Seeing that Laxus completely ignored her, Laki felt a little awkward.
"Hey, that's a bit rude, Laxus." Gray frowned slightly.
"Talk to me when you become an S-Class Mage, Gray." Laxus glanced at him, a look of disdain on his face.
Gray shot up from his chair, his expression cold. His shirt was gone at some point, and an icy blue aura emanated from him.
"Yes. My name is Ezreal. I was brought back by the Master and just joined the guild." Ezreal stepped forward, placed a hand on Gray's shoulder, patted it, and then met Laxus's gaze.
He actually quite liked this Master's grandson, a powerful yet somewhat tsundere character from the original story.
His nature wasn't bad; it was just that his father had been expelled from the guild, and young Laxus didn't quite understand his grandfather Makarov's actions. Makarov also offered no explanations, which left Laxus with a lingering resentment.
Even children picked up from the streets were treated and raised like his own, such as Natsu, Gray, and Erza, all of whom were essentially found by the Master.
Even when these adopted children caused trouble during missions, Makarov never seemed to punish them severely.
However, he chose to expel his own son, Laxus's father, from the guild, without telling anyone the specific reasons.
The still-young Laxus couldn't understand, and thus the rift between grandfather and grandson grew, and he increasingly looked down on his guildmates.
At this stage, Laxus was not yet the 'Laxus' who would later have a sudden realization. Judging solely by his tone and gaze, he was indeed a bit annoying right now.
But annoying as he was, his strength was undeniably top-tier. The current Gray was absolutely no match for him, and the sense of threat emanating from him was even stronger than Erza's.
"The old man is increasingly disregarding the guild's rules, allowing just anyone to be ranked as an A-Class Mage." Golden light glowed in Laxus's eyes, and faint, fine golden lightning flickered around his body, resembling a static field.
"He's sensing my magic power intensity." Ezreal frowned slightly, feeling a faint electric touch on his skin.
"At this rate, maybe the title of S-Class Mage can just be given to everyone in the guild." Laxus's gaze swept past Ezreal, disdainfully looking at everyone present.
Through his sensory magic, he had already gauged the approximate strength of these people. Aside from Ezreal, Gray, and Cana being slightly better, everyone else was completely average; not a single one was impressive.
While the amount of magic power doesn't represent a person's entire combat strength, most people with large magic reserves are not too weak.
For example, Cana, with Gildarts' excellent genes, has exceptional magical talent. Her magic power is definitely among the best of all Fairy Tail members. Yet, she chose card magic, which has only average compatibility and expressive power for her, and still managed to barely make it as an S-Class candidate.
She might not seem as prominent compared to the main protagonist group because their strength is simply overpowered, but in any other guild, she would definitely be considered a core member.
"The Master has been teaching me recently and thinks my strength is quite good. I'm honored to receive his recognition and happy to be exceptionally granted the title of A-Class Mage." Ezreal patted Gray's shoulder, calming the shirtless eccentric, then walked in front of Laxus and met his gaze.
The two were roughly the same height, with Ezreal a few centimeters shorter. Compared to Laxus, Ezreal's physique was considerably leaner, making him appear less imposing than the sharp-edged Master's grandson.
"If you think my strength isn't enough, we could have a simple spar. What do you think?" Ezreal stared into Laxus's eyes, seeing only arrogance and scrutiny, but no malice.
Ezreal understood. Although Laxus's attitude was poor, it was far from the extreme and unreasonable behavior that would later lead to civil war.
Tsundere personalities are quite easy to deal with. Just be direct. Since he doesn't believe in his strength, then they should fight.
Ezreal was also very interested in this guy, whose strength could steadily rank among the top three in the guild.
"Oh?" Laxus raised an eyebrow.
"You?" He pointed a finger at Ezreal, then tapped his own chest.
"Challenging me?" Laxus asked three consecutive questions, his face full of disdain.
"Just a spar, a casual fight. I see everyone in the guild does it; it seems to be some kind of tradition, a way to get to know each other. Otherwise, you don't seem to believe I have the strength of an A-Class Mage." Ezreal shrugged. He was confident in his own strength; winning might be impossible, but he definitely had the power to fight back.
"There's no such tradition! They just love to fight!" Cana chugged a large gulp of alcohol, complaining speechlessly.
"Well, that doesn't matter. Anyway, care for a spar, Laxus?" Ezreal smiled gently, extending his hand and wiggling it.
"Interesting." Laxus sneered, sized up Ezreal, then pulled off his trench coat and tossed it to Freed, revealing a black athletic tank top underneath. His muscles bulged slightly, and golden lightning began to glow around him.
"Honestly, it's fine to question me, but my A-Class rank was exceptionally decided by the Master. I can't let anyone question the Master as someone who disregards the guild's rules." Ezreal took two more steps forward, leaving only a fist's distance between himself and Laxus. He could already feel the numbness and tingling from the golden lightning striking his skin.
"I can't pretend I didn't hear such impolite words." Ezreal's smile vanished, his facial muscles hardened like cast iron—cold, stern.
Before his words finished, a strong golden light instantly bloomed from Ezreal's center, spreading outwards in a spherical wave.
Laxus hadn't expected this blond kid to attack so suddenly and fiercely. He was pushed back seven or eight meters by the sudden golden light wave.
"This is… the old man's Light Domain!" Although repelled, Laxus was completely unharmed, not even a hair out of place. However, he was very surprised by the magic Ezreal had used.
"Congratulations, there's a prize for guessing correctly." Ezreal's Light Domain, once released, was immediately retracted, condensing into brilliant golden light on his left fist, aimed at Laxus, from which he unleashed a highly concentrated golden laser.
"Destruction Ray!"
Light-based magic skills are all about speed! Before the words finished, a golden laser as thick as a thigh had already struck Laxus, pushing him back dozens of meters.
Gray and the others watching were astonished, but the three members of the Thunder God Tribe remained standing still as if they hadn't seen anything, showing no signs of worry.