Chapter 51
"Then we’re off!"
Inside the Fairy Tail guildhall, Marshall’s Hunter Team was saying goodbye to their friends.
Erza rested a hand on her fully equipped little brother’s shoulder, her expression gentle.
"Remember to be careful. Don’t act recklessly. If things become too dangerous, I can always accompany you next time."
"There’s no need to trouble you every time. Don’t worry, nothing serious will happen."
Marshall shook his head.
Even the youngest Mages in this world were far beyond ordinary people.
Gray had traveled alone from the distant north when he was only eight or nine, crossing an enormous distance simply to join Fairy Tail.
At that point, he had only been studying magic for about a year.
People in this world were unusually accepting of young geniuses.
Marshall was already nine, so no one found it strange that he was heading out to hunt Magical Beasts.
Of course, the people close to him would still worry.
Mira, who had been anxiously bouncing one leg nearby, certainly looked restless enough.
"Tch. Cana, if you let Marshall get hurt, don’t blame me if I beat you up!"
"Hah?" Cana snapped. "You’ve been getting awfully arrogant lately, Mira! Erza isn’t the only person in this guild who can fight you. I’ll take you on whenever you want!"
"Hmph. Save it until you come back in one piece."
’I want to go adventuring with Marshall too... That sneaky bitch! If I didn’t need to stay and look after Elfman and Lisanna, I’d never let her have him to herself!’
Marshall smiled.
His friends’ concern was genuinely touching, even if some of it felt a little heavy.
Levy stepped forward with a gloomy expression.
"Be careful, both of you. Next time... once I become more skilled with Solid Script Magic, I’ll be able to join you in hunting Magical Beasts."
’I want to go adventuring with Marshall too... But I’m too weak. My magic power and spells are both inferior to his. At this rate, I can’t even stand beside him! This won’t do, Levy! You have to work harder for the sake of your future family!’
"...All right."
There were times when Marshall deeply regretted possessing Telepathy Magic.
If being deaf would have stopped him from hearing people’s thoughts, he might genuinely have considered rupturing his own eardrums.
Levy’s combat ability wasn’t especially impressive.
Her true strength lay in her firm grasp of magical theory.
She was one of the guild’s rare scholarly Mages, and even Marshall occasionally asked her for advice when he encountered something unfamiliar.
Unfortunately, Solid Script Magic was primarily supportive at lower levels and possessed limited offensive power.
Learning Enchantment Magic might compensate for that weakness, but Levy didn’t have enough time or focus to divide her attention between both disciplines.
Marshall understood.
Not everyone had a System.
Without his cheat, he might not even be as strong as Levy was now.
"Then we’re leaving~ We’ll be back tonight! Ruby, say goodbye to everyone."
The kitten lying on top of Marshall’s head stood up and waved one paw.
"Bye-bye, everyone! Nya!"
Marshall took Cana’s hand.
The next moment, the two of them and Ruby vanished.
Their friends stared silently at the place where they had been standing.
"Tch. I don’t know what everyone’s so worried about. That kid is more reliable than any of us. I’m leaving."
"That’s true. Marshall is an exceptionally capable child."
"I hope everything goes smoothly."
...
Marshall, Cana, and Ruby reappeared in the village beneath the snowy mountain where they had previously captured the Vulcans.
This was the most distant location Marshall had marked with a teleportation coordinate.
"It’s a real adventure!" Cana exclaimed. "Marshall, which direction do we go from here?"
"Southwest. Most of that region is undeveloped forest. We should encounter plenty of powerful Magical Beasts."
"Great! Let’s go—Flying Card!"
Cana threw a card into the air.
It rapidly expanded into an enormous sheet of paper resembling a flying carpet.
She had developed the spell by combining Card Magic with Marshall’s Flight Magic.
It allowed passengers to sit on the enlarged card and fly through the air.
Although Cana hadn’t captured any new Magical Beasts yet, Marshall’s ideas had helped her create several powerful cards.
This Flying Carpet Card was one of them.
Cana grabbed Marshall and pulled him aboard, waving one arm excitedly.
"Full speed ahead!"
The card took off.
Its speed was roughly a hundred kilometers per hour.
That wasn’t especially fast, but since they needed to search the ground below for Magical Beasts, it suited their purpose.
"I think this card still has room for improvement," Marshall said. "We could use a small amount of Spatial Magic to expand the interior, then add Wind Magic to block the air resistance. That would let it fly faster."
He looked around the bare surface.
"We could add a table and tea set too..."
"Hehe. Then you can help me redesign it."
"Easy."
"Aye! Easy, nya!"
The two children and their kitten chatted cheerfully as they traveled.
Not long after leaving the village, they entered an untouched wilderness.
More than half the country consisted of unmanaged, primeval forests like this.
Magical Beasts roamed everywhere, while ordinary monsters were so common they barely attracted notice.
After half an hour of flying, they finally discovered a creature that looked promising.
It resembled a Tyrannosaurus and stood four or five meters tall.
One glance was enough to tell that it wouldn’t be easy to handle.
"Marshall! Marshall! Let’s choose that one!"
Cana pointed excitedly.
"It’s a Mountain-Splitting Beast. They sometimes awaken Earth Magic, and their bodies are incredibly strong. It looks powerful!"
"I normally wouldn’t recommend capturing something that large. Maintaining a summon of that size would consume too much magic power."
Marshall considered it for a moment.
"Still, since we’re already here, we might as well try."
He checked his current basic attributes.
[Energy: 220/220]
[Stamina: 250/250]
[Magic Power: 3,390/3,496]
An eager light rose in Marshall’s eyes.
He reached into his personal storage and pulled out his red-tasseled spear.
"Cana, don’t interfere yet. I want to test my current strength."
He glanced up at Ruby.
"Ruby! Stay here and watch your boss perform!"
"Aye! Boss, nya!"
Marshall disappeared from the flying carpet.
The next moment, he reappeared high above the dinosaur’s head.
He raised the spear overhead and began enchanting it.
"Weapon Reinforcement. Script Enchantment: Collapse!"
Then he brought the shaft down with all his strength.
BOOM!
The spear slammed into the beast’s skull.
A torrent of force erupted from the point of impact, spreading outward as a visible white shock wave.
The dinosaur’s neck buckled.
Its dazed eyes rolled white for an instant before its entire body crashed into the ground, sending up a wave of dirt and leaving a shallow crater beneath it.
The creature had no idea what hit it.
Fortunately, its hide was extremely thick. After roaring incoherently for a while, it staggered back to its feet.
"Not bad. You can take a beating!"
Marshall grinned.
"Again!"
Because they needed to capture the creature alive, he avoided using the spearhead.
Instead, he wielded the weapon like a staff and beat the dinosaur until its howls echoed through the forest.
Marshall’s small body and high mobility made him little more than an insect in the beast’s eyes.
It couldn’t even follow his movements.
Every counterattack struck empty air, while Marshall continued pummeling it from every direction.
Magic reinforcement prevented the weapon from breaking, while the Script Enchantment Collapse added a force-field effect that multiplied the power of every blunt strike.
Marshall didn’t use any other magic throughout the battle.
He simply enjoyed the raw satisfaction of landing one solid blow after another.
He had to admit, close-quarters combat was dangerously exhilarating.
The rush of blood through his body was almost addictive.
Several minutes later, Marshall stood atop the unconscious dinosaur with his spear planted beside him and declared victory.
"Marshall, you were amazing!"
"Long live Boss! Nya!"
Marshall waved at them and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Breathing heavily, he checked his panel again.
[Energy: 215/220]
[Stamina: 96/250]
[Magic Power: 3,255/3,496]
Marshall stared at the numbers.
Then he laughed.
This had been nothing more than voluntarily making himself suffer.
A few proper spells could have ended the fight almost immediately, yet he had insisted on beating the creature with a stick for several minutes.
And still...
Why had every solid impact felt so satisfying?
[Inspiration +666]
Marshall appeared to have discovered another excellent method of gaining experience.
Combat..... It felt incredible.