When the people of the Magic Council learned that Moen wanted to accept this mission, they were actually a little dumbfounded.
Because the time was drawing near, headquarters had even already begun selecting this round's "unlucky victim," yet Moen suddenly stepped forward on his own.
Naturally, this made people happy, because choosing the "unlucky victim" was quite an offensive matter. The selected "unlucky victim" and the corresponding guild would not be pleased, which also put them in a difficult position.
The main reason was that different councilors might have accepted favors from different people, which led to internal disagreement within the Magic Council.
As for the choice of this "unlucky victim," they themselves would first have to argue over it internally, in any case first excluding those who had given benefits.
Once every five years, even if the rule was that everyone rotated through first, if it were delayed further back in line, one could avoid going for a very long time.
There were quite a few S-Class Mages across the entire continent of Ishgar, and new S-Class Mages were constantly being added to the "pool." If they truly kept delaying, it was even possible to never go at all.
At the suddenly convened special meeting of the Magic Council, all the councilors had already arrived, and they began discussing this matter.
"Moen requests compensation be given as usual."
Moen's demand had naturally also been sent to headquarters. The branch in the Kingdom of Fiore certainly did not make things difficult for Moen, and relayed his request word for word to headquarters.
"He's voluntarily accepting the mission, and still wants compensation?"
As expected, a councilor immediately expressed dissatisfaction.
Just as Moen had thought, if he did not ask for it, that compensation would still be approved anyway, it would simply end up in the pockets of the "officials," so naturally some people were unhappy with his request.
"A reasonable request. We should even give him more compensation. This is a model case we should let the other S-Class Mages see that this is what an S-Class Mage with responsibility ought to do!"
Councilor Sixth Seat Yajima suddenly spoke. He openly expressed support for Moen, and his reasoning was sound enough that the other councilors found it hard to refute.
Yajima turned to look at the other councilors. Clearly, his proposal would make some people unhappy.
But as long as what he said was reasonable and well-founded, leaving no room for rebuttal, those people did not dare oppose it openly. Although the Magic Council had decayed, many things still could not be brought into the open.
"Would it really work? S-Class Mages are not short on money. Raising mission rewards would not be that attractive to them."
Someone raised a doubt, and it was a fairly reasonable doubt.
Yajima looked toward that person. Without thinking, he already knew who it was.
Councilor Second Seat Org, among a group of stooped old fossils, stood upright, looking rigid, stern, and traditional. He had always been hostile toward Fairy Tail, believing Fairy Tail was far too unruly.
Yajima often debated against Org, because Yajima was a firm supporter of Fairy Tail. He himself came from Fairy Tail, and when young he had been close friends with Makarov, Bob, Porlyusica, and Goldman, so naturally he would speak for Fairy Tail.
"We have to try. Are we supposed to let it continue like this forever?"
Yajima said. He believed this matter was worth trying. No matter what, they should not discourage someone's initiative.
"..."
Org said nothing further. He would not mindlessly target Fairy Tail. He did not even think he was targeting Fairy Tail. He simply disliked Fairy Tail's style and also disliked the Council's indulgence toward Fairy Tail.
But on this matter, he admitted Yajima's thinking was not wrong.
"Then let's vote. Those who support Yajima's proposal, raise your hands."
Seeing no other councilor speak, the chairman said, then directly raised his own hand to show support.
Crawford Seam, Chairman of the Council, with a dove-like administrative style. Because of his presence, Fairy Tail had it so easy. When dealing with Fairy Tail's frequent mistakes, Crawford always handled them lightly, mostly verbal warnings and requests to write self-criticism reports.
Of course, Fairy Tail's strength and status were there. Even if someone else were chairman, they would still have to show Fairy Tail respect. It would be impossible to cry for blood over errors that were not especially excessive.
"Then it's decided."
After looking at the voting results, the chairman announced the final decision, which satisfied Yajima greatly. No matter how rotten this traditional power institution was in private, at least on the surface everyone still had to maintain normal appearances, because quite a few people were watching them.
If they truly angered the entire magical world, then this Magic Council would lose its reason to exist. They would certainly be denounced and reformed. They were merely councilors, not emperors of the magical world and even emperors could be overthrown, let alone councilors like them.
After Moen received the Magic Council's reply, he was quite satisfied anyway. The mission reward was far more generous than he had expected. It was directly equal to the reward of three S-Class missions. As expected of the Magic Council, they were generous when they acted.
"This is pretty good. Just staying there for nearly two months, and I can earn several million J. That's much easier than normal S-Class missions. I really don't know why no one wants to go."
Moen packed his things while complaining to Laxus beside him.
"Because of the uncertainty, and because no one is that short on money."
Laxus answered expressionlessly. After being lectured by Moen last time, he had avoided Moen for several days, but now that Moen was preparing to depart, he still came over to see him off.
"Before a mage takes on a mission, intelligence is also an important part. You have to reduce accidents as much as possible. But for this mission there's nothing we can do. Once you get there, all you can do is wait. If something goes wrong, it's basically a nine-deaths-one-life situation. Facing a beast tide, you can't exactly run away in the middle of it, can you?"
Laxus's expression was complicated. In any case, he could never bring himself to run, and he felt Moen would not do that either.
"There's no need to think so pessimistically. Facing a beast tide, there's still a certain chance of surviving. Look, aren't I doing just fine now?"
Makarov said with a smile from the side. When he was young, he had been recklessly bold and entered the forest with his companions during a beast tide. Naturally, the result was that they fled in an extremely miserable state.
But that also proved that as long as one was strong enough and lucky enough, it was still possible to preserve one's life under the impact of a beast tide.
"Don't worry. My luck has always been pretty good, so nothing will happen. Besides, you should trust my strength. Even if the beast tide really rushes out of Nord Forest, I'll drive them back and send them where they belong."
After packing the luggage needed for wilderness camping, Moen smiled and reassured his worried grandfather and older brother, then set off directly, hurrying toward Nord Forest in the north.
Because the distance was very far, just traveling there would take quite a bit of time. Strictly speaking, he was heading northeast.
Because the Kingdom of Fiore was already almost at the far western side of the entire continent of Ishgar, and it was also a peninsula. Going north meant ocean, so one had to first pass through the eastern mountains and dense forests to leave the peninsula, then head north to reach Nord Forest.
The Was Tree Sea where Cait Shelter was located, and Clover where the regular Guild Masters' Meeting was held, were already very close to the border.
Starting from Magnolia, one could first take a train to Clover, then continue north from Clover, but there were no trains after that, so it would be a very long journey.
But Moen did not need to trouble himself so much. He could directly ride the "Corvus Airplane." He could also bring a large pile of camping luggage. This time Moen did not want to sleep rough in the wind and dew, so he prepared thoroughly—pots, bowls, ladles, even a barbecue grill. Anyone unaware would think he was going sightseeing.
The "Corvus Airplane" sped along like the wind and arrived at Nord Forest early with Moen. Looking down from the air, Nord Forest was indeed enormous. No wonder the beast tide was so terrifying.
And to the north of Nord Forest, separated by a strait, was the northern continent Guiltina.
After circling above Nord Forest once and reaching the coastline, Moen could already faintly see the opposite shore across the strait.
With a mission on hand, Moen did not curiously head for the northern continent Guiltina. If he were to go, it would have to be after finishing the mission.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several giant crows landed at the edge of Nord Forest, stirring up a fierce gale. Moen chose to land on a fairly tall hill and built his camp there.
"Normally, I can let the crows observe conditions everywhere. If any slip through, the weaker crows can deal with them directly."
With a wave of Moen's hand, a flock of crows was released, a black mass flying toward the whole of Nord Forest.
The reason he dared to come was naturally because he had enough confidence and means. The number of crows he controlled now was quite large—so many that he was even wondering whether to develop an air travel service and directly start a "Corvus Airlines."
That matter could be discussed later. Actually doing it would be troublesome, with too many possible problems. Moen was too lazy to deal with them. If it were only a private guild airline usable by Fairy Tail members, that would still be possible.
And besides daily travel, transmitting information, and delivering goods, the crows could also be of great use in a situation like this.
Moen could have the crows comprehensively monitor the edges of Nord Forest, and incidentally eliminate some lost monsters. Ordinary monsters truly could not defeat Moen's crows.
The crows were sent out to work, while Moen himself began setting up camp. Since he would be staying for some time, he wanted to make it as comfortable as possible, so after daily training he could rest more easily.
This mission, Moen regarded as an outdoor training trip. These monsters were about to suffer badly, because Moen intended to use them to ruthlessly grind skill proficiency!
This beast tide instead saved Moen the time of searching everywhere for powerful monsters. All the monsters in Nord Forest had gone berserk, so with a casual search he could find a decent one, and after killing it he could immediately switch to another.
"What a pity, I can't eat Mira's cooking. But there's no helping it. This matter is too dangerous. Even if I wanted to bring them along, it wouldn't work. The old man definitely wouldn't allow it."
Moen felt a bit regretful. He had been eating delicious food every day, and now he was back to long-term rough living, so it was hard not to feel a little unaccustomed. However, Moen himself still had some cooking skill. Though not as gifted as Mira, at least it was edible.
Moen's cooking style belonged to the "tutorial data school." He strictly followed every step, and seasonings had to be measured accurately to the gram. His philosophy was that if it tasted bad, it definitely was not his fault—it was the tutorial's fault.
Although this style might not have a high ceiling, it at least protected the lower limit. Even Mira, who relied purely on talent and experience, was amazed when she saw it. She felt Moen cooked as if conducting magical research, like mixing some magical potion.
Of course, that was only when cooking seriously. Out here in the wild, without tools, Moen could also casually roast some meat and sprinkle seasoning over it before eating.
After simply finishing dinner, Moen cast "Crystal Wall" to protect his camp, then stepped into Nord Forest.
Moen had encountered the phenomenon of beast tides before, and he had curiously researched the exact reason. The cause was complicated, but it was inseparably related to disturbances in magical power.
One thing could be confirmed: the more primitive a place was, the easier it was for this to happen, because the more primitive a place was, the more abundant its magical power became—at least compared to human settlements such as cities and villages.
Abundant magical power was naturally good, but it also agitated monsters. In a sense, such beast tides were more like a way of venting magical power. The monsters accumulated too much magic, could not absorb it all, and naturally had to find some way to release it.
Moen did not know whether his guess was correct, but the magical power inside Nord Forest was indeed very abundant. Though it was far inferior to Fairy Tail's holy land, Tenrou Island, the environment of Tenrou Island was even more primitive and savage.
This seemed, to some degree, to verify Moen's idea. The strange monsters on Tenrou Island were even more violent and powerful, causing no small amount of trouble for the guild companions who went there for the exam. Even the guild's young prodigies found many monsters difficult to handle.
If he were not afraid that killing too many monsters would damage the ecosystem of the holy land, Moen would have wanted to live permanently on that island. One had to cherish one's own territory. It was more enjoyable to run wild outside.
Swoosh!
Moen's figure flickered as he continuously traveled using "Teleportation." Although the distance of each movement was short, his main purpose was training.
"Teleportation" was one of the signature secret techniques at which Aries Saints excelled most. Even within the Sanctuary, where spacetime abilities were forbidden, Aries Saints could still achieve teleportation. Moen was truly bringing shame to Aries right now.
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