242. Dark Secret?

A few weeks after Ben returns to the guild, he finds something interesting. He has explored every room in the guild to know if he needs to do something with the rooms. Also, he needs to know everything about the guild as the Guild Master.

Ben has done a few things to the rooms in the guild. He changed their layouts, appearance, and even their defensive mechanisms. Most of these rooms haven't been changed for years, so some touch-ups are needed.

There are also some rooms that were locked out using magic. But Ben could hack them with AI Chip's help. These rooms were limited to Guild Master or some limited personnel. They could only be opened using special keys.

The keys should be passed down from the previous Guild Master to the next one. But with all that happened, Ben didn't get the keys from Makarov. Luckily, he has AI Chip that can analyze all those magical mechanisms and hack them.

Then after searching through all the rooms including the hidden ones, Ben finds this new room beneath their guild. It's a big underground room locked by some strong magic rune formations.

Just from the defense alone, Ben knows that something precious is being kept there. His guess is right because he finds a very surprising thing. It's a big lacrima crystal with a body of a young girl inside it.

"Isn't she the 1st Master? Why does her body inside a lacrima crystal? Her grave is on Tenrou Island, right? Hmm, I need to investigate this while keeping this a secret. Especially because I can feel a very strong magic power from this lacrima crystal," ponders Ben.

Ben can feel a very strong magic power emanating from the lacrima crystal. The magic power stored inside it can be used to destroy some towns the size of Magnolia easily. That's why Ben needs to be careful and keep it a secret.

"No one else should know this, not even Mira. Knowing about this thing can pose danger to her & the guild, after all. I will increase the defense in this room to avoid any unwanted thing," says Ben before he goes out.

Ben improves the defensive mechanisms of the room with AI Chip's help. Then he seals & disguises the access to the room. He uses all he has to make sure no one finds this room even by chance.

After leaving the room, Ben tries to investigate it secretly. But there's no document about it at all, even the smallest clue doesn't exist. So Ben assumes that the information was just known by the previous Guild Masters.

Ben is the 4th Guild Master and the one inside the lacrima is the 1st Guild Master. So the ones who know it were just the 2nd & 3rd Guild Master. Precht, or Hades, the 2nd Guild Master has died after he attacked Tenrou Island.

Makarov is being trapped on that island right now. So there's no one that Ben can ask about it. It will remain a mystery until Makarov returns after the spell on Tenrou Island gets dispelled.

But well, it's not a problem for Ben because this finding won't change his plan. It just makes him very curious and worried because he doesn't know anything. There might be something dark hidden here and not knowing it makes him anxious.

'Sigh, I'll stop worrying about it and just focus on what I'll do. I'll decide on what to do after I dispel the magic on Tenrou Island and asks 3rd Master about it,' thinks Ben.

Ben just keeps doing his work and improves the guild. He improves their management system and some other things. There are many things that he does since he becomes the 4th Guild Master.

Then a few days later, he gets good news. AI Chip finally finishes analyzing the Anima. She has simplified it and made it more compatible to be used with Earth Land's magic. AI Chip also claims it to be more effective & efficient than the original.

In Edolas, the Anima needs some complex mechanisms because it was a magic item. But after AI Chip modified it, it just becomes a rune formation. Earth Land has more magic power than Edolas, so it can be turned into a rune formation.

AI Chip has dismantled all its parts and changed each of them into runes with the same function. Then she experimented with the rune formation and improve it. The final result is the one that she reports to Ben. It's the best she can make with all the data she currently has.

"Let's try it at a small scale first to get more data. Some things can only be done by actually trying it first," says Ben.

[Yes, I have simulated it many times but it might be different when being used. By trying it, we will get many useful data to perfect the magic. But I suggest you try it on a remote location and make the smallest scale for the first time.]

"I know, there are a few things to consider, after all," says Ben before he leaves his office.

Ben tells everyone in the guild that he'll leave for 1 or 2 days. He asks Mira to stay in the guild to protect it in case something dangerous happens while Bella will join him because she asked to. It's been a long time since the 2 of them go together, so Bella really wants to go with him.

They go to where they used to live, the village where Cait Shelter stood. Ben misses that place and so is Bella. But they haven't had the chance to go there since they joined Fairy Tail. Now is a good chance to return to the place that they once called home.

"It has just been a few months, but it feels like forever. We've gone for a year when we lived here, but these last few months felt longer than that 1 year," says Ben as he stands on the village plaza.

"Home!" says Bella as she points at their old house.

"Yeah, that was our home," says Ben.

Ben walks around the village while Bella flies on her own. They feel very nostalgic as they see the broken buildings. Roubaul has really fooled them with his magic and made these broken buildings look good.

"That old ghost didn't even try to fix them and just used his magic. He was really a freak to have such power even though he was just a spirit," says Ben while smiling.

It's almost dark so Ben decides to rest in the village for tonight. He will do the experiment tomorrow because it might take a long time to finish, after all. So tonight, he just wants to have a good rest in his old home.

Ben prepares their dinner for tonight while Bella prepares the bed. He just cooks a simple meal like what they used to eat in the village. Then they eat while talking about the things they did in the past when they still lived here.

After dinner, they take a hot bath. Ben just heats the water using his magic as he gets in. The water heats up instantly and he can control the temperature too. Magic really makes things easier.

They sleep in their old house after that. It really feels like the past, except for the fact that they are alone. There's no one besides them in this village and it makes them sad. But they still can sleep soundly because the atmosphere here is very comfortable for them.

The next day, they have breakfast before going to the training ground. Ben will do his experiment here because this is the safest place. It still has defensive rune formations that he & Roubaul set up in the past so he doesn't need to worry if something happens.

Ben stands in the middle of the training ground and cracks his neck. "Alright, let's do this."

______________________________________________________________

You can read up to 35+35 chapters ahead of my fanfics on my Pa_treon page if you are interested.

Voting for this book is highly appreciate.

I've uploaded:

1. Chapter 277 of Fairy Tail: Sun Eater

2. Chapter 288 of Transcended as Lord Buggy

https://www.pa_treon.com/CaptMermain

(the web didn't use _underscore_, it's to avoid censorship)