Chapter 33
"...The most infamous monster near Magnolia? That would probably be the Vulcans living on Mount Hakobe."
Macao, one of Fairy Tail’s veteran members, began explaining the creatures to Marshall and the others.
"Some Vulcans awaken Take Over Magic. They can absorb humans and grow stronger by taking their power.
"They live high in the mountains and often raid settlements before fleeing back into the snow. Mount Hakobe’s environment is so harsh that hardly anyone wants to chase them up there, so they’ve been causing trouble for years. They’re among the most notorious monsters in the region."
After finishing his explanation, Macao raised an eyebrow at the children.
"What’s this? Don’t tell me a bunch of little brats like you are planning to hunt Vulcans. You could die, you know!"
Erza showed no reaction and simply looked toward Marshall, waiting for his decision.
"Take Over Magic?" Marshall asked. "What kind of magic is that? I don’t think I’ve studied it before."
"Oh, it’s terrifying." Macao leaned forward and lowered his voice dramatically. "It’s magic that eats people!"
He spread his hands like claws.
"It devours another person’s body and soul, stores them inside the user, and once they’re fully digested, the caster gains all their power!"
Macao bared his teeth.
"The Vulcans are going to eat you! Raaah!"
"...Are you seriously trying to scare children, Macao?" Marshall asked flatly. "Am I supposed to pretend that worked?"
"Tch. You’re no fun."
Macao leaned back and took another drink.
"Take Over is actually pretty famous. Quite a few Mages learn it so they can absorb beasts or monsters and strengthen their bodies."
His tone became slightly more serious.
"But there’s always a risk of the creature overpowering the Mage and taking control instead.
"If someone hasn’t been absorbed for long, they can still be forced back out. But if a monster holds them for too long, they become part of its power."
Macao grinned.
"Basically, they really do get digested. Still, I can’t imagine any Mage being pathetic enough to get absorbed by a Vulcan! Hahahaha!"
He raised his mug and laughed like a drunken detective congratulating himself for solving a case.
Marshall had already obtained the information he needed, so he ignored the old drunk.
"Take Over Magic... That sounds interesting."
He nodded thoughtfully.
"I want to learn it!"
"Marshall!" Cana leaned forward eagerly. "Does that mean we’re choosing the Vulcans as our target?"
"Mm. They’ll work."
Marshall closed the book in front of him.
"Let’s go home, pack what we need, and leave immediately."
...
More than a month had passed since the New Year.
Magnolia had already become one of Fiore’s most popular tourist destinations.
Thanks to constant promotion by the Fiore Daily and Sorcerer Weekly, most of the kingdom had heard about the newly opened amusement park.
While business at the park continued to boom, Duke Everlue had not caused trouble even once.
Marshall could not even find an excuse to deal with him.
Fairy Tail had no time to worry about the duke anyway. Everyone was still adjusting to how suddenly crowded and lively Magnolia had become.
Marshall had not been idle during that period either.
He had finally completed the official version of Summoning Cards 1.0!
After discussing it with Cana over the past few days, they decided it was time to find a monster and test the spell properly.
Marshall had lived in Magnolia for nearly two years now.
It was probably time for him to finally get off his ass and see more of the world.
He did not mind being a shut-in and had grown quite comfortable with the lifestyle, but he was still curious about the scenery, cultures, and strange places this world had to offer.
His magic power had long since surpassed one thousand, and several of his most frequently used spells had reached a respectable level.
He could no longer be considered a weak Mage.
Erza was also far stronger than anyone else her age, with more than five thousand magic power, while Cana’s reserves had surpassed two thousand and were no lower than Marshall’s had been before his recent training.
With all three of them traveling together, it was unlikely they would encounter a threat they could not handle.
Marshall first teleported home and asked Virgo to help him choose several thick sweaters.
He then grabbed a map and returned to the meeting point outside the guildhall.
One thing worth mentioning was that his previous prediction had been wrong.
Even after Marshall’s magic power surpassed one thousand, Virgo had not unlocked her intermediate combat tier.
According to her, his reserves were still insufficient.
Marshall felt slightly cheated!
Would he really need the magic power of an S-Class Mage just to unlock Virgo’s next level?
Cana and Erza had not returned from packing yet, so Marshall unfolded the map and studied their destination.
Mount Hakobe stood roughly sixty kilometers northwest of Magnolia.
It was not particularly far. Traveling there by carriage would take only half a day.
Marshall, however, possessed an extremely convenient long-distance teleportation spell.
Travel was the least of his concerns.
He estimated the distance from the map, then performed an extremely long-range teleport.
The next instant, he appeared in midair ten kilometers away.
That was the farthest he could currently teleport without a prepared coordinate.
Over the past six months, Marshall had invested large amounts of Inspiration into several essential skills for the sake of developing Summoning Card Magic.
As a result, he now had only a little over one hundred thousand points remaining in his "savings."
Several of his abilities had reached Level Three, but the price was that he would need to spend more time hoarding Inspiration before he could raise Meditation to Level Four.
There was no avoiding that.
He could not have everything at once.
If he wanted to enjoy researching magic, then he needed to invest Inspiration into the supporting skills that made that research possible.
Forcing himself to save every point and refusing to improve anything else would only make him miserable.
A bad mood would slow the growth of his Inspiration anyway, which would hinder his progress rather than help it.
Marshall only needed to follow his heart.
What he wanted most right now was to complete Summoning Card Magic.
And the necessary "sacrifices" had proven worthwhile.
Level Three Spatial Magic had not only given him a personal storage space roughly the size of a basketball court, but had also removed magic power as the main restriction on his teleportation distance.
Inspired by Celestial Spirit Magic, Marshall had developed a new understanding of long-distance travel.
As long as he possessed a clear spatial coordinate, he could perform a spatial jump regardless of the distance.
Unlike short-range teleportation, the main cost of a long-distance jump came from the instant he "opened the door" through space.
Because of that, the magic power required remained almost identical no matter how far away the destination was.
However, that only applied when Marshall had a precise coordinate.
Without one, he could teleport only around ten kilometers at a time—the maximum range within which his Telepathy Magic could clearly perceive the surrounding area.
That was not much of a problem.
An ordinary Mage might worry about materializing inside a wall or another obstacle, but Marshall could fly.
He simply teleported into the sky.
If a bird happened to be in the way, that was the bird’s problem.
Marshall performed several more jumps in succession.
Once a snow-covered mountain finally appeared in the distance, he descended to the ground, established a spatial coordinate, and teleported back to the entrance of Fairy Tail.
He took a moment to catch his breath before checking his remaining reserves.
[Magic Power: 1,147/2,077]
All right.
Repeated long-distance teleportation still consumed a considerable amount of magic power.
Still, half a bar should be enough.
"Marshall~"
Cana and Erza returned at that exact moment.
Marshall was about to greet them when he noticed the small cart piled high with suitcases behind Erza.
"Wait. Erza, why did you bring so much luggage? We’re not going on vacation."
Erza looked genuinely confused.
"Is this a lot? I deliberately packed light this time."
She gestured toward the mountain of suitcases.
"My magic requires me to switch between several sets of armor to deal with different situations. I usually bring every suit of armor I own whenever I travel."
"...Don’t you have requip storage space?"
"It’s full!"
Erza gave him a proud thumbs-up.
"..."
Erza had learned Spatial Magic specifically from Marshall, so her skill was probably only Level One.
But even a Level One storage space should have been roughly the size of a bedroom.
How much armor had she bought in a single year?
Marshall rubbed his forehead helplessly, then stored the entire pile of luggage inside his own space.
"Oh!" Erza’s eye lit up. "Your Spatial Magic really is impressive."
"Come on. Take my hands."
Marshall held Cana’s hand on one side and Erza’s on the other.
The next instant, all three of them appeared near the snow-covered mountains.
"Whew... That should be Mount Hakobe over there."
Marshall pointed into the distance.
"It’ll only take around fifteen minutes to walk there. The temperature on the mountain is extremely low, so we should change into warmer clothes before setting out."
Cana stared at him in surprise.
"You can teleport this far now?"
"Easily."
Erza looked at him curiously.
"Why are you holding your arms out like that?"
"I used a lot of magic power just now, and I’m exhausted~"
Marshall smiled innocently.
"Could one of my big sisters carry me?"