The Fairy Tail guild hall was unusually calm when Cael entered the next morning. A few tables were occupied, but the usual chaos had mellowed. He took a moment to enjoy the relative peace before stepping toward the request board.
Mira greeted him as she passed by with a tray of drinks. "Looking for another quest already?"
"Idle hands are dangerous," Cael said, flipping through the notices. "Especially mine."
He paused at one request: retrieve a set of enchanted blueprints from a collapsed ruin north of Magnolia. Moderate difficulty. Dangerous terrain. It called to him like gravity.
"I'll take this one."
Mira raised an eyebrow. "A collapsed ruin? Planning on building something already?"
"No," he replied honestly. "But maybe I'll find something worth understanding."
The ruin was a crumbling manor swallowed by forest and time. Half the structure had collapsed, but the magical field around it remained intact—enough to deter most thieves and explorers. Cael arrived by midday, armed with a satchel of makeshift tools and a mind buzzing with ideas.
He tapped the perimeter ward with a copper probe. The energy pulsed like ripples in a pond.
"Still active. Resonates at around... 18 kilohertz? That's odd."
He scribbled notes as he moved along the edge, eventually finding a weak point near the back. With a few careful adjustments and a quick burst of raw magic, he slipped inside.
The air inside was thick with dust and lingering enchantments. Cael's boots crunched over debris as he moved cautiously. He scanned the walls, spotting old sigils and reinforcement glyphs.
A beam cracked above him. Instincts kicked in.
He leapt aside as stone and dust crashed where he'd been standing. Coughing, he dusted himself off.
"Note: ceiling integrity—questionable."
The blueprints were located in a hidden study beneath the main hall. He discovered the entry by accident—stepping on a dislodged tile that activated a weak levitation rune, lowering him into a long-forgotten room.
Ancient papers lined the walls, preserved in magically sealed cabinets. He found the targeted blueprints tucked in a case: intricate drawings of a multi-core mana engine.
"They built this... a hundred years ago?"
He ran his fingers along the paper. The design was complex, but efficient. Whoever created it had been ahead of their time. Cael's brain itched with possibility.
He stuffed the papers into a protective sleeve and looked around once more. A half-broken automaton lay slumped in the corner, its eyes dim.
He stepped closer.
Its core was exposed. Empty. But the shell—the design—was vaguely familiar. He traced the joints and mechanisms. The blueprints he'd just recovered used similar components.
His eyes widened. "This was a prototype..."
The whisper returned.
Become.
He shook his head. Not yet. But soon.
Back at the guild, Cael delivered the blueprints and accepted his reward. Makarov gave him a nod of approval, then waddled back to his office.
Later that evening, he joined Mira at the bar.
"You're dirtier than usual," she said, smirking.
"Ruins are dusty. Who knew?"
She laughed and slid him a drink.
"Find anything interesting?"
He sipped, then nodded. "Blueprints for a mana engine. And a machine. Damaged, but... it gave me ideas."
She leaned in slightly. "What kind of ideas?"
Cael tapped his temple. "The kind that won't let me sleep."
Mira grinned. "You sound more and more like a mad inventor every day."
He paused, then shrugged. "It's better than being forgotten."
Their conversation drifted from magic theory to practical enchantments. Mira shared stories about her past missions, and Cael—surprisingly—listened intently. She had a grounded understanding of combat magic, something he sorely lacked.
When the hall began to quiet down, she stood up.
"Don't stay up all night drawing blueprints again."
"No promises."
She rolled her eyes fondly and walked away.
Cael stayed seated, flipping open his notebook. He redrew the automaton from memory, labeling its parts. Something about its design felt familiar—not just mechanically, but instinctually. Like it resonated with something inside him.
Machine Takeover...
The idea still lingered at the edge of understanding. He couldn't force it yet—but the pieces were assembling. Every blueprint, every broken tool, every half-failed gadget brought him one step closer.
He closed the book.
"Soon," he whispered.
(To be continued in Chapter 10...)