The Teacher

It's been 4 months since I left the Heartfilia Residence.

After a tearful goodbye with Layla and Lucy, who saw me off on my journey, I had taken my first steps into this beautiful world. Thanks to Layla, I had enough food and supplies to last me a bit of time, not to mention that I also had learned a small fire spell that I can use to start a fire with whenever I end up having to camp.

It looks like I really wasn't as smooth as I thought, since Layla actually confessed to me that she knew that I was practicing my magic in secret but thought that I was so cute trying to do it in secret that she just let me be. Honestly, I couldn't help but feel very embarrassed. Silver lining though, it was only her who knew. Guess that saying that mothers know all is really true then.

Anyway, before I had left, after Layla had instructed me on some things for me to know. Apparently, it is possible for me to perform small jobs in order to gain Jewels as an Independent Mage, even though they are known to not be acknowledged by the Magic Council. It seems that due to the fact that around one out of ten people can use magic, it makes any Mages a commodity in a form of fashion, their services being sought out as long as they aren't from a dark guild or any criminal guilds of any kind. That meant that if I am ever short on Jewels, I would have no need to fear if I can somehow use my magic to help with small stuff like hunting an animal or dealing with some bandits here and there.

But thankfully I'm not in need of Jewels at this moment since Layla, or rather Mom, provided me with no small amount of them to take with me, having given me a book about Requip Magic so that I can safely store my belongings. Honestly, that's such a useful piece of magic. I'm genuinely shocked that people don't use it as much except for in battle situations.

Well, I guess that it's not my problem at the end of the day.

And so I traveled from villages to town, staying at each one for approximately a week or two at any inns that were available while asking around for some small jobs, that way I at least have a small influx of Jewels to help with the expenses, while I got familiar with the layout of each town before I traveled onward. While I stayed at each location, I would take time to practice on my Light God Slaying Magic as well as using my own form of Light Magic, since the latter was what I would normally use in the open eye.*

Hey, say what you want, but if I tip my hand this early on, I might end up catching the wrong kind of attention and I don't want that.

While I did get familiar with the layout of the towns and villages, I honestly didn't put that much effort in memorizing where everything is located. I had many years to see them, so I didn't really take the time to bother. Could I have? Maybe. Did I though? Not really. Yes I know, I really should since this is my new life, but let's be real for a moment. Even I know that in my previous life, there are many people who don't know their way through an entire town or city and just go to a certain place of interest before leaving that town/city and going home.

Well...there were two towns of interest that I wanted to spend time in. Clover Town and Era. Why? Because Clover Town is where the guild masters hold their regular meetings, and Era, no surprise, is the location of the Magic Council Headquarters. Why wouldn't I want to explore those two locations? I mean, don't get me wrong, I would also love to explore Magnolia Town, but if I end up joining Fairy Tail, not to mention that when Lucy joins, I will probably just end up going there anyway. And to be honest, I will probably just ask Lucy if I can pay to stay at her place. Huh...gonna have to teach the future Team Natsu a lesson about breaking into her home.

Food for thought.

Going back to Era and Clover Town though. While I don't mean to sound arrogant, my God Slaying Magic is a form of Lost Magic that I have gain innately, and as such if someone were to witness me practicing it, I'm bound to draw that someone's attention and hopefully said someone would be willing to take me in and teach me more about magic as well as combat.

I am internally aware of the hypocrisy behind those words, wanting not to attract the wrong kind of attention, yet willing to flaunt my Lost Magic to gain attention in areas where there are powerful figures. But hey, at least these people can at least keep a secret.

...Maybe.

If it's a guild master, it's possible that I may end up joining a guild for a bit of time, and while that doesn't sound bad, especially since I can train with fellow future guild members, it would also hamper my ability to travel somewhat. Not a lot, but it's still there.

On the other hand, if it was a Magic Council member, they could possibly provide me with a teacher to learn magic with, and it's possible that I might be able to have access to other resources regarding other magics that I can learn in tandem with my God Slaying Magic, much like at a guild. Then again, they would possibly want to keep an eye on me while having me join the military, which would definitely prevent me from traveling.

But...if I were to miraculously attract the attention of a Wizard Saint or be deferred to one by the Magic Council, that would probably lead to the best case scenario for me. Though, what are really the odds of that happening though? I don't even know any of the Wizard Saints of this currently time, save for the Four Gods of Ishgar, Makavor, and Jose. Ezra hasn't escaped the Tower of Heaven yet, so 'Siegrain' is a no go, especially since Jellal is still a child, and I'm not even sure if Jura has even attained the strength to hit that rank yet.

So that meant there were six confirmed members, one of which- Warrod -is isolated and the other is the master of Phantom Lord...yeah, definitely not. So that left me with only four of the Ten Wizard Saints whose identity I can confirm and who I would willingly learn under.

Ah damn...is God Serena even a member yet? Does he even have any of his Lacrima implanted in him at this point?

So make that three Wizard Saints.

Oh who am I kidding? I'm not that lucky. Honestly, if I am, then I may as well dance Ikkaku Madarame's lucky dance from Bleach.**

My thoughts were suddenly broken though when I saw that I arrived at one of those towns. Well, let's see if my plans hold up or not. Honestly, I don't know why I didn't just go to the other town since it's actually much closer, in which I ended up skipping it instead, but I guess that's what backtracking is for.

And so, I have ended up in a town that's very far from home.

Era.

{Two hours later...}

You know...the town is honestly very pretty and it has a pretty nice aesthetic, especially with the headquarters in the middle. That said, it kind of feels a bit suffocating walking between all these tall building, I have to admit. Still, in spite of that, the town itself is very welcoming. The people are kind and Era as a whole is a safe area, no doubt due to the presence of the Magic Council Headquarters and any Rune Knights in the area.

'And yet in spite of that, the headquarters was destroyed twice, both from within and from an outside attack...'

I shook that thought from my head, knowing full well that those events will not be happening anytime soon. It's possible that I can help prevent the attack by Tartaros, but maybe the first one is destined, so long as Jellal's possession lasts. I honestly have conflicting thoughts about whether or not I should prevent the destruction of the first council since the following council was arguably worse. While I agree that the law should be followed, the manner in which it should be upheld according to the new council leaves much to be wished for. Well I suppose that I can always come back to that later.

Right now, I was in the forest surrounding Era, having trekked quite a considerable distance so that no one could possibly get caught in the crossfire. Once I felt like I was far enough, I turned to one of the many trees surrounding me. There was a spell that I seemed to keep struggling with. In fact, it was a spell that took inspiration from Zancrow of Grimoire Heart. I wanted to mold the black light into a weapon, particularly a solid sword of light so that I can cut through objects.

Am I taking inspiration from the lightsaber? Specifically the darksaber used by that one Mandalorian? Yes I am.

Will it be as effective? Probably not, but if Zancrow's scythe can cut through trees, then I hope my sword can do the same.

Will it be cool to do and help temporarily replace the need for a real weapon? Yes.

And so I began to mold my black light, holding my fists out directly next to each other, sliding my left fist out to my side as if I'm stretching the light from the 'hilt' in my right first outwards to form the 'blade' of the sword, creating a guardless 'sword' made completely out my black light.

I swung the sword at one of the trees to see if it will cut, but much to my annoyance, it did not cut into the tree, only bouncing off the side, yet removing a considerable amount of bark, as if I was bludgeoning it. I've been trying to get this right for two weeks now and while I have made a considerable amount of progress, I still can't seem to get it right.

"What am I doing wrong...?" I muttered aloud to myself, voicing out my thoughts since there is no one near me.

{Two more hours later...}

"Light God's Heavenly Gate!"

And in a very Nasuverse Gilgamesh move, several magic circles flared around me at once before firing a great amount of black white-tinted beams of light that pierced through many of the surrounding trees, causing many branches to crash to the ground, with a few trees also joining them, one particular tree that had been my punching bag included.

How did this come about, one may ask?

Frustration.

Seriously! What the heck?! How am I struggling in creating a simple light sword?! I tried everything, even pretending that I was gripping one of those slime tube toys to make the other end swell up, as silly as it was!

I even accidentally came up with new moves out of frustration, even if some of them are redundant or arbitrary, and those worked. Note to self, apparently because of the piercing capabilities of my Light God Slayer Magic, I can apparently imitate Piccolo's Makankōsappō, otherwise known as the Special Beam Cannon, if I really want to be dramatic.

Honestly, I would be finding that really cool, if it weren't for the fact that I can't even make a freaking sword!

"What am I doing wroooong!?"

"I suggest you try to run your black light between your thumb and palm as if you are flattening and giving shape to the blade while visualizing that the front is being sharpened to provide a proper 'edge' to it."

"Really? Why didn't I think of that?"

I did as instructed and performed those actions, flattening out the 'blade' of my weapon while visualizing the front 'edge' being sharpened like an actual sword before I removed my left hand. And in front of me was a bar of light that was another black light sword, except that it seemed slimmer than the previous ones. I turned to the nearest tree and swung my sword at it in a diagonal slash.

Lo and behold, the sword actually sunk into and slid through the tree and cut completely through it before the upper part of the tree began to tilt and fall away from me. Finally it was a success.

After two weeks I finally created my fake darksaber.

"It works. It actually works."

"I congratulate you, young man."

"Thank you very much-"

Wait.

My first thought was that I can't believe that I was so focused on trying to complete this that I didn't even recognize the fact that someone else had approached and witness my magic in action. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful and all, but the fact still stands. Damn it.

My second thought was that I feel like I have been caught in an anime moment. Yeah. This is an anime moment.

My head turned to the side to see the origin of the older, sophisticate male voice that was addressing me and...

...Oh my god.

I knew that I was just joking about such a thing happening when I was thinking those thoughts to myself earlier, but to think that it actually happened. I guess I need to dance that Lucky dance after all. Because in front of me was none other than one of the most power Mages in Ishgar himself...

Draculos Hyberion. One of the Four Gods of Ishgar.

Oh wow.

"Y-You're...you're actually..." And I can't even finish my words...great.

"Allow me to confirm your suspicions, young Mage. I am indeed Draculos Hyberion, the first seat within the Ten Wizard Saints."

Well, that confirms my thoughts about God Serena. Screw him anyway.

"And you, young man? May I ask what your name is and what is this seemingly unique magic that employs a blackened light?"

Oh, he's talking to me. Calm down Atro. Just be polite to him and answer the questions. This is what you hoped for, so just go for it.

"My name is Atro sir. I would give you my last name, but for the sake of my mother, I do not wish for it to be discovered. I'm a wielder of a form of Lost Magic known as the Light God Slayer Magic."

[Narrator POV - Draculos]

God Slayer Magic? How interesting. While he is aware of the concept of Slayer Magic, due to there being records of Dragon and God Slaying Magic, some of which being found in books containing information on such Lost Magics, Draculos never thought that he would ever meet a God Slayer Magic user in the flesh.

"Very well. I will not question your hesitancy in divulging your surname. But I wish to know: where did you learn your God Slaying Magic? Such magic is called a Lost Magic for a reason, as you very well know." After all, it would not do if anyone could get their hands on such information. It seemed that Atro seemed to recognize the hidden meaning behind his words as well. How curious. For such a young child to piece together the hidden implications of his words...

"No need to worry Mister Hyperion. My God Slaying Magic is actually innate. Though how I have it is unknown even to me. You see, I don't have any memories from before August of X775, so well...I honestly couldn't give you any answers."

So it's amnesia then, and he only has memories of the past six months. Well, it's not like the young man has any reason to lie and he is in fact being quite calm in his presence. Or as calm as one can be in his presence, which is understandable since one would not normally come across one of the Ten Wizard Saints on such a casual day. Of course that also begs the question...

"In that case, may I ask why you are training this far out from Era? I'm sure you are well aware of what the town holds, and yet you still saw it fit to use your magic. So why, in spite of that, were you flaunting around your admittedly high amount of magic power?"

Oh? It seems there is a reason then if the sheepish expression on the boys face said anything.

[Atro's POV]

Well crap, he's got me there. Say what you want, but these guys are no fools.

"You see...it's because I wanted to take a gamble that seemed to have paid off."

Based on his raised eyebrow and silence, I think it's safe to continue.

"I intentionally went this far out from Era to practice my magic in the hopes of drawing the attention of someone within the Magic Council or a residing Wizard Saint, if one was living in Era. If I was successful, I wanted to be offer my services somehow or maybe allow my magic to be studied in exchange for resources that you can get access to. Nothing like Black Magic or anything like that though, even if it would be nice to at least read about. I was thinking more along the lines of magic that I can use in tandem with my God Slaying Magic.

On top of that, I also wanted to find a teacher to learn under. Someone who can tell me what I am doing wrong on top to training me in magical and physical combat."

"So you essentially did this in order to apprentice yourself under a reputable and powerful Mage and gain access to the knowledge that we ourselves have access to?"

"Well...yes."

The Wizard Saint didn't say anything next, just staring at me for a moment. I'm not going to lie, this is honestly a bit unnerving. I didn't think of the possibility that I would also be in trouble for doing something like this, especially near Era.

"Why?"

Huh? What?

"Excuse me, sir?"

"You have caught my attention, Atro, just as you desired. And while I am impressed about the amount of magic power that one your age carries, I wish to ask you this. Why should I consider the possibility of taking you under my wing? What makes you think that you should be able to peruse the knowledge-filled books that we as the Ten Wizard Saints have access to? And why us of all people? Surely you would also be able to do the same with a guild, am I not wrong?"

[Narrator POV - Draculos]

Draculos watched as Atro shuffled his feet across the ground for a brief moment, his head looking down for a moment, his fists clenched. It seemed that he is contemplating how to answer this. Very well.

The Wizard Saint can admit that asking questions like those also is a breach in privacy in a small form of fashion, allowing him to delve into the mindset of the person being asked those questions. And so, he will allow Atro a moment to formulate his answer.

As what seemed like a few minutes had passed, although Draculos knew that such time hasn't passed, Atro finally looked him in the eyes. What resolve indeed.

"Because my end goal is to become a member of the Magic Council and the Ten Wizards Saints by X784 in order to help secure the future of Ishgar with my own hands. That's why I sought out a member of the Magic Council or a Wizard Saint, rather than a guild master. I knew that there would be someone out there who would take interest in a young child displaying an innate Lost Magic, and what better way to keep them close than to train that child themself? That way, I can be closely tied with Era and the Magic Council in one form or another."

The boy truly isn't wrong. That said, a member of the Magic Council and a Ten Wizard Saint? While an achievement is truly possible, there hasn't been such a person in quite a long time. At least not in his time. And yet this boy, Atro, knows it's possible and wishes to achieve such a goal? How ambitious.

"As to why you, Draculos Hyberion, the one of the Four Gods of Ishgar, should take me in...for all intents in purposes, you have no reason to. Nor do I think I have the right to have access to what you have access to. In fact, I know that a lot of the Wizard Saints' magics may not be compatible enough with mine to train me, yourself and perhaps Makarov Dreyar being a strong exception, but what you would lack in compatibility, you would make up for in knowledge and the combat experience that brought you to such a status. And I won't lie. I'm a selfish person. I want to be able to access that knowledge and learn from your experiences so that I can further my own ambitions for the sake of those I have come to love in these past six months. Even going as far as to separate myself from them despite the fact that I didn't want to."

It was then Atro bowed to the man.

"I will admit it. I don't care about Ishgar. And while I do believe in upholding the law, I don't care about the Magic Council either. But I care about its people and Ishgar is the home of my family, and in order to protect the new life they have given me, I need to be able to reach the pinnacle of our system. So please, train me Mister Hyberion!"

How bold to admit such things to his face. Not caring for Ishgar or the Magic Council, yet wishing to join the latter in order to protect the former's people. How interesting indeed. But still, he had to admit that the resolve that Atro has in order to confess such things to him is truly exemplary. Draculos has never had the experience of teaching others before, unlike the guild masters Jose Porla and Makarov Dreyar. In fact, Warrod was a founder of Fairy Tail, wasn't he? So he must have had experience teaching the next generation at one point as well.

And while he does not care about his fame as a God of Ishgar, only wishing to be a model Mage as one should be when carrying such a title, he had to admit that it would be nice to leave some sort of legacy for the next generation.

"I know that I said I would not question your hesitancy to divulge your surname Atro, but I refuse to teach someone who will hide their name from their master. I assure you that there is no one in our vicinity to hear your answer, and I promise to not divulge it to the Council or any other individuals should they ask. So speak."

Draculos could see the shock and surprise in Atro's eyes as he straightened himself up, before they were overshadowed by what seemed to be joy.

"Atro Heartfilia, Mister Hyberion!"

"It is no longer Mister Hyberion, Atro Heartfilia. You may address me as Master Draculos or Master Hyberion. Now come. We shall begin your training."

As he turned to walk away, it took quite a moment before the Wizard Saint heard the young man's feet carrying himself in his trail.

"Yes, Master Draculos!"

He would not admit it, but the thought of what is to come brought a small smile to his face that his apprentice could not see.

{A/N: Be sure to read the Creator's Thoughts below!}

*To be fair, if Laxus can use Lightning Magic and have it somehow be differentiated from Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic, I feel like he could probably do the same.

**For those not in the know, please look it up.