Warrod said, "Actually, I know almost nothing about offensive magic. If I were to face young people in combat, I wouldn't be confident in winning. I saw your performance in the Grand Magic Games."
"Takeshi, that final transformation and the technique called 'Cruel Sun' should be ultra-high-temperature magic. Plus, you have endless tricks up your sleeve, so you should be able to solve this problem. That's why I made a specific request to Fairy Tail for you."
Takeshi nodded. "Alright, I accept this request. Leave the rest to us."
He had already accepted the quest on the system. Coming here was just to learn about the task and follow the procedure.
"Where is that village?"
"About two thousand meters south of here."
"Doesn't seem close."
Two thousand meters isn't far, but the mountain roads are rugged, making it relatively troublesome. For instance, climbing a slope might take some time.
Warrod said, "Let me help you with the travel. Gather over there, and don't forget your luggage."
The group stood where Warrod pointed.
"Turn right."
Swish!
Hearing the command, everyone turned right in unison, except for Happy, who got confused and turned the opposite way.
"...That was a joke."
"Hey!"
The group was suddenly a bit annoyed. This old man loves joking around way too much.
Warrod chanted an incantation, and a small sapling grew from the ground. Then, the sapling began to grow rapidly, lifting everyone up.
"What is this?"
"I'm counting on you, youngsters of Fairy Tail."
The tree began to grow wildly, leaving the house far behind in the blink of an eye.
"Whoa!"
"So cool!"
Natsu said, "That old man is clearly very powerful."
Takeshi smiled. "What did you think? He's the fourth-ranked of the Ten Wizard Saints, he's just keeping a low profile. His magic power isn't any weaker than the old man's."
Makarov's specialty is Giant Magic, which is strong in physical attacks but also makes him an easy target.
Fairy Law is practically a mass-kill skill against those with magic power lower than the user's, but it deals almost no damage to those above him or with similar magic power.
So, Makarov's ranking is relatively not that high.
...
"The wind is blowing. It's been 105 years since then. Mavis, your will has been inherited by the young ones."
Warrod watched Takeshi and the others fade into the distance and couldn't help but feel emotional. He was one of the founders of Fairy Tail, having established it with Mavis, Precht, and Yuri. He hadn't returned for many years, but he had always been watching the youngsters of Fairy Tail.
He specifically requested Takeshi for this task because he wanted to see this young man from Fairy Tail with his own eyes. After seeing him, he was very satisfied.
Takeshi's magic power was abundant, his strength was immense, and his heart was good. He was very suitable to inherit Fairy Tail.
...
Soon, the trees landed on the ground.
"Are we there?"
"That was fast. We arrived in the blink of an eye."
"Ugh..."
Natsu turned pale and dry-heaved.
"Look, the surface of the rocks is frozen." Happy pointed at the nearby rocks.
The ground and the rocks were covered in a thick layer of frost, and even the surrounding flowers, grass, and trees hadn't escaped.
"That must be the village, it's huge."
The group stepped into the village Warrod had mentioned, where the buildings were all incredibly tall.
"The buildings in this village and everything else are frozen. It's just like Warrod-san said."
Lucy looked around. Sure enough, everything was covered in frost.
"Strange! Didn't Warrod-san say the villagers were frozen too? He sent us to rescue them, but why don't I see a single villager?"
"Aye!"
Natsu and Happy looked all around, but they simply couldn't see anyone.
Takeshi tapped a nearby statue. "What are you guys talking about? Aren't the people right here?"
"Here? Isn't this..."
Natsu, Lucy, and Happy looked up and saw a towering giant frozen in ice.
"So huge!"
Several of them were dumbfounded by the sight, and then they looked around. Sure enough, there were frozen giants everywhere in the village.
"Is this a village of giants?!"
"I never expected we'd actually get to see giants."
The group found it quite miraculous. They had seen Makarov's Giant Magic, but this was the first time they had seen actual giants.
Takeshi wasn't surprised by this. He had been to the Giant Kingdom. Many giants lived there, and although their numbers were fewer than a human city's, their combat power was not to be underestimated.
"Regardless, we should rescue them as soon as possible. Let me melt the ice with my flames."
Natsu got excited, this was the perfect job for him.
Natsu pressed both hands against a giant's massive foot, and flames erupted from his palms.
"Go Natsu!" Happy cheered Natsu on.
However, Natsu soon discovered that the ice remained completely unmoved by his flames and immediately increased the intensity.
"Aaahhhh!"
Natsu's entire body burst into flames.
"Go for it! Take them down!"
A moment later, Natsu slumped down on the ground.
"What is going on with this?"
"Aye."
Lucy reached out and touched it. "Warrod-san said this isn't ordinary ice. I didn't expect even Natsu's flames wouldn't be able to melt it. Takeshi, can you melt this?"
"Well..."
Just as Takeshi was about to speak, he sensed something.
"Oh? Someone beat us to it. This might be tricky."
The three of them looked in the direction of the voice and saw three men standing on a set of stairs.
"Who are you people?" Lucy asked warily.
"Treasure Hunter Guild."
"Sylph Labyrinth."
Boom!