Year 778, July 3

Oak Town was a quiet place, more so during some points of the year than others. Most residents knew to expect a lot of noise during the Hallow's Eve festival, and Christmas could be a bust at times, although not nearly as busy as Magnolia. Other than that, there were only a few weekly events that could break the serenity of Oak Town's natural quiet, including the black-haired teen who showed up around two years ago and his fights with the guild master or his best friend.

"Is he going to try it again today..."

"I can't believe he's still allowed up there..."

"The first time he did it, I almost had a heart attack..."

There was also a daily occurrence that almost everyone in Oak Town knew about and had grown numb to the morning 'runs' the crazy kid would go on. Starting from the top of the Phantom Lord guild and barreling straight through town, down the hill Oak Town rested on, and straight towards the forest, ignoring every passing obstacle in his wake.

"That kid seriously has too much time on his hands."

The boy with red eyes and strange magic who had come to Oak Town the same day the old tower collapsed always seemed to find a way to make himself stand out. None more so than when he stood at the top of the castle overlooking the town, just after the sun had fully risen so everyone could see his iconic red jacket with phantom lord's logo on the back in inky black, loose-fitted jeans and tennis shoes standing at the edge of the roof without a hint of worry.

"Come on, Sho..."

Vera muttered under his breath as he always did, feeling his shadow stir as he hovered a foot over the drop. His eyes were on the horizon and the river that had become his little goal for his morning routine, especially since today was Siegrain's day to get his ass beat, and the river was the perfect viewing spot.

"Let's get there first this time."

Vera smiled as he stepped, falling to the ground with a freedom reminiscent of a falling rock. The wind whipped past his hair as he fell headlong towards the ground, unworried even as he saw the windows of the giant castle blur past. Vera tapped the most prominent window with a chuckle as he flipped loosely around and watched the sky get further away.

This never gets old...

Vera grinned as he turned around and let his feet fall, his legs aimed towards the ground in a pencil dive as he descended towards the concrete. His eyes caught a few pedestrians who had fed-up looks on their faces, probably tired of watching him do this every other day. One particular old baker, Mrs. Michi, rolled her eyes and shouted in a half-lighthearted, half-scolding manner, "One of these days, you're gonna jump too high, kid!"

Vera would have shrugged if his trip was a little longer, but the ground was at his feet. A phenomenon that usually would have meant a gruesome end for most people, barring the few wizards with solid bodies or strong magic.

'Splash'

Vera liked to think he had both.

Let's see how fast we can go, Sho.

Vera's thoughts were meant with a silent agreement from his shadow that blurred on the ground like a speeding black carpet. Vera watched the pedestrians pass by from the comfort of his small place in Sho's world before the shadow climbed up the wall and spit Vera out, practically shooting Vera over the alleyway before he landed on the next rooftop with a roll. His breath was controlled but greedy as he let Sho build up below his soles so he could dash across the rooftops like a skipped rock.

"Hey, kid! Try not to slip and eat shit this time!"

"Watch your heads, everyone; loose shingles inbound!"

"If you break my roof again, I swear to god I'll sue you, kid!"

Vera laughed as he heard the small jeers from the residents of Oak Town. After the first three times he did it, the town almost treated it like a morning show. They watched Vera jumping from roof to roof with their morning coffee and wondered if he would slip off one like he had admittedly done in a few of his earlier runs.

"Come on..."

Vera grinned excitedly as he reached the halfway point, dodging an unsuspecting bird as Sho stepped on the gas. Vera felt the wind in his face as he descended towards the latter part of the hill, catching sight of what he considered the best part of Oak Town. The small coffee shop was run by a sweet old lady, Kaiyo, who gave him discounts since she knew he was in debt.

"Incoming!"

The coffee shop was also at the top of the main road that ran through Oak Town. A sloping street that gave him a straight shot toward the edge of town. A necessary street he had to take if he wanted to save time. Especially with the little gift Kaiyo always gave him for the journey.

"Try not to break it this time."

"No promises, Kaiyo!"

Vera reached down and grabbed the server's plate from Kaiyo's hand. He waved at her from overhead before he tossed it on the smooth gravel, landing on it as he skated down the hill. The steel scratched against the concrete with him planted firmly on top of it, coasting as far as his momentum could carry him.

"Out of the way!"

Vera warned as many pedestrians as he could, a smile on his face as he swerved out of their way and used Sho as a ramp when he couldn't. His speed increased as he reached the final stretch, a slow turn that would take him to a small cliff overlooking the river. The railing was put at the edge where the street turned so no one would be unlucky enough to fall off it.

"I don't see them yet, Sho..."

Unless they happened to be aiming to clear it.

"I think we made it!"

Vera crouched low, letting his speed build up as he ignored the sign telling him to follow the road. His smile was ecstatic as he jumped off the silver surfboard he had usurped, letting it sink into his shadow as he cleared the railing in one fell swoop.

"WOOHOOO!"

Vera grinned like a maniac as he plummeted towards the river, uncaring for the wind batting against his body as he fell. Turning around, he looked up to the sky, smiling as he felt a shadowed body hug him from behind, acting as a cushion for when he dived into the river.

'Splash'

Vera felt the cool liquid hit his skin, floating under the surface of the crystal-clear water. Vera swam towards the character as he popped his head above water with an excited breath—his heart racing with adrenaline as he looked up at the bright blue sky overhead with a smile. The sun shone through the clouds, marking the start of a new day, with the slightest bit of birds flying overhead. Their wings cast a shadow, the only thing in the way of a perfect view.

"Airspace Magic"

You know, barring the human bullet falling from the sky.

"Nikyu"

The whole town watched as another projectile cruised through the air, crashing into the river beside Vera with a painfully loud splash. The collision doused Vera, who waded in the water with a chuckle as another teenager popped their head out of the surface, welts and bruises lining his face and arms. His hair was blue and matted, reaching a little down his neck and towards his shoulders. His brown eyes were clear, his red tattoo was prominent, and his face was exhausted as he shook the water out of his hair like a dog, the welts and bruises leaving him with a more annoyed expression than an angry one.

"Aria, kick your ass again?"

"Shut up, Vera; I got closer this time."

Vera snickered as he felt the winds move slightly, a soft breeze blowing as a man formed above the river. His deep green coat fluttered as he hovered over the river, his tan skin nearly unblemished and his head tilted, with his blindfold teeming with a slight light inching its way to freedom underneath, "You did better this time, young Siegrain."

The light highlighted the slightest scratch under his cheek, the thin scratch a product of Siegrain's improvement over the last year. Commendable, but the method the boy employed to get the hit stopped Aria from praising him fully, "Although I hope in the future you can use all your magic against me."

Aria hid a frown as Siegrain glanced away guiltily, the unsaid resistance remaining unaddressed as Aria decided to leave the issue be. Aria had already gotten the stubborn boy to take the first step; he figured time would take care of the rest, "Then again, considering you seem content with just a scratch, maybe my input isn't all that necessary."

"I'll give you more than a scratch next time, Aria."

"You're free to try."

Siegrian pouted slightly as Aria smiled teasingly, turning his blindfold towards Vera, who was enjoying his swim in the river, "Hello Vera, it's good to see you made it in time."

"I wouldn't miss Siegrain getting beat up for the world."

A splash of water was the answer Siegrain gave, devolving the two into a water fight that Aria was content to watch from the air a few feet off the river's surface. He smiled since when he had first seen them, they were desperate and exhausted. Fighting like that's all they'd ever known. They acted much more their age now than they had back then.

"Wait, stop, Siegrain! I'm going to drown!"

"Drown then."

Although they still kept their fair share of violent tendencies.

They've grown...

Aria hummed at the thought, enjoying the air he rested on before his attention was brought down to earth with a splash of water. Aria tilted his head curiously as he saw the two teens freeze, their eyes wide as they saw the new damp section of Aria's coat.

"It was Vera's fault." / "Siegrain did it."

Sadly, the two failed to throw each other under the bus, and a bubble of air under the water equaled a wave big enough to sweep them downstream. Their last sight was Aria's small chuckle as he waved peacefully at them, "See you two at the guild."

It was just another day in Oak Town.

Vera groaned tiredly as he climbed up on the river bank a mile downstream, the town now far enough in the distance to be a run instead of a walk. Vera briefly groaned as he stretched and shook his water-logged clothes, "Aria really couldn't leave us closer to the town?"

"He probably would have if you didn't splash him."

"I wouldn't have splashed him if you didn't dodge," Vera snarked as Siegrain rolled his eyes in response. Siegrain's hand out to his clothes as he muttered a quick drying spell and turned his white shirt and black jeans from soaked to warm and comfy. The process was quick and painless as he wordlessly extended a hand to Vera's clothes and did the same since Vera didn't have the option to do it himself, "There, you're dry; now quit complaining."

"I wasn't complaining; I was pointing out that Aria could have left us closer to town."

"He also could not have thrown me into the river, but life sucks," Siegrain muttered as he started walking towards the town. His footsteps were followed by Vera, who walked next to him with a shrug, "Hey, at least he aimed for the river. Jose usually aims for whatever 'won't kill me.'"

"That sounds like the guild master... How's that going anyways?"

"Training? Meh, it could be better. I still haven't hit the jerk, but he has to use both hands now. What about you? Any closer on the Aria front? Saw the scratch you left him; that was new," Vera asked curiously, subconsciously pulling out an apple from his shadow space and snacking on it while he saw Siegrain give a slight, noncommittal shrug, "I got lucky with that one, but next time I'll get more."

Siegrian frowned slightly as he rubbed the welts and bruises on his arms, the aches dull but fresh as he murmured, "I know Aria isn't going easy on me, but he isn't going hard on me either. I haven't even gotten him to remove his stupid blindfold yet."

"Pretty sure you wouldn't be alive for a 'next time' if he did that."

"What are you talking about? It's Aria; of course, I'd be alive," Siegrain said with a raised eyebrow because even if most of the guild saw Aria as a giant monster 'handpicked' by the guild master for his strength, the two knew better. There was a reason Aria cried over everything; the idea of him killing someone was just so bizarre that it was hard to imagine it. Siegrain honestly doubted Aria could kill a kitten, much less a person, if it came down to it.

He could put me in a coma, though...

That being said, Aria had no qualms about putting his opponents as close to death's door as possible. He wiped out the recently discovered dark guild Melmetal single-handedly, putting half the members into Black Voxx for the rest of their lives and the other half into wheelchairs.

Not dead is a very vague line to draw.

Siegrain hummed at the thought, his inner dialogue reflected in Vera's mind as he spoke with a laced attitude, "Okay, fair enough, he wouldn't kill you. You still couldn't spar with him again if he removed his blindfold."

"Yeah, but at least I'd see what's under it."

"You'd risk your perfectly functioning legs to settle your curiosity?"

"...maybe if it was one leg," Siegrain said with an off-handed consideration because he really wanted to see what was under Aria's blindfold. No one in the guild, barring Jose, had seen it, and he'd be lying if he said it didn't keep him up at night.

"You're ridiculous," Vera, the only one in the guild who was not curious about the 'mystery' because he already knew what was under Aria's blindfold, replied with a shake of his head. His eyes glanced towards the town's edge as he tilted his head, able to see a few murmuring and rustling crowds.

That's weird...

Oak Town wasn't busy this time of day, at least not in the summertime. There also seemed to be a bit of panic in the crowds, which hadn't happened since... well, since a while ago.

"Hey, Siegrain, I think something's going on," Vera muttered half-heartedly as he tossed the remains of his apple on the forest floor, as nature intended, "Let's check it out."

Siegrain nodded and started jogging towards the town with Vera on his heels. The two only had to run for a few minutes before they got to the city's edge and heard the commotion—courtesy of the murmurs and whispers that could be summed up as rumors mixed with concerns and confusion.

"Did you guys hear..."

"S class mages..."

"...seriously injured."

It made their trip to the guild much quicker than usual.

The guild Phantom Lord was simple most days; most members would usually just come in, drink, get a job, fight, leave for a job, rinse, and repeat. Nothing super special or fancy, just a place to unwind and let loose so they could get it out of their systems before they lived with the ordinary civilians once they left the guild hall.

"What the hell happened..."

"... they ran into a dark guild..."

"...strong one this time..."

"...seems like they're always getting stronger these days."

This time, the guild was oddly quiet. The typical rowdiness and restless atmosphere was hidden underneath gossiping whispers and conversations. The crowd was rocking between caution and concern when Vera and Siegrain made it, the two immediately jumping to the rafters and dashing toward Jose's office. The two made it just in time to see the door open, and Totamaru and Sol walked out with a few obvious things different from when they left for their mission a week or so ago.

"What the hell happened to your arm?" / "Why's your leg in a cast?"

Vera and Siegrain asked their questions simultaneously, watching as Sol, who had the cast on his leg, and Totamaru, who had a sling on his arm, gave almost simultaneously tired sighs. The two glanced at each other before Totamaru pointed towards the office door with his good arm, "I could tell you the short version of it, but it's probably better if you get the rundown from Jose. He wanted to see you two anyways."

Totamaru noted the slightly confused and curious looks that passed Vera and Siegrain's faces but ignored them. Hooking his good arm under Sol's shoulder as they hobbled away, the two S-class mages were exhausted and looking for sleep.

Vera and Siegrain watched them go before they turned to the office door and entered, greeted by Jose and Aria, who seemed to have been waiting for them to arrive. Aria was standing by the window with Jose in his chair and pointing towards the couch with a voice that gave no room for argument, "Runt 1 and Runt 2, sit down and listen."

Vera and Siegrain, wisely keeping their mouths shut because they could tell the matter was serious, sat down on the couch without resistance. The two watched quietly as Jose, who seemed more on edge than usual, tapped a sharp finger on his desk before explaining in a monotonous voice, "Sol and Totamaru were ambushed on the way back from their mission, apparently from some loons trying to impress a stronger dark guild."

Jose waited a few moments for the questions that were obviously on the two younger mages' minds, Siegrain being the first to ask a practical question Jose had expected of him, "Did they say what dark guild it was?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure the rune knights will get it out of them soon. Regardless, I called you two here to tell you that you're both temporarily suspended from accepting B-rank missions."

Jose tapped his finger on the desk with the weight of a gavel as he saw the two open their mouths to argue, a look of outrage on Vera's face and a slight frown on Siegrain's. The two halted mid-sentence as they wisely waited for Jose to speak, "This is not debatable. With two Phantom Lord S class mages down, I can't afford to have you two running amok. The last thing I need is newspapers talking about how two teens flubbed a B-rank mission right after this incident."

Jose watched unsurprisingly as his words struck a nerve in the two young mages, Siegrain taking it with a now visibly upset expression and Vera taking it with a more visceral reaction, "Eh!? We never mess up B-rank missions. Hell, we've never messed up any mission before, so why-"

Vera's admittedly defensive and heated response stopped dead as Jose's magical pressure fell on him. The intensity and creepiness sank into Vera's skin as Jose merely watched him squirm with narrowed eyes tinged with purple hues, "I didn't ask for your opinion; my decision is final. Now get out of here before the list of idiots I need to have healed jumps from two to three."

Jose contained his magic and watched as his student swallowed his anger and left with his similarly angry friend. Jose called out with a dull voice once the two mages with wounded egos were halfway out the door, "Oh, yeah. A reporter is coming to Oak Town tomorrow for an interview; he specifically asked for you two. Try not to completely embarrass yourselves if you can."

A slammed door was the only response he got, leaving Jose and Aria as the only two in the room. Jose effortlessly shrugged off the apparent ire he'd gotten from both young mages; he took it more as an accomplishment since it was challenging to get the quiet one angry.

"How sad..."

Aria seemed to disagree.

"You've made them both so sad!" Aria said with a weeping sob, his tears flowing as Jose gave an annoyed sigh and leaned back in his chair. Spinning it towards Aria, who was trying and failing to hold back his tears, a process that would have taken far too long for Jose's liking, had he let it go on naturally, "Oh please, Aria, they aren't sad, just butt hurt. They'll get over it in a day or two."

Jose flicked his fingers, took a pen and paper from his requip space, and wrote a letter. An annoyance when he had a communication lacrimal on hand, but the guild he needed a favor from had an aversion to technology. Unsurprising, to say the least, since it was the most isolated guild in Fiore, located right next to the middle of nowhere and not even on the map.

"Once you're done crying, fly this to Raubol; tell him I need to borrow that new healer he mentioned at the last summons. If she's as good as he claimed, this matter should be dealt with before I leave for Clover in two weeks."

Jose's words wafted through the air as Aria slowly stopped sniffling and nodded, wiping his tears and snot on his sleeve before taking the letter and sliding it into his pocket. Aria's blindfold leaked light as he asked with a seriousness that assured Jose any of his previous outbursts had been forgotten, "Raubol, he's the one who registered his guild a few months ago, right?"

"Yes, he's the one."

"Are you sure it's fine to leave him be? His magic is," Aria frowned as he recalled the illusion he had witnessed the first time he had seen Raubol with his own two eyes. Whatever the illusion was hiding, truly hiding, it was hidden well enough that even Aria couldn't see through it. Aria could only gleam an inch of what was underneath it, and he didn't like what he'd seen.

"He's hiding something more twisted than just death." Aria glanced at Jose, who barely looked up from his paper but was still clearly listening to Aria's concerns, "I don't trust him."

"That's fine, I don't either," Jose said with a dull reminiscence, sighing as he recalled the sudden guild master's conference half a year ago. A meeting where the council introduced a new light guild, Cait Shelter, to Fiore out of the blue, as well as a new guild master that instantly earned the favor and respect of every other guild master who saw him.

"I simply believe having a good relationship with him is better than having a bad one."

It was an odd introduction, but the other guild masters at the meeting didn't think much of it. Unlike Aria, who had joined Jose during that venture due to the suddenness of it. It was a blessing in disguise since Aria happened to be the only other person in the conference who saw what Jose had seen when he looked at Raubol. They were the only two with the specific requirements to see through Raubol's little charade, Jose because of his magic and Aria because of his eyes.

"If he wants to play house, then let him," Jose said with a dismissive wave of his hand, earning a slight frown in return from Aria, who seemed to disagree with his assessment of the threat Raubol posed. Jose went on, uncaring for Aria's concern as he set up a few papers and put his mind elsewhere, specifically towards the guild masters conference in a few weeks, "As long as he's willing to share his healer, I don't see any harm in keeping his little secret."

Jose had better things to worry about than whatever ghosts chose to do when they weren't making his life miserable.

Pause, and Doronbo had just gotten to the guild hall when they heard about what happened to Totamaru and Sol. The fact that they had received broken bones on their last mission had already become a hot topic in the guild, even though they had already left their homes to rest for the day. Everyone was talking about it, barring the two mages closest to Doronbo and Pause's age, standing in front of the job request board with an aura of rage.

"Hey guys, you looking for jobs?" Doronbo asked innocently as they walked towards their two brooding friends, watching curiously as Vera muttered obscenely under his breath. Siegrain shook his head with a tight-lipped frown. The entire scene stunned Doronbo for a second because it was uncommon to find both Vera and Siegrain in a lousy mood; usually, it was one or the other, "Woah, what happened to you guys?"

"Jose told us we're incompetent and grounded us," Vera said flatly, Siegrain nodding silently in agreement. Their unspoken desires to take a mission and complete it, regardless of whether Jose thought they could or not, keep them rooted in front of the job request board. Their silent crusade for vengeance only halted as Pause gave a slightly surprised comment, "Huh, that's weird. He didn't tell us to do anything differently..."

Pause instantly regretted his words as he saw Vera and Siegrain glare murder at the job request board. Pause glanced worriedly at Doronbo, who looked like he wanted to leave as soon as possible. Doronbo, in all his glory, sent Pause a silent message that could only be interrupted in one way.

They're pissed, let's bail.

Pause almost wanted to agree with Doronbo's internal plea but instead decided not to, and scoured his brain and tried his best to do some damage control before Vera and Siegrain did something that would piss the guild master off, "Uh, maybe it's because of the guild masters conference that's coming up! He probably doesn't want you two getting injured before then! Since he has to make a good impression on all the guild masters and he already has two S classmates hurt, and if you two get hurt, that would be."

"Yeah, yeah, bad for publicity. Makes sense," Vera muttered indifferently, partly to cut off Pause's nervous rant and partly because he couldn't deny the logic behind the claim. The annual guild masters conference was only a few weeks away, and the last thing Jose would want was for any other guild masters to think Phantom Lord was struggling. Jose's pride wouldn't be able to handle it, and considering Jose's ego was about as big as the rippleback mountain range, Vera could only see that ending in one way.

That dickhead would probably destroy Clover if that happened...

Vera snorted at the thought, his ire and, by extension, Siegrain's calmed now that they had a rough idea of why Jose was grounding them. Vera continued to peruse the job request board, this time for fun, while Siegrain chatted with Pause and Doronbo.

I need to find a good C-rank job we can take up after the interview is over...

If Vera went off what Pause had guessed about Jose's reasoning, it would be at least two weeks before Vera and Siegrain could retake B-class job requests. Vera had absolutely zero faith in any of the current B-class fliers still being pinned on the job request board in two weeks. B-rank missions were some of the most popular, paid more than C rank, and were less dangerous than A rank. He was better off 'borrowing' a C rank and getting it stamped tomorrow after the interviewer showed up.

Let's see... Vulcans near Isvan. No. Dogs in Ripple-Back again, no thanks. A dark guild popped up near Crocus; that wastes time. Rune knights will take care of them by the time we get there.

Those dark mages still tried to set up near Fiore's capital never ceases to amaze Vera with their stupidity. Half the kingdom's rune knights lived there, and they treated any threat to the royal family with extreme prejudice. Whatever new idiots were stupid enough to set up camp there would be gone within the week.

Damn, it pays a lot too. I could have used that to pay off our debt...

Vera and Siegrain's debt was almost paid off, with barely more than 90,000 jewels left. If Vera could find a good-paying job or a few decent-paying C-rank jobs since those usually didn't pay a lot, they'd be in the green for the first time since they got to Oak Town.

Come on... give me something...

Vera bit his lip as he scoured the C-rank jobs for anything that would pay enough. His hopes diminished as he failed to find anything over 30,000 jewels. Vera was about to give up and cut his losses before he saw Sho stretch along the walls, pulling a request off the far end of the board and bringing it back. Due to the nature of the request, the bid was one of the newer ones and one no one else wanted to take.

Demon Extermination Request: C-Rank

Vera blinked in surprise as he saw the request, rereading to ensure he hadn't imagined it.

Only C rank?

Demon requests were usually A-rank, B-rank at the absolute minimum; having one listed as a C rank was unheard of. The fact that the head of the middle-of-nowhere village requesting it, an older man named Daley, wasn't offering any specifics on the demons in question was even sketchier.

This must be a fake...

Vera hadn't even heard of a demon extermination request being C-class, much less for the hefty sum the older man offered anyone willing to hike it to the village in the middle of nowhere. The entire thing screamed too good to be true.

Hm... 3 minor demons settled on the edge of town and threatened to kill the villagers? What does that even mean? Wouldn't the demons have attacked them by now?

Vera hadn't studied demons or anything, but most mages at least knew the basics. They were more dangerous than the average monster, and their intelligence usually varied. They could be intelligent, sometimes even peaceful, like the ones on Luna Island who had gone into hiding. Or they could be belligerent demons that destroyed and killed without thoughts or reasons, like Deliora, although they are nowhere near as powerful.

Something's off...

Vera didn't trust the request; most other Phantom Lord mages probably felt the same. That's probably why no one had taken up what could have technically been considered an easy payday, a C-rank request that paid...

Then again...

That paid over 120,000 jewels...

It would be rude for a Phantom Lord mage not to give the buyer the benefit of the doubt.

Vera, who had admittedly been blinded by the prospect of ending his debt in one job request, snatched the flier off the board and shoved it into his shadow space. He gave a nod to Sho to tell him that they would get it stamped tomorrow after the interview, and yes, they were going to make a killing off of it.

One hundred twenty thousand jewels... that's so much money for a C-rank.

Vera chuckled excitedly at the thought, stalling as he felt Sho tap on his shoulder. Vera tilted his head as he saw Sho move to the wall and shadow puppet a suggestion, making Vera stall in his glee. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the map plastered on the wall beside the job request board. His eyes trailed the village with the 'demons,' Paragon, nestled into the dense forests and sparse mountains. With the closest town being Magnolia, over a week away by foot, "I don't know Sho..."

Vera's original plan was to wait until he was S rank to check out Magnolia, introduce himself and his guild to try and form alliances before the big war even had a chance of starting. It may have taken a few years, but there had yet to be a reason to go before then; Fairy Tail was gaining strength, but Phantom Lord was still decisively considered the strongest guild in Fiore. Jose didn't even seem mad when Laxus's S class promotion was put in the newspaper; he just called him a 'disappointment in waiting' and moved on with his day, "I was going to wait a bit since everything is going well right now."

Things seemed peaceful now; there was no reason to go to Magnolia and potentially risk messing that up. Not when the atmosphere between the two guilds could be considered neutral or even pleasant. Logically, he shouldn't visit Magnolia when he wasn't strong enough to handle any unforeseen problems that might pop up, but...

"I guess... If Siegrain's up for it, we could stop there."

He would be lying if he said the idea of finally checking out Fairy Tail wasn't tempting.

A/N: Well, I'm back. Passed my finals, thank the lord, those were fun. Anyways, I have a few chapters written and this coming arc totally planned out, so there shouldn't be a problem with weekly postings. Hope you guys enjoy, and thanks for reading, and keep reviewing I like reading them :)

P.S. I usually edit some of my past chapters, nothing information or story based, usually it's just grammar and vocabulary and all that stuff, so I don't really see the need to mention when I do it, but during the break there was a chapter I edited that does effect the story so far. No changes per Se, just sections added that clarify things going on now, so I've decided that whenever I do this I'll add a warning in the author's notes, like I'm going to do now.

Edited Chapters: Thread Trail

Sparknotes of Edits made: In Thread Trail I added a section clarifying why he can only use one type of magic [Thanks for pointing that out GoMagikarp :) helped me a ton]

P.P.S. Merry Late Christmas :)

P.P.P.S Happy holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas :)