Chapter 76: A Simple Way to Teach (Request Subscription!)

What will hatch from this “dragon egg” remains unknown for now, but its appeal has already become evident.

From the forest burst forth several giant green-furred gorillas, one of them notably larger, appearing to be their leader.

“So huge!!!”

Seeing the five gorillas charging out, the children screamed and retreated several steps, scrambling behind Mo En and Erza.

“It’s Griyan! Forest Barugan!”

Rebby immediately recognized the green-furred, purple-bodied monsters before her.

“They’re after the egg! They love eating eggs!”

Rebby grew tense and shouted to Natsu, who was clutching the egg.

“Egg! It’s the egg! Give it to us!”

Rebby didn’t need to warn them—the moment the Forest Barugan spotted the egg in Natsu’s arms, they began roaring.

They were a relatively intelligent magical beast species capable of speech.

These green-furred monkey monsters had been unusually active lately in the eastern forests of Magnolia; many had encountered them. Outside of mating season, Forest Barugan weren’t particularly dangerous and could easily be driven off with a few eggs.

But during mating season, they became dangerous—women were advised not to enter the eastern forests at that time.

Clearly, it was not mating season—the group of pretty girls around them were completely ignored; their eyes fixed only on the egg Natsu held.

“Damn it! We’re not giving it to Itachi!”

Natsu bared his teeth, glaring fiercely at the monkeys.

As he spoke, he clutched the egg and ran behind Mo En and Erza.

“Mo En, Erza, watch the egg—I’ll drive them off!”

Natsu set the egg down, rolled up his sleeves, and charged at the monkeys.

“We’re joining too!”

Gray, unwilling to be outdone, followed Natsu as he rushed forward.

“I don’t even have the egg—why should I give it to these monkeys?”

Elfman muttered under his breath but charged in as well; facing enemies, the boys were all bravely fearless.

Cana, Rebby, and Lisanna stood behind, all eager to join—they were mages, after all; how could they fear a few monkeys?

“Thud!”

Natsu, Gray, and Elfman were all knocked to the ground, beaten senseless by the five monkey monsters.

“Use magic!”

Seeing this absurd scene, Mo En couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of his nose—those three fools had rushed in swinging fists.

The Forest Barugan relied entirely on brute strength; even a single muscle on their bodies was bigger than these children’s heads. Without using magic, pure physical combat gave mages no advantage—it was no surprise they got beaten.

“But they didn’t use magic either!”

Natsu rubbed his swollen head, glaring defiantly.

Gray got up too. He didn’t understand why Natsu refused to use magic, but if Natsu wouldn’t, neither would he.

Of the three, only Elfman remained on the ground, lying dazed with stars in his eyes, completely incapacitated.

Clearly, Gray and Natsu, long subjected to Mo En and Erza’s discipline, had exceptional durability—Elfman simply couldn’t compare.

“Big brother Elfman!”

Lisanna rushed over, worried, and helped him up, unsure what to say.

“Egg! And pretty girls!”

Seeing how weak the children were, the Forest Barugan grew even bolder, pounding their chests and howling wildly.

One Forest Barugan leapt high, landing right in front of Lisanna and Elfman.

Its eyes sparkled with hearts as it reached out a massive purple hand toward Lisanna.

“Lisanna!”

“Elfman!”

Natsu and the others were startled, rushing to help—but the other monkeys surged forward, blocking them.

“Hum!”

Magic surged in all directions, falling like snowflakes; terrifying freezing winds enveloped the monkey monster, coating it in ice until it became a frozen statue.

“Diamond. Star Fist!”

With the howling wind, all the Forest Barugan were frozen solid.

“T-t-t!”

Lisanna, Natsu, and Elfman all shivered violently; even Elfman, who had been half-unconscious, was jolted awake by the cold.

“Incredible! Mo En!”

Gray felt little effect himself. He reached out and touched one of the frozen monkeys—it shattered instantly into a pile of icy fragments.

“This…”

Gray stared, eyes wide—not with fear, but with envy. He longed to master such terrifying freezing power.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

Natsu kept breathing fire, rubbing his body to warm himself.

Mo En stepped beside Lisanna and swept his hand sharply—the remaining frost dissipated, warming Lisanna and Elfman slightly.

Lisanna and Elfman looked up at Mo En’s face and saw his expression was not pleasant—indeed, it was icy.

“Don’t ever do that again. If Itachi’d truly gotten hurt playing around, could Itachi handle it? Even a lion fights a rabbit with full strength. When facing an enemy, strike with everything Itachi’ve got—understood?!”

Looking at Natsu, Gray, and Elfman, Mo En spoke seriously, his tone unusually stern.

“Yes, Mo En. I’ll remember.”

Gray responded first—he knew better; he’d only been acting foolishly because of Natsu’s influence.

“Sorry, Mo En. I won’t do it again.”

Elfman, still shivering from the cold, bowed his head in shame as he apologized.

He felt he had disappointed Mo En—his slow progress in magic learning already filled him with shame, and now this—his humiliation was so deep he wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.

“.”

Natsu stared thoughtfully, as if grasping something—when the monkey monster attacked Lisanna and Elfman, his anxiety had given him a new insight.

“Mo En, I think I understand.”

Natsu nodded seriously to Mo En—this time, he truly understood, even beginning to grasp the meaning behind Mo En’s earlier words about the value of life.

Natsu was a straightforward soul—he knew what he knew, and didn’t pretend to know what he didn’t.

“Good. Let’s head back to the guild. I recall there’s a mission to eliminate Forest Barugan—the reward can go toward a group meal. Let’s all go back and eat well to relax.”

Seeing the children’s thoughtful responses, Mo En clapped his hands with a smile, announcing good news—everyone cheered happily. His teaching style always followed a hard lesson with a reward—a key reason he won their loyalty; he never withheld praise or rewards.

(End of Chapter)