Chapter 122: Upgrading the Guild Mark Again
The guild mark, as a required emblem for every guild member, was naturally the fastest way to improve and protect the entire guild by adding new functions to it.
Previously, with Mavis's help, Noah had already added communication and potential-boosting functions to the Fairy Tail mark, which had proven very effective over the past few years. The communication function made it much more convenient for members to contact each other, especially on search-type requests where team members could use the mark to communicate, drastically increasing their efficiency. The guild could also instantly notify members on missions about new information, saving them from wasting time. Finally, the mark could be used to send a distress signal, which had allowed many members in deep danger to be rescued in time, preventing numerous injuries and receiving unanimous praise.
As for the function that assisted everyone in purifying their magic, strengthening their life force, and increasing their magic power—that is, the potential boost—this was kept secret. Currently, only Noah, Makarov, and Mavis knew about it. And with Mavis asleep, that really only meant Noah and Makarov knew.
Through the physical examinations Noah had conducted on the guild members over the years, and by comparing their daily performance with that of wizards from other guilds, it was confirmed that the magic on the mark was working well. Everyone in the guild was improving their strength at a faster rate than others. This was especially true after the training ground was established; in that environment with its relatively high concentration of Ethernano, the mark's magic became even more effective. The most obvious result was that everyone's upper limit for basic training was getting higher and higher. Not even counting the Dragon Slayers, whose bodies were being fundamentally altered, even the ordinary wizards were able to withstand higher levels of gravity much more quickly. Their magic power was also growing at an accelerated rate. With the help of the guild mark, most members' magic power had increased by several times, tens of times, or even hundreds or thousands of times over the past few years. (Of course, the more exaggerated the increase, the weaker their original strength had been; for example, people who knew no magic at all when they joined.)
The members themselves didn't realize that a portion of their rapid improvement was thanks to the magic on their marks; they assumed it was all because of the training ground. As a result, everyone increased the frequency of their visits, all of them wanting to continue improving.
Since the original magic on the mark was so good, Noah naturally wanted to strengthen it further. Because of the recent conflict with the Master of Phantom Lord, the guild members needed a certain level of protection. Noah planned to add defensive functions to the mark. Although, from one perspective, defeating all your enemies meant you were no longer in danger, that was a solution only a very small number of people could achieve. Most people, when encountering an enemy they couldn't possibly beat, should run away as their first priority. If they couldn't run, they needed enough defense to withstand the enemy's attack, and then find a chance to escape.
Noah planned to add two functions to the mark: Defense and Escape.
When speaking of defense, the first thing that came to mind in Fairy Tail was one of the three great magics, Fairy Sphere. It used powerful magic to create a holy sphere of protection, an absolute defense magic that protected all people and things within its range from any external harm. Its most famous achievement was blocking the Black Dragon's roar and trapping it, but its side effect was that the time of those being protected was frozen until the magic was dispelled.
To add such a grand magic spell to the guild mark, Noah would have to modify it extensively.
When speaking of escape, the magic Noah was most familiar with was his own Instantaneous Movement. This magic, which allowed him to instantly arrive at a destination, was the one he used the most. It was also perfectly suited for escaping, so he decided to add it as well.
However, casting so many spells created a big problem: magic power. The original Fairy Sphere was already a Grand Magic spell; very few people in the guild could currently cast such a spell. Even if the mark could slowly accumulate magic power from the atmosphere, the mark's own storage capacity was limited. This problem had to be solved first.
After some modifications, Noah succeeded in using magic to construct a small "magic power storage unit" directly under the skin where the mark was stamped. This storage unit was created by magic, was extremely small, and had no effect on the person's body. Its storage capacity was linked to the person's own strength—the stronger they were, the more magic it could store. However, Noah was currently only able to stabilize it at a capacity of three times the user's total magic power; any more than that wouldn't work. This magic power was sourced from the ambient magic in the air and the magic the user naturally dissipated.
One-third of this total stored magic was used to run the "potential boost" magic in the mark, as this was the foundation and needed the most attention. This much magic was needed because as the guild members grew stronger, they required more magic to continue to improve. A portion was used to maintain the mark's other functions, such as communication and concealing the mark's magic fluctuations.
Then, Noah added the new functions. The first was Instantaneous Movement. This function would activate based on the magic power put into it, with a maximum range of teleporting 100 kilometers in the direction of the guild. This function would trigger at the same time as the new shield, allowing the guild member to escape danger.
All the remaining magic power was stored up to be used for a protective shield, improved from Fairy Sphere. The shield's strength and duration would be based on the amount of magic used. When the storage was full, it was strong enough to defend against an attack several times stronger than the user, and it was set to automatically trigger upon receiving a fatal blow. The shield's duration was about one minute, and its duration would decrease as it took damage. Crucially, when the shield activated, it would simultaneously send a distress signal to the guild.
After adding all these functions to the mark, Noah spent a month running various tests, even pulling Makarov in to help. He finally confirmed that all functions could run normally without conflicting or failing. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. It had now been about three months since the confrontation with Jose, and neither side had made any major moves. There were some small skirmishes, but both sides kept them under control. Noah guessed that Jose, having just received the title of Wizard Saint, didn't want to make any big moves that would damage his reputation and provoke the Council.