Chapter 72

When I return to the inn, I can see Yasaka, Asia, and Kunou already waiting for me in my room. Yasaka looks at me with worry and curiosity.

"Ryan, are you okay? I can feel your Senjutsu and Mana from here. Does something happen when you hunt that creature down?"

I sit next to her and release a sigh.

"There is a problem after I kill that creature."

"What is it? Is this the reason why your life force gets this low? It is slowly replenished but not your full life force."

After hearing that word, Asia walks toward me and checks for any injury. When she sees there are some injuries on my body, she uses her Sacred Gear to heal me. I thank her and pat her head before saying.

"I met the strongest Magician in this world, and he beat the shit out of me. If not for him holding back and letting me live, I would be dead by now."

"If you know that he is the strongest magician, why are you not running away? There is no shame in retreating."

"My Draconic nature."

She nods in understanding and says.

"I see. It looks like we need to teach you how to calm down as your Draconic nature starts to get stronger."

Grandeeney already talked to me about this. While I will not change into a dragon, my nature will become like one. My heart will become a dragon's heart, my body will have the strength of a dragon, and my magic will change into a draconic combined with a dragon slayer magic.

"Yeah. I think it is time to learn how to meditate and push my draconian nature."

"Let's put that aside for now. How can your life force this low? Is he someone who can absorb life force?"

"Something like that. He has something called Black Magic. While the name is Black Magic, it is more like death-based magic. This magic 'kills' my life force when I come into contact with it. I would be dead by now if not for my Senjutsu and magic."

At the mention of my demise, Kunou burst into tears and jumped at me. She hugs my neck tightly while bawling her eyes out.

"Papa! Don't die! I don't want you to die! No!"

And as if it was a fast-spreading virus, Asia also got infected by her cry. Now, there are two people crying while hugging me. I release a sigh and hug the two of them tightly. I let them cry for a few seconds before saying.

"I will not die. I will never die as long as my loved one is still alive. I will continue to survive anything thrown my way and come out stronger. This is a promise I give to you three. I swear it upon my soul."

Yasaka walks toward me and hugs me.

"I don't care if you run away. I don't care if you decide to hide. All I want you is to survive. I don't want to lose someone who foolishly fights against something more powerful than him to protect me. Promise me that you will not stand in front of a being that is more powerful than you just to protect me."

I look at her for a second before saying.

"I am sorry, Yasaka. I cannot promise you that. I cannot make promises that I cannot keep. If it is to protect the three of you, I will jump in front of even an ultimate being like Great Red."

Yasaka sighs, but I can see she has a small smile on her face.

"What a stubborn husband I have. Then, the only thing I can do is to make sure he can survive anything. Prepare for a harder sparring season, okay?"

I give her a grin and say.

"Bring it on."

=| The Next Morning |=

I release a sigh as I look at the others, preparing to start the preliminary stage. I remember this stage in my previous life. The participants need to reach the arena in the middle of the city while inside a labyrinth created using magic.

We need to reach that place before the others can qualify for the tournament's next stage. Luckily for our team, I have Senjutsu, which will let me track the arena's location.

When the clock reached midnight, I could feel the entire building shake, and I quickly left my room. I can see my teammates Mirajane Strauss, Gajeel Redfox, Laxus Dreyar, and Juvia also walk out of their rooms.

We see a giant orb in the sky that makes the entire city look like a labyrinth. We hear the weird pumpkin man explaining the rules of this stage. Many teams from different guilds are participating, but only eight teams can enter the next stage.

That means the first eight teams that reach the goal will be the ones that can participate in the next stage. When that is done, we nod our heads. However, before my teammates could start running, I stopped them.

"Wait! Leave this to me. Let me map the entire city, and then we can start running."

Mirajane looks at me in confusion and says,

"You can do that, Ryan?"

I give her a small smile and say.

"Of course. It is within my magic capabilities."

I sit on the ground and gather enough Senjutsu to let my senses cover the entire city. It is like I have a third eye watching over the city. I release a deep breath and open my eyes. The others look at me curiously.

Ah, it must be their first time seeing my eyes when I enter Sage Mode.

"Let's go. I already know the way. Come on. I hope you can keep up."

I give them a cocky smile and see their vein bulge at that word. I can see them use their magic, and it looks like they will not lose against me in speed. I nod and start to run at full speed.

I can see Mirajane use her Take Over: Satan Soul to fly and keep up with me. Gajeel uses his physical strength to jump from one roof to another. Luvia uses water to propel her body into the air like jet propulsion but with water. Laxus uses his lightning to boost his speed and keep up with me.

Even when the labyrinth changes direction, I know which path we need to take and continue to run through the labyrinth as if it were a regular street that we have been through hundreds of times.

It only takes us ten minutes to reach a massive door with the label 'Goal' on top of it. The five of us walk through the door, and we can see the pumpkin man (Mato) look at us in surprise.

"You guys are here already?! How! Even the fastest team can reach this place after fifteen minutes! You guys are five minutes faster than them!"

The five of us give him a smirk, and I say.

"We have a shortcut."

Mato looks at us silently before suddenly shouting.

"There is no shortcut in the maze!"

The five of us only laugh as Mato takes us back to our lodging.