The smoke and dust slowly dispersed, revealing a charred figure standing at the center of the explosion. The ground around him was cracked and blackened, with wisps of black smoke rising.
Natsu's skin was charred black, but there were no obvious wounds; the blackened skin looked more like it was smoked.
Surprisingly, his cherry-blossom colored hair and the white scarf around his neck were completely unharmed. Although his upper body clothes were burnt, his red and black shorts didn't even have a tear.
"Hoo…" Natsu patted his chest, exhaled a puff of black smoke, and jumped in place. Magic power surged around him, and the black ash on his skin was instantly shaken off, revealing his original fair skin.
Natsu twisted his arms and rotated his neck a couple of times. After confirming he was fine, his gaze fell on Ezreal, who was guarded by a group of Crimson Raptors and Shadow Wolves.
"Again!" Flames erupted from the corners of Natsu's mouth. He bent his knees, building power, and roared loudly!
"He's truly exaggerated, this Dragon Slayer physique. He can recover his state and even his injuries just by consuming some magic power." Ezreal looked at Natsu, who, apart from his clothes being damaged, showed almost no injuries and was still full of fighting spirit, feeling quite speechless.
Ezreal crossed his arms, then lightly raised a finger with his left hand. The wolves around him and the birds hovering and flapping their wings above them once again opened their mouths. Golden light points appeared from the air, were absorbed into their mouths, and converged into golden orbs of light.
"I can use that last move a few more times."
The renewed gathering of Light Magic power, and the oppressive feeling of that magic power, was even stronger than the previous attack.
The flames flickering in Natsu's eyes slowly extinguished. He knew Ezreal wasn't joking.
Their duels during this period, except for when Ezreal was still unfamiliar with coordinating with his Summoned Beasts, had all ended in Natsu's defeat.
With the enhancement of Amaterasu and Dimensional Magic, Ezreal had almost no obvious weaknesses, apart from his current limited total magic power.
"Well, let's fight again tomorrow. I'm going for lunch. Let's go, Happy!" Natsu patted the dust off his shorts, then dashed to Happy's side, grabbed the little blue cat, and ran back to the guild hall.
"Aye? But it's only eleven o'clock…" Happy's voice echoed in the air.
Ezreal smiled. The beasts around him vanished into thin air as if erased by an invisible rubber, returning to the canyon.
With a flash of golden light, Ezreal used Arcane Shift to appear beside the onlookers.
"You've really improved quickly, no wonder the Master directly promoted you to an A-Class Mage." Gray commented coolly.
"Well, just average. Maybe Light Magic and Summoning Magic both suit me quite well." Ezreal was very modest.
"That was a true man's fight, so exciting, Ezreal!" Elfman excitedly came closer.
"Your strength is getting stronger and stronger. That wasn't your full power just now, was it? You didn't really use your Arcane Shift or Amaterasu. Just with Light Magic alone, Natsu probably isn't your match anymore." Cana, holding a barrel of ale, was reeking of alcohol, but her eyes were exceptionally clear.
"What amazing magical talent. Maybe Ezreal can try the S-Class exam this year." Laki also praised him.
Hearing this, Cana, holding her barrel of ale, her eyes dimmed slightly, and a flicker of disappointment, almost imperceptible, crossed her face.
"With this guy's strength, it's certainly possible…" Gray and the others nodded seriously.
"Still too early, too early. My total magic power isn't much. Amaterasu is powerful, but it also consumes a lot of magic power. Short battles are fine. For long battles, I can only forgo Amaterasu and save magic power to fight with my Summoned Beasts." Ezreal waved his hand.
Amaterasu, as Precht's prized magic, increased in power when combined with his innate magic, but its magic power consumption was indeed not low. Ezreal estimated that after about thirty ordinary Amaterasu uses, his magic power would be depleted.
If he were to use a large-scale magic like Amaterasu - Style 28, he would probably only be able to use it two or three times.
"I haven't seen other S-Class Mages, so it's hard to compare, but compared to Erza, my strength is still a bit lacking." A vision of the red-haired knight girl in armor appeared in his mind, and Ezreal shook his head.
His companions' generous praise indeed made Ezreal Happy, but he still knew his limits. He scratched his head and continued, "And, the number of completed requests is too small, so I can't even qualify for the S-Class exam. I haven't even done a single request yet."
"That's true. The S-Class exam requires a sufficient number of completed requests, and Ezreal hasn't done a single request since he joined the guild." Laki thought for a moment and replied earnestly.
"Thanks for reminding me. That makes it sound like I've been slacking off this whole time." Ezreal spread his hands helplessly, "I've been diligently studying magic these past two months; otherwise, how could I have improved so quickly?!"
"With your current strength, aren't you considering taking on requests?" Gray asked.
"Man, if Ezreal goes on missions, he'll quickly make a name for himself!" Elfman had high hopes for Ezreal.
"In a while. I still need to refine my magic. I've recently scoured the library and finally found a way to improve it. I want to ask the Master to help me see if it's feasible first."
"So, once the improvement is successful, your strength will advance again. It seems the guild will really have another S-Class Mage." Laki pushed up her glasses, looking quite envious.
"Is the new person the old man mentioned you?" Just as Ezreal was about to chat a bit more with everyone, a somewhat arrogant voice interrupted their conversation.
Looking from a distance, four figures were walking towards them.
The man leading them wore a black leather coat with a Gray fur collar, had a robust physique, bright golden short hair, a pair of punk-style headphones with metal studs on his ears, and a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his right eye and face.
Behind him followed two men and one woman.
The woman wore the same black coat with a Gray fur collar as the leading man, wore glasses, and had long green hair, appearing mature and steady.
Among the two men, one also had short green hair, looking quiet and refined, dressed in a suit, with a rapier hanging at his waist, appearing very gentlemanly.
The last person wore a strange iron mask covering his face, was tall, and had a prominent blue ponytail tied up.
"The Thunder God Tribe… and Laxus!"
Gray and the others seemed to recognize the four people opposite them, but their expressions were not good.
"Have you returned from your S-Class mission so quickly? As expected of Laxus." Laki tried to greet the tall man walking towards them, whose expression was unfriendly, to ease the atmosphere.
"You're the new guy, are you?" Laxus walked in front of everyone, with the three members of the Thunder God Tribe behind him. He looked at Ezreal with cold eyes and an arrogant expression.