Chapter 57: 4 Star Magic! Oración Seis!

Before leaving, Nate remembered something important and said to Jude:

"Once the second-generation rings are finished, I'll need to personally imbue them with Internet magic. Without that, they won't work."

"When the first batch is ready, contact me."

Jude nodded in understanding. Now that he could use Magic Net, he could reach Nate at any time. He then turned to Lucy, who was sitting on the back of the motorcycle, and smiled.

"Lucy, have fun at the guild. If anything happens, feel free to contact your father."

"I will. Goodbye, Father."

Lucy smiled brightly and waved to her father and the many servants who had come to see her off. She then held onto Nate's waist and urged him:

"Let's go, Nate."

Nate revved up the motorcycle, slowly accelerating away from the mansion under everyone's gaze. As the magic motorcycle picked up speed, Lucy, sitting on the back seat, stretched her arms out, enjoying the wind blowing through her hair.

"You're in a good mood," Nate remarked, glancing back at her.

"Thank you, Nate. I never thought I'd be able to reconcile with my father this time."

"Ever since Mom passed away, he buried himself in making money, never caring about me!" Lucy vented about her father from the back seat.

"I think your dad cares about you quite a bit," Nate chuckled. "Hold tight; I'm speeding up."

With that, he twisted the throttle, and the bike surged forward.

"Ahhh! Slow down, slow down!"

Lucy, both excited and screaming, held on tightly to Nate, not daring to let go.

...

Meanwhile, as Nate and Lucy were heading back to Magnolia, the headquarters of the Dark Guild, Oración Seis, was stirring in a hidden underground facility resembling a research lab.

"This magic is really fascinating—a genius creation!" said Brain, the leader of Oración Seis, a man with dark skin, white hair, and a long coat, wielding a skull-tipped staff.

"Is it? I just think it's fun," said Angel, the only woman in Oración Seis, sitting at a table playing online Mahjong through Magic Net.

One of her opponents, "The Departing Traveler," kept pausing for long stretches as if distracted, frustrating Angel.

"This world runs on money. If it doesn't make money, it's meaningless," said Hoteye, scrolling quickly through forum posts on Magic Net.

"Making money is easy," Cobra, the Poison Dragon Slayer, sneered. "All the legal guilds have set up [Online Commission] services. Making money from this is a no-brainer."

"Shut up," Brain waved him off. "The creator of this magic is far smarter than you. If I were him, I'd adopt the same strategy. It's like preparing bait for fishing."

"First, you attract all the mages. Then, when the time is right, you harvest them."

However, Brain was more intrigued by the magic itself than the potential for profit.

He praised the concept, saying, "Letter Magic, Telepathy, Super Archive, Photography—Magic Net combines the essence of so many magics. It's truly remarkable!"

"And what's even more frightening is its range!"

As he spoke, he opened a chat group.

[Oración Seis] Chat Group.

Brain: "Racer, where are you now?"

Fastest in the World: "I've long left Fiore. I haven't hit the limit yet!"

"See?" Brain smirked. "A range this vast—what magic can compare?"

Carrier pigeons? Sure, they could carry messages, even visual and spoken content, but it took time. Magic Net, on the other hand, was instantaneous.

What about telepathy? Most mages couldn't cover an entire city, and the more people they linked to, the more magic it consumed. Sustaining long-distance communication with multiple people was nearly impossible.

Even Brain himself couldn't extend his telepathy beyond a single city.

In contrast, Magic Net effortlessly covered 'an entire nation'!

Brain: "Return. I suspect this magic can cover the entire continent. No need to test it further."

Fastest in the World: "Understood."

Angel, still playing Mahjong, looked up, puzzled.

"Isn't this a bit beyond what we know about magic? How can something cover such a large area? Not even Zeref could do that."

Brain narrowed his eyes but remained silent. He didn't know the answer either.

He had tried using analysis magic to decode the deeper principles of Magic Net, but found nothing. He had also tried tracking the flow of magic to locate the source of Magic Net but came up empty.

If it weren't for the interface right in front of him, Brain might have questioned whether Magic Net was even real.

After reflecting on his recent studies, Brain spoke gravely:

"When I was director of the Bureau of Magical Development, I created hundreds of spells."

"But none of them compare to Magic Net!"

"We must find its creator—I need his power!"

Hearing this, the three other members of Oración Seis exchanged glances, then looked at Midnight, who was still fast asleep, sitting cross-legged on his flying carpet.

Brain scoffed. "Hoteye, you'll go. Magic Net can help you make money."

He paused, then added, "No, to ensure the mission's success, take Racer with you."

"I understand. As long as I can make money, in this world, money is everything," Hoteye replied, shutting down Magic Net before leaving the headquarters.

Two members of Oración Seis being dispatched at once? Cobra, surprised, stroked his pet cobra, listening to Brain's thoughts.

...

"The Magic Net is too pure. I will create a dark version of it—an underworld for Magic Net. For that, I'll need your power, Nate!"

...

A week had passed since Nate's visit to Lucy's home.

He stretched and walked out of the guild, feeling refreshed. Thanks to his Thought Projection "tool," the development of 'Magic Net Delivery' was progressing smoothly and would be completed in another ten days.

Nate had even rented a small house in the suburbs, costing only 50,000J, to house the Thought Projection, which could work for 20 hours a day, leaving 4 hours for rest.

Though he still needed to control it directly, Nate used his remaining time to study new magic from the library.

With a constant influx of knowledge from the 'Library,' there was no shortage of magic to learn—only time was lacking.

After seven days, Nate's magic power had risen from three stars to four, reaching a level comparable to Erza's.

[Magic Power: ★★★★]

"By the time Magic Net Delivery is done, I should be able to hit five stars!"

Nate was quite satisfied with his progress. Why meditate to train when you can level up by lying down?

Suddenly, he caught a flash of movement ahead of him in the night.

With his Six Eyes, Nate detected the figure's approach, but they were already behind him in an instant—moving impossibly fast.

"What a rare guest—a member of Oración Seis, daring to come here?"