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CHAPTER START---
"What's the Job?!" Oberon floats out of his seat with excitement.
"Settle down," Gildarts glares at him, and he drops back into his seat opposite them.
"The job is to go to another country and collect the item. It should take you two weeks to get back to Magnolia, if you're quick about it."
"Another country? This thing must be really important."
"It seems like other organizations are also on the hunt for it, so this is effectively a race against other Wizards."
"I'm in!"
"Wait a minute," Gildarts interrupts his excitement. "These other Wizards could be strong, and willing to either kill or die for whatever reward they've been promised. Are you ready to go that far for this reward?"
Oberon falls silent for a moment, then looks at both men with a serious expression. "I just want to protect my new home. I don't want to kill anyone. But after what Acnologia did…I won't let anyone stop me from getting stronger."
Makarov nods. "I'll call and tell them you've accepted the Job, but you'll have to get the remaining details and special item from them in Crocus, leave immediately."
"Yes, Master," Oberon nods and flies out of the office, shutting the door behind him.
Gildarts crosses his arms and frowns. "This is why I hate that damn company. Willing to send kids to kill or die, just for a few coins. Disgusting people."
Makarov nods, then Gildarts turns to him.
"And why the hell didn't you block this Job, anyway?"
"Then they would have contacted him directly and made the offer. And him knowing I got in the way of such a reward would only put a wedge between us."
"He'd get over it."
"Maybe, or maybe not. But I'm not willing to take a chance with someone of his calibre. The world would be much darker if he turned away from the light, and a quick way to cause that is for the people he trusts to hinder his dreams."
"And what if he dies on this Job?"
"You and I both know he won't. He's too strong for most Wizards to kill, and the people on a job of this level probably don't have the tools to prevent his escape."
"And if he's forced to take a life? What then?"
Makarov is silent for a while, staring at the floor with a blank expression. "I hope it won't come to that. But that boy has already seen more than his fair share of death, it won't break him."
"It could change him."
"It will change him, it always does. But that is why we are here, to help him pull himself back together if he begins falling apart."
Gildarts sighs. "I hope you're right about this, Master."
---Minutes Later…
Soaring through the clouds at top speed, Oberon is already dressed, cards in his pouch, with a focused look on his face while staring at the train track below him.
Flying south-west from Magnolia, he follows the tracks to stop his target, eventually using his Telescopic Lens Spell to spot the noon train a few dozen miles ahead on the tracks.
"Finally," he smiles and begins his descent, maintaining his speed while closing in on the train and landing on the rear boarding ramp of the last cart.
A conductor steps out of the back door with a cigarette in hand, expecting the sound he heard to be his imagination.
Only to relax when he spots Oberon.
He glares at the boy. "I told you not to board while we're moving."
"I missed the train, it's a last-minute Job."
The man sighs and massages his temple. "Well, you have the annual pass, so it's fine. But we don't have any first-class cabins until we stop in Hargeon and let out some people."
The man flicks his cigarette off the train and gestures for the boy to follow him inside.
"Alright, just reserve one for me," Oberon says as he follows the man. "I'm only going to Crocus."
They walk through a few more train carts before arriving closer to the front of the train, getting Oberon a spot in one of the more deserted carts.
---Elsewhere…
Within the nation of Joya, halfway across the continent from Fiore, a woman sits up in bed, reading a report from her Master.
Using the dim bedroom lamp, she ignores her husband's snoring and focuses her eyes, carefully examining the words before shaking him awake.
"I'm up!" He springs up in the dark room, thrusts his hand forward, making a small blue barrier in front of him. "Huh?"
"We have a new mission from the boss."
He cancels the spell and turns to her. "Couldn't this wait until morning?"
"No, the courier just brought this document to me. One of the tablets may have been uncovered. We need to go get it."
"One of those, huh… are the other Treasure Hunter Guilds going after it?"
"And monasteries."
"Monastery? Aven?"
"Last I checked, that monster is busy dealing with some Wizard Saint business up north. So we need to go get this before he or the council gets their hands on it."
"What about his protégé?"
"Jura will likely be after it, but we can handle him."
The man hops out of bed and begins getting dressed. "Alright. Let's get started."
While the treasure hunters prepared and began their journey, a young man, seventeen years old and already bald, is training in the courtyard of a monastery hidden deep within the nation of Stella.
Wearing traditional robes while flanked by three men, he keeps his eyes closed and focuses his sense of Magic Energy.
The men charge him, enhancing their bodies with Magic Energy, but Jura Neekis stands strong.
He stomps the ground, sending a small quake through the courtyard with his Earth Magic to sense where they are.
He then leans away, avoiding a punch from one of the monks.
"Your Magic Energy is too erratic." Jura raises his hand, and a pillar of stone rises from the ground, striking the man in the side and sending him rolling across the floor.
The remaining two mean charge in. One materializes glowing silver chains and whips them at Jura while the last man fires a sharp jet of water at him.
"Too direct," Jura raises one finger and erects a wall around himself, blocking both attacks.
Within the wall, he drops to one knee and slams his palm on the ground, opening the earth beneath both men and dropping them into pits.
With a thought, he melds the wall back into the earth while rising to his feet, calling out to both men.
"If I wanted to crush you in there, I could."
Both mean climb out of the pits while the third catches his breath, rising to his feet.
"Your Magic is too strong, Brother Neekis," one of the men says.
"No. There is no such thing as too much strength. All our strength helps us preserve the past and protect the future. That is why I am so hard on all of you. So we can all grow stronger, together."
The three older men look at their junior in admiration, long having forgone any resentment or jealousy of his sheer talent.
They begin reviewing today's training session when a young boy in similar robes rushes into the courtyard carrying a letter in his hand.
"Brother Neekis!" They all turn to him. "Master Aven has sent an urgent message to you."
Jura takes the letter and rips it open, carefully reading every word before making a small flame in his hand and incinerating it.
"Is everything alright?"
"No," Jura says. "One of the tablets has emerged. We must go capture it immediately, no matter the cost."
The men look at each other, a sense of unease building.
"Will Master Aven be there?"
Jura shakes his head. "The Magic Council has summoned him somewhere to the north. A Wizard Saint is needed there. But for this, he is confident that we will be enough."
"We?"
Jura gives them a stern look. "Pack your things. While normally I support Master Aven on these missions. This time, you shall all be supporting me, and we will not fail him, understand?"
"Yes, Brother Neekis!" They say before rushing off the prepare for the journey.
Jura sighs and palms his face.
"Is something wrong?" the boy asks.
"They rushed off before knowing how to pack or where we'll be going." Jura sighs. "Something tells me this is going to be a long mission…"
END CHAPTER---
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