Chapter 17: The Kingdom of Swords
"The Great Forest of Monsters?!!"
Levy cried out in alarm at the name.
Jet looked over at her. "What? You know it, Levy?"
Levy nodded. "It's recorded in the Mage's Chronicles. The Great Forest of Monsters is one of the legendary 'Human Forbidden Zones.' It's said that over a million magical beasts live inside it."
"A million?! How many is a million? I can't count that high! Happy, lend me your fingers!" Natsu yelped, panicking as he tried to count on his own.
Happy deadpanned, "Forget my fingers, even if I lent you all the fur on my body, it wouldn't be enough."
Gray asked, "If that forest has so many monsters, isn't that kingdom afraid of being wiped out?"
Makarov explained, "That brings us to the Kingdom of Soar. The Kingdom of Soar is also known as the 'Kingdom of Swordsmen.' The entire populace reveres swordsmanship. Unlike us, where we have Mage Guilds, they have mostly Swordsman Guilds."
"The main job of a Swordsman Guild is to hunt in the Great Forest of Monsters. They defeat the beasts, bring back their materials to sell, and raise their rank based on how many monsters they've hunted, from a One-Star Swordsman up to a Nine-Star Swordsman."
"Among them, a Nine-Star Swordsman is roughly equivalent to an S-Class Mage from one of our guilds."
"Thanks to the efforts of countless swordsmen, the Kingdom of Soar has managed to repel the monster attacks. And by using the materials from those beasts, their national power is ranked among the top in the entire continent of Ishgar."
"That's the gist of what I know. I'd heard rumors of this Legendary Sword long ago, but I always thought it was just a legend."
"I'm telling you this so you understand the danger of this mission. This request was originally posted in those Swordsman Guilds. I don't know how many seven, eight, or even nine-star swordsmen went to challenge it, one after another, but they all fell in the Great Forest of Monsters."
"Later, when it couldn't be completed, the request was distributed to the various Mage Guilds. The mages who challenged it also failed."
"This mission is listed as S-Class, but all of us Guild Masters believe its difficulty is approaching SS-Class. This is the real reason I tried to stop you."
"SS-Class?!!"
Everyone in the guild was stunned. SS-Class was a level above S-Class, with a difficulty and danger level twice as high.
"The only advice I can give you is this: if you feel the mission is too difficult, retreat immediately. Staying alive is more important than anything."
"Yes, Master!" Ren and Erza both nodded, their expressions serious.
Ren now felt this was a棘handful. The Great Forest of Monsters, innumerable magical beasts... this was no small challenge. It was the most troublesome type of mission he could imagine.
But this didn't make him want to quit. On the contrary, he felt a spark of eager excitement.
It was the same feeling he'd had during the fight with the Phantom Marauders. It was an unprecedented, thrilling sensation.
...Is it possible I'm actually battle-hungry deep down? No, that can't be right. Before I crossed over, I never even got into arguments, let alone fights... unless my teammates in a game were just too terrible...
Erza turned to Ren. "Ren, let's go home and pack. We'll meet at the Magnolia train station in one hour."
"Got it."
The two left the guild.
"Oooooh! I wanna go on an S-Class mission, too!" Natsu whined, watching them leave with an envious look.
Gray said, "It's because we're not strong enough that we can't. That's all."
"But Elfman went on an S-Class mission, didn't he?"
Elfman shook his head, frustrated. "I was just on the sidelines. Ren did everything himself. If it had been me, I'd have been killed long ago."
Even though he had participated, he was still shaken. This S-Class mission had been even more dangerous than the one he and his sister had taken a year ago. Every single member of the Phantom Marauders had been a tough opponent, especially their leader. That Total Reflection magic was just too broken.
Ren went home, packed a few essentials, and headed to the train station.
A little while later...
"Sorry... have you been waiting long?"
"I just got here, but... that's a lot of luggage!"
Ren couldn't help but gape at the sight of Erza. She was pulling an entire cart piled high with bags and trunks. Was she going on a mission, or moving house? No, even when Ren had actually moved, he didn't have this much stuff.
"Is it a lot? It seems fine to me."
Soon, the two of them boarded the train and found their seats. The train slowly pulled away from the station.
"Ren, I'm sorry to drag you into this," Erza said. She felt a little guilty. It was their first time meeting, and she was already making him risk his life on an S-Class mission.
Ren waved it off. "It's no trouble at all. I was going to take a job anyway. If anything, I should thank you for giving me the chance to challenge an S-Class mission."
Hearing him say that, Erza felt much better.
The two of them chatted idly. Ren found that Erza was actually very talkative, and it was easy to be comfortable around her. When they got tired, they rested.
After about three days of travel, they arrived at the capital of the Kingdom of Soar: Sword City, Noah.
"Whoa... this is incredible," Ren said, awestruck as he stared up at the towering city walls, which had to be a hundred meters high.
Unlike an open town like Magnolia, this entire capital was encircled by massive walls, giving it a powerful, imposing presence.
There were visible marks of damage and dried bloodstains on the walls, a clear sign that this was no mere decoration, but a fortress that had seen real, brutal battles of iron and blood.
Even for someone used to skyscrapers and grand architecture, this genuine battlefield structure was a different kind of shocking.
"It is... magnificent," Erza said, just as stunned as Ren. She had never seen a wall so high.
At the base of the wall was a large gate. A long line of travelers and merchants was queued up, waiting to be inspected before entering the city.
"You two, what's your business here?"
After a short wait, a guard approached Ren and Erza to question them.
Erza replied, "We are mages from Fairy Tail. We are here on a request to complete a mission."
The guard nodded. Many mages came here, most of them drawn by the monsters in the Great Forest.
"What's in the cases?"
"Luggage."
"Luggage?! This much?!" The guard was just as shocked as Ren had been. Are they here for a mission, or to move in?
Suddenly!! A scream pierced the air.
"Monster!!"