Fairy Tail: My Edgy System - 9 (Patreon)

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[Learning Some Magic]
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(Recap, since it’s been a while: In the previous chapters, Kane and Bob Uchiha arrived at the guild, fought with Elfman, got knocked out, woke up and officially joined Fairy Tail, and then met some of the main cast. That’s the gist of it—you can always check the last chapter if you need a better refresher.)

…

With introductions out of the way—and after dodging Natsu’s attempt to “measure” his strength through a fistfight—Kane followed Mirajane as she continued showing him around the guild.

She introduced him to dozens of members currently present, though none stood out as much as Gray, Natsu, and Happy.

Mirajane noticed his troubled expression as he tried, and failed, to keep track of all the names, giggling softly.

“Don’t give up just yet. There are still plenty of people you haven’t met.”

“...There’s more?”

“Plenty. But don’t worry. Most of the ones who are out right now are… the more particular members of Fairy Tail. I’m sure you won’t have much trouble remembering them once you meet.”

For some reason, Kane didn’t like the sound of that.

Finally, Mirajane led him into the library—a neat room lined with shelves, stacked high with books on all sorts of subjects, not just magic.

As Kane scanned the rows and rows of packed knowledge, Mirajane pulled one book free, dusted it off with a pat, and handed it to him. Kane eyed the title curiously.

{Magic for Everyone}

The title was about as on-the-nose as it could get.

“Master mentioned you didn’t know any magic. Is that right?”

Kane nodded, already flipping it open. “Yeah, none at all. But I should be able to learn.”

“Then this is a good start. It covers the most basic types of magic and how to learn them. Nothing too powerful, but even learning one will officially make you a mage—and that means you’ll be able to take on requests from the board.”

“I see…” Kane squinted at the first few pages.

Magic for cleaning dishes.

Magic for painting.

Magic for producing light.

They were indeed basic.

‘So, Bob, what do you think I should learn?’

▸[Something that boosts your combat power.]

‘Doesn’t look like that’s an option. Look at this—magic for peeling an orange? Who thought that was worth writing down?’

Under Mirajane’s wry gaze, Kane kept flipping through the book, faster and faster, searching for something remotely useful.

After a couple of minutes, Mirajane seemed to realize his search was going to take a while.

“Uhm, I’ll leave you to it then. I still have to tend the counter. If you need help, just come ask.”

Kane lifted his head and nodded gratefully. “I’ll bother you if I need to.”

With that, she left him alone in the library, book in hand.

▸[Disappointing. If this is all they’ve got, we might as well have gone to a public library.]

Kane closed the book with a sigh. “Well, there are plenty of others books around. Maybe one of them has what you’re looking for.”

He set the book aside and began scanning the shelves.

After what felt like an hour, something finally caught Bob’s attention.

▸[That one.]

“Which one?”

▸[That one. Upper left.]

“This one?”

▸[Are you stupid? I said upper left.]

“This was upper left.”

▸[No it wasn’t.]

“Yes it was.”

▸[No.]

“Yep.”

▸[ENOUGH. JUST PICK THAT BOOK.]

“Calm down, Mr. Hysteria.”

Kane chuckled to himself as he reached up and pulled the book free. Dusting it off, he read the cover.

{The Art of Requip}

“What’s this? Doesn’t sound like magic.”

▸[It is. A useful one at that.]

“Whatever you say.” Kane rolled his eyes and opened the book.

From then on, he went on for 10 whole minutes reading, his face focused all along.

By the end of it, he closed the book and took a deep breath.

“I didn’t get a single thing.”

▸[That’s because you don’t know a single thing about the magic of this world, moron. Go pick something to contextualize yourself.]

“Then we should have started from there. Why didn’t you say anything, prick?”

▸[Because I wanted to see how long you’d make a fool of yourself.]

With a roll of eyes, Kane made his way to the shelves filled with books. This time, the search was clearer, so it didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for.

{Magic Power, Eternano, and How It Shapes The world}

▸[That one.]

“My hand’s already on it. Why are you acting like you just found it for me?”

Grabbing the book, Kane settled into a nearby chair and started flipping through it. His eyebrows furrowed at some pages, nodded at others, as time slipped away.

Thirty minutes passed before Bob’s voice echoed again.

▸[That should be enough. The rest is just the author rambling to sound smart.]

“Good, I was getting annoyed anyway.” Kane shut the book with a soft pop and massaged his temples. “Alright, let me see if I’ve got this… Eternano is basically like fuel, floating all around the world. When it enters a person’s body, it turns into Magic Power, which is like refined fuel, and that’s what powers spells… as long as your body can produce them, which only 10% of people in the world are able to do.”

▸[That’s the gist.]

Kane nodded.

In the book, there had also been sections on the inner workings of a mage’s body—how Magic Power circulated, how emotions actually mattered in casting, and a lot of other details that went over his head. But he could always come back to it later.

For now, he picked up the Requip book again. Determined to learn it—or at least take the first step toward learning it. Who knew how difficult it would actually be?

…

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|An hour later…|

…

Kane stepped out of the library, sighing heavily and rubbing at one eye.

Mirajane noticed him and smiled warmly. “How was it, Kane? Did you decide which one you want to learn?”

He nodded, though a hint of hesitation lingered in his expression. “Yes. I think so.”

“Oh? Which one?”

“Requip Magic.”

“Ah, Requi—wait, Requip?” Mirajane blinked in surprise.

Kane nodded. “It caught my attention the most, so I figured I’d go with it.”

Mirajane tilted her head with a wry smile. “I thought you’d try one of the basics from the book I gave you.”

“I mean, this one looked way more useful than those.” Kane rubbed the back of his neck, then suddenly looked concerned. “Wait—were those obligatory?”

“No, but they’re magics that almost anyone can learn in a short amount of time. Requip, on the other hand… I’m not sure you’ll manage to pick it up quickly. You need at least one spell under your belt to take requests, remember?”

Kane raised an eyebrow. “I mean, I haven’t got it yet, but it probably won’t take me more than a few days to figure out.”

‘At least according to you, right?’

▸[But of course.]

‘Then you’d better be right.’ Kane squinted faintly.

Mirajane’s expression turned worried. “Magic of that level usually takes a lot of time and practice—sometimes a year or more—to reach even a usable level. Talent and affinity matter a lot, which is why most mages stick to what they’re naturally good at rather than trying to master other magics. If you don’t have the talent, it could take far too long.”

“I think I’m talented in it.” Kane pointed a thumb at his chest, though his voice wasn’t as confident as his words.

‘I am, right?’

▸[Like I’ve told you already—yes. With me by your side, we’re destined to become the strongest in this world. Learning a single magic? That’s nothing.]

‘Then, like I’ve told you already, you better be right.’

While Mirajane didn’t seem fully convinced, she couldn’t exactly force him to pick something else. So she let it go.

Still—

“Just to be safe, you should at least learn one of the basic magics. That way, you’ll be able to take requests and earn money while working on Requip.”

▸[She’s got a point. I didn’t account for the fact you need food like some weakass mortal.]

‘Best system ever.’

Suppressing an eye-roll, Kane gave a lazy thumbs-up. “Uh, sure.”

▸[Go back to the library. It shouldn’t take you more than an hour to learn one of those joke-tier spells.]

Kane bit back a groan. He was exhausted and really didn’t feel like reading more. But it was clearly the smartest move.

“Then I guess I’ll just… learn one of those now.” He pointed his thumb at the library behind him, then rubbed his stomach. “Wouldn’t wanna starve, right?”

“Hm.” Mirajane sweatdropped but nodded.

With that, Kane trudged back into the library, leaving her to sigh as he disappeared again.

Just then, Makarov wandered over, noticing her troubled expression. “Something wrong with the new kid, Mira?”

She hesitated. “He seems a bit too overconfident. He actually thinks he can learn Requip in a matter of days.”

“He thinks that? HAHAHA! What a crazy brat.”

Mirajane gave a worried smile, pressing a palm to her cheek. “Even Erza took about a month to learn it properly. And Requip was her innate magic.”

Makarov stroked his beard thoughtfully. “He does seem confident in his ability to ‘grow’ according to what he said. But his magic power is quite low.”

Mirajane blinked. “Even his magic power is low?”

Makarov nodded. “Five times lower than the average.”

Her eyes darkened with concern as she glanced back at the library door. “Then that’ll only make it harder for him to learn.”

“True,” Makarov agreed. “While low magic power doesn’t always mean low talent, it does make progress harder. But—” he smiled faintly “—that’s why we’re here. He’s part of our family now. Even if he learns slower than he expects, or if his talent isn’t what he hopes, we’ll be there for him.”

Mirajane’s expression softened. “Yes, Master.”

Suddenly, the library door swung open, and Kane emerged, startling them both.

He hurried to the counter and leaned forward.

“Err… Mirajane, do you have an orange back there?”

“Huh? Uhm, let me check.” She tilted her head in confusion before pulling out a basket of fruit. Spotting an orange, she handed it over.

“Here. Did reading that much make you hungr—”

Her words froze as she saw Kane point at the orange. With a casual flick of magic, the peel unraveled itself in perfect strips, leaving only the bare fruit in his hand.

Kane nodded, satisfied. “Pretty neat.” He glanced at her. “How much?”

“…50 jewels,” she answered blankly.

“Here.” He dropped a coin on the counter. “Keep the change. I’m in a bit of a hurry—do you know a decent place to stay for now? Can’t afford an apartment yet.”

Mirajane pointed ahead, still looking stunned. “There’s an inn a few streets down. Tim’s Rest and Food.”

“Perfect. Thanks.” Kane gave them both a nod, then strolled off.

Beside her, Makarov blinked incredulously. “How long did it take him to learn that?”

Mirajane tilted her head. “I don’t know… five minutes, maybe?”

“Huh.” Makarov smirked faintly. “Maybe his confidence isn’t as baseless as we thought.”

Mirajane nodded softly, still looking faintly stunned.

Outside, Kane smiled faintly as he stepped into the cool evening air, the setting sun painting the sky.

▸[‘Keep the change’? Really?]

“That was pretty slick, eh?.”

▸[No comment.]

…

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: Finally managed to write the next chapter. Hopefully next one won't take too long. I should also upload one of the survival stories

But that's a problem for the future me. Present me, on the other hand, is going to sleep.)