Levy had always been drawn to book-related missions.
But this one, retrieving a single book with a 200,000 J reward seed too good to be true. That's why she hesitated for a whole day. Then today, she found out it had already been taken... and the reward had jumped to 2 million.
A part of her felt relieved.
She might've been tempted by the original offer, but this kind of money usually ca with complications far beyond her capabilities. If she had taken it rashly, who knows what danger she would've faced?
Mira encouraged her gently. "Why not look for sothing more suitable?"
In the corner of the guild, Loke had already slunk away. He wiped cold sweat from his brow and slipped out before anyone noticed. Lucy, the actual Celestial Spirit Mage, was fine... but why was Rhodes, the faux celestial mage, shouting "Gate of Leo"? Staying in the guild was starting to feel more and more dangerous.
"Here, two beers!"
"I've got it..." Rhode placed the mugs on the table. "Macao? You're not even fully healed yet and you're drinking already?"
"This kind of injury? Piece of cake!"
"How'd you get banged up like that hunting Vulcans and still have the nerve to brag?" Wakaba blew a puff of smoke and slapped the table, laughing. "Macao, you suck!"
Rhodes gave Wakaba a look. When Macao was missing, you had the sourest face of all. And now that he's okay, you're the first to start teasing him?
"What did you say? I beat 18 of them!" Macao stood up and leaned forward, "If it were you, you'd maybe take out 17! No, 16 at most!"
Wakaba also stood, forehead pressed to his. "I'd take out 19, maybe 20!"
"16!"
"20! Don't think I'll go easy just 'cause you're still bandaged!"
"15! And don't think you can even compare to !"
"21!"
"14!"
"Is this a new kind of auction?" Rhodes sighed. No point in stopping them, they probably weren't actually going to fight anyway.
...
Three days flew by in a flash.
"Partial Takeover: Mountain Dragon Claw!"
Rhodes flexed the dragon-like arm that had taken form, testing its balance. Then he clenched his fist and slamd it into the ground. "Mountain Fist!"
BOOM!
From the point of impact, a deep rumble echoed out, and a long crack split the courtyard from the center all the way to the entrance.
Not entirely satisfied, he adjusted the angle and threw another punch.
This ti, the shockwave didn't travel as far, but a web of cracks spread outward like spider silk, and the soil and stone beneath the surface crumbled.
"Feels... off. Is this what they call 'strange strength'?"
Rhodes carefully checked the periter. The fence wasn't damaged, but he figured this technique probably wasn't suited for courtyard practice.
"Alright, repair ti. Full Body Takeover: Mountain Dragon!"
He raised his arms. "Earth magic... attune to the spirit of the earth. Rebuild what's been broken—Unite!"
The cracked ground slowly knit itself back together, though a small mound of earth remained where he'd first struck. The original rift had compacted into a raised ridge of stone.
"Still a bit too much power," Rhodes muttered, canceling the magic. Ti to clock in.
As he entered the guild hall, he caught sight of Lucy complaining to Mira.
"Lucy, you're back? Where are Natsu and Happy?"
"There," she said weakly, pointing toward the tavern corner.
Natsu and Happy were already goofing off as if the entire job hadn't just gone sideways.
Lucy was visibly shaken, her very first official mission had ended with no reward.
"What happened?" Rhodes asked, settling naturally beside Mira.
Mira, already familiar with his routine, handed him a towel and a cup of water.
"Actually..." Lucy began, recounting everything that had happened during the job.
It turned out that the client, Kaby lon, was the son of the famous novelist Zekua lon.
The mission had originally been a simple retrieval: to recover the novel Daybreak from Duke Everlue's estate. However, things changed when Lucy and the others learned the truth.
Years ago, Zekua lon had been imprisoned by Duke Everlue for three long years and was forced to write a story glorifying the duke. That story beca Daybreak. After being freed, Zekua publicly denounced the novel, calling it the greatest sha of his career. He even went as far as to injure his own writing hand and later died in despair.
Kaby believed the book's continued existence was an insult to his father's legacy and wanted it destroyed.
But instead of burning it, Lucy unlocked the spell woven into its pages. The seemingly aningless story rearranged itself into a heartfelt letter, a secret ssage from father to son.
Kaby was deeply moved, recognizing the book not as an embarrassnt, but as his father's final, hidden treasure. He accepted the letter as his father's true final work.
"And that's why," Lucy sighed, "since the original request was to destroy the book and we didn't, Natsu said we couldn't take the reward. He said it was about protecting the guild's reputation."
"Two million..." Mira echoed softly, watching Lucy's conflicted expression.
"Even though I understand his decision, it still hurts," Lucy confessed, resting her head on the table. "That was two million J!"
"I rember reading sothing by Zekua lon before," Rhodes mused thoughtfully. "Didn't expect he went through sothing like that."
He'd been slowly learning more about this world through literature. While he hadn't read many books, Zekua lon was a na even he recognized.
"Being a novelist is really dangerous," he added playfully. "One wrong word and boom, locked up in a mansion, forced to write with a pen in one hand and a sword to your neck. No food until the manuscript's done."
"That's not normal!" Lucy shot upright. "That's a rare case!"
Still, the concern lingered in her eyes. After all, she was secretly writing a novel herself. Would she end up getting kidnapped by an obsessive fan?
"I hope so." Rhodes nodded, then asked, "And what about the duke? I an, illegal imprisonnt isn't exactly part of a noble's rights, is it?"
"We gathered so evidence of Everlue's cris," Lucy replied. "The city governnt plans to open an investigation, and since he's a wizard, the Magic Council will also step in."
"Sounds like you two handled things pretty well," Rhodes said.
Lucy gave a weak smile. "But still... this was my first official mission."
Mira offered a kind smile. "Even if you didn't get paid, you got to read your the author's greatest work first, right? That's a reward too, isn't it?"
"I guess that's true." Lucy's mood lightened a bit as she thought about the hidden letter. It was a beautiful story filled with love—a treasure she'd be proud to witness.
"But still," Lucy added playfully, "Miss Mira, you owe sothing."
"Hmm? What's that?"
"The secret to Mr. Rhodes getting strong! Happy said he gave it to you for safekeeping."
Rhodes blinked. "Wait, I have a secret to getting stronger? Why didn't anyone tell ?"
"Don't tell they lied to !" Lucy's expression turned into one of comic betrayal.
Mira giggled and tapped her chin. "Well... if you really want to know, there is sothing."
Lucy's eyes sparkled. "What is it? What is it?"
"One mont." Mira opened a drawer and pulled out three folded sheets of paper. "These are it."
Lucy eagerly took them and read through the contents aloud: "Push-ups, sit-ups, ditation, long-distance running, and magic practice...?"
She flipped to the second sheet. Her face paled.
"The initial version, the intense version, and the 'revised' nightmare version," Mira explained sweetly.
...
Bonus@2000 PS
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