Chapter 20: Levy McGarden & Trap Job

Kicking open the door to the guild, I walked into the hall, leaving bloody footprints as I approached Gramps to confirm my completed mission, only to see our newest addition to Fairytail, Levy. Slapping the job request onto the bar beside Gramps, who gave it a once-over before nodding at me, I approached Levy, who was playing a board game against Cana, the guild's reigning champion.

Approaching them, the crowd that surrounded them parted ways for me, given my bloody appearance. "Tsk, c'mon Cooper, can't you ever shower? You reek!" "Oh, just give it a rest. We've been asking him for a year, and he hasn't listened." Ignoring their comments, I stood at the front of the crowd, watching as Cana and Levy played back and forth, and while I didn't understand how this game worked, given their stressed expression, it was a close match.

"So, who do you think will win, big bro?" Glancing at Max, I shifted my focus between my two little sisters before gesturing to Levy; she may be new and young, but she was the smartest girl I knew. 'Well, Laki might be smarter, but she's not interested in playing this game, so we'll never know.' Rubbing my chin with a thoughtful expression, I glanced at Laki, who was using her wood magic to sit above the crowd, only for me to shift my focus back to the game.

A few more moves, and when Levy placed her piece in front of Cana's, the crowd went silent, only for everyone to erupt into cheers. "She won!" "Levy beat Cana!" "Fairy Tail has a new champion!" "Levy! Levy! Levy!" As everyone began to cheer Levy's name, they closed in around her, robbing her of privacy, which quickly made her uncomfortable, though everyone failed to notice, given their cheering and excitement. Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I flared my magic power, causing a shimmering golden aura to surround me while my long white hair rose into the air as I raised my voice, silencing the crowd.

"QUIET!" Instantly silencing the crowd and causing all eyes to be shifted towards me, stepping forward, I approached Levy and stood in front of her as I eyed the quiet crowd.

"Behave yourselves! You dumbasses are scaring her!" Glaring at my guildmates, I bared my fangs, causing them to gulp before nodding; though unknown to me since my back was facing Levy, I never realized I was the one scaring her the most with my eruption of magic power.

Grunting, I reigned in my magic power before turning around and looking at Levy, who was a bit frightened, causing me to side-glance the crowd while I gently patted her head. "If they scare you again, just tell me… I'll beat them up." Smiling at Levy, an action I failed to realize how terrifying would look given my fangs, red eyes, and bloody appearance. "Y-Yes, b-b-big brother." Softly smiling at how adorable she was, I removed my hand from Levy before turning around and eyeing the crowd, causing them to promptly scatter.

Scoffing, I sat at a random table while Macao and Wakaba sat down. "You know, kid, have you tried being, you know, nicer?" Glancing at Wakaba, I tilted my head in confusion. "The hell are you talking about? I was being nice." Shaking my head at Wakaba's nonsense, I finished a few cups of alcohol before standing up and stretching as I headed to the showers, which were built specifically for me since I rarely cleaned myself.

Entering the showers, I tossed my clothes into the wash basin and stepped underneath one of the many showers, though since men and women weren't segregated, it tended to be a place where perverts gathered; unfortunately for me, since I wished to be sexy, despite barely being a teenager, I wasn't spared. Cleaning my hair with soap and washing the blood out of it, I looked to my right, glancing at a trio of women whispering to each other while gazing at me.

'I suppose the only saving grace was that they don't seem to be sexually interested in me… Yet.' Shaking my head, I ignored the trio of women; they could look for all I cared, not like I had much to show; I was only thirteen. Once I finished cleaning, I exited the shower only to spot Fried dispersing the perverted women. "Where have you been, Fried? I haven't seen you and your boyfriend Laxus in over a week." Smirking at Fried, who rolled his eyes at my remark, though before he could speak, Laxus suddenly entered the shower behind him with an annoyed expression.

"Do I need to beat you up like I always do, Beast?" Glancing at Laxus while lightning flashed across his body, I grinned back, staring fearlessly into his eyes, causing him to eventually grunt before backing down. It wasn't that Laxus was scared, not at all; he was stronger than me, though only barely, as my strength had grown. "Tsk, we've been on a long-form mission on the edge of Fiore; I'm sure you know how it is, Beast, considering you rarely take any breaks." Nodding at Laxus, I rubbed Fried's head aggressively, causing him to swat my hand away in annoyance while I began washing my clothes in the wash basin.

Once my clothes were clean, I wore them and used my Indestructible Magic, strengthening them to just under their magical limit. During this year, I finally got my magic in control to a certain extent; with items I'm familiar with, such as the clothes I wear every day, I can strengthen them to my liking, of course, within their magical limit. However, with other items, such as chairs and swords, their magical limits are different, so if I use Indestructible Magic, I could only strengthen them to their absolute limit, since I would only know their limit when they shimmer gold.

Still, I was delighted with my progress, as it took nearly a year of constant practice. Exiting the showers, I entered the guild hall and watched from the corner of the room as we celebrated Levy joining, though thanks to my earlier actions, none dared to suffocate her too much and gave her ample space. However, while watching from the corner of the guild hall, Laki approached me with a curious expression, her large, round eyes staring at me through her glasses, causing me to raise an eyebrow. "Yes, Laki?"

"Why do you always stay in the corner?" Furrowing my brows at her words, I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, I just do." Laki just nodded before pushing her chair beside me and sitting down, causing me to glance at her, though in the end, I just shrugged my shoulders; I wouldn't refuse to spend time with my adopted little sister.

Anyway, once morning arrived, I maneuvered through the destroyed guildhall from last night's guild fight as I approached the request board, searching for a decent mission to take, only to raise an eyebrow when I saw a specific job. 'Secret Dark Mage exchange. In Rose Garden. Fairy Tail mage required.' As I read the job description, I looked at the details at the bottom, only for my face to twitch when I saw how lackluster it was; other than telling me the exact location within Rose Garden, there was no other information. 'I'm not the smartest, but even I can tell this reeks of a trap; how can they have such a detailed job description but next to no actual details?' You'd genuinely have to be an idiot not to realize this was a trap, not to mention it's explicitly asking for a Fairy Tail mage.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were targeting me." With a grin, I licked my lips, eager to step right into their stupid trap, though I wasn't dumb enough to enter a trap unprepared. Taking the job request, I headed to the Armory, where I grabbed a few lacrima's, which I could use as makeshift bombs; taking a few small lacrima's that I could easily hide on my person, I stuffed the other ones in my pocket before returning to the guild hall as I handed Gramps the job request.

"You know this is most likely a trap, right, Cooper?" Asked Gramps with a slight frown as he looked at me, prompting me to nod eagerly. "Yeah, and I've prepared just for that reason." However, despite my confidence, Gramps didn't seem all that reassured. "Even so, jumping into a trap by yourself is foolish. Hmm, how about this: Lamia Scale's Master has a mage who is curious about you. What if the two of you join forces? It'll also help forge connections between Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail." Groaning at Gramps, I gave him a suspicious look before clicking my tongue, deciding to at least hear him out.

"Tsk, who is it, Gramps? If it's someone weak, I'll refuse." Folding my arms, I hopped onto the stool while eyeing Gramps, who flashed a faint smirk. "Heh, don't worry, it's one of Lamia Scales' strongest mages; he's an earth mage named Jura. Jura Neekis. He's a talented mage; I wouldn't put it past him to reach the realm of the Ten Wizard saints in the future." Raising an eyebrow at how highly Gramps spoke of this Jura dude, I rubbed my chin before eventually deciding to nod in agreement, though not without groaning; I still would've preferred to go alone, but I could tell he wouldn't let me. "Tsk, alright, fine, Gramps."

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Who do y'all think is top 3 woman in Fairy Tail? I got Erza and first and Irene at a close second, as for third, probably Mirajane, but the gap between second and third is huge in my opinion.