Chapter 47: Half a Year
Ren stood in the small yard behind his new house, the moon hanging high overhead. He was in his Fushiguro Toji assimilation.
Unlike the overwhelming spiritual pressure of Ulquiorra or the profound, sun-like warmth of Yoriichi, this form was... empty. His magic source was sealed, his Ethernano reserves completely gone. In their place was a thrumming, vibrating, physical power that coiled in his muscles. He felt like a compressed spring, a living weapon.
He walked out of his yard and onto the empty, moonlit street of Magnolia. He placed his hands on the ground, one leg bent forward, the other stretched back, assuming a sprinter's starting position.
Boom—!
The cobblestones under his foot didn't just crack; they exploded into dust. His body, propelled by the raw, superhuman power of the Heavenly Restriction, instantly vanished.
At this moment, several citizens were strolling on the main streets of Magnolia Town after dinner, enjoying the cool night air. Suddenly, a violent, localized gale swept past them.
"Ah—!"
A young girl in a skirt suddenly shrieked as her skirt was blown straight up, giving some nearby onlookers an unexpected eyeful. The girl quickly pressed down her skirt with her hands, her face crimson.
"Hmm? Why is it windy?"
It was a clear, windless night. Why was there such a sudden, powerful gust? They looked around, confused, but saw nothing.
The "gust of wind" was already on the other side of the city.
To Ren, the world had become a watercolor painting. At this speed, the citizens were statues. He heard snippets of a dozen conversations all at once, smelled the scent of bread from a bakery closing for the night, and felt the air part around him. He ran the full perimeter of the town, a 10,0m loop, in a blur of motion.
About a few tens of seconds passed.
Whoosh!
Ren reappeared at his doorstep, skidding to a perfect, instantaneous stop.
Whoosh—!
The kinetic energy he displaced had to go somewhere. As he suddenly stopped, a strong gust of wind exploded from him, blowing backward, causing stones on the ground to roll and clatter.
He stood up, his breathing not even the slightest bit heavy. He looked at the moon, his senses calculating.
"Thirty-three seconds."
He didn't need a stopwatch. In this form, his brain and senses were like a machine, capable of a stopwatch accurate to several decimal places.
Ren was so shocked by this number that he was speechless.
To adapt to the intensity of his new transformations, he insisted on completing the basic training tasks assigned by the system every day. Although these tasks offered no rewards, the ability to genuinely improve his physical fitness was the greatest reward.
The first time Ren had run a lap around Magnolia Town in his base form, it had taken him about thirty minutes.
Now, in the Toji form, he only took a little over thirty seconds.
A lap around Magnolia from here is roughly 10,000 meters.
"Thirty-three seconds," he whispered, doing the math. "That means... I ran approximately 300 meters per second."
"Three hundred meters per second!"
Calculating this number, Ren himself was startled. This was already close to exceeding the speed of sound (which is ~343 m/s).
This was the power of the Heavenly Restriction. He was indeed a monster. His speed was so fast that, as the memories from Toji suggested, even Gojo Satoru's Six Eyes couldn't catch him without an epiphany.
Moreover, he felt that his own base physical strength was holding the form back. His body was the "vessel," and it was a weak one. He felt that the Toji form was being restricted, that its own physical strength was being limited by Ren's. If he could fully unleash it, his speed could easily exceed the speed of sound.
"Strong! Truly too strong!"
Ren was very excited. This golden character was incredibly, fundamentally powerful. Mira was indeed his goddess of luck.
His experiment complete, Ren disengaged the receiving stance.
The instant he did...
The superhuman strength vanished. The heightened senses faded. The magic-less void was refilled by his 4-Star Ethernano.
And then...
"Ugh... ah... AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
A sharp, agonizing, searing muscle pain, originating from every single fiber of his body, erupted all at once.
Ren couldn't help but let out a painful howl, his knees buckling. He collapsed onto the street, his body convulsing.
It hurt. It hurt so much!
Ren had never experienced such pain before. This muscle pain felt even worse than a broken bone. A broken bone was a localized, sharp pain. This was a total body feeling of being torn apart from the inside out. His muscles, which had just propelled him at 300 m/s, were now screaming in protest, torn and ravaged by a force they were never meant to contain.
"System!" he gasped, gritting his teeth. "What... what exactly is going on?!"
If he didn't understand, he would just ask the system.
[The Host has used a superhuman physique to perform an action that excessively exceeds his own body's limitations,] the System's cold, logical text appeared. [The Host's own physique is far from keeping up with the output of the Heavenly Restriction. This is the resulting physical backlash.]
"What?! There's actually such a side effect?! Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
[The Host didn't ask!]
Ren wanted to curse, but he was in too much pain.
[This backlash is normal. In fact, as long as the Host persists in physical training and masters 'Sun Breathing, Total Concentration: Constant,' the pain will greatly diminish.]
"So it will still hurt, then!" Ren hissed through his teeth.
He recognized the term instantly: Sun Breathing, Total Concentration: Constant. It was the technique from Yoriichi's world, the one that Demon Slayers used to maintain their superhuman state 24/7, vastly increasing their base power.
The System was telling him to use the breathing technique from his Yoriichi card to strengthen his own body, so he could withstand the backlash from his Toji card. It was a path to growth.
Seeing the system's response, Ren gnashed his teeth in frustration, but at this moment, the pain had already left him with no energy to complain.
He dragged himself, inch by agonizing inch, from the street back into his house, collapsing onto his bed. He lay motionless; even a slight breeze from the open window brushing his skin made him grimace in pain. He didn't dare to cry out, because crying out made his muscles contract, which made it hurt even more.
The night passed, and Ren was in agony all night. He had never felt a night so long.
It wasn't until the sun slowly rose and sunlight shone on him that he could barely move. At least his fingers could barely move.
He needed... something. A boost. A-anything to stop the pain.
Ren opened the system panel with his thoughts. He looked at his junk cards from the last pull.
Then he selected all the new blue, green, and white character cards.
[Do you want to recycle these character cards?]
"Yes!"
[Recycling successful! Congratulations, your Magic Power has increased by ☆!]
A surge of magic power gushed from the magic source, nourishing his entire body. The Ethernano, like a healing wave, washed over his torn muscles. He immediately felt his body's pain alleviate considerably, from a "10/10, I am dying" to a "5/10, everything is just awful."
He could move again, albeit stiffly.
"System," Ren growled, "what exactly is going on? This time I recycled so many character cards! Seven blue, and a bunch of green and white! How did you only give me half a star of Magic Power increase?!"
[Magic Power is the foundation of everything. Only with stronger Magic Power can one better unleash the power of the received character,] the System replied coolly. [These are all derived from an algorithm. The higher the Magic Power star rating, the greater the resource consumption for level-up!]
"It's always algorithms, algorithms. What kind of algorithm is it, exactly?"
[To upgrade from 4-Star Magic Power to 5-Star, 1,000 Magic Power points are required.]
[Recycling white-tier cards grants 10 points.]
[Recycling green-tier cards grants 20 points.]
[Recycling blue-tier cards grants 50 points.]
[Recycling purple-tier cards grants 800 points.]
[Recycling gold-tier cards grants 3,000 points.]
Ren's mouth twitched when he saw these prices. So there really was an algorithm.
He had recycled seven blue cards (350 points), plus a few green and white... nowhere near the 1,000 points needed.
The value of purple and gold seemed highest for recycling, but in Ren's opinion, it was still far too low. Why would he recycle a Gold card that gave him 3,000 points when he could use it to... well, slay a dragon?
Even 1,000 or 10,000 blue character cards couldn't compare to one golden character card. Indeed, all cards below purple were just experience cards.
He clearly couldn't go to the guild today, and having completed such a high-intensity mission, he was also a bit tired. It was a good opportunity to rest well during his recovery phase.
Just as Ren lay down, wincing as his sore muscles settled, and was about to doze off, noisy sounds came from outside his front door. A loud, obnoxious knocking.
"REN!! REN!! ARE YOU IN THERE?!"
Ren groaned. He groggily, and very, very slowly, got out of bed. Every step was agony. He shuffled to the door and opened it.
He saw many people standing at his doorstep.
They were all familiar faces: Natsu, Gray, Happy, Erza, Mira, Elfman, Levy, Laki, Lucy... an entire crowd.
Ren couldn't help but widen his eyes: "You... why are you all here?"
"We came to play with you!" Natsu grinned, holding up... a half-eaten chicken leg?
Mira smiled and said, "You moved to a new house just before you left, didn't you? We never got to celebrate. Everyone heard about it and came to celebrate your housewarming."
Ren slapped his forehead, which sent a jolt of pain down his neck. "Ah! My apologies! I've been so busy lately that I completely forgot about this. Welcome, welcome! I'll... go buy groceries and cook right away."
Ren remembered that he had promised to treat Mira to a meal.
Erza stepped forward, holding up a massive keg of beer with her one good arm. "No need! We all brought things! Let's have a barbecue party here today!"
"OH OH OH OH OH!" Natsu and Happy cheered.
With that, the group flooded into his small yard. It instantly became lively.
"I'LL START THE FIRE!" Natsu yelled. He took a deep breath.
"Natsu, wait, the grill is—" Lucy started.
"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"
A torrent of flame vaporized the small, portable grill Ren owned.
"YOU IDIOT!" Gray yelled. "You burned the grill! Now what are we supposed to use, your stupid face?"
"WHAT'D YOU SAY, DROOPY-EYED-STRIPPER?!"
"YOU WANNA GO, FLAME-BRAIN?!"
BONK! BONK!
Erza slammed both their heads together. "Stop it. We are here to have a nice party for our comrade." She then turned to Laki. "Laki, use your Wood-Make magic to build a new, bigger grill."
"On it!"
"A BARBECUE IS MANLY!" Elfman roared, slamming a giant, unbutchered wild pig onto a table.
Mira just giggled at the chaos, carrying a large basket of food. "Ren, you just rest," she said, her eyes soft with concern. "You look terrible. Did you... strain yourself training?"
"Something like that," Ren mumbled, easing himself into a chair. "I'm fine, just... sore."
"We'll handle this!" Mira said with a bright smile.
Soon, everyone gathered to eat meat, drink, and chat merrily. The entire courtyard was filled with laughter and shouting.
This scene made Ren feel a little dazed. He sat back, his pained muscles slowly relaxing, and just... watched. He watched Natsu and Gray start another fight over the last piece of meat, only for Erza to eat it herself. He watched Lucy and Levy chat excitedly about a new book, and Elfman arm-wrestle Laki.
His home hadn't been this lively in a long time. Ever, really.
The party lasted until midnight, and only then did everyone reluctantly leave, waving goodbye as they stumbled back to the guild or their dorms.
After everyone left, Ren lay on his bed, the smell of smoke and cooked meat still hanging in the air. He recalled the events of the day, the chaos, the noise, the easy, unconditional friendship.
"Guild... comrades..."
It was as if at this moment, he truly understood the meaning of a guild and comrades. When he first joined, it was just a strategic move. After the S-Class Quest with Elfman, it was a convenience. After the dragon fight, it was a shared victory.
But this... this was different. They came just to be with him.
At this very moment, he felt that he had truly become a member of Fairy Tail.
"This feeling... isn't bad!"
Time flies, years pass like shuttles.
Half a year passed in a flash.
Eastern Ishgar Continent.
The Auler Kingdom.
In a hidden, subterranean building somewhere.
At this moment, thousands of people dressed in black, hooded robes were gathered here, chanting, performing a mysterious ritual.
In the center of these people, a group of individuals were tied to wooden stakes. The stakes stood on the ground, with many firewood piles arranged beneath them.
These people, numbering about several hundred, both men and women, all had their mouths gagged. Only their eyes, wide with terror and despair, could be seen as they looked at the surrounding crowd of cultists.
A masked man stepped forward onto a stone altar, raising his arms. "Brothers and sisters! From now on, we will begin the sacrificial ritual!"
The crowd cheered.
"These villagers are innocent! These three hundred pure, sinless lives will be the key! They will guide him to descend here!"
The masked man pointed to the sky, his voice reaching a fever pitch. "Great Dark Mage ZEREF!!!"
"OH OH OH OH OH OH!!!" All the black-robed figures shouted excitedly, their voices echoing in the stone cavern.
"For us to walk with him in this world... the sacrifice begins—!"
Suddenly!!!
Boom—!
The massive, reinforced main gate of the cavern was blown off its hinges, crashing into the chamber in a cloud of dust and fire.
"What's going on?!"
A slightly frivolous, confident male voice rang out from the dust-filled entrance:
"Ah, ah~! You really made me search for a while!"
Soon, a young man with freckles on his cheeks, wearing an orange cowboy hat, and completely bare-chested, walked in through the ruined main gate, his body flickering with flames.
"Yo! Black Magic Cult bastards, good evening!"
[Akarin Note:
Your Support Keeps This Story Alive!
If you're enjoying this novel, your support means the world to me. Simple actions like leaving a review, power stone, comment, or sharing the story let me know you're out there. It's the greatest motivation for me to keep updating until the very end and ensures this project continues.
For those who wish to support me more directly, you can join my Patreon at [patreon.com/AkarinTL]. As a thank-you, you'll receive access to 50 advanced chapters.
As a special offer, I've opened a few limited-time tiers at a discounted price! You will get all the benefits of "The Founding Pillars" (normally $20), but at a much cheaper rate.
These slots are extremely limited:
"The Plot Uncoverer": $4.99 (Save 75% / $15.01) - Only 3 slots
"The Dedicated Fan": $9.99 (Save 50% / $10.01) - Only 7 slots
"The Lore Diver": $14.99 (Save 25% / $5.01) - Only 15 slots
I hope I am still worthy of your support. My life truly depends on this... haha, I know I'm so shameless.]