Chapter 40

【As a Dragon Slayer, one should understand that their mission is to fight evil dragons, so seeing one early on would give them a foundation.】

【In the future, if there really is a chance to face a dragon, they won't be running away in terror.】

【Thus, this test was born.】

【Not long after, on the other side, Igneel, who went to scare Gajeel, brought the still-young Gajeel here and met with Natsu.】

【That wasn't all; immediately after, the Sky Dragon, Grandeeney, also brought the even younger Wendy here.】

【The three giant dragons seemed to be discussing the gains of this test, or rather, the performance of Natsu and Gajeel.】

At this point, the large screen with the white border gradually dimmed.

Makarov: "So, this video has finished playing, right?"

Mirajane: "Next should be the parallel world story playing on the black border side; it should be the same thing."

Erza: "Then, how will the Natsu of the other parallel world perform in this test? I'm already starting to look forward to it."

Sting: "What kind of performance can there be? At such a young age, facing that kind of hostile giant dragon, being able to keep from crying is already very impressive."

Gajeel: "I didn't cry back then!"

Natsu: "Tch, the screen didn't show your side, who knows if you cried or not?"

Gajeel: "Do you think I would cry?"

Natsu: "Not necessarily, but come to think of it... I actually saw you when I was a kid?"

Gajeel: "I'm also very strange; I don't remember someone like you?"

Wendy: "Um... looking at the sky screen, it seems I was there too?"

Irene: "Ho, could it be that you little brats all collectively lost your memories?"

Collective amnesia?

Inside the Fairy Tail guild, the three Dragon Slayers looked at each other.

Lucy: "By the way, I also remember that when Natsu met Wendy for the first time during the Oración Seis crusade, he said he had a very familiar feeling."

Wendy: "Yes, yes, before I met Brother Natsu, I had heard Brother Natsu's name. At that time, I felt this name was very familiar, and I had a natural sense of closeness."

Gajeel: "I'm different. When I first saw Natsu, I was very annoyed!"

"Yeah, very annoyed!"

Natsu: "Heh, likewise. Me too, the moment I saw you, I really wanted to beat you up."

Erza: "You guys better stop arguing, look, the second screen with the black border is moving."

Just as Erza said.

Not long after the screen with the white border dimmed.

The screen with the black border also gradually began to have color.

Soon, the image appeared.

【One month after the roar teaching session.】

【During this time, Natsu's daily routine was very disciplined.】

【He was either fighting or eating.】

【All day long, as soon as he woke up in the morning, he would go to fight his friend, an ape of unknown species.】

【All kinds of Dragon Slayer Magic, like Iron Fist, Wing Attack, etc., were used on the ape, having already treated it as a hypothetical enemy dragon.】

【When his strength improved further, he would go into the magical beast forest to make other friends.】

【Of course, Natsu wouldn't care if the other party was willing or not.】

【On this day, Igneel stopped Natsu, who was about to go out.】

【Igneel was very confused recently.】

【This brat Natsu was a bit too proactive in his cultivation.】

【Even, he was a bit mysterious, to the point that Igneel himself didn't know to what extent Natsu's Dragon Slayer Magic had been cultivated.】

【So he decided to join forces with the iron bastard next door to give these little guys a different kind of test.】

【Just like that, with different motivations, the Igneels of the two worlds made the same choice.】

【And, he led Natsu to that magical beast forest.】

【"Natsu, you have been learning magic for several months now. Next is the time to test the results of your learning during this period."】

【"This is the magical beast forest, which harbors many powerful magical beasts, and your task is to spend a day and a night safely in this forest. Note, it's a day and a night!"】

【Just as Igneel looked at Natsu, preparing to say that foolproof provocation: 'What, are you scared?'】

【Natsu smiled unusually, glancing sideways at the eerie primeval forest.】

【"Only one day?"】