### Chapter 41: Casual Strike
The next evening, Natsu and Lucy returned to the guild with a scarred Macao.
Macao was inevitably teased by everyone, but seeing Macao safe and sound, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
A week passed in a flash. Riku didn't do much every day; he just drank, chatted, and bragged in the guild, or was lovey-dovey with Mira. His life was simple yet fulfilling.
The past half year of killing monsters daily in a place without daylight had suffocated Riku. He needed to relax and indulge. As for work, the training and work over the past few years had earned him a fortune.
Especially this last 10-Year Quest, the reward was a full 120 million Jewels. Plus what he earned before, the interest from putting it in the bank was enough for a lifetime of expenses.
Work? Impossible. He was too lazy to work anytime soon.
He didn't lack money now; he lacked the invincible strength to sweep away everything.
According to Teacher Kaido, "Awakening" happens when the mind and body are sufficient to match the Devil Fruit's ability.
In the frantic killing of the last half year, he had polished his body and the fruit's power to the extreme.
Only his mind, soul, or will seemed slightly lacking. He felt like he was just one step away from awakening.
But this one step could stump countless strong people.
Actually, Magic training was the same. As the old man said a week ago, if you care about what the people above think, your Magic won't be able to improve.
What he needed to do most now was to understand his heart and release his true nature. "Awakening" wasn't just an ability awakening, but more of a baptism of body and mind.
Having experienced various modern educations, he wasn't even clear about his own true heart. This was destined to be a long training full of uncertainty.
The best way was no way. Do everything as his heart and nature dictated. Maybe one day, he would wake up and find himself awakened.
"Riku!! Fight me!!!!"
Natsu jumped onto the table and challenged Riku.
"Hey hey! Natsu! Don't be impulsive! Do you want to die?!"
"Yeah! Natsu! Riku is a super monster! Don't ask for trouble!"
"Natsu! You are overestimating yourself!"
...
Hearing no one around him was optimistic about his chances, Natsu instantly felt very unhappy: "Shut up, you bastards! The current me is different from before. Riku! Fight me!!"
Natsu continued to challenge Riku.
Seeing Natsu's serious expression, Riku smiled and said: "Sure! I accept your challenge."
"Oh oh oh!"
"Riku actually accepted Natsu's challenge!"
"There's a good show to watch now!!"...
Hearing Riku agree to fight Natsu, everyone in the guild became excited.
No need to say much about Riku, an S-Class mage of Fairy Tail. He showed S-Class strength as soon as he joined the guild, a super powerful monster.
Over the years, he completed high-difficulty S-Class missions one after another, and recently completed a 10-Year Quest.
Some people felt Riku was the strongest mage in the Fairy Tail guild.
Natsu, currently the most famous mage 'Salamander' in the Kingdom of Fiore. A few years ago, Natsu's strength wasn't obvious, not much different from other mages in the guild.
Over the past few years, with the deepening of Natsu's Magic training and the increase in Magic Power, the advantages of Dragon Slayer Magic gradually manifested.
This was also the main reason Natsu could become the most prominent mage in the Kingdom of Fiore now.
For mages, only powerful strength could make them shine.
In the Fairy Tail guild, Natsu was also recognized as having strength second only to S-Class mages. If serious, he could even unleash strength comparable to S-Class mages.
'Thunder God' and 'Salamander' were the two most prominent people in the Kingdom of Fiore right now. How exciting would a battle between these two be?
Soon, everyone arrived in front of the guild. Lucy just happened to arrive at the guild at this time. Seeing everyone gathered here, she was instantly curious.
She hurried over and asked: "What happened? What happened? What are you doing?"
Mira smiled and answered: "Riku and Natsu are going to have a one-on-one duel."
"Duel? No way?! Why?! Isn't their relationship very good?!"
Although Lucy hadn't joined the guild for long, she could see that Riku and Natsu had a very good relationship.
Gray said: "Natsu challenged Riku, and Riku accepted. That idiot really dares! He'll definitely suffer later."
"Go for it! Natsu! This time you must last a few more moves! Don't be instantly killed by one move again!"
"Yeah! Natsu! At least last more than ten moves this time!"
"Natsu! Go for it! I believe in you! If you don't lose in one minute, you win."...
"You bastards! Are you cheering for me?!"
Natsu bared his teeth at the crowd. These bastards were cheering for him, but none of them thought he could win.
"Why? Why is no one optimistic about Natsu? Natsu's strength is very strong!"
Lucy teamed up with Natsu for a week and witnessed Natsu's strength. His powerful strength was like a monster. Although she also saw Riku use very terrifying Magic, it shouldn't be to the point where there was no chance of winning at all, right?
Happy said: "That's because you haven't seen Riku's true strength. At Hargeon Port, that was just a casual strike from Riku."
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