Chapter 78
Time flew by, and before long, the year was X781.
At the end of the previous year, Erza, Mira, and Cana had all taken Fairy Tail’s S-Class Mage Trial.
Erza was the only one who passed.
Since then, she had begun making a name for herself across Fiore as Titania, the Queen of the Fairies.
Fairy Tail’s reputation once again spread throughout the kingdom, keeping Makarov delighted for weeks.
Marshall’s current strength, however, was already close to Erza’s.
If the two of them fought seriously, there was no guarantee she would win.
That was because Marshall had recently undergone another enormous leap in power.
Not long ago, he had painstakingly raised Body-Conditioning Magic beyond sixty percent and Script Magic past seventy percent.
Then, using Inspiration, he successfully upgraded both skills to Level Four.
He had deliberately waited to upgrade them together because his Body-Conditioning Magic was deeply connected to Script Magic.
It wasn’t merely a method of using enchanted words to strengthen the body.
The spell itself contained an intricate understanding of human anatomy and vitality, allowing Marshall to train his body correctly without anyone guiding him.
Once Body-Conditioning Magic reached Level Four, its effects became almost absurd.
His hair, skin, features, bones, organs...
It was as though every part of his body had begun undergoing systematic training.
All the minor flaws and weaknesses common to the human body gradually disappeared.
His physique was moving closer and closer to a state of perfection, and even his appearance continued improving so dramatically that it sometimes felt as though his entire art style had changed.
Level Four Body-Conditioning Magic appeared to be altering him at the genetic level—and doing so passively.
His body had already started becoming somewhat inhuman, much like Natsu’s, and his Energy was rising at an astonishing pace.
Even more outrageous was the sudden explosion in his magic power.
It had broken past fifteen thousand and was now racing toward twenty thousand.
The most likely explanation was that Body-Conditioning Magic had stimulated some hidden potential within the human body.
Marshall had discovered another "source" inside himself capable of storing magic power.
After careful study, he concluded that this wasn’t a unique effect created solely by his own spell.
In theory, every Mage possessed the potential to open this hidden reserve.
Marshall named it the... Second Origin.
Humans in this world were born capable of storing magic power within themselves, but the place where that power accumulated couldn’t actually be found anywhere in the physical body.
It resembled the dantian described in cultivation stories, yet it was closer to a spiritual structure tied to the soul.
Because the soul inhabited the body, people naturally felt as though their magic power was stored physically within them.
But just as no one could point to the exact location of the soul, it was almost impossible to identify where the First Origin truly existed.
The Second Origin was different.
It existed entirely within the physical body.
Once the human body had been developed beyond a certain threshold, it could open a genuine internal space specifically designed to store additional magic power.
The Second Origin overlapped so closely with the First Origin that no one had ever recognized them as separate structures.
With Level Four Body-Conditioning Magic, however, Marshall could clearly sense the difference.
To describe it in more fantastical terms...
His magic power had formed a core.
Once the Second Origin opened, excess magic power no longer placed the same strain on the body.
In theory, that meant Marshall’s physical development would no longer restrict the growth of his magical reserves.
Even an ordinary Mage would experience a dramatic increase in strength after awakening their Second Origin.
Marshall considered the discovery significant enough that he intended to publish several academic papers on it eventually.
He might as well contribute something to the advancement of magical research.
The reason he suddenly had enough free time to write papers was simple.
The Naruto novel he had used to train Script Magic every day was finally complete.
He had worked on the series intermittently for five years.
Although the manga adaptation had thoroughly surpassed the novels in popularity, the original books had still earned Marshall enough money to achieve complete financial freedom.
With the novel finished and Script Magic already upgraded to Level Four, Marshall temporarily lacked an obvious way to grind more experience.
Writing magical research papers seemed like a reasonable alternative.
Overall, Level Four Body-Conditioning Magic had shown no meaningful disadvantages so far.
Aside from making Marshall even more attractive and causing girls to lose track of conversations while staring at his face, there were no noticeable problems.
That tiny side effect hardly mattered.
Marshall even suspected that Level Five Body-Conditioning Magic might genuinely extend his lifespan.
Unfortunately, the advanced version remained a spell custom-built specifically for him.
At most, he could forcibly install a ’Level Three’ variation in Elfman, and even that version carried an unfortunate side effect—unrestricted muscular growth.
Anything beyond that was impossible.
Marshall himself hadn’t fully untangled the principles behind the spell, so he couldn’t yet create a universal body-training system suitable for everyone.
Otherwise, he might have transformed the magical world into a cultivation world by now.
Given enough time, however, perhaps he really could.
That confidence came from reaching Script Magic LV4.
After the upgrade, Marshall’s understanding of magic deepened considerably, and the rate at which he gained experience in every other spell accelerated again.
His Spatial Magic had already passed sixty-five percent.
It might reach Level Four naturally before he even saved enough Inspiration to force the upgrade.
Spatial Magic was the ability most perfectly suited to Marshall.
It was one of the few major skills he had raised primarily through relentless study and practice rather than relying heavily on Inspiration.
This progress truly belonged to his own hard work.
More importantly, Level Four Script Magic had expanded the possibilities available to him when creating new spells.
At their core, every form of magic in this world could be interpreted through Script Magic.
If individual magical systems were separate programs, then Script Magic was the fundamental programming language beneath them all.
Raising its level therefore accelerated his study of every other form of magic.
Master one principle, and ten thousand others became clearer.
That was the main reason Marshall had insisted on upgrading Body-Conditioning Magic and Script Magic together.
At the very least, he hadn’t experienced the same dangerous loss of control that occurred when Meditation reached Level Four.
The Script Magic upgrade had also provided countless new insights.
Magical creations he had once failed to understand now appeared completely different through his eyes.
One recent example was the Celestial Spirit Keys he had begun researching.
While Marshall’s strength continued soaring and he happily immersed himself in his discoveries, the outside world was undergoing its own turbulent changes.
Rumors had spread across the continent that the Alvarez Empire in the west intended to invade Ishgar.
The news caused growing unrest throughout the Kingdom of Fiore.
Inside Fairy Tail, the tension was difficult to notice.
But Marshall’s Thought Projection at the Magic Council Academy could clearly sense the unease in the air.
A storm was approaching.
War...
No matter the world, it remained an unavoidable disaster.
In the past, Marshall might have felt worried.
Now, with formidable strength in his hands and the ability to travel almost anywhere, he found it difficult to panic.
His Guild Master, however, seemed considerably less relaxed.
...
Inside Fairy Tail, Makarov had pulled Marshall aside for a private conversation.
"Marshall, are you truly unwilling to join the Magic Council after graduation?"
"Absolutely not."
Marshall rejected the idea without hesitation.
"I only attended the academy to learn magic."
"I’d originally hoped to enjoy school life and meet some girls too, but that ridiculous student identification you arranged ruined the whole thing."
He snorted.
"If the academy library weren’t so useful, I would’ve left ages ago."
"The moment I obtain Super Archive Magic, I’m disappearing on the spot. I won’t stay there one second longer than necessary!"
Makarov sighed deeply.
"You really are an impossible child..."
"Fine. If that’s your decision, I suppose Mest will have to become your junior at the academy."
"Nani?!"
Marshall spun toward him.
"You promised you wouldn’t tell anyone about this!"
"It’s fine, it’s fine."
Makarov waved dismissively.
"That fool Mest plans to erase his own memories as part of the mission anyway."
"He won’t remember you."
"...That does sound exactly like something Mest would do."
Marshall studied Makarov suspiciously.
"So what are you planning, Master?"
"Are you trying to seize control of the Magic Council and crown yourself ruler of the magical world?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Makarov’s mustache bristled.
"I’m sending Mest to infiltrate the Council and investigate the Alvarez Empire!"
"If you discover anything useful at the academy, remember to report it to me as well."
"Tch. Boring."
Marshall looked disappointed.
"If you were actually planning to take over the Council, I might’ve been willing to endure the humiliation and lend you a hand."
"Get lost, you rotten brat!"
Marshall clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"You worry too much, Master."
"Even if this empire does start a war, what can they possibly do to us?"
"Just call Gildarts back and have him smash the whole empire apart with one punch!"
"You truly have no idea how vast the world is."
Makarov’s expression grew serious.
"Gildarts is powerful, but the Alvarez Empire has Mages of comparable strength."
"And their real target may even be our guild..."
Marshall’s eyes immediately brightened.
"Oh? Now that sounds interesting."
"Go on, Master. Tell me everything."
"No."
Makarov turned away with an offended huff.
"You disobedient little brat. I’m not telling you anything!"
"Stingy old man!"
"Shameless little flirt!"
Marshall and Makarov lunged at each other and began wrestling across the guildhall.
Their important discussion ended without accomplishing anything.