Eleven's Magic

When Eleven withdrew all his Spiritual Power, the members of Fairy Tail finally recovered from the mental pressure. The sound of people swallowing filled the air.

"Isn't that the new kid who joined yesterday?"

"What kind of monster is this newcomer?"

"Hahaha, looks like Laxus is going to have a rival."

Feeling everyone's eager gazes, Eleven shrank back a little in fear. Memories of his time at the superpower research institute surfaced once more.

"Oh ho ho, what incredible magic power!" Makarov suddenly laughed beside him, taking a long swig from his bottle. He looked delighted.

Seeing Makarov's smile, Eleven suddenly felt a little more at ease, though he was still somewhat afraid.

"Grandpa Master, don't you think it's strange that I can use an ability like this?"

"This is a wizards' guild. What's strange about using magic?" Makarov took another drink and looked at Eleven in puzzlement.

"Ah! So this is magic? Where I used to live, they called it a superpower, and then they locked me up and did all kinds of experiments on me..." Eleven's eyes reddened as he spoke.

He had been so numb that he hadn't thought much of life at the institute, but after experiencing the beauty of the world, he realized his memories of the past had become a terrifying dark cloud he couldn't erase from his heart. He had begun to fear going back there, and losing the life he had now.

"So that happened to you..." Seeing the fear in Eleven's eyes, Makarov grew serious and set his bottle on the table with a smack.

"But that's all in the past now. You're a wizard of Fairy Tail! No one dares lay a hand on a wizard of Fairy Tail, and no one can hurt our family!"

Makarov jumped up, walked over to Eleven, who was kneeling before him, and reached out to pat his head.

"Eleven, have faith in your family. Rely on your companions. Everyone has a past they can't forget, to one degree or another. When people can't bear it alone, they rely on one another. That's how guilds were formed, and why we have companions: so we can stay strong and walk onward together."

Eleven gazed at Makarov in a daze. Though Makarov lacked Maria's gentleness, his earnest expression was etched just as deeply into Eleven's heart.

If Maria was warm sunlight to Eleven, a spring that nourished his heart, then Makarov's diminutive figure was like a mountain towering into the clouds, punching a great hole straight through the dark clouds over his head. Though it couldn't scatter them completely, it could shelter him from wind and rain, give him someone to lean on, and let him find a place to belong.

Tears the size of beans rolled down Eleven's face, and once again he burst into sobs. He threw himself at Makarov and rubbed all his tears and snot onto the little old man's hat.

It was wonderful to have joined Fairy Tail.

"No! Nothing you say will change my mind. I won't agree to let you take on a job right now!"

Eleven was lying face down on the floor with his bottom in the air and a large bump on his head. Makarov clutched his hat angrily, looking at the large, sticky patch on it with an expression of disgust and dismay.

"Grandpa Master, I really can do it. My Spiritual Power isn't just for sensing things. It has lots of other uses."

Eleven rubbed his head and got up from the floor. With a thought, a vast amount of mental force mixed with magic power surged out, and a faint light shone in his pale blue eyes. Eleven had found that using Spiritual Power together with magic power took much less effort. Not only could he sense farther and in greater detail, but his telekinesis was also stronger when he gave it form.

Several tables and chairs behind Eleven rose into the air and bobbed up and down. The ghostly sight sent the people behind him scrambling backward.

"That's not all!"

Eleven seemed to be getting carried away. Like a child showing his parents the little tricks he had learned, he had no intention of holding anything back. His glowing eyes turned to the bottle beside Makarov.

With a bang, the bottle exploded as if it had been crushed. The remaining liquor didn't splash out, however. Instead, Eleven wrapped it in Spiritual Power and sent it floating into Makarov's glass.

Makarov picked up the glass with a smile and took a sip of the drink poured in such an unusual way.

"Oh, right, and there's this."

Eleven suddenly remembered something else, and his eyes lit up. A black-and-white vortex appeared behind his head, spinning round and round until it made people dizzy. It was an illusion exercise he had practiced constantly at the institute.

"Oh? An illusion? How impressive." Makarov was completely unaffected. He kept smiling, taking a large sip from his glass every now and then.

But inwardly, he was somewhat shocked. Is this mental magic? I've never heard of magic with so many uses, using Spiritual Power alone to sense, attack, and create illusions. This child's Spiritual Power is unimaginably vast too. No wonder he was captured for research. Is it an innate ability? Or some kind of ancient magic?

Makarov showed none of these thoughts, however. Still squinting, he took another sip of beer.

"No, no. Your use of magic power is far too superficial. As you are now, I can't feel comfortable entrusting a job to you."

"Ah, then what do I have to do?" Eleven was a little dejected.

"Well..."

While Makarov was hesitating, a blond boy came charging in.

"Grandpa, what was that magic power just now? I could feel it all the way from home."

Makarov's eyes suddenly lit up when he saw who it was. "Oh ho ho, Laxus, you're just in time. This is Eleven, our newest companion."

"Oh, I saw him yesterday." Laxus glanced at Eleven, showing no intention of greeting him.

Makarov paid it no mind and turned back to Eleven. "Eleven, Laxus is my grandson, and I'm very proud of him. I only just gave him permission to start taking jobs himself, so if you want to work, you'll have to reach his level at the very least."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean, old man? Are you looking down on me?"

Before Eleven could react, Laxus bristled, hopping up and down as he demanded an explanation from Makarov.

Eleven, meanwhile, looked at Laxus with some envy. So he's the master's grandson. How nice, having a grandpa like that.

"Hey, what are you looking at, kid?" Sensing Eleven's gaze, Laxus glared at him irritably, looking ready to bite anyone he saw.

"Uh, I'm looking at you." Sensing Laxus's anger, Eleven answered in some bewilderment.

"You don't really think you can compare to me, do you?" Laxus continued to rage for no apparent reason, as if he had been nursing a grudge all along.

"Hehe, Laxus, don't underestimate Eleven. He was the one who gave off that magic power just now." It was hard to tell what Makarov was thinking as he fanned the flames from the sidelines.

"What? That guy?" Laxus clearly had trouble believing that the boy who couldn't even do a single push-up yesterday possessed such immense magic power.

"Interesting. Want to have a go?" Laxus licked his lips and looked at Eleven again, his gaze full of provocation as he beckoned him over.

"Huh?"

Eleven tilted his head, looking utterly confused.