Chapter 6: Magic Enhancement
"Wait! Ren, you're new. You have no idea what an S-Class Quest is!"
Elfman's voice was suddenly sharp, laced with a panic that cut through his usual boisterous tone. He quickly pulled Ren aside, his massive hand gripping Ren's shoulder. His grip was so tight it was almost painful, and Ren could see the big man was visibly trembling.
"You don't know how dangerous S-Class Quests are," Elfman whispered, his voice strained and low, his eyes darting toward the unsuspecting Mayor. "And we aren't S-Class Mages, so we aren't qualified to accept it! A real 'man' knows his own limits, and this is beyond ours! An S-Class Mage should take this quest."
Ren could see the genuine terror in Elfman's eyes. This wasn't just caution; it was deep, unhealed trauma. He remembered the lore from the anime.
"My... my sister..." Elfman choked out, the words tearing from his throat as his composure shattered. "Lisanna... she... she died on an S-Class Quest! Because I wasn't strong enough! Because I lost control and... and she... A 'man' doesn't... a real 'man' protects his family, and I couldn't..."
He was spiraling, lost in the memory of his greatest failure, the memory of the Beast Soul taking over and his own hand striking down his sister.
Ren's expression remained calm, but his voice was firm, cutting through Elfman's panic like a knife. "I know. And I'm sorry for what happened to Lisanna."
Elfman flinched, shocked by Ren's directness. He had expected pity or argument, not cold acknowledgment.
"But this isn't that," Ren continued, his gaze unwavering, locking onto Elfman's. "Look at the mayor. He's terrified. His life is on the line. And you heard him: today is the third day. If we walk away, he dies tonight. Is that what a 'man' does?"
"This..." Elfman stammered, his resolve wavering. The word "man" was his trigger, his entire philosophy, and Ren was turning it against him. "But... an S-Class Quest... I can't... I can't lose anyone else... I can't be the reason..."
"You won't," Ren said with absolute certainty. "A 'man' protects his family, right? Right now, that mayor is our client. He's under Fairy Tail's protection. That makes him part of our family for this job. Are you going to watch him get killed by bad guys? Is that what a real man does? Or does a real 'man' stand up and protect those who can't protect themselves, no matter how scared he is?"
Ren's words struck at the very core of Elfman's identity. His face turned red, his neck thickened, and the fear in his eyes warred with the shame of inaction. Ren was right. A 'man' didn't run. A 'man' protected.
Elfman's trembling stopped. He clenched his massive fists. "A true man... protects... his family."
He took a deep, shuddering breath and roared, his voice shaking the windows. "A TRUE MAN!!"
Hearing Elfman shout "a true man," Ren knew it was a done deal. He turned back to the stunned mayor.
"Mr. Mayor, we accept this quest."
"Thank you! Oh, thank you very much!" The Mayor was so emotional he almost burst into tears. Ever since receiving the threat letter, he had been living in fear every day. Even with the Rune Knights—the Magic Council's official army—protecting him, he still felt unsafe, which was why he re-posted the request to the Mage Guild.
He had been hoping for an S-Class Mage, maybe the famous Titania, Erza. But instead, he got a massive man who shouted a lot... and a calm, quiet teenager. He had his doubts, but he was desperate.
Ren looked at the Mayor, his demeanor all business. "Mr. Mayor, since the other party intends to attack, we don't need to actively search for them. We'll just wait here for them to come to us."
Elfman, now committed, asked doubtfully, "But will they really come? This place is surrounded by the Rune Knights, heavily guarded and layered with traps. A real 'man' doesn't walk right into a trap, does he?"
"He should," Ren replied. "After all, he's already put out the word. 'Three days later, your life will be taken.' He's not just a bandit; he's the 'King of Assassins.' His pride is on the line. If he doesn't come, he'll be ridiculed for the rest of his life. The fact that he dared to threaten in advance instead of acting directly shows he has ample confidence in his own strength."
Ren continued, "Mr. Mayor, during this time, you cannot leave Elfman-san's sight... no, our sight. If you do, I cannot guarantee your safety. I wouldn't want to defeat all the enemies only to have no one pay the reward."
Ren's tone was calm, but the underlying pressure, the cold implication that the reward was all that mattered, made the mayor sweat.
"Alright… alright!"
"Very good! Elfman-san, you protect the Mayor closely. Your Beast Soul is perfect for defense. You are the 'man' for this job."
"What about you, Ren?" Elfman asked, puffing his chest out slightly at the assigned role. He was a 'man' who protected. He could do this.
"Me? Of course, I'm responsible for eliminating all invading enemies," Ren said with a faint smile.
"Wait! Ren, the opponent is the notorious King of Assassins! He's S-Class level!" Elfman found it unbelievable that Ren actually wanted to confront the famous King of Assassins alone.
"So what."
Ren's mere two words left Elfman speechless.
"Mr. Mayor," Ren continued, turning back to Cost, "please prepare some food. A lot of it. We have a long night ahead. After all, there might be a big battle, and it would be terrible to run out of strength at a critical moment if we haven't eaten enough."
"Alright, alright, alright!"
Seeing Ren so composed, the Mayor couldn't help but gain a good deal of confidence in him and immediately arranged for the kitchen to prepare food.
Soon, fragrant food was served. Ren, who was still half-starved from his first 15 days in this world, ate heartily. Elfman, however, just stared at his plate, his appetite completely gone, his mind replaying his worst memories.
"Hmm? Elfman-san, you're such a big guy. Why are you eating so little?" Ren asked, his mouth full.
"Ren… that's an S-Class…"
Ren smiled, "I know. And that's what makes it even more exciting, isn't it? Besides, the reward is a full ten-pull."
Elfman just stared at him, completely baffled by the non-sequitur.
He finally understood. Although Ren looked no different from an ordinary person, he was a complete lunatic at heart.
After Ren had eaten and drunk his fill, he excused himself to a quiet guest room and sat on the sofa, looking at the panel visible only to him.
[S-Class Quest: Eliminate the Phantom Bandit Gang. Quest Reward: One ten-pull.]
The quest had already been updated on the system panel. This was the main reason Ren had to do this quest. The 7,000,000 Jewel was nice—it would secure his living expenses—but the ten-pull was everything. That was the only way to get stronger.
His current magic power was pathetic. He needed to fix that, even if just a little.
Ren lightly tapped his finger, selecting the nine other 4-Star "purple" cards he had drawn alongside Ulquiorra. They were useless to him as long as he had the 5-Star.
"Recycle all selected characters."
[Are you sure you want to recycle nine (9) 4-Star Character Cards?]
"Confirm!"
[Ding! Recycling successful! Host's magic power increased by ☆!]
Ren's eye twitched. "Half a star? System, you're too stingy, aren't you? I still have that blue elite, that Chunin I drew from the system's first-time gift... that was the first character I drew, so it's very memorable. I recycled that and eight other 4-Star cards, and all I get is half a star?"
[Everything is calculated. The magic power required for each star increases exponentially. If the Host wants to increase more magic power, he can recycle higher-quality characters.]
"Never mind, who told me I'm so generous."
Recycling higher-quality characters? What a joke. He only had Ulquiorra left. If he recycled him, who would he use?
Gold characters, a guaranteed gold character only after 100 draws. That was the pity system. This one S-Class Quest gave one ten-pull. That meant he would need to complete ten S-Class Quests just to guarantee one more gold character.
This showed how precious gold characters were.
Of course, such gold characters were worthy of being so precious. He just needed more of them. And to get more, he needed to survive this night.
He checked his updated panel.
[Host: Ren]
[Age: 18 years old]
[Race: Human]
[Magic Power: ★☆]
[Magic: Take Over Magic: Anime Soul]
[Character Card: Ulquiorra Cifer (5-Star)]
'With one and a half stars of magic power...' Ren thought, clenching his fist. 'This is pathetic. It's not enough. Against Natsu, I almost ran dry in a single minute. Now I have a bit more... maybe three minutes? Three minutes to use Ulquiorra's base power to defeat an S-Class assassin and his entire guild.'
He closed his eyes. Three minutes. He had to make it count.
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