After letting out a howl, Makalov turned back and continued drinking.
The moment his words fell, the silent hall erupted into noise.
"Did you hear that? Hop can copy magic!"
"I told you, it's again 'wings' and 'wooden shape' and stuff..."
"Then yesterday when he risked his life to get close to the president, wasn't it to copy the 'Fairy Law'?"
"With so many spells, it won't blow up, will it?"
"What are you all talking about? All I hear is that copying a spell for Hop gets you 50,000 J."
Someone said that, and the hall fell silent instantly.
Seeing the hall suddenly quiet, Hop couldn't hold back any longer, "Hey, hey, hey, old man, isn't listing the price like that hurting everyone?"
"And it's only 50,000 J... are you sending beggars?"
Information about magic is crucial in battle; some powerful mages have been defeated—or even killed—because their magical weaknesses were betrayed or discovered.
Therefore, most mages are reluctant to reveal the full extent of their spells.
But Makalov smiled faintly, "Hop, kid, you still don't understand our guild. Not even 50,000 J—people would pay 10,000 J."
Hop was unconvinced, thinking the guild members wouldn't be that... "Hop! I'm fired up! Quickly copy my magic for me!"
"Copy mine first!"
"No crowding! Let me go first! I only want 49,000 J!"
"A real man only needs 48,000!"
"Hey, we're not greedy, Hop, just give us 40,000 J."
"..."
Watching the crowd jam the counter, Hop suddenly understood Makalov's words; at this rate, a drop to 10,000 J was inevitable.
So what exactly are these people doing?
Even though it hadn't really started, the reverse bidding went wild... In the end, Hop paid the standard 50,000 J per spell, and reimbursed those like Kana, Habi, Leqi, Elfman, the two 'bootlickers', etc., for the spells he had taken.
After spending most of the day, Hop's card swiped into numbness before he finally finished copying the magic of the eighty‑eight guild members present today.
Even though some knew multiple spells, Hop ended up spending under 5,000,000 J, leaving half his savings untouched.
Sometimes magic is cheaper than you think.
But a companion's trust is priceless.
Sorting through the spells he collected, most were mundane—Hop even gathered several 'fire' and 'light' spells.
But there were surprising spells too, the most delightful being the 'Thought Speech' magic.
This spell came from the low‑key yet surprisingly powerful Wolian, allowing everyone in a certain radius to communicate mentally.
Moreover, 'Thought Speech' has a god‑like feature—'mind reading'—letting you discern an opponent's thoughts in battle, a spell that sees through enemies.
Mental chat plus mind reading is essentially a strategic‑level functional spell.
There were also some spells with decent potential or just plain fun.
For example, the 'Gunslinger Outfit Change' magic from the female cowboy Biska and the 'Gunslinger' magic from cowboy Alzak; the two complement each other perfectly when combined.
Ridasu's 'Painting', Bijita's 'Dance', Qi's 'Urban Legend' that summons ghostly warriors... and so on.
These are nice spells, but few actually boost Hop's combat power, so he kept them as collectibles.
In the days after gathering everyone's spells, Hop stayed in his room, and everyone tacitly left him alone.
He used 'Tree Arc' to draw stored earth mana, and 'Time Arc' to continuously restore depleted mana crystals.
After five days and nights without rest, Hop managed to grind through most of the system‑recorded spells; the previously obtained 'Giant' spell and 'Fairy Law' became his own true power.
Using the'Self‑Analysis' function, Hop merged similar useful spells, creating two brand‑new hybrid spells.
Combining the 'Fire' spells of Rabbitmaru, Makao, and others, he forged an ultimate fire spell that boosts fire power to 300%—the 'Flame King'.
The other is the 'Frost Blossom Shape', a fusion of 'Ice Form' and 'Wood Form', possessing both ice's hardness and cold and the resilience of plants.
Hop opened the system panel.
[Currently decoding extraordinary abilities:
'True Moon Annihilation' spell, 111 days remaining.
'Magnetic Field Power', 97 years remaining]
[Pending extraordinary abilities: None]
Seeing the pending list empty, Hop let out a long sigh, feeling the same satisfaction as a gamer who raids for days and clears all achievements.
Only a third of 'True Moon Annihilation' and the endless 'Magnetic Field Power' remained; he truly couldn't grind any further.
After five days and nights of nonstop work, Hop lost even the enthusiasm to test new spells and just slept through an entire day... the seventh day.
The Fairy Tail guild hall was empty.
But on the large plaza outside the western branch of the Fiore Kingdom's Magic Council, crowds packed the area.
The guild war between 'Fairy Tail' and'Specter Dominators' was so impactful, and because the trial was public, idle nobles flocked to watch the spectacle.
In the plaza's center stood ten elevated judgment seats; Chairman Crawford and nine councilors sat solemnly on their thrones.
On the left, the fully present 'Fairy Tail'; on the right, the sparsely attended'Specter Dominators'.
A strange, humanoid toad‑like magical creature stood beneath the observation bench, speaking in human words:
"The Magic Council's Arbitration Court is now in session!"
"Defendant 'Fairy Tail' represented by Hop, and'Specter Dominators' represented by Sol, please take your statements."
Dejected Sol silently stepped onto the podium, awaiting questioning.
On the other side, when Hop calmly took the podium, the Fairy Tail members on the right side cheered as if a big star had arrived.
One side was morose, the other jubilant.
Even before the proceedings began, the disparity between the sides was evident.
----------------------------------
I've already uploaded over 40 new chapters on Patreon!
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead, feel free to check it out.
Your support truly means a lot to me!
patreon.com/Kazenova223
Thank you so much for being here!
And if you're having fun with the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone for me!