SWNOVELXO Chapter 32: Chapter 32
Jellal was only a year older than Marco, still just a teenager.
It was truly difficult for him to think so far ahead.
Driven by his conscience, he had resolutely left his homeland and come to Earth Land, hoping to prevent "Anima" from taking effect as much as possible.
His strength was far too weak.
He couldn't change Edolas, couldn't alter the decisions made by his father.
This was already one of the few things he could do.
He only wanted to contribute his part, to minimize the damage to Earth Land and soothe his own conscience.
But the appearance of Marco and Makarov had suddenly opened a new path for him, unveiling a door he had never considered before.
Jellal couldn't help but reflect—perhaps he had been too narrow-minded before.
The 'Anima' spell harmed the entirety of Earth Land.
The powerful figures of this world would surely not stand idly by.
Alone, he couldn't stop his father.
But what if he had the strength of Earth Land's most powerful mages behind him?
Could there be a turning point?
"So, can you do it? Take all of us to the other world?" Marco spoke up, waving a hand in front of the stunned Jellal.
Jellal snapped out of his daze and shook his head helplessly.
"Not right now. I can't do it."
"But I can keep researching. I'll definitely make it possible in the future!" Seeing the visible disappointment on Marco and Makarov's faces, Jellal quickly added.
There was no helping it—he had never considered doing something like this before, so he naturally hadn't studied it.
Crossing worlds was no simple feat, and he didn't dare make empty promises.
Hearing this, Marco and Makarov both expressed understanding.
Expecting Jellal to know everything was a bit unreasonable.
"Join us, Jellal. Join Fairy Tail. Make it your home in this world, just like Porlyusica. You'll come to love it here."
After clarifying the whole situation and roughly outlining a countermeasure plan, Marco helped Jellal to his feet while extending the guild invitation.
Makarov watched from the side without stopping him.
In fact, if Marco hadn't invited Jellal, he would have done so himself.
Jellal was exactly the kind of child Makarov admired—one who would risk his life to stop disasters for the sake of others.
Clearly, he valued loyalty and righteousness deeply.
Such a child would be absolutely perfect for joining "Fairy Tail"—his moral character alone was outstanding.
"Can I really?" Faced with Marco's invitation, Jellal hesitated.
After all, he wasn't from this world—he might just be passing through.
Most importantly, he had to keep chasing the traces of 'Anima' and couldn't stay in the guild all the time.
"Why not? Fairy Tail is about freedom. We won't restrict you—you can still do your own thing."
Marco laughed as he explained.
Joining Fairy Tail didn't mean staying in the guild constantly.
Just look at Gildarts—he was never home, and if he returned even once a year, it was considered frequent.
Yet that didn't stop everyone from admiring him.
Besides, stopping 'Anima' was a truly important matter.
Fairy Tail wouldn't just refrain from restricting Jellal's actions—they'd even provide him with all kinds of support.
"But Marco, I don't have any magic power in me. I can't really be considered a Mage. Can someone like that even join a Mage guild?"
Though Marco's words had swayed him somewhat, Jellal didn't agree right away.
He still had many concerns.
People from Edolas like him had no magic power—no source of magic.
They couldn't generate it and could only cast spells using magical tools.
At best, that made them magic tool users, not true Mages.
There was a fundamental difference between the two.
"Jellal, who told you that you can't join a guild just because you don't have magic power or can't use magic?" Marco shook his head, dismissing Jellal's reasoning.
"A successful guild isn't built on magic power. What truly binds us together is our bonds—our friendships and connections!"
Marco looked at Jellal, sharing Fairy Tail's guild philosophy.
Though they were a Mage guild, they were far more than just that!
"..."
Jellal stared at Marco, at the confidence in his eyes, at the pride he radiated as a member of Fairy Tail.
Something stirred within him.
"I'd like to join." Jellal spoke up, cutting off Marco, who had been about to continue explaining the guild.
There was no need for further introductions.
He had already been moved by Marco's words, by his confidence, by his pride.
Who said you couldn't join a guild just because you lacked magic power or couldn't use magic?
The guild existed because of its members—because they were comrades.
Not because they had magic power or could wield magic.
For Jellal, this was exactly what he wanted.
This was the kind of guild he truly wished to join!
"Great! From now on, we're family!"
Delighted by Jellal's agreement, Marco grinned and clapped him on the shoulder like an old friend—though Jellal winced from the force of it.
Marco's excitement, of course, came from the reaction of the [Saint System] and it was an unexpected one at that.
[Ding! Reward available. Claim now?]
Seeing this prompt, Marco hurriedly pulled up the task titled 'A guild is where comrades gather!' and checked its progress.
[Task Progress:Invite Mystogan to join (Completed)
Invite Wendy Marvell to join (Pending)
Mission Rewards:
Invite one of them to join: Random Bronze Cloth (Claimable)
Invite both to join: "Cloth Repair Manual"
Sure enough, the mission progress had changed.
Jellal clearly wasn't lying—he genuinely wanted to join 'Fairy Tail'.
'The rewards can actually be claimed separately!'
This pleasant discovery made Marco extremely happy.
For missions with multiple sub-tasks and rewards, getting stuck on one particularly difficult task could be incredibly frustrating.
But with this phased reward system, such situations were easily avoided.
'Claim!'
Without hesitation, Marco decided to take the reward first.
After all, it would go directly into the system space without suddenly appearing out of nowhere, so neither Jellal nor Makarov would notice.