(1) Fairy Tail

Chapter 1: Fairy Tail

Fiore Kingdom, Magnolia, near the gates of the Fairy Tail guild...

A young figure was carefully dodging the passing mages, making sure to avoid any physical contact with them.

He was a traveler who had crossed into this world, named Silver Greyhart, and appeared to be only twelve or thirteen years old.

Of course, as a traveler, he wasn't lacking in a special ability—his "cheat," so to speak.

However, the ability he could choose from was limited only to the magic of this world.

He didn't have powers from any other world.

He wasn't entirely without options, though.

He could freely choose any type of magic he wanted, and using it was quite simple—he just needed to make physical contact with someone who had that magic, and he would then develop a similar power.

The catch was that he only had one chance.

Once he evolved his magic after coming into contact with the first mage, he could never change it again.

For this reason, he was being extra cautious, trying to avoid any physical contact with unfamiliar mages.

"Ugh, why is this happening? Natsu, Mira, or Erza... If nothing else, even Gray would work. It doesn't matter who, just come out already!" Silver muttered as he painstakingly avoided every mage coming and going.

He was standing behind a pillar near the entrance of the Fairy Tail guild, watching the chaotic and noisy guild hall inside, feeling mentally exhausted.

Just as he momentarily let his guard down, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder. "Who are you? Why have you been hanging around here? If you need something, you can just come into the guild and talk about it."

Silver froze as his heart sank. He mechanically turned his head, and his eyes met a young man wearing a hat, a white shirt, and a black vest. The young man was smiling kindly at him.

"Uh, may I ask... who are you?" Silver thought to himself, "Please let this person have some powerful magic, preferably something ancient or long-lost."

"Oh, I'm Reedus Jonah, a mage from the Fairy Tail guild," the young man said with a warm smile.

"Reedus? Oh no..." Silver recognized the name. Reedus was indeed a member of Fairy Tail, but if he remembered correctly, his magic was Pict Magic—magic that allowed him to bring drawings to life.

This didn't seem like the kind of powerful magic he had been hoping for.

Desperately, Silver invoked his cheat, only to nearly collapse from the results.

"What's wrong? You still haven't answered my question. Do you need something from the guild?" Reedus, unaware of the blow he had just dealt to Silver, continued to ask with a friendly tone.

Upon learning that his cheat had manifested as Pict Magic—an utterly harmless magic—Silver felt weak all over, and with a sigh of defeat, he replied, "I... I want to join the guild, if that's possible."

"Oh, so you want to join our guild! That's easy. Come with me," Reedus exclaimed, immediately grabbing Silver's arm and pulling him inside the guild.

Fairy Tail looked like a huge tavern. There was a mission board near the counter, but other than that, it resembled a regular pub.

Reedus led Silver to the far end of the guild hall, where the guild master, Makarov, sat at the counter. Makarov was incredibly short, appearing almost childlike in stature.

"What's going on, Reedus? Who's this kid?" Makarov asked, looking up at the two of them with a drunken expression.

"Master, this kid wants to join our guild," Reedus quickly replied.

"Oh?" Makarov squinted at Silver. "What's your name? What magic do you use?"

"Ah, my name is Silver Greyhart. I use Pict Magic," Silver said nervously, answering truthfully.

"Eh? You also use Pict Magic?" Reedus was surprised and excited. "I use Pict Magic too! We should talk about it later."

"Really? But I've never properly learned painting. I've only drawn a few things on the ground," Silver said, surprised by Reedus's reaction.

"Oh, I see! No wonder you've been hanging around the entrance. You were worried the guild wouldn't accept you, right?" Reedus said, suddenly understanding Silver's hesitation.

Silver turned to Makarov, nervous that if he was rejected now, he would never have a chance to join Fairy Tail.

Makarov, noticing Silver's anxiousness, let out a hearty laugh. "No problem. You're in!"

He then turned and shouted, "Macao, come over here and stamp this kid with our guild's seal!"

Makarov could clearly sense the magic power emanating from Silver's body.

Although it was weak, it was indeed magic.

His words immediately drew the attention of everyone in the guild, and all eyes turned toward Makarov, Reedus, and Silver standing next to Reedus.

Seeing that everyone was looking their way, Makarov quickly jumped down from the counter to stand beside Silver and addressed all the mages in the guild: "This child's name is Silver Greyhart, and he uses Pict Magic. Let's all welcome him to our big family."

"Whoa—!" Upon hearing Makarov's words, everyone cheered loudly, and the atmosphere in the guild reached a peak.

At that moment, Macao walked over holding the guild stamp and asked, "Kid, where do you want the guild mark? And what color?"

"On the back of my right hand, in white. I want everyone to see it," Silver replied excitedly, extending his right hand toward Macao.

Seeing Silver so happy, Macao grinned and pressed the guild mark onto the back of his hand.

"All right, kid, now you're officially a member of Fairy Tail. But if you want to take on missions, you can't accept dangerous ones. You also need to bring me the mission before you take it. Only if I approve can you accept the task. Got it?" Makarov said, seeing the guild mark stamped on Silver's hand, giving him a final reminder.

"Mm, I understand." Silver nodded, realizing that Makarov's words were a way to protect the younger members of the guild. He responded respectfully.