[Sponsored] Chapter 15: 2 Star Magic Power

[This chapter is proudly sponsored by "Legorate." Please join me in expressing your thanks in the comments! If you're interested in sponsoring a chapter, consider joining the Patreon.]

Having dinner with Juvia was an interesting experience for Nate. She had a small appetite, but most of the time, she was sneaking glances at Nate's face. Occasionally, she'd blush, likely imagining some romantic scene in her head. During their idle chatter, Juvia would often zone out, entranced by Nate's Six Eyes.

Juvia thought Nate-sama's eyes were incredibly beautiful. Her little actions didn't escape Nate's Six Eyes, prompting him to remark, "If you want to stare, just do so openly."

"Ah?" Juvia blushed deeply and immediately lowered her head.

'Cute', Nate thought. Compared to their first encounter, her demeanor had completely changed. Back then, with the rain pouring down, Juvia had an aura of gloom that pushed people away. Now, she seemed more relaxed and gentle.

Then he thought of Mirajane. Still, the guild's poster girl was cuter.

"Juvia."

"Yes, Nate-sama?"

"You don't need to be so formal. Just call me Nate."

Nate then pulled out a small bag and pushed it toward Juvia. "Here, these are 400 rings. Just like before, I'm entrusting them to you."

"Should I sell them to the guild members again?" Juvia asked, carefully storing the bag.

"You can sell them to any magic users," Nate replied. It didn't have to be limited to Phantom Lord members. Of the 600 rings in total, he had sold 200 already, leaving him with 400 more. He planned to reserve those for Fairy Tail members.

"I understand. Juvia will complete the task!" she nodded earnestly.

Her serious attitude earned Nate's trust, and he smiled. "Why don't you join our guild, then?"

"Ah? No... I'm sorry, Nate-sama," Juvia felt a moment of temptation but shook her head. "Phantom Lord took me in when no one else would. I owe them a debt of gratitude."

Noticing that Juvia hadn't put on the ring yet, Nate asked, "Aren't you going to wear it?"

"The ring? This is the first gift Juvia has ever received. I want to keep it safe."

Nate couldn't help but suspect that she wanted to put the ring on a shrine and worship it every day. If she didn't wear it, it served no purpose.

"Go on, put it on. I'll teach you how to use the Internet."

"Yes."

Nate then guided her step by step, explaining everything in detail. Juvia was amazed, having never seen such magic before. With 199 Phantom Lord members suddenly joining, the forum had become quite lively, with posts popping up like mushrooms after the rain. Juvia even saw people discussing her, asking about the source of the rings. Some of the guild members who hadn't gotten a ring were now eager to get one.

"This magic is incredible!" Juvia exclaimed as she explored the features, noticing the "friends" function. "Nate-sama, can Juvia add you as a friend?"

"Of course."

And so, Nate gained another friend. While adding Juvia, he noticed three other friend requests.

Lucy has added you as a friend.

Natsu has added you as a friend.

Gray has added you as a friend.

He accepted them all.

After that, Nate checked the time and stood up. "I need to head out, or I'll miss the last train. Once you've sold all the rings, bring me the money."

"I understand! Juvia will bring the money to Fairy Tail," she replied eagerly.

"Alright then, see you next time."

After bidding her farewell, Nate hurriedly left the restaurant. Juvia stood up as well, intending to walk him to the station, but the waiter approached and stopped her.

"Miss, you haven't paid yet."

...

The next morning, Nate woke up in his apartment, immediately sensing something different. His magic power had increased significantly!

[Host: Nate]

[Age: 20]

[Species: Human]

[Magic Power: ★★]

[Magic: Internet, Tremor, Photography, Six Eyes]

"Two stars already? Leveling up in my sleep feels amazing!"

In a great mood, Nate got up to wash and glanced at the current number of registered users.

483 users.

It seemed that overnight, Juvia had sold another batch of rings. 'She's really efficient', Nate thought, mentally giving her a thumbs up. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before all the rings were sold.

The system hadn't issued a new task yet—perhaps even the system couldn't keep up with how quickly he was completing missions.

After freshening up, Nate headed to the guild to enjoy Mirajane's breakfast. Upon entering the hall, he was surprised to see that quite a few people were up early, all typing furiously on their devices.

Nate sat at the bar. "Good morning, Mira, Lucy. Did they have an argument or something?"

After spending more time with them, he'd naturally started calling Mirajane by the shorter, more familiar "Mira." The waitress, busy wiping down the tables, paused and smiled at him. "Good morning, Nate."

Mirajane's smile was as radiant as ever, like a ray of sunshine. Beside her, Lucy rested her chin on one hand, scrolling through the forum with her other.

"They're arguing with Phantom Lord members," Lucy said with a wink. "Do you know anything about the sudden influx of people on the forum?"

Nate shrugged. "Maybe they found a bunch of rings by accident. Lucky them—Phantom Lord mages."

Members of the two guilds were having a heated debate online. This was exactly what Nate expected from the Internet. An Internet without flame wars? Not acceptable.

Curious, Nate leaned over to see the argument on Lucy's screen. There were many posts, but the insults were fairly mild—too polite for Nate's taste. Both sides were competing to claim the title of "Fiore's strongest mage guild." At the moment, Phantom Lord was winning the argument simply because they had more members. Without the ability to physically settle the score through a fight, the larger group had the upper hand.

'Actually... could magic Internet allow users to fight through the connection?' Nate mused.

And so, the morning passed peacefully, with Nate enjoying the flame war and chatting with Mira and Lucy.

The slacker lifestyle was indeed beautiful.

...

Around noon, Makarov arrived at the guild.

"Nate, just the person I was looking for."

"Guildmaster, what do you need?"

"The S-Class mission you completed went smoothly. Well done," Makarov praised before hesitantly adding, "The Council's members would like ten rings. Do you have any left?"

"The Council?" Nate was surprised. 'Magic Internet has already reached the Council's ears?'

His knowledge of the organization, which governed the magic world, was limited, but two names stood out in his mind: Jellal Fernandes and Ultear Milkovich.

"I still have plenty of rings," Nate said, handing over ten rings to Makarov. Then he pulled out 290 more, which he passed to Mirajane. He kept the remaining 100 for future use.

Taking the rings, Makarov coughed lightly. "I won't let you take a loss. The rings will be sold to the Council, and I'll make sure to get the money to you."

Nate thought for a moment and said, "Make sure you charge them a high price. The Council members definitely aren't short on cash."

"You rascal, even trying to profit off the Council," Makarov chuckled but then thought better of it. Actually, this was a good idea. Those people constantly berated him—might as well take their money!

Amused by the thought, the old man left with a smile on his face.

Mirajane, holding the pile of rings, looked astonished. "Nate, you still had so many? Are you really giving them to everyone for free?"

"Free," Nate confirmed. He wasn't interested in making a profit from his own guild. Compared to having the entire continent as his source of magic power, a few hundred rings were nothing.

"Thank you on behalf of everyone, Nate," Mirajane said with a bright smile, her beautiful eyes forming crescent moons.

'The waitress really is lovely', Nate thought.

...

The online argument continued to escalate, with more and more people getting involved.

Nate casually spectated.

Suddenly, a private message notification popped up.

It was a friend request—not for his main account "Sigma Male," but for his alt account, "Secret Overlord of the Magic World, Voldemort."

The requester: Siegrain.

Message: "I am Siegrain, one of the Ten Wizard Saints and a member of the Council."