Still being surrounded by either emptied or party filled bottles of spirits. Zack simply stared at the ceiling, thinking of a way, a way to restore everything that left him like this.
Like it was said before, he has no clue what to do, how can he move forward, he simply has no clue what this first step he supposed to take.
By this rate, he might have no choice but to leave both the Guild and Magnolia.
But is that really what he wants?
Is this really the only way to move forward, to stop ruining himself any further?
It is not the first time Zack think of this, to leave Magnolia, to leave the guild… but can he?
The Guild is more than just a Guild to Zack.
It is his home.
A place he truly felt he belong to.
And it also the place where he has found people who helped him, who made him who he is today.
Broken or not, when he firstly joined Fairy Tail, Zack was beyond broken, he was lost, completely an empty shell, that only thing he had was his endless curiosity, curiosity because himself has nothing besides the abilities and information he was given by God.
That is why, the Guild and this town are both important to Zack, Magnolia is his hometown, and the guild, no those that are within in the guild are like a family to him.
They are the people who guided him, brought meaning in his empty life, and they are also the ones who formed memories alongside with him, in this new life of his.
His personality.
His willpower
His resolves.
His beliefs.
Everything about the person called Zack Smasher was forged within that Guild, moulded by the people that belong to that Guild.
So, regarding all they done for him… was it really alright, to go and leave?
Even if Zack has no intentions to leave forever if he could help it.
But with him leaving both Fairy Tail and Magnolia, was no different from running away with his tail between his legs.
And even if he does leave the Guild and the town, will that truly fix him?
Will leaving everything behind, either for a short while, a long time, or maybe forever, will that truly fix the broken spirit and heart he has?
And yet… while it may fix him or may not fixed him by leaving this place, that he calls home.
Remaining either in Magnolia or Fairy Tail will do more harm to him, then any good.
No matter how Zack sees it, while leaving might not complexly fix him, it still the wisest choice, no, the only choice he has left, if he wanted to do anything about himself.
After all, nothing he has tried in this town ever worked to regain his abilities, to regain his Magic, and to mend his Haki.
Now it is time to leave, either if that meant forever, or until he just recovers what he lost, he no longer can remain in either this town, or at the Guild, because no matter how much he does not want to admit it, remaining in this town, in the guild, will only make things worse.
That is why, now it is the time to leave before things become more worse it already is.
As Zack made his mind up, seeing this is the only choice he has left.
Zack soon became lost how do he leaves.
Do he just go and leave as it is, without a word to anyone?
And what about supplies? Was it truly alright to go without any kind of preparation?
Of course, it not like Zack needed supplies nor money to ensure that he survives when he leaves both Magnolia and the Guild.
After all, he still has the knowledge that God given him, the survival knowledge that basically ensures he least knew how he can survive any kind of wilderness, with nothing in his hands.
But even so, Zack still cannot deny the importance of Jewels or supplies has, just having either of these two things can increased the rate of his survival when he leaves by several fold.
But even so… as Zack turned his attention away from the ceiling, he turned towards the countless bottles of spirits within his room, he even looked at the keg that Canan has long ago given him, that now remains in his bedroom as a trash bin, a trash bin that also long ago been overflowed with empty bottles.
Until now, Zack never caried about the prices of alcohol, especially when it comes to spirits like brandy, gin and such, especially when they cost more than a bottle or a tankard of mead or cider.
Each bottle ranges from 500 to 10,000 Jewels, counting on what band they are, as well their quality. Of course, there exists bottles that worth over 100,000 Jewels and even millions as well.
But Zack never touched such expensive bottles, because what he needed was a strong drink, not some fancy drink.
Even so, Zack grabbed his wallet on the desk, seeing there is only 200 Jewels in there, a deep sigh came to Zack, specially when it was only five days ago, when he got paid from the last commission he did.
The income of a Wizard, who is part of a Guild, not a staff member, but a guild member, their income solely relies on the commissions they complete.
When it comes to Normal Jobs, the amount of money one can get from them, are usually between 50,000 to 500,000 Jewels per Job.
Of course, there are Normal Jobs that brings in less, and sometimes in rare cases, they can be worth in millions like S-Class Jobs.
But in the end, the income of a Wizard is their capability, and how many Jobs they can complete within a month, that is their income.
The normal Wizard of any rank takes on 4 to 8 Normal Jobs a month. That means Wizards below S-Class could earn anywhere between 200,000 to 4,000,000 Jewels per month via Normal Jobs.
Of course, even if it possible to earn that much, like any profession that relies on commissions, does not mean such Normal Jobs that worth over 200,000 Jewels will always be available.
And when such Jobs are available, they are often not taken by a single Wizard, but a team of Wizards instead, after all, if a Job costs that much, expect danger while on the job.
In the end, the income of a Wizard with C-Class capability like Zack has fallen into, is between 200,000 to 300,000 a month on average.
Do keep in mind that the average income of a normal person that lives in a town like Magnolia, is between 100,000 to 200,000 Jewels a month, which Is enough money for anyone to enjoy a normal life in a town like this.
So, earning over 200,000 Jewels on average, is way enough for any common ranked Wizard to live peacefully within Magnolia.
But even so, Zack looked at the two 100 Jewels coins between his fingers.
Five days ago, this 200 Jewels was 60,000 Jewels.
That is how much the last Job he took on given him, and yet, now he is left with a mere 200 Jewels, that is nowhere enough to buy the things he needed for a long journey, unless he wanted a snack along the way.
A sigh soon left Zack's lips.
The only way Zack knew how to earned money, is via the Guild. While that doesn't seem like a problem, taking on another Job or two from the Guild.
But can Zack ensure himself, he wouldn't spend a single Jewel on anymore alcohol, especially when he needed the funds to go on this journey?
No, Zack truly doubts he can do that.
He is someone who cannot fall asleep without alcohol, not to mention, earning money via the Guild, means remaining in Magnolia and Fairy Tail, remaining in such places that will only arises the desire to drink within Zack more and more.
To the point, it will become no different it is now.
This is no different to an endless cycle, once you entered such a cycle, it is nearly impossible to leave it.
Realising he cannot earn more money via Jobs, Zack covered his face, while he does not want to leave either this town or the guild without any soft of preparations, he might have to leave as he is.
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Soon Zack left the apartment complex he lives in.
Like most members of Fairy Tail, he lives in a one bedroom apartment, where rent is 65,000 Jewels a month.
(AN: Math is based on Lucy's apartment were originally 70,000 Jewels before the time skip, but 80,000 afterwards. It is two years before the canon, and if it increased by 10,000 within 7 years, it makes sense the rent of one bedroom apartments in Magnolia to be around 67,000 Jewels before the canon, however I rounded it to 65,000 instead)
Not everyone owns their own homes that belongs to the Guild, nor everyone can attend the only dormitory Fairy Tail has, Fairy Hills, after all, it only accepts female members, and the rent is 100,000 per room.
Which is almost double a one bedroom apartment costs. Even so, that is the housing situation of those that joined Fairy Tail.
Those that live in the rental houses, that often recommended by either the Guild, or Makarov himself, often live in rental houses or apartments, that generally benefits the town as a whole. After all, one of the main incomes of Magnolia, is rental properties.
It is the cycle the Guild and Magnolia have formed within the years when Magnolia was a small town, not like it is today. Not to mention, not all Wizards in general could remain in the town they are located all the time, so having a property under someone else responsibility is the best way, when it comes to Wizards, who are often away.
Of course, that normally how new or young members of the Guild lives, over time, those who belong to the Guild for a long time, will often buy their own property so they can settle down, and those that do settle down, often take on less dangerous Jobs, knowing they are no longer in their primes.
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(Skip this if you want, this is just drop information)
I forgot to mention something, that I already mentioned in the later chapters.
As I research about the average income of Normal Jobs ranges between 50,000 to 500,000. I did not mention about the fees that the Guild normally takes on each and every commission that goes to the Guild.
My point is, the 50,000 to 500,000 is how much Jewels a Wizard gets from a Normal Job, not how much the client has to pay for such Normal Jobs commissions.
From how I see it, and how it will work in this fanfic, when a client issues commission, no matter what kind of Job it is, the fees of paying for a commission to any guild, falls on two factors.
And those two factors are the base fee and the interest rate fee.
The base fee is the worth of the Normal Job, this is the money that will be paid to the Wizard or Wizards that will take on the commission, of course, it also meant, if any damages or wrongs done while in the middle of the commission, it will be the base fee that will take the hit the most.
While the interest fee is both the income the Guild earns via commissions, as well the taxes that goes both to the government and the Magic Council.
How it will work, the interest rate will be spilt into five shares, while the Magic Council will take one share, the government will take two shares, and the Guild will take the remaining two shares of the interest rate.
The value of the Interest fee is 50% of the base fee, meaning if the base fee, the money that goes to the Wizard is 50,000 Jewels, that means the interest fee is 25,000 Jewels.
Meaning the client has to pay 75,000 Jewels in total, with 5,000 Jewels to the Magic Council, 10,000 to the government as taxes, and another 10,000 will belong to the guild.
That how it will work in this fanfic, and how I see it works personally.
Of course, I could be wrong, however, as long I can remember, I can't remember the canon ever explained how much do money do one has to pay for a commission, and how taxes and such works in Fairy Tail.
I know this is pointless information, however, I do know some do like things like this, it is world building, which is not hard to do in a fanfic, when it normally already there for you, but I do like to mix and add things of my own, or put things in, that are never explained.
Anyway, that is all, I know this is complete nonsense, that is why I put this at the bottom, since it not really important, but it still how it will work in this fanfic.
So, thanks for reading, hope you enjoy the next fairy/chapter, as you did with the last one.