Internet Magic in Fairy Tail (Re-upload)

"...So, the sales clerk at the clothing store misunderstood?"

After reading the forum post, Mavis apologized guiltily. "Sorry, Fourth Master, I've caused you trouble."

It wasn't at the point where she needed to apologize. No—the one who should be apologizing was that silly clerk.

Nate replied, "It's just a little gossip. You can ignore it."

Still, he needed to clear up the misunderstanding with his girlfriends.

"First Master, take a few steps back. I'll take a photo of you."

Mavis tilted her head curiously but stepped back obediently. Facing the camera, she looked a little bashful.

"Smile. You need to smile."

"I—I know…"

Mavis forced a nervous smile.

Click.

After snapping the photo, Nate was about 80% satisfied. He sent the image to the group chat.

Sigma Male: "Mavis's new outfit.jpg"

Sigma Male: "I bought clothes for the First Master."

Seriously. Don't people trust each other anymore?

He was only 21 years old. How could he possibly have a 13- or 14-year-old daughter? Use your brains, you bunch of idiots.

"Let me see! Let me see!"

Mavis ran over on her little bare feet.

Nate enlarged the photo and then noticed—Mavis was still barefoot.

"I bought you two pairs of shoes. Why don't you try them on?"

Mavis lowered her head, her soft little toes curling shyly. Her face flushed as she muttered, "I'm not used to wearing shoes… Don't—don't stare at me!"

What's wrong with looking at feet? Nate stared at her, baffled.

"Sit down. I'll help you put them on."

"Huh?"

He's going to put them on for her? Mavis's eyes widened in embarrassment.

Back on Tenrou Island, when she was in the Red Lizard Guild, the guild master had taken away the shoes given to her after her parents' deaths and given them to his own daughter, Zera. But Zera despised those shoes and threw them away.

Since then, Mavis had always gone barefoot. Until now—someone had not only bought her shoes but two pairs. She felt incredibly happy, but hearing that Nate was going to help her put them on made her blush.

With Nate's hands gently pressing her shoulders, Mavis sat down at the desk. She watched quietly as he picked up her foot. In that moment, she felt a strange, electrifying sensation.

Nate, however, wasn't overthinking it. He was simply helping the little girl put on her shoes.

The shoes were simple white princess flats—nothing flashy, no sparkly gems, just small and delicate.

"All done."

Nate slid on both shoes and nodded with satisfaction. "From now on, wear shoes. Walking around barefoot will hurt your feet."

"…Mm."

Mavis's face was flushed pink as she nodded shyly. Her heart swelled with joy, nearly overflowing, and her little chest thumped wildly.

It was the first time in her life she'd experienced this feeling. Even the "Fairy Strategist" didn't know how to handle it.

Seeing her expression, Nate asked, confused, "Do you have a fever? Why's your face so red?"

How could he possibly guess? Wearing shoes shouldn't be this embarrassing, but she couldn't help herself.

"No, it's nothing!"

Mavis stood up from the chair and took a few steps. She twirled happily. "Fourth Master, send me to the resort~"

"Sure. Have fun."

Nate nodded and snapped his fingers. A golden teleportation magic circle appeared beneath Mavis's feet.

"You're not coming?"

"I have something to do." Nate smiled, then teased, "After helping you put on your shoes, you don't even want to call me 'Dad'?"

Mavis shot him a glare, her cheeks flushed. "Idiot! I'm older than you!"

Buzz. With a flash of golden light, she disappeared.

After sending Mavis off, Nate packed up the remaining shopping bags and stored them in the wardrobe. Then he brewed a cup of tea and sat down, sipping quietly as he got back to coding.

The Magic Net Map needed to be completed as soon as possible. It would be the game's central map system.

Unknowingly, night had fallen.

The Thought Projection sent feedback: the Stand Magic had been successfully integrated into the Magic App.

Nate immediately ran a test. He opened the Magic App and activated the Stand Magic. After inputting magic power, a Stand body was created.

It resembled the Thought Projection, but there were differences. The substitute could take on any form according to the caster's imagination—even becoming a woman if desired. Of course, Nate wasn't bored enough to try a gender switch. He left his appearance unchanged and then activated the Fire Dragon Slayer Magic from the Magic App.

Testing whether the substitute could use Dragon Slayer Magic worked flawlessly. After completing the test, Nate dismissed the substitute.

"No major issues—the concept works fine."

"The only slight problem is that the Dragon Slayer Magic obtained through the Magic App can't be trained or strengthened by players."

Furthermore, once the Magic App was turned off, the Dragon Slayer Magic disappeared. Essentially, it was like temporary borrowed power—effective when active, useless when removed.

"How can I address the issue of players leveling up and getting stronger?" Nate furrowed his brows slightly.

There were methods, but all were cumbersome. For instance, he could artificially adjust the magic's strength and unlock more power as players leveled up, but that wasn't necessary.

This wasn't a real game; its purpose was for players to hunt dragons. A complex leveling system would be meaningless.

"Might as well treat 'magic' as 'equipment.'"

As players leveled up, they could gain more magic slots, allowing them to activate multiple magics at once.

The Heavenly King God Serena wielded eight types of Dragon Slayer Magic, right? Players could have eight magic slots—or even more—to activate multiple Dragon Slayer abilities.

"Let's find someone to test it out."

Nate opened his friends list, thinking about who to use as a guinea pig. After a moment, he noticed Gajeel was online.

Sigma Male: "Where are you?"

I Am Iron Dragon: "Do you need something?"

Gajeel sent a location. Without hesitation, Nate left immediately.

A golden light flashed across the city's sky, disappearing toward the south.

Mt. Hakobe.

This mountain wasn't far from Magnolia. It was perpetually snow-covered, even in summer.

Gajeel trudged through the snowy path, a black cat named Lily walking alongside him.

"Was that a message from Nate?" Lily asked.

Gajeel nodded and looked up just in time to see a golden light streak through the sky. With a thud, Nate landed in front of him.

"Flying magic sure is convenient," Gajeel muttered enviously.

"Are you on a mission here?" Nate greeted him casually.

"No, I'm gathering herbs. Snowgrass."

Snowgrass was an herb used to make magic recovery potions. Nate looked puzzled.

Gajeel explained, "I need magic recovery potions for my training. The potion shop ran out of herbs."

In the age of Magic Net currency, magic recovery potions had lost most of their value. However, they still served one important purpose. Gajeel's so-called "training" likely involved merging different Dragon Slayer powers to develop his own Dragon Slayer Mode.

For example, Natsu's "Three Dragon Mode," combining Fire, Lightning, and Iron, was strong enough to overwhelm Gildarts in the [Magic Arena] (though it had never been used in reality).

"Well, perfect timing. I've got a new 'game' for you to try—it lets you merge eight types of Dragon Slayer powers, maybe even more!" Nate said.

"What?" Gajeel was stunned.

Natsu's Three Dragon Mode was already ridiculously strong, and now Nate was talking about eight types?

"Wait, where did you get eight types of Dragon Slayer Magic?"

Nate grinned mischievously. "Wanna give it a try? You'll even get to see real dragons. It's a game about hunting dragons!"

Gajeel's eyes lit up. Although he had doubts about this so-called "game," no Dragon Slayer could resist the temptation of hunting dragons. For a Dragon Slayer, the words "hunt dragons" were enough to set their blood boiling.

"…Fine. Sounds good to me!"

Free test subject +1!