7 Chapter 7: Training and Masculine Power

I woke up in the morning, still cuddling my book. Yesterday, I was training to channel magic throughout my body, enhancing specific parts, especially my eyes. I spent a long time working on them, trying to discover something new. To explore their limits, so to speak.

And I can say that, judging by the way I feel now... even though the magic doesn't flow into them intentionally, they have definitely improved my vision significantly. It seems I've made significant progress many times over. Before, they had "upgraded" little by little, enough for my brain to gradually adapt to the changes. But now, I've leaped through several stages all at once.

At the moment, all I need to do is focus my gaze a bit, and a fly, which I could already see the wing movements of, now seemed to fly in slow motion without slowing down.

After a moment of contemplation, I stopped focusing and picked up the book, turning my attention to it. A smile appeared on my face, and I shifted my focus to my hands, which I began to move, producing the same effect. No matter how fast I tried to wave them, they appeared slower than a tortoise. It's quite mesmerizing to see this through my own eyes, rather than on a phone screen after slowed-down footage. The difference is like night and day.

I'll call this "accelerated thinking" since it can't be called slow motion vision, as the reason for the slowed image lies in the fact that my brain is thinking faster. My brain is starting to perceive and process much more information, which undoubtedly should have an impact on me. Such an ability must have consequences.

In addition to this ability, my magical vision has expanded, allowing me to see through walls. Not in great detail, but I can make out sources. For example, below me, I see a source that's moving. In the neighboring rooms on my floor, there are a couple of sources either in motion or at rest (asleep).

Besides the aforementioned advantages, there are also inconveniences. One of them is the inability to turn off the passive "Six Eyes" magic. It just doesn't switch off, which is why I'm afraid that sooner or later, I'll have to wear a special bandage or glasses like Satoru himself. They are clearly not cheap, and simple ones definitely won't do, so I need to slow down the eye's development for a while.

"Alright... I should set aside the issue with my eyes for now. What I need to figure out at this moment is what to do next on a larger scale. Big goals are necessary to drive development. To achieve these goals, I need to break them down into smaller parts, and the first, from this moment on, will be mastering magic. Not the eyes, but the infinity that Gojo possessed. If I can harness it, I can be assured, albeit relatively, of my invincibility.

Naturally, I can achieve heights without infinity, but with it, I can be confident in my, albeit relative, invincibility.

"Let's start small. What is infinity? The original Gojo Satoru used it... Exactly!

He manipulated cursed energy to assign specific numbers to the space around him. Positive, negative, from plus or minus 1, and so on to infinity. And, of course, 0.

This gave rise to the Red and Blue techniques, and as a result of their combination, the Purple technique was born.

Next is the Void technique. Everything in the world tends towards zero: temperature, life, energy. But at the same time, it tends towards its opposite, infinity. So, this technique is based on the Achilles and the Tortoise paradox. It says that, no matter how Achilles tries to catch up to the Tortoise, that is, zero, he will never succeed because, no matter how you divide the distance, it will only tend towards zero, and it will never reach it, as there are an infinite number of numbers, and thus divisions.

But we know that in reality, it doesn't work that way. The world is not so "linear"; it has its boundaries. If the real Achilles runs after the real Tortoise, he will quickly catch up and overtake it. This implies that my magic is not "infinity," as I recently mistakenly believed, but "boundlessness!" The first implies the absence of an "end," while the second implies the absence of "limits." Thanks to this, the existence of such a paradox is possible in any world.

Boundlessness, in its essence, is spatial magic that erases the boundaries of possibilities. In potential, thanks to this, I can do absolutely anything, as long as my soul and body, along with my imagination and knowledge, allow.

So the question arises, isn't the "black hole" a form of boundless void, a technique that he used for protection? Because the objects that enter it are in motion, albeit static, they are still moving?! No! Because black holes are a "negative value" in space, created due to the presence of a sufficiently massive, that is, positive object (number) in space, which draws the surrounding environment into it like a funnel.

Although it creates the illusion of infinite movement, it works only relative to an outside observer, from another perspective.

Or not... Well, never mind, I understand little of this, so I'll have to figure everything out through trial and error. There's no other way. The only thing that reassures me and keeps me from giving up on "boundlessness" is the eyes that can see magic and help me control it almost perfectly. For example, I've already learned the basics of fire magic, igniting a warm flame in my hand.

Decided. Until I learn to use "boundlessness," I need to study other magic that will help me defend myself and attack the enemy. For that, I need to go to the guild library.

***

Entering the guild, I immediately spotted Erza, who was hanging around the job board. Not finding the guild master, which was no surprise, I approached her and asked about the library.

"The guild master has gone to a meeting, so the library is currently closed," Erza informed me. "Did you need something? You can ask me; I'll help."

Today, she seemed more confident in her conversation. It seemed that our "meeting" yesterday wasn't in vain.

"I want to learn combat magic. I have the magic of my eyes, but I'm not very strong in fights, so I need to study it to take on more challenging missions," I explained.

"Hmm, let me think..." Erza pondered briefly, her fingers under her chin. "I'm not sure what to recommend. I could suggest Gray's magic, but he's not in town, and I doubt he'd share his magic. As for the others, their magic is mostly for close combat. Or Natsu, but there's a special case," she listed some options, thinking aloud.

"What's the special case? If you don't mind me asking," I said. Of course, I knew about the "special" case she was talking about, but stories are built on such details.

"He was taught magic by a fire dragon, so I doubt you could learn it, and Natsu... well, he's not great at teaching others," Erza awkwardly revealed the truth about her friend. But that's just the way it is. "You don't seem surprised," she noticed, seeing my calm expression.

Dragons even among wizards didn't sound very believable.

"I read a book about the basics of magic, and it talked about them. So, for now, I have no reason not to believe," I replied.

"I see! Well, I have an idea. I can teach you how to fight. Who knows, maybe in the past, you were a master of martial arts, since you lost your memory, anything is possible?" She offered her services with confidence, but something changed in her expression, as if she realized her words might be hurtful. "Oh, sorry..."

"For what?" I didn't quite understand her at first. "Ah, you mean about my memory?" I finally realized why she was apologizing. "It's okay. So, you don't mind teaching me? Don't you think it's a waste of time, considering you wanted to take on a mission?"

"No, for friends, time is never wasted. Once you joined Fairy Tail, you became part of the family. So, I'm obliged to help," she said seriously.

How serious...

"Thank you, Erza."

"Then let's go!" She nodded confidently, beckoning me to follow her with a wave of her hand.

Darn. She's so kind and sweet. Despite everything she's been through, she hasn't become bitter; she's chosen this path. Not everyone can boast of such qualities, and it commands respect. I like people like her who, despite everything, move forward without wavering, who walk the right path. Although "right" is a rather relative concept. But her principles are right for me – that's more than enough.

Moreover, I'm not like that, so having friends like her warms my heart and instills hope that I can learn these qualities, because as they say, "If you have four millionaire friends, you will be the fifth." Having an environment that can help you at any moment without insincerity or ulterior motives is an incredibly solid foundation for a person. I don't regret coming here, to the place where you're needed despite your flaws.

***

We stepped out of the guild and arrived at a small riverbank. Judging by the burned and trampled grass, Natsu must like this place.

It's a place for their fights, or, to put it more gently, sparring.

"Come on, attack me. The best way to learn to fight is through a good sparring session," Erza said, clenching her fists and taking a fighting stance.

I have no prejudices about fighting women or men, so fighting her doesn't make me feel uncomfortable morally. But how do I approach her? She's a monster! I barely defeated Natsu, and for her, he's a mere snack. She'll swallow me without choking.

"Why are you hesitating? Attack! The enemy won't wait for you to get ready. If you don't make a move, I'll attack myself!" Erza warned calmly. Her tone caught me off guard, even though her appearance was childlike.

"I don't care! That's the point, she's stronger than me, and there's no point!" My heart was racing, and I closed the gap without bothering with tricks. My fist flew towards her face, but she easily blocked it with her forearm.

"More confidence, more intensity!" Erza shouted.

"Haha, damn," I chuckled inwardly. "She's yelling just like my trainer, which only motivates me more." But I welcomed her advice readily, it's a habit, after all.

Right now, she seemed unbeatable to me. I didn't like it one bit, so to address the situation, I began to focus on my breathing. Breathing in battle is the most important thing, but the adrenaline had made me forget this simple truth.

Taking calm breaths while delivering punches to her well-placed blocks, I finally managed to clear my mind.

The prelude was over, and Erza joined the game. Now, she wasn't just defending; she was also attacking. Her face showed how calm and composed she was, and her strikes were gentle. She understood that I was a novice in this field.

Her behavior only fired me up. It made me want to give her a good thrashing, not out of anger, but more like a friendly match, to prove to myself that I wasn't a pushover.

Blocking and dodging her attacks, I was greatly aided by my magic eyes. They provided me with accelerated perception, slowing down her movements in my mind, allowing me to come up with more attack options in a short amount of time.

Thanks to all this, it felt like I was back in the training room, perfecting my strikes.

Until she became more aggressive, closing in on me even more assertively.

"Not bad... it seems you have a good grasp of combat," she said calmly, while I could barely manage to respond with short phrases, gasping "Yeah." It was all too intense for me. Her shots, or more aptly described, barrages, rained down on me. They were fast, and one might think she was sacrificing power for speed, but no, her strikes were incredibly painful. So I stopped trying to block them, switching to evasive maneuvers.

Finding a moment in the battle when I saw her fist flying toward my face, I grabbed her wrist and threw her over my hip. To my surprise, she was heavier than I expected, or perhaps I was much weaker, which made my move slower and clumsier. She landed on her feet, then twisted and, with sheer physical strength, flipped me over her.

The contact with the ground was rather painful. The air hastily escaped from my body, forcing out a groan into the open.

"Not bad," Erza commented, smiling, as she extended her hand for me to help me up. "You managed to seize the opportunity and almost knocked me over. You have good potential for close combat."

"Uh, yeah," I replied, lying on the sun-warmed grass, barely able to speak. It seemed that from now on, I would be completely exhausted every evening, but I had no regrets. I even liked it. Magic is great, of course, but hand-to-hand combat skills are even better because you can combine them, making yourself even stronger. Erza is one of the best partners for this.

But for now... I had a date planned with a charming individual.

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