Chapter 75 : Version 0.5

Erza accompanied Knight on a shopping trip through the town.

It was a rare visit to the Magic Council headquarters, so she decided to bring back small gifts for everyone in the guild.

"Lucy likes..." Knight mused.

He opened his device and searched for Lucy's profile under her motto, "Work hard to make money." Checking her interests, he saw the obvious: books and Celestial Spirits. Even the most common Celestial Spirit silver key cost tens of thousands of J, and Lucy, always running short on funds, still owed him over 10 million J.

Knight shrugged. He knew Lucy would appreciate something simpler, so he headed to a bookstore and bought the current best-selling novel for just 1,400 J. He asked the shopkeeper and learned the book hadn't been released in the Kingdom of Fiore yet. It seemed like a perfect small gift for her.

"And then there's Mira..." Knight thought.

He already knew what Mirajane liked — cooking. So, he picked up a cookbook, which was 700 J more expensive than Lucy's novel.

One by one, Knight thought about everyone else: Natsu, Gray, Elfman, Cana, Levy... And of course, he didn't forget Happy and Master Makarov.

In total, the gifts cost over 100,000 J.

"By the way, Erza, what gift do you want?" Knight asked, turning to the warrior by his side.

Erza looked surprised. "I don't need anything," she said.

Knight rubbed his chin, thinking. He noticed the prismatic earrings dangling beneath Erza's crimson hair, a detail many might overlook. Despite her serious demeanor as the "Titania" of the guild, Erza enjoyed dressing up. Knight recalled seeing her in maid outfits, nurse uniforms, even as a bunny girl — all sorts of costumes.

"Maybe contrast cuteness?" Knight wondered, amused by the thought.

"I've got an idea! Don't move from here. I'll be right back!" Knight said suddenly, dashing off.

"An orange?" Erza muttered in confusion. What could he be planning?

When Knight returned, he was holding something delicate between his fingers. "These will suit your hair better than your current earrings," he said, revealing a pair of elegant black crystal pendants.

Erza blinked in surprise. No one had ever given her earrings before. In fact, had anyone ever given her a gift at all? Thinking it over, the answer was no. Perhaps she had been too strict, scaring people off from showing her kindness.

She extended her pale hand and took the earrings, inspecting them carefully. The crescent-shaped black crystals glimmered under the light. Black and red, a timeless combination. The dark hue of the earrings would perfectly complement her crimson hair.

"Thank you, Knight. I really like them," Erza said, a rare smile crossing her face.

"Well, I should give you something in return," she added.

Knight, intrigued, asked, "What will you give me?"

"Wait here. I'll go buy an orange too," Erza teased with a smile before disappearing into the crowd.

Knight stood still, bewildered. Did she really understand his joke? No, Erza wasn't a time traveler. But perhaps she had caught onto his playful tone.

"It's bad... she's learning it!" Knight thought.

Erza soon returned, now wearing the black crystal earrings. "How do they look?" she asked, lifting her hair to show them off.

"They suit you," Knight said with a grin.

Erza nodded, "I think so too. Oh, and here's your gift."

She handed him a small box.

"Open it later," she said with a wink.

Knight didn't need to open it to guess what was inside.

"Now, hold my hand," Knight instructed. He activated his space-time magic, forming a glowing golden circle beneath their feet. The magic rippled through the street, drawing the attention of onlookers. In the blink of an eye, the two vanished from sight.

They reappeared at an apartment, the teleportation having consumed a significant portion of Knight's magic power.

Back at the guild construction site, it was lunchtime, but no one was outside. Everyone was downstairs in the temporary tavern, originally a warehouse now repurposed during the guild's rebuilding phase.

"Knight! Erza! You're finally back!" The guild members greeted them with enthusiasm.

"If you were any later, Natsu would've stormed the Magic Council!" someone joked.

"Well, we brought gifts," Knight said, pulling small presents from his bag, each worth a modest sum.

"Macao, this pipe is for you. But remember, smoke less."

"Levy, this light pen is one of the most expensive gifts."

"Kana, here's a new set of tarot cards."

The guild members surrounded Knight, happily receiving their gifts.

"Wow, so many presents!"

"Tarot cards? I needed a new deck, thanks, Knight!"

"Do I get one too? Do I?" Mirajane asked, smiling sweetly but not interrupting the others' excitement.

"Of course! I even got one for the master," Knight said, handing Mira her gift.

"Where's the master, by the way?"

Mirajane sighed, "He's writing a self-criticism again."

Knight chuckled. It seemed like Makarov wouldn't be teaching him Fairy Law anytime soon.

But if not Fairy Law, Knight still had other things to learn.

"Wolian!" Knight called.

Wolian Laco, a seemingly unremarkable member of Fairy Tail, looked up. But appearances were deceiving; Wolian was a powerful telepathic wizard.

"Nate? What's up? I'm at your service, whatever you need!" Wolian said eagerly.

"I'm developing the voice chat function for the Magic Network. Can you teach me telepathy?" Knight asked.

Wolian was momentarily surprised, but smiled. "Of course! I'll teach you everything I know."

Within two days, Knight had already mastered the basics of telepathy, impressing Wolian with his rapid learning ability.

Telepathy wasn't just about communicating mentally. At higher levels, one could even read the thoughts of opponents in battle. Knight didn't need to push it that far, though. He just wanted to understand the magic's principles so he could write the necessary code into the Magic Network's framework.

After thanking Wolian with a dinner invitation, Knight spent the next few days working tirelessly on the new features. He integrated voice communication, added the Council section, and finished Magic Network Express.

In just one week, all three projects were completed.

As Knight typed the final line of code, he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Why does it feel like having a helper only makes me busier?"

"Was I born to write code?" Knight muttered to himself, half-joking.

Version 0.5 of the Magic Network was ready for a major update.