Chapter 124: Lumen Histoire
Just as he had come, Ren chose to fly. The vast, dark expanse of the Great Chasm, the same one spanned by the Bridge of Giant Wood, passed beneath him like a scar on the land.
After his magic power reached the 6-star level, his reserves were substantial. Ren no longer had to be as stingy with conserving magic power when using Take Overs as he was at the very beginning of his journey.
He maintained his Ulquiorra Resurrección form for hours at a time, the black wings carrying him silently and swiftly across the sky. Magic power itself isn't anything valuable; it was a resource to be used. As long as he rested well, it could quickly recover.
Of course, overuse of magic power can also cause strong fatigue in the body, and in case of an emergency, it might even lead to danger.
So Ren's choice was simple: when he felt about half of his magic power was consumed, he landed on a remote, snow-capped mountain peak. He released the Take Over, his body returning to its human state, and sat down to rest, pulling some rations from his bag.
The flight back was long, giving him time to reflect. The mission was a success, but the main villain, Mr. Teru, had been laughably weak. The real threat had been the explosive collars and the sheer number of Trolls. His Whitebeard form had handled them, but the exhilaration of that destructive power was almost... intoxicating. He understood Natsu a little better now.
After a few hours of rest and meditation, his magic restored, he resumed his journey.
It took about three days for Ren to rush back to the guild, making the round trip about a week in total. Completing an S-Class Quest in a week was incredibly, almost absurdly, efficient.
He arrived in Magnolia in the late afternoon. The town was as lively as ever, but the guild hall was still a skeleton of its former self. It was a bustling construction site, with ladders, scaffolding, and piles of lumber everywhere.
Ren walked past the half-finished walls and entered what was currently serving as the main hall: the bar area, which had, of course, been the first thing rebuilt.
"Everyone! I'm back!!" Ren called out, waving.
Mira, who was wiping down the new bar counter, looked up. Her face immediately lit up with a surprise and relief that warmed Ren's heart. Although Ren was very strong, she was still a little worried about him going out alone on an S-Class Quest.
"Ren! You're back!"
"Welcome back!!"
"Hey! I've been gone for a week, and the guild's construction progress doesn't seem to be much!" Ren teased, glancing at the unfinished framework. "Are you guys slacking off again?"
The guild was full of lazy Mages, and he suspected they weren't working seriously.
Gray, sitting at a table with no shirt on, argued, "Hey! Everyone went out to do quests to pay for this, so there are naturally fewer people working. Besides, the progress is already very good now; haven't you seen that the outer wall is almost finished? And you also went out on a quest, so you're not qualified to criticize others."
Natsu, sitting across from him, slammed his fist on the table, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Forget the building! Ren, you completed another S-Class Quest? Was he strong? Did you fight him? Was it awesome?!"
"With me on the job, it's always a piece of cake," Ren said with a confident smirk.
Happy flew in front of Ren and asked curiously, his paws twitching, "How much money did you earn this time?!"
"15 million J."
The Giant King had been so overjoyed at the return of all 120 children that he had more than doubled the original 7-million-Jewel reward. Although the Elbaf Kingdom didn't have much interaction with the outside world, some bold merchants had opened a trade route, so the kingdom naturally stored some foreign currency for unforeseen needs.
"F-Fifteen... million... J!!"
Lucy, who had been sipping a drink nearby, choked and sprayed it everywhere. Her eyes widened when she heard this amount. 15 million! That was enough to pay her 70,000-Jewel rent for over 214 months. That was almost 18 years of rent!
Although she already knew Ren's earning ability was incredibly exaggerated, she was still shocked.
"If only the person I teamed up with was Ren..." Lucy muttered, slumping onto the table. She had done two quests with Natsu these past few days, but most of the money earned was spent paying for the damages Natsu caused, and the remaining small portion was only enough for basic necessities. She was now worried about next month's rent again.
If she teamed up with Ren, even doing one S-Class Quest would earn her enough money for a year.
Mira heard this and said with a gentle smile, "You should be glad you didn't team up with Ren, Lucy. Every quest Ren does might seem easy when he tells it, but it can be fatally dangerous for others."
Because Mira was quite close to Ren, she often heard him talk about the quests he did. The true difficulty of those quests—fighting Dark Mages, armies of demons, or entire kingdoms—made even her, an S-Class Mage, tremble with fear.
"Uh... that's true!" Lucy paled. She felt very relaxed when she went on an S-Class Quest with Ren last time (Galuna Island), but not all S-Class Quests were that easy. She still cherished her life.
Mira came up to Ren, her smile soft. "Welcome back. What would you like to eat?"
"The usual, please," Ren said, taking a seat at the bar. "Where's the Master?"
Mira smiled, though it was a bit strained. "The Master was called away by the Council again. They're still... upset... about the Phantom Lord incident."
Ren understood what she meant when he heard this. "It's really hard being the Master."
Only the old man could allow them to be so unruly, taking the scolding and writing self-criticisms himself, all to protect his "children." Ren was right. No dog would want to be the Master of Fairy Tail.
"Ren, Ren, quickly tell us, what was this S-Class Quest like?"
"Yeah! Tell us!"
Natsu, Gray, Elfman, and many others gathered around Ren, wanting to know what his S-Class Quest was like this time. In the Fairy Tail Guild, S-Class Mages were rare, and Gildarts was never around. They could only hear S-Class Quest stories from Ren.
"This time," Ren began, taking a bite of the food Mira set before him, "I went to the Elbaf Kingdom, located in the eastern part of the Ishgar continent..."
Ren told everyone about his experiences. He spoke of the 50-meter-tall giants, which caused Natsu to shout, "So they're as big as Gramps?!"
He told them about the brutish Trolls and the evil Black Magic Cult that had kidnapped over a hundred giant children. This caused the guild to grow quiet, their expressions turning dark.
Then, he told them how he infiltrated the Troll Capital alone, fought the cultists, and rescued all the children at once. The guild members, especially Natsu and Gray, exclaimed in awe. They didn't expect there to be such huge creatures as giants and trolls in the world. With a height of over thirty meters, wouldn't every one of them be like the Master in his giant form? How powerful must such a country be?
Ren also talked about the Master's affairs. When the guild members heard that the Master had actually confessed to a female giant in his youth, they all gasped in surprise.
Macao said with a look of pure admiration, "As expected of the Master! To even... a female giant! What a man!"
"Cough cough!"
At this moment, a heavy cough came from behind them.
Everyone froze. They slowly turned around and saw Master Makarov, who had appeared behind them at some point, looking exceptionally displeased.
"Master! You're back!"
"You brats! If you're bored, go work! The guild won't build itself! Don't crowd around here!"
Seeing Makarov's displeased expression, everyone immediately scattered, whistling and pretending to be busy.
Makarov huffed, then turned to Ren, his expression softening, though he was clearly trying to look stern. "You brat, don't listen to that Giant King's nonsense. It was clearly that kid who liked Lina back then and didn't dare to do it himself, so he asked me for help! Are... are the King and Lina doing well?"
"Yes, Master. They're both doing very well. One is the King and the other is the Queen. They look only in their thirties and are both very healthy."
Makarov's eyes also showed a nostalgic, faraway look when he heard this. "Is that so... It's good that they are well."
How could he not miss these two friends? It's just that they were here, in the western part of the Ishgar continent, and the Elbaf Kingdom was in the far eastern part of the continent.
The journey was too far, and most importantly, he had taken over as the Master of Fairy Tail. He had something more important to protect, so he naturally couldn't leave.
Makarov looked at Ren, his expression suddenly turning very serious. "Brat, come with me for a moment. I have something to tell you."
Ren was startled. Seeing the old man's solemn expression, it was clear this was something important, so he nodded and followed him.
The two arrived one after another at the first basement level of the guild. This area, built deep underground, had been preserved when the guild was destroyed and had not been ruined.
Makarov walked past the storage barrels and dusty archives, stopping at a blank stone wall.
"Oh? Master, there's such a place below the guild!"
"Brat, there's still a lot you don't know. Just follow me."
Makarov placed his hand on the wall. A complex, ancient magic circle glowed, and the stone itself dissolved, revealing an underground entrance and a long staircase leading further down.
Ren followed Makarov down the dark, narrow steps, the air growing older and thick with dormant magic.
Soon, the two arrived in front of a large, magically sealed door.
Makarov moved his fingers, weaving a complex magical sign. "This secret is known only to the Guild Masters of Fairy Tail," he said, his voice low. "But you, Ren, have shown strength and wisdom far beyond your years. You are S-Class, and you are worthy of this knowledge."
A magic circle appeared on the door. Then the door slowly opened, and an empty, vast underground hall appeared before them.
At the very end of the hall, a giant, beautiful Magic Crystal stood, pulsing with an impossibly powerful, yet gentle, golden light.
And sealed within the Magic Crystal was a naked, blonde girl, her eyes closed as if in a peaceful sleep.
"This... this is..." Ren was startled at first, but he quickly realized what—who—this was, and his expression changed to one of absolute shock.
Makarov looked at the glowing crystal, his expression full of reverence and solemnity.
"This is our Guild's greatest, most guarded secret—Lumen Histoire."
[Akarin's Note: Lumen Histoire (Latin for "Light of History"), also known as Fairy Heart, is the ultimate secret and treasure of the Fairy Tail guild.]
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