20 Chapter 20 - An Unexpected Hunger.
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Don't forget to check the auxiliary chapter about Adam. It's like an info chapter.
Also, don't forget to check the author note at the end.
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[Adam POV]
Before I knew it, the week I had been given to prepare flew by and I found myself on a massive ship alongside the other participants and Master Makarov.
Gildarts was nowhere to be seen, but I had my reasons to believe he had set off to the island before all of us.
On the ship, the heat of the sun beat down on the deck without mercy and the rolling waves that pushed the ship forward slowly. Taking a deep breath, I sat on a bench at the stern, feeling the sweat trickle down my temples.
Yet, despite the discomfort, I closed my eyes in meditation, using the rhythm of the lapping sea to focus.
Eventually, after a few hours or so, that I mostly spent meditating I felt a sudden shift in the air. A strong pulse of raw yet somehow tamed Magic.
I opened my eyes and looked out towards the horizon, which was exactly where I had felt the sudden shift in the air originate. In the distance, I could begin to see the mountainous silhouette of Tenrou Island, illuminated by the golden shine of the morning light.
Even from afar, I could feel the amount of magic power within the island. It was impressive, and it was even more impressive that no one had tried to use the place for nefarious reasons so far.
"Tenrou island," Macao muttered.
"It's massive," Wakaba added, looking at the place in shock.
Then before the mutters could continue, Makarov's voice rose above the chatter, and all eyes turned to him. "Legend says Tenrou Island was once populated by fairies, though we may never know if that story is true or not." He said, his voice softening as he observed the captivated audience in front of him. "Now, my children, my Fairies, it's time to start this trial!"
Finally,
I inhaled deeply and the thrill of anticipation mixed with the smell of the sea filled my nose. As for my partner, she had her arms wrapped around herself and her eyes were wide with hesitation, nevertheless, I could see she was determined to push through it.
"The first round of your trial is simple," Makarov continued, pulling out a white paper fan with a bright red cherry blossom painted on it, before waving it in front of his face. "At the shore, you will all find three chests. Each one will have inside a map, with a list of objectives and locations you have to go. Needless to say, you can only pick one chest, so don't dawdle!"
At this, Macao's gaze locked with Wakaba's as he smiled, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Easy," he said confidently, "All we have to do is wait to get to the shore and the rest will fall into place."
Makarov's face lit up with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. His lips curved into a half-smile as he said, "What makes you think I'm taking you all to the shore?"
That's all I was waiting to hear.
In a single, smooth motion, I scooped up Lilia in my arms and leaped off the boat. Then before I could even touch the water, I vanished out of sight in a blur, using Shunpo, to soar through the air, reaching the shoreline in mere seconds.
"T-that was scary," Lilia's voice was barely audible as she spoke in a trembling whisper, her wide eyes darting around the place in a dazed manner.
Realizing I probably gave her the equivalent of two hundred roller coaster rides in less than two seconds, I offered her an apologetic smile. "It's not so bad the second time."
Lilia's lips curved into a faint smile, but before she could say something her stomach churned and she felt the bile rise in her throat.
I will remember this next time I take someone with me while using Shunpo.
I glanced over at Lilia, who was still recovering from the experience before I slowly made my way to the chests. Three large chests, each made of solid oak, sat side-by-side.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed there were some kind of intricate carvings on the lids of each chest, as well as the fact that each one was secured by an ancient-looking lock.
I looked at the chests for a brief moment, trying to pick one before mentally saying 'fuck it', deciding to let my decision be random to avoid wasting any more time.
Randomly picking the chest in the middle, I moved forward before gripping the lock, yanking it towards me, and quickly snapping the lock off with ease.
Inside the chest, there was a yellowed, rolled up map as Makarov had said, that I snatched up with a triumphant grin.
"Feeling better?" I asked Lilia, who gave a timid nod as her lips curled into a small smile.
Nodding at that, I opened the map to see where I had to go.
First Objective: The Library of a Lonely Fairy.
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Map at hand, and objective clear I started my journey.
As I walked deeper into the island, I would repeatedly glance at the map a few times to make sure we were headed in the right direction, before glancing over my shoulder to ensure Lilia was still following behind me.
Around us, the thick foliage of the island swallowed up the sunlight, leaving room for the cool breeze that rustled the branches around us as we strode further and further into the depths of the forest.
According to the map, and what I could make out from my surroundings the Library should be pretty near.
"Do you think the others have already arrived at the shore?" Lilia asked worryingly.
"Not yet," I replied, feeling both Macao's and Wakaba's magic power still making their way to the shore. They would arrive shortly though, in five minutes or so. "Don't worry though, they are pretty close."
Having said that, I silently focus on my surroundings in order to detect any abnormalities. If the Library belonged to Mavis as I expected, there were bound to be magical items inside the place, and if there were magical items, then there would be abnormalities to detect.
Unfortunately, it seemed there weren't any powerful artifacts to detect, and sadly sensing anything that small in terms of magic power within the vast sea of magic the island was constantly emitting was rather hard.
It needed a lot of concentration.
"W-what were you doing?" Lilia asked, a bit curious as she glanced at me.
"I was trying to locate the library by sensing the magical items I think there are inside, as they represent abnormalities in comparison to the raw nature of the magic the island emanates," I replied, continuing to walk while I explained. "Sadly, taking into consideration our location, I lack the skill necessary to locate such... small irregularities from the rest."
"Ohh, I see," Lilia said, before pausing for a moment. "That sounds complicated."
"It is, though to be fair, I'm not particularly good at sensing, at least not as good as I would like to be," I replied, taking a brief pause to look at the map. "That being said, if the trial had been in any other place, I would've been able to find the library with ease, the main problem here is that the entire place is filled with magical energy, so it was hard to pinpoint anything if said thing or person doesn't emit a sufficient amount of power to stand out."
Without another word, we continued walking forward.
As we walked deeper and deeper into the forest, the darkness of the foliage swallowed us up as the path narrowed between trees and vines. When the path finally widened again, we came upon a scene straight out of a storybook.
We had finally found the place.
The library entrance was crafted from huge stones, each of them carved with intricate designs and creeping with greenery.
Climbing down the many steps behind the stone entrance, I came upon a pair of large oak doors, with patterns of leaves and fairies carved into them.
"T-this is the place?" Lilia asked as she glanced at me.
"Looks like it," I nodded, before reaching for the door handle. It was cool to the touch as I slowly pushed the door open.
On the other side of the door, the sight that greeted me was remarkable; shelves filled with books of all shapes and sizes seemed to stretch on forever into the far recesses of the room, as well as the smell of aged paper and leather filling my nostrils.
I had found the library, now what?
Opening the map, I looked over the objective list.
Second Objective: Find the book named The Tale of a Fairy.
So my next objective was to find a single book amongst thousands, in a library that from what I could see had nothing even remotely similar to the Dewey Decimal Classification System.
Great, fucking great.
Finding the book could take me hours, and I was being generous with that timeframe!
Taking a deep breath, I turned to Lilia, to see her run her thumb across the spine of a book nearby her, muttering the title under her breath. "The Tale of a Fairy."
I...
I.. wow.
Thank you Jesus?
Surprised by this turn of events, I leaned forward and looked over my companion's shoulder to get a better look at the book they were holding. "Let me see that," I said, my fingers stretching out to take hold of it as I checked to make sure it was the right one I needed for the quest.
And it was.
Holy fucking luck.
If I was ever destined to win a hefty casino jackpot, I lost that chance today, I mean, I had just used a big chunk of my luck with this shit. Then again, it was Lilia who found it.
On that note, that alone had justified the fact I had decided to take a partner.
I smiled at her and clasped my hands around the book. "You have no idea how much I love you right now."
"T-thanks?" Lilia stammered in a timid yet confused demeanor.
"Now that that's out of the way, what's next," I said, opening the map to check the next objective.
Third Objective: Face Fairy Tail's Ace, Gildarts Clive at the mountain's peak.
I sighed.
Yep, my luck ran out with the book.
All jokes aside though, I wasn't angry with this development. Not at all.
Even if victory was an impossibility at my table, I was more than excited by the idea of facing Gildarts.
I was fucking thrilled!
The corners of my mouth twitched up, my reiatsu surging and rippling outward wildly shattering the ground around me under the sheer pressure before I forced it down, to avoid hurting Lilia.
Turning to face my companion, I saw her shaking, a single gasp escaping her lips as she clutched to the edge of the table nearby her for balance.
"I'm sorry," I apologized. For a moment there I got too excited.
"Y-you're stronger than I-" Lilia stammered, having trouble finishing her sentence. "Than I imagined, I almost fainted."
That will be a problem, if she almost fainted with that, then I can't imagine what will happen once I let it all out against Gildarts. It might be best if she stays here to avoid getting hurt.
I took a deep, steadying breath and met Lilia's wide, hazel eyes. "Lilia, you've been of tremendous help," I said, trying to word what I wanted to say as best as possible, "but I think it's best if you stay here at the library. I can't, in good conscience, let you come with me further. If my earlier blunder pressed you so deeply that you almost fainted, then I can't risk that happening again, especially considering I have yet to release the full extent of my power."
"I-it's alright," Lilia stammered, her face flushed with a soft pink. "You're right, I probably won't be much help to you further in, so it's best I stay here." She took a deep breath and continued. "Y-you're going to face Gildarts right?"
I nodded, that was impressively perceptive of her seeing I hadn't told her what was the next objective.
"In that case, good luck," Lilia added, smiling at me in an awkward manner that showed she was trying to be supportive.
Waving goodbye, I hastily exited the library and made my way up to the mountain, blurring across the dense foliage, all while using Gildarts' magic power, which was easy to pinpoint, to navigate through the place.
Taking a deep breath in as I neared my location, I felt my reiatsu surge once more, running wild throughout the jungle.
I feel the ground beneath me crack more and more with each step I took toward my destination, showing my spiritual pressure was out of control, be that as it may, I didn't care at this moment.
I was going to meet Gildarts Clive.
And for some reason, that alone had me feeling nothing but an undeniable thrill!
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[Gildarts Clive POV]
The air grew heavy as the brat drew near, his magical energy rippling like a wild beast around. I could feel his excitement, the sheer intensity of his battle lust, and more.
The corner of my lips twitched upwards, slowly turning into a feral grin. Before letting out a rush of magical power burst out of me, threatening to overpower him.
I had no doubts the brat would surpass me one day, sooner than later. But today, today my job was to humble him down, to make him understand that no matter how strong you think you are, there will always be a bigger fish waiting out there.
Not that the brat needed to learn that lesson, to begin with.
I knew he knew he would lose today.
This show of power the brat was giving wasn't something that had been born out of pride, or lack of awareness, no, on the contrary, this which I was feeling from the top of this mountain had been born out of the desire for a good fight.
"You want a fight, brat?" I grinned brazenly as I felt him approach my location more and more. "I will give one!"
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Author Note: This chapter will be the start of a sub-plot in case anyone was wondering. To elaborate without going into too much detail, the sub-plot deals with Adam's change in behavior here and there without giving much of a reason.
Why does this happen? That's for you to figure out, or wait until Adam himself figures it out.
Anyway, see ya tomorrow! Love ya! Corn!
