Chapter 79
In September, Mest enrolled at the Magic Council Academy as a postgraduate trainee.
Trainees studied at the academy for one year.
As long as their grades met the required standard, they could apply directly to join the Council and become proud entry-level civil servants.
Marshall had just entered his third year, so the two of them would probably graduate around the same time.
Fortunately, that idiot Mest had voluntarily tampered with his own memories before infiltrating the Council.
Otherwise, there was a real chance he might have recognized Marshall.
Not that Marshall showed himself around the academy very often anymore.
These days, he was either buried in the library or holed up inside the apartment.
Ultear had also stopped bothering him recently.
She came and went without explanation, seemingly occupied with something mysterious, and every time she returned, her head was filled with so much negativity that merely overhearing it became irritating.
Marshall had simply stopped listening.
His control over Telepathy Magic had improved tremendously, and other people’s thoughts rarely intruded on him anymore unless he deliberately paid attention.
After two years, Marshall had learned nearly everything the academy could teach him.
His skill list had grown so long that he could barely see the end of it, but more importantly, he had completely filled the gaps in his fundamental magical education.
At this point, the academy’s professors had very little left to teach him.
For his final year, Marshall planned to write and publish more research papers.
He had no intention of shutting himself away and relying solely on his own ideas.
One person’s perspective would always be limited, and even a passing insight from another researcher might become the inspiration he needed.
Clinging possessively to knowledge would only leave him stagnant.
As for the minor detail that Hanna’s popularity rose every time another paper was published...
Marshall didn’t care in the slightest.
Another discovery worth mentioning was a record he had found in the academy library concerning a Lost Magic known as God Slayer Magic.
Marshall suspected that Dragon Slayer Magic might have been developed as an imitation of it.
Unfortunately, the surviving records were far too vague to trigger the System’s registration function.
He could only hope that Super Archive Magic would offer him a pleasant surprise once he gained access to it.
Whether it was his primary spells, physical constitution, or magic power, every aspect of Marshall’s strength was now improving at a stable pace.
He wasn’t likely to experience another sudden breakthrough anytime soon.
That was why he had recently resumed his research into Celestial Spirit Magic.
Part of the reason was that after Script Magic reached Level Four, looking back at Celestial Spirit Magic gave him the strange feeling that the mountains he once understood were no longer mountains at all.
A single small Zodiac Gold Key contained an explosively dense amount of magical information.
Marshall finally understood more deeply what Virgo had meant when she said that Celestial Spirits were not human and that Celestial Spirit Keys represented the pinnacle of Holder Magic.
More importantly, once Marshall’s magic power surpassed fifteen thousand, Virgo’s abilities finally evolved.
She unlocked her intermediate form, receiving an enormous increase in strength.
In the past, Virgo’s abilities had mostly been limited to digging holes and tunneling underground.
They hadn’t been completely useless, but their practical value was admittedly limited.
After evolving, however, her Earth Magic reached Level Four.
She could freely shape and command earth, split the ground with a light stomp, and trigger localized earthquakes with a casual gesture.
Her power had increased by far more than a small margin.
This indirectly proved that Celestial Spirits weren’t truly "people."
They were closer to some unusual type of magical artifact whose power adjusted itself according to the strength of its keyholder.
If they weren’t people, then perhaps they were something more like...
Artifact spirits?
Whatever the correct classification, Celestial Spirits were undeniably useful in every sense of the word.
Marshall felt that neither Gray nor Natsu could defeat Virgo in a one-on-one battle anymore.
Her magic consumption was admittedly quite high, but for someone like Marshall—a nonprofessional Celestial Spirit Mage whose individual strength surpassed his summons—calling Virgo into battle often felt unnecessarily complicated.
He could usually defeat the opponent himself before she even needed to act.
Virgo was better suited to continuing her work as his maid.
For example, she had been tremendously useful while helping rebuild Marshall’s "house."
Marshall was obviously an exceptional case, though.
Objectively speaking, Celestial Spirit Magic was an extraordinarily powerful and sophisticated magical system.
A Celestial Spirit Mage didn’t need to study complex theory or possess exceptional control over magic power.
The sole requirement was having enough magic power to open and maintain the gates.
The spirits could handle everything else themselves.
Was there any magic more perfectly suited to lazy people?
Possessing even one Zodiac Gold Key could secure the inheritance and survival of an entire magical family.
Whoever created Celestial Spirit Magic had been a true genius.
Wait...
Could some overwhelmingly powerful person have deliberately created such a simple, convenient magical system specifically to protect their descendants?
"Hahaha. Surely not."
Marshall’s smile slowly faded.
"...Right?"
The more he considered it, the stranger—and more reasonable—it seemed.
If Marshall eventually had children and descendants of his own, wouldn’t it be perfectly natural to design an easy-to-use form of magic so they could protect themselves?
This was serious.
Marshall felt as though he had accidentally uncovered a secret that might not technically be a secret at all.
Then there were the records he had read claiming that most of the demons terrorizing the world today had originally come from the Books of Zeref, created by the legendary Black Mage himself.
The great figures of this world seemed remarkably fond of creating strange things and leaving them behind for future generations.
If Celestial Spirits and demons were both magical creations at their core...
Could Marshall also create an entirely new form of life?
His Inspiration began to stir.
Just as Marshall’s real body prepared to record the new ideas flooding into his mind, Makarov entered the guildhall with a handsome blond man.
"Brats! Quiet down! I have an announcement!"
Makarov pointed at the newcomer.
"This is Loki, the newest member of Fairy Tail. Everyone give him a warm welcome!"
"Hello, everyone!"
The newcomer pushed up his glasses and flashed a cheerful smile.
"I’m Loki. I specialize in Holder Magic, have a wide range of interests, and love beautiful women. I look forward to getting along with all of you!"
The new member was a blond man with glasses and a bright, outgoing personality.
He was certainly handsome, though still somewhat inferior to Marshall.
At this point, Marshall seemed to exist on an entirely different layer of reality from ordinary people.
Still, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.
The newcomer didn’t quite feel like a human.
The magic surrounding him was peculiar, almost like Virgo when she forced herself into the human world without drawing upon her keyholder’s power.
Marshall soon teleported back to his rebuilt home—a nine-story Mage’s tower resembling a small castle.
He summoned Virgo and handed her a photograph of Loki.
"Virgo, do you recognize this man? Is he connected to the Celestial Spirit World?"
Virgo needed only a second to identify him.
"Little Master, he is Leo, the Lion of the Zodiac."
"He violated a Celestial Spirit contract and was recently banished by the Celestial Spirit King. He is currently unable to return to the Celestial Spirit World."
"Oh?"
Marshall’s eyes immediately lit up.
"There’s a story here? Tell me everything!"
"In principle, Little Master, I’m not permitted to reveal private information concerning other Celestial Spirits and their keyholders..."
Virgo paused delicately.
"However... there should be no problem with telling you a small story about a human."
"I heard it from Aries..."