Internet Magic in Fairy Tail

Boom, boom, boom!

The sea trembled slightly, and the waters along the coast appeared to be boiling. Laxus, now fully enraged and channeling his Dragon Slayer Magic, was unleashing his wrath. 

The aura of Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic was far more aggressive and domineering than that of regular elemental lightning magic.

"He's burning through magic power so quickly. Is Dragon Slayer Magic really this costly?" Nate observed Laxus calmly, sipping his coffee. Using his Six Eyes, he assessed the situation.

From Nate's perspective, Laxus's magic power was depleting rapidly. After casting a few spells and even a large-scale attack, his magic level had only dropped from five stars to four. However, the moment he activated Dragon Slayer Magic, his magic power began burning away at an alarming rate.

'No wonder Dragon Slayers need to consume their element to replenish magic... Without this ability, they wouldn’t be able to sustain their power for long.'

Nate was starting to understand.

“Lightning Dragon's Roar!”

Suddenly, Laxus inhaled deeply, gathering a massive amount of lightning into his lungs before releasing it in a fearsome dragon’s breath attack—a golden lightning beam aimed directly at Nate.

In an instant, Nate vanished from his position, reappearing dozens of meters away. 

But Laxus had anticipated this, snapping his head to the side as his terrifying lightning breath swept across like a whip. Once again, Nate used Flying Thunder God to evade.

The Dragon’s Roar, missing its target, obliterated a section of the forest along the coast. The intense lightning ignited the trees, setting the area ablaze.

Erza and Juvia were forced to retreat to a safer distance, their wide eyes fixed on the battle in shock.

Laxus was powerful, but he simply couldn’t land a hit on Nate.

Suddenly, Nate appeared behind Laxus, delivering a punch. 

This time, however, Laxus reacted in time. He turned swiftly, using his head to block the attack.

Bang!

Even before Nate’s fist made contact, the tremors collided with the protective lightning scales covering Laxus's head.

'That's one hard head!' Nate thought, surprised by Laxus's enhanced defense.

Nate decided to increase his magic output. With the assistance of his Six Eyes, every drop of magic he burned was used to its fullest potential.

In the next moment, Laxus was sent flying from the punch. His head spun, feeling as though it had been shattered like glass. He flew more than a hundred meters away before finally steadying himself.

However, his rage helped him endure the shock. While still mid-air, Laxus clenched his right hand, summoning a glowing weapon with his Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic.

“Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd!”

With a roar, he threw the halberd at incredible speed, like a beam of light cutting through the air.

To Nate's Six Eyes, he could see that Laxus had poured an entire star's worth of magic into this one attack. His magic power had dropped from three stars to two.

At the last moment, Nate burned an entire star of magic and reached out with his hand, catching the halberd mid-air.

The magic energies of Dragon Slayer Magic and Nate's Super Magic clashed, almost evenly matched.

But after about seven seconds of stalemate—

Boom!

Nate’s fingers closed, and the Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd shattered in his grasp.

“What!?” Laxus, still falling, was in disbelief. His Dragon Slayer Magic... defeated!

“What’s so surprising? Even Dragon Slayer Magic isn’t invincible. At best, you're still just a baby dragon.”

As Nate’s words fell, he vanished once more.

Laxus strained to lift his head, only to see a fist hurtling toward him. Wrapped in a faint, harmless-looking white light, the punch contained a terrifying amount of magic power.

The punch connected squarely with Laxus’s face, driving his head into the ground.

Earthquake!

Boom!

The ground cracked and collapsed. Already battered from the fight, the beach now had a massive crater over 100 meters in diameter.

Seeing this, Juvia gasped in shock.

"Did Nate-sama win? Has he already won?"

Erza shielded herself from the gust of wind stirred by the impact and squinted toward the center of the crater. It took a while for the dust to settle.

In the crater, Laxus lay unconscious, his eyes rolled back and half of his face caved in from the blow. Nate stood nearby, staring down at him, as if pondering something.

“It seems like Nate won!” Erza exhaled, relieved. She and Juvia quickly rushed over.

“Nate, are you guys okay?”

“Nate-sama~” Juvia’s face was full of admiration.

Nate hoisted the unconscious Laxus over his shoulder and looked up at the two women. “He’ll need a few days to recover at the guild. Let’s head back.”

Glancing at his remaining magic power, Nate noted:

[Magic Power: ☆]

"Not bad, still got half a star left."

Most of the depletion had come from catching Laxus’s Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd.

And…

Buying that cup of coffee in Hargeon.

Though Flying Thunder God was convenient, the farther the distance, the more magic it consumed.

Nate had bought the coffee to provoke Laxus into using Fairy Law in a fit of rage. Unfortunately, Laxus refused to use it no matter what.

'Too bad.' Nate felt a bit disappointed that he didn’t get to witness the legendary super magic, Fairy Law.

"If he were just a bit stronger, I might’ve run out of magic."

If Nate ever fully depleted his magic, he would have to dip into the deep reserves stored in the Deep Web—which held the equivalent of hundreds of stars' worth of magic.

And with the growth of the internet, that reserve would only increase over time!

Unless Laxus somehow managed to one-shot him, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

Still, Nate preferred not to dip into those reserves if he didn’t have to. He was a frugal person, after all.

...

Carrying Laxus on his shoulder, Nate began making his way back to the ship. But a voice called out from behind him.

“Wait!”

“What is it?”

Nate turned to see Lyon and his three companions chasing after him. They looked rather disheveled, clearly having been caught up in Nate and Laxus’s battle.

Lyon, clutching his shoulder, gazed at Nate with burning determination.

Nate recognized that look—it was the same one Natsu often had.

“You’re strong!” Lyon said gravely. “You might even be stronger than my master, Ur!”

'Your master is right here beside me, though you can’t see her.' Nate mused, curious.

“After Deliora’s death, my dream of surpassing Ur was shattered.”

“From now on, I’ll set you as my goal!”

“Wait for me, Fairy Tail mage. One day, I will challenge you!”

Nate was speechless. As he turned to leave, he waved dismissively.

“Do you only learn magic to fight?”

“Magic itself is fascinating. Once you leave here, you should check out the internet…”

With those parting words, Nate ignored Lyon and his group, confident that Lyon would eventually explore the internet.

'Another four new users, harvested!'