"I am back!"Pushing open the door, Caesar walked into the guild.
"Hey, Caesar is back. How was your first A-rank crusade mission?""Welcome back.""Looks like it ended successfully.""Tsk, we only got a few days of peace. Let me rest a bit first!"
The guild was as lively as ever. Caesar looked around but didn't see Makarov anywhere.
When he submitted the commission, Caesar asked, "Where's the chairman, Grandpa?"
"There's a regular meeting he had to attend, so he's out," a guild staff member explained. "But the president said he'd be back soon—probably tomorrow or the day after at the latest."
"Oh, so that's how it is. Being a guild master really is troublesome."
Caesar nodded, then pulled a package out from his system backpack. He found Erza and handed it to her.
"Erza, these are the scales from the lizardmen I defeated. They should be useful for making armor."
"Then I'll take them," Erza replied without hesitation. They came from the same village, after all, and her take-over magic was as expensive to maintain as Caesar's draw system.
Caesar needed money to draw cards. Erza needed money to craft suitable magical armor. Whether monster parts or rare metals, Erza had to constantly collect materials to make armor with different attributes, so she could be prepared for various battle conditions.
Of course, each set of armor demanded a huge amount of money. After its creation, it needed to be tested and fine-tuned. The overall expense was enormous.
Caesar had no real solution for this. His only idea was to become an S-class wizard as soon as possible so he could access the second floor of the guild and accept S-class commissions.
Commissions on the first floor, even A-rank, didn't go over 100 million J. But S-rank commissions started at 300 million J, with no upper limit.
Of course, S-rank commissions were extremely difficult to complete and took a long time. The fastest recorded was when Master Makarov was young—he once completed one in just a week. For most people, it took seven or eight months.
After handing the scales to Erza, Caesar found an empty seat and sat down. He ordered a meal, and while eating, he opened his character interface.
Name: CaesarRating: 11Body: 29+ (184)Force: 30+ (173)Mind: 30+ (201)
This last mission confirmed Caesar's theory: he could gain experience by fighting magical creatures.
It didn't matter if the enemy was a wizard or a monster—either one could give him EXP.
"If that's the case, then I should start prioritizing subjugation missions going forward."
Caesar continued eating, thinking to himself. "First priority: monster subjugation to level up. Second: bandit and dark guild suppression. These pay well but usually limit the number of people allowed. I'll need a partner."
In the world of Fairy Tail, missions against bandits and dark guilds were a consistent problem.
These places were usually filled with people, and attacking alone was risky. With too many people, the payout got split too much, making the rewards not worth the effort.
Eventually, the Magic Council passed a bill: once a group subdued such an organization, they could take ownership of all the organization's funds and rare items. The conquering team had full discretion on how to divide it.
After that, tons of wizards took the risk, and dark forces had to go into hiding.
Even the smallest dark guild was still an organization—and the funds they possessed were beyond what one person could imagine.
That's why these types of crusade missions were so popular. The moment one was posted, it was snatched up.
Dark guilds weren't dumb either. Once they caught on, they stopped storing anything valuable at their bases, which killed some of the hype.
But to Caesar, these jobs were still worth the risk. The rewards were good, and even the experience gained from combat was worthwhile.
After finishing his meal, Caesar pushed the bowl and chopsticks aside and suddenly thought of something.
"Wait, I've been in Fairy Tail for over two years, right?"
He turned to a nearby guild member drinking at the counter. "Is this year 777?"
Getting a nod in reply, Caesar's face changed slightly. That meant the most critical point in time had arrived!
In year 777, the dragons disappeared. Natsu joined Fairy Tail. Mystogan arrived in Earthland. Wendy met him and eventually joined the Cat Shelter. Layla Heartfilia died after using Eclipse...
Remembering the timeline, Caesar gave a bitter smile. With his current strength, he wasn't qualified to interfere with any of that.
"At the very least, I need to pass the S-rank trial and become an S-rank mage before I can even think about changing anything."
Right now, he had one job: level up, draw better cards, and grow stronger. As for the plot? Let it unfold naturally. He couldn't change anything now.
Even if it was Layla—what right did he have to intervene?
He couldn't even reach the Tower of Paradise.
Sure, Jiro was easy to deal with now, but Brian alone could crush Caesar without breaking a sweat. Going there would be suicide.
Just as Caesar was thinking this, a loud, energetic voice echoed through the hall:
"Whoa! Is this your guild, Grandpa?! It's amazing!"
Following the voice, Caesar looked toward the entrance and saw a boy with short, cherry-pink hair and a white plaid scarf wrapped around his neck.
Behind him stood Makarov, wearing a clownish hat and holding his staff.
Seeing Natsu appear, Caesar instantly realized something—Eclipse had been activated. Layla was dead.
"...Pity."
Caesar sighed. Part of him felt sorrow for Lucy, losing her mother at such a young age. The other part regretted not being able to search for Wendy. She was probably already with Mister Gang at the Cat Shelter by now.
But…
Should he tell Natsu that Igneel—the dragon he's been searching for—was inside him the whole time?
"...Forget it. There's no way to explain how I'd know that. I'll just keep a low profile. If I draw too much attention, it'll only bring trouble."
After thinking it over, Caesar decided to stay quiet and focus on growing stronger. Only after he became an S-rank wizard would he start deciding whether or not to mess with the story.
But life doesn't always care about your plans—especially when trouble comes looking for you...