A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"It's also a form of magic, but this is much more powerful than Gray's."

"Of course!"

Chapter 8 How to Use Word Magic

Although Kira didn't know what he was thinking, he could sense the envy and admiration in Loki's voice.

"Huh? I can't pretend I didn't hear that! You want to try out the power of Ice Form?"

Kira, who loves peace, couldn't bear to see his two good friends fight, so he immediately tried to mediate: "Gray, don't be angry. Rocky is just a straightforward person who likes to speak his mind. Don't take it too seriously!"

Does this look like you're trying to mediate a fight?

Gray's expression turned somewhat grim: "What? You also think the Ice Form is weak?"

“Ice, well, it will always melt.” Kira didn’t give a direct answer, but simply stated a physical phenomenon.

"Can the things you make last forever?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Of course you have to clean things up after you're done using them. Keeping them around will consume magic power. Hmm... ice doesn't seem to have that problem because it's disposable, which is better in that respect, but it also means more magic power will be consumed... Hmm, all things considered, my shaping magic is still stronger!"

Gray, being no match for Kira, could only remain silent in response.

The group boarded the ship and headed towards Galna Island.

On the ship, Rocky couldn't help but say, "Speaking of which, I've always been curious about your magic; it seems quite special."

Upon hearing this, even Cana and Gray looked at Rocky.

They had known for a long time that Kira's Word Magic was a type of text magic, but it was different from Levy's Cubist script and the spell script of Fred from the Thunder Clan. It was a kind of magic that could "shape text".

However, using words to create shapes is just too peculiar.

"What's so special about it? Shape magic is incredibly diverse. Not to mention using words, I even know of magic that can create shapes from memory!"

“That’s right! Shape magic is the most free magic!” Unlike the other two, Gray immediately thought of his master’s words and loudly agreed.

The three of them, Gray and his master, all use ice-shaped magic, but the types of magic differ: Uru's shape is a plant; Leon's shape is an animal representing 'movement'; and Gray's shape is a weapon representing 'stillness'.

"Furthermore, shaping is just one way of using Word Magic. Hmm... Come to think of it, I think it's more like a form of representational magic than shaping."

"Concrete representation? What kind of magic is that?"

"That's a more mysterious, ancient, and complex kind of magic, a type of lost magic."

"Oh, the memory creation I just mentioned is also a type of lost magic. It can create things from the user's memories, including magic, and can even combine magic. It's practically the most powerful type of creation magic!"

"My ice form is also very strong!"

Kira shook his head: "With elemental forms, you'll still be limited by elemental weaknesses. If you encounter a mage with a bad match, you'll suffer a great loss. If your own magic power and physical attributes are inferior to your opponent, it will be even worse."

"You bastard, after all that talk, aren't you just trying to say that your strength is far more than that?"

"Oh my, Kana is so clever!"

"You jerk, you're asking for it by saying something like that!"

With a hint of pride in his expression, Kira said, "Think about it carefully. Why can I create so many magical items with special functions? Even if my talent in magic is unmatched, it's impossible for me to be exceptionally talented in forging as well. Even if I were, where would I find the time to practice forging when I spend most of my time cultivating magic?"

"This must be related to my magic!"

Kana rolled her eyes: "Huh? I've never seen you practice magic!"

"To be honest, I've always been curious about how you created those magical items."

"Does that mean all your magical artifacts are materialized?"

“How could that be? If that were the case, it would be discovered very quickly,” Kira patted the sailboat beneath him. “Besides, as I just said, things made with magic will eventually disappear if they don’t maintain their magical power.”

"What exactly is it...?"

"Alright, alright, stop guessing. Don't worry, this mission will open your eyes to the world."

With a "bang," the sailboat docked at the shore.

Time always flies when you're on the go, and the sound of cards being played on the small sailboat suddenly stopped.

Kira stood up, stretched, and called to the three people with stickers all over their faces: "That's enough, that's enough. The ship's docked. Let's go, let's go, let's do a mission."

"Hey, you're not going to cheat! You clearly lost, so hurry up and stick it on..."

But how could such words possibly leave Kira, who had a mission in his heart, unsaid?

"Nonsense, we're on a mission right now! How can we be thinking about playing around?"

Kira spoke with righteous indignation, then nimbly broke free from the three men's encirclement, turned around, and jumped off the ship.

With one burst of energy, the soles of the shoes became silky smooth.

"That guy, he was the one who suggested playing cards first! But he's denying it now that he's lost!"

Seeing that Kira was about to undo the spell, the three had no choice but to stop playing around and get off the ship.

"To be honest, I don't even know what the mission is."

"Me too."

"Huh? Didn't you guys see it yesterday? The curse was lifted."

Kira was speechless. These guys were only focused on completing the S-rank mission, and they didn't even know what the mission entailed before coming along? No wonder they're from Fairy Tail, they're just so carefree.

"Remove the curse? How do you do that? Can you do that with your word magic?"

"Who knows? But in the end, the 'curse' is just what the island's residents say. As an S-class mage, I can't be misled by these one-sided claims. We'll have to wait and see what the situation is."

"You all follow me and watch closely as an S-rank mage performs a mission!"

Following the directions on the map, the three of them walked through the woods on the outside of the island and arrived at the village of the island's inhabitants.

As Kira traveled along, he found it no wonder that Galna Island was ignored by the Council of Judges. The reason for this was its living environment, which seemed to be still in a primitive society.

The walls built of wooden stakes, the watchtowers only three or four stories high, and the simple, primitive weapons carried by the guards made of just wooden sticks and stones all demonstrate the island's technological backwardness.

It's important to understand that in both the Kingdom of Fiore and other countries in Ishgar, magic and technology developed side by side, with neither lagging behind.

Of course, the technology here is based on magic.

Take magic crystals for example. There are different types of magic crystals on the mainland. For instance, there are those for lighting, which can be found everywhere on the streets, like streetlights; and there are those for recording images, which are used by reporters in monthly magazines and other companies...

Magic crystals are arguably the cheapest and most common magical items on the continent. This means that although technology and magic are closely linked in this world, in terms of development, it is definitely not inferior to technological societies.

Even with advanced technology, there are still weapons like magical spirits and Fiss in this world.

From this perspective, the technology on Galna Island is at least three hundred years behind.

Chapter 9 The Curse of Galna Island

Who are you?

The guard noticed Kira and his group approaching and asked a question.

Kira stepped forward and replied, "We are mages from Fairy Tail, here to complete a mission."

Guard A turned to his companion and asked, "Is that true?"

"It seems there was a mention that someone from a magic guild was coming."

"Show us your guild crest."

This is something that happens to almost every mission, so the group wasn't surprised and immediately revealed their respective guild crests.

Kira took off his coat, revealing a black guild crest representing Fairy Tail etched on his left arm.

Kira didn't really like tattoos, but that's how the world is. The crests of the magic guild represent one's identity, and he could only do as the Romans do. Over time, he got used to it.

In fact, there was another reason why Kira didn't mind getting the crest engraved: Kira vaguely remembered that the guild crest was a kind of magic buff, with the magic of Mavis, the first guild master of Fairy Tail. He forgot the specific effects, but in general, it was like having a cheat code.

If you can use cheats, then of course you don't mind. After all, who would complain about having too many cheats?

After confirming the visitors' identities, the guards opened the gate and let them in, then led them to the village chief.

Everyone, including the village chief, was dressed in clothes that resembled those of some backward tribe. Only the village chief wore a cloak that looked slightly more noble, made of some kind of wild animal hide.

The village chief was a short, long-eared old man who carried a scepter with a crescent-shaped top. When he saw Kira and his companions who had come to resolve the curse, a warm smile appeared on his face.

"We've finally waited for you all to arrive, fellow magicians."

The elderly village chief showed the group the current situation and slowly said, "As you can see, every creature on this island, from dogs to birds, has been afflicted. We are all bound by this curse."

Gray offered his perspective: "Why call it a curse? Haven't you considered that it might be a disease?"

The village chief replied, "We have consulted dozens of doctors to diagnose us, but their conclusion is that they have never seen a similar disease before. Moreover, our physical mutations are related to the magic of the moon."

"This island has been bathed in moonlight since ancient times, and the whole island has become bright and beautiful because of the moon. But a few years ago, the moon suddenly turned purple and emitted purple light."

Loki: "Purple light? Could it be light magic?"

"And when the Purple Moon appears, our appearance will be changed, turning us into ugly demons."

Gray seemed to realize something, his expression turning somewhat surprised: "You mean a demon?"

"Yes, and during the day, everyone reverts to their original state, but..."

Kana: "But?"

“Some of us couldn’t recover, and some even lost their minds, their hearts turning into demons. In the end, we had no choice but to harden our hearts and kill them.”

"Kill him? That's decisive!"

"That's right, if we can find a way, they should be able to reply!"

“There’s no other way. If we let it go unchecked, everyone will be killed by the monsters. Even if we lock them up in prison, they will break down the prison doors, including my son.”

"So I beg you, skilled magicians, to save this island and lift the curse on us. Otherwise, if this continues, everyone will have their souls stolen by demons."

The village elder became more and more agitated as he spoke, and in the end he couldn't help but burst into tears, prompting the surrounding villagers to come forward and comfort him.

"There is only one way to break our curse: destroy the moon!"

Gray: "Huh?!"