Chapter 18: Ian: I’ll Be Waiting for You in the Future
After making up his mind, Ian wasted no time acting on his decision. He let Gray and Lyon experience the power of the magic development device briefly. Then, using his gravity magic, he pulled the two boys out of the device.
"It… it doesn't hurt at all!"
Both Gray and Lyon stood there, bare-chested, trying their best to hide the pain they were feeling. But if anyone looked closely, they'd see the glistening tears welling up in their eyes.
"Pfft…" Ultear couldn't help but laugh softly at the sight of the two younger boys putting on a brave face.
"Sister Ultear, you endured this kind of pain every day? You're incredible…"
Gray and Lyon exchanged glances, their voices filled with admiration as they spoke to Ultear.
"You two did great too," Ultear replied gently. "Kids who don't cry are always strong."
Ultear's emotional intelligence was quite high. She comforted Gray and Lyon with a smile, already considering them like her little brothers.
"Well, you two brats are thinking way too much," Ian interjected, far less gentle than Ultear. "I set that device to its lowest level just to make sure you two didn't get hurt. But the level of stimulation Ultear had to endure… that was overload level. With your current strength, you can't handle that yet."
Ian's tone was blunt and to the point. He had come here not to coddle Gray and Lyon, but to douse their arrogance in cold water. He wanted them to realize the gap in strength between them and true prodigies their age, like Ultear. That way, they'd be motivated to work even harder.
Despite the fact that both Gray and Lyon were considered geniuses in Ice-Make magic, Ian made sure they recognized their limitations.
"Is the gap really that big?"
Gray and Lyon's faces clouded with confusion. It was the first time they had ever realized how far behind they were. Living in Ur's small town, they had never encountered peers stronger than themselves, and so they had grown complacent. But today, that complacency was crushed by Ian.
"I see," Ur thought to herself. Standing nearby, she watched everything unfold. She now understood Ian's intentions and felt a deep sense of gratitude toward him. Not only had Ian helped Gray and Lyon see their limitations, but he had also subtly implanted a thought in Ultear's mind: that her past suffering at the hands of the magic development device wasn't due to any fault of her own. Rather, it was because she was exceptional. Only the most talented could survive such challenges, unlike Gray and Lyon, who weren't yet strong enough. Ultear had overcome it because of her strength.
Through Ian's clever approach, Ultear's inner demons, the ones that had haunted her, began to dissolve.
"Heh, now that they've had a taste of it, how about I destroy this magic development device next?" Ur smiled as she prepared to finally destroy the dreaded machine.
"Wait a moment," Ian interrupted her once again.
"What now?" Ur looked at him, puzzled.
"Leave this magic device to me," Ian said, turning to her with a serious expression.
"What are you going to do with it?" Ur asked, not understanding his intent.
"Heh, what do you think?" Ian chuckled. "I'm going to bring it back to the guild and help our comrades develop their magic power! I treat my Fairy Tail family as my own. How could I not share this kind of good fortune with them?"
Ur was stunned for a moment, her mind reeling. "Is this guy serious? Does he actually want to use that torture device to 'help' his guildmates?"
"Are you some kind of devil from hell?" she muttered. "Do you really treat your guildmates like family… or enemies?"
Ur was beginning to question Ian's earlier thoughtful actions, wondering if his intentions were genuine. Did Ian carefully plan all of this to both humble Gray and Lyon while helping Ultear? Or had he merely used the two boys as guinea pigs to test the machine?
She wasn't sure. Not at all. And she didn't dare think too deeply about it, fearing that Ian's image in her heart might crumble.
"Alright, everyone, let's head out," Ian said, breaking her thoughts as he prepared to leave, carrying the device with him.
The group made their way out of the magic development facility once more.
"Wooooom!"
As they stood outside the facility, Ian clasped his hands together, summoning his vast reserves of magic. A massive magic circle appeared above the facility, and the sky seemed to tear open, creating a deep black void.
"Boom!"
With a deafening roar, the entire magic development facility—massive enough to house over 10,000 people—was sucked into Ian's dark void.
"Phew…" Ian sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Good thing my magic has made a breakthrough. If it were before I received the simulation rewards, I wouldn't have been able to do that…"
Collecting that colossal structure had drained about 20% of his magic power. It was a huge consumption, and Ian knew he needed to recover quickly.
"This is insane!" Gray and Lyon exclaimed, their eyes wide as they stared at the giant pit where the facility had once been.
"When will we ever have magic as powerful as Ian's?" they wondered, their voices filled with awe.
"Not to brag, but you two are both geniuses," Ian said with a grin, playfully knocking their heads. "Give it another 40 or 50 years, and you might catch up to where I am now."
That was, of course, assuming they didn't use any shortcuts. If they did, well, who knows? It could take as little as a few years or maybe a decade or more.
After all, even Ian, with the help of simulations, had spent over thirty years reaching his current level of strength.
He wasn't a cheater—just an ordinary magical prodigy.
"Hmph! We'll surpass you one day, you'll see!" Gray and Lyon vowed, clutching their heads.
"Alright, then. I'll be waiting for you… in the future," Ian teased. "But instead of trying to surpass me or Ur, how about aiming to surpass Ultear first?"
He looked at both Ur and Ultear as he spoke. Ur, with her immense talent, would eventually reach the level of the Heavenly Kings. Ultear, too, was destined to stand alongside monsters like Laxus, Erza, and Jellal. The future held great promise for them.
"The future?" Ur caught on to Ian's words and the hidden meaning behind them.
"Wait, Ian, your body… it's turning transparent!" Gray shouted in surprise.