Hope informed Elefseria of Gildarts' mission failure.
Elefseria stroked his beard and spoke with some surprise, "Gildarts, that drunkard from the last request? He actually survived. He's the first survivor from the Five Dragon Gods' hands in a hundred years."
Hope's mouth twitched.
Gildarts hadn't even gone to subjugate the Five Dragon Gods; instead, before he could even start, he encountered a far more terrifying Black Dragon, Acnologia.
However, due to the confidentiality of the Hundred Year Quest, the people in the guild didn't know yet.
Then again, wasn't it this old geezer Elefseria who told Gildarts that each of the Five Dragon Gods had power comparable to the Black Dragon? To confirm the power gap with the Five Dragon Gods, Gildarts went looking for traces of the Black Dragon.
The result was being elbowed by the passing Black Dragon; not only did he lose an arm and a leg, but even his internal organs were severely damaged. Fortunately, Hope saved him using "Cellular Reconstruction."
Watching Elefseria pull out the request contract, Hope couldn't help but ask, "Senior, why do you think the Five Dragon Gods all have strength no less than the Black Dragon?"
Elefseria paused, "Because they said so themselves, claiming that after 400 years, their power has grown to the point where they can rival the Black Dragon."
Hope countered, "Then why didn't the Five Dragon Gods seek revenge against the Black Dragon for the extermination of their race? Instead, they've stayed in Giltina all this time. Is it because they don't want to, or they don't dare to?"
"Eh? Something does seem a bit off." Elefseria realized, mainly because he didn't know how terrifying the legendary Black Dragon truly was.
As for power rivalling the Black Dragon, in Hope's eyes, it was nothing more than boasting by the Five Dragon Gods or certain individuals.
The hilarity of this claim was no less than a certain infamous line by the character Renji Abarai from "Bleach" that became a laughingstock due to a mistranslation... Elefseria pulled out an ancient scroll of parchment and spread it out on a wooden table he'd moved from the corner. "Alright, enough pleasantries. You're here to take the quest, right?"
"Let me state this beforehand: if anyone unfortunately loses their life during the mission, neither I, the client, nor the 'Dragon of the Magic Array' guild will take any responsibility."
"This mission can be described as certain death. You still have long futures ahead of you, so please consider carefully whether you want to accept."
In the past, Elefseria wouldn't have offered such a warning, but he really didn't want to see these interesting and vibrant young people go to their deaths, so he made a rare mention of it at the end.
However... "No problem!" Natsu replied almost instantly, then without hesitation, wrote his name on the contract parchment.
Gray stared at Natsu for two seconds, then also signed his name. The parchment emitted a faint glow, signifying the completion of the mission contract.
Immediately after, Juvia, Lucy, Levy, and the others scrambled to sign up. A crowd gathered around the table; an outsider might have thought the parchment contained some wonderful opportunity.
This scene left Elefseria somewhat bewildered.
It was clearly a request that meant certain death, so why were these young people rushing to sign one after another?
Young people aside, that girl named Wendy was still a child... and those three Magic Cats actually wrote their names on the parchment too. What on earth was going on?
Could it be that he hadn't been out for so long that he was seriously out of touch with the times?
Elefseria naturally wouldn't understand that the reason the Fairy Tail crowd was so enthusiastic was entirely because they had a top-tier carry with them.
Otherwise, Erza would have stopped them before they even signed.
With a chance to get rewards for free, everyone naturally wanted to scramble for it.
After writing her name, Cana put down the pen and patted Hope, who was lost in thought. "Everyone's signed, you're the only one left."
"Oh."
Hope didn't look at the parchment but instead asked Elefseria, "Senior, after you turned into a dragon, how did you overcome the changes like being unable to sleep and losing your sense of taste?"
"Huh? I didn't."
Elefseria scratched his head, looking puzzled. "I can eat and sleep just fine. Whether I'm in dragon form or human form, I haven't experienced what you're describing."
Now it was Hope's turn to be full of questions.
According to Zeref, after Irene turned into a dragon, she lost her sense of taste and could no longer sleep. She suffered mentally and almost did something to hurt Erza.
He didn't know much about Acnologia, but he subconsciously assumed it would be similar to Irene.
But now... Elefseria, who had reached the stage of "Dragonification," actually had no negative side effects.
Could it be that the situation after Dragonification is different for every Dragon Slayer Mage?
"Senior... a friend's mother..." Hope described Irene's condition to Elefseria, using pronouns throughout, of course.
Erza watched the two of them nervously. She already knew the truth about being abandoned and could understand how painful a decision it was for Irene to give her up back then.
If only there was a way to alleviate it... After hearing Hope's description, Elefseria stroked his beard, and his furrowed brow soon relaxed. "I see. The mother of the friend you mentioned is a powerful Dragon Slayer Mage who has progressed to Dragonification."
"I believe the reason she experiences negative states like insomnia and loss of taste is likely related to her own mindset."
"She couldn't accept becoming a dragon and rejected it from the bottom of her heart. This rejection manifested in her body, leading to the changes you mentioned."
"Simply put, her mind and body are not in sync."
These words were like a sudden enlightenment, making Hope understand immediately.
Elefseria didn't care about becoming a dragon, nor did he mind the human body being weaker than a dragon's, so he could freely switch between the two forms.
As for Acnologia, who no longer considered himself either human or dragon but possessed a mindset that completely transcended both, naturally, no problems would arise.
Only Irene—her past hatred for evil dragons made it impossible for her to let go of her resentment. A steadfast human heart was locked within a dragon's shell, and with the mounting psychological pressure, it would be strange if nothing went wrong.
Learning from the past, this also served as a reminder to Hope. He needed to guide his own Dragon Slayer Mages well so they wouldn't follow in Irene's footsteps.
However... Hope turned to look at Natsu and the others, who were grinning foolishly after accepting the Hundred Year Quest. It wasn't that he looked down on them, but would these "idiots" really have psychological issues because of turning into dragons?
...
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