"Not great. It's indeed not that simple." Makarov shook his head.
The friends he had gathered were naturally all quite powerful, with a wide variety of specialized magics.
However, when it came to Anima, they were truly at a loss.
This thing was fundamentally different in system from the magic on their side.
"Edolas' research on this type of magic circle clearly surpasses ours."
Makarov straightforwardly admitted the gap—there was no need to feel embarrassed about it.
Some clues could be seen from Mystogan's magic wand.
That kid's wand was also embedded with magic circles, activated by Magic Crystals.
Because they lacked magical power and couldn't use magic on their own, the people of "Edolas" relied on magical tools to fight.
The magical tools of "Edolas" were all fool-proof packages.
Once you learned how to use them, it was a one-click release—no need to expend any magical power or understand any magic circles or magical principles.
In a way, that was actually a better direction for development.
If handled properly, magic that could bring convenience to life could be truly popularized for public use, allowing magic to benefit everyone, rather than becoming the exclusive domain of Mages.
The magical tools of Earth Land still required the user to possess magical power to use them.
Holder-Type Mages didn't rely solely on magical tools either; they themselves needed to have magical power.
Even without their magical tools, they wouldn't be weaker than ordinary people.
But this completely separated the world of Mages from ordinary people.
Most magical tools and the conveniences brought by magic were difficult for ordinary people to enjoy, such as Magic Cars.
Of course, when it came to Magic Cars, not only ordinary people but even Mages found them very costly to operate.
It could only be said that there was plenty of room for improvement.
"We really should go there and learn properly. They've taken so much from us; it's time they paid some price. We can't always be the ones at a disadvantage."
Marco stroked his chin, recalling his previous casual chat with Mystogan.
As far as he knew, the technological development level of Edolas far surpassed that of Earth Land.
A world without magic power was probably destined to take the path of technological development.
However, because the king was obsessed with magic, Edolas' technological development wasn't focused.
According to Mystogan's view, Edolas should completely abandon magic and wholeheartedly pursue technological development—that way, they could still live very well.
Marco strongly supported this point.
Insisting on the magic path despite magical depletion was truly delusional.
On Earth Land's side, following the magic path allowed individuals to gather great power within themselves.
But on Edolas' side, pursuing the magic path ultimately relied on external tools anyway, so why bother?
Wouldn't it be better to properly develop science and technology?
Marco really wanted to bring over all of Edolas' Magic Crystal technology, magical tool technology, and scientific technology to initiate a massive magical and technological revolution in the world of Earth Land!
Marco himself was an arts student, only capable of some localization work with text and music.
He really wasn't good at math and sciences, nor had he read any "Essential Guide for Transmigrators."
Otherwise, he would have started inventing things in this world long ago.
As for the idea that the status of Mages would be shaken and they would no longer enjoy privileges like they do now if industry developed and technology advanced, Marco couldn't care less.
Because by the time that day actually arrived, he would probably already be capable of flying through space at light speed with his bare body.
Technological advancement? What nonsense are you babbling about? Go say that to my light-speed fist.
"I hope Mystogan can complete his research soon."
The results of Makarov's recent seminar made Marco lose hope in their ability to produce results.
Indeed, it takes the one who tied the bell to untie it—in the end, they still have to rely on Mystogan, the Edolas native. He truly is the key figure to resolve this plotline.
Although Marco had never read Fairy Tail, he could roughly guess some things.
Mystogan's character must be crucial to the Edolas matter—otherwise, there wouldn't be so many coincidences, and he wouldn't be the alternate-world counterpart of someone Erza knows.
Having Makarov and the others attempt to crack "Anima" was just testing their luck to begin with.
Facts have proven that this patch is tightly sealed, and they ultimately have to count on Mystogan to break it.
"One side has magic power, the other doesn't, so they're different magic systems. I can only say... it makes sense." Marco complained to himself.
He actually really disliked this feeling—it gave him the sense of being completely manipulated.
No one else could do it; they just had to rely on that key figure, and that "Anima" that just happened to land on Lisanna...
"It's imaginable that there will be many more situations like this in the future. After all, 'Fairy Tail' is the main story's protagonist. Without danger, without crises, how would the story continue?"
Marco clenched his fist.
X784 was already very close—just over two years away.
The future companions who came to the past last time using "Memory of Time" only proved that the guild remained safe until X784, with no accidents occurring, and everyone was still happy.
But what about after that? It's hard to say.
"These remaining two years absolutely cannot be taken lightly. After all, I've already changed the future—not only by teaching Gray the Diamond Dust Fist ahead of time, but probably Lucy too..."
As that special time "X784" drew nearer, Marco would think more frequently about those companions who came to the past through "Memory of Time" before.
And Lucy's attitude toward him at that time clearly didn't match their current development—she seemed somewhat distant.
She couldn't have been pretending on purpose, could she?
Returning home, Marco took out that book again.
"Memory of Time," with a four-leaf clover drawn on the cover, looked completely ordinary—clearly it hadn't recovered its magic power yet and would need to wait two more years before it could be used again.
"But... would I really give this book to them?"
Opening this magical book, Marco narrowed his eyes.
Based on his interpretation of the book's contents, once the past is changed, the future would change accordingly.
When the time came two years later, would he really dare to hand this book over to Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Happy—those five?
Just thinking about placing his fate in the hands of these five people made Marco shiver uncontrollably, goosebumps covering his entire body.
No way in hell!
Snap.
Marco closed Memory of Time.
He simply couldn't accept it!
Erza and Lucy were actually fine, but Marco had zero trust in Natsu.
Gray could be trusted about halfway.
As for Happy... he usually didn't act alone, but he might still cause trouble together with Natsu.
Anyway, believing these guys could travel to the past without altering the future was about as likely as believing Marco was Donald Trump!
Thinking this, Marco immediately hid "Memory of Time" more securely, stuffing it directly under his pillow.
He maintained strict vigilance, feeling secure enough to sleep only when using it as a pillow.
"Since things have already changed, I'll make sure they change completely. I absolutely can't let them touch this book! I'll walk the future I create myself. As for their timeline... well, apologies are in order."
After placing the book beneath his pillow, Marco made his decision without hesitation.
This approach felt truly consistent with his character.
He could hardly imagine what kind of transformation he'd need to undergo to ever feel comfortable letting those guys travel back in time.
"There shouldn't... be any accidents now, right?"
Looking at the securely hidden "Memory of Time," Marco tried to understand what possible reason his future self could have for allowing such a thing.
No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense - unless he never knew about this situation in the first place.
"No, this still isn't secure enough."
After some mental deliberation, Marco retrieved "Memory of Time" again.
Keeping it under his pillow felt too obvious, and given his relationship with his guildmates, even that hiding spot wasn't foolproof.