"Cana, did that irresponsible old man of yours, Gildarts, give you the courage? You even dare to barge into my dormitory whenever you want." Riyao crossed his arms, intentionally putting on a stern face to scare her.
"Hmph, Brother Riyao, don't try to scare me. I've come with extremely important top-secret intelligence." Cana raised her head proudly, her chin almost pointing to the sky, striking a tsundere pose as if saying, 'Quick, come flatter and bribe me.'
Riyao was gently swirling a bottle of unknown potion that was gurgling with strange purple bubbles. Hearing this, he turned to look at Cana, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. He rubbed his chin and asked, "Oh? What top-secret intelligence? Never mind the intel for now. Come, come, little Cana, try my latest 'Super Invincible All-Round Tonic.' I guarantee you'll feel a hundred times more energetic after drinking it."
Looking at the strangely colored, bubbling liquid, Cana's little face turned pale with fright. She quickly crossed her arms in front of her chest and shook her head like a rattle, refusing rapidly, "No way, no way! Absolutely not! I don't want to be your guinea pig!"
"It's about Gray! That guy came up with a particularly sinister plan and is preparing to officially challenge you in the guild. He even talked big, saying he's going to give you a sound beating this time and make you kneel and beg for mercy."
After hearing this, Riyao nonchalantly picked his nose and flicked whatever he found into the bubbling potion. The potion's color instantly changed from purple to an eerie fluorescent green. He said dismissively, "Him? It's not that I look down on him, but at Gray's current level, I doubt he could even beat a little girl like you."
"Wah! What are you doing! That's so disgusting!" Cana screamed, pointing at the potion. Then she suddenly realized something, and her expression changed drastically. "Wait! You didn't add this kind of disgusting stuff to those strange potions you gave me before, did you?!"
"Also, what did you mean by that? What do you mean he can't 'even' beat me? And why emphasize 'at his current level'? Are you looking down on my magic talent?!" The more Cana thought about it, the angrier she got. She lunged forward, her small fists raining down on Riyao.
Riyao let Cana pummel him for a while before slowly standing up. He straightened his messy collar, a "kind" and mischievous smile appearing on his face. He said cheerfully, "Alright, alright, stop messing around. Let's go! We're heading back to the guild right now to see what 'huge' surprise little Gray has prepared for me. I hope he can last a bit longer under a beating."
Riyao walked into the guild hall swaggeringly with Cana, saying arrogantly, "I heard some brat named Gray is quite dissatisfied."
Cana, following behind, couldn't help but roll her eyes and muttered quietly, "Brother Riyao, what kind of weird opening line is that? It sounds like a third-rate novel's cannon fodder villain who wouldn't last two chapters."
Gray jumped out and pointed at Riyao, shouting, "I wasn't paying attention this morning. The current me is stronger than I was then!"
"So? Where are your clothes?"
"Huh? When did I take them off?!" Gray looked down and realized he had somehow discarded his shirt again. His face turned red, and he scrambled to cover himself, but soon forced himself to calm down. He stiffened his neck and shouted, "No! Forget the clothes! That's not important!"
Gray took a deep breath and struck a pose he thought was extremely cool and provocative. He extended his left hand straight out, rested his right hand on his left wrist, made a fist with his left hand, then slowly extended his index finger and beckoned Riyao. In an extremely annoying tone, he said, "You, come over here~"
Riyao stared at the boy before him, who looked like he had a mental disability, his face full of speechlessness. He suddenly felt that coming back specifically to accept this idiot's challenge was a waste of his life. "I suddenly don't really want to deal with this moron. I feel like his low IQ might be contagious," Riyao whispered to Cana beside him.
However, the others in the guild didn't think so. The crowd, who loved a good show, immediately started jeering like a lit powder keg.
"Ohhh! Gray is challenging Riyao again! Place your bets, place your bets! All bets are final! How long do you think Gray can last this time? A minute or thirty seconds?!"
"Go for it, Gray! Take down that evil, scheming Riyao!"
"Little Gray, although your chances aren't great, I'm definitely rooting for you in spirit!"
Amidst the noisy jeering, Riyao sighed helplessly. He stepped forward slowly, each step looking relaxed and easy. Gray, on the other hand, acted as if he were facing a great enemy, immediately taking a combat stance. With a loud shout, an ice-blue magic circle instantly expanded beneath his feet. The surrounding air temperature plummeted, and fine ice crystals could even be seen condensing in the air.
"Ice-Make: Spiked Armor!"
Along with Gray's shout, a thick layer of frost rapidly spread across his entire body, forming a solid set of armor. Even more exaggeratedly, the surface of this frost armor was densely covered with countless sharp ice spikes that glinted chillingly in the sunlight. At this moment, Gray looked like a hedgehog covered in ice spikes, making him impossible to touch.
Seeing this, Riyao scratched his head and asked with disdain, "This is the dirty trick you came up with?"
Gray puffed out his chest and smiled confidently, looking like victory was already in his grasp. He said triumphantly, "How about it? You don't dare lay a hand on me now, do you?"
"Ohhh! Good job, Gray! That move is brilliant!"
"Exactly! Give this delinquent Healing Mage a taste of justice! Let him know we're not to be trifled with!"
Suddenly, Riyao moved. He appeared in front of Gray in an instant, grinned, grabbed Gray's ankle, spun him around—no jumping—and abruptly stopped to hurl him into the crowd.
"Ow, ow, ow! Gray, you idiot, hurry up and retract those spikes!" Macao cursed loudly, clutching his backside which had been pierced with several small holes.
"Riyao! You despicable, shameless bastard! Have the guts to fight one-on-one!" Wakaba roared angrily while dodging the ice spikes on Gray's body.
Riyao burst out laughing. "Hahaha, serves you right. Of course, those who need treatment can come to me, it's free."
"Get lost! I wouldn't let a Quack Doctor like you treat me even if I were dying! Everyone, let's get him together! You're dead!"
This immediately triggered the guild hall's daily grand brawl.
Laxus had been leaning against a corner wall with his eyes closed, listening to music. He was hit by a stray wine cup and shouted angrily, "Riyao, you bastard, I'm going to beat the crap out of you today."
Riyao pointed at himself and said with a bewildered face, "I wasn't even drinking. You're just looking for trouble because you're a tsundere."
At that moment, several ordinary residents of Magnolia happened to pass by the Fairy Tail Guild. Hearing the deafening noise, explosions, and various screams coming from inside, and seeing the tables and chairs flying out of the windows from time to time, they all stopped in their tracks. They glanced at each other, sighed in perfect unison, then silently quickened their pace and took a detour. For this town, this was just another ordinary afternoon for Fairy Tail.
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