Well hello there, once more I have returned with more replies to comments that have my answers ultimately come out to: it just works.
Vendre: Oh I am aware Serena is absolutely no joke even at half-power. The thing to keep in mind however is that Matt had time and the knowledge to use his major weaknesses and exploit them. Matt, while having nowhere near the firepower of someone of Serena's caliber, right now, he can still stall out fights unless he gets speed blitzed.
Middernacht: At this time, Serena is currently not a Wizard Saint, so there is no title for Matt to take. However I severely doubt Matt would even care for the title if offered it if he saw nothing to gain from it.
Now then, I better get going since my words have caused Todd Howard to be spawned and he's trying to hunt me down and buy all 8,756 versions of Skyrim. Enjoy!
Matt's eyes slowly opened. His first thought being 'Holy shit everything hurts, including things I didn't know could hurt." His second, less agonized one, was 'Wait this room looks familiar.'
Being unable to lift his neck, he had to settle for simply looking around. His suspicion was confirmed as this room was the very same one he'd rested in three years ago. As he realized this, the door being opened caught his attention.
"Ah, good to see you're awake." Jura smiled as he took a seat nearby.
"Jura? You look… good." Matt was very confused by the lack of bandages or any wounds at all on the twenty year-old's body.
"Why thank you. Though the praise should go towards that woman Makarov-dono brought with him when he arrived a few days ago. She quickly treated you and I before leaving, citing that "large populations of humans enrage her", quite the character she is." He awkwardly chuckled.
Matt's expression was even more confused. "Okay. How long have I been out? Why is Master here? And what's with the whole "dono" shtick?"
"Five days. He came to make sure you were being treated well. And I got to learn what it meant from Toyo-dono who told me it was a form of respect one could give that applied to all people."
"I… see?" Matt was still confused by that last part, but he let it slide. "So how long am I gonna look like a mummy?" He sighed out.
"Oh I'd say another three days. Porlyusica-dono is truly gifted at her craft. The medicine she made had your body go from "devastated skeleton" one day to "extremely bruised" the next. It was quite amazing." Jura stroked his chin at the memory.
"Well at least I can just go back to the guild after this." He sighed in relief.
"What do you mean?" The bald man raised a brow.
"What? I'll just take the prize money and head home, no biggie." He attempted a shrug.
"No I don't mean that, I mean won't you be attending the party in four days?"
"Indeed!" The door opened to reveal the King smiling widely.
"Ah, your Majesty." Jura stood and bowed.
"At ease young man, this is not a time of formality, it's a time of camaraderie!" He gleefully stated.
"What's got you so over the moon? Shouldn't you be biting your nails over the fact that bastard and I leveled the city? Sorry about that by the way." He sheepishly apologized.
"Bah! Such trivial things are of no concern. The city repairs are coming along fantastically!" The king's words caused Matt to blink a few times as he registered that knowledge.
"Seriously?"
"Oh yes, after your victory the most miraculous thing happened: numerous guilds all over Fiore offered to help repair the city! On top of that, Caelum, Sin and Pergrande have offered assistance too with funds and extra hands!" The King's smile widened.
"Wow. I, didn't expect that."
"It's all thanks to you my boy!"
"...Huh?" Matt's body slumped slightly as he was severely confused.
"See your words spoke to the hearts of the people! In fact the council even reported that Guild Member Application Rates are at an all-time high!"
"My corny speeches did that?" 'Do I secretly have Talk-no-Jutsu or something?' Matt's eye twitched at the thought.
"They're "corny" for a reason y'know. Speeches like that are a dime a dozen, but they're so common because they speak of things we take for granted." The King took a seat. "Things such as friendship and family are often taken at face value by many people. Until tragedy coldly reminds them of what they lost." His voice dropped a bit for some reason. However he quickly picked himself back up. "So perhaps hearing such things from a youngster like you resonated with your peers and inspired them to seize the day and embrace what they have."
"I'm not too sure about that, but arguing over such things is pointless." Matt attempted to end this conversation.
"Indeed. Regardless, don't feel bad for the property damage." The King waved his hand back and forth lazily with a grin. "Now then, we should discuss your reward!"
Matt's eyebrow rose, "What do you mean? The winner would receive 25 million Jewel. That's it."
"Well of course you'll still get the money. However, the Council thought it best to leave out what their reward would be."
"The Council is also giving a reward?" Jura asked, just as surprised as Matt.
"Indeed. They didn't wish to advertise it so as to make sure some… unsavory individuals wouldn't interfere with the tournament." Matt theorized he was referring to Dark Guilds, but wasn't sure.
"What kind of reward is it that they felt the need to do that?" Matt was genuinely interested in this extra reward.
"For you Matt, a choice of any 3 books from the Council's Forbidden Library."
"HUH?!?!" Matt shouted in disbelief.
"I can't say I've heard of this "Forbidden Library"." Jura placed a hand to his chin.
"The Forbidden Library is where the council keeps all one-of-a-kind magic books. Magic's confiscated from Dark Guilds, found in ancient ruins, kept hidden for hundreds of years. They study these books to see if any new branches of Magic can be unearthed separately. It's essentially like being given the keys to knowledge known only to people that number in the low double digits." Matt explained to the large man. 'It's also why I skipped out on the Magical Library available to the public. No way in hell they're gonna have Dimensional Teleportation Magic just lying around with stacks of reprinted Tomes.'
"That's quite the wonderful opportunity." Jura seemed genuinely surprised.
"Indeed. The Council requested you come after you've left the city." King Fiore told Matt.
"Got it. Just means I'll be a bit late getting to Magnolia." Matt shrugged.
"By the way, Jura, would you mind stepping out for a moment. I wish to speak of Matt alone."
Jura wordlessly stood and bowed to the king before exiting and closing the door.
"You really spooked us there you know." Toma sighed.
"What do you mean?"
"Well between that fake death stunt, the ridiculous amounts of damage you took and actually being unconscious at the end of that fight, most of us were concerned you'd gone comatose."
"Well, I really wouldn't say I won that fight." Matt wished to scratch his cheek, but he couldn't move his arms.
"What do you mean?" The king looked at him confused.
"Well while I did have the guy on his last legs for sure, that last blast he did got redirected with my punch. I used him as a meat shield while he took the full brunt of it. He... essentially knocked himself out." Matt was clearly frustrated by the fact he didn't do Serena in with that last punch.
"I see, well what you did still didn't do any less to solidify yourself once again." Fiore smiled warmly.
"What do you mean?"
King Fiore stood and walked over to the window, gazing out to his country. "You know the job of being a King is a difficult one. I had the role placed upon my shoulders after my father gave it up. The Second Trade war had destroyed his mind from all the bloodshed he'd witnessed as a King not much older than you. So the second he could discard the mantle with approval, he did so. Being a King before the age of 20 was rather hard. I relied on my advisers for years." Toma sighed, recalling the lectures he'd get.
"Thankfully this country saw peace after that awful war. So I wasn't thrown straight into a fire like my father was when his father died. Instead my position was thrown upon me far too soon, my father treating it as if it were a plague. As you can imagine this didn't help my young mental state. I'd grown so distressed that I didn't marry and have Hisui until I was in my fifties." The memory of his wedding day caused a truly happy smile to grace his face.
"I don't wish for my daughter to continue this trend of rulers that have this burden thrown upon them before they're ready. The fear I felt as both a King and a Father over the fact she could take over if I were to suddenly die kept me awake many nights." He then turned to look at Matt. "That is until you came along."
"Huh? Me? What do I have to do with this?"
"Y'know my daughter is a pretty sharp girl with a good head on her shoulders. I could tell from a young age she'd be absolutely miserable as a ruler. Without anyone to follow in the footsteps of that she could relate to, she'd be lost just as I and her grandfather were. But then you came along." Toma smiled at the teen.
"You did what I thought impossible: you gave her hope. You gave the one year-old that she was hope that if someone like you? A young boy beating up Dark Guild's and saving people, then why couldn't she do it too? The night after you left, while faint at first, I saw a true fire of determination in her small eyes. It's only grown stronger each and every day since then."
A smile befitting a proud father befell the King's face. "Now when I look at her, I no longer see someone dreading their inevitable fate. I look at my daughter and I see a young girl, raring to take on the world in order to protect others. The gift you have given not just me, but this entire country, can never hoped to be repaid."
"Woah woah woah! Slow down there dude!" Matt tried to get the King to stop. "I appreciate the words and all, but I was just someone doing another guy's job. It's nothing like what you're describing."
"View it as you may, the fact remains that your actions have at the very least helped one person better themself. Take pride in that." The King smiled as his gaze turned to Matt.
The teen opted to remain silent and take the words of the King in. 'I wonder, am I doing more good here than I ever was back home? I can barely remember any details that weren't important from back home. It's all so... fuzzy. Even the faces of those I rreember from there are beginning to fade away. Is that good or bad? Do I wanna go home or do I wanna stay? Not like life here is awful by any means. I've got a bunch of kids that for some reason look up to me like I'm someone inspirational. The adults aren't bad, just living up the last of their youth. I don't even feel homesick anymore honestly. However… that drive. That desire to return to my true home is still there. What did I even look like back home? Did... did I even have any friends? It's too damn blurry.'
"Is everything okay?" Toma asked with some concern.
"Huh? Oh I'm fine, just still kinda out of it after that fight is all." Matt tried to ease the King's mind.
"I can believe that, quite the harrowing effort." Toma easily bought the half-truth.
"By the way, what did happen to that guy?"
"God Serena? We treated his wounds and he just up and vanished by morning. I imagine he went back to Pergrande." The King placed a hand to his chin.
"I see…"
"Well, I'll leave you to recover than!" Smiling, the King exited the room.
Matt, not even realizing it before awaking, had closed his eyes and fallen back asleep.
"GODDAMNIT ALL!!" The Dragon Slayer hit the ground with his fists.
God Serena was currently on the outskirts of Fiore near Seven. It was raining rather heavily due to a nasty thunderstorm.
"HOW?! HOW COULD I LOOSE?!" He roared to no one in particular.
It just didn't make any sense. He was the strongest! He had found four Dragon Slayer Lacrima and had learned to use them all! So how in the world could some pissant Mage defeat him?!
"You'll always be weak." A voice whispered in his head.
"SHUT UP!" He screamed at the voice with all his hate.
"You'll always be weak. You'll always be weak. You'll always be weak." The voice repeated over and over in his head.
"SHUT UP DAMN YOU!!"
"You'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweakYou'llalwaysbeweak." The one voiced multiplied itself as it continued to berate the man.
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!! SO WHY?! WHY DO YOU HAUNT ME FATHER?!" Tears began to form in the corners of his eyes.
The voice eventually stopped, but only after the young man had passed out from screaming as much as he did. His fury resembling the world around him.
"Any reason as to why your mood has been like this the past few days Ultear?" Hades asked with a raised brow.
The two were currently in the library of Grimoire Heart's headquarters. For what had to have been for a week straight, Ultear had disappeared into her room only to come out a short time later with a smile on her face. For some odd reason, the girl didn't even notice the smile until it was pointed out.
"Oh it's nothing important Master Hades, just something amusing I had to watch for a short time. Don't worry, it won't be happening again." She attempted to ease the suspicion of her Master.
The old man remained silent for a moment, "Very well, as long as you remain on track to mastering Arc of Time, I care not what you do in your spare time. Just remember, we are attacking Corazón City within a week, be prepared." With that, he exited the room.
Ultear sighed and slumped in her chair a bit. "Can't even enjoy some mindless entertainment without him prying." Though she did suppose Master found it odd when she was skipping like a much younger girl. She herself didn't even notice she was doing it until Zancrow mocked her. "The nerve of him." Ultear huffed in annoyance at the thought.
Couldn't a girl be happy for her friend?
"Friend?" She said the word and it felt... foreign. Not bad by any means, just... odd. Her childhood was ruined when that woman abandoned her and then shortly afterwards she was taken in by Master Hades. The other Kin weren't anything close to what the textbook definition of "friend" was. Let alone Ultear's own version. Though... was he really a friend? They hadn't seen or talked to each other in years after all. But somehow whenever Ultear thought back to her first interaction with someone her own age not seeing her as the daughter of the woman she resents, an alien feeling of warmness worms it's way into her heart. She'd certainly shared more kind words with him than anyone else besides Master Hades, but her relationship with him was far more professional than personal.
To most people, only having one friend at the age of 13 would be a bad thing. Though for Ultear, she didn't mind it as long as the quality of the friendship was good enough.
"I wonder when I'll see him again?" The girl absentmindedly thought out loud before getting back to studying her Magic. The vague thought of meeting with Matt again swimming in her mind more prominently now.
"Damn!" Jellal kicked over a nearby table. He'd recently had development of the Tower of Heaven reach the 90% mark, however he hit a snag with the R-System: the neccessary mana to power it.
It was certainly frustrating. Initially he'd assumed the hard part would be simply building the accursed tower to revive Zeref. Unfortunately he'd failed to take into account the magnitude of neccessary Magic Power to trigger the Ethernano within.
"Calm down Jellal, just go over the strongest spells you know of." The bluenette sighed and took a seat. "Abyss Break? No, the neccessary scale of it would be far too much for myself to do. Sema? No, it's a physical object, I'd just damage the tower." He racked his brain for an answer. "What's an incredibly powerful magic that doesn't have physical mass?" The twelve year-old looked to the sky in thought.
"Wait." The sky? His eyes widened. "That could work, but how would I even get access to it?" He placed a hand to his chin for a moment. "I doubt I could infiltrate the Council, my moves would be too monitored." However something about what he just said struck him. "Hold on, Jellal can't infiltrate the castle." A sinister smile made it's way to his face. "But prehaps someone else could." He immediately made his way to the library housed in the tower for a specific book on a certain magic.
"Hoh? So their side has chosen their champion eh?" A figure sat at the table of a local diner. In his hands was the recent newspaper regarding the Tournament.
"Shall I begin the steps to my move then?" He smirked.
A waitress approached the table he sat it with a tray of coffee.
"Would you like any sugar or cream with your coffee sir?" She set the items on the table.
"Two sugar cubes and three teaspoons of cream if you'd be so kind." He gently smiled at the woman, getting a slight blush from her.
After she'd left, he enjoyed a sip of the drink. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"I better go pay an old friend a visit then."
"Remind me again Arcadios, why the hell do I attend these things?" Matt sighed as he adjusted the bowtie of his suit. 'I swear these damn things are my rival or something.'
"Well, you've only attended two of these and both of them were thrown in your honor." The knight reasoned. Since Matt had last seen him, the man had a goatee going and allowed his hair to grow out more.
"And once again I'm reminded why I dislike these things." He grumbled as he finally got the fashionable noose just right.
"Come now Matt-dono, enjoy yourself. Not every day you win something to determine the best young mage on the continent!" Jura smiled at the teen while snacking on the assorted cheeses. Even the big guy was weak to small cubed cheese.
"Sure, and the last time this happened was because I was the "Hero of Fiore", or whatever the tabloids called me." Matt rolled his eyes.
"Now it's the King of Games." Arcadios reminded him.
"Gonna have to nail Date for that." Matt made a mental note.
"Oh I think that's a fitting nickname. After all you're still undefeated in the regional game scene. I guess that includes fighting tournaments as well now." Jura spoke after swallowing another handful of dairy goodness.
"Is another one of these happening next year? I fear for the cities infrastructure if so…" Arcadios spoke with visible worry.
"Ah don't get your chainmail in a twist. The King said the tournament would be on indefinite hiatus." Matt finally got to some of the snacks himself.
"Oh? Did he say why?" The knight inquired for info.
"Well he felt the quality of it was lacking a bit. Complications having contestants across the continent, he not having any real reason to be there, not enough variety. He wants to go back to the drawing board before doing another one of these." He spoke before enjoying some of the ham.
"I see, I guess that makes sense in retrospect." Jura nodded.
"By the way you two." Arcadios addressed the two mages. "Please don't eat all of the food before the guests get any." He spoke with a heavy eye twitch.
"Aren't you the one who told me this was in my honor?" Matt spoke with a hand over his mouth.
Jura couldn't respond due to stuffing his cheeks like a squirrel out of fear he'd be barred from food until the party was over.
Arcadios just sighed at the sight of the two. One was an adolescent and the other was an adult, yet here they are without a care in the world.
"Big Brother!" The voice of a small girl caught Matt's attention.
Princess Hisui had run over to the teen with a large smile.
"P-princess?! Weren't you supposed to come out with your father?!" Arcadios quietly shouted.
"But I wanted to see Big Brother now." The four year-old pouted.
"Hey kid, still planning world domination?" Matt squatted down and smiled.
"Yup! I even recruited the aliens to my cause!" She maliciously smiled.
"Gasp! You villain! How did you learn their language?" Matt put a hand to his heart in shock.
"Nanu nanu." The Princess said making the familiar Star Trek hand sign. Okay, so may~be she snuck in the past few days to see Matt in his room. And may~be he showed her some of the fun things he still remembered from his old world.
The knight was dumbfounded by the conversation while Jura chuckled.
"So Makky, how's the guild doing?" Yajima asked his old friend as they sat off to the side with alcohol.
"Oh same ol' same ol', we got quite a few new youngsters lately. Makes me happy to see so many young people take such a profound interest in magic." The old man took a swig from his bottle.
"I'm glad we can entrust to future to such people." Yajima nodded as he too drank from his own bottle.
"Hopefully it means I can retire soon." Makarov spoke with some growing redness on his face.
"Oh? That confident in Laxus?" Yajima raised a brow, also getting red in the face.
"Goodness no! That youngster still haz a loooong way to go before I make him mashter." His words started to slur a bit.
"Then who'd ya haf in mind?" The other older man's words also slurred.
"Not Gildarts, thafs for sure…" The half-empty bottle was shook as Makarov pointed it at Yajima, mistaking it for his hand. Thankfully his thumb was over the hole.
"Then who?"
"I dunno, maybe Maff if he's shtill arounf." Another big swig was taken.
"Ohhhhh." Yajima tried to nod, but it was moreso him rocking his head very slowly up and down.
"Are those two gonna be okay?" Arcadios pointed out the Councilman and Guild Master.
Matt sighed as he stood with Hisui riding on his shoulders. "They'll be fine. Gramps is a happy drunk that holds his alcohol better than he looks." He had to somewhat raise his voice over Hisui laughing and raising her arms in glee. Some nobles wanted to make comments on her attitude, but when they saw who she was playing with, those thoughts were instantly killed out of fear.
"Well at least it's not like everyone here is a mage." Arcadios sighed out.
"You'd have to be absolutely nuts to invite nothing but guild mages here. They'd wreck the place and then some." Matt scoffed at that absurd idea. Just what kind of idiot does that?
In his personal room getting ready for the party, the King suddenly sneezed.
"Hey Big Brother! Let's go over there and play!" Hisui tugged on Matt's hair as she piloted him out to the garden.
"As much as it pains me to see the Princess be so carefree, it also makes me happy seeing her smile like that. Especially after… recent news." Arcadios muttered that last part out very quietly.
"Did you say something?" Jura raised a brow at the knight.
"Nothing important." He quickly responded with. Jura shrugged and continued to enjoy the delicious food. If he hadn't been though, he would've seen the sad eyes of Arcadios.
In the busy halls of the Central Rune Knight Headquarters in Fiore, Captain Sarutobi was as he normally is: signing mountains of paperwork.
"I swear, these mages have it easy." He groaned as he finished off the last pile of the evening. The tournament had caused his usual amounts of accursed documentation to skyrocket at an absurd rate.
Thankfully, the mundane act was broken by the sounds of knocking at his door.
"Enter." The man adjusted himself to seem more professional.
In came a young white-haired man dressed in the typical Rune Knight Garb a Captain wore. His face was draped with an expression of weariness.
"Ah, Ken." Sarutobi smiled at his fellow Captain, but took notice of his demeanor. "What brings you here? Is there something amiss on the Eastern side of the country?"
"No, I'm afraid it's something much more... concerning." The Captain sighed and took a seat across from his friend. "I come bearing news that's of the highest classification."
Immediately Sarutobi's face scrunched up into a more serious one as he nodded at the young man to continue.
"Councilman Hogg has gone missing."
Sarutobi's eyes widened slightly at that information, this was far more serious than he'd thought.
"When?" A short, simple question escaped his lips.
"Shortly after departing from the Capital. Some knights are currently heading to his secondary residence in Seven to see if he fled the country."
"I see."
No matter how one looked at it, any of the possibilities were not good. Dead, turned traitor or kidnapped are all bad scenarios for countless reasons that needn't be expanded upon.
The major question for now is: where is the Councilman?
"Man it feels good to be walking like normal again." Matt stood and stretched as he just exited the carriage.
After the party three days ago, he'd left for Era early in the morning to make it as soon as possible. Makarov had already left to return back to Magnolia and Jura had already left before him.
Era was a nice place, located by the western mountains of the country, it was a pretty isolated place. The most distinct sight being a large building atop a large central pillar. It honestly resembled a trimmed mountain with a cut top. Some pathways were carved into the mountainside which is where Matt was currently walking.
'Man it's a good thing I'm fit. Otherwise walking up this thing would suck.' He grimaced at the idea of doing this in his past life. Something told him being physically active wasn't a major concern back then.
After another ten minutes of walking, he finally reached the top. Two Rune Knights guarded the door, but quickly allowed Matt to pass when he showed his Guild Stamp.
The inside of the building was frankly gorgeous. Marble everything with intricate art in the ceiling and beautiful tiles on the floor. Hell even the waiting room furniture looked like it came from the King's castle.
Matt approached the frog receptionist.
"Hello I'm-"
"Matthew Atlas, yes I know. Councilman Dorma will be with you momentarily, please have a seat." They said all of that without even looking Matt in the eye.
Tick marks appeared on the teens head as he grumpily made his way to a couch. The softness of it easing his anger, just a bit though. After a moment, someone that could pass as a Gandalf cosplayer in the wrong clothes entered the room.
"Councilman Doma?" Matt asked the man who nodded and gestured for the teen to follow.
"There are a few rules we must go over first before we actually enter the Library." At Matt's nod he continued. "First, I must approve of the book you wish to take. The truly dangerous books are stored somewhere else, but it's just a precaution to make sure nothing we may need in the future is gone." The duo approached what looked to be a large doorway guarded by two heavily armed Rune Knights. "Second, you may only take three books. If we find more are gone than what was approved of, the consequences will be dire."
"Of course." Matt spoke in a way that made it seem like said stipulation was obvious.
As they approached, the guards stopped Matt and placed handcuffs on him.
"Magic Sealing Cuffs?" He looked to the Councilman with a raised brow.
"The last rule is just a precaution." The large doors opened. "Come." The two descended a large staircase.
Matt noticed numbers on the wall.
"You have multiple basement floors?"
"Each basement floor is a containment area. The top one is the one we are heading to."
"So I assume the deeper you go the nastier the things you guys keep here get?" Matt rationalized as the duo walked down the stairs.
"Indeed, hence why I said the truly malicious books were kept elsewhere."
'Makes sense. As the governing force over Mages they'd likely keep the real nasty stuff contained so no one else can grab it.' Matt reasoned as they reached a large door on a flat section of the incredibly long staircase.
Gran Doma then opened the doors revealing an impossibly massive room filled with bookcases.
"Whoa." Matt spoke his awe out loud as he gazed around. There had to of been tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of books on the shelves that made up the walls and littered the floor.
"Now then." The Councilman approached an oddly slanted pillar before it beamed to life with an odd magic. "Any books come to mind?"
"Is that Archive Magic?"
"Indeed, we do have a system for all these books you know? It'd be a challenge for anyone to find something specific here manually."
Matt nodded as he began to think over his options. 'Best to lead in with something less suspicious.' He tgought before speaking, "How about Runes?"
"I'll need something a bit more specific, I don't wish to spend a week in this room." The Councilman sighed.
"... Let's try really old and really new ones." Most of the Guild's library had magic books around a hundred years old, so perhaps something even older or newer could help.
Doma typed in something to the terminal. Four books came flying out from their places and were set on a nearby table.
"The top three are more modern interpretations of Runic magic within the past 20 years. Their specifics are quite narrow. The bottom book is a collection of the most ancient Runes we have found on the continent."
Matt scanned over the contents of the top three. 'Eh, not really what I need. Those Runes are basically the exact same as the ones that didn't work. Just more streamlined for easier use.'
However the bottom book bore incredible fruit. 'These Runes. I recognize them a bit. Parts of them, if not the whole thing, are used in more complex Runes, which means these must be Fundamental Runes!'
The reason why no other runes seemed to work for Matt is because Replication Magic is old. As in it's documented as one of the first 100 Magics still used by modern Wizards, discounting Lost and Forbidden Magic of course. Due to this, the magic had never been updated in some manner like basic elemental magic and was instead just reprinted over and over again. However, runic magic was just as old. Meaning these ones should work just fine for what Matt needs them for.
"This bottom one has a lot of promise." Matt grabbed the book.
"Truly?" Doma seemed a little surprised by that. "Well, it matters not. Those Runes are so ancient that they haven't been sighted once in the Council's 200 year history. Taking it shouldn't pose any worries." Doma stated as Matt put it to the side as the other three books returned to their spots.
"Now then, any other ideas?"
"…" Matt remained silent for a moment. "Teleportation Magic?"
Doma typed it in and only one book came out.
"That's a book primarily on the specifics of teleporting instantly, be it object or person."
Matt scanned it and sighed. "No, sorry, it's not what I'm looking for." He hid the slightly defeated tone in his voice.
The book was recalled.
"How about Dimensional Magic?" A hail mary was thrown out by the teen.
Doma typed into the console and shook his head. "Unfortunately there's nothing of that sort in this library."
A rather cruel idea rooted itself in Matt's mind as he deciphered what the Councilman meant, but he quickly suppressed it.
Matt gazed down, knowing any option related to returning home was fruitless. So, he had a rather silly idea come to him.
"How about anything on Fairies?"
"Fairies?"
Matt shrugged, "It's my Guild's eternal adventure to find them after all."
Doma looked at him oddly before typing it in. Surprisingly, a book did come out.
"That book is… odd to say the least. It's the writings of a man from over a thousand years ago who claimed he spoke the language of Fairies. Said language is written within its confines."
Matt looked it over and shrugged. "Sure, I'll take it." Doma didn't even try to justify why it was okay for him to take it.
"Now then, you have one choice left."
The teen went deep into thought. 'These runes should vastly expand my arsenal. The Fairy Language is just for fun. Maybe I should get something else I can work on?'
"You got any recommendations?" He genuinely asked the old man.
"Hmm. Well if by what I've seen of your abilities is anything to go by, you lack a Magic that allows you close combat capabilities. Weapons are useful, but if a foe is resistant to them or is able to counter them, then you'd be defenseless. Your Spirits are very strong, but only relying on them for melee combat is a gamble as they still require their catalyst to be brought out…" Something seemed to come to the Councilman's mind as he typed something into the screen.
A single book placed itself on the table.
"I think you'll find that Magic in particular to be rather… interesting based on your recent history." Doma stroked his beard.
Matt looked over the book as his expression turned into one of slight shock.
"Yeah, I think I'll definitely have a use for this. Thanks for the recommendation Councilman." He nodded at the old man.
"Of course, preserving and allowing the future of Magecraft to grow and flourish is the job of the Council after all." He slowly stroked his long beard while speaking.
Matt grabbed the three books as the duo made their way out.
"By the way, out of curiosity, would God Serena have gotten this treatment if he had won?"
"Heavens no. We somewhat made a mistake with him." Gran Doma grimaced.
"How so?"
"Well for the tournament we tried to invite more... mentally sound individuals. It seems a few slipped under the radar though."
"Ya got that right." Matt agreed as he thought back to his last two opponents. Granted Xanxo was just a battle freak unlike any other, no real malice in him. God Serena though, Matt could physically feel his desire to kill in that fight.
Once back to the stairwells entrance, Matt had his Cuffs removed.
"Again, thank you for this gift Councilman." Matt bowed.
"You're quite welcome young man. Make sure you use that magic responsibly now."
"Of course. Give my regards to Councilman Yajima." He waved goodbye as he walked off, new seeds of his growth in hand.
Xanxo leaned on the railing of the ship, looking out to the seemingly endless blue before his eyes.
"Oi, Xanxo, what the hell is up with you?" Squall asked as he approached.
"Hey Squall." He asked still looking out at the ocean.
"What?"
"What do you think about guilds?"
"The hell sparked that idea?" The white haired man recoiled in surprise.
"Just answer the damn question." He furrowed his brows.
"Dunno, never been in one." Squall shrugged as he leaned on the railing too.
The pair remained silent for a moment.
"I think I wanna join one." Xanxo spoke with slight determination.
Squall looked over at the man in genuine shock. "Who the hell are you and what did you do with Xanxo?"
"Do you want me to kill you?"
After about a week of traveling, Matt finally returned to the guild after being gone for what felt like forever.
"I'm back…" He suppressed a yawn. Traveling in a cramped carriage sucks for a long period of time.
"Fight me!" Natsu tackled the teen immediately. When he looked up excitedly and saw the horrifying expression on Matt's face, the boy knew then that he fucked up.
Matt lifted the boy and power bombed him through a table. Natsu twitched as a comedic bump appeared on his head and his soul tried to exit through his mouth.
"That's what you get flame brain!" Gray laughed, holding his stomach.
"Gray, your clothes." Cana dryly spoke.
"How in the?!" Gray immediately scrambled to find his clothes.
Erza sighed at the sight before approaching the teen. "Welcome back Matt."
"Good to see ya squirt" He ruffled her hair.
"Please don't call me that." She faintly pouted.
"Hey! The man of the hour is back!" Macao cheered.
"You guys know what that means!" Wakaba addressed the guild.
"Oh no." Matt sighed out.
"""PARTY!!!""" As usual, Fairy Tail broke out into their usual shindig of celebrating whenever the faintest reason popped up.
Matt looked around. "Anyone see where Kagura is?" Wasn't like her to not be around.
"She went into your room a minute ago. Don't have the faintest reason why." Erza spoke before walking off to break up another fight between Gray and Natsu.
Matt then entered his room to find Kagura sitting on his bed. He closed the door.
"Hey, what's going on?" The teen asked as he approached the girl.
Kagura looked away from him with her expression still unreadable.
"Kagura, you know you can talk to me about anything right?" Matt spoke in a worried tone.
"Big Brother is stupid." She hit his arm.
"Ow. What was that for?" He asked rubbing the spot, the girl hit harder than you'd expect.
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She kept hitting him until he finally caught her hands.
"What's wrong?" His words a mix of confusion and concern.
Tears formed in her eyes as she immediately hugged him, Matt returned the gesture somewhat awkwardly, not quite knowing why she was like this.
"When. When you fought that Bully." She spoke between sniffles. "We thought. We thought you had died."
'Oh. Oh that.' Matt's face grimaced as he recalled that move. Sure it was completely unexpected, but that was the point.
He grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye.
"Kagura I am so sorry for that. I wasn't thinking about how'd that look to everyone else. I'm so sorry you had to see that especially." He knew why she was like this now. It's one thing to have everyone you ever loved killed and enslaved, and its another thing to think the person you immediately bonded to after that is dead. Like having your heart broken and put back together, only for the glue to rot and make it all fall apart once again.
"I promise I'll never do something like that again."
The girl sniffed. "Pinky promise." She held out her pinky finger.
Matt smiled as he returned the gesture.
"Big Brother promises he'll stop being stupid."
"You better." She wiped her tears.
"C'mere." He hugged the girl once again. She returned the gesture very willingly.
Once they broke apart he stood and held out his hand.
"Now come on, let's go out there with everyone." He smiled at her.
"Yeah!" She smiled the kind of smile that warms the heart as she took Matt's hand and walked out to see everyone else in Fairy Tail.
'Maybe… this place isn't so bad after all.'
The man who enjoyed his coffee with a pair of sugar cubes and three teaspoons of creamer whistled in the house he walked around.
"Wow, you certainly have a knack for the finer arts." He gazed around at the expensive paintings and knick knacks that littered the home.
"Then again blood money does go quite far."
He smiled as he entered the kitchen.
"Oh my!" He gaped at the object atop the counter.
"Is that an old record player? Goodness me these are quite rare nowadays." He approached the item and gazed at the selection. One album caught the man's eye as he excitedly pulled it out and placed it on the device before lowering the needle.
A violin crescendo filled the nearly vacant house. The man did a light dance and sway to the piece as he lost himself to the rather fierce song.
"Magnificent isn't it?" He ceased and approached an area by the windows.
"Slovat's third symphony. He called it the Reconquista as a show of support to Caelum who'd had their island's seized by foreign invaders."
The man closed the binds to the room, dimming the sunlight tremendously.
"Quite fitting wouldn't you say? A man giving a war song to those seeking to reclaim what is rightfully theirs." He turned his head to look at the other figure in the room.
"MMMFMFMFM" Councilman Hogg cried out in terror. He was bound and gagged to a chair rather crudely. Sweat poured down his face and tears welled in the corners of his eyes. He gazed at the man in pure, unadulterated terror.
"Now now Councilman, it's quite rude to look at a guest in that manner." He chided the older man.
This man smirked and squatted in front of Hogg.
"I simply wish to know where Naraka is. Tell me, and you'll be set free from your bindings." He reassured the man in a comforting tone.
Hogg nodded vigorously as the man pulled out a pen and map. The pen went in Hogg's mouth and he marked the area on the map where Naraka was.
"See? Look at what you can accomplish when you just listen." He smiled and patted the man's shoulder proudly.
Hogg looked at the man with pleading eyes.
"Yes yes, I did say I'd free you if you complied." He nodded and smiled, his hand still on Hogg's shoudler.
"However, I do have to say you're rather pathetic." Councilman Hogg's gaze widened as the man stared into his eyes.
"You're just as corrupt as the Chairman that's in Tartaros' pocket."
Hogg looked at him in pure shock.
"You've funded around thirty civil wars in your seventy year tenure as a Chairman. Let's not forget the child solider program you funded and founded with the former head of the Bureau of Magical Development. Oh, and we can't discard the fact you tried to sell the blueprints to Etherion to a foreign nation."
The feeling of dread and terror began to consume Hogg as the man's grip of his shoulder remained as firm as a statue.
"But bar none, your most unforgivable act: was funding Bosco's slave trade."
No matter what, the man's cordial smile never left his face as he spoke of these heinous, inhumane crimes.
The duo remained silent for what would appear to be an eternity. Not even the birds or people outside could affect the silent tension of the room.
The man smiled and patted Hogg's shoulder.
"I am a man of my word though." He smiled and nodded at the Councilman. "I'll set you free." His other hand went on the free shoulder of Hogg. The man's smile not once even changing.
.
.
.
"It was wonderful seeing you again Hogg, I hope you have a nice day." He smiled and stopped just short of exiting. "Oh! I also hope you enjoy the show I plan to put on." With that, he exited the premises.
As he walked out he noticed an odd feeling in the air.
"Oh? Is someone using little old me for a magic trick?" The man smiled. "Well it doesn't matter, nothing will stop me now." He whistled a tune as he walked off.
When Rune Knights arrived to the home of the missing Councilman, they were greeted by the sight of the formerly spotless kitchen painted in the gore of the Councilman. Not even a trace of a body was left in the chair as every nook and cranny in just the kitchen alone was painted red.
The only thing not covered in what was assumed to be Councilman Hogg, was the record player. Reconquista had never ceased playing the entire time.
This man had at long last set the stage he's so desperately desired. His actors have been chosen with the absolute highest scrutiny. The Grips are set and ready to go. All that was needed now, was an audience for the show.
And then?
The curtain that would change everything could finally rise.
And this arc is a wrap!
Whew boy, we've been here for a bit haven't we? 15 chapters and over 100 thousand words. And to think, this is only the first of the six arcs that'll make up pre-canon. We've got a ways to go people, but I promise that if you stick with me, I'll stick with you, and we will get there.
Also, just as a warning, and I'm being genuine here, the 4th and 6th arcs are FUCKED. They will absolutely solidify why I chose an M-rating for this series and believe me when I saw I will make full use of the freedoms it gives me.
Now that I've instilled looming dread over all of you, let's discuss the chapter!
First up on the menu of discussion was the aftermath of Matt vs. Serena. To Matt the victory is bittersweet as Serena did primarily do himself in at the end. He's still got a ways to go in terms of his growth, but things will be different next time. I'm already excited to write the rematch an eternity down the line.
We also got quite a few characters old and new popping up this chapter as well. Ultear was obviously happy with the tournaments outcome as she and the Kin grow in strength and continue searching for the Keys. Jellal is in the starting stages of the plan we all know very well. Serena is having an existential crisis as his past continues to haunt him. Our favorite slasher smiler is contemplating his future as a mage. Sarutobi is preparing himself for the rough storm brewing on the horizon.
Then we have this mysterious man that's about to change everything. Who is he? Why is he doing this? Just how strong is he? Questions that will all be answered in due time. But ya know, that place's name is pretty familiar. I wonder where it was seen before?
Matt is slowly but surely beginning to loose the threads of his home to the sands of time after over eight years. Will he find a way home? Will he become nothing but a wandering phantom, endlessly chasing its past? Or will he accept his new home? I suppose such things will take time to truly answer.
As for Matt's magic, many of you finally have your answer as to why he was only making basic weapons and nothing crazy. I always did wonder what the first truly defined magics were, so one of them being what should have been something for replacing lost items or mundane things makes sense to be old and very basic in theory. Fundamental Runes will absolutely kickstart his new growth cycle and I'm very excited to finally ramp up the destruction and strategies of future fights. As for this new magic he has to toy around with, you'll see what it is in due time. Personally it's from a branch of a criminally underutilized magic that's should have had a bigger role. Also, if you know your lore, you'll probably have a solid idea as to the type of magic, but not the specific aspect.
Also, this is absolutely it, I'm putting my foot down. Matt will no longer gain any new combat magics at all. From here on out it's all about growth and evolution with his tools. IF and that's a big one, he learns anything new, it'll just be quality of life stuff like how he knows Requip for convenience.
The next chapter will have another pretty significant change from canon that I'm sure many of you will be interested in. We'll also see the slowly budding fruits of Matt's new growth.
One last thing before I close off this chapter and a bit of real talk: with the last chapter this story hit over 100 followers. This may not seem like a lot to most people since tons and tons of stories have double or even triple that number from this series alone. To me however, it means the absolute world. I don't claim to be a good, or even a decent writer. I always get extremely anxious whenever I put out a new chapter as I constantly wonder if its the one that bombs and no one likes, worst-case scenario shit. So all this support is just invaluable for my drive to press on.
I strive as an author/creator/entertainer to make something I'm proud of and to challenge myself. I also strive to create content that challenges my readers too. I want to make them cry, I want to make them laugh, I want to make them think, I want to make them feel. Good media can exist and not be complex at all like a lot of basic Shonen. However it's the truly great and timeless works that make us think, that make us contemplate our views and cause an emotional reaction that we will always cherish and remember. I'm absolutely not saying this series is one of those, not even fucking close. But I want to improve to eventually reach those kinds of levels. It's a very long uphill battle, but as long as people want to see what I make, I'm determined to climb it.
Sorry if that got kinda rambly, I just had a lot I wanted to say. I doubt many of you even read my author notes. The TLDR is: thank you so much, I hope I can improve even more as a writer as time goes on.
I had also mentioned a crossover story I was working on a bit ago. Unfortunately I've hit a snag in wording and presentation that's driving me absolutely insane. So I'm gonna push that story back for now. If anyone maybe wants to help or beta for it, PM me if you want to. I'd rather have someone that at least likes my writing take a look at it than someone that's a complete blank slate. It's another OC fic since that's just my schtick... oh god that rhymed. Anyways, it's a DxD-meets-Nasuverse fic, (yes, that means Tsukihime, KnK, Mahoyo, Notes, Fate, etc.), with a pure human MC that won't reincarnate and has wacky, life threatening shenanigans with the various mythologies. There's a few other surprises, but I'd like to keep it, y'know, a surprise for the general audience.
However! I do actually have another fic I'm pretty eager to start writing the rough drafts for after I first played and quickly Platinumd the game recently. It'll defintely end up being shorter than this, so I don't mind starting it probably after the next arc ends, I'll keep you all posted.
As for what it is? Well, wouldn't you all say the idea is interesting? What idea do I mean? Well isn't it obvious?
.
.
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Becoming as god.
With all of that said and done: I bid you all adieu.
