Makarov finally cancels his plan to disband Fairy Tail after Ben persuaded him. Disbanding the Guild is not the answer to their problem and the danger they'll face. In Ben's opinion, the best answer is to strengthen their guild rather than disband it.
But they don't really need to make a big plan for their guild's development. Their Mages have gotten much more motivated after the war against Tartaros & Acnologia. They've fully understood that they won't be safe forever.
Even their strongest Mage lost to Acnologia again and also lost a hand. They've witnessed how powerful Ben has grown in the last 7 years. He even slew Dragons alone, yet he still couldn't defeat Acnologia.
They all know how hopeless they are when Ben did all his feats. Just like the 4 Dragon Slayers & Gray, they realized that they are actually burdens in a war situation. So they start training more to not be that much of burden to their friends.
They know they won't be as strong as Ben, but at least they will be able to pull their own weights in the future. Another crisis that even Ben can't handle may suddenly appear again, so they need to be prepared for that. If they don't get stronger, then they won't survive.
It's not just them who work hard, Ben also works hard, a lot harder than anyone. He is focusing on training and improving his abilities now. By abilities, he means all of them, so there are many things to improve.
Ben even utilizes his clones to train, and the current him can make 10 clones. Each of his clones is as strong as a good S-Class Mage, which is terrifying. A clone of his even fought against Freed in a spar and won quite easily.
By using clones, Ben has more time to spend on his social life. He can spend his time with his family & friends while his clones are training & learning. Everything his clones do will return to his mind, so he can learn many things at once, increasing the efficiency.
Ben will still take jobs every week though because real battles are very important too. Real battles will give him a lot of experience that he can't get in normal training. In real battles, he won't know what his enemies will use and that is important to improve his battle skills even if his enemies are weak.
So Ben always takes a job every week, mainly jobs that require him to fight. He also takes easy jobs every once in a while even though he is an S-Class and the guild's Ace. The reason is he can take his kids on those easy jobs because they always want to go with their parents when they work.
So Ben & Mira take them on those jobs sometimes. One of them will do the job while the other stay with the children. Their siblings also join them sometimes, so those jobs turn into family vacations.
Those easy jobs are also useful for Ben's & Mira's siblings because they can try their skills. They will comment on and evaluate each other's skills so they can improve their performances later. Other people's advice can help them a lot, after all.
Even Ben can't think of everything alone because others can always have different ideas. He often gets inspiration from others' thoughts that he never even thought of. Everyone has different thinking and that will make different ideas too.
Then, there is one thing that's quite interesting to see. Ben now has a left hand again as if he never lost that left hand. Even the scars on his left hand have disappeared, so it really looks as if he never lost that hand, and it really surprises everyone at first.
But now they have known the reason and it doesn't look strange anymore. Ben made that left hand using magic he got from Grimoire Heart. It's Rustyrose's Arc of Embodiment which allows him to create almost anything as long as he has enough magic power and can maintain it.
He didn't plan to recreate his left hand because it will remind him of his defeat and becomes his motivation to grow much stronger. But his children always looked sad whenever they see his left arm. So he trained Arc of Embodiment again and increased his mastery.
Porlyusica once offered him a prosthetic hand like the one that Gildarts uses. But he refused because a prosthetic hand won't look & work the same as a real hand no matter how good it is. Compared to that, a hand created by Arc of Embodiment is very identical to a real hand.
So he recreated his left hand and make it look flawless to make his children happy. Ben is really glad he did it because he can lift his twin children with 2 hands. They always like being lifted by him, so this is the correct choice.
Other than quest jobs, Ben also has some work on Magic Council. The Magic Council was in a mess after the attacks by Tartaros. So as a Wizard Saint, Ben needs to help rebuild the Magic Council.
He never likes the Council but he knows they are needed by Ishgar's Magic World. So he helps reform the group to make it a lot better. It's not easy to use his method on the Council and he even needs to use force on the stubborn old people.
They don't like Fairy Tail to begin with, so he doesn't hesitate to kick their asses. But even if they don't like Fairy Tail, they need to admit that Fairy Tail often clean up the messes they made. So they can't say anything when Ben pushes that fact into their heads.
His way to handle this creates a conflict with the 2 Gods of Ishgar though. Wolfheim & Draculos who deemed him too forceful in his method confronts him now. They call him to a private office to talk without any disturbance.
Ben takes a seat before anyone allows him and asks, "What do you want?"
"Tsk, young people these days don't have any manners. How could you sit down before your elders," says Wolfheim rather angrily.
"Heh, I thought our hierarchy as Wizard Saints is decided by power," says Ben.
"That is the more reason you need to respect us who have higher ranks and power," says Wolfheim.
"Hmm, you're right about ranks, but I'm not sure about power," says Ben while smirking before releasing his magic power.
He targets his magic power at the 2 old men who widen their eyes in surprise. Ben keeps increasing the magic power he releases and both of them start having cold sweats. A moment later, both of them fall to their knees because they can't withstand Ben's magic power release that keeps increasing.
Ben looks down at them with a cold gaze and says, "I haven't even used my full power, yet you have kneeled powerlessly. The Gods of Ishgar are not that much, huh? What a disappointment, I thought that you would be able to hold on a little longer. Are you sure you are the 2nd & 3rd strongest Mages on Ishgar?"
"Y-you, w-what is...?" Draculos can't even finish his question.
"I am a father, a husband, a brother, a friend, a Mage of Fairy Tail, and a Wizard Saint, Ben Cooper. Also, I was the man who defeated 4 real Dragons in Fiore's Capital and fought against Acnologia 2 times while you just sit on your comfy couches," says Ben before stopping his magic power release.
The 2 old men can finally breathe normally and Draculos asks with a terrified tone, "Why would you stay silent with that level of power? You can easily take the Gods of Ishgar rank and even challenge God Serena."
"Why? Because I never care about that position. If not for the protection for my guild, I won't even be a Wizard Saint. Ranks and positions like the 10 Wizard Saints, 4 Gods of Ishgar, or even a King are worthless to me. That's why I couldn't care less about going up the rank. Although I want to fight Serena as a fellow Dragon Slayer, and the chance will come soon," says Ben while smirking.
"Are you challenging God Serena?" asks Draculos with a surprised tone.
"Challenging him? Hah, I've done it many times but he never accepted for unknown reasons. But soon, he won't be able to refuse again," says Ben.
"Why is that?" asks Wolfheim.
"Don't ask me how I get this information, but I've heard that Alvarez Empire has contacted him and he agreed to join them," says Ben while smirking.
Of course, the 2 old men are very surprised that they can't even say anything.
"Don't tell anyone about this, I will take care of him personally. He, who is called the strongest in this continent with 8 Dragon Slayer magic against me who has slain real Dragons, I wonder who is stronger between us," says Ben before standing up and leaving the shocked old men.
He is very excited to fight Serena and messes with Zeref's plan. Those 2 will be his stepping stones and help him get stronger for his next battle against Acnologia.
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You can read up to 35+35 chapters ahead of my fanfics and more pictures on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.
Voting for this book is highly appreciate. Cover image is the MC, artist's ig: @fatmaqn_
I've uploaded:
1. Chapter 398 of Fairy Tail: Sun Eater
2. Chapter 409 of Transcended as Lord Buggy
3. Pictures of both stories (ex: bounty poster & magazine cover) by fatmaqn_
https://www.pa_treon.com/CaptMermain
(the web didn't use _underscore_, it's to avoid censorship)