As a distinguished transmigrator,
Aibo naturally had a cheat.
But his cheat was rather plain and unremarkable.
It only had a basic character panel—
[Stamina: 21/21] [Strength: 16/16] [Magic Power: 351/352]
And a simple skill panel—
[Telepathy Magic LV4, 230/10000000] [Meditation LV0, 233/1000] [Crush Magic LV0, 23/1000]
As well as a set of points whose purpose was still unclear.
[Inspiration Points: 648]
And that was it.
That was everything Aibo's cheat currently contained.
This utterly ordinary panel could quantify his physical attributes and his skills' "experience bars."
Of the panels, Stamina was probably similar to a health bar, Strength was an endurance bar, and Magic Power was a mana bar. Those three basic stats were easy enough to understand.
The maximum limits of the basic stats could grow. They had already increased by several points over the past few days.
The skill panel was a little more complicated, but Aibo had more or less figured out how it worked.
At first, he had thought the progress bar represented skill proficiency, but he later discovered that it was actually an experience bar.
Whenever he "correctly used" the corresponding skill, he gained experience.
As for what constituted "correct use"?
For example, just now, while Aibo had been spacing out and emptying his mind, although his mind had heard plenty of noise, [Telepathy Magic]'s progress bar had not increased.
But when he instinctively focused on "listening" to Cana's inner voice, the experience bar had increased.
When Aibo subjectively, correctly, and successfully used a skill, he gained corresponding skill experience.
His Telepathy Magic had awakened at Level 4. Aibo guessed that he might have just a tiny bit of extraordinary talent for this magic, though that was probably also the main reason he could not properly control his mind-reading ability.
A high skill level only meant a stronger effect; it had nothing to do with proficiency.
It had only been a few days, and Aibo was still unfamiliar with Telepathy Magic, so naturally, he had not fully mastered it.
Besides that, there was [Meditation] and [Crush Magic], which he had learned from Gildarts.
[Meditation] was a skill that could train Magic Power. Aibo had also figured out how to use the skill panel through learning Meditation.
[Crush Magic], meanwhile, was a magic Gildarts often used. Its power was incredibly strong.
Aibo had wanted to learn it, and Gildarts had actually dared to teach him, but unfortunately, he had not learned it. Those few points of experience had been gained purely by blind luck.
As for what [Inspiration Points] were, Aibo had not figured that out yet.
His cheat did not come with an instruction manual or anything, but it was still better than having nothing.
Watching a progress bar rise gave people a sense of satisfaction, especially when that progress bar concerned their own immediate interests.
So Aibo was not stingy about using his abilities. If it were not for the headaches, he would have wanted to practice every second of every minute, just like now—
[Tsk, tsk, old man. So you're this kind of frivolous man? Sister Airo already has a boyfriend. You should at least have some self-restraint.]
Gildarts had long grown used to the voice suddenly ringing in his mind.
Telepathy Magic could actually be actively "blocked" by cutting off the flow of Magic Power, but Gildarts had not done that.
For one thing, when Aibo activated Telepathy Magic, it was almost instinctive. The fluctuations in Magic Power were tiny and difficult to detect without paying close attention.
Furthermore, Gildarts did not treat Aibo like an ordinary child. After spending the past few days together, he had discovered that Aibo was far more mature than children his age.
So he did not hold back when replying:
[Shoo, shoo. Things between adults aren't as simple as what you see! And hurry up and get out of Airo's arms! A brat like you should go play with the other brats!]
Gildarts was still flirting with Airo on the surface, but his subtle, envious gaze undoubtedly conveyed one message: You little bastard, get out of Airo's arms already!
[...]
Aibo wriggled and nuzzled around in Airo's arms, then gave Gildarts a "Momonosuke smile."
Gildarts: ???
[You little bastard! What did you do?! (งᵒ̌皿ᵒ̌)ง⁼³₌₃]
[Too loud~ Say, Gildarts, shouldn't someone your age have been married long ago?]
[Hmph, what would a brat like you know? Marriage is a man's grave! This uncle here won't hang himself from a single tree!]
[What a lousy old man!]
Aibo had originally wanted to remind Gildarts about Cana, but he changed his mind now.
Gildarts seemed not to know that the little girl beside him was his daughter.
There seemed to be more to this. I'd better observe things first.
Though this guy was his lifesaver, wasn't he a little too much of a scumbag? Aibo condemned him!
Aibo gave Gildarts a contemptuous look.
Gildarts gritted his teeth, both angry and jealous, but there was nothing he could do to Aibo. He could only turn away, out of sight and out of mind, and go find someone else to drink with.
"Little Aibo, you'll stay in the guild dormitory for now. After work, I'll take you to buy some daily necessities. Of course, none of this is free. It counts as a guild benefit, and once you start earning money from commissions in the future, you can pay the guild back..."
Miss Airo held Aibo as she explained some precautions and guild benefits to him.
Aibo could tell that this guild was very friendly toward newcomers. Gildarts had not lied to him; Fairy Tail truly was a good place to go.
He did not know much about this world of magic. Back in the village, information had been scarce, and he had never had any contact with wizards.
Now he was all alone. Though he had awakened a "superpower," he did not have much combat ability. He might as well stay here and develop slowly.
Aibo was still very interested in the magic of this world.
"Sister Airo, how about Gray and I take this little brother shopping? We're just sitting around doing nothing anyway. Gray, don't you agree?"
Cana stood on tiptoe with her hands braced against the table. Halfway through speaking, she jabbed Gray beside her with her elbow.
Gray: "Oi! I don't want to take some brat shopping. I'm going to train!"
"Idiot Gray! You're not allowed to leave!"
[I still need to find out what this child's relationship with Dad is. That hair color is really concerning!]
Aibo glanced at Cana, who was holding Gray back. Did this girl think he was Gildarts' illegitimate son?
Tsk, our hair colors aren't even the same. Your dad's is orange-red, while mine is light cherry-pink. They're completely different, okay?
Aibo looked at Cana's black hair, his large eyes rolling as an idea quickly came to him. He raised his head to look at Airo.
"Sister Airo, I want to play with big brother and big sister."
Gray: ?
"Emmmm~ All right, then I'll leave little Aibo to Cana and Gray for now. Here, this is the money for buying daily necessities. Be careful, okay?"
After thinking it over, Airo felt that Cana made sense. Somewhat reluctantly, she set Aibo down. This child was so soft and sweet-smelling and adorable that she felt she could hold him like that all day.
"Got it~ I'm really strong, you know. Let's go!"
Cana stuffed 10,000 Jewels into her pocket, grabbed Aibo's hand with one hand and Gray with the other, then ran out of the guild doors with a patter.
"Oi! Oi! Cana, let go! I don't want to gooooo!"
Before you continue