**Chapter 25: A Bright Future**
In the hospital, Laxus finally woke up. Although Kaito's attacks had looked terrifying, the ones that actually hit him were mostly just the shockwaves from the explosions.
If those powerful lasers had struck him directly, they would have pierced straight through his body.
After waking up, Laxus didn't say a word. He lay there quietly, replaying the fight with Kaito in his mind. Now that he had calmed down, he understood that even though he hadn't used his full strength, the loss wasn't unjustified.
Even if he had used his Dragon Slayer Magic, the result would have been the same. The fundamental reason was that the guy several years younger than him had completely surpassed him in power.
"Creak~!" The door opened. The Thunder God Tribe walked in carrying a fruit basket. When they saw Laxus awake, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Laxus, how do you feel?"
"I'm fine."
"Laxus…" The three wanted to comfort him and tell him not to be discouraged, but they all knew how proud he was.
"I know what you want to say. I lost a fight, right? I'm not so weak that I can't accept a loss."
"That's good… that's good."
"What is that guy doing right now?"
The three froze for a moment. Then Bickslow answered, "Uh… He's throwing a celebration party at the guild…"
"Hmph! Let him enjoy becoming an S-Class Mage for now. This isn't over. I lost this time, but next time I will definitely win it back."
"Yeah! We believe in you. You'll definitely defeat that guy one day."
"Get out. I need to rest."
"Alright!" The three nodded and left the room.
The moment the door closed, Laxus's expression twisted into something ferocious. He was not willing to accept this defeat. That bastard had beaten him senseless in front of the entire guild.
But he was Laxus Dreyar, grandson of Makarov Dreyar, Guild Master of Fairy Tail. And he had lost.
He had lost to someone he deeply disliked. Yes, Laxus had always disliked Kaito, even though he rarely showed it.
Kaito constantly joked with his grandfather, telling him to retire early so he could inherit Fairy Tail. The speaker might not have meant anything by it, but the listener did. As the rightful heir to Fairy Tail, every time Kaito said those things, it felt like a slap to his face. That was why he had always found Kaito's behavior extremely irritating.
This time, the S-Class qualification had caused all that pent-up resentment to explode. He had challenged Kaito to a duel largely to teach the brat a lesson and make him stop being so arrogant. Instead, he had been the one thoroughly educated.
Now, his feelings toward Kaito had shifted from simple dislike to outright hatred.
"Damn bastard! Don't get too cocky! Once I become stronger, I'll make you pay back today's humiliation tenfold!"
"Bang!" Laxus angrily swung his arm and smashed the fruit basket against the wall.
******
The celebration party continued deep into the night. Kaito drank until he was dizzy and didn't even remember how he got back to his dorm.
The next day, Kaito slept until noon. When he finally woke up, his whole body felt a little sore.
"Hm?" Kaito noticed a piece of paper in his arms. He opened it and saw a long bill.
Looking at the string of numbers, his eyes widened. "What the hell?! 500,000 J? These guys really weren't polite at all!"
500,000 J was equivalent to about 30,000 RMB. That was enough to throw a huge wedding banquet back in his village. Kaito had never spent money so extravagantly before—mainly because he had never had this much to spend, and also because he hadn't gotten married before crossing over.
But he quickly tossed the bill aside. Whether it was a lot or a little didn't matter. Since he was the one who offered to treat everyone, he wasn't going to be stingy about it.
Back on Earth he definitely wouldn't have spent like this… mainly because he didn't have the money. But in the Fairy Tail world, 500,000 J wasn't that big a deal for him. He could earn it back with just one extermination-type mission without too much effort.
Of course, 500,000 J was an extremely high bill for most mages. Extermination missions were quite dangerous, and average mages were advised not to take them. Even skilled mages like Macao usually teamed up with others for safety, then split the reward, so each person didn't get much.
But for someone with real ability, money was never a problem. Kaito wasn't worried at all.
"Gurgle~!" His stomach protested loudly. Because of his special physique, he needed to eat about ten times more than a normal person, and his digestion was extremely fast.
This was both a blessing and a curse. The good part was he could eat as much as he wanted without gaining weight. The bad part was that when he got hungry, it was pure torture. Food expenses had become a serious issue, which was why his dream of becoming a landlord kept getting further away.
That was why he was so happy about earning the S-Class qualification. The lowest reward for an S-Class mission started at 5,000,000 J, and some went up to tens of millions.
Once he officially became S-Class, he could take ten or twenty high-level missions in one go. The money for buying a house would be no problem.
At this moment, Kaito was in an excellent mood. His future looked incredibly bright.
He took out a lollipop from his pocket, popped it into his mouth, and hummed a little tune as he headed toward the Fairy Tail guild.