With a clap of his hands, Caesar, who had taken over Edward, suddenly slapped the ground.
In an instant, a huge magic circle appeared across the entire guild. Then, everyone saw the broken tables and chairs quickly reshape and restore themselves to their original condition.
"What a great ability!"
Makarov's eyes practically disappeared from laughing. God knew how many times he, as the guild master, had to pay out of his own pocket to replace damaged furniture, and how many times his own savings had been drained.
Now that Caesar was here, his private treasury was safe. He could even drink more happily.
After Caesar restored the guild to its original state, he looked a little depressed.
He had hoped to make some money by fixing things, but that opportunity vanished.
However, Caesar didn't feel like he was losing out, because Makarov's offer was thoughtful.
In Magnolia, Lucy rented a small house, and the cheapest rent was 70,000 J per month. Add daily food expenses, and monthly living costs could easily reach 100,000 J.
Now Caesar could live in the attic of the guild and eat three meals a day for free. That meant he was saving 100,000 J a month—repairing tables and chairs was a fair trade.
The only pity was that there probably wouldn't be a new source of cards anytime soon.
The guild grew lively again while Caesar lay on a table, still a little down.
"What's wrong?" Makarov sat next to him and asked.
"I've got no job, no money, and I don't know how to become stronger," Caesar replied, voice muffled against the table.
"Caesar, don't be so anxious," Makarov said as he gently patted Caesar's head. "Your village was destroyed, and your heart is full of hatred. That hatred can be motivation, but you can't let your life be consumed by it. Do you understand?"
"I know. I don't care…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Caesar suddenly froze.
He realized something. Even if he didn't get new cards for a while, he could still train and grow stronger.
Just like Natsu and the others—they weren't powerful when they started. They trained, fought, and studied magic. Over time, their strength increased.
So was there really no way to get stronger quickly? Was he stuck?
No. That wasn't true.
Caesar sat up straighter.
Even though he had taken over this body, the soul that once occupied it had no more influence. Still, the subconscious memories and instincts remained. That was why he cried before, why he was so eager to get stronger now.
"This is such a headache," he muttered. "If I want to truly merge with this body, I'll probably need to go to the Tower of Paradise and resolve that issue. Only then can I stabilize this time bomb."
"Think about it," Makarov said as he stood up. He didn't want to pressure Caesar too much. The knot in his heart had to be unraveled by Caesar himself.
All Makarov could do was offer guidance and give these lost children a warm place to belong.
Caesar watched Makarov leave and fell into deep thought.
Just as he was pondering how to train and fight using his current cards, a boy sat across from him.
The boy looked directly at Caesar and said, "Your eyes remind me of myself in the past. Live well. There are endless possibilities ahead."
Caesar looked up at the boy.
Gray Fullbuster, the ice wizard.
Gray had noticed Caesar from the moment he walked into the guild. Something about him felt familiar. Although Caesar didn't seem strange on the surface, Gray could sense the deep determination and burning vengeance inside him.
Others might not see it, but Gray understood—he had once been in that same place.
"Ulu…"
Unconsciously, Gray thought of his master—the woman who guided him, trained him, and sealed the darkness inside him.
"In the past, you were my light. Now, I want to be like you. I want to help someone like me avoid making the same mistakes. Ulu… I'll start with the person in front of me."
Gray's eyes narrowed as he looked at Caesar and said, "I'll seal the darkness in your heart!"
"What?"
Caesar had the expression of someone who didn't quite follow the conversation. He felt like a tired commuter listening to a subway preacher.
But just then, he had a great idea.
What if he asked Gray to be his sparring partner?
Right now, Gray's strength was probably about the same as his—at least when Caesar used take over magic.
But if Caesar could match Gray without using any magic at all, then wouldn't he be even stronger when he did use his take over magic?
That sounded like a good challenge.
Eyes lighting up, Caesar asked, "You seem pretty strong. Want to fight? No magic—just a normal hand-to-hand fight."
"…What?"
Gray looked confused now. Still, he agreed to Caesar's invitation.
And then…
Caesar gave everyone in the guild a good laugh.
Seeing Caesar get beaten up by Gray was so ridiculous that everyone burst out laughing.
Even Makarov couldn't help it. He laughed so hard he sprayed wine out of his nose.
After all, Caesar had seemed so impressive earlier, but now that he wasn't using magic, everyone realized he was just a kid.
Without take over magic, even the average member could handle him with one hand.
"Caesar, try partially taking over. It'll improve your combat ability so you're not just a punching bag," Makarov called out between laughs, wiping away tears.
Caesar shook his head and stood back up.
"Take over magic is part of my strength, but so is my body. Only when my body is strong can I make full use of my magic."
With determination, Caesar charged at Gray again.
Gray sighed, caught Caesar's punch, and threw him over his shoulder.
Caesar crashed down again.
Eventually, with his whole body aching, Caesar had to call it quits. Gray also let out a relieved breath. He was starting to feel bad about how badly he'd beaten the kid.
Caesar stood up, rubbed his bruises, and temporarily dropped the idea of fighting Gray.
"If I can't take on work right now and I've got free time, I should use it to train. At the very least… I want to be able to beat Gray without using magic!"
With that thought in mind, Caesar started making plans for his next phase of training.
As for Kana, the other girl in the guild, she hadn't become the tomboy she'd grow into just yet. There was no way to really connect with her right now, so Caesar figured he'd put any little ideas about her on hold.
For now, the right thing to do was focus on becoming stronger.