Internet Magic in Fairy Tail

[This chapter is proudly sponsored by "Darkaroff." Please join me in expressing your thanks in the comments! If you're interested in sponsoring a chapter, consider joining the Patreon.]

By the time Nate and his group arrived in Clover Town, it was already dusk. The fiery sunset cast a rose-tinted hue over the mountains, as if draping them in a delicate pink veil.

Natsu, looking drained and worn out, dragged himself out of the station. His back was hunched, his arms hanging limply, and his movements resembled those of a dehydrated corpse. He had woken up halfway through the journey and spent the rest of the trip vomiting.

"By the way… where are we? And why am I here?" Natsu asked, looking bewildered.

"This is the town where the guild masters' meeting is being held, Natsu," Happy replied, flying beside him and patting his shoulder in consolation with a small paw.

Nate also patted Natsu on the other shoulder, encouraging him, "Natsu, cheer up. You're destined to become one of Fairy Tail's pillars of strength!"

"Pillar?!" Natsu's ears perked up, and his posture straightened immediately.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed, breathing fire into the air, scaring away passersby at the station.

"He's so easy to manipulate…" Lucy muttered, shaking her head and placing her hand on her forehead. Suddenly, she wondered, 'Is this how Nate tricks me as well?'

"Anyway, Natsu, there might be enemies coming soon. I'll leave them to you." After energizing Natsu, Nate turned to Gray and asked, "Do you know where the meeting is being held?"

"It's not in town—it's up in the mountains, outside the town. I'll lead the way," Gray said, taking the lead, as he had been to this area before.

They crossed through a forest and along a narrow woodland path before emerging into an open space. A large and luxurious mansion came into view.

Nate immediately sensed numerous sources of magic power inside the mansion with his Six Eyes.

About a dozen, maybe twenty… and each one possessed significant magic power. Two of them, in particular, stood out as the most powerful. One was Makarov, a presence Nate was familiar with. The other…?

"We're here," Gray said, pointing at the mansion.

"I smell food… Happy, Nate, let's go eat!" Natsu sniffed the air, his keen sense of smell catching the scent of food, and his appetite surged.

"Wait, Natsu…" Nate called, but it was too late.

A figure suddenly leaped down from the mansion's roof.

"Iron Dragon's Club!"

The attacker's arm transformed into an iron rod that stretched forward to strike, aiming for Natsu, who was leading the group.

However, Natsu, being experienced in taking hits, reacted quickly. He tumbled forward, pressing his hand to the ground and flipping over to dodge the attack.

The iron rod slammed into the ground with a heavy thud.

"So, you're the enemy here to attack the guild masters?" Natsu growled, staring down the opponent as he readied for battle.

"No!" Gray's expression turned serious. "This guy is Gajeel, the Iron Dragon of Phantom Lord's S-Class mages!"

Lucy, startled, quickly hid behind Nate. "So Voldemort was right—there's another Dragon Slayer besides Natsu."

Nate, on the other hand, was puzzled. What was Gajeel doing here?

"Tch, you dodged it?" Gajeel pulled his iron arm from the ground and smirked at Natsu. "Fire Dragon, huh? It's our first time meeting. Sorry, I thought you were that idiot Erigor."

"You bastard… want to fight?" Natsu's battle spirit flared up. Facing another Dragon Slayer for the first time, he was more than eager to throw down.

He charged at Gajeel in a flash. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

"I've been looking forward to this fight! There's no need for two dragons in this world!" Gajeel roared as his arm transformed into a massive steel sword, rotating with iron teeth as he clashed head-on with Natsu's punch.

"Iron Dragon's Sword!"

…

Nate wasn't interested in watching the two fight. He walked around them and headed straight into the mansion, leaving Lucy and Gray outside to spectate.

Entering the grand hall, Nate finally saw the numerous guild masters. More than twenty guild leaders were gathered, each representing a different mage guild from across Fiore.

'So many guilds in Fiore…' Nate mused, feeling surprised by the sheer number of them. His gaze landed on Makarov, who was standing on a table, facing off against another guild master.

The opposing guild master wore a purple mage's robe, and his head was adorned with a tall, pointed wizard hat with an exaggeratedly long tip that drooped to the side. On the back of his robe were small decorative demon wings.

Nate recognized this man from his research in the Library feature of the internet. He was Jose Porla, one of the Ten Wizard Saints and the master of the Phantom Lord guild.

'What's he doing here?' Nate wondered. Then it hit him—Phantom Lord was still a legitimate guild, after all. Of course, Jose had the right to attend the meeting. That explained why Gajeel was also present.

Realizing this, Nate couldn't help but pity Erigor. The fool thought he could attack this gathering with Lullaby? What a ridiculous notion.

"I didn't expect you to attend this meeting, Jose," Makarov spoke in a low voice.

"Heh heh, long time no see, Makarov," Jose replied with a sly, insincere smile, holding a glass of red wine with elegance.

"Don't worry," Jose continued. "I'm not here to fight today. After all, this is a formal meeting."

"Then why are you here?" Makarov asked, puzzled. Normally, they avoided attending the same meetings, given their animosity toward one another.

"I'm not here for you," Jose chuckled darkly. "I'm here waiting for someone who's already arrived."

Jose's gaze shifted to the doorway. "You must be the newcomer from Fairy Tail, the creator of the internet magic—Nate, isn't it?"

"Nice to meet you, Master Jose," Nate responded, noticing the silver ring on Jose's pinky finger, identical to the internet rings used for logging in.

Without a doubt, it was a ring that granted access to the internet.

The other guild masters followed Jose's gaze, their eyes lighting up as they noticed Nate.

"So, you're the genius mage Makarov's been bragging about?" one guild master exclaimed.

"Come over here, kid, let me have a look at you! Your magic is fascinating!"

"A handsome young man, too! Looks just like I did when I was younger!" another chimed in.

Nate's eyes darted to the one who had called him handsome, and he immediately regretted it. The speaker was Bob, the master of Blue Pegasus, a flamboyant man who could be best described as a drag queen.

Bob sashayed over, his ample figure swaying. "Oh my, what a cutie~"

'Please, don't come any closer,' Nate thought, feeling his skin crawl. He would rather spar with Erza again than deal with this.

"I really don't want to be this popular!" Nate mentally screamed as he took a half-step back, dodging Bob's advancing hand.

Bob, however, placed a hand on his own cheek while slapping Nate's shoulder with the other. "Oh, are you being shy?"

'Shy, my foot!' Nate thought, rolling his eyes.

Bob grinned. "A charming young man like you should come to my guild. We're full of handsome men!"

That statement immediately caused a stir among the other guild masters.

"Don't talk nonsense, Bob. He belongs with us at Quatro Cerberus!" one guild master protested.

"No way! He should join me! I've been thinking about retiring, so…"

"Shameless! Don't fall for his tricks, Nate. He's been saying that since last year!"

The guild masters started throwing offers at Nate one after another, each one trying to recruit him.

Makarov's face darkened. "Enough! What do you all think you're doing?!"

He was starting to regret bragging about the rings earlier.

Jose then spoke up with a low chuckle. "Why not come to Phantom Lord? Compared to staying in a weak guild like Fairy Tail, you'd have much better opportunities with me."

Nate was speechless.

'I'm way too popular, and something has definitely gone wrong somewhere!'