"Staring at snow for too long isn't good for your eyes."
"Idiot. You're a mage, with a body like yours, and you're worried about your eyes?" Laxus sounded full of disdain, but he still took the sunglasses and put them on.
Kurosaki laughed. "Maybe. I just read it in a book. I don't really get the details."
Makarov had hired a tutor on purpose, to teach Kurosaki and Laxus reading and writing.
Right now, Kurosaki was studying a map of Hakobe Mountain. It had been drawn after scouts explored the area, marking the locations of certain minerals and herbs, as well as the habitats of snow wolves, Vulcans, and blizzard beasts.
As for the white snow wyverns, there was no fixed spot, only a note that they could appear anywhere on the mountain.
Following the map, Kurosaki led Laxus toward the snow wolf pack first.
"We're here."
They reached a high ridge and looked down over the pack below.
"Just start?" Laxus asked, turning to Kurosaki, who was still focused on the map.
Kurosaki nodded. "Control your output. Don't cause an avalanche."
With his current strength, he could kill the entire pack instantly with only a trace of Unohana's sword power. There was no need to release his Zanpakuto at all.
"Lightning Dragon's Crushing Fist!"
Laxus kicked off the ground hard. Lightning crackled around his arm as he launched straight toward the snow wolf king.
"Is this what you call holding back?" Kurosaki folded the map away.
A layer of white spiritual pressure rose around him, soft yet carrying a sharp edge. It was Unohana's Shikai spiritual pressure, forming a protective aura. Even without drawing a blade, that pressure alone could crush monsters like these.
He didn't release Minazuki.
He simply jumped down as well and joined the fight, relying on Unohana's complete sword arts while moving alongside Laxus against the pack.
As the inheritor of the first Kenpachi's legacy, even Kurosaki's bare fists carried slashing sword wind. One punch could send a snow wolf flying, and the blade-like edge within that force was sharper than anything Fairy Tail's close-combat mages could manage.
Laxus spent magic power freely. He opened with "Lightning Dragon's Roar," sweeping through the wolves like a flood of thunder. Then he followed with another Crushing Fist aimed at the wolf king.
After that came "Lightning Dragon's Jaw." Lightning gathered into both fists as he drove them down with everything he had, smashing toward the king's head.
Excess magic spilled outward in violent arcs. The wolf king's body slammed into the snow, carving out a deep crater.
Once the king died, the remaining wolves panicked and scattered.
Kurosaki looked around, then sighed. "Wait. Didn't we go too hard? We came for pelts. But now these pelts look unusable."
He wasn't wrong.
Some of the wolves' fur was standing on end from the shock. Others were scorched black. The wolf king was missing its head entirely, and its pelt was soaked and ruined with blood.
Laxus had gotten carried away, and Kurosaki's sword wind alone had already caused this much damage. He still hadn't even used Shikai, let alone the terrifying Bankai.
If Bankai were released, that "invincible" power could turn the whole mountain into blood.
"Yeah… I guess we overdid it." Laxus scratched his cheek. "Whatever. We'll take what we can. At least bring the wolf king's pelt. Maybe if we wash it, it'll still work."
"You're something else, Laxus. Even after the wolf king dies, it still can't escape your scheming."
"Enough talking." Laxus ignored the teasing, finished dealing with the pelts, and waved Kurosaki onward. "Let's go to the blizzard beast territory and gather the herbs."
Blizzard beasts were herbivorous monsters, but they looked like two-legged wyverns. Their bodies were covered in white scales, and when they stood upright, they were over five meters tall.
In their territory, the two of them didn't face much resistance. They only encountered one.
Laxus unleashed Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic without mercy, then finally drove it back with a "Lightning Dragon Halberd," not bothering to finish it off.
Kurosaki, meanwhile, stood still the entire time. He released only Unohana's spiritual pressure, forming an invisible barrier. The barrier was so strong that even the raging blizzard couldn't come close to him.
That level of defense was something no one in Fairy Tail's world could break.
"This herb has to stay cold," Laxus said, clearly having done his homework for his first mission. "If it reaches warmth, it'll wither."
"Relax." Kurosaki crossed his arms, looking completely at ease. "With Unohana's spiritual pressure, I can control temperature. Preserving the herbs is effortless."
"Don't need your help." Laxus pulled a special tool out of his backpack. He gathered more than twenty herbs with quick, practiced hands and carefully stored them in the container.
"The extras are for us," he said, turning back to Kurosaki. The mission only required three.
"Fine." Kurosaki nodded. "If we're done, then let's head back."
"Just to be clear," Laxus said with absolute firmness, "I'm not riding in a carriage. Not this time."
For once, Kurosaki gave him what he wanted. They walked all the way back to the guild.
He had already gotten what he wanted. Seeing Laxus carsick once was enough to make him laugh for the rest of his life. There was no need to provoke him again.
In the end, the snow wolf king's pelt was barely salvageable after cleaning, so their first job didn't end in failure.
After that, the two of them took several more missions together. As Laxus gained experience, his strength became more and more obvious. And with his consistent performance, Makarov eventually agreed to Laxus's request to take missions alone.
From then on, the two of them split up and began working independently.