Chapitre 26: ASS 26
Will couldn't help but frown as he felt the Black Key vigorously suck out his magic power, taking much more than he planned on using to summon the Celestial Spirit. It was his first time using a Black Key, so maybe the blame was on him for that, but he had a feeling that wasn't the case.
Shortly, a blue magical circle formed, created solely by the key without any input from him, and it had tiny black snakes wriggling around it, giving it a more demonic feeling. As he studied the magical circle, he couldn't help but wonder if it was possible to replicate it without the Black Key.
'If I work out the portal magic and how to draw energy from different dimensions, I could maybe reproduce this. However, the Black Key might be a necessary medium...'
He didn't get to dwell on it for much longer as the Celestial Spirit soon materialized. The appearance of the summon was somewhat in line with what he expected, and he felt relieved seeing that.
Cassiopeia resembled a lamia from Greek mythology as she had the upper body of a woman and the lower half of a snake. Her long tail was adorned with glistening black scales, looking as if they were cared for and polished daily. The charcoal skin of her upper body looked healthy, though there were spots here and there where her human frame had black scales as well. Her, quite frankly, enormous bust was not one of those places, and he got a good eyeful of it as she wore no clothes whatsoever.
Despite the two mountains on her chest that tried to entice his eyes, it was her face that drew his attention. Cassiopeia looked like a regal queen as she looked around with her slitted yellow eyes. Her hair, made entirely out of black snakes, flittered back and forth, making hissing sounds as they cautiously stuck out their forked tongues.
"It hasss been ssso long sssince I wasss lassst sssummoned," Cassiopeia uttered in a moment as a satisfied smile appeared on her face. "And to be greeted with sssuch an intriguing ssscent," she looked over at the lit incense stick in the corner of the room.
The boost to his magic power might not be much, but it did help considering how much time Will spent in the alchemy room, and it wasn't like he wasn't using his magic during that time. Anything was better than nothing, and he wasn't going to say no to having just a tiny bit more magic power. He also had a dozen for helping with his physical growth in his bedroom for... obvious reasons.
"It sssmellsss of blue," she continued, interrupting whatever he was about to say and leaving him staring at her with an open mouth. How does a color even smell? Could snakes smell them? He was rightfully confused.
"Though I do wonder," Cassiopeia slithered closer, her slitted eyes staring at him inquisitively. "How did you find a key of mine? Lassst I remember, they were all dessstroyed."
"That's... not important," Will waved her off, though he noted down that little tidbit about her keys being destroyed. "Don't you think we should figure out the contract now?" He asked, knowing that was important for most Celestial Spirits.
"Asss the sssole owner of my key, what would be the point of making a contract?" She questioned back with a smirk. "Having just a sssingle unique key..." she paused, looking thoughtful. "It makesss me feel like thossse fancy Zodiacsss."
"Huh," Will muttered before shaking his head. "Then we can get straight to business."
"Why, of courssse," Cassiopeia replied, her grin growing wider. "What do you need of me? Do you have enemiesss to torture?" Her eyes quivered in delight as she asked that. "Or maybe you need to capture them firssst? Just point me at them and allow me to have sssome fun!"
Well, Cassiopeia was a sadist, or she presented herself as one at least. It could also be the fact that she was itching for some action after not being summoned for a very long time. Still, it was good to know she had some combat skills as he was in desperate need of something like that. However, he had summoned her for a very different reason.
"See, I do need your help, but I can't verbally explain it," Will told her as he tried to figure out how to explain it further.
"Iss sssomone lissstening in on usss?" Her words rang in his mind as she formed a connection between them.
"Well, this makes things easier," he grinned as he gathered the contents of the first alchemy book in a packet before sending the entire thing her way.
Cassiopeia flinched and slithered away from him as a frown appeared on her face. "What isss the meaning of thisss?" She asked, her anger leaking in her tone. Apparently, learning alchemy wasn't part of her plans.
"I need someone to help me with making potions," Will waved his hand around the room, showing off all the equipment and ingredients to her. "Hence the reason why I summoned you."
"You sssummoned me," Cassiopeia narrowed her yellow eyes. "For cheap labor? Why ssshould I accept?"
"Not cheap," he pointed out with a grin. "And you can give me your answer next time I summon you," he continued as he watched Cassiopeia's eyes widen. "For now, why don't you take some time studying what I forwarded to you?" Will asked as she raised the key up high. "Close gate of the Snake Mistress!"
"No!" Her refusal rang in the room, but it was for naught as she shortly disappeared inside the magic circle.
With Cassiopeia gone, Will returned back to work. He planned on summoning her a bit later once more, but for now? She could spend some time in the Celestial Spirit World, allowing her to calm down and possibly study the alchemy information he forwarded to her.
Though time did pass differently there. According to Loke, it constantly changed, sometimes moving faster, others slower. Even the Celestial King didn't have control over it despite being the de facto ruler of the Celestial Spirit World. At most, he was only aware if it was moving slower or faster at any given point.
Depending on the season, as Loke called it, Celestial Spirits had either an easy or a very rough schedule. At its worst, they had no more than a few minutes of rest before each time they were summoned, but at its best, it could be up to weeks, allowing them to have an enjoyable holiday with their close friends.
The door to his room opened, and Mira popped her head inside. "Is everything alright?" She queried, her head moving left and right as she looked around. "I thought I heard a scream just now."
"All is fine, no worries," Will reassured her with a chuckle. "Just had a short conversation with that Spirit I mentioned yesterday."
"I could ask Grue or Oxy to come over if you need some help?" Mira said with a small frown.
"No, no," he shook his head in response. "It's okay, nothing I can't handle on my own."
"If you say so," she replied, looking not very pleased, but she accepted his choice. "Anyway, there's a guy that asked if he could meet with you," she continued, and Will stopped his work, focusing on what she had to say. "He said something about wishing to formalize a contract with you."
"I'll be right there," Will said as he quickly went to clean himself a bit with a grin on his face. A new contract meant more credits and Jewels as well, but he cared for the former more.
"A letter directed for you just arrived as well," Mira added, stepping inside for a brief moment with the mail in hand. "It's from the merchant guild Love & Lucky, and it was signed by Olfo Forest."
"Well, that's good," he said, feeling quite pleased since the number of ingredients was starting to become a big issue for him.
----
"Well, that's bad," Will muttered as she stared at the letter. The guild seemed to have an interest in making some sort of deal with him, but they refused to do it over mail and wished to meet in person. That wasn't that big of an issue, but they requested him to visit them in their main building, not even mentioning the option of sending one of their own over.
A few days ago, Will wouldn't have minded too much, but the attack from yesterday was still fresh on his mind. He didn't really plan on going anywhere too far without having Erza or Mira with him—preferably both even. Someone was gunning for him, and Will didn't know who it was. Until he settled that problem, he'd have to look over his back with each step he took outside.
That was another reason that urged him to decipher the texts from Kamar-Taj and learn how to create portals. It would save a lot of his time when he needed to travel around, to make deals and connections. So far he had stayed entirely in Magnolia, but he would soon need to spread his wings and adventure out.
'Maybe we can pass by it during the excursion we planned for the weekend,' he mused in his mind. Will wanted to get his hands on a powerful magical reagent for his stronger potions—one which he already knew of—and Erza needed to get her new armor done, which was the perfect excuse to visit the capitol. If he got lucky, he could maybe snatch a contract or two there, and hopefully, those would be lucrative ones.
"I guess I'll figure it out," he shook his head as he stored the letter in his pocket space before replacing it with the Black Key. "Let's try this again for now."
"Open Gate of the Snake Mistress! Cassiopeia!"
"Why. you filthy human!?!" Cassiopeia's shrieks rang out as she emerged, her face twisted in anger as the snakes on her head angrily hissed at him.
Will sighed in disappointment seeing that. Judging from her reaction, it appeared that the season in the Celestial Spirit World wasn't in his favor, which put a dent in his plans. The situation was still salvageable, but he would've preferred if she had spent hours or maybe even days there before he resummoned her. That would've been so much better since it would've also given her time to study the alchemy information he forwarded her.
"Look-" He paused whatever he was about to say and sighed instead as he saw the snakes on Cassiopeia's head increase in size before plunging at him with open mouths.
Unfortunately for the Celestial Spirit, they were in his shop, and Will held the advantage there. The pit of massive snakes surrounded him, their sharp fangs glistening with drops of purple liquid dripping from them, but no matter how much they tried, they couldn't come close to him.
"We can talk later then," he pleasantly said as he offered her a smile. Her slitted eyes widened in surprise, and she opened her mouth, but she was too late.
"Close gate of the Snake Mistress!" And Cassiopeia disappeared yet again in the magic circle created by the Black Key.
She appeared... disgruntled by his reason for summoning her, but using a Celestial Spirit was currently his easiest way of dealing with his workload. There were other options—including learning another type of magic—but he was already studying three different types, not counting the ones he already knew. Adding more to his already tight schedule just didn't seem like a smart idea. In the future, however, he would explore his other options.
Will continued focusing on his work, and an hour later, he summoned Cassiopeia again. There was no hesitation in her actions, as the moment she appeared, she attacked, her yellow eyes glowing a dark purple color. However, the barriers did their job, coming to action and preventing her from casting her spell.
"Close..."
"Open..."
Cassiopeia sprang to action and immediately started thrashing. Since she figured out she couldn't hurt him due to the barriers, she decided to ruin his equipment. Alas, Will had already prepared for such situations since his workbench and labs were paramount to his work.
"Close..."
"Open..."
"Close..."
"Open..."
"Close..."
"Open..."
"Close..."
The byplay continued on for the rest of the day, and despite Cassiopeia seeming adamant about not working with him, she was getting more and more desperate with each consecutive summoning. It was only a matter of time before she caved in now, though it would take at least another day until he convinced her.
Will planned on trying again some more, but he had something else he needed to handle, namely the property he got from the old man. From the quick peek he took, he found out that the place was an absolute mess, looking more like one large dumpster than anything else. His solution was simple, and he just hired Twilight Ogre to take the whole thing down.
"Thanks for the work, boys," he greeted the group that had cleared the shack and all of its trash. "I know it wasn't the prettiest of jobs, but thanks for taking it."
Most of them nervously laughed, and he could understand them. It really wasn't a pretty job, especially for wizards like them. However, the job was... forced on them, so to say, due to the relationship he had cultivated with the guild. The Guildmaster had a vested interest in trying to please him as best as possible. After all, he did promise to raise one of their own to an S-class in the future, and that meant a lot to a guild like theirs.
"Since you did it so quickly," Will took out a stack of Jewels from his pocket space. "I think you deserve a tip. Here," he handed them a bonus. "You can split it among yourselves." He really wasn't hurting for Jewels, so he didn't mind throwing it around like that.
With that out of the way, it was time to turn the property into something useful. There were so many new plants he couldn't find anywhere in Fiore and had to raise himself, not to mention the ones he brought from his little trip with Erza. He'd have to experiment quite a bit before finding how to correctly use them, but some like the Moon Lily and the Heart-Shaped Herb could be consumed without preparation.
On the topic of the new ingredients, Will discovered something very intriguing as he browsed through his system store. All of the herbs and plants he brought over with him, well, almost all of them, were now available for him to purchase, even though he was no longer in the MCU. They were now part of this world after he handed them over to the nature gods!
That was quite the revelation, and he cursed himself for consuming the Vibranium enhanced herb so quickly. Though... it's not like he had a way to actually grow more of it, and he figured that played a role for them appearing in the system store since they were now being cultivated by people or beings of this world. Going back to the MCU in the future was definitely on his agenda, just so he could grab a few more and hand them over to the nature gods. Plus, he could also visit Kamar-Taj and hopefully get to study some more tomes.
Of course, he also checked if Vibranium or Uru were available in the store. However, to his disappointment, he couldn't find them there. It was a shame, but they did have plenty of those two magical metals to make everything they needed, including something for him as well.
Nevertheless, this revelation was important for his future. Visiting other worlds became that more valuable as he figured out he could import ingredients from them. He couldn't help but wonder how far he could push that as he thought about that one particular world with fruits that gave magical powers to whoever consumed them. 'How would the Eldest react if I presented him with one of those?'
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Will passed by Fairy Tail, making sure to keep an ear and eye open for anyone suspicious on the way. No one followed after him, but he wasn't sure if he was being spied on, so he kept his guard up at all times. He learned his lesson from the previous attack, and if he spotted anyone shady, he would certainly not take another risk.
Unfortunately, Laki, the Wood-Make mage, wasn't around, so he settled with just leaving a job request specifically asking for her. With her help, he was sure they could create something to his liking, even if he wasn't an engineer. Though he did have a bucketload of information stored in his brain, which also included quite a bit of engineering knowledge.
With that taken care of, the only thing remaining on his schedule was to try summoning Cassiopeia a few more times, and... he shuddered in dread just thinking about the other thing on his list. 'I do hope I survive training with both Erza and Mira.'
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Will, in fact, did survive, but at what cost? His body hurt all over, and his muscles spasmed from time to time due to Mira's more... sadistic side.
"It was all to teach him how to deal with pain," she said, and he called bullshit. She had been way too happy and pleased as she chased him while shooting him with weak lightning attacks. At least he discovered he had some minor magic resistance—most likely gained from the herb he consumed—and he also got to fire his gun at her, not that it did much to her Devil Form.
Sadly, Erza decided to up the intensity of her training as well, in order to not be outdone by Mira, and he was the one that suffered for it. On the bright side, his hand-to-hand skill soared, so... yay?
The worst part was that it was only going to get worse as he got better since they were still using kid gloves while training him. That was something he didn't even want to think about at the moment, so he focused on something else.
All three of them were nestled on the couch once more as they planned on finishing the trilogy. This time, however, Erza was sitting in the middle—by her request—and she definitely seemed to enjoy hugging them both.
Will didn't pay that much attention to the movie as he had just finished translating one of the tomes. Without hesitation, he took out his Sling Ring and put it on as excitement bubbled inside him. He had the ring, he had the knowledge, and he even had a shortcut to learning how to make portals.
One of the hardest parts of that particular type of magic was that the user had to draw dimensional energy and use that to create a portal. Will, on the other hand, could circumvent that by using his own personal magic power. That had its own drawbacks since the distance and size of the portals would be limited by his own energy, but he could deal with that later on.
"What are you doing?" Erza queried as he saw him look at the Sling Ring on his fingers before a flash of recognition flashed in her eyes. "Oh, are you going to try making portals like the..." she paused and bit her lower lip. "Sorcerers? From the temple?"
"Do or do not. There is no try," Will sagely replied with a chuckle. "And I plan on doing."
"Where was that confidence during our training?" Mira chipped in from the other side of Erza, staring at him mischievously while giggling. He shot her a look of betrayal before squinting his eyes at her, and she stuck her tongue out in response.
'She will see! It might take me months... or maybe even more, but she will see! Once I get strong enough, I will teach her a lesson!' He promised to himself, playfully, of course. After all, this was nothing more than some friendly banter between them.
'Now, how do I make this work?' He thought as he started waving his hand in circles while pouring his magic power into the ring. As much as he wished to succeed on his first try, he failed and continued to do so for the next hour.
The hardest part was getting his magic power to be the right frequency, so to say. He didn't know how long he waved his hand in a circle, but it must've been over an hour since he drank two Magic Potions to restore his reserves. Hell, he even threw a recovery one in there as well, just to ensure he had enough to keep going.
'Come on, come on, come on,' Will hadn't expected to get it on the first try, but this was turning out to be harder than he anticipated. 'I'm so close, I can feel it,' he pumped himself as he continued before his eyes opened wide as an orange spark popped out in his last attempt.
'That's it!' He yelled in joy in his mind to not disturb the girls who were busily watching the movie with great interest. He might've made only a spark, far from it being an actual portal, but that proved he was on the right track and got the correct frequency down. Now, he just needed a little bit more practice and...
Shortly before the movie ended, he finally made it work, creating a very tiny portal that could fit his hand at most. But he did it, and that was the important part! He might've taken even longer to get it down if he didn't already know a type of Spatial Magic. No matter how he looked at it, he owed Requip a lot as it definitely played a big part in his success with creating a portal.
"Will?" Erza called out from beside him as the sound of him creating the portal caught her attention.
"I did it," he quietly replied to her and brought up his status to check, only to be surprised by the new addition.
[Spatial Magic - Novice: Requip 19/100; Summoning - Celestial Spirit 1/100; Portal Creation 1/100]
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Edited by Ehbon.
AN: Quick word, Spatial Magic is a school of magic, so it gets fancy words instead of numbers. My thoughts are that even if one is a Master Spatial Mage, that doesn't mean he knows all types of Spatial Magic.
Anyway, I'm getting my pc fixed, and I should have it ready by Monday. Switching over to an actual keyboard instead of a phone should, in theory, make it so I write more, but let's be honest, I'm gonna spend hours playing games like a degenerate, so I definitely can't promise that.
— Un nouveau chapitre arrive bientôt — Écrire un avis
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone