Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Where is Igneel? (Someone in the Internet is asking)
"The Internet suddenly disconnected!"
"Did that happen to you too?"
"Could something have happened to Nate? Is that why the magic stopped working?!"
Early in the morning, the guild hall was abuzz with noise.
After Nate pressed the sync button, all the users who were online lost their connection. Fortunately, there weren't many people online, so it wasn't too loud.
Nate stood up and said to them, "I just updated the version. You can reconnect now."
It was only then that everyone noticed Nate's presence and were shocked.
"Whoa! Nate, when did you get back?"
"We didn't even notice you!"
"Good morning, Nate."
After the enthusiastic greetings, everyone quickly restarted their rings.
Nate shook his head and sat back down to finish his breakfast.
Meanwhile, Wakaba was reading the update notes seriously, and Mirajane curiously opened the Internet as well.
…
[Magic Internet alpha0.2 Version Update Announcement]:
1. Added a [Library] module to the forum.
After this update, all users can use the Internet's built-in scanning function to scan and upload books.
Uploaded books will be stored in the Magic Net and available for others to read, with each reading consuming points.
Users who upload books will earn points as rewards. For detailed rules, click the details page (Details).
2. Increased the daily sign-in rewards.
The base reward has been raised from 10 points to 100 points per day.
3. Added a game-specific currency, Happy Beans, to the [Game Section].
1 point can be exchanged for 1,000 Happy Beans.
Happy Beans cannot be converted back into points.
4. Improved the interface, making it more visually appealing.
5. Fixed minor bugs in the system.
6. Added new chat emojis.
…
The update was quite lengthy, but aside from the first three points, the rest were more like filler.
"Nate, my points are still at zero!" Wakaba exclaimed after reading the update and opening his personal account.
"... You've already signed in today," Nate replied helplessly. "Don't worry, starting tomorrow, you'll get 100 points."
"What about today? Without points, I can't play poker! My life is over!"
Is your life just about playing cards? Nate thought to himself, then suggested:
"You can also earn points by uploading books to the library."
Before Wakaba could act, a few others in the guild suddenly stood up and rushed toward the guild's library.
"There are so many books in the library! First come, first served!"
"Wait, count me in!"
"I want points too!"
Everyone sprinted off, and in an instant, the hall became empty.
"Those guys...!" Wakaba exclaimed, quickly running after them.
"They're really motivated," Mirajane said with a laugh. It was amusing to see everyone working harder for points than for their actual jobs.
A while later, a few more members arrived at the guild, only to find the hall deserted except for Nate and Mirajane. They immediately thought they had walked into the wrong place.
"Huh? Is there some festival today? Did everyone go to see fireworks?"
"They're all in the library uploading books," Mirajane replied.
The newcomers looked confused, but once they understood why, they also joined the race for points.
More guild members arrived after that, and not a single one escaped the point frenzy.
"If only they were this enthusiastic about actual work," Mirajane sighed, resting her forehead in her hand.
"We could change the task rewards to points instead of money—and give the cash to me," Nate joked.
Mirajane playfully rolled her eyes at him.
After finishing his breakfast, Nate opened the Internet and entered the Library section. In just a short while, dozens of books had already been uploaded.
"It seems the feature is working fine."
Nate nodded in approval. As long as it was functioning smoothly, there was no need to make unnecessary changes.
He then checked out the forum. Despite having 99 real users, forum activity hadn't significantly increased. This didn't surprise Nate. Most of the users were from the same guild, and everyone was busy chatting in the Fairy Tail Bonds of Love group chat.
The chat was currently buzzing, with everyone discussing the race to earn points.
Suddenly, Nate noticed a new post in the forum.
It had been posted yesterday by none other than Natsu.
[Can anyone tell me where Igneel is? Please!]
"Only three replies? And they're from bots..."
Nate chuckled to himself. Seeing that Mirajane was engrossed in Mahjong, he decided to use the admin panel to create an anonymous account.
Your mysterious magician is now online!
---
Magic Council, ERA Headquarters.
This was the organization responsible for maintaining order in the magic world, consisting of one chairman and nine council members. Their main duties included monitoring the activities of mage guilds, punishing guilds that broke the rules, and hunting down dark guilds.
At this moment, in the Magic Council's branch in the Kingdom of Fiore, Makarov sat in the "Judgment Seat," facing the thought projections of the ten council members. The sound of the council members' scolding echoed in his ears.
"Once again, Fairy Tail's idiots!"
"This time it was in Hargeon! Half of the port was destroyed!"
"Makarov, are you even listening?!"
Makarov jolted awake and hurriedly closed his poker game.
"I'm listening. What did you just say?"
The council members: "..."
One of them, a woman named Ultear, chuckled softly.
"Makarov, don't be so hasty to close it. What magic were you using? It looked like you were playing cards."
"Ahem..." Makarov cleared his throat, his face flushing red. He had gotten so used to being scolded that he had started playing cards out of boredom.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were now on him, Makarov explained:
"It's a new magic called the Internet."
"It's a revolutionary magic that will eventually bring a new era to the magic world!"
Makarov didn't hold back his praise.
Just a moment ago, he had even seen the new Library feature.
What did that mean?
It meant he had truly recognized Nate as a genius mage!
The council members exchanged curious glances, then got up from their seats to gather behind Makarov.
"For a member of the Ten Wizard Saints to give such high praise, this must be intriguing."
The speaker was a blue-haired man, one of the council members named Jellal, with a brown mark on the right side of his face.
"Let me give you a quick tour."
Makarov spoke proudly. Normally, he only came here to be scolded, but now he had the chance to showcase the new magic developed by one of his guild members. It was a rare and satisfying moment.
It felt like he was finally getting some respect.
"This is the Library..."
"These are the Friends..."
"This is the Chat Group..."
"And this is the Forum."
Makarov casually opened a random post, and it happened to be Natsu's.
[Can anyone tell me where Igneel is? Please!]
"In the forum, people can ask for information, and others on the Internet will answer," Makarov said confidently, pointing to one of the replies. "Look at this response. It's really... really... um!?"
Suddenly, his eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the screen in shock.
Voldemort:
[Hello, poster. I happen to know the answer to your question.
The Igneel you're referring to is the 'Fire Dragon' Igneel, the King of Fire Dragons, correct?
In fact, not only the Fire Dragon, but also...
The Iron Dragon, Metalicana.
The Sky Dragon, Grandeeney.
They all disappeared on the same day: July 7, X777.
If you're asking this question, you must be a first-generation Dragon Slayer.
Here's your answer:
The Fire Dragon King, Igneel, didn't disappear. They're all hiding inside their respective Dragon Slayers.
That's all.]
Makarov was stunned.
The council members behind him were equally taken aback.
"Voldemort... who is this person?"
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