Magnolia Town had a warmth that Crocus, for all its grandeur, lacked.
It was a lived-in sort of place.
Buildings huddled companionably, their architecture a cheerful mishmash of styles.
The air smelled of baking bread, river water, and distant sawdust.
Cozy. That was the word.
Eshu walked the main street, the local newspaper, freshly acquired from a chattering vendor, in hand.
His eyes scanned the headlines, absorbing the information as easily as breathing.
Year X783. Good to know.
The lead story was geopolitical. Significant.
The Alvarez Empire, a massive militaristic nation to the west, across the sea on the continent of Alakitasia, had severed diplomatic ties with the countries of Ishgar.
Fiore, this kingdom he was in, was part of Ishgar.
Tensions were rising. That much was clear from the tone of the article.
Alvarez Empire… Ishgar… Fiore. International politics. Complicated. And now, part of my understanding.
He filed the information away. Important context for this world.
His immediate destination, however, was far more local.
The path to Fairy Tail was easy to find.
Everyone in Magnolia seemed to know it.
Most just pointed towards the sounds of barely contained mayhem.
And there it was.
The guild hall.
It was even louder up close.
A cacophony of shouts, laughter, crashing sounds, and the distinct, surprisingly melodic thrum of a lute being played with wild abandon.
The wooden doors were massive, slightly scarred, and currently vibrating.
Eshu paused for a moment, the newspaper tucked under his arm.
He could feel the energy thrumming from within, a chaotic but undeniably vibrant force.
Well, no point standing out here.
He reached for the heavy iron door handle.
Pulled.
And stepped inside.
The noise hit him like a physical wave.
It was… a lot.
The interior of Fairy Tail was vast, a huge, high-ceilinged hall.
Tables were scattered haphazardly, some overturned. Mugs lay where they'd fallen.
A chair flew past his head, missing him by a comfortable margin, and shattered against a far wall.
No one seemed to notice or care.
People were everywhere.
A shirtless man with pink hair was brawling good-naturedly with a dark-haired man who was, for some reason, also stripping off his clothes mid-fight.
Exhibitionists? Or just… enthusiastic?
A red-haired woman in armor was calmly eating a slice of cake amidst the chaos, looking utterly unfazed.
A small, old man, no taller than Eshu's waist, was perched on the bar, a tankard nearly as big as his head in his hand. He was laughing uproariously at something.
Mages. All of them. Overflowing with magical power.
Eshu could sense it. His understanding of magic, absorbed in Crocus, allowed him to perceive the ambient energies, the personal reserves each of these individuals held.
It was like walking into a room full of live power lines, sparking and fizzing with untamed potential.
His own abilities, his refined sword and shield skills, his nascent mastery of enchanting and Requip, felt like a tightly controlled, precise instrument in comparison to this joyous explosion of raw power.
For a moment, he just stood there, near the entrance, taking it all in.
The air tasted of spilled ale, wood polish, and something faintly metallic and ozone-like – residual magic.
It wasn't threatening. It was… alive.
No one had acknowledged his entrance yet. They were all too engrossed in their own activities.
Fighting. Drinking. Singing. Shouting.
A woman with long, scarlet hair, the one eating cake, finally glanced his way. Her gaze was sharp, intelligent, and held a hint of authority. She paused, fork halfway to her mouth.
Eshu met her eyes.
This was it.
The heart of Fairy Tail.
He needed to talk to someone.
Someone who could tell him how to join this… vibrant madhouse.
The little old man on the bar seemed like a good candidate for knowing things. Or the woman with the cake.
Alright, Eshu. Time to make an impression. Or at least, get noticed above the sound of breaking furniture.
He took a step further into the hall.
The floorboards creaked under his boots.
Showtime.
———
The din was a physical presence.
Eshu took a deep breath, the scent of ale and old wood filling his lungs.
He projected his voice, cutting through the chaos with a clarity honed by understanding acoustics and vocal resonance.
"I want to join the guild!"
His declaration, sharp and confident, managed to pierce the prevailing noise. A few heads turned. The shirtless brawlers paused mid-grapple.
The red-haired woman with the cake, Erza Scarlet, set her fork down with deliberate precision. Her gaze, already on him, sharpened.
Eshu met it unflinchingly. He knew who she was. Her reputation for power and sternness was well-documented in the information he'd gathered. Titania, Queen of the Fairies. An S-Class Mage.
He added his condition, his voice ringing with challenge.
"And I won't accept joining if I cannot fight Erza Scarlet!"
———
Silence.
A sudden, almost shocking stillness fell over the guild hall.
The pink-haired man stopped trying to set his rival's pants on fire. The dark-haired stripper actually paused with his shirt half-off. Even the old man on the bar blinked, his tankard hovering.
All eyes were now on Eshu. And then, on Erza.
Erza Scarlet rose slowly from her seat.
She was tall, imposing in her armor. Her expression was unreadable, but a dangerous glint flickered in her eyes.
"You wish to fight me?" she asked, her voice calm but carrying an undeniable weight of authority. "As a condition of joining?"
"Yes," Eshu stated plainly. No hesitation.
If I'm to be part of this, I need to know where I stand. And she's the benchmark.
A low murmur rippled through the guild. Some looked intrigued, others like they were anticipating a swift and brutal beatdown.
The pink-haired boy grinned, showing sharp teeth. "Ooh, this guy's got guts! I like him!"
Erza considered Eshu for a long moment.
"Very well," she said finally. "If that is your condition. But we will do so outside. I'd rather not have Macao pay for a new wall today."
A few chuckles. The tension eased slightly, replaced by eager anticipation.
Erza moved towards the exit, her armor clanking softly.
Eshu followed, his expression composed.
The rest of the guild, a boisterous, curious mob, poured out after them, eager for the show.
———
They stood in the open space before the guild hall.
A ring of excited Fairy Tail mages formed around them.
Erza faced him, her stance formidable. "Ready when you are."
Eshu drew his sword and settled his shield on his arm.
Okay, Erza Scarlet. Show me what an S-Class mage of Fairy Tail can do.
He didn't make the first move. He observed.
Erza, however, wasted no time.
"Requip!"
With a flash of light, her everyday armor vanished, replaced by a gleaming silver set, winged and menacing – Heaven's Wheel Armor. Swords, dozens of them, materialized in the air around her, forming a deadly halo.
So that's Requip in action. Spatial magic, storing equipment in a pocket dimension. Impressive speed. The mana control is exquisite.
The knowledge of it, the how, was already filtering into him.
The swords rained down.
Eshu moved.
He didn't just dodge. He flowed between the whistling blades, his shield deflecting stray shots with precise, calculated angles. Each movement was efficient, instinctual, drawing on the combined martial knowledge he possessed.
He closed the distance.
Erza met his advance, a single, perfectly balanced sword now in her hand, the others vanishing.
Steel clashed against steel.
Sparks flew.
Erza was incredibly strong, incredibly fast. Each blow was delivered with punishing force.
But Eshu met her. His shield absorbed the worst of it. His sword parried, deflected, sought openings.
He wasn't just relying on the physical.
As they fought, a faint, almost invisible shimmer began to coat his blade.
A rudimentary enchantment. Sharpness. Edge retention. Nothing complex.
Subtle. Enhancing what's already there.
His shield, too, glowed faintly with a hardening enchantment.
Just a little extra resilience.
Erza pressed her attack, a whirlwind of strikes.
She was a master swordsman, no doubt. Each technique was flawless.
But Eshu was more. He was all techniques. He saw the patterns, anticipated the flows.
He blocked a heavy downward slash, the impact jarring his arm despite the shield's enchantment.
He countered, not with overwhelming force, but with unexpected precision. A feint, a shift of footing, and his sword darted towards an almost imperceptible gap in her guard.
Erza's eyes widened slightly. She was forced to give ground, an unfamiliar experience for her.
The fight was a blur of motion.
She requipped again. Flame Empress Armor. Her sword now blazed with fire.
Heat washed over Eshu.
Elemental enchantment. Interesting application.
He adapted. His footwork changed, keeping him just out of range of the worst of the flames, his shield angled to disperse the heat.
He pressed his own attack.
No flashy magic. Just relentless, perfect swordsmanship, his enchanted blade and shield giving him a slight, almost imperceptible edge against her un-enchanted (for now) weapons.
He was learning.
Not just about Erza, but about his own freshly decided style.
The flow of enchanting his gear mid-combat, subtly. The feel of his chosen weapons.
And with every Requip Erza performed, his understanding of that specific magic deepened.
He saw the mana paths, the dimensional mechanics, the focus required. It was complex, elegant.
And now… it's becoming mine.
The realization wasn't a distraction. It was an empowerment.
Erza launched a powerful, fiery slash.
Eshu met it, not head-on, but with a deflecting block that redirected the flaming arc harmlessly into the ground.
He used the opening.
A swift, disarming strike, learned from a dozen weapon masters.
His enchanted blade struck the hilt of Erza's flaming sword with precise force.
Her grip broke.
The fiery sword spun away, clattering onto the dirt.
Erza froze, surprised. Disarmed.
Eshu's sword point came to rest lightly at her throat.
Silence again.
The surrounding guild members were stunned.
Natsu's jaw was on the floor. Gray had forgotten to put his pants back on.
Erza stared at the sword tip, then at Eshu. Her breathing was heavy.
A slow smile spread across her face.
"Impressive," she conceded, a genuine note of respect in her voice. "You fight with incredible skill. And… were those enchantments on your gear?"
Eshu lowered his sword. "Rudimentary ones. Still working on it."
The passive gain of knowledge was one thing, but witnessing Erza's Requip, fighting against it, focusing his intent on understanding it – it had triggered the active component of his learning.
The entire art of Requip, in all its complexity, its variations, its potential… it settled into his mind, as perfectly understood as if he'd trained in it for a lifetime.
He knew, with absolute certainty, that he could now perform Requip magic. He just needed to create his own dimensional storage and fill it.
Erza's Requip Mastery… mine.
He looked at Erza, then around at the assembled mages of Fairy Tail.
Natsu, now recovered, was already yelling, "He beat Erza! Awesome! You HAVE to join!"
Gray gave a grudgingly impressed nod.
Makarov, the small guild master who had watched from the doorway, stroked his mustache thoughtfully, a twinkle in his eye.
Eshu felt a sense of satisfaction.
The fight had been a test. For him, and for them.
He had proven his capability. And in doing so, he had acquired a powerful new magical skill.
Now, for the next step.
His gaze swept over the diverse group.
The pink-haired boy, Natsu, wreathed in his own Dragon Slayer flames.
Gray, casually forming objects out of ice.
Others he could sense, wielding stranger, more esoteric powers.
Each one a potential source of inspiration.
My enchantments… I need ideas. Unique properties. Combinations no one has thought of.
This guild… this collection of powerful, eccentric mages… they are a goldmine.
His chosen path – Fighter, Enchanter, Requip Master – felt more solid, more real than ever.
Erza, meanwhile, was already calling for someone to bring her a new slice of strawberry cake. The fight, it seemed, was already behind her.
"So," the Guild Master, Makarov, finally spoke, hopping down from the doorway. "You beat Erza. Fair and square. Do you still wish to join Fairy Tail?"
Eshu met the old master's knowing gaze.
"Yes," he said. "I do."
A grin spread across Makarov Dreyar's face.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!"