I need to get stronger.

It was easy to say those kind of words, to know what it is that you need, and to say that, starting from tomorrow or today, you will begin to work towards that goal, to train and train and achieve the strength that you sought, the strength that you thought you'd need. But that was so much easier said than done; when it came down to the nitty-gritty, was there anyone in this world who could stay motivated on simple words alone? Is it not normal to stop before you reach your limit? But if that is so, then isn't it safe to say that one can never improve? Is it better to run until your lungs threaten to burst out of your chest, or to stop and train another day? When your arms no longer have any strength, is it more wise to stop or to continue on at the risk of injury; to tear a ligament, or muscle? Houren asked himself these questions as he paddled out around the Orchidia river on his little boat, using little strength as it seemed like wind was generous enough to provide a strong breeze for him. He felt like his progress had stalled as of late, that he was as strong as he was ever going to get, but that couldn't possibly be true, could it? He began to look at the types of requests that he did, the D and C-rank missions that very rarely called upon his martial ability, the kind that you could take and finish in a single day. He remembered his old childhood friend's father, the man that he had aspired to be like in his youth; that man had taken many quests, jobs that required him to be out of town for days, weeks, sometimes even months at a time. Those were the jobs that Houren wanted to do, the kind that really tested your mettle, work that would directly influence the very state of affairs in the nation. Perhaps that was why Houren had originally wanted to be a Rune Knight, to rise up from page to Kingsguard until he was directly responsible for ensuring the safety of the royal family.

Maybe that was the kind of admirable work he wanted to do, or maybe he was just becoming disillusioned with his means of employment. If he didn't train regularly, then there was no way for him to get stronger, was there? But if he was never put in a life or death situation, the kind where you'd end up dead if you messed up, but would improve tenfold if you somehow managed to get past it, then there was no way he could improve either, was there? It wasn't as though he needed to be strong to make a living, he had enough money to live this nomadic lifestyle simply by helping the influential people renovate their city, by nabbing small time stalkers and thieves, and helping kindly innkeepers with their businesses during rush hour or when their regular workers got sick. If he cut down on the luxuries, take the cheapest bed in the inn instead of the most expensive and ate frugally, he'd probably make enough to be able to settle down in a small city somewhere, start up a business or continue to take quests at the local guild. It wasn't as though he needed a lot to live on, and there were many small places with an abundance of work that needed to be done. Houren could fill that niche in whatever small town in Fiore.

But there was a big problem; his magic.

He was a Fire Dragon Slayer, a man who had been gifted, no, who had fought and obtained the right, the privilege of possessing a power capable of slaying a dragon, those ancient beasts who were said to roam Fiore over hundreds of years ago. It wasn't as though towns were the norm in every nook and cranny of the nation either, and whether dragons continued to exist someplace in this world was left to be seen. If they returned and caused havoc, surely Houren would be asked to defend humanity? Or would he? He was not the only Dragon Slayer in existence, as there were other lacrimas that contained such power. There were others, too, who claimed to have been taught the magic by an actual dragon, and as such, it could be assumed that they were much more efficient with their magic that Houren could ever hope to be. There was another thing bugging him too, the common knowledge that Dragon Slayers were destined to compete against each other for the title of Dragon Emperor; it was known to even those who were not Dragon Slayers, so who was to say that, even if Houren decided to lay low for the rest of his days, that he wouldn't be attacked? If, by that time, he had raised a family, would he be able to protect them from the clutches of a more malicious Dragon Slayer who intended to take the Emperor motif for him or her self?

Once upon a time, a young boy had aspired to become an ally of justice, a great hero who could protect everybody. Now, years later, he was having doubts about that, not about what he wanted to do, he still wanted to be a great ally of justice, but the question was whether he, himself, was capable of achieving that feat. What was the point of being overly ambitious when you lack talent? And if this was the limit for him, then it was proof that he lacked the drive to fight for his dreams. Suddenly, Houren felt himself getting angry, not at anyone in particular, or the world at large. If anything, he was probably angry at himself, but that itself wouldn't be able to truly explain the feeling. He was simply angry that he wouldn't be able to defend anything. He opened his mouth and began to inhale, as a means of trying to calm himself down, but when he released his breath, flames came out as though he were a firework machine.

Roar of the Fire Dragon 1000/1000
Brilliant Flame of the Fire Dragon 34/1000

He had just learned a skill that he would be able to use to protect his friends for a long time. Compared to Houren's other techniques, his new spell was definitely one that made full use of the potential of Dragon Slaying magic; it was an ability that truly seemed like it might have been used by a fierce fire dragon sometime in the past, and the Fairy Tail mage had full confidence that it might even eventually become one of his signature techniques, one that everyone would associate with him. But, at the same time, the exact same thing could be said for the other Dragon Slayers. Houren had just learned this move, but who was to say that such a technique was not in the arsenal of the other Dragon Slayers? Still, it wasn't as though he would let that bother him. He would continue to move on along this path, because he knew it was the right path, and even if progress was slow, he would not stop. Gone was the mindset that actually seem satisfied with a small town life doing odd jobs, and Houren's only goal now was to continue to to train and eventually become the hero of justice that he had always aspired to be. It wasn't as though the Fairy Tail mage looked on people who lived a simple kind of life, or people who wished to live that kind of life. He merely came to a realization that such a lifestyle was not for him, but rather, by being the hero that Fiore needed, such people could go on about their daily lives without needing to worry about the bigger things. They could continue with their village days, worrying about their children's upbringing, about what they were going to eat that day, or whether they would be able to make it home to collect the laundry before it started raining; simple things like that. They would be able to live such lives because Houren would keep them safe from harm, from danger.

He was standing on his small boat now, a slight smile etched onto his features as the breeze took him further and further away from the shore. He was pretty sure that by releasing his roar, he had alerted a lot of people to his presence here and no doubt someone would be around to check it out soon. That's why he needed to finish his training as soon as possible. On the other hand, there was a chance that nobody would come here. After all, it was in this spot that the tainted entity had been spotted and claimed some lives, and there was that riverside entity too. Although Houren had already dealt with them, the very fact that those sightings had taken place here probably would have deterred most people from coming here this time of night, at least for the next while. Extending both arms to his side as though he were doing some sort of chest stretch, Houren attempted to generate flames to his arms, and to his surprise, it actually seemed to work although the spark was nowhere near as strong as he needed it to be. Slamming both hands together, a burst was created and Houren couldn't help but wonder how much damage he would have been able to do if there had been an enemy in his sights. Would he have been able to fry them immediately, or would his attack have been brushed off as though it were nothing? There was no way for him to know, no way for him to tell, not unless he had someone to fight, but it went without saying that there was nobody like that for him.

That was his first time doing the attack though, and he couldn't help but think that he was making a pretty good start to it. If he refined the spell a little bit more, it might potentially end up being something that could do some serious damage to his opponents. He attempted to do the spell again, but the results were more or less the same but he finally noticed a different on the third go. He was clearly trying too hard when it came to controlling his flames; he knew that if he just relaxed a little bit more, this spell would become much more powerful and viable in combat. Houren rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly as he sunk bank on the boat, causing the small watercraft to sink deeper into the ocean, but not completely submerging it. At this moment, the Fairy Tail mage wished he had taken a larger one, a boat that was capable of sustaining a heavy load and one where he would have space to stretch his legs without having them dangle over the side. He thought about the best way for him to refine this spell, for him to improve it and make this strong enough for him to use in fights, so that it would become a useful weapon in his quest for justice in this world. He sighed as he contemplated his choices, wondering exactly what it was that he needed in order to put himself above his peers. He was still weak, much too weak to do the things that he wanted to do, to protect the things and the people that he wanted to protect. That's why he needed strength, that's why he was training so hard, for their sake, for his own sake. The Fairy Tail mage sighed deeply and stood up again, this time he was determined to get it right this time, because it looked like he was needed somewhere.

"Well, I guess I just have to give it my all," he wiped the dust from his clothes and tried again.

Roar of the Fire Dragon 1000/1000
Brilliant Flame of the Fire Dragon 1000/1000