Daily Life with Three Systems: Chapter 18

I walk into the guild, pink haired girl at my side. Her eyes wide and filled with wonder as she looks around. 

I spy Makarov sat on a nearby table, drinking like always. 

I walk over. 

"Ah, Andrew. Here for another S-Class job I presume?" 

"Master." I greet. "Every time I come to the guild hall you're drinking. You trying to kill your liver or something?" 

"I have giant magic! My liver's fiiiine!" The man huffs into his mug. 

"Anyways, I didn't necessarily come for an S-Class today. I actually came to introduce someone to the guild." Natsuki has finally made her way over. "This is Natsuki, she's been living with Me, Rias, Koneko, and Valerie for a while and she'd like to join the guild." 

"Oh? Hello young one." Makarov smiles. "Andrew doesn't necessarily introduce people often... mainly because he doesn't meet people often." 

"Come on, Master." I sigh with a small frown. "Why do you have to say mean words like that?"  

The old man lets out a laugh before smiling. "Ah well. The more friends for him the better. What magic do you practice out of curiosity? Most of the people he brings has... interesting specializations... like Rias' destruction, Valerie's Vampire Magic and Koneko's Physical Enhancements." 

"O-Oh! I can cook! It's... a magical cooking sort of thing... I can put effects on my food, like making it cook faster... or being more nourishing... or maybe even temporarily increasing the strength of the eater! But- uh... I'm still learning... so I haven't really done much with it." 

The man lets out a hum of interest, a guild stamp appearing with a small flash of requip magic. "So where do you want your guild mark?" 

"U-Uh..." Natsuki mutters. 

"And in what color?" Makarov continues. 

The pink haired girl rolls up her sleeve. "Right here and... in pink, please." 

The stamp presses against her arm there's a small puff of pink smoke and a sound akin to 'Pomph'.  

"Welcome to the guild!" Makarov smiles brightly. "HEY! EVERYONE! We've got a new member!" 

A cheer echoes out through the guild hall causing Natsuki to blush slightly. 

I pat her shoulder with a smile before looking back to Makarov. "So. How'd the monthly guild meet go?" 

"Heh... HEHEHEHHE." He laughs before wiping a tear. "Oh, Jose was so mad! He almost blew up the venue!" 

"Why do you even hate him so much anyways?" I ask slowly. 

"Oh. Hate's a strong word, my boy. It's just rivalry." Makarov waves off. "His father was originally the guild leader of a guild who fought against the first master and her allies back before they were even known as 'Fairy Tail'. After they beat his guild he made Phantom Lord and the two guilds have been trying to one-up each other ever since!" 

"I... see..." I mutter slowly. 

"So. What's it like living with four girls, Andrew? Any happy accidents?" The guild master pervertedly chuckles. 

"Hm? Well the hot water gets used up practically all the time and there's always someone close-by. It has its moments, sure but it also has... the opposite of moments... whatever that is called." 

"Hmm Hmm." The man nods slowly. "I can imagine that." 

"So. I'm going to go show Natsuki around, you care if I bring her up to the second floor for a bit?" 

"Hm? Oh do what you want," He waves off. "But I'd suggest against bringing her on any S-Class quests... cooking doesn't exactly sound like it's the best for slaying monsters or taking down dark guilds." 

"Oh, I wasn't really planning on going out on another job today. But on that note, did anything new come in S-Class wise?" 

"Hrn... well, one of the jobs is about to be upgraded to a ten-year quest." 

"Which one?" 

"It was a normal S-Class job. Seemed simple enough. Something about a trading ship crashing on a ghost island. I think the main issue is finding the place as the archipelago it's said to be in is shrouded in fog at almost all times." 

"Yeah, I could see how that'd be an issue." I nod slowly. "I might see about it. I've got divination I should be able to find it. Might take a while, though. Not today though." 

"Come on Natsuki, let me show you around. The bar's over there, they've got some good food, there's a discount for guild members too so it's quite cheap as well, then over there you've got the job board. Jobs are divided from A to E class with E class jobs being basically chores and A class jobs typically being something like 'beat this monster' or 'guard this caravan'. B-Class jobs are similar, but, well, A-Class jobs have larger threats more often than not. Sometimes they're even mis-classified S-Class jobs so you should always be careful if you take one." I explain as we slowly walk up the stairs. 

"This is the S-Class Job Board, these quests are a cut above the rest. If you were to compare S-Class to A-Class... it'd be like comparing a wolf to a Chihuahua. An Entirely different beast. Beyond that are the SS class quests which are arguably the toughest job you can get- there are rumors of SSS class quests though, but I don't think there's been one in a century or so and even then, they quickly become Ten-Year quests and One Hundred Year quests." 

"On that note, Ten Year quests are quest that haven't been completed in ten years despite the time they've been on the board. The qualifications to become a ten-year quest is that first, numerous attempts must have been made on the mission, all of which failing in some way. I think the number is five. Then the next requirement is the most obvious. It must be on the board for ten years without being completed. The same can be said for one hundred year quests. Just with larger requirements." 

"I see..." Natsuki whispers, cupping her chin. 

"Ironically." I continue. "Ten-Year quests might actually be easier than SS class quests. It just depends on the job, really. Like the one Makarov was talking about. The difficulty in that quest is finding what you're looking for. While an SS-Class job might have you fight a demon as big as a castle." 

She seems to take in my explanation. 

"Now, I'll show you to the library... my favorite place. It's got some books on magic so if you want to pick up a secondary one. I'd REALLY suggest reading the book on requip magic. A pocket dimension to store your stuff is genuinely so useful. I also have some extra training methods for it that I developed. If you're up for it." 

"Alright!" She smiles. "I'll probably take a look." 

[Split] 

Seven serpentine heads lash out, streams of poison gas spraying from their maws. 

BOOM 

My body turns to electricity as I bound between three of the heads, they are knocked aside as I send a bolt of lightning down into the back of the Hydra. 

It's quite large. Bigger than most buildings. Six hellish shrieks leave its jaws as a small grin appears on my lips. 

"Rope Make: Binds!" 

A lasso coils around one of the heads, the rope continuing to braid and extend as I fly forwards, looping around necks, spiralling around snouts, just in general being a little flying nuisance for the large multiheaded beast. I pull the rope tight, looping it around the neck of the hydra one final time, leaving the seven heads gathered. 

I dart forwards, my takeover form shifting as I land on the beast's back and stab my stinger-like tail into its flesh. 

My magic takes a large hit as I convert it directly into venom which is pumped throughout the large beast. 

I leap away as it thrashes back and forth, muscles tensing feral snarls and lashing tails slowly grinding to a halt. 

I look over the beast for a moment, a frown on my lips. 

'hrm... should I?' 

'fuck it. Why not!' 

"TAKEOVER!" I shout, as I drop out of my Speed Stinger form, my arms thrown out to the side as a large glowing magical circle appears in front of me. 

The beast is sucked into the magic circle... like water flowing down a drain. 

I close my eyes as I reappear within my mindscape... 

In an instant I dart forwards slamming a heavy blow right into the center of the hydra's chest, right where the neck all connect. It lets out a feral hiss of pain as it staggers back, heads lashing down- 

I turn to lightning and shoot through an opening between the heads. My nails become sharp claws as I slam my hand down on its back before savagely ripping them out. 

The hydra lets out a shriek, body beginning to grow sluggish. Thin threads coil along the necks of the hydra, purplish blood seeping from its flesh as the thin- but shockingly durable- threads tighten somewhat. 

An absolutely massive humanoid construct made of cloth appears, its knuckles seem to glint as small plates of tin are woven into its hands. 

It promptly punches one of the Hydra's heads in the face, the neck snapping back as it raises its other hand. 

THUD-BOOOM 

The cloth-make titan continues to use the hydra's heads as one of those boxing reflex balls, each blow slowing the beast more and more. 

It is shockingly durable. 

One of the heads snap forwards, biting into the neck of the cloth giant... luckily. It's cloth. No vital organs or anything within that so it more or less just ignores the grapple, continuing to bludgeon the other heads as they try to take advantage of the opening the first head has given them with its lashing and shaking. 

Thinking back on all of my other takeovers... which I can see faintly in the distance. With the terrible terror, I just slapped it around a bit, the speed stinger got used as a mace, even the Skrill was more or less beaten without much fanfare, being discharged from a large glob of water I trapped it in via my Thaumaturge magic sparked to life by my demonic power's 'imagination' ability. 

This hydra on the other hand. It's shockingly resilient. 

Its already healed the wound I inflicted in its back, the threads cutting into one of its necks snapped and its almost as if it were never cut in the first place. 

This is a TRUE S-Class threat. 

My Skrill's firepower is close to that level, but it just didn't have the physicality to back that up. 

This beast is an absolute tank of a monster. Immense strength. Incredible durability. Potent regeneration. And finally an ability to spew venom and poison mist that would likely kill almost everything it hits. 

Oh boy, my giant is being overwhelmed... I have more than enough power for a second. 

With a flash another colossal figure weaves itself into existence. My magic is dropped a further twenty percent as it steps forwards, slamming a punch into the Hydra's open side. 

The first giant grabs the heads latched onto its body. The hydra just doesn't seem to understand why it isn't dying, I can see the greyish cloth stained with hissing purple that slowly spreads. 

The venom is mildly acidic. Huh. 

I'll make note of that. 

Regardless my first giant still has enough strength to hold on tightly to three of the heads, allowing my second giant to pummel the rest as they turn to try and bite him. 

With a final crushing blow, the giant's knuckles meeting with one of the hydra's skulls in the middle, the hydra glows. 

A mountain raises in the distance. A large cave appearing. 

The Hydra teleports into the cave. A large gate slamming down as its heads are restrained via chains and pitons. 

Suddenly I'm outside again. 

The ground has been torn up, large purple pools wafting purplish gas linger the surroundings. Trees are uprooted. Boulders are shattered. 

The area looks... rough... 

But I suppose that's what happens when you have to fight a fucking Hydra. 

At least this is far enough away that the poison won't really affect the town back about three miles away. 

My arms stretch above my head 'hnnnng'. 

And with that, I turn back towards the town, planning on meeting the mayor to get my reward. 

[Split] 

I've come to realize that... I'm probably not going to get an SS-Class job done in the next six months. 

I sit on a simple looking armchair, feet kicked up on a nearby felt stool. 

This is the chair I got for my hobby quest... I mean... it IS quite comfy, I'll give it that. 

Objective: 
Perform at least ONE S-Class Job before the time is up: [x] 

Bonus Objective: 
Complete an S-Class Job by yourself: [x] 
Complete 5 S-Class Jobs: [x] 
Complete 1 SS-Class Job: [ ] 

"Haah..." I sigh. 

Should I complete the quest now? 

FFFFF-uck it. The 'instant mastery of a magic' doesn't really scream to me. I want to more or less learn magic on my own.  

Ding 

Of the rewards, only two really scream at me. The first? The celestial spirit keys... mainly the 'even those broken centuries ago' line. 

That... 

That makes me curious. 

After that? The base modification of my choice. 

Technically speaking, I could get both, leaving me with one further bonus objective which I could use to get a book on any four non-lost magic, or I could 'modify or upgrade' one of the base rewards... 

That's sounding pretty interesting. 

I reach out and slowly tap it, watching how the 'base' rewards shift and change. 

Rewards: (Pick one of 4) 
One Rare 'Base Modification' of your choice 
One 'Chat Connection Selection' of your choosing 
One random 'high quality' magic item 
Three Celestial Spirit Keys of your choosing that is Silver or Below (Even among those that have been broken centuries ago) 

Those... instead became this. 

Rewards: (Pick one of 4) 
One Epic 'Base Modification' of your choice 
One 'Chat Group Connection Selection' of your choosing 
One random 'Unique quality' magic item 
One Spirit Key of your choosing that is equal to the strength of a Gold Celestial Spirit or Below (Even among those that have been broken centuries ago) 

FUCK. 

That's tough. 

On one hand?  

Spirit key. 

Not celestial. Just... spirit key. Dead-stop. That is REALLY intriguing. 

If I could grab a new type of key... maybe I could jury-rigg some sort of detection spell for them! 

But on the other hand, a UNIQUE magic item... 

A chat group. 

I haven't gotten another contact in a while, actually... 

Who needs friends, am I right? I've got enough of those! 

What could I get as a 'Unique' magic item, though... 

Realistically it could range from a golden celestial spirit key to like... that one mecha dragon from Edolas. Maybe even an Etherious... and in that case I really don't have anything to ensure they stay under my command. 

That is KIND of tempting though... a fairly large part of me is indeed tempted... 

Unique is unique. It might give me some insights into some weird- but really powerful- magics! 

And my luck HAS been quite good so far... 

"..." 

'LET'S GO GAMBLING!' 

I push the 'Unique magic item' reward. 

YOU'VE ACTUALLY GOT TO BE SHITTING ME! 

Oop- god seems mad. 

I... must have gotten extremely lucky. 

Top one percent... you got... an item from the top one percent... 

'heh heheheheh. AHAHAHAHAH!' 

There's a sudden weight in my lap, causing me to blink twice. 

Koneko lays there, legs over the arm of the couch, shoulders on the other arm, she looks at me, offering me a slow blink. "You look happy." 

"I'm apparently really lucky." 

Could I interest you in a book of lost magic instead? 

"Hrn..." I hum lowly, the girl in my lap looks to the screen. 

What about two of the other rewards but upgraded? 

"Mn." Koneko hums. "Mr. Deity is worried about you getting whatever it is you got... must be good. Really good." 

What if I gave you a tutor for Cursed Energy? Like the Etherious use? 

"..." 

"Would I even be able to use that?" I ask after a long moment. 

Don't you want to know what it's like to use the opposite of magic? The other half of the coin? 

Koneko turns to me then looks back at the screen. "He's tempting you. Whatever you got must be leagues better than that." 

I point at the screen. "I'll agree on a few conditions. Firstly? I want the Etherious to be loyal to me. The etherious are destructive monsters that kill humans without remorse. I suppose that's what they were created for, after all. To kill, mainly their creator. but I want insurance that they won't do that to my friends and the humans around us. Second? Please tell me what I originally got. I'm actually curious now." 

"..." 

Alright fine. They'll enter a familiar contract with you. Let's hope you get a weak- 

... 

I'm not even surprised anymore. Whatever. Fine. This is fine. As for the item you originally got... it was the Dragon Cry. 

"The... Dragon Cry?" I echo. 

"Hm?" Koneko hums. 

"Isn't that like... a magical nuke that has the power and rage of dozens of slaughtered dragons in it?" 

Hundreds, just under a thousand but yes. 

"Huh... and from what I remember, it can also evolve... dragons in addition to having enough power to wipe entire continents off the map." I tap my chin. "Damn. That actually would be pretty interesting to see how my dragon takeover evolved. Wait- maybe it'd increase my overall ability to capture dragons? If that's the case then maybe I could have hunted down Acnologia and-" 

"..." 

"Oh, I see." I mutter. "I would have been able to instantly hunt down and takeover Acnologia and the dragon gods... fair play Mr. Rob." 

And you can't just divine it because of how much more powerful it is than you. Besides, you've surely noticed that your power is slightly less accurate when it comes to unique items? 

I had my suspicions considering how much effort I was putting into getting the locations of the Zodiac Celestial Spirit Keys... but that confirms it. 

"Oh well." I sigh. "I'll probably track it down one day."  

"Now... Reward two. Rare base improvement of my choice!" I smile brightly. 

A massive list opens before me. 

Bedrooms which improve the quality of sleep by fifty percent, bathrooms with a large tub that you'd probably call a 'hot-tub'. 

Large restaurant-esque kitchens with every cooking instrument and utensil known to man. 

A private study that has infinite pieces of paper, ink, and- 

A magical item which copies books?! That's awesome!  

I'm picking that. 

I blink twice as a staircase seems to curl upwards from a new door in the wall. 

Koneko rises from her feet and walks forwards. I follow after her. 

We make our way up the stairs, entering the attic. 

Warm morning light bleeds through the window, magical lights briefly flicker before turning on. 

A large desk and chair sit on the far side of the room alongside numerous empty shelves, that line some of the room. There's even a ladder amongst them. 

Some of the walls look a little barren, there's an empty fireplace on one wall. 

By the window there's an extended section with a cushion, it's a little outward facing cubby so you could sit there and read while looking out the window. 

I walk over, gently opening the window. 

I hop outside, looking over my home. 

It's changed once more, now two stories with a larger bulk towards the back. It looks... interesting... not quite ugly. But certainly not pleasing on the eyes. I'll need something to fix that. Maybe a future upgrade can make the home 'cosmetically appealing'. 

I land back on the windowsill, the window's large enough that I can stand there with only a slight hunch. 

Koneko could stand here with no issue at all. 

"Hm... I like the sun." The girl notes as she curls up on the cushions.  

It's angled just right so the morning will shine there perfectly. It's nearing mid-day so there's not as much light as she could be getting. 

In the distance I can see a strange glass case. Numerous fountain pens seem to be stuck in holders towards the back, each a different color one for each color of the rainbow alongside some other more unusual colors like grey, black, white and brown. 

That must be the copier. 

I walk with purpose. These empty shelves just feel... wrong. I'm going to make some copies of some books! 

Keeping the originals with me, of course. Never know when some freak might try and break in and just pour syrup on all my books. 

[Split] 

Ding Ding Ding 

I look out the window, a small package has been placed at my doorstep. 

Koneko's head rests in my lap as I quietly fiddle with archive magic, continuing my goal of detecting Celestial Spirit Keys. 

I open the window, hold out a hand, and grasp the box in a small bubble of ethernano. 

I bring it up to me, a smile on my lips as I summon a tiny tin knife thanks to my tin-make, a magic I learned quite quickly thanks to already being quite experienced in maker magic. 

I slash the tape and open the box. 

Koneko rockets to her feet, landing a short distance away, her tail poofs up slightly as she hunches over, eyes wide. 

"E...Evil..." She hisses as I pull a book bound in chains from the box. 

It shakes slightly. There's a sticky note on its cover. 

"Place in the center of a familiar binding magic circle and repeat this chant:" 

What follows is a lengthy and kind of edgy chant. 

"Ah... alright. Let's do this." I hold out a hand, a magic circle appearing on the floor of the room. I place the chained book in the middle. It rattles slightly as I re-read the sticky-note briefly. 

"Calling upon the power of the seven sins, in honor of the devil kings who have come before, I Andrew Graves issue this command. Demon of the book of Zeref. You are failing your mission. You have failed your master. You betray his ideals. You are broken and discarded but, to I, you are not unwanted. I order you follow me. Arise to new heights. Leave those who seek to use you behind. Abandoned those who have poisoned your mind with thoughts of conquest and death. Follow my will. Become my familiar forevermore!" 

Crack  

The chains shatter as the glow intensifies. 

The room shakes, the window shutters behind me rattling. Pens bounce across the desk as chairs are pushed away. Koneko crosses her arms in front of her body, hair whipping around wildly as the book seems to grow. 

Two purple eyes peer from a cloak of shadow that rises to its feet, the magic circle glows brightly then... 

Poof. 

The darkness retracts. The suffocating vile energy dissipates. Standing there in the glowing magical circle is a woman with long dark hair, two yellow horns curve forwards towards her face, on her forehead is a mark in the shape of a U with little dashes around it. 

Her purple eyes look over me as she slowly brings a hand to her head. 

"What is... this power?" She whispers. "What was I-" 

She seems to remember the chant I just uttered her eyes narrow. "You... you tried to mind control me." 

"No. I did not." I shake my head. "In fact, I believe I freed you of any form of mind alteration." 

"Explain." She demands.  

I look to the sticky note. "Do you... truly believe that Zeref would want you to destroy all magic?" 

"..." 

"Pardon?" She blinks. "Of course-" 

"Doesn't that go against his goal? His goal to die? Why would you remove one avenue that you could pursue that?" 

Her eyes widen slightly. 

"Why would you think that was a good idea?" I ask slowly. "Unless of course..." 

"I was already under some form of mind altering magic. Hm. I see." She looks perturbed. 

"May I ask your name?" 

"Do you not know it?" 

"To be fair, a god gave me your book because he didn't want me to have access to arguably the most powerful artifact in the world after I... let's say won it in a game of luck from him." 

"Why would you want me over that?" She tilts her head. 

"Let me preface something. I LOVE magic. It is by far the most fascinating thing I have ever come across. I live. I breath. My EVERYTHING is magic. But. More than anything, I want to learn and research ALL magic... all magic energy sources... such as the etherious' curses and cursed energy." 

"In exchange for not giving me the dragon cry, this godly entity gave me a random etherious to teach me about curses and cursed energy. That random etherious just happened to be you. But, of course, I am aware of how you all are, so I wanted insurance that you wouldn't immediately kill me, my friends, or any of the humans nearby. Thus. The familiar contract. Which... I suppose means you are my subordinate, but in exchange you are greatly nourished by my demonic energy and magical power." 

"I feel no form of mental control from this magic." The demon stares down at the floor. "It only appears to bind us together. Not ensure your safety... or at the very least the safety of others. And yet... one moment I was in my library... the next I was returned to my form as a book. If this... thing... wanted me under your control, I imagine he would have made it so... so... why do I feel as if... if I really wanted to I could kill you here and now?" 

"But you don't want to, right?" I point out. 

The demonic woman is silent.  

"It appears they knew you wouldn't want to, thus they just simply turned you back to the way you were before whatever happened to you happened." I shrug. "So. Shall we speak over some tea? My name is Andrew Graves by the way." 

"..." 

"Seilah... the Goddess of the Chill Moon."