A New Life in Fairy Tail

The next several days passed in much the same way. Jude would train with his wife and daughter at a fixed time and then go to handle his company's business. Layla and Lucy, under Noah's guidance, steadily increased the intensity of their training, and their complexions grew better and better. While they trained, Noah would also continue his own conditioning of his body and magic power.

During their rest periods, Noah would ask Layla about Celestial Spirit Magic. He was extremely interested in this type of magic that could influence space and time. Layla, in turn, taught him as much as she knew. In return, Noah shared his own understanding of magic with her. Lucy would always be at their side during these discussions, listening with rapt attention. Although the topics were often of such a high level that she had no idea what they were talking about, she would still lie contentedly in her mother's lap, listening with great interest.

Under Layla's guidance, Noah also formed a contract with the Southern Cross key he had collected. The spirit's name was Crux, commonly known as Grandpa Crux. Although he wasn't as powerful as a Zodiac or other combat-oriented silver keys, Noah didn't need a combat spirit; he could defeat enemies himself. What Noah needed was a spirit who could assist him, and Grandpa Crux was an expert in Celestial Spirit lore. He possessed all the information about the gates connecting the spirit and human worlds and had an extensive library of his own. Noah had chosen to make a contract with him precisely for his knowledge and his books.

Since both of them loved to learn and read, the human and the spirit got along splendidly. With Grandpa Crux's help, Noah gained a vast amount of knowledge about the Celestial Spirit World. Layla, as a formerly powerful Celestial Spirit wizard, also joined in their discussions, and everyone benefited greatly.

After more than half a month, Noah saw that Layla's physical recovery was on the right track. The rest of her healing would be a slow and steady process. He decided it was time to say his goodbyes.

When Lucy learned that Noah was leaving, she cried her heart out. She didn't have any other children her age to play with. For the past weeks, her father had been training with her and her mother every day, and Big Brother Noah had been there too. During their rests, she would lie in her mother's lap, listening to them discuss magic. Even though she couldn't understand most of it, Lucy loved the atmosphere. Now that Big Brother Noah was leaving, she was naturally very reluctant to see him go.

Noah could only comfort her by promising to visit often and telling her to continue training hard with her mother. Lucy could only say a tearful goodbye, and Noah left the Heartfilia estate.

Layla had previously asked Noah when would be a good time for Lucy to start learning magic. He had replied that she should first spend a year or two on physical conditioning to build a solid foundation. Most Celestial Spirit wizards relied on their spirits and had poor personal combat skills. This was a good opportunity for Lucy to learn self-defense and how to use weapons. This way, in the future, she could fight alongside her spirits instead of being a weak point. A strong physical foundation would also increase her magic capacity, raising her overall potential. And since Lucy loved to read and listen to stories, her parents could use this time to teach her more about the world of magic, broadening her knowledge. Layla had accepted Noah's advice and decided to wait until Lucy had met these requirements before teaching her Celestial Spirit Magic.

Noah returned to the guild and submitted the two designated requests, both of which were S-Class level jobs with rewards exceeding ten million Jewel each, a testament to the Heartfilia family's sincerity.

After turning in the missions, Noah went to his usual training spot. As expected, Erza and the others were there, and Laxus was with them, apparently having returned from a mission. A Gravity Magic circle was floating above their training area, maintained by Kagura. In the time he had been gone, Kagura's Gravity Magic had improved to the point where she could maintain a certain intensity over a fixed area for a decent amount of time. So, for their daily training, Kagura was now the one casting the spell instead of Noah, which also served as excellent practice for her.

Seeing Noah return, Laxus was the first to rush out of the gravity field, his hands crackling with electricity as he charged.

"Let's have a match, Noah!"

Noah sidestepped Laxus's attack, raised his left hand in a knife-hand strike, and brought it down on top of Laxus's head, driving his entire head into the ground.

Erza and the others, watching from the side, were completely unfazed. The first few times they saw it, they had been terrified, thinking Noah had killed him. But they later discovered that Laxus was always completely fine. This was just their way of communicating. Most of the time, when Laxus saw Noah, he would challenge him, only to be defeated in a single blow. This time was no different, so the others calmly continued their own training.

Laxus pushed himself up with his hands, pulled his head out of the ground, and patted the dust off his clothes. He walked over to Noah. "What was this mission like?"

"It wasn't difficult. I was helping someone with a physical treatment and recovery plan." Noah answered as he began his own preparations.

"It seems like a lot of people have been sending designated requests for you lately, mostly for healing-related things."

"It's because my medical skills are becoming famous, so a lot of people are coming to me for treatment."

"Your strength hasn't declined because you've been focusing on medicine, has it?"

"Didn't you just find out whether my strength has declined or not?"

"I don't know how you damn well do it! Your medical skills are constantly improving, and your strength is also getting stronger at a ridiculous pace."

"Maybe my talent is just a billion points better than average." Noah held up his right hand, making a tiny gap between his thumb and index finger, representing a "fingertip universe."

"There's something off about your tone," Laxus said, looking at Noah's gesture and feeling an inexplicable sense of being mocked.

"No, no, that's just your imagination." Noah dropped his hand and began his own training. Laxus also started to train within Noah's gravity field but was exhausted after just a short while and was kicked out by Noah.

Laxus lay on the ground, panting heavily. After resting for a moment, he looked at Noah. "How do you manage to train under such strong gravity?"

"By constantly training. Only a strong body can house strong magic, so I've never stopped training my body."

"I train my body too! And I even have that thing inside me! How can I not even compare to you?" Laxus was completely baffled. He had the Thunder Dragon Slayer lacrima inside him, and his body was constantly being strengthened, becoming more like a dragon's. Yet he still couldn't keep up with Noah's rate of progress. Was Noah even human?

~~~

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