"I'm back! Hey, old man! We took down that Frost Drake!"
Accompanied by his signature booming voice, Natsu kicked the guild doors open and rushed inside.
Ace leaned against the second-floor railing, a glass of warm milk in his hand, smiling as he watched the lively scene below.
Erza's gaze occasionally swept over the second floor.
When their eyes met, she gave a slight nod to him.
"Hey, Ace!" Natsu, with his sharp eyes, spotted Ace on the floor above in an instant and immediately waved and shouted from below.
"My flames are super strong now."
Ace smiled and leaped down from the second floor.
He winked at Natsu, Gray, Erza and the surrounding crowd of onlookers.
"In that case... how about you try my flames?"
Before his voice had even faded, scorching crimson flames erupted around him.
The fire instantly enveloped him.
In the blink of an eye, a humanoid digimon clad in crimson armor with bands of flame energy extending from its back appeared before everyone.
A scorching yet not oppressive aura spread out, drawing gasps of surprise from the crowd.
"Whoa! How did Ace transform?"
"I have to say, this is pretty cool!"
"Oh? What's this?" A trace of surprise and fighting spirit flashed in Erza's eyes.
"Interesting! Let's fight!" Natsu was even more direct, his fists sparking as he eager prepared for a brawl.
"Time to stretch my muscles," Ace's said with a laugh.
His figure flickered and reappeared in front of Natsu.
A fist covered in crimson armor, trailing a streak of fire, shot straight for Natsu's face.
The speed wasn't fast, and the power was restrained; it was clearly a playful attack.
"Bring it on!" Natsu laughed, making no move to dodge as he met the attack head-on with his own flame-wreathed fist.
Bang!
The two fists collided, exploding into a small, brilliant firework of flames.
Natsu was knocked back, but the fighting spirit in his eyes only grew stronger.
Gray couldn't hold back either, sending several ice lances shooting toward Ace with a wave of his hand.
Erza, meanwhile, watched with great interest, her arms crossed as she commented, "Natsu, your attack intent is too obvious. Gray, the trajectory of your ice lances is too simple."
Under their "pincer attack," Ace moved with agile grace.
He sent Gray flying with a Blazing Fist, and before Natsu could even unleash his attack, he was struck by another move and followed in Gray's footsteps.
After messing around for a while, Ace figured it was about time.
He found an opening to leap out of the fray and deactivated his form.
"Alright, alright, let's stop here."
"No! keep going! I'll show you how strong I am!" Natsu wasn't finished yet.
Gray pouted.
Seeing that Ace's new form seemed to have extremely strong control over fire, it had piqued the interest of him.
....
Ace found Lisanna by the outdoor seats outside the guild, tending to her potted plants.
The girl hummed a song as her silver hair shimmered in the sunlight.
"Lisanna," Ace said as he walked over.
"Ace-nii!" Lisanna turned her head, a smile immediately blooming on her face.
"Did you have fun with Natsu and the others?"
"It was alright." Ace sat down opposite her.
After a moment's hesitation, he spoke. "Lisanna, there's something I need to tell you."
"Hm?" Lisanna put down her watering can and looked at him curiously.
"I might have to leave the guild for a while," Ace said directly.
The smile on Lisanna's face instantly froze, and a flash of panic crossed her eyes.
"Leave? Where are you going? Will you be gone for a long time? It's dangerous, isn't it?"
Seeing her urgent and worried expression, Ace's heart warmed and he quickly explained, "No, don't worry. I'm just... going to a rather special place to train and explore for a period of time. It's very safe, and only I can go there."
"Train... explore..." Lisanna repeated in a low voice, the panic in her eyes subsiding slightly.
"Do you have to go? Can't you just train near the guild? We can all look out for each other..."
"That place is very special and very important to me and to my summon," Ace said in a gentle but firm tone.
"I have to make the trip. Don't worry, I'll be careful."
Lisanna bit her lip and looked at Ace for a long while.
Finally, she slowly nodded, forcing a somewhat strained smile.
"I understand, Ace-nii. But you have to promise me you'll come back safe and sound, me... and everyone in the guild, we'll all be waiting for you."
"Yes, I promise," Ace nodded solemnly.
After reassuring Lisanna, Ace turned and walked into the guild, heading straight for the Master's room on the second floor.
"Come in," Makarov's voice came from inside the door.
Ace pushed the door open.
"You brat, what is it now? Don't tell me you're here to report that you've wiped out another dark guild?"
"Not this time, Master," Ace said with a smile, walking to the desk. "I'm here to request a long leave of absence."
"A long leave?" Makarov's small eyes stared at him. "For how long?"
"Probably... more than a month, maybe longer. I'm not sure yet," Ace said.
Makarov's brow furrowed. "That long? Where are you going? To do what? Don't give me any of that 'personal privacy' nonsense. You're an S-Class Mage now. You must give the guild a basic account of your whereabouts. This is for your own safety as well."
Ace pondered for a moment before speaking a half-truth. "Master, do you remember when I mentioned the source of my power and my Summoned Beast? I need to go to a place related to their origin for some deep training and investigation. That place is rather special; I can only enter and leave using my own power, and the flow of time there might be slightly different from here. I promise this trip is mainly for training. I won't actively seek danger, and I'll try to establish contact with the guild periodically."
Master Makarov watched Ace in silence, his sharp gaze seeming to see right through him.
After a long moment, the old man finally let out a slow sigh and rubbed his brow.
"You brat... seems like you have more secrets than Mystogan," the Master grumbled, then his expression turned serious.
"Alright, I'll approve it. S-Class Mages have a great deal of autonomy to begin with. But, you remember this—"
The Master hopped down from his chair and walked in front of Ace.
"No matter what godforsaken place you go to or what you encounter, coming back alive is the bottom line! Also, get your ass back here on time!"
Hearing the Master's seemingly stern but deeply caring words, Ace felt a warmth in his heart.
"Yes, Master! I'll remember it."
"Go on, go on, just looking at you gives me a headache." Master Makarov waved his hand and sat back down in his chair, but his gaze followed Ace's departing back until the door closed.
Only then did he sigh softly.
"Sigh, in the whole guild, only Erza gives me some peace of mind, even if she is a bit of a busybody."
....
Late that night, he confirmed the doors and windows of his room were locked and he activated the Digital World pass.
A soft, white light with the texture of a data stream emanated from it, quickly condensing and spinning in front of Ace to form a stable, oval-shaped portal about two meters in diameter, its interior shimmering with iridescent light.
Ace took a deep breath, cast one last look around the room, and stepped into the portal.
He found himself on the edge of a vast, boundless primeval forest teeming with vibrant life.
"So this is... the Digital World," Ace murmured to himself.
He could feel the Digital Soul within him was exceptionally active here, faintly resonating with the surrounding environment.
The sky was a clear blue, with fluffy white clouds drifting by.
The air was incredibly fresh, filled with the rich fragrance of plants and a certain pure energy.
The forest before him was filled with trees of unimaginable height, many with trunks so thick it would take several people to encircle them.
Their canopies blotted out the sky. In the distance, the faint calls of unknown creatures and the gurgling of a stream could be heard.
A moment later, Ace watched as his partners suddenly appeared.
Suddenly, BlackWarGreymon's dark figure slowly materialized.
After appearing, it didn't show any of the nostalgia the other Digimon did.
A moment later, it spoke in a low voice tinged with clear dissatisfaction.
"So it's you guys. What a letdown."
"Hm?" Ace and the other Digimon all looked at it.
BlackWarGreymon looked at Ace, its cold voice sounding again, carrying a condescending declarative tone and a hint of impatience.
"I couldn't find a single Mega-level on my side, so I could only fight Ultimate-levels. And I've already defeated every single one that reached the Ultimate level."
"I finally sensed an aura stronger than a Ultimate-level, and it turns out to be you lot!"
Hearing this, Ace understood that their meeting today was a coincidence, but that wasn't the point.
Why didn't he get any rewards for BlackWarGreymon defeating the Ultimate-level Digimon?
"The energy here is fairly abundant," BlackWarGreymon said, looking at the vibrant forest, its tone a mixture of boredom and faint anticipation.
"In that case, you might as well help me find a Mega-level opponent. A stronger Ultimate-level would be fine too. It's just trading one boring place for another."
Ace's mouth twitched slightly.
Just as he was about to say something, suddenly—
BZZZZZZ!
A buzzing sound, so dense it made one's scalp tingle, like the flapping wings of giant metal insects, suddenly came from deep within the forest.
The sound approached rapidly from a distance.
Immediately after, the sunlight above their heads was abruptly blotted out by a large shadow.
A huge swarm of ferocious-looking insectoid Digimon flew out from the forest.
They had black or dark-red carapaces, their compound eyes glinted with a vicious light and their massive mandibles opened and closed with sharp "clacking" sounds.
Their sharp claws glinted menacingly.
Leading the swarm were several particularly large and ferocious Okuwamon, and surrounding and behind them were a dense, numerous group of Kuwagamon.
They seemed to have been attracted by the recent fluctuations or the unfamiliar auras.
They now had Ace and his group completely surrounded, their eyes filled with the cold hostility of predators.
A swarm of insects composed of numerous Champion-levels and several Ultimate-levels.
And judging by their orderly formation and the coordinated hunting aura they exuded, they were clearly an organized and highly aggressive group.
A great battle was about to erupt!
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator