Chen Fan slowly opened his eyes. His vision was still blurry, as if the world spun around him, yet he felt a comfortable warmth enveloping his body, like a gentle embrace after a storm. For a fleeting moment, a boy's face appeared before him, eyes closed, lips pursed... leaning in close to him?!
THUMP!
Chen Fan's heart pounded, triggering a danger alarm he hadn't felt since the days of the Apocalypse. "WHOA?!" he shrieked, scared half to death. His instincts screamed "DANGER!" With lightning-fast reflexes that could rival a Shinigami's Shunpo, Chen Fan threw his fist straight at the boy's face.
"WATCH OUT!"
"OWWW!!!"
Two distinct screams rang out in succession. One was Chen Fan's loud cry of surprise and striking, the other was the boy's shriek of pain from the direct hit.
After delivering his lethal blow, Chen Fan carefully pulled the blanket on his body up to his chest, leaning back, his eyes blinking with a confused, paranoid stare. There were even tear tracks at the corners of Chen Fan's eyes, making him look like a young girl who had just been teased.
"He-hey! You're awake! I was just trying to save you! Why'd you hit me, anyway?!" The boy's voice, still childish, suddenly rose, full of protest. His hand rubbed his reddened cheek.
Only then did Chen Fan observe his surroundings. He found many people in the room, and all of them were staring at him with stunned expressions, some agape, some holding back laughter, similar to the Straw Hat crew's reaction to Zoro's goofy antics. A sweatdrop appeared on Chen Fan's temple. Combined with what the boy said, it seemed he had indeed made a huge misunderstanding.
However, he didn't utter "Sorry." Those words had been lost from Chen Fan's vocabulary for too long, buried beneath the rubble of the old world.
The people around him continued to stare at Chen Fan until he started to feel very uncomfortable. Thankfully, Makarov finally spoke, his voice interrupting the awkward silence.
"Ahem, ahem, ahem!" Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he felt his dignity slightly wounded. He raised his voice, "AHEM!" Only then did everyone jump and look at Makarov, as if he had finally regained his Guild Master's dignity, an undeniable Master's aura emanating from his small body.
Makarov said, "That's enough, Gray, don't say any more. If you hadn't hit Chen Fan, he wouldn't have passed out the moment he arrived at the Guild."
Hearing Makarov's words, Chen Fan finally realized that he was the one who had sent him flying! Instantly, his formerly bowed head of regret turned into a sharp glare at Gray, his eyes flickering with a 'dangerous' glint, similar to when Monkey D. Luffy meets an enemy who provokes him. He clenched his fists under the blanket, a barely visible sign of his anger.
This surprised Gray, who immediately retorted, "Not me! It was that fire bastard Natsu who hit him!" His face flushed from the accusation.
"What?! You're blaming me?! You're the one who attacked first, you ice-face!" a boy with fiery pink hair and an inseparable checkered scarf exclaimed. It was Natsu, clearly unwilling to accept Gray's accusation. Small flames even danced at his fingertips.
"What?! What did you say, you fire maniac?! Wanna fight, huh?!" Gray immediately stripped off his shirt, revealing his athletic physique that was already well-formed even at a young age. A habit that never changed, and caused some of the female Guild members to sigh in resignation.
"COME ON, BRING IT, YOU PERVERTED, GLOOMY-EYED EXHIBITIONIST! You think I'm scared of you?!" Natsu retorted provocatively, igniting flames in his fists, ready for a brawl.
"AAAAARGH, DAMN IT!" Feeling his clothes slip without him realizing it, Gray hurriedly picked them up from the ground, his face slightly red with embarrassment. But he still forced himself to stand firm and yelled loudly at Natsu, "I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME AN EXHIBITIONIST!" With that, he threw a punch at Natsu, sending him flying and knocking over many Guild furnishings with a deafening CRACK!
"WHAT?! You bastard, how dare you hit me?! GRRR… FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"
"ALL OF YOU, GET OUT! IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT, GO OUTSIDE AND FIGHT!" Makarov roared, his hands enlarging like a giant, reminiscent of the Titans' power in Attack on Titan, his shadow filling the entire room. He seized Gray and Natsu like small chickens and threw them out the window with a BLAARGH! that signaled their brutal landing.
It turned out that while everyone's attention was focused on Natsu and Gray, Makarov once again felt his authority being trampled upon. His eyes were squeezed shut, and 'veins' constantly bulged on his forehead, a sign of overflowing anger. But when Natsu was about to use his Fire Dragon Roar inside the Guild, Makarov finally couldn't take it anymore and threw them both out.
Seeing the "obstacles" had vanished, Makarov turned to Chen Fan, a gentle smile returning to his face. This made Chen Fan sigh, amazed at Makarov's speed in changing expressions. "It seems, the older, the wiser… and the more terrifying," he thought, slightly amused.
Then Makarov said, "You shouldn't blame them, alright? Look, I've already taught them a lesson for you." A mischievous wink accompanied his words.
Chen Fan also knew that he was probably a casualty of their endless brawls, but for Makarov's sake, he wouldn't make an issue of it. He nodded at Makarov, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Seeing Chen Fan no longer bothered, Makarov smiled happily and said to him, "You should rest well and recover from your injuries. Once you feel better, I'll introduce you to everyone."
It wasn't until Makarov mentioned his injuries that Chen Fan noticed his right hand was bandaged like a rice dumpling. He wiggled his right hand back and forth. Then he heard Makarov say, "Don't move, be careful not to reopen the wound." His tone was slightly worried.
Chen Fan looked up, signaling he was fine, and slowly unwrapped his bandage, revealing a long, gaping wound on his right hand. He presumed it must have been caused by the shattered door fragments earlier. Without hesitation, he placed his left hand over the wound on his right hand.
Instantly, a faint aura enveloped his hands. The wound healed at astonishing speed, like the regeneration power of a powerful Shinigami or the recovery of high-level medical Chakra. His flesh rejoined, his skin became smooth again, and the wound quickly vanished without a trace. Makarov and the others gasped, feeling their eyes weren't enough to comprehend what they were seeing. Some even rubbed their eyes, disbelieving.
However, Chen Fan, who had just used his Superpower to heal the wound, had a slight sweat on his forehead. A small struggle unseen by others. It seemed that using LV1 to treat this wound was still very taxing, draining his energy. He couldn't help but miss the past when he was LV5, where even if he was covered in wounds, he could heal almost instantly like Alucard in Hellsing or high-level Vampires in Strike the Blood. The burden of lost power still haunted him.
Seeing his wound finally healed, Chen Fan also let out a sigh of relief. He looked up and saw everyone around him staring at his right hand with curious gazes. So, he smiled faintly and said, "This can also be considered my magic." A sly smile was etched on his lips.
He got off the bed and hopped around the floor, stretching his stiff body. "Alright, Master," he said to Makarov, his tone more cheerful, "I'm really fine now. Time to introduce myself to everyone; we shouldn't keep them waiting too long."
After speaking, he turned and walked out of the bedroom, leaving a group of wide-eyed people behind him, still processing what they had just witnessed.
As soon as he stepped out of the bedroom door, the previously very noisy Guild hall instantly fell silent. Chen Fan saw that there were quite a few people in the Guild, and it seemed they highly valued new members. He didn't know that he had become famous because he was the first person to try to join Fairy Tail but pass out at the main entrance. The incident spread faster than he expected.
It was also because of this incident that everyone was somewhat curious about Chen Fan, wanting to know what Chen Fan was really like. Countless gazes shot towards Chen Fan, scrutinizing him from head to toe, as if Chen Fan had three heads and six arms. Some stares were so blatant, as if they could see through the color of his underwear, making Chen Fan hurriedly cover his pants and look at the people around him with wary eyes. A sweatdrop appeared on Chen Fan's temple.
Just as Chen Fan was about to give up and hide behind Makarov, the Master and the others finally came out of the room and walked to the reception desk in the Guild.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, quiet down."
After speaking, he felt as if it was redundant; the Guild, which was usually very lively, was surprisingly quiet today, making him feel somewhat awkward. A gigantic sweatdrop appeared on his head. Fortunately, his thick skin over the years did not fail him at a critical moment.
"Ahem, ahem," he cleared his throat again and said, "This is our new Guild member, his name is Chen Fan. Let's give him a warm welcome!"
After speaking, he led by clapping his hands, and then the applause exploded, creating a very lively atmosphere. The hall rumbled with a low buzz of sound.
"Oh, oh… Welcome to Fairy Tail, welcome, welcome!"
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!"
"Welcome!"
"Welcome!"
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