Lyon's POV
Three months later…
Walking down the dirt road leading away from the small, desolate town I had just finished clearing out, I hummed a quiet tune to myself as the afternoon sun hung overhead.
My latest quest had been pretty straightforward.
A horde of monsters had settled around the outskirts of the town, making it impossible for the few remaining residents to safely return and rebuild. Nothing particularly dangerous, but there had been enough of them that the job took a little while.
And the reward?
Two hundred thousand jewels.
I would need to be a dumbass to pass up on this quest.
I glanced at the bag hanging from my shoulder, a small smirk forming on my face.
Two hundred thousand jewels for clearing out a bunch of monsters?
Yeah.
I'd take that any day of the week.
I continued walking, enjoying the quiet road ahead of me.
But eventually, my thoughts began drifting.
These past few months had actually been pretty eventful.
Most of my time had been spent training Yuka, Sherry, and Toby.
I'd been teaching them the fundamentals of magic, helping them understand how their magic worked, and—more importantly—making sure they could actually use it without immediately exhausting themselves.
I'd also made sure to put them through plenty of physical training.
A lot of it.
Probably more than they would've liked.
But it was necessary.
By this point, they could actually fight.
They could maintain their magic for extended periods, use it properly in combat, and defend themselves without immediately falling apart.
They still had plenty of room for improvement, obviously.
The fundamentals were only the foundation.
Everything beyond that was still a work in progress.
But considering where they started?
I'd say they were doing pretty well.
As for myself, I'd continued taking quests.
Nothing too crazy.
I'd deliberately avoided anything that looked like it would turn into another Brookworth situation, and I made sure not to take jobs that would keep me away from the guild for too long.
Thankfully, I didn't exactly need to hustle for money anymore.
Between the money I'd already saved and the ridiculous rewards I'd gotten from some of my quests, I had enough financial breathing room that I could afford to be picky.
Most of the jobs I'd taken during these months were monster exterminations or other relatively straightforward work.
And honestly?
I was fine with that.
Although...
There was one annoying thing that had happened during this time.
Bounty hunters.
I'd run into a few of them over the past couple of months.
Fortunately, none of them were anywhere near the level of that Mirror Mage I encountered before.
Still, it was annoying enough that I eventually managed to get my hands on one of the bounty posters they were carrying.
For some reason my bounty had gone up again.
Whoever was putting these things out really seemed to have it out for me.
The worst part?
I still had absolutely no idea who was behind it.
I couldn't remember anyone In this world who would have a reason to put a bounty on me.
Then again...
It's not like I make a mental note of every asshole I come across.
I sighed at the thought.
At least there was one positive side to all those bounty hunters showing up.
They made excellent test subjects.
I'd gotten the chance to experiment with different properties of my Ice Magic against actual opponents.
I was able to test out changing the temperature, density, and shape of my constructs whenever I used them in combat.
It was honestly pretty useful.
...Although, thinking about it that way honestly made me think I was slowly going crazy.
I was essentially treating people trying to kill me like walking laboratory equipment.
Could it be that all this prolonged exposure to violence is slowly making me lose my state of mind until I eventually go insane!?!
…Naaaahhhh. I'm chillin'.
Besides, I'd learned a lot from those fights.
And speaking of learning...
My thoughts soon returned to my students.
I'd made quite a bit of progress with them over the last few months.
So far, I've gotten them to the point where they're actively able to use their magic for a long period of time.
They're also able to fight and defend themselves with it.
That alone was a pretty big improvement.
I'd made sure they understood the fundamentals first because everything else depended on them.
If they didn't understand those things, trying to teach them advanced techniques would just be putting a fancy roof on a house with no foundation.
But now that they had the basics down...
I could actually start exploring what they were capable of.
Each of them had different strengths.
Different weaknesses.
And, more importantly...
Different potential.
I loved that part.
Figuring out what someone could do with their abilities if they're pushed in the right direction.
That was easily one of my favorite things about this world.
My thoughts immediately went to Sherry.
So far, her magic seems like the most versatile of the three.
Yuka was definitely more destructive.
There was no question about that.
But Sherry?
Her potential for crowd control and battlefield manipulation was kind of ridiculous.
When I first learned how her magic worked, I couldn't help but compare it to some kind of pseudo-telekinesis.
She could animate and control objects like dolls.
Anything.
Well...
Almost anything.
Humans were obviously out of the equation.
But pretty much everything else?
Fair game.
And that was where things got interesting.
The environment itself could become her arsenal.
Stone.
Dirt.
Trees.
Weapons.
Debris.
Anything surrounding her could theoretically become something she could manipulate.
And that was only if she was fighting somewhere with a lot of available material.
Imagine putting her in a forest.
Or a city.
Or even a ruined battlefield.
The amount of things she could potentially control would be absurd.
She could create shields from the environment to block incoming attacks.
She could manipulate the ground to restrict someone's movement.
She could separate enemies from their allies by reshaping the environment around them.
She could create walls.
Barriers.
Traps.
Weapons.
And if her control became good enough...
She could potentially manipulate the battlefield itself.
And that's just the beginning.
Her biggest limitation right now wasn't her magic.
It was her imagination and control.
If she could improve those two things, the possibilities would become almost ridiculous.
In a weird way...
She could even end up being something like Big Mom.
…Well except without the whole soul thing.
Her objects didn't have souls.
As I continued walking down the dirt road.
My thoughts soon shifted toward my second student.
Looking back I can't help but recall what I discovered during one of our training sessions.
—
Third Person POV
Flashback…
Turning to a forest clearing, one that Lyon had gradually transformed into his personal training ground, the scene shifted to show him standing across from Yuka.
A short distance away, Toby and Sherry were in the middle of their physical training.
Both were doing push-ups and sit-ups at an almost ridiculous speed, their movements practically becoming a blur from how quickly they were going.
Neither Lyon nor Yuka paid them much attention.
Lyon was focused entirely on the task in front of him.
He held a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other, studying Yuka carefully.
"Okay, try it now."
Yuka nodded.
He raised his right hand into the air.
A moment later, a bluish, almost transparent barrier formed around him.
The barrier itself looked relatively stable.
However, Lyon immediately noticed something else.
A faint, high-pitched sound emitted from the barrier.
At the same time, he could feel a subtle vibration coming from the ground around Yuka.
Lyon's eyes narrowed slightly.
He quickly wrote something down on his notepad.
After observing the barrier for another few seconds, he lowered his pen.
"Stop."
Yuka immediately dismissed the barrier.
Lyon glanced down at his notes before looking back at him.
"Alright. Seems like you've got it down for the most part."
He paused for a moment.
"Although, real quick, let's try something."
Yuka tilted his head.
Lyon walked over to a nearby stick lying on the ground and picked it up.
He approached Yuka while examining the stick.
"Alright. Now what I want you to do is try channeling your vibrations into the stick."
Yuka blinked.
"Into the stick?"
"Yep."
Lyon held the stick out toward him.
"Don't shape it into a barrier or anything. Just channel the same vibrations you use to make the barrier into this stick, okay?"
Yuka looked somewhat confused by the request.
Still, he nodded.
"Okay."
He placed one finger against the stick.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then—
CRACK!
The stick suddenly shattered in Yuka's hand.
Yuka stared at the broken pieces.
Lyon, meanwhile, simply nodded.
"Yep. That's pretty much what I expected."
He immediately picked up another stick.
He quickly scribbled something onto his notepad before looking back at Yuka.
"Alright. Now I want you to do the same thing, but make it so the stick only vibrates without actually shattering."
Yuka furrowed his eyebrows.
"That's it?"
"Yep."
Lyon gave him a small grin.
Yuka sighed before placing his finger against the new stick.
He concentrated.
The stick trembled slightly.
Then—
CRACK!
It shattered.
Yuka stared at it in shock.
All the while Lyon wrote something down.
"Again."
Another stick.
Yuka tried again.
CRACK!
Another failure.
Another stick.
CRACK!
Another.
CRACK!
Again.
CRACK!
The pile of destroyed sticks slowly grew beside them.
Yuka's expression became increasingly frustrated.
He had never really tried controlling his vibrations before.
His magic naturally wanted to expand outward which made it easy to form barriers.
But concentrating those same vibrations into something small and fragile was an entirely different matter.
Still, Yuka refused to give up.
He grabbed another stick.
He placed his finger against it.
This time, he closed his eyes.
He took a slow breath.
He focused just on the vibrations.
The stick began to tremble.
Yuka's eyebrows tightened as he concentrated harder.
The vibration became slightly stronger.
For a moment, it looked like it was going to break.
But fortunately…it didn't.
The stick continued trembling beneath Yuka's finger.
Yet It remained completely intact.
Yuka's eyes widened slightly.
He had finally done it.
Lyon's lips curled into a small yet pleased smirk.
Yuka was sweating heavily from the concentration required to maintain such precise control.
Yet he kept the vibration stable.
Lyon immediately began writing on his notepad.
His eyes remained fixed on the vibrating stick.
Seems like his theory was correct.
End of Flashback…
—
Lyon's POV
Vibration Frequency Manipulation.
I had to physically fight back the laugh threatening to escape my throat by the maddening idea.
Bro is a walking EMP, but for magic.
Yuka's magic wasn't electromagnetic, obviously.
But the basic idea was surprisingly similar.
He could emit vibrations, and more importantly, he could change their frequency.
And if he learned how to precisely control that frequency, then theoretically, he could find the specific frequency that interfered with another person's magic.
Magic relied on Ethernano.
So if Yuka's vibrations could interfere with the way Ethernano was being circulated, shaped, or maintained…
He might be able to disrupt someone's spell.
Maybe even cancel it entirely.
Theoretically, at least.
And that's just one part of it.
His destructive potential was arguably even crazier.
Vibrations were essentially rapid movements.
Something moving back and forth incredibly quickly could transfer energy into whatever it touched.
Usually, objects could handle a certain amount of that energy.
But everything has limits.
Even something that looked extremely durable could have a frequency at which it became much easier to damage.
It was kind of like pushing someone on a swing.
If you pushed randomly, you probably wouldn't do much.
But if you kept pushing at exactly the right timing, the motion would build up.
Eventually, the swing would go much higher than it normally could.
Vibrations work in a somewhat similar way.
If Yuka found the right frequency for a particular material, he could potentially make that material vibrate so violently that it would crack, break, or even completely fall apart.
That was what made Yuka's ability so terrifying.
His vibrations didn't necessarily need to overpower something through brute force.
He could potentially find the right frequency and let the vibrations do the work for him.
Durability becomes a lot less useful when the thing attacking you knows exactly how to make you break.
And don't even get me started on his defensive potential.
There were countless possibilities.
And honestly?
I was baffled.
How come this ability had been so underutilized?
I knew Yuka's original magic from the anime.
But seeing it firsthand made me realize just how much potential had been sitting underneath something that initially looked so simple.
Of course, there was one major limitation.
Yuka could emit vibrations.
He could change their frequency and properties while emitting them.
But he couldn't actually manipulate vibrations independently after they left him.
He wasn't controlling some invisible wave like telekinesis.
He was generating it.
That meant his effective range, precision, and overall control were still tied to his ability to emit those vibrations.
If the vibration left his range, he couldn't simply grab it and redirect it somewhere else.
But honestly?
I didn't think that was a huge drawback.
Not when considering what he could already do.
In terms of pure destructive potential, Yuka had easily surpassed the other two.
And that wasn't even an insult toward Sherry or Toby.
It was simply a fact.
Sherry had incredible versatility.
Her Doll Magic could potentially turn an entire battlefield into her playground.
But Yuka?
Yuka could potentially tear that playground apart.
And then there was Toby.
I had to admit, Toby was probably the most shocking one out of the three.
Mostly because…
I had absolutely no idea what to do with him at first.
His original magic in the anime was, to put it mildly—
Utterly pathetic.
I wasn't even trying to be mean.
It was just… not good.
I mean seriously…Jellyfish Claws?
Anyway, instead of trying to force Toby into learning the same magic he originally used, I decided that the two of us should figure out what kind of magic actually suited him.
And somehow…
We ended up with Transformation Magic.
That was where things got weird.
Because Toby was actually insanely good when it came to it.
I still couldn't believe it.
When I first started teaching him the fundamentals, I expected him to struggle.
Instead, he started picking up the concepts faster than either Sherry or Yuka.
Understanding how magical transformation worked.
Understanding the structure of what he was transforming.
Learning how to distribute his Ethernano.
Learning how to maintain the transformation without wasting ridiculous amounts of energy.
He picked all of it up incredibly quickly.
Within a matter of weeks, he had learned and practically mastered the fundamentals.
I still remembered the first time he successfully transformed himself.
He made his body extremely buff.
Toby stared at himself for several seconds just posing.
And I had honestly been expecting him to screw something up.
However, instead, the transformation was stable.
The proportions were right.
The Ethernano distribution was surprisingly good.
…How the hell does that work?
Outside of magic, Toby was…well Toby.
He wasn't exactly the sharpest person I'd ever met.
Sometimes I'd explain something to him three times and he'd still look at me like I'd just started speaking another language.
But when it came to magic?
Somehow, his brain just clicked.
It was like he'd been built specifically for it.
At this point, he was easily the best magic user out of the three.
Sherry had more versatility.
Yuka had more destructive potential.
But Toby?
His understanding of magic was developing faster than either of them.
And that made me wonder just how far he could eventually go.
As I was so caught up in my thoughts at the moment that I almost didn't notice the figure stepping onto the path and blocking my way.
My eyes narrowed as I came to a stop.
—
Third Person POV
The boy stood a short distance away, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at Lyon with an expression that practically screamed I have a problem with you.
Lyon, for his part, merely raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me, do you need something?"
He asked the question bluntly, his narrowed eyes studying the unfamiliar boy in front of him.
The boy responded with an obnoxious laugh.
He appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, with black eyes and black hair tied into a short, spiky ponytail. His clothes were fairly ordinary, though the arrogant grin plastered across his face made him seem considerably more annoying than his appearance alone warranted.
"Nothing much. I just heard a rumor about some wizard from a guild passing through here, and I wanted to see what all the hype was about."
Lyon stared at him.
Really?
He could already feel a headache coming on.
The boy began approaching him, his grin growing wider.
"But looking at you up close, you don't seem like much. I mean, honestly, I don't understand all the hype with you official guild wizards, thinking you're so much better than the rest of us."
His tone had started out arrogant, but by the end of his little speech, there was a noticeable edge of resentment in his voice.
Lyon listened without interrupting.
Then he sighed internally.
As he wasn't particularly interested in entertaining this any longer.
"Whoa, okay, cool…"
He gave the boy a deadpan stare.
"Anyway, I have places to be, so how about we skip to the end of your cliché, petty self-monologue?"
For several seconds, the boy said nothing.
His expression froze.
Then two enormous, cartoonish tick marks appeared on his forehead.
"WHY, YOU COCKY LITTLE—!"
He charged.
Lyon watched him approach with all the enthusiasm of someone waiting for a kettle to boil.
The moment the boy released his magic, five shadowy hands burst from his shadow, shooting toward Lyon from different directions.
The attacks were fast enough to catch an ordinary person off guard.
Unfortunately for the boy, Lyon wasn't an ordinary person.
Lyon closed his eyes and sighed.
Here we go again.
—
A Few Moments Later…
Turning to the forest road, we would see it, as it had returned to its usual tranquility.
Well, almost.
Lyon stood over the boy, staring down at him with a thoroughly unimpressed expression.
The would-be challenger was sprawled across the ground, several enormous, cartoonish bumps protruding from his head. Little wisps of smoke rose from them as he groaned in pain.
Lyon tilted his head.
"So, run it by me real quick. What exactly made you think you could run up on a guild wizard, attack them in broad daylight, and walk away victorious?"
He paused.
"And, you know, without any criminal charges being brought against you?"
Lyon wasn't intimately familiar with every law in Fiore. As while he did read up on it, there were still some things he didn't know.
Still, he was fairly certain that assaulting someone in the middle of the road wasn't something the authorities would simply overlook.
The boy's body stiffened.
For the first time since their encounter began, he seemed to have genuinely considered the consequences of his actions.
Lyon noticed, as he slowly dragged a hand down his face.
"You're a dumbass."
The boy didn't respond.
Instead, he slowly sat up, lowering his head as he stared at the ground. His expression was a mixture of frustration, embarrassment, and lingering anger.
After a moment, he finally spoke.
"So, what now? Are you planning to turn me in to the authorities?"
He sounded annoyed, as though Lyon was somehow responsible for putting him in this situation.
Lyon raised an eyebrow.
Then he sighed.
"No, I'm not."
The boy's head snapped up.
"Huh?"
"You heard me."
Lyon crossed his arms.
"However, you are going to tell me exactly why you attacked me and why you thought it was a good idea."
His tone shifted into something almost professor-like, resembling a teacher questioning a particularly troublesome student.
The boy looked away.
For a while, he remained silent.
Then his shoulders slumped.
"Because I wanted to prove that I was just as good as you guild wizards."
Lyon said nothing.
The boy lowered his gaze again.
"I've tried to become one of you. I've applied to multiple guilds…"
His hands clenched against his knees.
"But every single one I tried to join just turned me down for whatever reason."
His voice grew increasingly strained.
"It's not fair! So what if I'm not as strong as the rest of you? I can become stronger! I can improve! But you all wouldn't even give me a chance!"
He swallowed hard.
"It's because of you guys that—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You wanna join Lamia Scale?"
The boy abruptly stopped talking.
Silence settled over the road.
Slowly, he turned his head toward Lyon.
"Huh?"
Lyon wasn't even looking at him anymore.
Instead, he'd pulled a map from his backpack and was examining it with a thoughtful expression.
"I said, do you wanna join Lamia Scale?"
The boy stared at him.
"A-are you serious?"
"Yeah, I am."
Lyon adjusted the map in his hands, completely unbothered by the conversation.
The boy's mouth opened slightly.
He stared at Lyon for several seconds before managing to ask another question.
"W-why?"
At that, Lyon stopped examining the map.
He lowered it and turned toward the boy with a perfectly serious expression.
"Because…"
He paused for dramatic effect.
"...you're annoying."
The boy's face practically shattered.
"WHAT?!"
Lyon looked at him with a troubled expression.
"Dude, all I asked you was why you attacked me and why you thought it was a good idea. I didn't sign up to hear your entire life story."
The boy's mouth opened.
Then closed.
Then opened again.
Nothing came out.
Lyon returned his attention to the map.
"Honestly, if I wasn't trying to figure out where the train station is from here, I would've left ages ago."
The boy could only stare at him.
He'd approached Lyon expecting a confrontation. He'd prepared himself to prove his strength, to show that he wasn't inferior to the so-called official guild wizards.
Instead, he'd been knocked flat, insulted, and then offered a place in a guild by the same person he'd just attacked.
What the hell is wrong with this guy?!
Lyon finally located the road he needed and marked the route on his map.
Satisfied, he folded it and slipped it back into his backpack before turning toward the boy again.
"Look, dude. I don't exactly know why the other guilds rejected you."
He began counting possibilities on his fingers.
"Maybe because you were too weak, or maybe because you were too short, or maybe because you were too ugly."
A tick mark appeared on the boy's forehead.
"Hey!"
Lyon ignored him.
"Regardless of the reason, that doesn't mean you should lash out at other guild wizards. Mostly because, one, it's dumb. Two, you can go to jail. And three…"
He gave the boy a pointed look.
"...you will get your ass kicked considerably."
The boy gritted his teeth.
He couldn't even argue with that last point.
Lyon stepped closer and extended his hand.
The boy looked down at it.
For a moment, he hesitated.
Then he looked up.
Lyon was smiling at him. It wasn't a mocking grin or the smug expression of someone who had just won a fight. It was a casual, surprisingly friendly smile.
"But listen. If all you wanna do is prove that you're just as strong as those other guild wizards, then all you have to do is train properly and focus on developing yourself."
Lyon's expression became a little more earnest.
"Don't focus on what everyone else is doing. Focus on yourself. Figure out what you're good at, work on what you're bad at, and keep improving."
"And if you want some help with that, you can join Lamia Scale. If you're willing to actually put in the work, I can even help you with that."
The boy stared at him.
For once, he didn't have a sarcastic remark ready.
After several seconds, the boy finally reached out and took his hand.
Lyon pulled him to his feet.
The boy brushed some dirt off his clothes before looking at Lyon again.
"Are you serious about what you said?"
Lyon smiled.
"Of course I am."
His expression brightened.
"So, what do you say, Shikamaru?"
The boy hearing this smiled, as a genuine and thankful expression would appear on his face.
"Thank you, then, yes, I would like to join—"
He abruptly stopped.
His eyes widened.
"WAIT A MINUTE! THAT'S NOT MY FUCKING NAME! WHO THE HELL IS SHIKAMARU?!"
Lyon burst out laughing.
The boy's expression twisted into a cartoonishly furious scowl.
"YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?!"
Lyon tried to compose himself, though the grin on his face made his efforts rather unconvincing.
As the boy seeing this turned away, muttering furiously under his breath.
"...Don't hit the blue-haired Ice prick, Don't hit the blue-haired Ice prick…"
Lyon chuckled one last time before settling down.
The boy took a deep breath, apparently deciding that assaulting the guild wizard would be a terrible idea for the second time that day.
As turning back towards Lyon.
His expression while still annoyed, would look something more serious.
"Look, my name is Kageyama, you asshole."
He straightened his posture.
"And yeah. I would like to join Lamia Scale. And if it's okay with you, I really do want to become stronger."
This time, there was no arrogance in his voice.
Lyon studied him quietly.
Kageyama held his gaze, visibly nervous about what the answer might be.
Then Lyon smiled.
"Alright, bet."
He raised his hand.
"Well then, I'm looking forward to working with you, Kageyama."
Kageyama stared at the raised hand for a moment, confused by the gesture.
Then recognition dawned on his face.
His lips curled into a smirk.
Without wasting another second, he raised his own hand.
Slap!
Their palms met.
And the two of them pulled their hands back in a quick, practiced motion, completing the dap.
As Lyon grinned.
While Kageyama returned the expression with a smaller, but no less genuine, smile.
As just like that, Lamia Scale had gained another new member.