Chapter 57

Thank you very much to '魂落魄', '冰·月影', '亓官轩琦', '銀龍の黎明', '夜月辰羽', '蒂影', '云歧青谷', and 'mikulove' for your generous donations!

The wind quietly blew from the distant horizon, adding a touch of coolness to the air.

Magnolia still stood at the center, surrounded by many forests and mountains. Occasionally, the cries of the townspeople selling goods and the loud noises of people arguing and laughing could be heard, everything remained unchanged, still bustling as ever.

It was already autumn, and the temperature in Magnolia had dropped significantly, bringing a chill to the town.

Of course, if there were no breeze, even in autumn, the humid heat would still make people feel stifled.

"Rustle... rustle..."

In one of the more stifling and hot forests outside Magnolia, a faint rustling of leaves suddenly sounded, growing louder, as if something was approaching.

"Whoosh——!"

In the next second, a figure suddenly appeared in the distance of the forest, moving at an extremely high speed, accompanied by a faint whistling sound, rushing from afar.

It was a young man, about seventeen years old, wearing only shorts, barefoot, and bare-chested. At that moment, he was holding a massive boulder, much larger than himself, high above his head, and stamping on the forest floor with a speed faster than a cheetah, causing the ground to tremble as he ran through the forest, nimbly avoiding the trees and obstacles in his path.

"Whoosh..."

After a long while, the young man finally stopped, casually tossing the boulder he had been holding high above his head to the side.

"Thud——!"

The boulder crashed to the side, crushing the surrounding branches and weeds, and creating a pit in the ground, stirring up a bit of dust.

After doing this, the young man lifted his head, looking up at the sky, revealing a face that had lost much of its youthful innocence and had become more mature and steady, with deep, penetrating eyes that seemed to draw people in.

This was a face that had taken four years to mature.

Time flies.

In the blink of an eye, four years had passed.

At seventeen, Noah had not only grown in height and appearance but also in strength, which no one else knew the limits of.

Since receiving the news that Laxus had passed the S-Class Mage promotion exam and become an S-Class Mage, Noah had not returned to 'Fairy Tail' for four years and had almost daily challenged his limits.

Over the four years, Noah had not only been training his magic.

Physical abilities!

Swordsmanship!

Combat skills!

Magic control!

And even aspects such as flexibility, sharpness, reaction time, and sensory perception, all of which he had trained with extreme rigor!

Compared to four years ago, Noah's strength had undergone a complete transformation!

At least, Noah was confident that if he had the chance to face his younger self, he could defeat him with just a swing of his fist, without using any devastating magic or advanced sword techniques, and without moving a single step!

This was only a part of Noah's current strength!

As for magic...

Glancing at the boulder beside him, Noah reached out and lightly touched it, then took a few steps forward, gradually disappearing into the forest.

"Buzz——!"

Only after Noah's figure disappeared into the forest did the boulder, which was larger than Noah's body, suddenly seem to glow from within, with lines appearing along its cracks, forming a grid-like pattern.

Then...

"Bang——!"

With a dull sound, the boulder exploded along the grid-like lines, breaking into neat blocks that fell to the ground, stirring up more dust.

...

Over the four years, although Noah had been training, he had no fixed place.

Sometimes it was a mountain.

Sometimes it was a lake.

Sometimes it was a river.

Sometimes it was a forest.

Even sometimes it was a deep valley or an abyss.

Noah wandered from place to place, training in various environments, whether peaceful or dangerous.

However, no matter where he was, Noah never strayed far from Magnolia.

Even when he was deep in dangerous forests, battling various monsters to hone his combat experience, Noah would find a high place every day to look at Magnolia, to look at 'Fairy Tail'.

Because he had not strayed too far from Magnolia, Mira, Lisanna, Erza, and others could often find Noah's trail over the four years.

Sometimes it was a group.

Sometimes it was an individual.

Sometimes it was a group of friends.

Sometimes it was just two or three people.

In short, every so often, Noah would see his childhood friends, making his life less monotonous.

After all, even the longest time without seeing them was only half a year.

Of course, the shortest time without seeing them was still two or three months.

In a life of training, training, and more training, with occasional gatherings and fun with his old friends, Noah completed his four years of training.

Wearing a simple white shirt and black pants, and a white coat that reached down to his thighs, Noah turned his head, looking in the direction of Magnolia, his eyes seemingly seeing the familiar guild building. After a while, he murmured.

"Maybe it's time to go back?"

Saying this, Noah clenched his fist, then opened his hand, a mist-like white light rising and rolling over it.

Only those familiar with the ultra-advanced destructive magic 'Crush' would know that if this mist-like white light accidentally touched anything, it would be reduced to dust!

Noah, however, let this dangerous substance roll over his palm and skillfully dim its light, maintaining it for a while before clenching his fist tightly.

Actually, starting from a year ago, Noah's 'Crush' had never gone out of control again!

However, to be on the safe side, Noah had trained 'Crush' for a whole year!

Now, Noah had 100% confidence to make this declaration.

"Even Gildarts, in terms of controlling 'Crush', is not as strong as me!"

Leaving this declaration, Noah could no longer suppress his homesickness, a long-missed excited smile appearing on his face. He reached out, grabbed the bag containing his sword, and walked in the direction of Magnolia.

...

Magnolia, 'Fairy Tail'...

Looking at the familiar building before him, Noah was stunned for a long time.

Four years.

It had been four years since he last returned.

Even after four years, 'Fairy Tail' had not changed much, except that the main door seemed to have been replaced a few times.

It was probably not due to natural wear and tear but rather because of the rowdy bunch who had destroyed it.

Taking a deep breath, Noah suppressed his emotions, reached out, and pushed open the guild's main door.

It was just after dawn.

Therefore, no one had come to the first-floor bar of the guild yet.

Noah looked at the familiar scene, walked around the bar, then climbed the stairs to the third floor, reached his room, and pushed the door open.

The sight before him was exactly as he remembered, without a single change.

But there was not a speck of dust.

It was as if he had just left.

Noah stood at the door, looking for a long time.

After a while, a soft voice echoed in the simple room.

"I'm back..."

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