The Mark

The title of "Ten Wizard Saints" in the Kingdom of Fiore wasn't determined purely by strength, but as one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Makarov's power was beyond doubt!

Even with Ul's current extremely faint perception of Magic Power, he could clearly feel the vast, ocean-like Magic Power within Makarov.

However!

In contrast to Makarov's strength, his height was practically inversely proportional to his Magic Power.

Based on Ul's current visual estimate, including the sleeping cap on Makarov's head, this tipsy little old man's height should... probably... seemed... almost exceeded one meter!

In fact, back when he watched the anime, Ul had once thought that the reason Makarov learned "Giant Magic" was entirely because he was dissatisfied with certain aspects of himself.

After all, while Giant Magic, which enlarges the body, was powerful, it had many drawbacks. At least in the anime, Ul had never seen this little old man win against any enemy when using Giant Magic!

"Oh... Wakaba, you're back... hic!"

"I'm back, Guild Master. This is Ul. He learned magic at the orphanage and now wants to join our guild." Wakaba was very respectful towards Makarov, and Makarov was indeed an old man worthy of respect.

Emmmm!

Although this old man was a bit lecherous and often acted irresponsibly!

"Hmm... Ul?" Makarov struggled to open his drunken little eyes and glanced at Ul, looking confused. "Why do I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?"

Ul: "..."

Wakaba: "..."

"Guild Master, have you forgotten? You were the one who brought Ul back back then!" Wakaba leaned close to Makarov's ear and whispered a reminder.

When Wakaba finished reminding him, Ul clearly saw Makarov's expression freeze for a moment. But soon, the little old man recovered, laughing loudly as he patted Ul on the shoulder!

"So that's it! I didn't expect you to grow up so fast, Ul, and you've even learned magic. Good, good... smack smack smack!"

Don't underestimate Makarov's small stature; this little old man had quite a grip. His pats made Ul's shoulders ring with smack smack smack, causing Ul to wince and bare his teeth.

Ul even suspected this little old man was deliberately getting back at him.

"Since you've learned magic, Ul, and you actively want to join our guild, then as Guild Master, I welcome you to 'Fairy Tail'." After patting for a while, finally managing to cover up his embarrassment, Makarov gradually became serious.

This was the benefit of being "orphanage-raised"—joining a guild faced almost no obstacles; you just needed to know magic.

"Wakaba, bring me the Magic Stamp!" Makarov said.

"Got it, Guild Master!"

Wakaba acknowledged, and soon brought back something like a stamp from behind the counter.

"What color do you like?"

"Gray. Stamp it right here for me!" Ul pointed to his right chest and spoke.

"No problem!"

Wakaba didn't waste words; it was just stamping a mark.

As the Magic Stamp pressed onto Ul's right chest, a gray pattern resembling a bird with an arrow-like tail quickly appeared on Ul's chest—the emblem of "Fairy Tail."

The pattern created by this Magic Stamp was unique. Unless the guild was destroyed or he voluntarily left the guild, this pattern would never disappear.

And from the moment this pattern was imprinted on his body!

It meant that Ul had officially become a member of "Fairy Tail."

Seeing the guild's pattern on Ul's chest, a smile slowly curled at the corner of Makarov's mouth. He stood up with a quick motion, cleared his throat, and prepared to shout to everyone:

"Listen up, everyone! It's party time! Welcome our new family member, Ul!"

For Makarov, this was the welcome ceremony every "family member" joining "Fairy Tail" deserved.

But this time!

An accident happened during this welcome ceremony.

Because just as Makarov took a deep breath and was about to speak, Ul suddenly said something that nearly made Makarov choke on that breath.

"Um... Guild Master, can I take a mission now?"

"Cough~~~"

"Pfft!"

To Ul, this was a perfectly normal sentence, but to Makarov and Wakaba's ears, it made one of them cough violently and the other spray out a mouthful of wine!

The two exchanged a strange glance at Ul. Then, after Makarov finally forced the words he was about to say back down, he slowly spoke: "You can, but for now you can only take D-rank missions. Only after you've completed enough missions to rank up to a higher-level Mage can you take on higher-level ones!"

"I understand. Thank you, Guild Master!"

Ul thanked Makarov and then walked towards the mission board.

Makarov and Wakaba watched Ul's retreating back, silent for a long time. Then Wakaba suddenly blurted out a sentence: "Guild Master, it seems that kid Ul has some issues on his mind too!"

"Hmph... Most people in our guild have had some special experiences. I just hope Ul can move past his soon." Makarov's expression also turned serious!

Neither of them had ever doubted that Ul had no problems.

After all, "Fairy Tail" had never raised the kind of person who would work hard and take missions seriously.

Even if there was an occasional one or two, they were absolutely troublemakers—the kind who could destroy an entire area just by going on a mission...

It was a good thing Ul didn't know what Makarov and Wakaba were thinking right now.

Otherwise!

He would definitely cry out in injustice.

Because he really just wanted to work hard on missions to earn money and top up—there really wasn't that much story behind him!

He was really just a simple cheater!

D-rank missions weren't much different from ordinary people's temp jobs. The only difference was that the pay was slightly higher.

The currency value in "Fairy Tail" was about the same as that of a certain island nation.

So most D-rank missions were priced around four to five thousand J, which was roughly two to three hundred RMB. However, there were also some with slightly higher rewards, though they were more tiring than regular missions.

And Ul had chosen exactly that kind of mission!