Chapter 6: Jellal Must Be Removed, and Ian Reaches The Ten Saints Level!
"No surprises here—Erza must be my daughter," Ian concluded, a look of happiness spreading across his face.
"To be honest, I'm not quite prepared for fatherhood yet," he muttered. "But just thinking about having a daughter fills me with excitement."
"However, when I imagine Erza growing up and maybe getting into a relationship, I can't help but feel incredibly irritated as her father."
Ian's face darkened as he thought about the future. The idea of his precious daughter being swept away by someone—especially a certain "punk"—was simply unbearable.
"Thankfully, I'm not one of those old-fashioned fathers who can't adapt," Ian reassured himself.
"I won't interfere too much in Erza's future relationships, but as my daughter, she must adhere to my Three No's Rule when it comes to dating!"
"First, no guys with large, pointless tattoos on their faces—clearly a sign of a lack of common sense."
"Second, no guys with naturally blue hair—they look too much like punks."
"Third, and most importantly, absolutely no one named Jellal! I can't stand that name—it fills me with disgust."
In a matter of minutes, Ian had already mentally prepared himself for Erza's future relationships.
Now, if he ever crossed paths with Jellal in this world, he would have no hesitation in delivering a powerful punch.
Even though the current Jellal had no connection to Erza—thanks to Ian's interference in her fate—and was probably still just an innocent, naïve boy, Ian felt no need to hold back.
Yes, Ian's fists were hard enough to break the legs of any "punk."
Originally, Ian didn't feel much toward Jellal as a character...
In fact, he had some sympathy for him. After all, Jellal had been manipulated for most of his life, which led him to make terrible decisions and live the rest of his days in atonement.
But now that Erza was Ian's daughter, all bets were off.
To the blue-haired Jellal...
Or rather, to any blue-haired Jellal in existence...
Stay away from his precious daughter.
It would be best if Jellal didn't show up in Ian's field of vision at all.
Otherwise, Ian would punch him every time he saw him. No need for explanations—an angry father's rage is always unreasonable.
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Meanwhile, in Edolas...
"Achoo!"
A certain blue-haired boy with a tattoo on his face, and whose name included the letters J-E-L-L-A-L, sneezed suddenly.
"Prince, are you alright?"
"You've been working too hard lately. Maybe you should take a break," said a black cat, who was always by the boy's side, its eyes filled with concern.
"Don't worry, Pantherlily. I'm fine..."
"I just suddenly felt a tightness in my chest."
"It feels like my upcoming journey to Earthland is going to be especially difficult."
Jellal furrowed his brows, his face filled with worry.
He wasn't sure why, but a sudden sense of dread had washed over him.
It was as if something truly terrifying awaited him on his path to Earthland, like a great danger silently lying in wait, ready to ensnare him.
"It must be that the king has caught onto something."
"I'll have to move quickly..."
"I have to stop the king's plans."
Jellal thought to himself.
In his mind, this newfound fear must have come from his ambitious father, the king, discovering his whereabouts and schemes.
No matter how clever and resourceful this Jellal from Edolas was—able to stand against the entire kingdom by himself at such a young age—he couldn't possibly imagine that the source of his fear wasn't his father.
No, it was coming from an unknown stranger in another world—someone he had never even met before.
And this stranger, the man who held so much disdain for him, was now calmly opening up his simulation device.
"Claim rewards."
Ian began by retrieving the rewards that the system had failed to deliver from his previous simulations.
[Rewards distributing...]
In an instant, the knowledge and magical power Ian had gained through his hard-fought simulations surged into his body like a tidal wave.
Yes, the most valuable aspect of the Dream Simulator was time.
Every time Ian simulated a timeline, he could retain the magical skills and power he acquired within that simulation and merge them into his current self.
In his first simulation, Ian had traveled back to the year X365, to the Kingdom of Dragonoids, where Irene lived.
There, Ian had spent five quiet years following Irene around while training diligently.
It wasn't until X370, when Ian believed he had become strong enough, that he traveled to a neighboring kingdom. There, he assassinated the general who was supposed to marry Irene, using illusion magic to take his place.
For the next five years...
Ian systematically eliminated all the corrupt nobles in that kingdom, turning it into a formidable empire. In X376, he married Irene and then heroically died in battle.
As a result, Ian became a legendary hero in that timeline.
Even now, in the current timeline, the Magic Council still preserved epic tales of "Ian," and statues celebrating his deeds stood in various locations. Every year on the anniversary of his death, the Council held memorial services in his honor.
During that first simulation...
Ian gained eleven years' worth of magical power and the "Sage" attribute of Dragon Slayer Magic.
Yes, with Irene's help, Ian became a Dragon Slayer.
Now, as Ian absorbed the eleven years of magical training he had undergone in Irene's timeline, his strength surged, shattering the S-class mage barrier and propelling him to the level of the Ten Wizard Saints.
But Ian's magic power didn't stop increasing there.
He continued to grow stronger, surpassing the level of Jura from seven years ago, reaching the power Jura possessed during the Grand Magic Games, when he was hailed as the strongest human.
It wasn't until Ian reached this incredible level of power that the surge finally began to slow down.
Ian could feel it clearly—there was a massive barrier before him, blocking his path to even greater power.
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One more chap today coming later.
If we can reach 50 power stones, I will release an additional 3 bonus chapters.