"Takeshi, are you going to work soon?" Mirajane placed the food in front of Takeshi and asked casually.
She had specifically looked for several suitable quests for Takeshi, and if he wanted to do them, she could directly recommend them, saving him the trouble of searching one by one.
Takeshi shook his head and said, "I won't be going for a while. For the next period, I need to focus on training my body."
"Training your body? You're already so strong, what more body training do you need?" Elfman's eyes widened.
In his eyes, Takeshi was a complete monster. If this monster still wanted to get stronger, what hope was there for ordinary people like them?
Takeshi said, "There's always someone stronger out there."
Lucy's appearance signified that the plot had begun. Soon, all sorts of formidable individuals would emerge: Oración Seis, Grimoire Heart, Tartaros, Alvarez Empire, Spriggan 12, Dark Mage Zeref, and the Black Dragon Acnologia.
Especially Acnologia at the very end. He was on a completely different level from Alazam, who he had defeated. That dragon, in front of Acnologia, might just be a one-shot kill.
So, Takeshi felt a certain urgency. At the same time, he also felt an eager impulse to have a fierce fight with Acnologia, the strongest creature.
Over the past six months, he had discovered that the stronger his own basic abilities were, the greater the power he displayed after transforming into a character.
Therefore, when not on quests, he trained his body. The system also thoughtfully provided him with a training plan, which he strictly followed.
Takeshi said, "I'll head back for training now. Oh, by the way, Cana!"
"Hmm?" Cana looked up at Takeshi.
"The ten barrels of alcohol I promised to reward you with have been delivered. Drink to your heart's content," Takeshi said, waving his hand as he left.
Cana's face lit up with surprise upon hearing this.
Ten barrels was a huge gain for her, considering a normal fortune-telling session only earned a few thousand Jewels.
With ten barrels, she had already thoroughly taken advantage of Takeshi. She hadn't expected him to give her an additional ten barrels as a reward.
Mirajane, hearing Takeshi's words, knew that he must have summoned a powerful Heroic Spirit.
Each previous Heroic Spirit was an extraordinary powerhouse. She wondered what kind of Heroic Spirit he had summoned this time.
Cana said, "He's truly a good man. Mira, if you don't want him, I'm really going to make a move, you know."
Cana was genuinely starting to feel something for Takeshi. He was handsome, powerful, and could earn money—such a good man was hard to find.
If it weren't for Mirajane and Takeshi being particularly close, she would pursue him actively.
"Oh, you... You should just get along well with your boyfriend number one."
Mirajane didn't pay much attention to what Cana said. She was very familiar with Cana and knew she was joking.
In fact, she herself had a bit of a complaint about Takeshi. She was a bit slow, but that didn't mean she was stupid. She knew Takeshi liked her, but wasn't he a little too passive?
She had already hinted quite obviously. Did she have to confess herself?
He was such a blockhead, completely clueless about a girl's feelings.
—
A week passed in a flash.
"...997, 998, 999, 1000!"
Takeshi was doing push-ups with a giant boulder on his back.
After reaching 1000, he moved the boulder aside and lied on the ground, panting heavily.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have completed your week-long training mission!]
"Has a week passed? Then it's time to go to work."
Physical training was important, but work was even more important. Completing an S-Class Quest meant he would get 10 spins. Even if he didn't get a gold card, recycling them could provide an increase in magic power, which was his main method of boosting his magic power.
...
Takeshi returned to his room, quickly washed up, and then headed to the guild.
Pushing open the guild doors, he saw that the guild was as lively as ever.
"Takeshi!"
"Takeshi, you're here!"
As soon as Takeshi entered the guild, many people saw him and greeted him, and Takeshi responded to each of them.
"Takeshi, you're here!" Mirajane's eyes lit up slightly when she saw Takeshi arrive, feeling a little happy.
Takeshi asked, "Yes. I've rested for several days, so it's time to go to work. Are there any suitable quests for me upstairs?"
The "upstairs" Takeshi referred to was the second floor, where all the highly difficult S-Class Quests were located.
Mirajane said, "Yes, you've come at a good time. An S-Class Quest just came in these past few days."
Takeshi's eyes lit up. "Then I'll go up and take a look."
S-Class Quests were rare due to their high difficulty. Before becoming an S-Class Mage, he wasn't qualified to take S-Class Quests. After becoming an S-Class Mage, he would take every one he found, as they meant 10 spins.
Takeshi quickly walked towards the second floor. It would be bad if Laxus, Mystogan, or Erza got there first.
Lucy, seeing this, asked with a puzzled expression, "Isn't the quest board on the first floor? Why is Takeshi going to the second floor?"
Mirajane smiled and explained, "The quests on the first-floor quest board are all ordinary quests. The quests on the second-floor quest board are of a difficulty that the first floor cannot compare to. Those are S-Class Quests."
"S-Class?!"
Lucy felt as if she had heard an extraordinary new term.
Mirajane explained, "One misjudgment in these quests can cost you your life, but accordingly, the quest rewards are also very high."
"Wow!"
Lucy thought the quests on the first-floor quest board were dangerous enough. She couldn't imagine how dangerous the quests on the second floor must be.
Mirajane said, "Only those approved by Master can undertake S-Class Quests. Currently, including Takeshi, there are only six qualified individuals in total. Don't aim for S-Class Quests, these are life-threatening jobs."
Lucy nodded. "I wouldn't dream of it."
She valued her life the most. She was still so young, with plenty of good times ahead. She didn't want to risk her life for that kind of work.
...
Takeshi had now arrived at the quest room on the second floor.
At this moment, there was only one S-Class Quest hanging solitarily on the quest board on the second floor. He went over and took a look.
[Quest Name: Please Save Our Island.]
[Rank: S-Class]
[Quest Content: The villagers of Galuna Island have been cursed. Please, powerful Mage, lift the curse.]
[Quest Reward: 7,000,000 Jewels + Gold Key!]
"Oh? It's this quest!"
Upon seeing the name of this quest, Takeshi immediately recalled the plot surrounding it. As it was the only S-Class Quest explicitly presented in the anime, he remembered it quite vividly.
If one didn't understand the situation within this quest, it would be almost impossible to start. However, if they knew the reason, the quest was super simple.
Takeshi naturally couldn't miss such a quest, so he immediately tore off the request.