บท 3: Archive
"Archive Magic?" Gerald asked after he read the title of the book.
"Yep!" Dark Magician Girl replied with a popping sound. "It's a good Magic to start with. It will give you a great foundation to build on."
"How so?"
"Archive Magic allows the user to convert information into magical data, which can be stored, enabling the user to gain access to previously stored information, that also includes other types of Magic," She explained with the demeanor of a teacher.
"Okay, that sounds useful. So, this Magic would pretty much give me Eidetic memory. Neat."
"Yep!"
"How do you know so much about this?" Gerald then asked.
"I'm a magician, silly Master. Of course, I would know." She stuck her tongue out playfully, and Gerald had to look away from her. His teenage body was reacting to her in manners he didn't want to. And the way she happily giggled, he had a feeling that she was fishing for his reactions.
Gerald plopped on a couch nearby and started reading the Magic book. He put on the magical glasses and was about to start reading when Dark Magician Girl plopped herself on his lap. Yep, she was definitely fishing for his reactions.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"I'm about to read a book!" She answered as if it wasn't obvious while waiving a Magic book that she had picked for herself.
"Yeah, but why are you in my lap?"
"To be as close as possible to you and reduce the amount of Magic Power you need to keep me materialized, Master," She answered as if that wasn't the most obvious thing. But he had a feeling that wasn't the case since he didn't feel any different. Except in his lower body, that is.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Nope! I just made it up," She replied with a giggle and stuck her tongue out.
If she wanted to sit in his lap, so be it. He wasn't going to protest. She was beautiful, and it also made him feel good as much as he didn't want to admit that.
"Do you have a name? Calling you Dark Magician Girl, sounds... a bit odd."
She turned towards him and stared at his eyes with her big blue orbs. In a moment, a sweet smile formed on her face. "Yep, you can call me Le Fay, Master. But don't tell anyone else, m'kay?"
"No problem, Fay." She giggled at and relaxed into his chest.
It took him a moment to find a comfortable way for him to read his book, but it was worth it if it meant having a cute girl on his lap. A few minutes later, he closed the book. 'Those glasses are amazing! Rather than spending hours to finish reading this, it took me just a few minutes. Now onto the hard part, learning how to use it.'
Archive Magic wasn't as simple as he thought it was. It didn't only make his brain like a computer, but it had other abilities as well. The user can project flat-screens into the air and use them as shields since they are durable. It also gives the user a form of telepathy, allowing them to transfer information from person to person far quicker than through verbal communication. 'Le Fay was right, it will really give me a great foundation to build on as long as I manage to learn it.'
The girl in question giggled as if she knew what he was thinking. "Are you done reading, Master?"
"Yeah."
"Then, can I borrow the glasses?" She asked and waited expectantly for his answer.
"Of course." Gerald handed the glasses to her. "I won't need them for the time being."
"Thank you, Master!" Fay hugged him. She then ran up to the shelves, picked a dozen more, and plopped back on his lap.
Makarov woke up shortly and spotted the two on the couch. 'Damn! I want a cute summon that would sit in my lap like that as well! Then I can touch her here and there and...' He was starting to feel lightheaded just from imagining it. 'I have to ask him about those cards!' He decided that he would do whatever it takes to get a set as well. The old man stood up to leave the archive while imagining having summons like her.
Fay looked at him and stuck her tongue out as if she knew what the old man was thinking. Makarov faltered in his steps about to lose his conciseness from the actions of the cute girl before he steadied himself and left. 'That girl is dangerous!' He thought. 'Dangerously cute, and she knows it!'
Gerald had been practicing and trying to learn Archive for about an hour when Fay shook his shoulder. He was quite happy with his progress. If the book was correct, he was about 10% done with learning Archive. If he continues like this, it won't be long before he learns it completely. Knowing about computers and the internet also helped him out quite a bit with his progress.
"You are running out of Magic Power, Master. I have to go now," she said with a sad tone. "Summon me again when you can, m'kay?"
Gerald blinked a few times and focused on his container. If he had to guess, it was roughly 10% of what it was when he was checking his natural Magic.
"I call you back when I'm charged up." He promised Fay. The blond smiled brightly before hugging him and turning into white participles. Not before saying. "You might need to return the books I picked up earlier to their shelves."
Gerald chuckled at that. He then closed his eyes and continued practicing Archive and trying to turn his memories into data pockets. However, he sensed something strange. His progress had suddenly become at least twice as slow.
'Have I tired myself out? Or is this due to my low Magic Power? Or maybe there is a different reason?'
He pondered for a bit before deciding to take a small break. Maybe even get something to eat. That's when he realized he didn't even have any money nor a place to stay as well. 'I'll talk with Makarov and see if he can offer a solution.'
Gerald stood up and collected the book Fay had been reading. One by one, he returned them to the bookshelves while checking them out. Bullet Magic. Earth Magic. Fire Magic. Ice Magic. Illusion Magic. Light Magic. Lightning Magic. Magic Barrier. Organic Link. Requip. Sand Magic. Shadow Magic. Telekinesis. Thought Projection. Transformation Magic. Water Magic. Wind Magic. 'God, how many books did she read? And did she learn all of them?'
He looked at the next book. Forbidden Love. 'What kind of Magic is this?' He skimmed through with the help of the magical glasses and quickly closed it. 'Definitely not a Magic book.'
After returning all the books, he left the archive and entered the Guild Hall. All the members were partying, drinking, eating, and having a good time. It took him some time to find the small Master of the Guild, but he located him near the bar. With quick steps, he reached him and slid on a stool next to him.
"Did you finally pick a Magic?" Makarov asked with rosy cheeks and a jug in hand.
"Oh, yeah. I got some good practice as well," Gerald answered while thinking how to bring up the subject about a place to stay and food.
"You practiced?" Makarov's face paled. "In the archive? You practiced in the archive?" He took a gulp. "What kind of Magic did you choose?"
"Archive Magic." Those two simple words relaxed Makarov's body. Relief washed over him, and a peaceful smile formed on his face.
"Archive Magic, hmmm," Makarov mused out loud. "That's an interesting choice. Usually used by strategists, mages with a stable mind. It doesn't have that much firepower, but it's incredibly useful when you have a good team around you."
"It's also both hard and easy to learn. Easy, because you don't need much Magic Power. Hard, because very few are able to convert their memories into magical data."
"Really?" Gerald asked. "I didn't find that part that hard. I've converted about 10% of my memories already."
Makarov's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. '10%? He's been there for an hour! Is Archive his natural Magic? Did the crystal ball fail?' Makarov was more than astonished by how much he had progressed in such a short time. He knew mages that have had less success in Archive while trying to learn it for a month.
One of the main reasons for Gerald's progress was because he knew of computers and the internet. He knew how they stored information and had used that as a reference. Another was because he barely needed to use Magic Power to practice it and digitize his memories.
"That's... impressive, my boy," Makarov said dryly.
Gerald nodded as thanks, and a brief moment of silence followed. That lasted until he asked. "I've been meaning to ask. Where am I going to be staying? And what about food? I have no money to pay for any of those necessities."
"You don't have to worry about that, my boy." Makarov tried patting Gerald's shoulder, but he only reached just above his elbow.
"If you are hungry, just ask our bartender and tell him to put in my tab." He pointed a black-haired man that was serving the Fairy Tail members. He friendly waved at Gerald before returning to his work.
"And you can stay in the room you woke up at. You don't need to pay for this, and I'm not going to let you go on missions before I know you can protect yourself. When you have some Jewels to your name, I would have to ask you to find a place of your own and start paying for your food and drinks."
"But if you want to start going a mission before you learn your magic, you should look into teaming up with some of the Guild members. Archive Magic is best used when you have good teammates that you can work with, so starting early on that part isn't a bad idea."
Gerald nodded, but before he could reply, someone sat next to him.
"Hey, there." A brown-haired girl in a yellow dress called out. Her big brown eyes stared at him as she presented her hand. "I'm Cana Alberona. Nice to mee you." Her voice was filled with excitement.
"Hello." He shook her hand. "I'm Gerald Nore."
"I know." Cana giggled. "So..." She trailed off. "Can I see your cards?" Her brown orbs lit up with excitement.
"I mean, umm..." A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and she scratched her head. "I use Card Magic, and I've never seen cards like yours, so I... wanted to check them out. Pleaaasee."
In a way, Cana reminded him of his sister, and he was never able to say no to her. Gerald pulled out his deck from his pocket and showed her Celtic Guardian. She carefully received it from him and looked it over like a kid who had received a new toy.
"I've never seen a card like this," Cana repeated with awe. "Where did you get them from?" Makarov perked up at that. He also wanted to know about that.
"I honestly don't know," Gerald answered. "I just woke up with them in my pocket. Then, the one card that you are holding called out to me. He helped me survive." He finished the last part quietly.
"So, umm... they are like... alive?" Cana asked.
"I think so," He answered.
"Wow!"
'Hm, they are something similar to Celestial Keys? But why haven't I heard of them then?' Makarov mused. A Holder Magic like this should have been known. But there was always the possibility of them being very old and somehow ended up with a family who didn't have mages. Left as nothing more than a relic and a distraction for the kids.
"Can I see the others? Pretty please." Cana's puppy eyes were hard to resist.
"I have only one more. The others are currently blank." He explained.
"Blank?" Both Makarov and Cana asked.
"Yeah. I think I need to do certain actions and such to unlock them." He pointed at the card Cana was holding. "This one is called Celtic Guardian. He is the first one to appear and saved my life."
Gerald then showed them Le Fay. "This one is called Dark Magician Girl. She appeared after I joined the Guild."
"She is pretty," Cana commented.
"You can say that again," Makarov said while already making plans of finding a set of his own. Just imagining having a bunch of pretty girls like her serving him made his old body filled with excitement.
Cana then showed her own cards while Makarov ordered the two kids something to eat. He subtly left afterward, leaving them to speak with each other.
Gerald found her pleasing to talk with. He learned that she is 13 years old this year, and yet, she acted her age only when she talked about cards. Granted, she had been in the Guild for 7 years already. That had certainly helped her mature faster.
Before he knew it, the two were playing a game of Sixty-Six, and Gerald was having his ass handed to him by Cana. He didn't win even a single game against her. He didn't know how long the two had played, but it was definitely more than an hour. He checked his Magic container and found out that it was mostly full now. It was time to go back to practicing Magic and check out his theory.
Gerald bid her goodbye and returned back to the archive, missing the sad look on Cana's face. She had enjoyed talking with him and didn't want him to leave. He wasn't grumpy like Laxus, wasn't hotheaded like Natsu, didn't strip around like Grey, nor did he follow Levy like the two lost puppies Jet and Droy.
Cana stood up and walked to a nearby table where two older members were drinking. One of them had slicked back blue hair, the same colored mustache, and a large amount of stubble. The other one had brown hair that protrudes frontwards from the top of his head in a large, curly, and fluffy tuft. He also had a cigar in his mouth.
"What's with the sad face, Cana?" Asked the blue-haired one.
"Nothing. Just get me something to drink, Macao," Cana replied.
"I think it's something with the new member. He probably did something to annoy her," The brown-haired commented.
"No one asked you, Wakaba. Now get me something to drink."
The two shared a look before ordering a few drinks. A few glasses later, Cana was spilling everything out.
"I mean, he was kind and nice to me. He didn't look down on my Magic. He's also pretty intelligent and fun to talk with. We were having a good time, so why did he just up and leave with a lame excuse of learning Magic. Did I do something wrong? I mean, I did beat him in every card game we played, but that's not it, right? He could've at least made a better excuse."
"You think he lied to you?" Cana looked to the side to see that Makarov had sat next to them without her noticing.
"Did he not?"
"Gerald didn't even know how to use Magic Power until a few hours ago. The only thing he has going for himself are his cards, and I'm not sure how strong they are. He really is learning Magic right now," Makarov explained with a gentle and caring tone.
"So... he doesn't dislike me?" She asked with a hopeful look.
"How long did you talk and play cards?" Makarov knew the answer since he had been watching them the whole time. He was quite happy to see that two had hit it off.
"I don't know. A couple hours? I didn't pay attention to that," Cana answered with a burp.
"Do you think he would've stayed with you for long if he didn't like you?"
Cana didn't have an answer to that and stayed quiet.
"If you want to spend more time with him, you could ask him to go on a mission with you when he learns his Magic. The one he is studying is more suited for a team, after all."
"Really? Then I will ask him tomorrow!" Cana declared.
"Not tomorrow, ask him after he learns his Magic!" Makarov's advice fell on deaf ears since Cana passed out from the alcohol with a happy smile on her face.
Meanwhile, Gerald was trying to convert his memories into magical data, but his progress was a bit slower than before. 'That means that the amount of Magical Power makes no difference in how fast I progress.'
Now the question was, why was he progressing faster before? Was it because he had just started, or was there something else? The only difference was that he had Le Fay out.
'Could that be it?' Gerald thought and pulled out her card. "Le Fay!" He called out, but nothing happened.
"So, I have to use the card's name. That's okay." He nodded to himself. "Dark Magician Girl."
Le Fay appeared with a twirl and winked at him. "Hello, Master. Thank you for calling me out. Now, it's time to get back to reading."
Within seconds she had grabbed a dozen books, put on the Gale-Force Reading Glasses, and plopped herself on his lap. Gerald then started practicing Archive, and his progress was substantially faster. 'So, she is the reason. I see.'
Still, he decided to ask to make sure. "Hey, Fay. Are you the reason why I'm learning Magic faster?"
"That's for me to know and for you to find out." Fay stuck her tongue out playfully.
'Good to know.' He thought, but now there was another question on his mind. Was that something unique to her? Or did his other cards have similar effects? What would Celtic Guardian's effect be? If he had to guess, it would something similar to him learning how to fight with a sword faster. That was something he will check out later, but learning Archive took priority.
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procrastination04
procrastination04 How big do you think his deck should be? Damn, just one letter and this is a whole nother conversation. Anyway, moving on. I have about 20 cards that I've planned, so if you have any specific in mind, do tell. But only monsters please. No spell or trap cards. He won't get any of those. Also for cards like Celtic Guardian, whose name is a handful to write, please leave a suggestion for a name.
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