railing on the second floor of the guild, a small figure stood silently. Makarov had a clear view of everything downstairs. He knew a bit more than most in the guild.
When he first found Ryoma, he had sensed a strange, space-like fluctuation nearby.
The magic power within this child seemed completely absent at first glance, yet it had been slowly growing over the years. His magic power was definitely not lower than Natsu's and the others'.
But it also carried an indescribable, blank nothingness characteristic. Was this nothingness complete stillness, or... the starting point of some unrecognized, terrifying potential?
A shriek, so excited it was distorted, suddenly exploded in the guild hall, interrupting Makarov's contemplation.
"What?! News of Salamander in Hargeon?!"
An excited, distorted shriek exploded, interrupting Makarov's contemplation.
Natsu's figure flashed, dragging Happy, who was still frantically swallowing grilled fish, and crashed through the guild doors.
"Happy! Let's go!"
From the first day Natsu had arrived at this guild, he had been saying that he was raised by the Fire Dragon Igneel, so he had been searching for news of Igneel all these years.
This wasn't the first time, and everyone in the guild was used to it.
"Wait..."
Ryoma's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, futilely pointing in the direction Natsu had disappeared.
'Hargeon... It seems the story is about to begin.'
Hargeon... Bora... human trafficking... Lucy Heartfilia.
A series of keywords flashed through Ryoma's mind like lightning.
This so-called Salamander, if he remembered correctly, should be Bora, a Dark Mage involved in human trafficking, who had impersonated Natsu's 'Salamander' title from Fairy Tail to trick young girls, creating a farce.
"This guy... still so impulsive."