Chapter 301: The Lion Constellation and the Archer Constellation
Chapter 301: The Lion Constellation and the Archer Constellation
Natsu had always wanted to meet a dragon. His primary goal was to gather information about Ignilu, and his secondary objective was to test his Dragon Annihilation Magic against a real dragon.
And on that very night, Natsu encountered a dragon. Unfortunately, the Mountain Wyvern had no knowledge of Ignilu and was clueless about the dragons of this world.
As for his second objective, Natsu got beaten up. Aside from a slight change in the Mountain Wyvern's gaze when Natsu used his Dragon Annihilation Technique, it seemed more like the dragon was playing with a child.
Its tail swishes and wing flaps didn't resemble genuine combat moves.
However, Rod had a peculiar feeling that the Mountain Wyvern was more friendly towards Natsu than him, the summoner.
Yet, it never disobeyed Rod's commands.
Perhaps due to this, Natsu was still full of energy: "Rod, summon it again, and let's fight!"
"No way, I'm tired."
And he was even rejected.
If not for their close relationship, Rod wouldn't bother summoning the Mountain Wyvern just for Natsu to catch a glimpse.
"Why don't you train for at least a month before challenging it again?" Rod, having accumulated enough mana for summoning magic, vigorously restored himself.
"Or, you can fight me first, and if you win, you can challenge it next."
"It's settled then. Tomorrow, we'll work, earn enough for meals, and then train hard! Let's go, Happy!"
"Love!"
...
The next morning, Natsu and Happy, after holding in their mischief for an entire night, visited Lucy's house.
It was normal for a senior mage and a newbie to team up, but these two wanted to cause a ruckus and play some pranks while Lucy was still clueless.
The effort they put into thinking of mischievous ideas almost rivaled Rod's pursuit of Mira back in the day.
Although Natsu and Happy trespassed into Lucy's residence, rummaged through her belongings, and made a mess, Lucy tolerated their familiarity, scolding and hitting them while accepting their behavior.
Furthermore, Lucy even showed them the process of contracting with a Celestial Spirit, which was usually considered more private.
"Do you have a key that can summon a dragon? I want one so I can call it out and fight it!"
"There's no such Celestial Spirit! And why would you summon a spirit just to fight it?"
Happy added, "Love, and didn't Natsu just get beaten up?"
"I didn't get beaten up! I just didn't win!"
"Love."
Natsu spoke up again, "Even without a dragon... can you call all the Celestial Spirits to show us?"
Lucy shook her head, "It's not possible. I can only summon one at a time."
"But Rod can summon many at once?"
"Speaking of which, I've been wondering about this since yesterday!" Lucy stood up, supporting herself on the table, "Don't you find it strange?
Those two huge crabs carried us up the mountain, and three wolves were sent to protect us, and it lasted for several hours!"
"Huh?" Natsu didn't understand her surprise, "It's because Rod is strong."
"It's not about strength! Even if the two crabs were conjoined twins, and the three wolves were triplets, he was still maintaining two gates simultaneously!
And for such a long time, it's simply unbelievable!"
Natsu stated matter-of-factly, "So, Rod is strong."
"I said it's not about strength!" Lucy tugged at her hair, "Ugh... really!"
It was challenging to explain this to someone unfamiliar with Celestial Spirit Magic.
Only those who understood Celestial Spirit Magic could grasp how incredible it was.
"Although he said it's different from Celestial Spirit Magic... anyway, we'll ask him when we get back from work. Maybe there's a secret to quickly becoming a pillar of the guild..."
Lucy indulged in pleasant fantasies.
Natsu confirmed her thoughts, "There is a secret, you know."
Lucy exclaimed in surprise, "Really?!"
"Love, I've seen it. Rod gave it to Mira for safekeeping."
"I can't wait to ask about it! I should have asked the night before last." Lucy regretted.
Natsu spoke seriously, "Don't think about it. Such important things won't be entrusted to a newbie unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless you can prove your ability, like completing this quest."
Natsu placed the quest sheet on the table and chuckled with Happy, taking advantage of Lucy's momentary distraction.
"No way? Just retrieving a book is worth 200,000 J!"
...
"The reward has been increased to 2 million J?" Rod never expected a book to warrant such a substantial investment from the client.
Was it some ancient tome or a rare artifact?
Makarov smiled, "The client just sent a message."
"But Natsu took it yesterday..."
Rod's first thought was that he should team up with Natsu.
His second thought:
"The price increase is unprecedented, unless something unexpected happened to make the quest much more challenging. But now it's not suitable for a newbie... Should we call them back?"
Makarov found Rod's concern peculiar, "Why call them back?"
"Let Mira and I go instead. A 2 million J quest is just right!"
As expected. Makarov said, "You should stay in the guild for a while. In a few days, accompany me to the regular meeting."
Rod looked at him with a hint of resentment, "Guild Master, you've changed. Before, you would do everything to send me out to work, but now that I want to work, you won't let me."
You didn't take Mira with you every time you went out before!
Makarov said, "This time, there's an important matter that I hope you can listen in on."
"Fine, fine."
Rod flipped through the quest's information, hoping to find some clues.
He wasn't too worried about Natsu's ability to complete it; 2 million J was equivalent to a slightly more challenging raid quest, and Natsu could handle it if he took it seriously.
Furthermore, with such a price increase, it was possible that the client was inexperienced and set the price arbitrarily.
Although Natsu was a bit reckless, he was an experienced Archmage who knew how to handle unexpected situations.
And Lucy wasn't an ordinary Archmage either, with her three golden keys...
"Mira, do you know which Celestial Spirits Lucy has?"
"I remember Lyra, Southern Cross, Clock, Small Dog, and Water Bearer, Taurus, and Crab."
Mira had seen all of Lucy's keys and said with some regret, "Lucy also said that Small Dog's Nicola was cute, and she wanted to show me after the contract."
A significant portion of the silver key Celestial Spirits seemed to be functional rather than combat-oriented.
Rod also felt a bit disappointed, "It's a pity there's no Leo or Archer."
According to their birthdays, Mira was a Leo, and Rod was a Sagittarius, and although it wasn't the same, he was curious to see what their corresponding Celestial Spirits looked like.
"Why don't we make two keys to scare Lucy?" Mira suggested.
"Like this?" Rod imitated Lucy's summoning motion from yesterday, "Open, Leo's gate, Mira!"
Mira winked at him, "Then what should I do? Should I pop out with a whoosh?"
"No need." Rod pointed to his heart, "The gate that belongs to you has already been opened here."
Mira raised the tray to hit him but stopped short, "So cheesy~"
Rebi's voice rang out, "Huh? Mira, did someone take the 200,000 J quest to retrieve a book from Albear Mansion?"
(End of Chapter)
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