"Pfft! What? You destroyed hundreds of meters of forest? Weren't you supposed to clear out some wild boars? How did you cause that much damage?"
Guild Master Makarov jolted. Before he had even heard the whole story, he spat out the wine he had just drunk and stared wide-eyed at Blanc and the others.
"Haha, Master, we didn't expect to cause such a commotion either. The job called for it. While clearing out the boars, we discovered something else was behind their rampage. We investigated and found an incredibly fast magical beast. Ordinary attacks couldn't touch it, so I put in just a little extra effort," Blanc said with a laugh.
"J-just a little extra effort?! From what Macao told me, we're talking about hundreds of meters of forest! Were you completing a request or clearing land for a new forest?"
Gray couldn't help chiming in from beside him. "That beast really was fast... We couldn't even touch it without sealing off the whole area."
"That was still a bit excessive." Still shaken, Macao rubbed his collar, which had wood chips clinging to it. "I was following behind and nearly ended up dangling from a tree."
Makarov glared at him. "You have the nerve to say that? I sent you along as backup, and you nearly got yourself taken out! ...Forget it. As long as everyone's safe."
Then he turned back to Blanc, a hint of urgency creeping into his voice. "How's the forest? What did the village chief say? Did he mention damages or compensation?"
Blanc pushed the request confirmation slip forward and explained:
"Don't worry. The village chief was very satisfied. He only thanked us and never mentioned compensation. Besides, although I destroyed the original trees, I planted even more afterward. With one replacing the other, it doesn't really count as damage, right?"
"Good, good." Guild Master Makarov breathed a sigh of relief.
He took a swig, but his tone gradually softened, carrying the solemn concern of an elder.
"Still, tracking down the source and taking care of the magical beast on your very first combat request was excellent work. Most importantly, you all came back in one piece."
Blanc scratched his cheek, his smile widening.
"Thanks, Master. I'm pretty happy we finished it smoothly too. Gray helped a lot, and Macao... was there too."
"Ahem." Macao coughed dryly and pretended to look elsewhere.
Makarov chuckled and pointed at the three of them, including the bedraggled senior member.
"Enjoy yourselves, but I still have a few things to say. First, being strong is all well and good, but check your surroundings before using wide-area magic. Don't hit your teammates or bystanders. Second, if you run into a powerful enemy you aren't sure you can handle, come back, update the request, and call for backup! You managed this time through a combination of luck and strength, but things won't always work out so neatly. Third-"
He paused, his eyes crinkling.
"What matters is that you came back. Staying safe is more important than showing off."
Blanc froze for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Understood!"
"Good." Makarov firmly stamped the slip as completed and slid their payment over with a smile. "Go split it up! Your first job was a success, so tonight-"
He tipped his chin toward the hall and raised his voice.
"We're having a party! Let's celebrate these two brats coming home safe!"
"Hear, hear!"
Cheers and clinking glasses immediately rose all around them. Blanc took the money pouch, finally feeling that his first job had truly come to an end.
After finishing his morning workout, Blanc strolled toward the guild. Life had become leisurely since he joined Fairy Tail.
He got up in the morning, exercised for a while, ate breakfast, then headed to the guild library to see whether there was any interesting magic. When he ran out of money, he took a job. It was like retiring sixty years early.
The guild's three-story building soon appeared at the end of the street. The flag atop its dome snapped in the wind, and its Heart-Shaped Gate stood half open. The faint sounds of clinking glasses and conversation already drifted out.
Blanc stepped over the threshold. The wooden floor creaked softly beneath his feet, and the mingled scents of alcohol and wood washed over him.
The first thing he saw upon entering was a little naked boy.
Gray wandered over from the aisle, bare-chested. He walked with complete confidence, as if this were Fairy Tail's standard dress code.
"Morning, Gray. You're walking around without clothes again!"
"Huh? When did that happen?!"
Gray looked down and froze, then frantically lunged for the jacket he had tossed nearby. Some people rolled their eyes, long accustomed to it, while others watched over their drinks. No one thought much of it.
Blanc kept walking without stopping.
Sunlight split the wooden table by the window in two, the boundary between light and shadow almost painfully sharp. Cana sat alone on the bright side, the hem of her green dress hanging forlornly beside her chair.
A dozen or so tarot cards lay spread across the tabletop in an elaborate formation.
Her fingers brushed over the cards before stopping in the center. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and drew a card as though she had made up her mind about something.
But the moment she saw its illustration, the faint light in her eyes flickered and dimmed.
She pressed her lips together and shoved the card back almost petulantly. Without her noticing, her previously fluid shuffling and cutting grew somewhat impatient.
Soon, she forced herself to calm down again and laid the cards out in a new formation.
Her head was slightly bowed, her expression focused, but her faintly puffed cheeks and drooping mouth couldn't hide her frustration.
The sight reminded Blanc of Cana's story.
He remembered that in the original story, Cana had spent a great deal of effort on Tarot Cards divination to predict when her father, Gildarts, would return, eventually taking up Card Magic along the way.
She desperately wanted to tell her father who she was, yet Gildarts was so dazzling that she didn't dare.
Growing increasingly anxious and extreme in her thinking, she became convinced she had to become an S-Class Mage herself and earn her father's approval before revealing their relationship.
But there had never been any need to make it so complicated. It was simply a little girl's fear at work.
The fear that her father wouldn't like her trapped her, and in the end, she wasted more than a decade for nothing.
Looking at Cana's Card Magic, Blanc couldn't help thinking how incredibly powerful it would be if this world's cards could produce effects like those in Yu-Gi-Oh! Yu-Gi-Oh!-a game only one person got to play.
But this world operated under different rules, so forcing an opponent to play cards would probably be difficult. Even without that, Card Magic was still a good form of magic. There was no need to learn each corresponding spell; with the cards and enough magic power, one could cast it. It was a very convenient form of Holder Magic.
After all, learning magic took quite some time. The Wizards in Fairy Tail all specialized in one type rather than learning multiple kinds to diversify their options against enemies. They all relied on brute force.
But Blanc thought that was a shame. Since magic existed, shouldn't he also get things like Scourgify, Stupefy, and flying broomsticks?
That made Blanc wonder whether he should learn Card Magic too, then combine it with other forms, such as Letter Magic, to create similar effects. Once he learned Card Magic, he wouldn't have to go out of his way to study all those interesting but impractical spells. He could focus on the magic that interested him.
It seemed promising. For now, there wasn't much more for him to explore in Wood Make or Nature Magic. He just needed to increase his magic capacity and overwhelm things with raw power.
But having finally come to a fantastical world of magic, he ought to try out some wild ideas.
Cana suddenly looked up, sensing someone watching her. Blanc casually looked away and nodded to her. Cana merely murmured an acknowledgment before burying herself in her cards again.
Pushing aside the jumble of ideas flashing through his mind, Blanc headed straight for the request board at the back of the hall to see whether there was a suitable job today.
"Blanc, accept my challenge!"
An excited shout rang out first.
Now dressed, Gray rushed straight up to him almost as if he had teleported. His eyes shone with intensity, and his voice was full of stubborn determination.
Although he already acknowledged that Blanc was stronger, Gray was just like Natsu: knowing he couldn't win didn't mean he would willingly concede.
People at several nearby tables instinctively turned their heads. Someone paused with a glass in hand, wearing an expression that said, "Here we go again."
"No."
"Huh? Why? Are you scared?"
"Of course not. It's just that your current strength doesn't get me excited, Gray. Sparring with you wouldn't be much fun."
Someone in the hall snorted. Gray's ears instantly turned red, his fists clenched at his sides, and a thin layer of frost even formed on the floorboards by his feet.
"Damn it! You're looking down on me!"
"Sorry, I don't mean to look down on you. It's just the truth. Challenge me again when you're strong enough, and I'll accept."
"Damn it, how strong do I have to be before you'll accept my challenge?"
Blanc thought for a moment, looked past Gray's shoulder, and said:
"Hmm, when you can casually freeze a whole sea while riding a bicycle across it and making an ice road as you go. Or when you can freeze a village of giants with one move."
"Are you kidding me?! How could anyone possibly do that?"
"Have some confidence in yourself, Gray. I believe you can do it."
"You bastard! Just say you don't want to fight!"
Another set of footsteps approached from the stairs.
"Then how about sparring with me?"
At that moment, a Super Saiyan wearing headphones joined the conversation.
The light in the hall gilded his blond hair until it gleamed, and his headphone cord swayed gently with his steps.
The fifteen-year-old had already shot up, standing taller than an adult. Bailan could sense astonishing magic power in him, yet his presence was surprisingly gentle.
Blanc looked at the blond boy who had interrupted them. He had been in the guild for a while, but this was his first time meeting Laxus. Why was the very first thing he said a challenge?
"What?! Laxus is going to fight Blanc?" An excited clamor suddenly rose around them.
"Oh! A showdown between the guild's two monstrous prodigies? This could be a good one." Macao had somehow sidled over again, eager to watch and stir things up.
"Hey, Laxus, I'm the one challenging Blanc right now. Don't butt in!"
"I heard him, you know. Blanc doesn't want to accept your challenge."
Uh, I don't really want to accept yours either. I just wanted to look at the request board. Why does everyone want to fight me...?
And Laxus actually talked this normally when he was younger? He's so different from the hothead he becomes later.
Blanc looked at Laxus, thought for a moment, and said, "Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Blanc. I look forward to getting along with you."
"Hello, I'm Laxus. Likewise."
"Let's skip the sparring, though. I'm actually not very good at fighting."
Blanc smiled. Laxus wasn't an S-Class Mage yet, but judging by his age, he was probably close.
The outcome of a match against him would be hard to predict. Especially since Laxus was a Dragon Slayer with monstrous physical endurance. At present, Blanc wasn't very good at dealing with that sort of opponent.
The previous job had made that clear. The magical beast hadn't been particularly strong, but its sheer speed had left Blanc struggling to react. If he could have reacted in time, there would have been no need for an area attack. Ordinary vines would have been enough.
For ten-year-old Blanc, physical combat was a genuine weakness. He was currently a glass cannon. If someone got close, he would be in danger.
He could bully a weakling like Gray just fine, but Laxus would be tough. Unless Blanc went all out and used Advent of a World of Trees like a basic attack, eventually wearing Laxus down. But there was no need. It was only a spar; he shouldn't destroy the guild over it.
"All right, then. I just heard everyone saying a little monster had joined the guild and wanted to see how strong you were. If you don't want to, that's fine. Welcome to Fairy Tail," Laxus said with a smile.
"Thanks," Blanc replied with a smile. Before his rebellious phase, Laxus was actually a cheerful big-brother type. Thinking of the hothead he would later become, and how prickly he remained even after his redemption, Blanc marveled at how much a boy could change as he grew up.
Laxus turned and left.
Seeing there would be no fight, the spectators dispersed, still making disappointed jokes.
Blanc stared speechlessly at these guild members who loved a spectacle, even though he enjoyed watching one himself.