Chapter 12: ASS 12
~Part 1~
Most of the crowd dispersed after Mira left with Natsu, though a few stayed just in case the two came back, not willing to miss out on seeing a fight between two top-tier mages. Will stayed unmoving, just staring blankly and wondering how in the hell did everyone not only accept Natsu causing property damage but even cheered him on. His brain just couldn't comprehend that.
"Hey," a burly middle-aged man walked up to him. "What's that building made of?" He asked, pointing at Will's store.
"Wood," Will replied absentmindedly. "Though I paid for it to be enhanced and protected from harm."
"Ahhh, and how much did it cost ya?" The man asked, scratching his beard.
"5 million Jewels," Will replied, turning his attention to the man, noticing that he looked familiar.
"Wow!" the burly man whistled. "That's like... half my house."
"It's expensive, but everything valuable I own is inside it. If that fire-brained idiot had managed to burn it down, well, I might've had to end my business operation," Will answered, which wasn't technically the truth. He had enough store credits and Jewels to restart his business if it came down to that. However, Natsu would have killed all the profit he made in the past days, which didn't sit well with him.
"It was supposed to protect me from people that would want to cause harm to my business and not from idiotic wizards..." William grumbled, his tone showing his displeasure.
"So, uh, you expect people to sabotage you in a way, like, trying to burn down your building or something?" The man asked, a frown on his face as he fidgeted in concern.
"Someone already tried it once, sent a group of thugs in the middle of the night to break in," Will answered with a shrug.
"Like normal thugs and not wizards?" The man asked, now visibly anxious as he did.
"Yeah," Will nodded, wondering where this was going.
"Ohhh, that's not good," the burly man said, his hand grasping his mouth as he looked at the ground.
"Why, what's the problem?" Will asked, interested why the man was so concerned now.
"Well, the Magic Council pays back any damage caused by wizards with an added bonus for the inconvenience," the man said and pointed at the two-story building next to Will's. "For the broken and burned part of the wall there, they're gonna pay me enough Jewels to fix it and even renew it if I wanted to. But if the damage is caused by regular citizens, they won't pay me nothing."
Will nodded. This was where he recognized the burly man from; he was his neighbor, after all. He also remembered hearing about the Magic Council paying for any damage caused by wizards; very generous on their part if they didn't actually send the bills later to the guild the mages were from.
"You're worried that your home might get targeted due to my shop," Will said as he felt there was an opportunity for him there.
"Who wouldn't? Your store's been getting more and more famous by the day. The wife says she sees so many people go in and out of it as of late. And you opened like about a month ago! If people had already targeted you once, they might try again in the future," the man explained his concern.
"If you are that worried," Will had to resist rubbing his hands like a villain at that moment. "I might be willing to purchase the building from you for a fair price. 10 million Jewels should sound fine, what do you think?"
"Ohh, I don't know," the burly man said, but he looked interested.
"You can also keep the insurances from the Magic Council and all the stuff inside it," Will added, and the man's eyes lit up.
"LISA! Grab the kids and start packing! We're moving out!" The man yelled out without any hesitation.
"We still haven't been paid for the damages, Devin! We can't move out before that!" A woman, Lisa presumably, yelled from inside the house.
"He promised to let us keep that money and pay us for the house as well while letting us keep everything inside it!" Devin called out.
"I'm starting to pack!" The wife declared without hesitation.
"You don't need to rush," Will chuckled at their antics. "We still need to sign the paperwork and for me to pay you. You can also live in the house until you find a new home for yourself."
Devin placed a hand over his heart as his eyes widened. He opened his mouth a few times, but no words came out of it.
"I... I don't know what to say," he was touched by the generosity of his neighbor.
"You don't need to say anything. Just find a new... safer home for yourself, and we can discuss the deal for the building later on. Maybe over dinner?" Will replied.
"That sounds great. You can come over tonight and taste the killer rice with chicken that my wife makes!" Devin said before rushing towards his house. "LISA! Stop packing and grab the kids! We are going house shopping!"
Will nodded to himself, satisfied with getting another property under his name. He could move in the house once Devin and his wife left and then remodel his current building, mainly the second floor, so it could fit as many plants as possible.
"Hey," someone tapped him on his lower back. "I also want 10 million Jewels."
"I'm not a charity," Will replied as he turned around. 'I don't gain credits from donating money!'
Will spotted a short old man looking up at him. He wrinkled his nose as he held his hands behind his back.
"That's my building over there," the old man then pointed at a one-story rundown house that was on the other side of his shop.
Will had the money to purchase it, and he did want more property. That would allow him to farm even more ingredients without purchasing them with credits. However... "There's no way that's worth 10 million Jewels."
"6 million Jewels," the old man haggled.
"5 million, and you can keep everything inside it," Will tried to lower the price even more. The money he was offering was 50 000 when converted to USD. He thought that was a fair price, considering the place looked like a shack. Will was practically buying just the land underneath it with how bad it looked.
"5 million, and YOU can keep everything inside it," the old man replied, smiling proudly.
"How much trash do you have inside it?" Will asked before shaking his head. "Actually, don't answer that. I don't want to know."
"So?" The old man impatiently asked.
"Yeah, yeah, get the legal documents for it, and I will give you 5 million Jewels," Will answered, waving his hand. As it was, the building wasn't that worth it to him, but it was still another property added to his name. Plus, he could have it destroyed and build a new one in its place. He could use it to plant even more plants, or possibly something else in the future, depending on if he buys a new crafting skill or not.
"I'll be back!" The old man practically sprinted away, and as he promised, he returned shortly with the documents in hand.
After carefully reading the documents - checking each word for any harmful clauses - Will signed the paperwork and paid the old man. He was now the proud owner of another property, though that one would be a bit useless for the time being. Nevertheless, that was a future investment he was sure would pay off in due time.
Now, having some free time, Will opened his system store and made a big purchase, the next Alchemy tome.
"I'm fairly sure I bought a book," he muttered as he stared at the object that fell with a loud thud. "So, why am I looking at a stack of bricks?"
The Alchemy tome could be described with one word, big. It looked like one of those meme guides on women's logic that he had seen on the internet. The tome had over 10 000 pages, and it would take him days just to read through it normally.
"Good thing I bought those glasses," Will was definitely pleased with his impulsive purchase at that moment as he went to grab his Gale-Force Reading Glasses. They weren't the best on the market, but they would reduce his reading time by a lot.
"Let's see what we got here," he settled down on the couch in his living room and got to studying. A smirk danced on his face as he activated what was becoming his favorite magic, Super Archive. With it in play, he would need to read through the humongous book only once before memorizing it completely.
The tome was separated into a few chapters, and the first one focused on how to improve the inferior potions from the beginner's guide. One of the ways was to replace some of the ingredients with more powerful and exotic ones. That was very costly and not worth it since those exotic ingredients had other more valuable uses.
The cheaper and easier way to upgrade the inferior potions to a standard grade was by improving what the ingredients were brewed in. So far, William had been using regular water, but he would have to replace that with any Etherano rich reagent if he wanted to make better potions.
The tome had informed him of numerous different ones that could do the job, from peculiar types of water found in the wild to the blood of magically powerful creatures. Most of those would be hard to obtain, but one of them caught his eyes, water melted from Hakobe Ice.
The Hakobe Ice was a very famous and rare type of ice only found, as its name suggested, in Mt. Hakobe, which was situated near Magnolia Town. From what he heard, the ice contains numerous magical characteristics, one of them being that it could never be melted.
Obviously, that wasn't the case since the book he was reading suggested otherwise. The Hakobe Ice couldn't be melted with fire, but there was a different way to do the job. You just had to be creative when dealing with the magical ice. Another problem with the Hakobe Ice was it couldn't be harvested the usual way as you needed a magic-induced pen to cut it.
"I might need to make a trip to Mt. Hakobe," Will muttered. Placing a job request for someone to harvest the ice would cost him a lot. Plus, he might also need to provide them with the magic-induced pen, so that would raise the price even more. It would be cheaper and easier if he does it himself.
However, there were problems with that as well. Mt. Hakobe was a pretty dangerous place for someone like Will, as Vulcans were known to dwell there. And he didn't have a way of dealing with the magical apes that could use Take Over Magic. If he went alone, he was bound to be dominated by one of them.
"Maybe I can go with Erza there like on a date? She might enjoy it," he considered making the trip something like a date with Erza. She would probably have a much better time than him, but it was the thought that counted. He also had another date planned for her, but both would have to wait until she returned.
Busy reading, Will almost missed the knocking on his door. Thankfully, Devin was persistent enough, and his stomach felt the need to growl at that moment.
"How ya doing, man?" Devin happily greeted him as he opened the door.
"I'm okay. Was busy reading," Will replied. "And how are you? I'm assuming you found a nice place with how happy you look."
"I sure did!" Devin grinned at him. "A nice two-story house that's close to my workplace. The kids loved it since it had a big backyard, and the wife approved of it as well."
"That's good to hear," Will said as they entered Devin's house. Lisa, a pretty middle-aged woman, and a boy and a girl greeted him inside.
After being led to the dining room, they sat down and discussed some details about their deal. As promised, Will gave them as much time as they needed to move and confirmed that they could get the insurance money from the Magic Council.
With both parties satisfied, they started eating the dinner prepared by Lisa. Will had to admit that Devin was right; she really did make a killer rice with chicken. That did remind him that he promised Erza to learn how to bake strawberry cakes for her, and that he should probably start working on that promise.
After the tasty dinner with Devin and his family, Will returned home. He opened his system store and bought a Cooking guide for beginners, which cost him only 100 credits. Most of the time, Will ate at home, just making himself something simple. He figured he could at least enjoy the meals he cooked while also keeping his promise to Erza.
"Bah, since I'm already spending credits, I might as well grab this too. Make sure I welcome Erza back with a big surprise when she returns," he muttered as he spent another 150 credits, this time for a personal skill.
With Super Archive and the Gale-Force Reading Glasses, Will read and memorized both books by the end of the night. However, only the Cooking skill appeared under his crafting section.
"It seems I need some practice for the other, huh?" Will frowned as he looked at the empty area under his personal skills. "Hopefully, some practice would be enough to generate it."
During the entire weekend, Will barely left his home as he focused on studying the tome and brewing potions. A few Twilight Ogre members came to visit, bringing him a bunch of ingredients as they did.
He even got to work on his newly acquired skill by making them some quick meals, which they greatly appreciated, promising to return with more ingredients the next time. At this point, he didn't know if they were doing the jobs for the money or for the free food he was offering.
Mira also visited him, and she brought some ingredients as well. From what he learned, some of the kids in Fairy Tail had gathered them since they were one of the easier jobs. She stayed for some time and tasted his cooking.
Mira was apparently a very good cook and happily gave him some tips, even helped him cook a meal one time. She stayed longer than the Twilight Ogre members, but they also discussed his potions for a bit as she tried to learn more about her future job.
Monday came around, and William was ecstatic. Word had spread about him to different towns - the various wizards that recently purchased his potions had helped with that - and he received not one but two contract offers. Both of them came from crafters from different cities that were impressed with his potions.
He was already making up all those credits he spent in the past few days with those deals. The crafter from Clover Town made a deal for 700 Magic Potions and 500 Magic Regeneration Potions a month, which was almost 8 million Jewels in price. Will just had to prepare the products, and the man would send someone to pick them up at the established date.
As for the crafter from Carnation Town, well, they were fleshing out the details, but he wanted a lot more. Innuk Clangiss was apparently the Guildmaster of a Crafting Guild based in that city. He wanted Will to supply all the crafters that were part of it, and it was a huge deal.
Innuk was haggling for every penny, but Will was adamant about not lowering the price. The last time he did that, people tried taking advantage of him, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
Try as he might, Innuk couldn't lower the price, so he had to settle with what he was offered. After all, Will's shop was the only place he could purchase those potions from.
"So that would be 3 000 Magic Potions and 1 600 Magic Regeneration Potions per month," Will licked his lips as he read through the contract one more time, making sure there were no fishy clauses he had missed. "And you will arrange someone to pick them from my store."
"Yes, yes, they will come with my signature," Innuk, a plump man that was dressed in ordinary clothes despite how rich he was supposed to be, nodded with a small frown. He looked a bit unhappy with the deal, but there wasn't much he could do about it.
"And the down payment for the deal?" Will asked before signing the contract. He was starting to realize exactly how much power he held by being the sole business that produced those miraculous potions.
"I have it here," Innuk placed the money on the counter. "15 250 000 Jewels, 50% of the total cost of the products."
"Good, good, good," Will repeated as he signed the deal and pocketed the money, seeing his credit count increase by 762. With the 193 he earned from the previous contact, that made it a total of 955 credits. He got that much in just a single day, and it felt so good.
"Pleasure doi-" Will's words got interrupted as the earth began shaking as if an earthquake was happening. However, that wasn't the case as after a large clicking sound was heard, his store shifted to the side before it was raised high in the air.
Looking out of the window, Will saw that all the buildings in town were going through the same process as they opened up a path leading directly to Fairy Tail.
"So Gildarts has returned, huh."
~Part 2
Gildarts Clive was a tall and imposing man with slicked shoulder-length orange hair and a stubbly beard. A long, black, high-collared, and tattered cloak with shoulder plates covered his body. Step by step, he got closer to the guild, Makarov walking right beside him, barely reaching his waist.
"The guild... looks different," Gildarts noted as they reached the Fairy Tail building.
"Eh, it's been rebuilt a few times since you left," Makarov shrugged. The building was usually redone once or twice a year, maybe more, depending on the circumstances.
"Brawls that got out of hand?" Gildarts asked, looking down at the gremlin with a smirk.
"You know it," Makarov chuckled.
"Ah, good times, good times," Gildarts said, closing his eyes and reminiscing about the past.
"Don't you dare start any brawls! You are not allowed to fight in the guild!" Makarov sternly ordered with a pointed finger.
Gildarts' magic, Crush, was perfect for destroying things. It was able to smash anything into pieces, including other types of magic. During his entire life, there had been only one instance where Crush had failed him.
The black dragon he faced, Acnologia, was a fearsome monster, a true apex predator. Even a full-powered attack by Gildarts had failed to injure the beast. The only thing he achieved with it was to make the dragon interested in him.
He still wondered why Acnologia didn't finish him off. The dragon absolutely dominated him just by releasing his magic power. Then proceeded to destroy him with a couple simple attacks. Afterward, Acnologia just left him bleeding and dying, and Gildarts could swear he heard the dragon muttering something about a worthy opponent.
Only his tenacity and willpower saved him that day. After he managed to bandage his wounds with his one arm, he crawled for days till he reached the nearest settlement. There, Gildarts contacted Makarov through a Communication Lacrima and informed him of the failed mission before asking for some assistance.
Unfortunately, the old man could only try to find doctors and someone who could provide him with prosthetics. It's not like there were known ways to restore someone's limbs. That's what Gildarts believed until Makarov personally arrived, bringing with him a miraculous medicine.
He gulped the entire flask with no questions asked. The fact that it could heal him was the only thing he needed to know. Oh, how wrong Gildarts was because he was not prepared for the torture that followed. The pain was even worse than the one he felt after Acnologia was done with him. Then again, his adrenaline was running high back then, so that had lessened it for him.
Gildarts pursed his lips and wrinkled his nose at that memory. Pain, he could deal with, but... his thoughts got interrupted as they entered the guild and were welcomed by the cheering members, all of them glad to see their Ace and Guild Master returning.
It felt good to be back.
"Welcome back, Master," a white-haired beauty greeted Makarov from behind the bar.
Gildarts had to squint his eyes and blink a few times before recognizing her as Mirajane. She had grown into an incredible woman while he was gone. Sadly, she was just a bit too young for him as she was half his age. Such a shame.
"Hopefully, everything has been alright while I was gone," Makarov said with a nervous chuckle. "It has, right?"
"Well..." Mira giggled pleasantly.
"Mira, please, I just got back," Makarov pleaded, tears streaming down his eyes. "Don't do this to me!"
"There's a mountain-sized stack of papers awaiting you in your office. Half of those are from the Magic Council. They didn't seem very happy from what I glimpsed," Mira continued with a warm smile as she delivered a fatal blow to the Guild Master.
"Gildarts," Makarov turned to him. "Have you thought about my offer of becoming the next Guild Master?"
"Not a chance," Gildarts replied as he sat down on a stool very carefully, doing his best not to break it. He liked traveling, adventuring, and, of course, meeting women. Becoming Guild Master would be counterproductive to his desires.
"Also, I won't be working at the bar after today," Mira then delivered an even deadlier attack.
"But why?" Makarov asked, looking devastated by the news. "Is it the pay? I know you don't get as much as your modeling, but... maybe we can increase it a bit?"
"It's not the pay," Mira shook her head, her short, upward ponytail swaying left and right with the movement. "I will be working for Will from now on."
Makarov's lips trembled, betrayal clearly written on his face. "Robs me of my money, then proceeds to steal the girls one by one..." he muttered under his nose.
"That the guy that gave you the... Elixir, was it?" Gildarts asked.
"That's him," Makarov grumbled.
"Huh-" Whatever he was about to reply got dwarfed by the yell that followed.
"GILDARTS!" Natsu barged in, his body covered in bandages. Despite his injured state, he didn't hesitate to fly at Gildarts with flaming fists. Of course, the result of that was obvious, as Natsu was bitch-slapped away, Guildarts not even standing up from his seat.
"What happened to him?" Makarov asked, knowing there weren't a lot of people that could injure Natsu like that.
"Oh, he was causing trouble, so I taught him a lesson," Mira replied, her kind smile never leaving her face.
"You did?" Makarov questioned while Natsu rushed at Gildarts once more. The outcome, however, was still the same, and he got sent flying back, crashing into some guild members. Which resulted in them starting a mini-brawl, though they made sure to stay away from three powerhouses at the bar.
"Mhm," Mira nodded as she served both of them a drink. They hadn't asked, but they surely didn't refuse it.
"That's good, I guess," Makarov said, unsure of how he felt about Will. On the one hand, he was helping the guild in many ways. On the other, he was stealing the girls and robbing him blind. Should he punch Will next time he sees him, or should he greet him cheerfully? Makarov was having a hard time deciding.
"Why is Natsu still injured? I remember you mentioned that you got a few of those Health Potions? Could've given him one of them," Makarov said idly.
"I did," Mira happily nodded and continued with her gentle smile. "I gave him one every hour, but for some reason, he happened to need another after that, and I ran out of Health Potions."
"Ah, well," Makarov sighed. "Hope you had fun."
"I sure did," Mira replied with a wink.
Will had a lot to purchase in the afternoon. The Alchemy tome had even more ingredients, but not all of them were useful for potions. He felt giddy with excitement about the new products he would soon be selling, and they were incense sticks, oils, and salves.
Salves, also called ointments, were basically potions in paste form. Though they did have more specialized effects and were easier and safer to carry than glass bottles. After all, if one went into a fight while carrying a potion, chances were it would end up breaking unless they had a convenient magic like Requip. However, most salves had weaker effects than potions, and they also took longer to heal/treat than them.
Oils were substances that someone could apply to their equipment or even themselves, giving them fascinating bonuses for a duration. One that caught Will's eye was a Fire Resistance Oil. Coating himself and his equipment with that before going off to fight Natsu seemed like a good idea. Until he realized the Dragon Slayer could still easily beat him due to his superior physique. Nevertheless, oils were undoubtedly useful.
And finally, incense sticks, the product that intrigued him the most despite having the weakest effect of the three, though they did last for the longest time. The simple ones gave off a smell that induced calmness, sleepiness, or even horniness, but there were two more that made him salivate.
Incense sticks that increased the rate at which his magic power and body grew while under their effect. It wasn't much, marginal at best, but it was better than nothing. He could just light one up when he works on his magic, be it Archive or Requip, and it would provide him with a permanent boost.
As disappointed as he was that he didn't find any other recipes that gave permanent effects like those, he didn't complain... too much. Those two were still better than nothing, and they would help solve his major weakness of being, well, weak. He'd still have to work hard, though.
If Will used only those incense sticks and nothing else until the start of canon, he assumed he would be stronger than Lucy, and she managed to survive through all the events. Then again, she was a main character, so she had that going for herself.
Again, that was if Will only used those two incense sticks and didn't unlock more options with the next Alchemy level. And he knew for a fact that such medicine existed due to his shop. Will could purchase a few of them from the system store, but he was reluctant to use credits on a consumable, preferring to make them himself.
It was just a matter of time until he had the ability and resources to do so. He firmly believed in that.
With his pocket space full and multiple bags in each hand, Will walked back to his home. He was starting to run into the problem of not having enough ingredients to work with, even with him placing job requests at both guilds.
'Merchant Guilds do exist. Maybe I should contact one and see what they could offer me,' he mused on the way back. 'Come to think of it, Lucy's father should be part of one. If I form a connection with him, I might be able to prevent him from placing a job request with Phantom Lord in the future. Hmm.'
Will's musing was cut short as he reached his home, spotting two men waiting for him outside, one short and one very tall.
"Hey, brat," Makarov grinned as he saw him.
"So, you're the one that sold the old man the Elixir, huh?" Gildarts popped his knuckles, dread building up inside Will from the popping sound.
"I don't know who you are talking about," he firmly denied.
"I have a bone to pick with you," Gildarts stepped closer. "Pain? I could deal with that, especially if given a warning," he scowled as he continued. "But I screamed like a little girl and shat myself due to your Elixir, missing any chance I had with the pretty healer! Betty kept laughing at me every time I tried to hit on her after that!"
Gildarts wasn't angry because of the torturous pain; he was just unhappy he missed his chance with a pretty woman.
"You were nearly killed, and you still tried hitting on a woman?" Will asked in astonishment as he stepped back.
'Looks like Shanks, has a power similar to Sirzechs' Power of Destruction, and acts like Jiraya. What a weird amalgam he is.'
"Of course," Gildarts declared as if that wasn't obvious. "And I missed my chance because of you!"
"Hey, old man, look, if you kill me, you will get labeled as a Dark Wizard by the Magic Council," Will quickly replied, still trying to distance himself from the destruction incarnate.
Gildarts stopped for a moment and leaned his head left and right as if trying to weigh his options. "I'll take my chances," he then said with a grin. Gildarts was only planning to rough Will up, but the shopkeeper was very much afraid for his life. After all, just one hit from Gildarts, and he'd be turned to particles.
"Hey, yo! You got healed because of me!" Will quickly said, making Fairy Tai's Ace falter for a brief moment, but he still continued on, a playful grin on his face.
"If you kill me, you might never figure out you have a kid, old man!" Will then added, mostly trying to prevent himself from being harmed. He wouldn't reveal who Gildarts' kid was since he didn't want to ruin their moment; he was just protecting himself.
That did the job as Gildarts paused, his eyes going wide. He leaned forward, looking at Will carefully, inspecting his hair and face.
"Oh, I..." Gildarts gaped before looking down thoughtfully. "Brown eyes, curly brown hair, and around twenty years of age. It could be Alicia, Alexa, Beatrice, Caroline, Cara, Diana..." on, and on he went, muttering names from A to Z.
"Do you remember every woman you've slept with?" Will asked, ignoring for a moment that Gildarts assumed he was his father.
"Of course! Down to the last detail!" Gildarts pumped his chest proudly before he deflated. "But look, kiddo, I'm... sorry? I guess, but you seem to be doing fine as it is... And, well, I don't know if I can be a good father... I..."
Will just stared at Gildarts dumbly while he mumbled on excuses. Even though he wasn't the man's son, he still felt offended. 'If I was a pretty girl, he'd be hugging me and telling me how much he loves me, but since I'm an adult male... Fucking double standards.'
Though his words did distract Gildarts, and he used that chance to quickly walk past him. "Is there something that you need? Cause I'm kind of busy and have work to do," he grumbled.
"Actually, we do," Makarov nodded and added. "It would be better if we talk inside."
"Fine," Will said as he unlocked the store and took a look at Gildarts, who still stood in the same spot, looking at the ground and mumbling to himself. "What about him? I don't want my building to be crushed due to him?"
"Hey, Gildarts, snap out of it," Makarov called out before leaning in towards Will. "Are you really his son?"
"No, but let him stew over it for some time," he replied with a snort, the gremlin chuckling in response.
Gildarts came over, fidgeting and looking awkward as hell.
"No breaking stuff!" Will said sternly, looking at the destructive wizard. Freed had done an amazing job with enhancing his building, but Gildarts was one of the few people that he didn't think would have any trouble breaking everything despite that.
"I'll try," Gildarts replied as they entered inside.
"Don't touch anything!" Will then ordered. "I just have to store this, and I will be right back with you."
Shortly after, he led them upstairs, where he was already slowly transferring his stuff over to his new home since Devin and his wife had already handed him the key and moved out of his newly purchased building.
"So, what's this about?" Will asked as they all sat in the living room, staring at Gildarts and making sure the man didn't break anything.
"Acnologia," Makarov stated, the atmosphere turning serious with his words. "You already mentioned the dragon by name. Do you know anything about it?"
There were many threats on Ishgar, but ones that Gildarts couldn't even injure? Makarov didn't think such a monster even existed before he learned of this dragon.
"Hmm, he shouldn't be a problem for now unless something out of the ordinary happens," Will mumbled with a hand on his chin, one finger tapping his cheek. "But as I told you last time, Acnologia is a threat that the entire Fairy Tail wouldn't be able to defeat even if you banded together."
"Okay, but can you tell us anything that could be helpful? Like, does he have weaknesses we could exploit?" Gildarts asked, now in serious mode.
"Look, Acnologia is an overpowered asshole, a complete cheat," Will told them, realizing at that moment how dangerous the dragon really was. Acnologia was quite literally the strongest being shown in the story. Zeref even stated the dragon could take over and rule the world if he so desired.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Both of them looked at him weirdly as Makarov asked.
"Let's start with a little backstory," Will said, shaking his head as he forgot that despite speaking the same language, they used different jargon.
"In the past, Acnologia was a simple human whose family was killed by dragons." Both stared at him with wide eyes at that reveal.
"That event led to him becoming one of the first Dragon Slayers. Those guys were split into two groups. One believed humans and dragons could coexist together, while the other wished to eradicate all the flying lizards. Acnologia was part of the latter group," Will paused for a moment before continuing.
"They fought, killed, and bathed in dragon blood as they slaughtered as many as they could. I'm unsure of the exact events, but at some point, Acnologia turned into a dragon due to overusing Dragon Slayer Magic."
"Wait, his magic turned him into a dragon?!" Makarov stopped him right there, his voice laced with concern.
"Yes, all first-generation Dragon Slayers - ones taught by a dragon - slowly transform into dragons the more they use their magic," Will explained, understanding Makarov's concern. "Natsu is like that as well, but you don't have to worry about him turning into a dragon."
"Why do you think so?" Makarov questioned, letting out a sigh of relief, but he still looked worried.
"Igneel made sure that wouldn't happen to him," Will answered simply.
"Ah, so the brat wasn't talking out of his ass," Gildarts nodded. Not many believed that Natsu's father was a dragon since dragons hadn't been spotted for hundreds of years.
"Yes, and it's a good thing Igneel did that since transforming into a dragon comes with side effects. I know of one that practically turned insane from the transformation and the new senses she acquired. Then again, she was betrayed and tortured for years before that, so maybe that had something to do with her insanity," he mumbled to himself the last part, thinking Irene's situation over. That also reminded him he had to talk with Erza about her mother. She deserved to know.
"Anyway," Will shook his head and continued his story. "After his transformation, Acnologia continued going after dragons. With each fight, he grew more powerful, to the point where he practically single-handedly annihilated the dragon race. A few did manage to survive, though. Like Igneel, for example, the one that taught Natsu."
"Cool history lesson, but you still haven't mentioned his weaknesses," Gildarts mumbled.
"Because Acnologia doesn't have any. You can only beat him if you somehow manage to overpower him, which is nigh impossible. Like most Dragon Slayers, he could eat an element to restore his energy. However, Acnologia is unique in a way as he could eat any type of magic," Will paused, letting that sink in.
"Plus, he is a dragon as well, so the only way to even overpower him is to use Dragon Slayer Magic or an even more powerful type of magic. Or maybe one could beat him with physical strength alone, but again, he is a dragon. How many beings are physically stronger than a dragon?"
Will was getting worried about his future as he spoke about Acnologia. If he somehow ended up messing things too much, would the final battle end up different? Would they all fail if he changed too many events?
"So, you're saying it's possible to defeat him," Gildarts just grinned at him.
Will wasn't sure if the man was trying to cheer him up or not, but he laughed out loud. Leave it to a Fairy Tail member to feel optimistic when presented with such a dire situation.
"Yes, yes, it is," Will said after calming down.
"What can we do to prepare?" Makarov then asked, looking very serious as he did.
"Well, just train hard and grow stronger." That was the easy answer.
"I could also provide quite a bit of support. Alchemy has quite a bit of options to help others grow, but I'd rather that not be advertised." He could reveal that much to them since he didn't think those two would go around spreading that information.
"Oh, no..." Makarov uttered after seeing Will's greedy expression. "I can already feel my money flying out of my wallet."
"What kind of options are you speaking about?" Gildarts asked, oblivious to how much the shopkeeper enjoyed getting money. After all, Jewels equaled credits.
"Well..."
The next day came along, and Will woke up a very happy man. He managed to earn himself a good number of credits after Gildarts and Makarov left.
Mira even came to visit him later to inform him she could start today, making him even happier. Though he was still slightly worried, unsure if he would receive credits if he wasn't the one selling his products. This would be a test run, but he hoped it would work out. Otherwise, the conversation afterward would be awkward.
After leaving his new home, Will was greeted by Mira and the two Twilight Ogre wizards that had come. Dird and Oxi both stared at him with admiration after seeing that Mira had really come to work for him; he had warned them of this possibly happening after all.
"Morning," Will greeted them.
"I usually prepare some coffee and breakfast, and I've made some for you as well, Mira. I forgot to ask you yesterday if you'd want or not," he then said.
"Oh, I'd love to see if your cooking has improved," Mira replied, smiling kindly.
After unlocking the store, Will took the food and coffee he had prepared from his pocket space. All three of them seemed satisfied, though Mira did give him a few tips on how to improve them. He then waited patiently for the first customers to arrive while crossing his fingers and hoping for the best.
The door of his store was soon opened by a middle-aged lady, whose eyes almost popped out of her sockets after seeing the smiling Mira behind the counter. It took her a moment to get over her surprise before she asked for her desired potions.
Will stared intently at the screen he had mentally pulled over, trusting that Mira could handle herself without his help. After seeing that his credits increased despite him not selling it personally, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, I trust you can handle it on your own," he said to Mira. They've already talked about all the little things that she needed to know. Not like there were that many to begin with. "I'll be in the other room if you need any help."
"You can count on me," she replied with a wink.
Will entered his alchemy room and started working. He had contracts to fulfill and needed to brew more potions to sell as well. He even bought one more Alchemy Lab from his system store to increase his production rate since he desperately needed it at this point. Plus, Will also wanted to start making his new products from the second alchemy tome.
During the entire time, he kept his status screen open, looking at his steadily increasing credits. A smile played on his face as he enjoyed the sight since he could just focus on making potions and leave it to someone else to do the selling.
At first, his credits increased at a pretty standard pace. However, as the day went on, it suddenly spiked as he gained more and more, making him grin like a madman. Hiring Mira was turning out to be a wise decision on his part.
"Hey, Will," Mira opened the door as she called out to him.
"Yes?" He asked, checking his watch to confirm her shift hadn't ended yet.
"There's a reporter for Sorcerer Magazine that's asking for you. He's outside the store," Mira informed him before she returned back to her work.
"Huh," Will muttered as he cleaned himself a bit. He was honestly quite excited about that since he couldn't wait for his store to be advertised by the most popular publication in Ishgar.
~Part 3~
Will left his store, back straight and with a charming smile on his face. He spotted the reporter quite easily since that was the only person with a camera hanging from his neck. The reporter was dressed in fairly simple clothes, just a pair of jeans and a purple t-shirt, and had a notepad in his hands. However, the feature that set him apart was his blonde hair that was styled into an upright cone.
"Hello," Will walked up to him, giving him a friendly wave.
"Hi! I'm Jason from Sorcerer Magazine," he introduced himself before continuing excitedly. "You must be William, the owner of the new store that has been gaining popularity!"
"That's me," Will said, straightening his back even more and fixing his clothes as a smug smile formed on his face.
"Cool," Jason replied before leaning left and right, his eyes darting around as he searched for something.
"Um, where's Mirajane?" He then asked, his head tilted to the side.
"Still on her shift," Will replied, his right eye twitching as he bit his lip.
"I see, I see," Jason wrote down something on his notepad before asking. "Can she come out?"
"After she's done for the day," Will deadpanned. Mira was earning him a lot of credits at the moment, and there were plenty of customers inside the store waiting in line. Kicking them all out just didn't sit well with him. Especially not when they were paying customers.
"Nice!" Jason exclaimed before quietly smiling to himself without another word.
"Aren't you going to start the interview or?" Will asked, unsure how they were supposed to proceed since this was his first time being interviewed.
"Oh, I'd rather wait for Mirajane," Jason replied, still smiling to himself like an idiot.
"Fine," Will huffed and stormed back inside. As annoyed as he was, he did understand how someone like Mira was much more fascinating to interview than him. She was an S-class mage and the most famous model in Ishgar, after all.
"Is everything alright?" Mira asked after she handed over a potion to a customer as she saw him enter with a frown and make a beeline towards the alchemy room.
"He..." Will paused and shook his head. Lashing out at Mira would do him no good since she wasn't to blame. "He would prefer it if you were there as well," he continued with a softer tone.
"Oh," Mira pursed her lips.
"It's okay," Will quickly added, shooting her a smile. "We can do it after you finish your shift."
Mira giggled and beamed him a smile before turning towards the next customer in line.
"I'm sorry," Mira told him as she straightened his shirt and fixed his collar.
"You have nothing to apologize for; it's not your fault," Will replied, making her beam him a smile. "Ready to go?"
"Yes," she said, grabbing onto his arm as they left the building.
"COOL! Mirajane Strauss, the Demon of Fairy Tail and the most popular model on the continent!" Jason loudly exclaimed as he scribbled on his notepad.
"Hello again, Jason," Mira greeted him, quite familiar with the reporter that loved Fairy Tail and its members.
"Is working here a one-time thing for you or?" Jason started off, ignoring Will's presence for the moment, making the shopkeeper feel like nothing more than a prop.
"No, I will be working for Will from now on," Mira said as she patted him on the arm.
"It's quite enjoyable, really," she admitted after. The job wasn't hard, fairly simple even; she just needed to remember a few bits of information about the various potions. The pay was also good, excellent even considering it was just for half a shift. She would've felt uncomfortable taking that much money if she didn't know exactly how much Will earned for the day.
"So you won't be seen behind the counter in Fairy Tail's building from now on. I see, I see," Jason scribbled down notes.
"Probably not," Mira confirmed.
"Okay, okay, and is it true that you two are going out? I heard you've been spotted together going to a bar at night?" Jason asked, his eyes shining bright like a hawk that had just spotted its prey.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that we are going out," Mira giggled in response.
"Just two friends that went out for a drink," Will added, deciding to make his appearance known after having enough of being ignored.
Jason looked at them for a moment before nodding his head. "I get it now," he then said and winked at them.
"I don't think you do..." Will said, seeing the reporter write down something.
"And I heard another bit of juicy news. That you," Jason pointed at Will, "are actually in a relationship with Erza Scarlet, the Queen of Fairies, Titania! Is that true?!"
"Yes, it is," Will replied, smiling fondly. He was happy to confirm that, though it also reminded him how much he missed Erza. Hopefully, she will return soon.
"COOOL!" Jason exclaimed as he licked his lips.
"And how did that happen? How did you two meet? How did you win her over? What kind of girlfriend is she? Have you two done it?" He then proceeded to fire questions like a machine gun.
"That's... personal information that I don't believe should be published," Will replied, trying to convey his annoyance through his tone. He had assumed this interview was supposed to be about his store and not his personal life.
"Ah, I see, I see," Jason nodded. "Seems to be shy," he added to his notes.
"That..." Will wouldn't call himself shy, but he figured there was no point in arguing. "Whatever."
"And how does that come into play with your relationship?" Jason turned to Mira with his next question.
"My relationship with Erza or Will?" She asked him back, a grin on her face.
"Ohhhhh," Jason's entire body shook, his eyes opening wide as if he had just received a revelation. "Wow," he muttered as he wrote down on his notepad. He peeked at Will with admiration before scribbling even more things down.
"And-"
"Are you perhaps not interested in the store?" Will interrupted him, having had enough of that. "And the products that I sell?"
"Ah, yes, that," Jason nodded, adding something else to his notes before asking. "Is it true that you are a greedy, stone-hearted, money-grubber that doesn't care about your elders?"
"What?!" William asked loudly, his eyes opening wide. "Where did you get that from?"
"Him," Jason simply pointed at a short man that was sitting in front of his front door to his home. He was dressed in dirty clothes that covered him from head to toe and hid his appearance. In his hand, he held a cup which he dangled when people passed by him, asking them to spare some Jewels.
"Hey, you, old gremlin, stop spreading lies and get away from my property!" Will yelled. He knew of only one man that short, who would go around telling people something like that.
"Bahaha," he flung his head upwards and roared in laughter, the dirty and patched hat jumping up with his action and revealing him as Makarov. "I speak only the truth!"
"COOOL! Makarov Dreyar, Guild Master of Fairy Tail and one of the Ten Wizard Saints!" Jason yelled with stars in his eyes.
"Is this normal?" Will turned to Mira and mouthed quietly.
"Yes," she just giggled in response.
Will sighed and turned back to Makarov. "Really now? Only the truth, you say? Well, let's see if you will get any more favors from me, old man!"
"Hahaha, it's a favor only if you do it out of the good of your heart! You charge an astronomical price for everything! Can't call that a favor!" Makarov shouted with a pointed finger.
"Oh, come on! You didn't even pay for it the last time; Gildarts did!" Will yelled back at him.
"COOOL! Gildarts Clive, the Ace of Fairy Tail!" Jason's cry was ignored.
"And he only did that because he wanted to do something for his poor son!" Makarov burst out laughing as he fell to the ground, holding his stomach with both hands while tears fell from his eyes.
Will had planned on informing Gildarts that he wasn't actually his kid, but then the wizard pulled out the big stack of paper, and the shopkeeper suddenly forgot about that. The pile of Jewels made him stop thinking about anything else. Gildarts had so much money, he didn't even know what to do with it! And William, well, he was happy to take some of it off his hands.
Jason slowly turned towards Will, his body trembling and his breathing hard. He just stared at the shopkeeper for a long moment, his breathing growing heavier by the second.
"You... you... in a relationship with two S-class mages... son of Fairy Tail's Ace..." Jason quietly muttered to himself as he wrote everything down.
"No, no, just with Erza, and Gildarts isn't my father!" Will was quick to correct him.
"Embarrassed and shy," Jason, however, was in a world of his own, interpreting his words in his own way. "Probably doesn't wish to make use of their fame? Wants to succeed on his own?"
"Wow," Jason gasped and looked at Will with admiration.
"That's... not... what?" Will just blinked rapidly, trying to figure out how it led to this.
"Hahaha, my job is done!" Makarov simply laughed as he turned around, walking towards the direction of Fairy Tail with a skip in his step.
"The Master seems livelier than usual," Mira squeezed his arm, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"He definitely looks to be in a good mood," Will replied with a nervous chuckle, scratching his head with his free hand.
"Aha," Mira looked interested in what was going on, but she decided not to ask.
Finished scribing down whatever he was writing, Jason looked at Will, his entire body shaking with excitement. What followed was a series of questions asked so fast, one couldn't understand them unless they slowed down time.
Jason did calm himself after a few minutes of just rapidly talking and started interviewing Will earnestly. He was very interested in the shopkeeper's life - his past specifically - but Will avoided all of those questions. His excuse was that it was personal information he would prefer not to share.
Will was getting more comfortable with his life on Earthland as each day passed, and he was nearing the point where he might be okay with informing those close to him that he was from a different dimension. However, he saw no reason to publicize that information to everyone else.
They didn't need to know his history, plus the Magic Council might get very interested in him if they learned that. He was fine with them expressing interest in his products, but that's where he drew the line. It was better to keep the Magic Council at a distance since it was so easy to infiltrate. Their current chairman was a spy for Tartaros, after all.
As much as he acted like a fool, Jason wasn't stupid. He quickly got the hint that he wouldn't be getting any personal information about the shopkeeper's life, so he moved on to the next topic, namely his store.
Will was more than happy to speak about his products, detailing what every single one of his potions could do. The number of times Jason excitedly yelled "COOOL!" were uncountable, but he looked intrigued, and that's what mattered.
"The products you sell are miraculous and affordable, even by civilians! COOOL!" Jason scribbled on his notes.
"They are indeed effective; I can confirm that," Mira added helpfully.
"And those are just the ones currently available," Will said, grabbing Jason's attention. "I plan on introducing more potions in the near future, including a few entirely different products."
"COOOL! Would you share with the public what kind of products?" Jason asked, his eyes shining.
"Of course," Will nodded. "Some of the new products will be very helpful to wizards, but the rest are something the civilians will greatly enjoy."
"COOOL!"
"For the wizards, I have something called Oils. It's a type of liquid they can apply to both themselves or their equipment. Oils can provide both defensive and offensive effects. An example would be the Ice Resistance Oil, which does exactly as its name suggests, coating yourself or your equipment will increase your resistance to ice-cold temperatures for a duration," Will continued, undisturbed by the shout, already used to it.
"COOOOOOL!"
"For the civilians, I have special incense sticks. I will have ones that could produce a soothing smoke that calms those that inhale it and ones that induce a sleeping haze for those that have a hard time sleeping at night. Of course, there will also be ones that just have a nice smell to freshen your home."
"Mhm," Jason didn't seem that impressed, but he still wrote it down.
Will just shrugged seeing that. He wasn't planning on selling some of the more questionable incense sticks or the ones that could help with training. Those he would keep for personal use.
"And lastly, something that both wizards and civilians could enjoy, salves. Some of their effects would be similar to the potions I sell, though they would be slightly weaker and take a little bit more time. However, salves will be easier and safer to carry than potions since they wouldn't be in glass bottles. And they will have some more practical uses, such as freshening up your skin and making you look younger," Will added at the end, knowing that would catch the attention of all older women on the continent.
He was fully expecting his salves to become his best-selling product when that information got spread. Women on Earth were crazy about that, so he assumed they would act similarly here as well.
'No woman should be able to resist the opportunity to possibly look younger, right?'
"There will be a lot of new products like those coming soon, so I'd advise the people to come check out the store before they get sold out," Will finished with a wink.
"COOOL!"
The interview came to an end shortly after, and Jason left, leaving the two alone.
"You hadn't mentioned you will be selling beautifying products," Mira said, looking at him pointedly.
"I don't think others will be able to compete with you or Erza even with such products," he replied, rolling his eyes.
"Oh," Mira bit her lips and grinned. "Go on."
"No," Will just looked away.
"You're no fun," Mira stuck her tongue out before giving his arm a squeeze. "The interview took a bit longer than I thought, and I'm kind of hungry. Want to go grab something for lunch?"
"Sure," he replied as they went off to find a place to eat.
On the first day she started working for him, Mira doubled his usual income, netting him two million Jewels with ease. The second day, she earned just half a million more than the first, and from the third on, she got three million a day with no problem.
Mira's fame carried that much weight. People from all over the kingdom came just to confirm she was indeed working for him. Then they would buy something only to try to impress her in some way.
Will didn't even open the store in the afternoons as he initially planned since he ran out of potions to sell so often. The two alchemy labs helped a lot, and he even spent a few nights just making more, but the number of ingredients he had on hand was becoming a problem. He needed more, a lot more.
The entire second floor of the store was already filled with plants that he was growing, but even that wasn't enough. He needed more than just the ingredients for the Health and Magic Potions, after all.
With that in mind, Will wrote a letter and sent it to a Merchant Guild by the name of Love & Lucky, which was based in a nearby city. He hoped to get a response soon; otherwise, he'd have to go there personally, which would mean he won't be spending his valuable time making potions.
The Sorcerer Magazine was also released about three days after the interview, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.
"Who is the man that captured the hearts of Fairy Tail's Erza Scarlet and Mirajane Strauss? Introducing William, the son of Gildarts Clive!"
He speechlessly stared at the title for quite a while, unsure how he felt about it. It surely would help with his growing fame, but... wouldn't it just put a massive target on his back? Or would Gildarts' name serve to protect him?
Half of the article just talked about his relationships and how he was similar to his father, with Will being a womanizer. He felt the urge to cry at that. At least the second part focused on his shop and his products.
'Any publicity is good publicity.'
The days after the magazine was released, even more customers started arriving, increasing his profits even more. More than once, Will was forced to purchase large stacks of ingredients from his system store to guarantee he had enough potions to sell. His new products were even delayed due to the amount of work he had on his hands.
A few days after the release of the magazine, something extraordinary happened. Will was in his alchemy room, working hard to satisfy the large influx of customers when a blue screen popped in his face.
[Congratulations for earning 100 000 000 Jewels! The World Travelling function has now been unlocked, and you can travel to a different world, for a price, of course. As a reward, you are also being granted two three-day tickets to a random world!]
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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