Sacred Gear Store - Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Chapter 3: Butchering a Pig

Watching the massive Brawl in front of me, I had to laugh. Yeah, that’s Fairy Tail for you. Gotta love a nice brawl. I just came at the right time.

“You okay there?” I asked the Girl I had just barely pulled out of the trajectory of a Table that flew through the Guild Hall.

Holy Shit, that long, glossy White Hair, with two bangs framing her face and reaching down to her voluptuous chest. Her large, crystal-blue eyes were looking directly at me with that kind smile and beautiful face.

She’s gorgeous.

I had no idea how Anime Characters drawn for Fan Service would look in real life, but she looks like a Supermodel.

Right now, I am literally face-to-face with Mirajane Strauss. Hard to believe that she looked like a Goth Baddie just two years ago.

Damn, that kind smile.

“Hello? You okay there?”

Great going, Lucian. She talked to you, and you completely nerded out like a fool.

“Ugh, yes. I was just a bit overwhelmed by the Situation.”

“I can believe that.” Mirajane giggled kindly. “Seeing Fairy Tail for the first time like this can be quite the shock. Again, thank you for saving me. I haven’t seen you around the Guild. What brings you here today?”

“I want to join the Guild. Who do I have to talk to?”

“Lucky you. That would be me!” she says with a smile before pulling out a Stamp with the Fairy Tail Logo from somewhere. “Where do you want your Guild Mark?”

“Wait, wait, wait? Just like that? Don’t I have to take some kind of test? Maybe talk to the Guild Master? An Interview? Or something? You didn’t even ask me for my name!”

I know that’s pretty much how things went with Lucy in the Story, but she got introduced by Natsu.

I’m just some random guy who walked into the Building.

Mirajane puts a finger to her chin and tilts her head. “Not really? There aren’t really any requirements for joining Fairy Tail besides not being a Criminal and having Magic. I would know if you were a Criminal, since I keep up with that. But you’re right, what Magic can you use? You can use Magic, right? And what’s your name?”

“I do. I use two kinds of Magic: Merchant Magic and Celestial Spirit Magic. And my name is Lucian Zagan!” I say while pulling out one of the Keys I purchased earlier and channeling a bit of Magic into it, forming a Magic Circle from which a small Dog appears.

And by small, I mean small. I don’t think it’s a real breed that I can identify, but it’s rather on the small side. Still bigger than those Rat-like Dogs.

That’s Canis Minor for you.

“Oh, another Celestial Spirit Mage. Now our Guild has two!” Mirajane claps her Hands happily. Seems like Lucy already joined the Guild. Let’s hope the Job I’m aiming for is still there.

“But I’ve never heard of Merchant Magic. What does it do?”

“Well, simply put, it has everything a Merchant needs. It Stores and Converts Money, tells me the Value and information of anything, I can use it to buy information, I have some Ownership Magic, and it also allows me to make Deals. For example…”

I pull out 20,000 Jewels.

“You’re physically quite strong. Can I buy a Minute of your Strength?”

“A Minute of my Strength? What do you mean?”

“Like that. In exchange for my Money, you will feel weak for exactly sixty seconds. In exchange, I will get exactly that amount of Strength to use whenever I want,” I explain.

“Sure, you can buy a Minute of my Strength.” Mirajane nods with interest, and as soon as I get her confirmation, I feel quite a bit of my Demonic Power drain as a golden Magic Circle takes the Stack of Jewels from my Hand and deposits it into Mirajane’s.

Damn, making Deals is quite energy-intensive. My Demonic Power Reserves are pathetic, and that was just a Deal for a Minute of physical Strength.

But yes, that is the core Ability of the Zagan House Trait. The Part that only the Ancestor of House Zagan had, and I guess I have now too.

The Power of Deals.

At the same moment as my innate Ability activates, the white-haired woman loses her balance, making me quickly grab her and steady her.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine.” She mutters, “The sudden weakness was just a bit unexpected.”

“Yeah, it can be quite the bitch.”

“I wouldn’t have said it like that. But true.” She chuckles while leaning into me.

Like that, ten seconds pass, then twenty, then thirty… and finally, the full minute is over, and Mirajane regains her strength.

“That’s quite the Magic you got there.” She nods. “And you can use my Strength now, whenever you want?”

“Yep, but don’t ask me to show it. Twenty Thousand for a Minute is quite expensive, and I prefer to keep it as a Trump Card.” I shrug. “Although I can see that you were once stronger. Guess you retired to take care of the Guild?”

“You can say that.” She smiles softly, not elaborating further before holding up the Stamp. “Now then, that proves you qualify to be a Fairy Tail Mage. Where do you want your Guild Mark?”

Pulling off my Shirt, revealing my malnourished form and making her look at me with concern, I point at my Shoulder. “Right here, please, in Yellow.”

After getting my Guild Mark, I put my Shirt back on. Meanwhile, Mirajane is trying to come up with the right Words.

“Ugh, are you okay? Do you need some help?”

“You mean my Atrophy and Malnourishment? Don’t worry about it. I spent quite a bit of time in a Coma. It’ll go back to normal after living healthy for a while.” I dissuade her worries.

———

Great, the Quest I wanted was still there. Even if it took quite a bit of convincing for Mirajane to let me take it after she saw the state of my Body.

But in the end, I find myself observing my Target from a Distance.

What’s my best play here?

My Target is inside a multi-floor Mansion, which reminds me more of a large Cube surrounded by a large brick fence on every side, with a single front Gate. The Fence even has large metal Spikes atop it.

Honestly, I don’t even want to call it a Mansion. It’s a fancy-looking Stone Cube with tiny towers on the Roof at each corner, more like a military fortress. But compared to an actual Mansion, it’s quite ugly.

It belongs to Duke Everlue, and my Quest is to find and destroy a certain Book in the Library with the title Daybreak.

Well, the Quest has a more dramatic Subplot, which I don’t really care about. Something about the Quest giver’s Father being a famous Author who was blackmailed into writing that Book before his Death by the Duke. And the son, my Employer, wants to destroy it now because it is a stain or something.

With 200,000 Jewels as a Reward, it’s also one of the better-paying Quests that don’t involve hunting down a powerful Beast.

But I’m not here for the Money either. Of course, I’ll take it, but that’s not my Goal. If it were about Money, I could have taken any other Quest.

For now, let’s make sure to complete the Quest Objective.

Pulling out another one of my new Copper Keys, I call out, “Open up! Gate of Telescopium!”

A Telescope-shaped Spirit appears in my Hand. It pretty much has no Combat Abilities, but it allows me to use Clairvoyance Magic—a form of Magic that lets me see into the distance, or even into Buildings, as long as there is a Window or opening I can look through. Even a Keyhole is enough!

The only way to shield yourself from this Clairvoyance Magic is to have a completely sealed room or place protective Spells on it. But who has protective Spells or Wards against such an abstract and rare form of Magic? We’re not in Harry Potter.

Telescopium easily allows me to scout out the entire Mansion without them knowing any better.

Let’s see… Ugh, I completely forgot what a weird taste that Duke Everlue has. I’m going to have Nightmares from that.

An Evil Rich Guy with his own steadily expanding Maid Harem. If someone heard that description, a normal Person would expect some hotties or at least some normal Girls.

But no, somehow that guy is into completely disfigured Freaks of Nature.

Ey, you can say what you want, but that guy was into DEI before it got trendy.

Now I wish I had some Memory Erasure Magic.

What else? The Duke is there with his Maids. I quickly let my Eyes move further along before I need to get some Bleach.

At least Virgo isn’t with them. I took this Job because I would be able to get her Key, which at the very least is worth several Million Jewels.

Ah, the Library! There it is. And the Golden Book I’m looking for easily stands out. Says a lot about Everlue’s Ego that the Book he blackmailed some poor Author into writing is made out of Gold.

And the hidden Guard Room is also there, with two Mercenaries waiting for any Thief. Seems like I won’t be able to avoid a Fight.

Besides that, is that a Toilet made out of fucking Gold? And quite a few Gold Statues?

Hmm, well, I now know the Optimal Path.

With that, I release Telescopium, and a pair of black, bat-like Wings appears on my back before I take off into the Air, flying directly towards one of the Windows in the Library.

Without hesitation, I crash through it, arriving right in the Library in front of the correct Shelf, with the Golden Book Daybreak sitting on it.

And my Quest Objective is in my Bag before anyone can react.

Time for the Bonus Objectives.

A Copper Key appears in my Hand.

“Open up! Gate of Sagitta!”

An Arrow appears right next to the Shelf with the hidden Room entrance.

And not a moment too late!

“It’s actual Time for Business! If we get Paid without any actual Work, Mama will get Mad at us!” one of the Mercenaries says while trying to make a cool entrance.

Well, it’s the last thing he says, as Sagitta the Arrow pierces his Leg from his Blindspot, making him crash into the Ground without even giving him time to react.

“What—!?” the other Mercenary shouts in shock as he sees the Blood beside him. “You killed my Brother, you Bastard!”

I don’t even give him time to react and process the Situation. Before he can even grab his strange frying-pan Weapon, I’ve already closed the distance between us, hitting him right in the Face and knocking him clean out.

“I didn’t kill anybody, Loser.”

Next, I do the same to the bleeding younger Brother who was hit by Sagitta.

My Body may be weaker than the Average Devil for now, but it’s still strong enough to face non-magical Humans. Even trained ones.

Yeah, those were those something Brothers from some Mercenary Guild. A bit disappointing. They were really cocky Amateurs.

In the end, they have no Magic at all. That’s probably why most Combat work goes to Mage Guilds in this World.

“Thanks for your help, Sagitta!” I say before I cancel the Summoning.

Step One and Two Complete. All that’s left is the Duke and his Maids!

“INTRUDER DETECTED!”

A Behemoth of a Maid crashes up from below ground and straight into me. I barely have time to react and activate Mirajane’s Strength.

But barely enough time is still enough for me to kick her in the face, sending her back into the ground and making her disintegrate after taking enough Damage.

“Sorry, Virgo! But take a nap in the Spirit World for now!”

Fortunately, Duke Everlue, while possessing some Magic, isn’t really strong. Otherwise, Virgo would have been far more of a Challenge. Her Earth Magic is no Joke.

It really pains me to see her as that fat, pink-haired, ogre-like Monstrosity.

Now then, where was that Duke again?

Time to make a Pig squeal.

———

“Buhihihihi, please don’t kill me!” The disgusting fat man below my Boot cries while I relax on his Couch.

All that Gold is far too much. He’s got no Style at all.

All it took was giving him a good beating, and he became instantly compliant.

“Is that all you can say?” I ask while twirling the Celestial Spirit Key Chain I liberated from his Body in the Air. Celestial Spirit Magic is his main form of Offense.

Besides that, he still has his Diving Magic, but that’s mostly a movement Magic. Before he can do anything with it, I’ll kick his face in.

“I’m sorry! I don’t even know what I did to you, Sir!” The Pig keeps squealing.

“Nothing much.” I shrug. “It’s mostly personal distaste and the fact that you messed with my Client.”

“I can pay you more than your Client! How about ten times—no, one hundred times what he is paying you?” Duke Piggy offers desperately.

“No thanks. I’ve got Integrity. And that would tarnish the reputation of my Guild.”

“Then what do you even want from me? Just complete your Job, but let me live. You’re from a Light Guild. You won’t kill me, right?”

“Hmm, not so sure about that. Your Maids are asleep, and there would be no Witnesses.” I muse while making the Pig sweat before pulling out Daybreak. “You know this Book?”

“This is about this Worthless Tome? That’s why Mages have been breaking into my Home? Just keep it. It’s not even worth anything!” The man on the ground cries while I press his head against the Ground beneath my Boot.

“Oh, are you sure you want me to keep it?” I comment thoughtfully. “You don’t even know its true contents. It has a firsthand Testimony about what you did to the Author of this Book, encrypted with Magic inside it. My Quest was to destroy it, but I guess I could just hand it over to the Magic Council if you insist?”

“Please don’t! I’ll do anything as long as you don’t hand it to the Council!”

“All right. If you sign this, I’ll just bring this Book to my Employer for destruction, like my Quest Originally stated.”

Giving the man a warm nod, I pull out a Contract I created earlier today while in the Carriage on my way here.

Contract Magic is a variation of my Deal Magic. While Deal Magic is a verbal Contract that costs less Demonic Power, it drains my Demonic Power Reserves instantly. Meanwhile, Contract Magic allows me to create a Contract that stores Demonic Power over time. While it costs a bit more Magic overall thanks to the fact that I need to create the Contract, I can make greater Deals even with smaller Demonic Power Reserves!

Unaware of the nature of this Magic, this pig of a man immediately signs the Contract without even reading through the Terms.

If he had, he would know that he signed away his knowledge of Magic, his Magic Container, his Celestial Spirit Keys, and his Memories of today to me. Once I activate the Contract, he won’t even remember what happened today or why he lost his Magic.

That guy just screwed himself.

The Contract doesn’t even state my part of the Deal. I could directly go to the Magic Council or the Rune Knights with this Book and screw him over.

But I think my Employer would enjoy that more than me.

While I considered robbing that pig, in the end, I don’t want to harm Fairy Tail’s Reputation. They may be destructive, but thieves they are not. And that would be nothing other than stealing.

I still want to spend more time in this World. For now, it’s the only alternative World I have access to. Even if it would have been easy to steal some of his Gold Statues by simply opening a Door to my Shop.

Once I leave the Everlue Mansion, I activate the Contract.

Instantly, I feel my Demonic Power Reserves grow by about 10%.

Hmm, it’s not as much as I expected. Maybe that’s because I didn’t gain his Magic Power as a new Source of Magic, but instead, it was directly converted into Demonic Power for me? And Demonic Power seems to be more Potent than this World’s Magic Power.

I’m still happy that I gained some Growth. It would have taken a few weeks of training to achieve the same level of Growth.

Man, how worthless is that guy? The Magic Container he gained over his entire Life is only worth a few weeks of training.

Besides that, I gained an Intermediate Level of understanding of Diving Magic which is a form of Earth Magic, and a Beginner Level of Celestial Spirit Magic. Both manifested in the form of consumable Potions that I could sell if I don’t want to use them myself.

The ability to trade conceptual things is broken.

And the Contracts for his Celestial Spirits have been broken, of which he had four! All of them are now in my Possession.

Of course, there’s the Golden Key of Virgo the Maiden, one of the Zodiacs.

Then there are two Copper Keys, one of them being another Sagitta, the Arrow, and a Crater, the Cup, which apparently is a Cup that makes any drinkable liquid more Potent. For example, Wine tastes better, or a Potion becomes more effective.

Not bad for a Copper Spirit.

I don’t remember much about Potions in Fairy Tail, but in combination with other Worlds, this Copper Spirit could be quite broken.

Lastly, he also gave me a Silver Key, Corvus, the Crow, with the Ability to use Shadow Magic and fly.

Quite a good haul overall.

With the 200,000 Jewels I got for this Quest after revealing the true Contents of Daybreak to my Employer, I technically made a few Million here. After having spend almost 10% of my Wealth in the Magic Store in Magnolia, for my Keys and different Items for my own Store, it once again brings me up to over 92.000 Dollars in Cash.

My Client was very happy to learn about what his Father had left him and the fact that he could get Revenge on Everlue.

And that fat Pig wouldn’t even know what was waiting for him.

[-- End of Chapter --]