The two Dragon Slayer mages, Wendy and Natsu, watched as the Fire Dragon King Igneel and the Sky Dragon Grandeeney began to battle. Nate felt slightly worried about the map being destroyed again, but on second thought, he decided to treat it as a stress test.
On the screen, the dragons' roars clashed, transforming the entire environment. A blinding light was followed by a cloud of dust that obscured everything. The audience buzzed with excitement.
"Who do you think will win between the two dragons?"
"Natsu's dad seems stronger, right?"
"Damn, we can't see anything!"
"Wow, Igneel's roar is way stronger than Natsu's."
Everyone focused intently on the screen, not wanting to miss a moment. After a while, the two dragons emerged from the dust, with Wendy and Natsu riding on their backs. They soon engaged in an aerial battle.
Dragon Slayer magic, designed to fight dragons, demonstrated its full power in the hands of actual dragons. Nate couldn't help feeling a little envious. He wanted a dragon as a mount—it would be way cooler than his obsidian magic bike.
"I've got to catch one someday," he thought.
As Igneel and Grandeeney fought, they also gave battle advice to their children. For the dragons, the arena, a 500-meter cube, felt cramped—like swimming in a bathtub. But here, they could unleash their full power without restraint, something they couldn't do while confined within their Dragon Slayer hosts in the outside world.
Half an hour passed, and the other three matches had already ended:
[Gray vs. Bickslow] Gray won!
[Elfman vs. Wakaba] Elfman won!
[Levy vs. Cana] Cana won!
The only match still ongoing was between Natsu and Wendy. The winners and losers alike gathered to watch the dragon duel.
"It seems like Igneel is much stronger—he's the Dragon King, after all," Nate remarked, gaining new insights into Dragon Slayer magic.
On the screen, Grandeeney narrowly dodged one of Igneel's attacks and pulled back, saying, "This space is too small. I don't want to waste time with you."
She descended, gently placing Wendy on the ground before disappearing. Igneel followed suit, landing back on the desert floor.
Natsu stood on Igneel's back, laughing loudly. "Hahaha, Igneel won!"
"Wendy, now it's our turn to settle things! Take this—Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Natsu leaped into the air, his right fist ablaze as he charged at Wendy. But Igneel swiftly pinned Natsu to the ground with one paw.
"This is how dragons fight. Remember it well, Natsu," Igneel instructed.
"Igneel, let go of me!" Natsu protested.
"One day, you'll need this power," Igneel added, with a warm, almost human expression.
Then, with a loud roar, Igneel turned into a ball of flames, slowly receding back into Natsu's body.
Natsu stood up, flames swirling around him as dragon scales appeared on his face. "This power... What was Igneel talking about?"
He scratched his head, unsure but happy to have fought alongside his father. Smiling, he turned back to Wendy.
Terrified, Wendy waved her hands frantically and bowed, quickly conceding, "I'm sorry, Natsu, I forfeit!"
…
[Desert Arena]: Wendy vs. Natsu!
[Winner]: Natsu!
With the result announced, both were teleported back to Sky Island.
Natsu, a little disappointed he didn't get to fight Wendy, immediately turned his attention to Nate. "Nate, fight me next!"
Nate shook his head. "When the official version launches, you'll probably become addicted to the arena, looking for battles every day."
He smiled and added, "Don't worry, if you match with me, we'll fight."
Nate then turned to the large screen, which displayed the remaining contestants: [9 players left].
He manipulated the match results once again. After all, someone had to get a bye in the quarterfinals, so why not him?
The new matchups appeared:
[Juvia vs. Cana!]
[Erza vs. Mirajane!]
[Natsu vs. Gray!]
[Elfman vs. Macao!]
[Bye: Nate!]
Natsu stood speechless, stunned by the blatant manipulation.
"I'll wait for you in the finals," Nate said with a grin.
Macao chimed in, "This tournament is full of rigging!"
Then, everyone was teleported into their respective arenas. The matches lasted a while, and the final four to advance were:
[Juvia, Erza, Natsu, and Elfman].
Mirajane and Erza, longtime rivals, had a spectacular fight, but in the end, Erza emerged victorious after Mirajane chose to concede.
"It's getting late, so let's leave the championship for tomorrow," Nate announced, checking the time. It was already evening.
"The finals will start at noon tomorrow. Don't miss it!"
With that, Nate logged out of the game.
…
Under a tree, Nate slowly opened his eyes. A moment later, Mirajane also woke up.
"Is it already this late?" Mirajane asked, surprised at how dark it had gotten. "Time always seems to fly in the game."
"That's because good times always feel short," Nate quipped, though Mirajane didn't catch the reference.
"Shall we head back now?" Nate thought for a moment before suggesting, "Or how about camping outdoors?"
"Camping?" Mirajane's eyes widened in surprise, her heart skipping a beat. The idea of camping outdoors with Nate felt unexpectedly thrilling.
"Sure!" she smiled. "But we didn't bring a tent. Are we going to sleep in a tree?"
'Is this a date?' she wondered, her heart racing.
Nate replied, "We can buy camping gear at the village at the foot of the mountain."
Mirajane laughed. "Then I'll take care of the food! Camping brings back memories. I used to camp outdoors a lot during missions."
"Really?" Nate was surprised.
"Of course! I used to be an S-Class mage," Mirajane said proudly, hands on her hips. "Do you have any camping experience?"
"Well, not here, but I've done some night fishing before with friends. Too bad we never caught anything, so fresh fish was rare."
Nate chuckled at the memory. "Alright, let's split up for now."
With that, Nate rode his obsidian bike down to the village to buy camping supplies, while Mirajane caught some wild rabbits and fished from a nearby stream using her magic.
When Mirajane returned to the tree, Nate hadn't arrived yet. She took out her magic ring and sent a message to her brother.
The Departing Traveler: "Elfman, can you head to the guild early tomorrow? I might be a little late."
Elfman: "Sis, you're always on time. What's going on?"
The Departing Traveler: "It's nothing… Just please go early, okay?"
Elfman: "Alright, I'll be there. But wait… you're not in the dorm or the guild? Where are you?"
The Departing Traveler: "I'm with Nate at the place where Lisanna disappeared… There's a chance Lisanna isn't dead."
Elfman: "WHAT?! Lisanna isn't dead?!"
Elfman: "Wait, you and Nate are outdoors? You're not coming back to the dorm tonight?"
The Departing Traveler: "Outdoor camping isn't bad once in a while."
Elfman: "Now I feel like challenging Nate to a duel!"
The Departing Traveler: "Sweat emoji. Don't be ridiculous, Elfman."
After a few more messages, Mirajane closed the chat and decided to post on the guild forum, hoping to find any clues about Lisanna's disappearance.
A little while later, Nate returned with a bunch of camping gear.
~~~
5/9 Bonus Chapters this Week!