**Chapter 20: Where Did the Master Go?**
"Well done!"
Makarov said sternly.
The reason legitimate guilds were considered legitimate was that everything they did was in accordance with the law and regulations.
Dark Guilds were a group of unruly people who accepted any mission, such as assassinations.
The rewards for such missions were very high, and many legitimate guilds, unable to withstand the temptation of money, would degenerate into Dark Guilds.
Slaughtering an entire Mage Guild was an act completely devoid of conscience.
If this matter wasn't handled well, the reputation of the regional guilds would suffer a severe blow.
People might become afraid to join legitimate guilds, which would lead to Dark Guilds becoming even more rampant.
Ren didn't know how big of an earthquake his actions had caused in the underworld. With so many Dark Guilds being wiped out, the remaining Dark Guilds were all in a state of panic.
"You've worked hard again this time," Makarov said to Ren.
"It wasn't hard. It's the same as doing other missions."
Makarov shook his head; it couldn't possibly be the same.
Suddenly, a child's voice rang out: "Did my papa not come back?"
Ren looked over and saw a child of about five or six years old standing there.
Romeo, Macao's son. Macao was always busy with work, which resulted in his wife running away, leaving him and Romeo behind.
Since then, because he needed to take care of the child, Macao only accepted small missions that weren't far from here.
Even if a mission required half a day, he would send Romeo to the guild first and ask the people in the guild to look after him.
So, most people in the guild knew Romeo.
Upon seeing Romeo, Makarov said, "Stop making a fuss, Romeo. You are the child of a mage; you should believe in your father. Go home and wait obediently for him to return."
"But... he clearly said he would be home in three days! It's been a week and he's still not back..."
"Macao went to Mt. Hakobe to work. It's not far from here. Go find him and bring him back!!"
"I'm so worried!!"
Makarov scolded, "Stop it!! Your father is a mage!! This guild doesn't need mages who require others to wipe their butts!! Go home and drink your milk!!"
"Mean old man!!"
Romeo jumped up and punched Makarov in the face, then turned and ran out crying.
"That was so heartless," Lucy couldn't help but say upon watching this scene.
Mirajane said, "Although he says that, the Master is actually worried in his heart too."
"What did Macao go to do?" Ren asked.
"He went to Mt. Hakobe to subjugate a Vulcan. I don't know if something provoked him, but he went to take the Vulcan subjugation mission alone."
*Thud!* Natsu looked at the mission request he had just taken down, slammed it back onto the request board, turned around, picked up his luggage, and walked out.
Nab, who always loitered in front of the request board, said, "Hey! Natsu!! You're going to break the request board!"
"?"
"Master... Natsu, that kid is acting a bit strange!"
"That kid probably went to save Macao. He's really immature."
"Doing that will only hurt Macao's pride."
The corners of Makarov's mouth curled up slightly. "It is the path he wants to take. Let him decide. Let him go."
Ren frowned slightly. He had completely forgotten this part of the plot, but since Natsu had gone, and considering that in the future Macao would be one of the only two veteran mages left in Fairy Tail, he felt much more relieved.
In the evening, Ren returned to his apartment.
"System, open my template."
*Shwa!*
A transparent system template appeared in front of Ren.
**[Dimensional Template System]**
**[Host: Ren]**
**[Age: 19]**
**[Possessed Template: Ulquiorra Cifer]**
**[Zanpakutō: Murciélago]**
**[Fusion Rate: 71.34%]**
**[Possessed Skills: ...]**
There were two ways to increase the fusion rate: one was to use the **Soul Consumption** skill to devour souls, and the other was to become stronger through self-cultivation.
In the first two years, Ren's template fusion rate increased rapidly, and his strength also grew very fast.
However, when the fusion rate reached fifty percent, Ren found that the fusion speed slowed down.
Previously, one ordinary soul was enough to increase the fusion rate by 0.01%, but now it required ten.
Naturally, the fusion speed slowed down by ten times.
Fortunately, mages' souls could increase the fusion rate more, and the stronger the mage's soul, the more the fusion rate increased.
Even so, despite Ren being diligent, wiping out more than twenty Dark Guilds consecutively, and training hard, he had only managed to raise the fusion rate to over seventy percent.
"The plot is starting. I don't know if I can make it in time."
The next evening, Natsu returned to the guild carrying the injured Macao. Seeing that Macao had returned alive, many people in the guild were relieved.
Of course, a round of teasing for Macao was inevitable, but more than that, laughter filled the entire guild.
For the next three days, Ren stayed in the guild during the day, chatting with Mirajane to deepen their relationship and looking after the guild in passing.
In front of the request board.
Lucy was looking for a suitable mission.
"Hmm... Looking for a magic bracelet, lifting the magic of a cursed cane, wanting to use astrology to divine love?! Expelling a volcano demon?!"
"So, there are all kinds of requests!"
"If there's a job you want to do, you can tell me, since the Master isn't here," Ren said, sitting in the seat where the Master usually sat.
Lucy was stunned by Ren's words, only then realizing that the Master wasn't in the guild today.
"Eh? You're right. Where did the Master go?"