Chapter 3 - The Result of a Year of Training!

Not far from the Fairy Tail guild, on the outskirts of the town of Magnolia, there are many hilly forests. These hilly forests are not ordinary places, but true dangerous lands for ordinary people.

These forests house numerous medicinal herbs with unique effects. Common people can potentially make a fortune simply by acquiring one or two of these plants. However, no ordinary person dares to recklessly enter these areas to gather these treasures.

The reason is simple. Here, in addition to various medicinal herbs with peculiar effects, there are also some fierce magical creatures.

They're not just beasts, but real magical creatures. The terrifying giant wolves that Noah encountered a year ago, which were at least two meters tall, belong to this category. They are magical beasts that ordinary people can't deal with no matter what, and only those wizards who have magic can freely come and go here.

And Fairy Tail, as the leading wizard guild throughout the Kingdom of Fiore, is naturally established so close to these dangerous places. Quite a number of guild members often delve into them, either to pick herbs and medicinal materials, or to hunt monsters that ordinary people cannot handle, completing some tasks.

Despite Noah's youth, since his adoption by Makarov and joining the guild, he has been guided into these dangerous areas at least ten times within a year, either by Makarov or other guild wizards. While he's not entirely familiar with the environment, he won't aimlessly wander as long as he doesn't venture too far in.

Previously, he ventured into these perilous locations only under the guidance of Makarov or other guild wizards. Now, devoid of magic and alone, Noah hesitates to venture further. He halts his journey at a small river on the forest's edge, not daring to continue.

"Huh..." As he gently exhaled a white breath, Noah stretched his hand into his pocket, and took out some thumb-sized beads.

If you observe carefully, you can find that these thumb-sized beads all have a layer of fluorescence that is difficult to detect with the naked eye.

After taking out a large number of beads from his pocket, Noah didn't hesitate at all, directly scattering all the beads in his hand towards the sky.

Swish!

Moments later, a large number of beads filling Noah's vision fell from the sky, just like a downpour.

Observing the beads pouring down like rain, he instinctively took a step back. Then, driven by a surge of emotion, a powerful force transformed into a tangible light, radiating from Noah's small body like a wave.

Hum!

The powerful surge rippled out like lightning, sweeping towards the beads falling mid-air. It gently lifted the falling beads, akin to a soft palm.

However, when Noah lifted the first bead, he felt a sudden burden, as if a sandbag had been pressed onto his shoulder, causing his heart to tremble.

In the year since Noah joined Fairytail, he had faced such burdens countless times. As a result, he didn't panic. Instead, he remained calm as the magic power within him surged, causing deep, atmospheric vibrations. Using his magic, he effortlessly lifted the beads falling from the sky, allowing them to float gently beside him.

One... two... three... four...

As the number of beads being lifted increased, gradually, Noah's face began to grow somewhat heavy. His brows slightly furrowed, and even the muscles on his body tensed up a lot. The magic power that was surging out from his body continuously was becoming more and more intense, like a terrifying storm.

If there was a mage here, feeling the magic power surging out from his body, they would definitely be greatly startled. Because, the magic power flowing out from him is already shockingly several dozen times stronger than an average mage!

This level of magic power… even if placed among the excellent mages of Fairy Tail, could rank in the top three!

And under such circumstances, Noah is still continuously releasing magic power, making it stronger and stronger!

Judging by his appearance, which was somewhat heavy but without any signs of blushing or panting, it was clear that this level of magic power was far from his limit and might not even be one-tenth of it. With this amount of magic power, lifting thumb-sized beads would be trivial. He could even lift a rock as tall as a person with ease.

However, when Noah lifted the 133th bead with his magic power, it briefly hovered before piercing through the magic power that was holding it, maintaining its momentum as it fell to the ground.

The fall of this bead seemed to trigger a chain reaction. More and more beads broke free from the magic power holding them. Some were even flung away the moment they made contact with the magic power, scattering in all directions.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

Suddenly, one by one, the beads fell to the ground, making a sound each time they hit the floor, until long after they stopped falling.

"Huff..." Noah exhaled again, looking at the beads floating beside him. After counting, his brow immediately relaxed, and he clenched his fist excitedly, "One hundred and thirty-three! Twenty-five more than yesterday! I'm getting better and better at controlling my magic!"

Yes, everything Noah did was just to practice his magic control! These thumb-sized beads are not ordinary beads, but magic tools extremely sensitive to the intensity of magic.

Every bead in this set has a unique degree of magical repulsion. If magic of the same intensity as the bead's repulsion is applied, the bead can float. If the magic's strength surpasses the bead's repulsion, the bead will be pushed away. Conversely, if the magic's strength is weaker than the bead's repulsion, the bead's internal repulsion will disperse the magic, causing the bead to fall.

In other words, for Noah to make his beads float in the sky, he needs to not only assess the repulsion of each bead against magic the moment he touches them with it, but also balance the intensity of the magic he releases on them with their repulsion. This enables the beads to float.

Through this training method, Noah has significantly improved his magic control over the course of a year. His control is so strong that he can handle magic ten times more potent than an average magician, which is exceptional. However, when it comes to controlling the magic within his body, which even stuns Makarov, it is merely satisfactory.

At least, it wasn't until recently that Noah managed to control his own magic to a passing level, so that the magic in his body wouldn't lose control and run wild.

You must know that in this year, Noah has had many experiences where his emotions were too excited, causing the magic in his body to run wild, and he almost destroyed the entire Fairy Tail guild!

Rather, if Makarov wasn't there, the guild would indeed have to be rebuilt many times.

Thinking of this, his excitement about his magic control has decreased a lot. He picked up the beads on the ground and continued to practice his magic control.

Noah is looking forward to it. Looking forward to the day when he can freely control his own magic. In that case, he could start to touch magic and move towards the path of becoming a magician.

However, he did not realize that, while he was tirelessly exercising his control of magic, not far away, a short old man was always watching him.