Wendy began to inhale, pulling in air and magic with all her might.

Visible currents of air flowed from all around, streaming into her small mouth. As she accumulated more and more air and magic, her face turned red, and her eyes squeezed shut.

When Noah sensed that she had reached her limit, he called out, "Now, Wendy! Release all the air and magic at once!"

"Sky Dragon's ROAR!"

Hearing Noah's command, Wendy opened her mouth wide and unleashed the power she had gathered.

The magic exploded from her mouth, forming a massive, violent whirlwind. It tore across the ground, kicking up countless stones, and slammed into the training field's protective barrier.

BOOM!

With Wendy's control gone, the whirlwind collapsed, dissipating into fierce gusts of wind. The stones it had carried clattered to the ground.

Wendy, caught by the recoil of her own breath, fell backward. Carla, who was standing behind her, shrieked in alarm.

But in an instant, Noah flashed to Wendy's side and caught her by the shoulders, steadying her. Carla let out a long sigh of relief.

Wendy opened her eyes, staring at the scattered wind and the new scratch marks all over the ground. "Did... did I do that?" she asked in disbelief.

"You did," Noah said with a smile. "Dragon Slayer magic was created to fight dragons, after all. Power like this is normal. You've always focused on support, so you never developed your attack magic. Now do you believe you have the power to protect yourself?"

"Mhm!" Wendy's eyes were sparkling. If she had this kind of power, she wouldn't have to rely on Yukino and Meredy to protect her on missions. They would be able to fight more freely.

"Just keep practicing," Noah encouraged her. "If you have questions, you can ask me or Natsu. Just watch how he uses his magic, and apply it to your own."

"Okay, I will!" Wendy nodded vigorously.

Nearby, Natsu, having recovered a bit of his strength, scrambled to his feet and charged at Noah again. Noah was happy to let Wendy watch, so he didn't fight back, simply blocking Natsu's attacks.

Dragon Slayer magic was powerful, but it also consumed a lot of magic. It wasn't long before Natsu was on the ground again, completely out of gas.

To speed things up, Noah created a flame in his palm using his Light Magic—a "Light Flame." He tossed it to Natsu, who shot up from the ground and swallowed it in one gulp. The flame, packed with Noah's magic, was instantly absorbed. Natsu's magic and stamina were fully restored, so much so that excess power leaked from his body as fire.

He immediately charged at Noah again.

They repeated this cycle—Natsu attacking, running out of magic, Noah feeding him a Light Flame, and Natsu attacking again—several times.

Finally, even after swallowing another one of Noah's flames, Natsu just lay flat on the ground, completely spent. His magic and stamina had been repeatedly depleted and restored, but now his mind was just too exhausted to move.

Happy walked over and poked Natsu with a stick. Natsu just twitched.

Happy tossed the stick aside, flew back to Noah, and said, "Aye. This Natsu is broken."

"Brother Natsu..." Wendy looked at him with concern.

Noah shook his head. "Don't worry, he's just mentally exhausted. He'll be fine after a rest. Wendy, you should go practice what you saw. We can't let Natsu's hard work as a demonstration model go to waste."

"Right!" Wendy said, still glancing worriedly at Natsu before heading to the side to practice her new offensive magic. Carla followed her, while Happy stayed behind to watch over Natsu.

Noah also moved to the side to begin his own training.

For the next week, their routine was set. Natsu would recover, challenge Noah, and Wendy would watch. When Natsu ran out of steam, Noah would feed him a flame until his mind gave out. Then, Wendy would practice what she'd learned while Noah did his own training.

After more than a week of this, Wendy's offensive magic had truly taken shape. The rest would just take time to perfect.

Noah decided his work here was done. It was time to start his own project.

He was going to upgrade the magic of the guild marks.

He strengthened all the basic functions: the magic capacity, the passive magic and life-force buffs, the protective magic, and the communication links. He also greatly expanded the storage space, increasing its capacity to 3x3x3 meters—a total of 27 cubic meters.

He also integrated a part of his Archive magic. The marks now contained a library of basic knowledge: a detailed map of Fiore, wilderness survival guides, a bestiary of common magical beasts, and more. It would help members find their way and survive in the wild, and allow them to get critical information about their missions. They could also download their own knowledge into it, though the extra storage for that was limited.

But the biggest upgrade was a brand-new function.

From now on, when a Fairy Tail member shouted "We are wizards of Fairy Tail!" (or a similar declaration of guild pride), it would trigger a new enchantment.

This magic would provide a short, powerful buff: increasing their magic power, physical attributes, self-healing, mental fortitude, and all elemental resistances, restoring a portion of their strength.

Noah knew that magic in this world was, to a certain extent, "heart-based." By shouting their beliefs, wizards could strengthen their conviction and cause miracles to happen.

This new function would supercharge that effect. It would give them immediate, tangible feedback for their belief. It would create a positive feedback loop:

They shout their conviction - Noah's magic grants them a buff - They feel their power return - Their conviction is validated and strengthened - This, in turn, allows them to tap into even greater magical miracles.

It wasn't just a trigger; it was a tool to help his comrades walk their "magic way." To advance on the path of magic, an unwavering belief was essential. This new function would ensure that the belief of a Fairy Tail wizard would always be answered.

~~~

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