Chapter 11
The novel’s serialization went smoothly.
Thanks to Makarov’s connections, the newspaper offered Marshall three thousand Jewels for every thousand words.
Marshall had no idea whether that was generous or cheap, but apparently it was slightly above the average rate.
Each installment contained roughly three thousand words, earning him around ten thousand Jewels a day, or close to three hundred thousand a month.
To the Mages in Fairy Tail, that amount was only worth a few decent jobs.
Looking at it that way, Mages really did have incredible earning potential.
Making money as an ordinary person was not easy at all!
Fortunately, this was only the beginning. Once the story became popular enough to be published in book form, that was when the real money should start coming in.
Still, when it came to Naruto, a manga adaptation felt almost essential.
It was one of the few series Marshall had read all the way through in his previous life, and recreating it here would also serve as a small tribute to the world he could never return to.
With that thought in mind, he approached Reedus, the Fairy Tail member who specialized in Pict Magic.
"Reedus, have you read the novel being serialized in the Fiore Daily lately?"
Reedus was nineteen years old and always dressed neatly, usually in the same suit and top hat.
His gentle personality made him seem completely out of place among the guild’s violent apes.
He normally sat alone in a corner of the guildhall and drew quietly.
In a guild overflowing with loud extroverts, Reedus was one of the few men Marshall had needed to approach on his own.
"Oh, hello, Marshall. A novel in the newspaper?" Reedus shook his head. "I haven’t noticed it."
"Oh, then take a look."
Marshall promptly shoved the manuscript into his hands.
Introverts were usually bad at refusing people.
Sometimes it was best to simply force the issue.
Reedus scratched his head awkwardly. He had planned to spend the afternoon drawing, but since the manuscript was already in his hands, he reluctantly began reading.
"Well, well. Marshall, have you learned my Smoke Magic yet?"
Wakaba, who had nothing better to do, wandered over to tease him.
Wakaba was a man with long, curled hair swept into a pompadour.
He looked a little like a delinquent, but he was surprisingly helpful and had previously spent a day teaching Marshall Smoke Magic.
He was also Macao’s longtime friend and favorite rival.
"Not yet. I’ve been busy studying other kinds of magic."
Marshall gave him a harmless smile.
In truth, he simply thought Smoke Magic was rather useless.
It was flashy, but it did little damage, so he had no particular desire to learn it.
"Damn it! Macao’s Fire Magic is worthless," Wakaba complained. "I can extinguish it easily every time. Don’t waste your time learning from him."
Marshall had successfully cast Fire Magic in the guildhall the previous day.
Macao had immediately become excited, boasting that he would teach Marshall how to use Purple Flare while parading around in front of Wakaba.
Marshall had no idea what those bored adults were even competing over.
"I’m not planning to focus on Fire Magic right now," he said, shaking his head. "I’m more interested in Reedus’s Pict Magic."
Marshall intended to specialize in Script Magic for the foreseeable future, but he still needed to maintain his reputation as a child fascinated by every kind of magic.
One never knew when some fool might walk over and offer to teach him a new skill.
"Marshall, this novel is really good!"
Reedus had finished the manuscript by then, and his face had brightened considerably.
"This is the story being serialized in the Fiore Daily? It looks like I’ll have to start buying the newspaper more often."
"What is it? Let me see."
Wakaba took the manuscript from Marshall, who turned back toward Reedus.
"You liked it? Would you be interested in drawing a manga adaptation? We could work together and make a fortune."
"A... manga?" Reedus blinked. "Wait, work together? You wrote this novel?"
His eyes widened so much that his glasses nearly slipped off.
"That’s right."
"All right... I suppose I’ll believe you." Reedus adjusted his glasses. "But what exactly is a manga? Would it be like an illustrated children’s book?"
"Not quite." Marshall thought for a moment. "Why don’t you teach me Pict Magic first? More importantly, are you willing to work with me and make money?"
Reedus scratched his head in discomfort.
"I don’t mind earning money. I already love drawing, after all. But I’m not sure I want to turn it into a job."
"I won’t pressure you with deadlines. I’ll only handle the novel, and I understand not wanting to make your passion feel like nothing more than work."
"In that case, all right. Then let me teach you—"
"Tch. Is wasting your talent like this really a good idea, brat?"
An unfriendly voice interrupted them, and Marshall felt someone rest an arm on top of his head.
"I heard you learned Gildarts’s magic. Not bad. But you should be focusing on increasing your magic power instead of wasting time on magic with no future. Understand?"
"Hey, Laxus! That was uncalled for!"
Wakaba lowered the manuscript and snapped at him.
Marshall already knew who had approached from behind.
Laxus Dreyar was fifteen years old, Makarov’s grandson, and the strongest Mage among Fairy Tail’s younger generation.
He used an exceptionally powerful form of Lightning Magic.
He was sensitive beneath all his arrogance and liked pretending to be aloof, which made him yet another tsundere.
His father, Ivan, was an S-Class Mage, but he was also one of the very few genuinely unpleasant people in the guild.
Marshall had judged both father and son difficult to approach and had barely interacted with Laxus before today.
He had not expected Laxus to come to him first.
"What?" Laxus sneered like a cocky brat. "Am I wrong? Their magic is weak!"
He patted Marshall’s head again.
"What do you say, kid? Stop hanging around these losers. How about I teach you Lightning Magic?"
Marshall had always known that maintaining the right image was important.
And there it was—a new skill offering itself to him without any effort.
He turned around, pretended not to understand the insult, and smiled sweetly.
"Thank you, Laxus! But I’m learning Pict Magic right now. Once I’ve learned Reedus’s magic, I’ll come find you."
Laxus stared at him.
"...?"
He had clearly intended to insult someone, but when he remembered that the person in front of him was only six years old, all his enthusiasm vanished.
"Tch. Whatever. I’m leaving."
Once Laxus had walked away, Wakaba slammed a hand against the table and took an irritated drag from his pipe.
"That brat’s getting more arrogant every day! Marshall, whatever you do, don’t grow up like him."
"Haha, it’s fine. There’s no need to argue," Reedus said gently. "If Marshall wants to learn Pict Magic, he’ll first need to learn how to draw. That part can only be taken one step at a time."
"Don’t worry about that. Just teach me the magic, Reedus. I’ll figure out how to learn it myself."
Reedus blinked.
"...?"
Marshall had no intention of wasting time learning how to draw properly.
What was the point of transmigrating with a cheat if he refused to use it?
The instant Pict Magic appeared on his system panel, he would dump points into it!
"Well... all right." Reedus hesitated before beginning his explanation. "Pict Magic is actually a combination of Script Magic and Molding Magic. It’s sometimes called Script-Molding Magic because it gives a drawing the physical properties of whatever it depicts.
"The difficult part is that, to bring a picture to life, you have to pour magic power into the entire drawing at the same instant.
"I can’t do that yet, so I draw on my own skin instead. Using my body lets me supply magic power directly, though it means I can only create fairly small objects."
As he spoke, Reedus used a brush to draw a lifelike pink bird on his palm.
The moment he finished, the bird lifted itself from his skin and flew onto Marshall’s hand.
"Chirp, chirp~"
It looked, sounded, and even felt exactly like a real bird!
After a moment, it fluttered onto a sheet of paper. The spell dispersed, leaving behind an ordinary drawing.
Reedus gazed at his work with a warm smile.
"Amazing, isn’t it? That’s why I love this magic."
"Yes. It’s really beautiful."
Marshall nodded, though the corner of his eye had already shifted toward his system panel.
[Molding Magic LV0: 333/1,000] — [Pict Magic LV0: 1/1,000]
Pict Magic had appeared directly beside Molding Magic rather than on a separate line, the two were classified together.
Marshall then checked his reserves.
[Inspiration: 5,481]
’Perfect. Add the points to it!’