AN: Hey everyone. Welcome to the fifth story in my seven day release.
This idea is based on an OC and NOT and SI. So no future memories of the anime and stuff.
The idea is that the MC joins the guild right as the 7 year gap begins. I'm not sure just how much I would expand inside the 7 year gap, or if I would speed through the years to get to the canon timeline. I'll just let the writing guide me on this one.
WARNING: I didn't finish this chap. Actually, I didn't really finish this one or the next two I'll post. But they still count for "Unfinished things." They are enough to give you an idea of what your reading, between 2K – 10K in length.
Enjoy.
Story start:
Chapter 1:
"You have tremendous potential boy."
A young teen looked up from where he kneeled before a grave. A blank expression hiding his grief and darker thoughts.
An older balding man met his gaze with a stern elderly look that made many feel as if they were being seen through.
The young teen turned his head away to look back at the grave.
"My magic."
His voice was hoarse.
The old man nodded from his side.
"Yes, you can do great things with it. Great or terrible things."
The statement was said as fact rather a question, as if the old man knew where the young teens thoughts were going.
The young teen's hands clenched in frustration.
"It doesn't matter. My enemy has been slain. I owe you much."
With his words said he seemed to slump slightly and unclench his hands.
The old man hummed.
"I don't believe you owe me at all boy. And that wasn't the only dark guild around. They were nothing more than low grade thugs stumbling on things they shouldn't have."
The old man sighed and looked at the sky.
"The world is a beautiful place, with things far beyond our comprehension. And humans are at the center of that. A race that holds the infinite potential for love and hate in equal measure. Light and dark are simply two sides of the same coin.
Where there is light, there will be darkness and vice versa."
The young teen looked back.
"And in between are many shades of grey. Good and bad are subjective to the people in question. In the defense of life you still must do things that will otherwise seem evil.
Or were your actions today something you believe were righteous?"
The old man seemed to age before his eyes as he responded.
"Indeed. You are very wise for one so young. Many choose to see life through their own lens, denying the reality of their actions from other views. It is wisdom that teaches us to see more. To look beyond a singular view.
I don't see my actions as righteous, but neither do I weep for the lives I have taken in pursuit of what I deemed right.
I do not aim to take lives, but the one who takes action to take away the freedom of those who have done no harm have made their choice.
As have I.
As shall you have to."
The young teens eyes sharpened.
"Is that the point of this discussion master Makarov?"
Makorov chuckled.
"I am not your guild master boy, no need for honorifics."
Then his eyes matched the young ones in intensity.
"But yes, the point is that I want you to realize the actions you take moving forward will shape your life and reality. You have awoken great power at the cost of great grief."
His eyes trailed to the gravestones.
"So many young ones, so eager to prove themselves, so quick to rush into the fires of life. But how can one grow without challenge?
No, I do not intend to impede you young William.
I wish to advise you to stay true to yourself. To think before you act. And to be ready to face the consequences of your actions, no matter if it's only you left to judge yourself.
After all, we are always the best critiques or liars of ourselves."
Will looked away from the piercing eyes of the wise old man to the palms of his hands.
Various thoughts crossing his mind and he pondered.
Minutes passed in simple silence, Makarov giving him all the time he needed.
And when he spoke, it was the words of young teen full of grief and confusion, unsure of where to go from that point and standing at a precipice with his next step being the great unknown.
"What would you have me do Makarov?"
Makarov's face broke out into a wide smile.
"Well you could always join my family. Tell me, do you think Fairies have tails?"
*Line Break*
Cool sapphire eyes snapped open beneath bangs of dark black hair as Will woke from his dream.
'Hm.. so it was that dream again.'
Sitting up from where he laid back in a booth, Will rose his arms and stretched, popping his back with a satisfying breath.
"Mmmnn…"
"Oh, good morning Will. The master said he wanted to speak to you when you woke up."
Will rubbed his eyes and yawned as he turned and eyed up the young woman who spoke to him.
A warm if shy smile on her face framed with short purple hair. A color he really enjoyed.
"Got it Kinana, thanks."
His voice was low and cool but clearly heard and Kinana smiled at him before moving on to clear some dishes from an empty booth.
Will turned his gaze from her to the rest of his location.
His guild house. The Fairy Tail guild house.
It wasn't the massive castle like tavern the guild held a year ago.
There wasn't a need or support to use such a building.
But it wasn't some run down tavern on the edge of the town like it could have been.
Fairy Tail had fallen on tough times.
The third master, master Makarov, along with all 3 S-class mages and the top fifteen mages of the guild had all vanished nearly a year ago.
The survivors said they disappeared along with Tenrou island when Acnologia attacked around a year earlier.
Those who were left behind obviously didn't believe it at first but as the months passed and reality became grimmer, those who held out hope had shrunk.
The guild was around eighty members strong before that day. With the top twenty gone, the jobs the guild could take on shrunk dramatically.
For assorted reasons, whether from depression, a change in occupation, or whatever reasons, another forty or so members had trickled out over the months.
Fairy Tail, the guild that was at the very top a year before was now a shell of itself with only around fifteen members left. But those who were left were the holdouts who never stopped believing their friends were alive and would return.
They were the ones who were family to death and would support each other.
But hope doesn't pay the bills.
That's a cruel fact of reality.
Macao and Wakaba were the strongest and oldest of the bunch left and they were low A class mages at best.
They might have been stronger at one point but age and depression took their toll on the two.
Macao took on the guild master position with Wakaba his advisor, trying their best to keep things rolling.
Alzack and Bisca were specialty type mages and couldn't take on to much without getting worn out. Plus they were spending more and more time together, seemingly finally tying a knot on their relationship from what many have said.
Max and Warren had been trying to figure out ways to make money outside quests, the two were willing to fight like the best but didn't have the passion to go on quests like others.
Laki, Reedus, Vijeeter, and Nab were various grades of B class mages and again were not direct combat types despite being more than happy to jump into combat.
Hell, anyone in the guild was ready to punch someone's teeth out if needed even if they weren't trigger happy.
The others left like Kinana and a few others helped as being the guild waitress, cook, and so on.
And then there was himself.
Will had only entered the guild in December of 784, a bare week or so before the top of the guild left for Tenrou island, greeting and seeing off the mages with such renown reputations.
It took him a year to close up things back in his home town and get a handle on his newly discovered magic before he sought out Makarov to follow his advice and join Fairy Tail.
More out of a debt of honor than a real desire to join the specific guild, but for his ardent desire, he had to join a guild anyway so he didn't mind.
When the news came out, he was saddened but not truly depressed like the others.
Whether the others lived or had passed he had no idea but having finished pushing through his own grief not long before, he was more ready to face life for what it was.
And as others left the guild, he stayed.
Both to pay back his debt to Makarov and because he could fulfill his desire just fine from Fairy Tail as he could from any other guild.
Where others fell to depression or grief, he stood strong.
He was barely B class as a mage when he joined a year before at the age of sixteen.
Quest after quest was completed by him.
When the world thought Fairy Tail was done he made a name for himself.
A single pillar shoving itself under the falling weight of Fairy Tail and revitalizing some of it's members.
If the new blood could do it what the hell were they to say about themselves?
So Fairy Tail regained a semblance of strength even in it's diminished state.
They were smaller, weaker, but united and out of the red.
They moved to a comfortable bar inside Magnolia and operated from it just fine. It was a nice if small bar with a few rooms for the masters office and a few places to rest for guild members.
The guild still retained ownership of the main guild house and thanks to some of the work Freed left behind, the security on the guild house was tight with his rune magic.
Members could still go over and use the guild library if needed but the building was far to large to use for the members we had.
To costly and to many hurt feelings.
Hence the current location.
Even the female dorm house, Fairy Hills, was closed but still owned by the guild.
Bisca moved in with Alzack and it just wasn't worth the money to work for the two remaining women who found apartments elsewhere.
The guild just didn't have the funds for it.
Will alone brought in the most money from his quests. After a year of demanding work he was low A class as a mage and took on quests others didn't want to.
After all, Fiore wasn't as stable or safe as it was a year before.
Getting up from his seat, Will stretched again and grabbed his odachi before placing it in it's place on his hip.
Will was a tall young man. At the age of seventeen he was just over six feet.
His shoulders were broad and his body firm but thin and compact rather than bulky.
A dark silver with purple lining kimono like form fitting robes wrapped around his torso, flowing over his tough combat pants and reaching the tops of his boots. His Odachi hung from his hip, prominent with it's black colored sheath, silver lining, and a purple string hanging from the pommel.
His skin was fair but not overly pale, giving him a healthy and charming quality that many women were envious over.
His black hair framed his face with a thin ponytail hanging from his nape and cool sapphire eyes looking out from his face.
He was overall a very handsome and well kept young man but his general aura of stoicism kept people from approaching him unnecessarily.
Unless you were a member of Fairy Tail anyway. They didn't really seem to care for character traits like that.
"Hey Will, how you been man?"
Will turned to another booth he passed by and nodded his head at Max, the resident sand mage.
"Good. You?"
"Getting better, the merchant life is hard stuff but I'm getting there. Soon we will have merchandise to sell and I can start supplying the guild with better equipment and supplies."
"Mn, congratulations."
Max chuckled at the frank tone but didn't take it to heart.
"Thanks man. I'll let you get back to things but don't push yourself to hard alright? Your quest taking speed is insane, don't crash on us."
Will sent him a small smile and nod.
"Will do. Until next time."
Max waved as he Will left.
That's how most interactions went with the members around.
The guild considered him family as he stuck around and helped tremendously during the past year, but there was always a certain line.
A certain connection he didn't share with those who overcame numerous hardships together. No matter how no one mentioned it, it was there.
But it wasn't negative, it just was, and he didn't mind. They were friends and allies.
Will stopped before the quest board and looked over the A class requests.
The guild didn't get nearly as many as it did before but there was enough for him to choose from.
Requests for A class ranged from monster extermination to dark guild elimination and to specific bounties on dark mages.
If there was any substantial change that happened in the kingdom of Fiore during the last year, it was the laws views on dark mages.
After the quick collapse of two of three pillars of the Balam alliance, the dark guilds fell into chaos and disorder.
And then with the news that the main mages behind the take down of those guilds disappearing, it caused a lot of issues.
Without a united leadership, dark guilds from low to high grades of danger started going all out throughout the kingdom and the mages of other guilds took a hard beating trying to contain them.
It got bad enough that even the nearby nations put pressure on Fiore to contain the issue as it was crossing borders to cause issues for them.
With great reluctance on his part, the king of Fiore lifted the ban on taking the lives of dark mages. If a mage was part of a dark guild and committed crimes against the nation, their life was in the hands of whoever brought them down. Dead or alive was the new status quo when dealing with dark mages.
It caused issues for many but considering the rest of Ishgar had always acted that way, it was just Fiore left to get with the times so to speak.
Fairy Tail itself was never anti-killing so to speak but it was believed that if you took a life in battle then it was one thing but killing in cold blood was seen as an issue.
When you were fighting with magic and weapons, you can't simply guarantee the target of your attacks will survive.
That was something inevitable but the law confirmed that even killing in cold blood was accepted as long as they were confirmed as part of a dark guild.
The dark mages needed to be culled and consequences needed to be beaten into the populace.
If you were going to enslave, rape, or kill those who never committed a crime, you should be prepared to risk your life.
The only real group to have a real issue with the new law was the magic council, and that was because the king in his wisdom created laws that forced the magic council to report to a group of counselors under the king on why each and every dark guild was declared dark.
The magic council of Fiore had been running free for so long they forgot that they answer to the king and more than a few members were removed from their post when they were reminded of their place.
Will knew all this because it was big news that everyone knew. The King wanted everyone to know what actions he was taking to protect his citizens.
But for every dark guild that was taken down, two more seemed to pop up. There were only so many mages that could fight whole dark guilds and were willing to for that matter.
Will was one of them, earning his A class rank with the elimination of such a dark guild a few weeks earlier.
Looking over the available quests, his eyes landed on three within the same general area.
[Dark Guild Elimination: Cruel Pythons guild house has been located somewhere in the XXX area.]
[Wyvern Subjugation: A trio of Wyverns have been harassing XXX village.]
[Ruins Discovered: A mining company opened up an old crypt infested with undead. Speak with XXX to clear.]
Taking the three of them, Will turned and headed to the side where Master Macao, the fourth guild master, had his office.
A quick knock was answered.
"Doors open."
Will walked in to see the quickly aging face of Macao sitting at a desk full of paperwork.
Macao smiled as he looked up at him.
"Ah Will, thanks for coming. Come in and take a seat."
Will nodded and shut the door before sitting in the chair across the desk.
"You wanted to see me?"
Macao nodded and leaned back.
"Yeah, I mainly wanted to check on you. I saw you resting earlier and you got a few of us worried Will. I understand you might have wanted to help and you truly did help the guild a lot during the past year, but there isn't a need for you to keep taking so many quests.
I, and when I say I, I am speaking for a few of us, want to make sure you don't hurt yourself. There is no need to rush, we aren't in debt or danger."
Will hummed at that.
"Hm, thank you for your concern but I believe I am fine. I enjoy the journey and challenges."
"But are you resting enough between jobs? You can get killed out there if you don't pace yourself."
"Mn, I'm aware of my state and I assure you I'm fine. I am simply doing as I wish."
Macao sighed and leaned further into his chair.
"To be the strongest is what you told me your dream was right? Do you know why you want to be strong?"
Will nodded.
"It is a means to an end. I want to be strong to be free to make choices. To never be a victim. To have the strength to back up my choices."
"I can understand that but don't you think your getting consumed by your desire? Many often hurt themselves doing such things. I can tell you from my own experience how hot headed I was as a young man, always diving headfirst into the next fight hahaha."
Will smirked at that but reassured the worried man.
"I am aware of the risks. But I do not let my goal consume me. The goal is the point of my journey but I have learned to enjoy every step.
The travels, the training, the challenges, they are what I enjoy.
Fear not, I am not disillusioned to the joys of life in the pursuit of power."
Macao studied the face of the young man before him and saw the conviction in his eyes even if he spoke calmy and sighed.
"I'll never tell you not to chase your dreams Will, I just want to make sure you come back in one piece."
"I do my best, that's what training is for."
Macao chuckled at that.
"I wish others could recognize that but most of us don't have that spark that you young ones have. Your practically the guilds Ace at this point you know? No one else takes on as many quests and brings in as much fame as you do right now."
Will shrugged.
"It is what it is. I'll do what I'm here to do and if I can pay back my debt then it's all that much better."
"You mentioned that a time or two. You ever going to tell me what this so called debt is you had to Makarov?"
Will shook his head with a small smile and stood up.
"Sorry old man, that's between him and me. You can ask him yourself when he gets back."
Macao smiled warmly at that and laughed.
"Haha your right. I'll make sure to remember."
Will nodded and held out the quest fliers.
"Oh, and I'm taking these three."
Macao's laughter turned dry as he accepted them.
"Of course you are…."
Each of the quests got stamped with the guilds magic symbol showing they were officially accepted. Both the magic council and the client would be informed of the request being accepted and what guild accepted it but that was the extent of its magic.
Who and when would be coming wasn't confirmed.
It stopped other mages from accepting the same quest however so it was widely used by the guilds throughout Fiore.
Will took the forms back and said his farewells, leaving the warm and quant guild slash bar.
As soon as he left the sounds of the town hit him and he hummed pleasantly.
Magnolia always had this sense of peace and simple joy of living that could set anyone at ease. All kinds of people going about their walks of life, creating a harmony of sounds that were neither loud nor quiet.
His cool sapphire eyes looked skyward and the bright clear blue sky met his gaze. A few fluffy clouds lazily moving along.
'Hmmm… what a nice day.'
A soft smile upon his face, Will let his legs guide him through the streets.
His eyes were closed but his steps were even and he naturally seemed to flow around obstacles.
"Oh Will! Going off on another quest?"
"Need a packed lunch for the road Will?"
"Come take a look at my wares Will!"
A few friendly calls of various vendors called out to him as he passed, getting a smile or shake of his head in return but no one was offended by it.
Most came to know he was a man of few words but was never intentionally rude about it.
Will had his own call to fame, a name that many were glad to have around in these times. He didn't have the sheer celebrity quality popularity one of the top members of Fairy Tail used to have throughout all of Fiore, but he was a well known face in Magnolia.
A well known mage with an almost perfect track record, lacking the signature property destruction quality many Fairies held.
But oddly enough, no one truly knew what his magic was.
Elemental attacks, loud roars, claw like slash marks, there were many varied reports on what had been seen or done, but no reports on what exactly his magic was.
He wasn't the only mage out there who didn't flaunt their magic but considering the number of successful quests he had accomplished within the last year; it was odd that no one could say what it was.
Still, it was a mystery that no one truly cared to look into. Few here and there made bets on it but it was nothing more than a hot topic of interest rather than a real issue.
But if there was one thing everyone knew, it was that Will was a highly skilled swordsman.
His skill with a blade was something known to many.
Not only for track record of leaving various enemies in pieces but for his dedicated training.
He could often be seen in the forests around magnolia doing physical training, and many sections of the forest would turn an eye at the sheer smooth mirror like cuts along massive tree's left in his wake.
And if that wasn't enough, it was the aura Will naturally projected.
There was an elegance to his steps, a flow to his movements, and a natural feeling of a sheathed sword in his disarming gentle looks.
A sheathed sword that emanated warmth to all but his targets.
To them it was a feeling of cold steel on their nape.
Overall, it painted an image of who Will was. A mysterious rookie mage on the rise who was well liked by those around him even if there was always a certain distance.
And of course, the fact that he was the sole true name of fame protecting the name of Fairy Tail. Telling the world itself that the guild wasn't down and out despite it's massive loss.
Will's timing and actions had kept the sharks at bay when they smelled blood in the water. Often turning those sharks into the prey themselves.
A certain small time guild in Magnolia had learned that lesson that hard way.
Will's walk through the town to leave for his quests brought him not to the train station but towards the forests outside the town.
His closed eyes opened slightly as his offhand reached out, a tattoo on the back of it in a design of a magic circle lighting up as an orb of purplish black appeared before him and grew in size with a vibrating sort of sound.
A pair of emotionless electrifying orbs appeared, staring into his cool sapphire ones as electricity discharged around him wildly.
His calm and cool voice rang out among the tree's, easily heard over the sounds of electricity.
"Let's go."
A roar answered him and seconds later, they were both gone.
The only sign of their presence being the scorched earth they had stood on moments before.
*Line Break*
The Cruel Pythons guild house was located in a valley between two mountains, cleverly hidden through the use of plant magic to camouflage the building.
They were a typical bandit style dark guild, specializing in robbing caravans of everything from merchandise; to the wagons, and even the people themselves.
The old or useless could be killed off but there was a prime market for captured mages, women, or children.
Anything could be sold was the motto of the guild leader.
A savage looking woman who only cared for the thrill of the hunt and the money it brought it.
A woman named Alvida, or Alvida the Cruel Giant to many.
A woman over eight feet tall with a wild mane of ginger hair and a body full of muscle like a champion body builder.
The fact that she hunted those weaker than her didn't seem to be something she cared about.
She lived for the hunt and loved using her hammer or poison magic on others, to hear them scream and plead before she ended their lives.
And the past year had been a paradise for her.
Ever since the fuckers from the Balam Alliance who lorded over all the small time dark guilds and demanded 'protection' payments disappeared, it was a pandemonium parade for her.
Able to attack and have as much fun as she wanted.
But she wasn't stupid. She didn't attack caravans nearby her guild house and actively traveled a bit further out for her banditry.
And it had served her well, she ran rampant for a year, slowly increasing her rate of attacks as no one could find her base.
Her minions might not be the brightest, but even a dumb dog can learn how to do a single thing well if beat enough.
And so they terrorized dozens of caravans and partied it up, enjoying the profits of their work.
But as a wise man once said, one who walks by the river long enough may end up getting their feet wet.
Or in other words, shit happens.
The guild hall full of partying mages, a few dozen all told, guzzling mead and bashing heads with their guild master sitting in the back on an elevated chair enjoying her own drink all paused as a certain feeling drowned their guild hall's cheer like a bucket of icy water mixed with a weight on their shoulders.
A chill prey feel as they are gazed on by a predator.
The sound of displaced air and a loud clink of metal drew all eyes toward the large double doors before a second later they groaned and split across the middle, letting the bottom half of the door slam to the ground.
A young man walked inside as cool sapphire eyes raked across the room and his calm voice broke the silence.
"Would this be the Cruel Pythons dark guild?"
Alvida growled and grabbed her hammer as she stood up.
"Whose askin?!"
The young man met her gaze and tilted his head.
"Will."
She scrunched up her face.
"What?"
"You asked who is asking. I am."
"And who the fuck are you?!"
"Will."
"Am I supposed to know who the fuck that is?!"
"I do not know."
The guild members were caught off guard, turning their heads to look at them as they spoke back and forth, calm and composed meeting wrathful and confused.
Indeed, Alvida was being thrown off by the seemingly calm answers and got increasingly annoyed.
"What the fuck you want nobody?"
Wills face didn't change aside from a slight twitch of his brow.
Between one blink of an eye and the next to all but Alvida who managed to catch part of his movement, Will disappeared from his place by the door and appeared in the space between the guild members and Alvida.
The closest mages eyes widened in shock as they scrambled backward in surprise more than fear.
"What the fuck?!"
"How did he get past us!"
"I didn't see a magic circle!"
The weird situation was throwing them all off.
Hell, they would have been quicker to react if someone came in guns blazing but Will hadn't done a thing aside from cut open the door.
Will ignored them to speak to Alvida.
"Are you rude or hard of hearing? I said my name was Will."
Alvida growled as a magic circle appeared beneath her feet.
"I never heard of you shitstain!"
"That is a lie. I just told you. Three times."
Alvida's patience was gone at this point and she looked past Will to her guild.
"WELL!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU STANDING THERE GAWKING FOR?! ATTACK!"
Her shout snapped the mages out of their various states as dozens of magic circles lit up behind Will.
""Yes mistress Alvida!""
Numerous shouts rang out right before various magical attacks were launched at Will who remained in place albeit with the tattoos on the back of his hands glowing unseen by anyone.
*BOOM!*
An explosion rang out as the guild cheered.
Alvida narrowed her eyes however as the same feeling of danger she felt since Will appeared hadn't vanished.
Her muscles bulged as she swung her hammer in a wide swing that blew away the smoke, revealing a sight that had the cheering ground to a halt.
"So you are Alvida the Cruel Giant. I thank you for confirming."
Behind Will, four growing purplish black orbs grew in size as glowing pairs of eyes began to appear from them.
His calm voice turned cold and sharp as his gaze met Alvida's.
"Now please die."
*ROAR!* x 4
A quad of inhuman roars followed his declaration and Alvida barely rose her hammer in time to block the edge of a gleaming blade inches from her neck.
Wills eyes met her own as he smiled.
"Make it a challenge will you?"
The screams of her guild rang out in the background followed by explosions of magical attacks and the clashing of weapons and Alvida only now truly understood the threat before her.
But despite her tactical intelligence, she wasn't one who had a mind above her rage.
"RAH! I'll rip you into pieces fucker!"
Her rage taking over, she swung her hammer like a wild berserker, clouds of corrosive poison spreading in waves from her feet.
Will hummed as he stepped back, dodging the hammer by the barest amounts and lashing out with his own strikes scoring superficial cuts but not truly doing any damage.
For all her hubris and anger, Alvida had strength from her build and skill with her hammer.
Will's eyes gleamed as he dueled her, deflecting or redirecting blows with the sides of his blade.
He was superior in speed but she had the longer reach and the wild waves of corrosive poison came off her in random intervals, beating back any attempt to get inside her guard.
The guild was full of smoke and screams as Will's magic tore the mages apart while he dueled the guild master.
It was a scene of chaos as the two moved their match throughout the guild house.
Alvida not seeming to care if her hammer or poison hit her own mages, shown by a poor fool who took the brunt of an off hand hammer swing, but it bought him an opening to score a deep gash on her thigh.
She barely noticed the wound in her rage but the effect became prominent a minute later as she slowed down.
And in that moment, she felt her feet be caught by something as her magic was snuffed out and looked down to see what caught her, making the fatal mistake of taking her eyes off her opponent.
'Sand? No….ash….'
Her last thought being on what she was looking at as Will's blade clinked back into it's sheath behind her as a line of blood opened on her throat from the front to back.
Simultaneously with his final strike, a wave of electricity spread through the guild house in a dome like shape, ceasing all sound as the last member of Cruel Python dropped to the ground as charred husks.
Will hummed at the sight, making sure nothing else moved before he grabbed one of the guild's banners and wrapped up Alvida's head before throwing the bundle along with her hammer into his requip space.
From there, a quick trip to the back of the guild rounding up anything of value followed by a good scan to make sure there were no other secret cashes or possible hiding places where they kept slaves happened.
Happy to find no one else, Will walked back out the entrance with a final word said over his shoulder.
"Burn it."
A shrill sound answered him before the guild house went up in burning flames.
That was another reason no one knew what his magic was.
Not only did he work alone but in cases where he used his magic, he didn't leave any witnesses.
It wasn't an attempt to cover up his magic or anything but simply a result of events.
The new laws set by the king insured his actions were met without consequence from the legal side of things no matter how much the magic council might grumble.
But if there was one thing that Will did that soothed their fragile ego's aside from not having rampant property damage issues, it was that any evidence of the dark guilds dealings, contacts, and locations were handed over to the rune knights through an agent assigned to him.
Will made it a point to collect any paperwork he found before destroying guild houses, something very few mages seemed willing to do for some reason.
And with each step he took, his reputation grew.
*Line Break*
The rural village of May Hammer was a peaceful little place a good distance out from any major cities.
It was one of many villages dedicated to rearing cattle, supplying various corners of Fiore with their hand raised beef, lamb, and pork.
May Hammer was specifically dedicated to raising sheep, a very docile and easy to manage herd even for a small number of farmers.
Or at least, it usually is.
You see sheep are a favorite of Wyverns, making those who are willing to raise them in rural areas quite small.
But the smaller the supply, the higher the demand.
Which leads to people raising them for several reasons even with the risk added in.
Mostly greed, desperation, and/or stupidity.
Will figured it was desperation in this case as he oversaw an elderly duo trying to raise a trio of young children.
Meeting the client can always go an assortment of ways, but Will was internally thankful to have an easygoing client this time.
The grandma was kind and welcoming, if a bit too talkative. But the grandfather was straightforward and to the point.
Mentioning how they only took on rearing sheep for the funds it would bring, and how he just wanted them to finish growing so he can sell them off and buy himself a chicken farm.
"Mhm, lambs be no good you hear? Always attracting all kinds of trouble, just shivering and shaking and shitting themselves.
But chickens! You get yourself some chickens boy, and they will fight god himself for a plate of corn! Noisy and haughty they are I tell ya, but they be good eating and rearing without attracting this kinda trouble.
Clear those overgrown lizards out and I'll be able to sell off these damn nuisances. I'm counting on you son."
Will bowed his head politely to the older man in respect for his elder. "Right away sir. I'll have to wait for their arrival so I will be in the field. The job should take no more than one day at the most."
The grandmother came over with a worried look. "Will you be alright so long out there? Let me make you some food to go. And take some blankets if it gets cold, even a strong man can catch a cold."
The grandfather rolled his eyes. "Don't pester the lad you old bat, he's a strong young mage, he can handle himself."
"Don't be rude you stubborn old fool. He's helping us, it's the least we can do."
"We are paying him!"
Will could see where this was going and quickly interrupted with a bow to the grandmother. "Thank you ma'am, but I have my own supplies. I appreciate your concern but I must be off. I'll return with the sunrise."
"Hmph, spoken like a man, get out there son and hunt em dead."
"Take care of yourself son. Our barn is always open if you need to rest."
Will gave them a final nod and smile before walking down the road toward the field with a sigh.
'Old people sure have personality. I wonder how Makarov acts at his age?'
He humored himself with the thought, never having spent more then a few days in the guild before the S class exams were announced.
Soon enough, he was sitting back against a tree on a calm spring day, watching the sheep graze on a large open prairie of grass with distant wooden fence posts blocking things in.
An arm resting on the hilt of his blade lazily.
It was a beautiful day, and he was enjoying the breeze and atmosphere.
'So many people keep telling me to rest, but I don't ever feel tired.'
He looked down at his bar arm, seeing the numerous old slash scars that decorated his skin. 'I trained hard, harder than most, spilled blood and tears, and I got to where I am, with such a long road still ahead of me.'
He dropped his arm and looked up at the clear blue sky.
'I'm not tired. I'm ravenous. I constantly hunger for strength but refuse to give in to the darker aspects of it. I'm content with taking things step by step, day after day, and achieving strength my way with my own two hands.
And the key to that is consistency. To put in the time, the training, and the effort, day in and day out. Where others choose to rest, I choose to push.
And I do not feel tired for making that choice.
But sometimes… it's nice to enjoy a moment of peace.'
He sighed and relaxed back against the tree, almost like a painting he rested his eyes beneath it's canopy, the suns rays shining through the cracks of the leaves and branches.
His breathes even and smooth, his chest rising and falling with the sounds of nature.
And as the sun began falling in the west, a distant roar echoed through the hills as Will's eyes snapped open once more.
He rose with a sigh as black dots on the horizon were growing in size.
'No rest for the weary.'
Soon enough, the blank eyes of severed wyvern heads were gleaming in his blades edge. With not a single extra sheep harmed.
As the report was filed, more heads were turned.
And his reputation grew some more.
*Line Break*
The mining operation was being done in the mountains, far enough from anything but small villages with nothing but a dozen residents.
The mining company was set up a ways away, not bothering or otherwise making issues for the rural people.
The natural tunnels into the mountain were rich in a type of magical mineral used for making a wide assortment of magic items and tools. Including the famous magic mobiles mages loved using in a pinch.
They were going about their business as usual, when a wall was knocked down, and a miner was grabbed and dragged in screaming.
Soon enough, forms started rising from the shadows of the tunnel, zombies wearing ancient armor and rusted blades, and the miners ran in fear of the spreading undead while collapsing parts of the tunnel behind them.
They needed to get back in there to mine as it was severely cutting into their profits, but they had no one able to handle magical creatures like the undead.
So a request was sent, and he accepted.
The situation was explained to him at the miners base outside the tunnels. Dozens of grizzled and bearded men watching him and evaluating if he could do the job hired of him.
They had lived long enough in the world to know not to think that a mage had to be a big, muscled warrior, but that didn't mean they weren't skeptical.
"You will be entering here into the tunnels. It gives you a direct retreat path in case of emergency. As soon as your out, or if we see an undead before we see you, we will be collapsing the entrance you understand?"
Will calmy nodded to the head miner while studying the map.
They dug far enough to have a clear image of where the breach in the walls were as well as the paths he could use to traverse the mountain.
"And you want me to simply clear the undead and patch the hole, or survey and try to eliminate the source?"
The head miner gave him a hard look and grunted. "The first parts the job I'm paying for. You do the second part and anything you find in there is yours you here? That's all I can offer you. We don't have the budget to increase the reward more than offered."
Will rose a hand in a universal 'ok' gesture. "Understood. I'll be on my way then."
"You don't need to rest or anything? You just got here."
"No need, I rested on the train."
"Alright then, give them hell son."
Will gave a small smile and headed out before stopping for a second and looking back. "By the way, is there flammable minerals or gases in there?"
The head miner scratched his beard in thought. "Not from what we could see. We carried in torches and had no issues, but we didn't test for it. If you going to use fire magic, best be careful."
Will hummed and turned back. "I see. Thank you."
The head miner and his workers watched with slight admiration as the young man entered the tunnel entrance without a single pause or hesitation.
He had guts and showed no arrogance. That's what any client could ask for.
Will descended into the dark of the cave, uncaring for the darkness around him as he channeled mana into the tattoo of magic circles on the back of his hands, lighting up the path with a dim glow.
It wasn't the first time he fought in the dark, and it wouldn't be his last.
A void like purple ball grew behind him, his ally stepping out.
"Watch my back, restrict and control." Will's calm voice was answered by a grunt.
Only a single pair of footsteps sounding through the tunnels, a trail of ash left behind.
A sound of shuffling feet heard soon after, a pair of eye sockets lit with glowing green fire seen just as quickly.
An inhuman growl echoing as it screeched and charged, only to be frozen solid in a cocoon of ash, a clink of a blade echoing in concert.
Will kept walking past the still form as the green fire was snuffed out and it's skull split in half.
'One down, many to go.'
The tunnels echoed with dozens more screeches in response to the first, shuffling feet and clinking ancient metal resounding in the darkness.
Glowing green sockets lighting up the dark like fireflies.
Calm blue eyes met them, his tattoo's glowed, his blade steady.
One by one and two by two they came, a trail of empty ancient sockets left in his wake, forever unmoving once more.
His pace was calm and controlled.
His breath even and in rhythm.
Breath in, slash, breath out.
Breath in, parry, slash, breath out.
Breath in, duck, kick forward, slash, breath out.
He moved like the wind, artistic and deadly, brutal and efficient.
His sword style leaning toward making no wasteful movements, conserving energy, and striking to finish in one blow.
It wasn't a quick draw style. The art of unsheathing, striking, and sheathing being something his school didn't call for.
It wasn't a katana, his odachi being longer and not meant for such a speedy move.
The blade was only sheathed when combat was over.
Even in the narrower space of the mine tunnels, his blade never clipped the walls. He was aware of his body and the space immediately around him.
This was his sword art. Absolute Dominion.
His body was an extension of his sword. His body like liquid as it flowed from one strike to another, the space around him unbreachable.
It wasn't magic, it wasn't a special ability, it was nothing but a sword art, talent, and a decade of training under the strict tutelage of his dojo.
A dojo with only himself as the currently living member.
The memories and faces of those that passed on that fateful day still haunt him, pushing him on further, making a fire inside him blaze.
It was not vengeance. It was not revenge. It was not even a true purpose.
It was simply him, taking on the well wishes and smiles of his fallen brothers and sisters, his master, and choosing to live his life his way. To the fullest. To push the farthest.
To reach the top.
Only then could he look back and say, 'I lived enough for all of us.'
He lived for himself. For his fallen comrades. For his new comrades.
He lived for fulfillment.
He lived for the moment.
For this moment.
His blade danced, his body flowed, his blood sang, and when his hands finally halted, he found himself breathing raggedly and standing before the hole in the wall the undead swarmed from.
Looking back, past his faithful comrade that assisted him the whole way by restricting the overwhelming numbers and watching his back from any that snuck around, he saw a long trail of unmoving corpses.
He nodded to his ally and waited only a few moments to catch his breath, listening carefully for any more movement in the tunnels, but hearing nothing, he turned back to the hole, crouched low, and dashed in.
His partner right behind him, hovering over the ground and leaving a light trail of ash.
An ancient tomb was what welcomed him.
Long decrepit halls of stone and rotten remnants of wood and tapestries.
Open coffins lined the walls, stacked and divided by stone in clumps of three.
Spider webs covered half of them, broken urns and bones covering the other half.
The halls were lit by dull green glowing lines running along the floors.
Will bent down to examine them, sensing the magic within with his own senses.
'A current is still running. But where is it coming from?'
The trail was to far for him to accurately sense, but he got the feel of the current being stronger in one direction.
'I know where to go at least.'
He turned to the direction when a glint of something caught his eye.
'Hm?'
Moving over to a broken urn, he brushed aside the dust and bone fragments, and rose a brow at seeing a piece of gold in some kind of ancient coin.
'Perhaps this job will be quite profitable after all.'
He stood, twirling the gold piece between his fingers and hummed to himself before turning to his companion. "Shatter every urn you see, bring me anything you find inside aside from dust and bones."
A groan was his reply before ash spread through the corridor in a wave, tendrils lashing into empty coffins, and the sounds of urns shattering echoing around him.
The walk through the tomb was mostly silent.
Will descended floor after floor, but all the coffins were empty, all the undead already slain earlier.
He must have descended a hundred meters into the mountain before coming across giant iron doors.
The magic current pulsing from behind told him the source was there. Behind him a large ball of ash floated holding all the spoils from their plundering.
Will rose a hand and opened his requip space, the ash bundle opening and dropping in the various trinkets and precious metals.
He nodded his head in thanks to his companion before dismissing it. Letting it fade into ash particles as it's soul returned.
'Better to prepared.'
His magic circle tattoo's lighting up as he channeled a much larger amount of mana into them.
'Fire and Lightning are to volatile, I can't risk a cave in. Ash and Ice it is.'
Two violet orbs grew behind him as two hulking forms stepped through.
One of solid ice, and the other of twisting and compact ash. Both being much larger than the ashen form originally following him.
"Aim to restrict, eliminate if possible."
Two inhuman groaning sounds responded and he nodded. His allies took commands well and he could always rely on them as long as his magic could fuel them.
His hands pressed on the iron door to no avail.
"Open the door."
The ice juggernaut stepped forward and the iron doors groaned in protest as they were pushed open.
The interior of the room was dome shaped, water trickling through cracks in the stone wall to pool into a pond of murky green liquid.
A raised mound of stone a hundred feet up with stairs leading up on either side took up the center of the space with a twelve foot long black obsidian coffin resting at the top.
At the foot of the mound, smaller eight food long black coffins were imbedded into the stone in a hemisphere.
He counted twelve coffins in all.
And finally, and most importantly, at the top of the mound floated a large glowing lacrima, imbedded into a wall with distant symbols on it, and glowing vibrant green lines of magic stretching out and running along the walls, ceiling, and floor.
'I think I found the source of the magic. But what's its purpose?'
Will's eyes scanned the room, trying to find a clue or idea to it's purpose.
Rotten covers of what might have been books, ancient stone tables, and faded carvings were all he could find.
The only prominent thing was a symbol carved into every wall, one with the same glowing green magic flowing through them.
The symbol of a large tree of some sort.
As he stared at it, he got the impression of it pulsing, almost as if it were staring back at him.
The impression grew and his eyes widened slightly as he noticed all the glowing lines were pulsing.
A crack resounded through the space as the coffin at the top of the mound had its lid broken. A skeleton hand stretching through.
"SCREEE!"
A horrifying screech made Will wince as the room shook, the pulsing increasing, and a dozen weaker screeches responded in unison.
The dozen coffins at the base of the mount shattered as skeletal frames draped in obsidian armor broke free from their ancient resting places.
Their armor and weapons weren't rusted like the ones he faced before.
They were larger for one, and for two he could see their movements were less artificial than the ones from earlier.
His eyes narrowed as he took stock of the situation.
Eyeing the various weapons of his foes, seeing the coffin at the top continue to shake, and noticing the increased tempo of the pulsing lines.
He had to move.
"Attack from the left. Ice walls, ashen restraint."
He unsheathed his blade and dashed forward in a blur, coming at the westernmost skeleton holding a dual sided battle axe.
He couldn't afford to let them get into formation or pull any other tricks.
A tower shield came flying at him from the side, his eyes betraying nothing as his foot slammed firmly into the ground, moving his momentum around it like a leaf just as ash swirled around the feet of the skeleton holding the shield and ice walls sprung up to cut off it's allies.
A flash of steel and swish of wind were all that followed as Will's Odachi took off the head of his original target, having not given it a chance to react, and finishing with a severing of the arm holding the shield at the elbow joint.
An inhuman screech extended from it's empty jaws as green fiery eyes stared straight ahead, seeing Will's blade come up from his swing into a perfect arc, and pushing forward and through it's skull.
A flawless strike.
And just in time as the ice shattered under the powerful blow of a war hammer.
Ash spread along the floor, spreading up limbs, ice walls diving and forming deadly spikes at random intervals.
Will ducked beneath a swung war hammer, dived and rolled to avoid arrows, and spun between two battles axes.
It was a chaotic skirmish as he flirted through the chaos like a humming bird.
Stable, controlled, and reactive.
The skeletons worked in concert but his allies were there to disrupt them.
A Greatsword coming down, following a dodged mace, and his blade sung upward through the air to remove the arm at the elbow joint turned swiftly above the foes head, and swung down, splitting it's skull down the center.
The skeletal allies to the side unable to follow up as they were waylaid by ash and ice.
One by one the skeleton soldiers fell, doing their best to reap Will's life, and scoring superficial wounds, barely drawing a thin lines of blood as he was already moving away from a weapon before it touched his skin.
….
… ( I didn't finish the boss fight)
….
"Wait…this isn't a lacrima…"
It was only once he held the crystal that he saw what it was.
It was a pulsing egg.
And his blood dripped on it.
His eyes deadpanned at the sight of his blood being absorbed.
"You're a dumbass Will…"
He was well aware of the dangers of blood and magic. And those dangers came to life before he knew it.
The egg glowed blindingly and he didn't get a chance to complain as it rung like a bell and his head likewise rung like he was hit by a hammer to the head.
The crystal egg shattered in a large explosion of pure magic, blowing the massive black metal coffin off the mound and into the far wall.
Darkness settling inside the tomb as the light source vanished.
Will was seeing stars as he knelt on a knee and covered his bleeding nose, otherwise untouched by the explosion of energy.
At the same time, a small form slipped into his pants pocket. And before he could even get his bearings, the tomb rumbled ominously.
Will groggily looked up and saw cracks forming on the ceiling as dust was raining like a cloud.
"Oh shit."
Even through his pounding head, he could understand a simple 1 + 1.
Source of magic gone glowing lines in walls gone ancient tomb rumbling currently over a hundred meters underground Run bitch, run like your life depends on it. Because it does.
"OH SHIT!"
Will ignored the pain in his head as he launched himself off the mound at his top speed toward the door. Only for a boulder to fall and block his way.
"Shit!"
He tried to calm down through his injuries and think about what he could summon to help, when a distant and young voice echoed in his skull.
'Third coffin… the left, base…. mound.'
He looked up sharply and scanned the room, his magic circle tattoos lighting the area, but it was just him, and unfortunately the tomb wasn't waiting for him to collapse.
He didn't like the idea of listening to a voice in his head but left with little options he went to the third coffin in the mound and began feeling around for a latch or something.
Only to feel air flow from a crack behind it and step back before smashing through the stone with a kick. A dark tunnel revealed itself and he dove in, soon finding something like an ancient stairway with long rotten wood.
He climbed his way…
….
(Didn't finish scene)
…
*Line Break*
When he woke the next day, he wasn't expecting the beady pair of tiny eyes to be staring at him from inches away.
The two stared at each other in silence.
Only for the little being to raise a tiny paw.
"Heya boss~!"
Will was not amused.
There was a talking chipmunk on him calling him boss.
This wasn't how he saw his morning going.
Chapter end.
AN: Yo! The ending is pretty bland not gonna lie, but I was in a rush to make something here. Had a busy day. Whatever, if I get around to this idea, I'll give chapter 1 a proper ending.
Let me know what you think in the reviews. Otherwise I'll just ignore this one.