Gaal's Relaxed Meal and Ultear's News

The magic crystal in Gaal's palm shattered without any surprise.

In fact, just halfway through engraving the Amplification Array, Gaal realized that it wouldn't hold; it was just an ordinary magic crystal, unable to withstand the enhancements provided by the array.

Gaal engraved it anyway, and as expected, it instantly broke apart.

It hadn't even been activated.

Gaal picked up a fragment and brought it into the sunlight.

The light passed through the crystal, allowing him to see the internal patterns of the shattered crystal, resembling a magical array.

Clearly, these crystals were also forged using some kind of array.

However, the Amplification Array had compromised its overall structure, leading to its internal collapse.

Gaal pondered for a moment and took out a more expensive magic crystal from his bag.

As a faint light emitted from his palm, various magical arrays appeared.

These were inscribed by Gaal within the magic crystal.

One times... two times...

Crack!

Although it withstood the one-fold Amplification Array, the moment he attempted to engrave the second layer, the magic crystal still shattered.

Next, Gaal brought out several more magic crystals, each progressively more expensive.

However, their limit was still only a two-fold amplification.

Once exceeded, when engraved with the amplification array, activating the magic crystal would cause it to fail dramatically under the excessive magical energy, resulting in an internal explosion.

Gaal was fortunate to have conducted research.

Otherwise, if it had exploded within Laxus during his magic casting, it would have been disastrous.

After several experiments, Gaal gradually figured out the reasons for the failures.

There were two main reasons.

One was the forging method of the array, and the other was the material of the magic crystal.

There was no need to worry about the material aspect.

After all, the magic crystal was forged from the Thunder Dragon Heart, and Gaal estimated that even adding a five-fold Amplification Array wouldn't damage it.

The primary issue lay with the forging array of the magic crystal.

Unlike elemental crystals which formed naturally over countless millennia, magic crystals were primarily created by mages using various materials, forging them to mimic elemental crystals.

The only advantage that magic crystals had over elemental crystals was their availability.

They came in various grades and were commonly found, unlike elemental crystals which were rare.

Elemental crystals take tens of thousands of years to form, and their materials require no elaboration. Mainly, they lack any inherent arrays, allowing mages to inscribe their own easily.

In contrast, magic crystals contain forged markings, and once the engraved array exceeds the forging limit of the magic crystal, it will lose its shape and shatter.

The broken pieces in Gaal's hand were generally intended for C-Class and B-Class mages to create staffs.

They were all sourced from the Southern Continent.

This region had more alchemists, so many commonly used magical items were sold there.

Magic crystals had become a monopolized item.

Even if there were higher-grade crystals, Gaal believed it was merely a matter of material variation; the arrays might be slightly more complex, but fundamentally, the forging method was problematic.

If it were an ordinary magic crystal, other arrays could easily cover it.

But with a magic crystal forged from the Thunder Dragon Heart...

Who knows what kind of impact covering it might produce?

If it broke, it would be gone forever.

Pondering, Gaal once again pulled out another magic crystal from his bag.

This time, the light emanating from his palm was not that of the Amplification Array but the radiant glow of Time Magic.

Under the influence of Time Magic, the magic crystal in Gaal's palm projected an illusion into the air.

The illusion displayed the scenes through which this magic crystal had passed.

From the moment Gaal held it in his palm, it rewound to when he bought it, then further back to when the shopkeeper transported it, and back to when it was unloaded from a cargo ship, all the way to a colossal magical factory somewhere in the Southern Continent...

Until finally, when the horn of the Thunder Lamb, which stored magical energy, first appeared and was engraved with the array.

Gaal paused the illusion he projected from his palm and slowed down the scenes to watch the transformation into a magic crystal step by step.

The critical point remained with the forging array.

If covering wasn't possible, enhancing it would suffice.

As long as he understood the complete forging array, Gaal could proceed to strengthen it.

As time passed, the sun had already moved past its zenith.

Gaal placed down the magic crystal forged from the Thunder Lamb's horn, a smile creeping onto his lips: 

"I did it."

The exterior of the magic crystal in Gaal's hand showed no changes.

However, after fully understanding the internal forging array, he had successfully reinforced the entire magic crystal following the established array.

Now, the magic crystal in Gaal's hand could withstand even a four-fold amplification without shattering.

It would only lose power due to rapid magical consumption.

Gaal set the magic crystal down, got up from his reclining chair, stretched lazily, and let out a sigh as he looked at the fishing rod before him: 

"Nothing at all."

Shaking his head, he turned and walked toward the earthen table he had crafted using Earth Elemental Magic.

At the table, the Ninetales and Alolan Ninetales had settled themselves on chairs, lazily licking their fur, while a variety of fresh fruits—blue and red—were organized at the center of the table.

The Urshifu had finished collecting firewood and kindled a campfire.

He, along with Dragonite and Greninja, stared seriously at the grilled fish over the fire, with Greninja flipping the fish occasionally, sporadically sprinkling some seasoning while holding a recipe book.

Meanwhile, Gengar sat on a chair, making various faces at several Starlight Birds that trembled on the table in fear.

The Starlight Birds wanted to take flight but were too intimidated, as this spooky creature could fly too!

Gengar originally intended to catch these critters for roasting.

However, both Urshifu and Dragonite looked disdainfully at these paltry things and ignored them entirely.

How rude...

Looking down on little birds, huh!

With no alternative, Gengar could only play with the few Starlight Birds that had come onto the table.

Gaal approached, catching the delicious scent of grilled fish that piqued his appetite: 

"That smells amazing. We're about to eat."

Walking to the table, he raised his hand, and several large bowls sprouted up from the surface.

Using telekinesis, Gaal made some fruits suitable for juicing float above the big bowls, and with a press of his mental force, bowls of juice were formed.

Alolan Ninetales lifted its head and blew gently at the bottom of a bowl.

Frost quickly formed at the bowl's base, chilling the juice rapidly until it became icy and refreshing.

Urshifu, Dragonite, and Greninja also finished grilling the fish, bringing the cooked fish over to the table. Seeing this, Gaal smiled and said, 

"Let's dig in!"

On that pleasant afternoon, the lakeside feast began.

----

Meanwhile, on the Eastern Continent of Ishgar.

The Grimoire Heart Guild.

Deep within a high-altitude airship, over a kilometer above ground.

Hades, the leader of the Grimoire Heart, clad in a black magic robe, with white hair, a long beard, and an eye patch, was flipping through collected data, attempting to unveil the deepest mysteries of Dark Magic.

He had been engaged in this endeavor for decades without much success.

Knock, knock, knock—

The sound of knocking broke the silence.

Hades set down the book in his hands and said in a low voice:

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal the expressionless vice president, Bluenote Stinger, who entered and said:

"Lord Hades. What about Ultear? How should we handle it?"

----

Patreon.(com)/Cmooi

40 chapters available