A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Silver's tone was full of affection, and Kira felt that he wasn't talking about his teammate, but his own brother.

"Wait... he's a cat, not a dog, right? Eating bones?!"

Chapter 250 The Guardian at the End of the Passage

While it's certainly absurd for a cat to become a research scholar, Kira doesn't find it unacceptable. But a cat eating bones? That's just unbelievable!

"Well... it must be due to the influence of the Dragon Slayer Crystal inside me, right?"

Silver, without any suspicion, said to Kira frankly, "When it was born, its magical energy was unstable, so we implanted the only Dragon Slayer Crystal we had left in the research institute, made from the heart of a bone dragon, into its body to balance its magical energy."

"Influenced by this magic crystal, from that time on, his diet included various magical beast bones! Of course, his favorite was still fish bones!"

Fish bones...aren't those just fish bones? Typical cat!

"The Bone Dragon's Dragon-Slaying Crystal, so it eats bones?"

Kira understood immediately, pointing to the graveyard filled with stark white bones on the screen. "No wonder there are bones everywhere! So, is this his bedroom or his dining table?"

Silver thought for a long time before replying, "Both count!"

"A transcendent being has actually become a second-generation Dragon Slayer Mage! That's truly rare!"

This is just... so interesting!

Kira used to know that some people are born at the top of others' worlds, but from today onwards, he knows that some cats are born at the top of others' worlds as well.

"Can he unleash the full power of Dragon Slayer Magic? Does he possess any secret techniques? Does he get motion sickness?"

Faced with Kira's three questions in a row, Silver simply chuckled and said, "It's hard to say! He's always lived with us, so he's never met his match. We all treat him like a younger brother, so naturally we've never fought him seriously. But the only thing we can be sure of is that he hasn't shown any signs of motion sickness yet."

It seems they also know that using Dragon Slayer Magic too deeply can cause motion sickness.

"And what about the rest of you?"

Kira asked casually, and Silver replied without hesitation, "The rest of the army was wiped out!"

"As expected, you are all second-generation Dragon Slayer Mages!"

Silver paused for a moment, then smiled and said nonchalantly, "You don't really need to test me. You can just ask. It's nothing shameful!"

"That's right, all of us have Dragon Slayer Crystals implanted in our bodies, and we are all second-generation Dragon Slayer Mages!"

He spoke frankly and without any pretense, which surprised Kira somewhat: 'This personality… if it weren't for his recent talk about selling mechanical soldiers, I'd probably call him Little Sun!'

Kira didn't think much of it and continued to look at the crystal screen...

……

Inside passage number 1, Dark Night, Sawyer, and Sora finally met the guardian of this place, Nicole.

"Not bad, you weren't scared out of your wits by the bones on the road. Looks like you guys have some guts!"

Nicole sat on a platform made of bones, gnawing on a fish bone while striking a cool pose and saying smugly, "You're lucky to have met me, 'Totoro' Nicole! If you can beat me, you can move on!"

However, the three people opposite him didn't hear what he seemed to be saying; instead, they were still immersed in their own surprise.

"The cat talked?!"

"Another talking cat? Is it the same kind of creature as that one in 'Fairy Tail'?"

Realizing no one had seen him, Nick became annoyed and shouted, "Hey! You intruders! Can't you show some respect for a cat?!"

"Even when she's angry, she's so cute..."

"I've been in the magical world for so many years, and I've never seen such an arrogant cat!"

Nicole: "..."

"Alright, Sora, Sawyer, stop playing around!" Dark Night stepped forward and asked, "Are you the guardian here?"

Nicol licked the fish bone, reluctantly put it down, folded his arms, and looked down: "That's right! You people who got the clues and came here must also be after the Dragon Slayer Crystal!"

It has been here for 6 years without any rivals. Now that it has this rare opportunity, it is only natural to spar with the mages from the outside world: "As long as you defeat me, you can enter the real research institute!"

The three exchanged glances. Since their opponent had gone this far, they had no reason not to fight. Although their opponent was a cat, given that it was one of the guardians and had dared to "provoke" them like this, its strength must be considerable.

Dark Night stepped forward and said, "In that case, I will be your opponent!"

……

As the number of monster corpses around them gradually decreased, Eric and Richard were finally able to breathe freely.

Although Silver quickly led them to the end of the passage, they had been holding their breath for most of the time to avoid inhaling the potentially germ-laden air, and were now drenched in sweat.

This place looked like a hollowed-out underground area, with sand underfoot, overhead, and all around. Opposite them was a young man with a cold gaze and pale skin.

The young man was dressed very conservatively, with a black trench coat covering him from head to toe. Combined with his black hair and black eyes, he looked exceptionally cool and handsome, like Beelzebub from the Valkyrie next door.

"I am the guardian of this passage, the Dragon Slayer of Plague, Desizhul. Only by defeating me can you proceed!"

The other person's words revealed a lot of information, which made Eric's heart skip a beat: "The plague... No wonder I saw that kind of scene before."

Seeing the two people who were trapped earlier emerge from the passage so quickly, Desizhu knew that it must be Silver's doing!

"You're a Poison Dragon Slayer Mage, right? Come to think of it, the magic crystal inside you was bought from here," Desizu suddenly said. "Since we have this opportunity, how about we have a spar?"

Despite it being the middle of summer, Eric and Richard felt a slight chill.

……

Passage 2, behind the door at the end of the passage, is a world of ice and snow, with no well-lit rooms.

Urudia stared at the masked woman with a stunning figure, her mind racing with questions: "Who are you? A researcher here?"

Upon hearing Urudia's question, the woman opposite remained silent, slowly extending a hand to remove her mask. To Urudia's surprise, the face beneath the mask bore a striking resemblance to her own!

"You...could it be..."

Similar faces, similar magic; the moment Ultear saw the other's face, she was stunned.

Although Ultear had deduced from the ice magic she had witnessed along the way that there was some kind of connection between herself and this user, she had never dared to believe it until the moment the other person took off their mask, which confirmed her guess.

The woman opposite suddenly smiled, her expression exactly the same as Ultear's, her eyes filled with mockery. She spoke softly to Ultear, but her words were astonishing: "I am you!"

Upon hearing this, Urutia was taken aback.

But the other party continued, "I am the guardian of this passage, the Ice Dragon Slayer Mage, Ultear!"

……

In passage number 4, the moment Gerald pushed open the gate, the scene he saw was different from everyone else's.

It was clearly noon, but the surroundings had darkened, as if it had suddenly become night. The tranquil night sky was peaceful, with only countless bright, shining stars.

Gerald looked up and realized that the bright moon hanging high in front of him and the twinkling stars were actually magic crystals embedded in the ceiling of the room. The night sky was an illusion created by man.

"Geralt?!"

A female voice rang out, and Gerald immediately turned his head to look.

The room was spacious, with only a square arena in the center. Standing on it was a woman with brown skin, long light pink hair tied up, wearing silver-white armor and carrying two swords. She seemed to be the one who had just spoken.

Gerald's eyes narrowed: "So we were found out after all!"

"You trespassed into the castle; you didn't think you could just swagger in and leave unscathed, did you?"

'It seems the other groups have also encountered opponents...'

Gerald pondered to himself, then tried to probe the situation with words: "If I remember correctly, this should be the research institute for the Dragon Slayer Crystal. Are you the guardian here? Or a researcher?"

“Both a guardian and a researcher!” The woman drew her twin swords from her back and replied, “Star Dragon Slayer Mage, Magara! If you can defeat me, I will tell you what you want to know!”

Often, taking action is far more effective than talking.

Seeing his opponent's fierce fighting spirit, Gerald sighed and stepped onto the ring: "It seems this is the only way!"

Chapter 251 Let's cooperate!

The situation in each passage was displayed to Kira through the crystal screen.

"Sorry! They just haven't interacted with people outside for too long, so they wanted to take advantage of this rare opportunity to spar with your friends."

Seeing Kira's expression gradually turn serious, Silver chuckled, "Don't worry, it won't get too big of a mess!"

Kira wasn't worried that they would cause too much trouble or go too far; he had some confidence in their abilities. It was just that the woman on the screen who looked exactly like Ultear struck him as odd.

After a moment of silence, he asked, "I'm curious, since there's no dragon heart or dragon-slaying crystal here, why are you five researchers still here, and what are you researching?"

"Ha! I can tell you that!" Silver laughed heartily. "We each research different things. I'm researching mechanical soldiers. You should have seen them on your way here, right?"

Kira thought of the mechanical soldiers that had been destroyed by Dark Night with a single blow by the lake earlier, and nodded silently.

"That was a defective product from 7 years ago; the latest mechanical soldiers will be even stronger!"

When talking about his research products, Silver became noticeably more enthusiastic, like a parent showing off their child's perfect score on a test: "That's what I research!"

Kira: Seven years ago... No wonder we needed a three-way handshake to communicate...

Silver seemed oblivious to Kira's expression, his eyes gleaming as he spoke to himself, "I know your magical items are very famous, even sold in neighboring countries. If possible, I'd like to collaborate with you!"

"Cooperation...?!"

“That’s right! Cooperation!” Silver stood up excitedly, clenching his fist as he planned his dream. “I have confidence in my mechanical soldiers; they’re stronger than ordinary mages! With your help, I can sell them to neighboring countries! There’ll definitely be a huge market for them!”

"Wait...wait..."

Seeing that Silver was so excited he was about to call him brother, Kira quickly interrupted him, "Isn't this an arms deal? If neighboring countries deploy mecha soldiers in the war, wouldn't it cause widespread bloodshed?"

Silver's words reminded Kira of the fourth generation Dragon Slayer from the movie "Dragon's Cry".

They are artificial soldiers created from the magic power of the tears of Dragon Slayer Mages, endowed with immense durability, speed, and strength. They can fight indefinitely until their energy source is destroyed.

"Probably...so what?"

Kira's breath hitched. This guy actually had the nerve to ask, "So what?"

If it weren't for the genuine doubt in your eyes, I would have thought you were some kind of ruthless weapons developer.

“It will cause widespread destruction!” Kira rubbed his aching head. “My magical gadgets are all everyday items, at most some prank gadgets. The worst that might happen is a scare. But your mechanical soldiers are different! Ordinary people will be displaced and their families will be torn apart! Do you understand?!”