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*****
"The Captain recruited another newbie? Isn't the entrance exam still a week away?"
At the sound of George's voice, everyone in the hall—save for the sister-complex fanatic—turned their heads in curiosity.
"Probably another stray he picked up from who-knows-where," someone muttered.
A consensus quickly formed. After all, none of them had joined the Black Bulls through the official Magic Knight entrance exams. Their Captain didn't care about rank or raw power; he recruited based on "vibes," which meant he rarely selected candidates from the stiff, formal testing grounds.
"Hey there, little brother. Why don't you come have a drink with big sister?"
Vanessa, the wavy-haired woman lounging on the sofa, beckoned to George with a flirtatious curl of her finger. "Tell us—how exactly did the Captain rope you in?"
George walked over and took a seat opposite the sofa. Just as he was about to speak, Vanessa's mouth popped open, and she vomited a literal rainbow across the floor.
Just how much has this woman had to drink? George wondered.
He shook his head and manifested his Grimoire, flipping to a specific page.
"Cleanse!"
"Swift Restore!"
With one motion, a spell vanished the "rainbow" from the floor, while a second pulse of light instantly neutralized Vanessa's drunken stupor.
On his journey to the Royal Capital, George hadn't just been sightseeing. In his downtime, he had meticulously studied the Grimoire—a physical manifestation of this world's laws—and added a "few" extra spells to its pages.
Of course, they weren't anything earth-shattering. They were mostly convenient, high-utility "small" spells. He was wary of creating anything too transcendent; he didn't want to trip the alarms of this world's Creator God. Though he had successfully usurped this body's fate and left no obvious flaws, being constantly monitored by a supreme deity was never a pleasant experience.
In truth, with his absolute control over magical principles, George could take these simple spells and weave them into patterns that could solve almost any problem.
If he encountered something truly troublesome, he could always resort to high-tier Authority—abilities that existed outside the system and were undetectable by the Creator. To maintain his low profile, he hadn't even bothered using Devour Magic to artificially inflate his mana reserves.
The goal of this "minor avatar" was simple: explore the world, catalog its magic templates, and maintain a constant lock on this world's coordinates within the Chaos. He was just waiting for the nearest major avatar to finish a fusion so it could come over and either consume or exchange data with this realm.
Until then, he needed to avoid being a standout target.
"Whoa, little brother! Your magic is great!"
Vanessa's head was suddenly clear, her body feeling as refreshed as if she hadn't touched a drop of booze all morning. She gave George an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
"I'm fairly specialized in a 'few' support-type spells," George replied with a modest smile.
He had decided to label himself a Support Mage. It was a strategic choice; support units generally avoided the brunt of combat. For him, fighting was a waste of time. He didn't need "combat experience" to grow, nor did he need to "awaken" new spells through life-or-death struggles. Unless he was facing a multiverse-level powerhouse, he simply couldn't be bothered to get his hands dirty.
"That's amazing! If you do that for me a few times a day, I can drink forever and never get a hangover!"
Vanessa was thrilled. She boldly reached out and hooked her arm around George's neck, pulling him close. She seemed entirely unbothered by the fact that her ample bosom was being pressed firmly against his arm.
"I'm Vanessa Enoteca. Since you're new, feel free to ask me anything. And if you ever get bored, big sister can show you some really interesting ways to pass the time!"
"Thank you," George replied calmly.
He was entirely unfazed by her teasing. He wasn't some wide-eyed fifteen-year-old; he'd seen enough "waves" in his time to remain unshaken by a little flirtation.
Seeing that George was unusually composed for his age, Vanessa stopped teasing him and began introducing the rest of the crew.
"This kid is Charmy Pappitson. She's a bottomless pit of a glutton."
"Nice to meet you! Want to try this? It's super yummy!" The tiny girl, barely a meter tall, held out an exquisite pastry from her mountain of food.
George took the treat and thanked her.
"This guy is Gordon Agrippa. He looks gloomy, but he's actually a sweetheart. He loves making friends." Vanessa pointed to the gaunt man in the military cap. Gordon stood up and gave George a deep, silent bow.
"Pleased to meet you."
"And that's Grey. Um... a very nice person." Vanessa didn't know much about the massive, steaming figure, as Grey rarely spoke or moved.
It's a "she," not a "he," George noted internally. No transformation spell of that level could fool his eyes; beneath the hulking exterior was a shy, slender girl with short hair.
"Lastly, this total sister-complex freak is Gauche Adlai."
"This is my sister, Marie. She's an angel," Gauche said, shoving a photo of a young girl in a pink dress in front of George's face. "Listen close: if you even think about having any inappropriate thoughts about her, I'll kill you."
George's lip twitched. It seemed the Black Bulls weren't exactly a collection of "normal" people. The Captain was a gambling addict who would bet his own soul; the members were a collection of alcoholics, gluttons, and obsessives.
Yet, it felt oddly familiar. It reminded him of his days in the Fairy Tail guild—Natsu and the others weren't exactly conventional, either.
"Finral, Magna, and Luck are out on a mission," Vanessa added. "They'll probably be back in a couple of days. I'll introduce you then."
As they sat and chatted, Vanessa began plying George with drinks. He didn't refuse; since the base lacked a library, she was his best source of information.
Suddenly, a spatial portal flickered open in the center of the hall. Three young men stepped through. These were the returning members: Finral, Magna, and Luck.
"So, it's him!"
The moment George saw the one with the mohawk and the punk-rock aesthetic, memories from his host body—the original "Nokia"—surfaced.
The mage was Magna Swing. He hailed from Rayaka, the village neighboring Nokia's home, Saussy Village. Magna had been a local delinquent who loved stirring up trouble between the two villages, though he was frequently "disciplined" by the Saussy Village chief.
Encouraged by the chief, Magna had gone to the capital, passed the exam, and joined the Magic Knights. It was Magna's success that had inspired Nokia to try for the Knights in the first place—though Nokia had no idea Magna had ended up in a squad as notorious as the Black Bulls.
(End of Chapter)