Back at the counter, amid the surrounding chaos, Hope, who had nothing to do, picked up the newspaper Mira-Jean had been using for a numbers game and began reading.
The front-page headline was very eye‑catching.
The Council praised the Fairy Tail mage for assisting in the retrieval of the Demon Flute and for defeating the dark guild "Iron Forest".
'It's like the sun rose in the west—who would have thought the Council would publicly commend our guild.'
Hope couldn't help but complain; in the few days he'd been at the guild, he'd seen the Council criticize Fairy Tail at least four times in the newspaper.
Mira-Jean smiled, 'Indeed, those councilors didn't even mention the destruction at Oseebana Station this time—quite a rarity.'
As he kept flipping through, a news item caught Hope's eye: several mage deaths had recently occurred across the Ishugal continent.
These mages were mostly somewhat famous and powerful; one of them had just been added to the Council's 'Holy Ten Mages' candidate list.
According to the Council's report, the mages were each crushed to death in one‑sided assaults, with abnormal earth mana detected at each scene and faint traces of unknown magic lingering in nearby trees—attributed to a powerful dark wood mage.
Hope frowned slightly.
Having endured the harshness of the magnetic‑field world, the death tolls on the paper meant little to him; they were just words on a page.
Earth mana, residual magic in the trees… the dark mage the Council identified is most likely the 'Great Tree Arc' mage who caused the rampaging mutated treemen in the previous mission.
Back then, Hope had judged that person to be a 'warmonger.'
Combined with the newspaper's account, it's clear that the mage using the 'Great Tree Arc' spell has been challenging other strong mages all over the place.
That was the part that puzzled Hope the most.
Given his aggressive, lawless nature, once he arrived in the Fiore Kingdom, how could he possibly ignore the legitimate Fairy Tail mages?
Hope didn't believe anyone in the magical world was unaware of his guild's fighting prowess.
Moreover, the dark guild naturally opposes legitimate guilds, and Onibas Town, where he'd appeared, isn't far from Magnolia—there was no reason he wouldn't at least take a look.
Yet that mysterious mage simply passed by, completely ignoring Fairy Tail.
The only thing Hope could think of was that someone—perhaps the enigmatic dark guild behind the scenes—was preventing him from contacting Fairy Tail.
With no usable leads, further analysis would be futile.
Hope closed the newspaper and looked up just in time to see Kana, who was being 'chased' by Elusa, but given the pile of COS corpses around… maybe it was better not to stare.
At that moment, the usually silent Mira-Jean clapped her hands. 'By the way, Hope, a package for you arrived after you left for your morning quest.'
'Since you weren't here, I signed for it and placed it in your room.'
Hope thanked Mira-Jean and headed back to his room.
After locking the door from the inside, Hope stared straight at the package on Mira-Jean's bed, instantly recognizing it as the mana crystal Dorambalt had ordered for him.
He tore it open eagerly; inside was a square candy‑box‑like container holding 300 mana crystals that glimmered with specks of light.
Adding the six leftover crystals he'd gotten for free last time, the total came to 306.
In an instant, Hope's breath heated up with excitement.
At that moment, only one line from a famous web‑novel protagonist rang in his head.
'Deep Blue, add points!'
Ten seconds later, a embarrassed Hope reluctantly opened the system panel, only to be greeted by a prompt the moment it launched.
[Ding~]
[Friendly reminder, host: this system isn't called 'Deep Blue,' and it has no point‑adding function~]
So you know what I mean now, right? You stupid system!
If it weren't for the fact that there's no complaint portal for the Transmigrants' Association, Hope would have given this cheeky golden‑finger a solid five‑star review.
The kind you pay in installments!
Watching the system bounce once and then resume its dead‑pan act, Hope sighed, placed his hand on a crystal and said, 'System, accelerate the hack.'
Sensing Hope's will, the system auto‑activated.
[Success: Accelerated 9 days]
[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the 'Plant' spell]
[Success: Accelerated 15 days]
[Congratulations, host, you have obtained 'Demon Curse Technique: Curse Kill']
[Success: Accelerated 20 days]
[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the 'Reception' spell]
[Success: Accelerated 45 days]
[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the lost spell 'Arc of the Great Tree']
Eighty‑nine crystals were consumed; since arriving in this world, the only magic he's catalogued that can't be used yet is 'Card,' while the rest he now fully masters.
Having instantly gained three spells and a demon curse, Hope's excitement made him fidget like a fly buzzing its hands.
With the 'Plant' spell, magical plant seeds, and the 'Life Branch' given by the treemen, he might be able to create the intelligent plants from Plants vs. Zombies.
Now that he has the 'Reception' spell, hunting for suitable power souls should be next on his agenda, prioritizing the physique‑boost he originally envisioned.
The 'Arc of the Great Tree' truly lives up to its reputation as a lost spell of extreme difficulty; even though Hope grasped it via the system, he can't wield it as smoothly as ordinary magic and will need extensive practice.
With his magic plan set, Hope turned his focus to the newly acquired demon curse.
Upon obtaining 'Demon Curse Technique: Curse Kill,' he felt a new energy called 'curse power' surge within him, the core of the curse's operation.
Curse power differs from the stability of mana; it's a wildly volatile energy that's hard to control, yet it won't turn humans into demons and can coexist with mana.
Hope intends to keep the demon curse as a fallback when his mana runs low, and after gathering more demon curses later, pursue a dual cultivation path of both magic and curses.
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