Chariot Engine Squad

Take Over Magic: A type of magic that allowed one to take on an animal's body for personal use, enhancing one's own strength.

The danger of this magic lay in forcibly taking over an overly powerful magical creature when one's own strength or willpower was insufficient. It could cause one to lose one's reason or even go berserk, until death from exhaustion.

The basic training method was as follows...

Snap!

Rhode shut the book and carefully checked the cover. It really was the Encyclopedia of Magic.

You could just open any encyclopedia and find magic training methods written right there?

Is this really something I can read without paying?

Thud! Worm fell from Rhode's shoulder and landed on the book cover. Dazed, it rolled over, seemingly unable to figure out what was happening.

"I can tell you really don't like studying."

Rhode put Worm back on his shoulder, then carried the hefty encyclopedia out of the library. Just in case, he needed to confirm whether he was actually allowed to read it.

"The Encyclopedia of Magic? Of course that's fine," Mira said. "There aren't any books in the library that people aren't allowed to browse."

"But it even has methods for learning all kinds of magic. Won't that cause problems?"

"But the purpose of putting books like that in the library is for people to learn from them."

Mira had probably guessed what Rhode was worried about. "Don't worry. Dangerous magic isn't just left sitting around in there."

Rhode nodded. "Oh... then I'll read to my heart's content."

"That's not how you use that phrase..."

Rhode waved a hand and returned to the library, quietly reading his book.

Celestial Spirit Magic was classified as Possession Type Magic according to how it was used, and as Space-type Magic according to its effect.

At the same time, it was an ancient magic that had been passed down for over four hundred years.

Every Celestial Spirit corresponded to a constellation in the sky and had its own "medium"—a key.

Ordinary Celestial Spirits corresponded to Silver Keys, while the strongest Twelve Celestial Spirits corresponded to the Twelve Golden Keys.

Since Rhode was reading the Encyclopedia of Magic rather than a book specifically about Celestial Spirit Magic, the introduction was fairly superficial.

It did record the method for opening a gate after obtaining a key, as well as the process of forming a contract with a Celestial Spirit.

However, Rhode had already learned the important parts from the Master.

For more detailed information, Rhode would need to seek out specialized materials, such as books about ancient magic or Space-type Magic.

He looked around at the sea of books... This really wasn't a small undertaking.

Rhode spent several hours holed up in the library.

Worm slept on the desk, woke up, then slept again. Eventually, it woke from hunger and let out a faint rumbling sound to remind Rhode that it was about time to eat.

Rhode stood and stretched, checking the time while he was at it. "It's almost five. I've worked harder than I ever did during school study hall... If I keep this up, I'll become a master mage sooner or later!"

"Rrrumble~" Worm's little horns drooped, as though urging him to stop bragging and get moving.

Moving quickly was impossible. Rhode had to properly return the books in his hands, then go wash his hands again before returning to work at the tavern.

As servers, they usually ate early or late so they would not be too busy to deal with things when it was actually mealtime.

Rhode, like Mira and the others, chose to eat early. If customers came to the tavern to order during that time, someone had to immediately put down their bowl and go serve them, which was quite troublesome.

"Big Sister Mira, we're back!"

A blue-haired girl entered with two tall, skinny boys.

"Levy! Welcome back! Jet and Troy too!"

Some of the people chatting in the tavern immediately welcomed the three of them. They seemed to be quite popular.

Mira immediately put down her bowl and chopsticks and went to greet them. "Welcome back. You were two days later than expected. Did the job go well?"

"Yep!" Levy said excitedly. "The client was a nice person and invited us to spend two more days having fun in Shirotsu Gate City."

"Ohh~~" Mira deliberately put on a troubled expression. "Adding compensation on your own counts as a violation, you know."

"It wasn't an unauthorized increase in compensation." Levy hugged Mira's arm, her voice taking on a slightly spoiled tone.

"The client said it was to guard against any later complications... like some kind of 'after-sales service'..."

She was only a little taller than Mira's shoulder, a particularly petite and adorable girl.

Standing so close beside Mira only made her look even cuter. At least, Jet and Troy both wore envious expressions—envying Mira.

"Then... I suppose you pass." Mira closed one eye, and they clearly had a good relationship.

"Thank you, Big Sister Mira!" Levy released Mira, handed over the job form for registration, and asked, "Has anything changed in the guild?"

"Things are mostly the same as always... though a newcomer joined recently. A few days ago, he wanted to ask you for help because of a language issue."

Levy stood on tiptoe and braced both hands on the counter. "What, what? What happened?"

The magic she used was Solid Script. She could write words with magic power and grant them their true meaning.

For example, if she wrote a word representing fire, the word would truly turn into flames and shoot out.

Perhaps because of that magic, Levy understood many ancient scripts and was interested in everything related to language and writing.

"It's like this..." Mira briefly explained Rhode's situation while registering Levy's job.

"...I'll introduce you to him later. Rhode should have something he needs your help with right now too."

Jet and Troy, standing behind Levy like two guardian statues, immediately picked up on the key word. "He?"

Rhode had already hurriedly finished his meal and was preparing to come over and take over the shift.

Mira took the opportunity to introduce them. "This is Rhode. These are Levy, Jet, and Troy."

In fact, Rhode had already heard Laki introduce them once, but before he could greet them, Jet had already jumped onto the nearest table.

Levy also jumped onto the stool beside the table, while Troy put one foot on the stool and the other on the table.

The three of them struck their own cool poses and shouted:

"We are—the Chariot Engine Squad!"

Two guys drinking nearby were startled by the trio.

Rhode was also left awkward by the three of them. Watching their performance, all he could think of was Team Rocket.

Rhode raised a hand, unsure whether he should applaud or scratch at his goosebumps.

He covered his mouth with one hand and leaned close to Mira's ear. "Um... they aren't the kind who are really unconventional and constantly cause trouble, are they?"

Mira thought for a moment. "How should I put it... Compared to Natsu, they cause very little trouble."

Rhode already knew that Natsu was an expert at causing trouble, with most of his earnings from each job going toward compensating for things he destroyed.

If they caused less trouble than Natsu... Rhode sighed. That was a very unsettling description.

Was such a petite and adorable girl as Levy also someone who caused a lot of trouble?

Chariot Engine was also called Shadow Gear. It was a translation issue.

Jet was also called Jed. "Jet" was actually a nickname; his real name was Salsuk.