Chapter 7 : After 4 years

[Time Skip]

After four years, Gray was 15 years old. The boy had grown a lot and thanks to his relentless training, he had gained exponentially in power so as to earn the title of one of the most powerful mages in the guild without even showing his real strength but succeeding in all his tasks with ease. 

His strength, good looks and prowess in properly accomplished missions have given him quite a popularity throughout the kingdom with the only magic known to him being teleportation and incredible swordsmanship.

He was one of the rare members of this guild to succeed in his missions without material damage, this had a lot to do with his popularity.

Gray had never revealed his constructive ice magic because he had sworn to bring back his master before using it with dignity in the eyes of the whole world even if his progress was terrifying in the field.

He had broken down ice magic to know each of its facets and possibilities aside from simple construction, his power as an ice mage would be terrifying but that was still not enough for him.

In four years, we've done a lot of things, Gray had not only done quests but also research, research about how to return Ul/Ur (i don't know the right version) to her normal state or just create a reversal spell to bring his master back to a normal state . 

Gray unfortunately hadn't found anything concrete and that frustrated him to no end, he could spend months of seclusion doing research without finding anything conclusive and he couldn't find anything concrete.

For his progress, Gray had undergone hellish physical training and right now, the weight seal on him was 20 tons.

He had not reached this level through gentleness but through suffering, this was without counting his training against his ice knights to improve his handling of the sword or other weapons without counting his skill in hand to hand fight . 

He understood that the level of mastery of the holy knights at the time was not going to be the same forever, that they would continue to train to become stronger and that's what he did hard too, he wanted to be complete on every level.

However, the area in which he had made the greatest progress was learning ancient rune magic as well as enchantments and this magic had the monstrous potential to hack reality.

The power of this magic was several times greater than current rune magic but the level of concentration required was terrible, a problem Gray didn't have.

Right now, he was in the cabin sitting shirtless on a chair while a dark purple liquid spread down his back while encrusting his skin and flesh to pool into a circular tattoo.

If you looked casually, it was just a dark purple sphere, but if you looked very closely with a magnifying glass, you could see tiny runic inscriptions forming on its skin.

The whole thing looked extremely painful as Gray was sweating profusely as he bit into the sheath of his sword.

He groaned in pain but absolutely must not lose his concentration while he carved those thousands of runes on his back in such a small spot.

The operation lasted four long hours during which Gray went through hell, his muscular and lean body which had gained even more scars was completely soaked in sweat like the parquet floor of the chalet but it was all worth his suffering considering the usefulness of the seal he engraved on himself.

In the end, Gray didn't even have the strength to move to lie down somewhere else but as soon as he finished, he collapsed into a deep sleep from exhaustion.

The dark purple liquid was actually liquid lachryma that he had purchased from an alchemists' guilde.

He had studied it and discovered its incredible usefulness in the art of engravings, it allowed him to gather ethernano very quickly and sustainably.

Gray's seal would actually allow him to fill his magic reserves 25 times faster than normal while increasing his mana pool qualitatively but also quantitatively.

It was scary and completely inhumane but it was the result of someone who knew how to use what he had intelligently.

This might all seem easy, but it was far, far from it. Not everyone could withstand such an operation, it was necessary to have an inhuman base physique capable of withstanding a tension or pressure of at least 14 tons and Gray had achieved this physique through his training.

The seal did not stop there but would evolve at the same time as Gray's body, the stronger it becomes and the more the tonnage increases, the more its reserves will increase and the greater the filling multiplier will be and 25 times was already a shocking figure .

When he awoke, he felt his inner reserves of magic completely full as energy overflowed from his body.

Completely naked, he walked out into the snow before closing his eyes slightly and immediately generating 10 ice knights each with different weapons, he generated 10 more several seconds later and looked at them with incredible satisfaction.

20 creation of ice, it might seem small and trivial for an ice mage but it was far from being the case.

Gray had improved his dynamic ice magic so much that now he could create an ice creature with much stronger ice, highly advanced artificial consciousness as well as a fluid and natural movement ability.

Creating 10 knights like that cost him 9/10 of his magic reserves before the operation.

However, thanks to his seal on his back, the surrounding ethernano was quickly absorbed into his reserves to fill them and this is what allowed him to quickly create 10 other knights.

This feat was certainly great but it was far from what he was truly capable of now.

He just savored the present accomplishment before returning to the chalet.

The next day, Gray teleported directly to the front of the guild. He had been away for 6 months and he had kept his hair a little longer.

As usual, they wore elegant black and dark blue clothes, he looked like a young noble because of his clothes (Vergil Style of DmC) and an enchanted sword by his care at his hip.

He was handsome, he was even very handsome but a new scar on his cheek slightly disfigured his face although giving him a little more charm than he already had.

Without wasting any time, he entered the building and the others were quite surprised to see him after six full months of absence without giving any news.

 « Gray!!! »

"Look who shows up after 6 months…"

«GRAY!! » Levy came over to give him a hug and he smiled and patted her on the head.

Gray: Everything is fine here as usual.

Levy: You disappeared for 6 months without saying anything, that's not nice. None of us know where you live anyway.

Gray: For what?

"Visiting you, seeing you...eating something..." She said blushing and it made Gray smile, she was one of the girls he really liked.

Levy was like a little sister to him for whom he had a lot of affection just like Lisanna.

Gray: I promise I'll let you know next time. To make it up to you, I'll take you out to eat right after.

Levy: (blushed) Is it true?!

Gray: Of course.

"WE'RE COMING" Droy and Jett declared at the same time.

"Yeah, it works you can come and tell me what I missed…" He waved at them.

Levy started sulking and pouting because she actually wanted to be alone with him but her two teammates ruined everything.

"Gray! It's been a long time, can I get you something ?! » Annie the waitress asked nicely, she was happy to see him.

Gray: A cold beer, thanks Annie.

Annie : Another new Scar ! You should pay more attention to yourself and especially to that beautiful face.

Gray: Okay, I promise.

"Hey handsome, can you buy me a drink?!" Canna asked seductively while completely tipsy on the counter.

Gray: Annie, please take everyone's drinks for the evening on my account.

Annie: Generous as usual, it works.

" YEAH !!!" 

"THANK YOU GRAY"

"I missed that kid" Macao said happily.

The others thanked Gray.

Canna: you're a really great guy, do you want to come and have a drink with me?

Gray: Maybe another time, sorry. Where is the master ?

Canna: It's been several days since he left with Erza, Mirajane and a few others for the S-rank mage exam. They will return soon.

Gray: (sighs) I see, I failed the annual exam again.

Canna: You could have taken this exam earlier like Mistgun who reached S rank shortly after his arrival.

Gray: I didn't want to seem arrogant, I'll ask the master to evaluate me himself. I'll wait a bit.

Canna: So this drink, you're going to drink it with me after all, my darling?

"With pleasure..." He said as he sat down next to her and they started drinking together while chatting.

They had a succession of bottles and drinks and while Canna was already completely wasted, Gray who had drunk even more than she was barely dizzy.

"You...you handle alcohol really well huh...the only decent guy in this guild..." She said leaning on Gray's shoulder as she was close to passing out.

Gray: You should stop, I'll take you back to Fairy Hills so you can rest.

Canna: But I haven't finished my... my bottle yet. And then…I like you, let's talk a little more.

Gray: Canna, you really need to be careful with the alcohol. You-(interrupted)

*BAM*

The front door was slammed open and Natsu walked in loudly with Makarov and the others behind him.

Natsu: AHAHAH THAT WAS GREAT!! I WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE UPCOMING EXAMS.

Happy: haye!!

"They came back, great!" 

"I hope there are new S ranks, that would be cool for the guild" Wakaba said while blowing smoke.

Erza: Mirajane and I are officially S-rank mages.

" AWESOME "

" IT'S AWESOME "

" CONGRATULATIONS "

" GOOD JOB GIRLS "

"Congratulations to you girls..." Gray said quietly and they noticed.

Makarov: You're finally back after disappearing without saying anything at the end of your last quest!

Gray: I beg your pardon, master. I had to go train, I'll let you know next time. It's good to see you again.

Erza: You seem to be even stronger, it's a shame that once again you could fail the exam.

Mirajane: Yes, it's a shame.

Gray: Maybe it's not too late. (looks at Makarov) Master, I want to be evaluated for S rank.

Everyone else: HELL?!!!

Makarov: It's impossible, you'll have to wait until next year.

Gray: You know that I have had the necessary power for a long time to reach this rank, Gildarts recognized my level two years ago already.

Makarov: I know but these are the rules, you have to wait and be there on time next year.

Gray: I see, I won't push it then.

Makarov: That's very good.

Gray:…

Makarov:…

Gray: I'm leaving the guild.

 « WHAT ?!!! » The others screamed as Macao spat his beer at Max nearby.

Natsu: HEY, STOP JOKING!

Erza: Stop yelling Natsu. (to Gray) You're not serious.

Gray: Since I can't take the exam here, I'll get this title elsewhere. Blue Pegasus would be delighted to have me in their ranks. Plus it's an allied guild so it's all good, I'll come visit you sometimes and-(interrupted)

Makarov: Why are you talking about not taking the exam?! I can assess you very well now.

Gray: You just said I had to wait until next year.

Makarov: You heard wrong, there are always exceptions my child.

Gray: That's what I was thinking too.

 « He managed to manipulate the master so skillfully!! » The others said in astonishment.