Fairy Tail: Igneel's eldest son in Anime Multiverse

Charles basked in the sunlight outside, involuntarily narrowing his eyes in comfort.

Even in the safety zones of the Dungeon, where magical crystal light mimicked the sun's brilliance, it could never match the warmth of the real thing. Just standing under it, he felt much of the fatigue from his long expedition—and the irritation from Ottar's ambush—melt away.

Soaking in the sunlight for a moment longer, Charles then turned and headed for the Hephaestus Familia headquarters.

The Hephaestus Familia, composed entirely of blacksmiths, was usually quiet—most members holed up in their own forges or shops. But this time, to Charles's surprise, the headquarters was unusually crowded.

Even stranger, everyone seemed to be looking at him. Their expressions were complex: respect, confusion, curiosity… all jumbled together, leaving Charles utterly perplexed.

He spotted someone familiar and walked up to stand beside Zard, lowering his voice. "Zard, what's going on? Why is everyone acting so weird?"

Zard gave him a sidelong glance and replied, "You should be the one most clear on that."

Charles was even more confused. He'd just returned from the Dungeon—how could he possibly know what had happened?

Just as he was about to ask more, Hephaestus came down the stairs.

"You're back, huh? Perfect. Come to my workshop."

Charles quickly followed, the two heading into Hephaestus's forge.

After closing the door, Charles turned to see Hephaestus carefully inspecting him.

"Is something wrong with me, Lady Hephaestus?"

Hephaestus shook her head. "I'm checking if you're hurt. The 'Mighty Warrior' from Freya's Familia isn't exactly someone easy to deal with."

Realization dawned on Charles—so that's why everyone had been looking at him like that. Word about his fight with Ottar had clearly spread.

Hephaestus sighed. "I expected there'd be trouble eventually, but I didn't think it would escalate so quickly."

With what she knew of Freya, Hephaestus had long anticipated that the goddess would make a move. But she hadn't expected her to send Ottar to test Charles so directly.

While she didn't believe Freya would take it too far, Hephaestus still couldn't help worrying after hearing Charles and Ottar had fought in the middle levels. It wasn't until she saw him safe and sound that she finally relaxed.

Charles thought for a moment, then said, "Still, it's not all bad. Now that the fight's over, I'm guessing the trouble will die down a bit."

Hephaestus nodded in agreement. The battle had at least proven Charles's formidable strength. Others, not wanting to embarrass themselves, would likely give up any foolish thoughts they had about testing him.

Then Hephaestus's expression turned curious. "So? Who won between you and Ottar?"

Charles hesitated, then said, "It was basically a draw. Neither of us went all out."

He was well aware that both sides had held back. Ottar fought unarmed, never drawing his full-strength weapons, nor using his magic. Similarly, Charles hadn't unleashed his Spirit Assimilation, Dragon Slayer Secret Arts, or even tapped into his trump card techniques like Kirin Style.

Part of it was that the Dungeon wasn't a suitable place for an all-out brawl. More importantly, a full-power clash would've meant a fight to the death.

That's why Ottar chose to retreat mid-battle—and Charles didn't pursue.

Hephaestus marveled, "I heard you two wrecked half of the 15th floor—and that was with restraint?"

Charles asked, a bit embarrassed, "This won't cause any trouble for the Familia, right?"

Hephaestus shook her head. "They were the ones who picked the fight. No one can blame us for that.

Still, that woman Freya can't be left alone. When you think about it, the root of this problem stems from before… meaning this is technically the Loki Familia's responsibility.

It's decided then—let Loki deal with it!"

Charles gave his goddess a thumbs-up, silently admiring her… "well-thought-out" plan.

Freya was indeed hard to handle, and only someone with Loki's cunning and influence could truly counter her.

Hephaestus clapped her hands. "Alright, that's enough about that. You just got back from your expedition—it's time to update your stats!"

Charles nodded, removed his shirt, and turned his back to Hephaestus.

She pricked her finger and let divine blood drip onto his back. Sacred letters began to glow and appear.

"I don't know what you went through down there, but your growth is unbelievable. All stats except Agility have surpassed A-rank. Your Magic even hit S-rank. You've got enough deeds too. Want to level up now?"

Charles thought back to everything—especially his battles with the Fallen Fairy and Ottar. If he didn't level up after all that, it would've been strange.

He nodded. "Go ahead. I've been really looking forward to my next Development Ability."

Hephaestus manipulated the sacred letters and completed the level-up.

"Let's see what options you got this time… Oh? Just as many as before."

She paused. "Charles, congratulations. The ability you've been waiting for has finally appeared!"

Charles exclaimed with joy, "Mystery? I finally got 'Mystery'?!"

Hephaestus smiled. "That's right. I doubt you'll be picking anything else, right?"

Charles said excitedly, "Of course not! Please go ahead, Lady Hephaestus!"

She completed the level-up and pressed the stat sheet against his back.

"All done. Take a look—here are your new stats. Oh, I forgot to mention… you got a new skill too."

Charles took the sheet and read it carefully.

Charles Dragneel

Level: 3

Strength: I (0)

Endurance: I (0)

Dexterity: I (0)

Agility: I (0)

Magic: I (0)

Magic:

[Flame Dragon Slayer Magic]

· Chantless magic.

· Immune to and absorbs fire-attribute damage.

*[A#×nj]

· XN>%`K,H4#LW_

Skills:

[Dragon Slayer]

· All stats increase when fighting Dragon-type enemies.

· Enhanced damage against Dragon-type enemies.

[Innate Armament]

· Forms indestructible magical equipment from mana.

· All techniques receive damage amplification.

[Fairy's Blessing]

· Automatically grants Development Abilities [Mage] and [Mana Regeneration] when using magic.

· Partial immunity to elemental magic damage.

Development Abilities:

[Smith] F, [Mystery] I

Hephaestus wasn't surprised to see [Fairy's Blessing]—she knew about Far's existence.

Charles, however, understood that this skill was a gift from the purified Fallen Fairy on the 59th floor.

He hadn't expected her to leave behind such a generous gift.

This skill was similar to Ottar's [I Fight, Therefore I Am], granting two powerful Development Abilities in combat.

[Mage] increased the potency of magic, while [Mana Regeneration] automatically restored MP—both tremendously useful for Charles. And the elemental resistance added even more survivability.

But most importantly…

He finally had [Mystery].

Charles could hardly wait to return to his forge and test what this legendary Development Ability could do.

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