Aslant — Kingdom of Fiore.
Wes Elwin appeared out of thin air in the middle of a dense forest. All around him were trees—nothing but endless trees—making it impossible to determine exactly where he was.
"First, I should find a city and gather some intel about Fairy Tail… I need to figure out how far along the story has progressed."
Taking out his broom, Wes flew high into the air, hoping to spot a town from above. However, as far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but endless greenery—no signs of civilization anywhere.
"This time's drop point is way too remote…"
Unfamiliar with the area, he decided to follow the river downstream, hoping it would lead him to some clue.
After more than three hours of flying, Wes finally spotted smoke rising in the distance—a small village nestled by the river. He descended and landed in the village square, immediately drawing the wary attention of the townsfolk.
People stared at him with a mixture of curiosity and caution, uncertain about this stranger who had suddenly appeared from the sky.
An elderly man with graying hair and a cane slowly approached him, his tone respectful yet cautious.
"Honored Mage, may I ask what brings you here?"
"Hello, I'm lost," Wes replied quickly, noticing the man's tension. "Could you tell me which direction the nearest city is? I mean no harm—I just happened to pass by."
The old man visibly relaxed and pointed westward.
"Follow the river that way and you'll reach Hargeon. It's the closest city to our village."
Wes noticed that several villagers nearby were clutching weapons, clearly on edge.
"You all seem… quite frightened," he said.
The elder didn't hide it. "The Magic Council issued a warning recently—there have been signs of a dark guild operating in this area. We've been told to stay alert."
"I see." Wes could tell the villagers didn't trust outsiders, so he reached into his pocket, flicked a gold coin toward the elder, and said calmly, "Consider that payment for your directions."
With that, he mounted his broom and flew off, leaving the villagers staring after him.
The old man rubbed the coin in his palm and murmured, "He doesn't seem like a bad person…"
Wes continued flying toward Hargeon, his mind already forming a rough picture of the situation in this world.
Suddenly, he sensed a strong surge of magical energy coming from below. He twisted sharply to avoid a blast of fire that whooshed past his ear with a sharp hiss.
"Who's there!?" Wes shouted, lowering his altitude and preparing for a fight.
Looking down, he saw five men with brightly colored, flamboyant hairstyles glaring up at him with malicious grins. One of them—a man with a bright red mohawk—yelled, "Hand over everything valuable you've got, or you'll regret it!" As he spoke, flames ignited in both his hands.
So that's who attacked him just now—the mohawk guy had tried to intercept him midair.
"Don't think you can fly away from me! I'm a master of aerial magic—you won't escape!" the man sneered confidently, his tone full of arrogance.
(These guys must be dark guild mages. What are the odds I'd run into them already?)
(And seriously, who tells their enemy what kind of magic they use?)
While Wes was lost in thought, the five men mistook his silence for fear. They laughed smugly and shouted, "Kid, now that you know who you're dealing with, get down here quietly. Maybe we'll let you live if you behave."
Wes slowly descended from the air and landed on the ground before them.
The mohawk-haired man swaggered toward Wes Elwin, his face twisted in a smug, disdainful grin.
"What's wrong? Too scared to talk? We—"
Before he could finish, a powerful force slammed into him head-on. His body shot backward like a cannonball and crashed violently into a thick tree trunk. His eyes rolled back as he collapsed unconscious.
(People in this world seem to be a lot tougher. They can take direct magical hits and only pass out instead of dying.)
Although in the manga the protagonists' attacks rarely killed anyone, Wes suspected it had more to do with this world's physical constitution than any moral restraint.
The other four men froze in shock, staring at their fallen comrade. They hadn't expected Wes to fight back at all.
"Damn it! Get him!"
One of them conjured a glowing magic circle in front of him, spewing flames forward. The others immediately followed, each launching their own unique spell.
(The power level of their spells… roughly third-tier.) Wes analyzed calmly.
In the blink of an eye, a sturdy earthen wall rose in front of him, blocking all four attacks and obscuring their vision.
Explosions roared as the wall shattered, scattering dust and debris through the clearing. The dark guild mages continued to bombard the spot relentlessly—but when the dust cleared, Wes was gone.
"Where did that brat go?"
"Did he run away?"
"He had a broom! Maybe he flew off?" The mohawk man—just beginning to stir—looked up toward the sky.
But before they could locate him, Wes had already used Apparition, silently appearing behind them while concealing his magic presence.
"Binding Web."
A massive net woven from lightning shot toward the four of them.
They sensed the surge of magic behind them, but it was too late. The electrified web enveloped them, sealing off all escape. They tried to retaliate, but Wes's power dwarfed theirs completely.
Crackling arcs of energy wrapped around their bodies. The electric current surged through them, charring their skin black until only their white teeth gleamed faintly in the shadows.
Even so, they were still alive—barely. The mages of Aslant weren't just magically powerful; their physical resilience was extraordinary as well.
The abundance of magic in this world meant that wizards trained both body and spell alike. Their endurance far surpassed that of wizards from the Harry Potter world.
(Looks like I'll have to hit harder.)
Wes raised his wand again and unleashed another spell, finishing the job. Afterward, he searched their bodies, finding only a few coins and some worthless trinkets.
"Pathetic," he muttered, tossing the coins aside. He didn't bother disposing of the corpses—wild beasts in the forest would handle that soon enough.
Not long after Wes left, a tall woman with long black hair and straight bangs appeared at the scene. She wore a white blouse and a yellow sash around her slender waist, her sharp eyes scanning the area.
"So the Dark Forest Five are dead? That's troublesome. Leon still needs manpower…"
She crouched to inspect the battle's aftermath, noticing several distinct traces.
"The attacker used both earth-type and lightning magic. Ruthless, efficient… definitely not the style of a light guild mage. Who could it be?"
A crystal orb floated beside her, pulsing faintly.
"Let's see what really happened here."
Images flickered within the orb, replaying the earlier battle.
She watched as a young man wielding a wand unleashed a series of powerful spells, effortlessly annihilating the Dark Forest Five.
°°°
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