Chapter 202: Initial Mastery of Transformation
"Zzzzt!"
George stomped his foot, and a surge of electricity traveled across the ground, instantly striking Kihara Amata, causing his whole body to twitch. His previously slicked-back blond hair exploded outward, and his knees buckled.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Kihara Amata quickly reached out to support himself against a nearby tree, looking at George with an unpleasant expression.
George replied indifferently,
"Nothing much. It's just that your smile was too ugly—I couldn't help myself. You'd better smile less like that in the future, or you might get beaten to death."
"Anyway, tell me, what benefits are you offering by inviting me to join?"
"You've got quite the personality. We can help you quickly ascend from Level Four to Level Five. Does that count as a benefit?"
Kihara Amata suppressed his anger and calmed himself before replying.
Based on Clone No. 9981's performance in battle against Atomic Collapse, there was a high probability that he had Level Five potential. With proper development, he could likely ascend within half a year.
That would mean Academy City would have another Level Five, and one that excelled in combat at that.
So the Chairman personally ordered that under no circumstances should Clone No. 9981 be left unchecked. If coercion wouldn't work, then persuasion had to be used. This was all within expectations.
And as a member of the infamous Kihara family, obsessed with science and abnormalities, Kihara Amata had a great interest in a clone that had mutated to such a powerful degree. He naturally accepted the mission willingly.
As a scientist, he firmly believed that science was power. No matter how strong an esper was, they always had weaknesses. What mattered was taking time to observe and analyze.
Even Accelerator's defensive reflection could be cracked easily with sufficient preparation.
As long as Clone No. 9981 was willing to join them, he could find his weakness and turn him into the most powerful weapon of the Hound Dogs unit.
"Not bad at all," George nodded slightly in response.
Originally, he was planning to say a few random things and brush this guy off, but now he felt that maybe this was worth trying.
If anyone in Academy City truly understood espers and knew the most efficient way to develop potential and push abilities to their limits—it was definitely the Board of Directors.
After all, the entire city and its Level System were created by them.
If the Board was willing to fully support him from Level Four to Level Five, it would be much faster than learning and experimenting on his own—not just a little faster, but significantly so.
This also gave him the perfect opportunity to infiltrate from the inside, to understand what the Board really was and, while he was at it, use their information to gain a clearer understanding of this world.
As for whether he was walking into the tiger's den?
He had confidence.
So far, the other side only assumed he was a powerful Level Four combat clone—they had no idea about his magical abilities.
"If you have other requests, feel free to state them."
Seeing George was tempted, Kihara Amata added fuel to the fire.
George didn't hold back:
"First, I want full salary, benefits, and compensation.
Second, I'll go to your base only when I want to. My schedule takes priority.
Third, I'll consider your missions on a case-by-case basis. If they cross my moral boundaries, I won't do them."
"You've got quite a few demands… Fine. I can agree."
Kihara Amata's mouth twitched, but he still nodded.
The priority now was getting Clone No. 9981 into the unit—once he joined, there would be plenty of time to figure out how to deal with him later.
"Then let's head to the Hound Dogs' headquarters. I'll tailor a plan based on your abilities to help you ascend to Level Five as quickly as possible."
He pressed a button in his hand, and soon a black sedan pulled up on the roadside.
George didn't hesitate and followed Kihara Amata into the car.
While George joined the Hound Dogs under the identity of Misaka 9981, something major was happening in the Fairy Tail world as well.
"Transform!"
Inside the Fairy Tail wizard guild hall, George stood atop the bar counter, performing transformation magic.
A blue magic circle lit up above his head. His golden feline body, under the effect of the spell, instantly transformed into the appearance of the human George he imagined from the main world.
"Looks like it's still a bit rough."
George stood on the counter, looking at himself in the mirror he had prepared, and couldn't help but shake his head.
He had already mastered partial transformations before, but full-body transformation still had some issues.
In the mirror, he indeed looked like a human, but the size hadn't changed—he was still only about palm-sized, far from a normal human scale.
So the transformation spell just cast had some minor flaws.
"That's already really good. You've only been learning for a short time and can already do this much. With more practice, you'll soon fully master beginner transformation magic."
Mirajane, polishing a glass nearby, encouraged him.
"I understand. By the way, is the Master not here today?"
George nodded and reverted to his magical cat form.
Before mastering advanced transformation magic, using the spell limited him to only a fraction of his strength, so he usually stayed in cat form.
In this world's magic system, transformation magic was easy to learn but hard to master—simple to start, but extremely difficult to perfect.
It was said that if one could cultivate transformation magic to the highest level, they could transform into almost anything—plants, animals, insects, and more—almost like a magical version of the 72 Transformations.
Of course, no matter what form was taken, it was only the appearance. Transforming into a demon didn't mean gaining demon powers—that was only possible through Take-Over Magic.
"The Master went to a major magic machinery company to discuss modifications for the mobile fortress."
Mirajane replied.
After defeating Phantom Lord, under George's suggestion, Makarov took the mobile fortress as a war trophy.
But due to the guild's limited funds, they couldn't afford the high renovation costs, so it had been left as a decoration in the lake beside the guild.
Fortunately, since Fairy Tail's fame soared after defeating Phantom Lord, more and more people were coming to the guild to post jobs.
Plus, with George now able to use Phantom Shift to help repair property damage, the guild's finances were gradually improving.
Now they could finally afford the down payment for modifying the mobile fortress.
So today, Makarov personally took the fortress to the major magic machinery company.
"Strange, I don't see Natsu and the others. Haven't they taken on any jobs recently?"
George looked around the guild and found that Natsu, Gray, and the usually rowdy group weren't present today.
Normally at this hour, the guild hall should already be half-destroyed, waiting for him to fix it.
(End of Chapter)