<h4>Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Solved! Easy Money~</h4>


    "Stay here and don''t move. I''ll solve the curse soon, and I''ll need you to take me back."


    Nate nced at the situation along the shore and then asked, "Which direction is the vige?"


    "Over there!" Bobo pointed with a serious expression. "Nate-san, I can''t stay here for too long. It feels very ufortable. Please try to finish before nightfall..."


    Nate waved his hand, and after confirming the direction, he set off.


    After passing through a dense forest, he finally saw signs of human activity. A vige appeared in view, surrounded by tall wooden fences with arge wooden gate at the front.


    "Is anyone there?"


    Nate called out loudly toward the vige.


    Soon, the wooden gate lifted, and the vige chief came out with a group of vigers.


    "I''m Nate, a mage from Fairy Tail. I''vee to fulfill the request. Who ced it?"


    "I am the one who ced the request," said the vige chief, Moka. "We just received word yesterday that the request was epted, and you''ve already arrived today? That''s very efficient."


    The vige chief was wrapped in a gray robe, with a veil covering his face, revealing only his eyes.


    "Are you alone? Can you handle the curse by yourself?" Chief Moka asked, a bit skeptical as he saw that Nate hade alone.


    Nate removed his left glove, showing the guild emblem to confirm his identity. He got straight to the point:


    "No need for idle chatter. I already understood the nature of the curse on my way here."


    "Before I lift the curse for you, have you prepared the reward?"


    The vige chief was caught off guard by Nate''s straightforwardness. He had been nning to exin the curse, but his words got stuck in his throat.


    "Uh... of course. As long as you can break the curse, the reward will be yours."


    "Alright, I''ll begin now."


    Nate nodded and looked up at the sky. It was noon, and the scorching sun made him squint.


    He couldn''t see the evil energy barrier yet, but considering the distance and itsrge coverage over the ind...


    "Let''s use about one star of magic power," Nate thought to himself.


    At the moment, his magic power was at about one and a half stars, and one star was roughly two-thirds of his total magic.


    Slowly adjusting his breathing, Nate concentrated his magic power into his fist. As the magic flowed, a faint white light enveloped his right fist, and powerful tremors werepressed within it.


    The vigers exchanged confused nces, not understanding what Nate was about to do.


    "Excuse me..."


    The vige chief was just about to speak when Nate suddenly punched toward the sky.


    "Skyquake!"


    Boom!


    A deep, dull sound echoed, and the air struck by his punch cracked like a mirror.


    The vigers were stunned, looking up at the sky in disbelief.


    "What''s happening?"


    "What''s going to happen?"


    "It seems like nothing''s happening...?"


    They murmured among themselves.


    Nate squinted up at the sun and began counting down.


    "Three... two... one..."


    Crack, crack, crack.


    Cracks appeared above them, spreading rapidly across the sky.


    The vigers gasped in shock. "The sky... it''s shattering?"


    The cracks spread wider and wider until they reached a critical point. With a loud bang, the evil energy barrier that had covered the ind shattered into countless glittering fragments that scattered in the wind.


    "Ah... I remember now!"


    "Is that so? So that''s what happened!"


    "We... were demons all along!"


    As the dust settled, the vigers'' memories started to return.


    They stood in a daze for a moment before excitedly cheering.


    "It''s gone! I remember everything!"


    The first viger removed his gray robe, revealing his demonic form. The others followed suit, quickly transforming into an odd assortment of demons.


    The vige chief also shed his robe, stepping forward excitedly to shake Nate''s hand.


    "Thank you so much for your help! I can''t believe the curse was resolved so easily!"


    "As expected from a Fairy Tail mage!"


    "Enough with thepliments. As agreed, where''s the reward?" Nate wasn''t used to their demonic appearances and quietly pulled his hand back.


    Even though the vige chief was a demon, he kept his word and immediately instructed the vigers to bring the reward.


    "This curse tormented us for three years. At first, we thought it was an infectious disease because we would turn into monsters at night."


    "We consulted dozens of doctors, but none of them could help."


    "In hindsight, it''s clear that we were just insecure about our demonic appearances, and we mistakenly believed our human forms were our true selves."


    Some vigers were still sorting through their memories as they spoke to Nate.


    "In any case, thank you so much for your help!"


    Nate smiled. Despite their fierce appearances, they were simple, kind vigers—not much different from humans.


    Soon, Nate received the reward. It consisted of a magic bank card loaded with 7 million J, along with a golden Zodiac Key.


    "Well, my job is done. Goodbye."


    "Wait, Nate-san! You''ve traveled so far—why not stay for a feast?"


    One of the vigers who had brought the reward tried to persuade him to stay.


    Nate waved without looking back and left with a smile.


    "Thanks for the offer, but if the curse returns, just contact the guild, and I''ll handle the aftercare."


    The Moon Drip ritual was still ongoing, so Nate couldn''t be sure if the evil energy barrier would reappear.


    Returning to the shore, Bobo had remained in ce as promised. Seeing Nate return, he asked in confusion:


    "What happened...?"


    "It''s done. Please take me back."


    "Huh?"


    Bobo''s face was frozen in disbelief. It had taken less than an hour, and it was already over?


    However, he had indeed seen the sky crack just now.


    Rubbing his head, he muttered, "That uneasy feeling is gone now. Did you really lift the curse, that demonic curse?"


    "Once you take me back, you can check for yourself. You''ll see the vige chief''s son."


    Nate chuckled as he boarded the boat.


    ...


    Not long after Nate left, a masked figure sat cross-legged atop a tall tree near the vige.


    Next to the figure, acrima floated in midair.


    Watching the vigers celebrate the lifting of the curse, the figure smiled faintly.


    "To shatter the sky... such a magnificent magic."


    The figure reached up and removed the mask, revealing a woman''s face. Even the voice changed.


    "Still, for a Fairy Tail mage to leave without investigating the temple? How amusing."


    ...


    By the time Nate returned to Hargeon, it was already 2 p.m.


    Having suddenlye into arge fortune, Nate immediately bought a train ticket. While waiting for the train, he strolled into a magic supply shop.


    "Customer, you''re looking for this, right? The Gale-Force Reading sses."


    The shopkeeper took out a pair of magic sses from the disy case.


    "Yes, that''s it."


    Nate took the sses and put them on.


    [Gale-Force Reading sses]: A magic item that allows the wearer to quickly read through books.


    He had been too broke to afford them before.


    But now that he had money, it was time to treat himself.


    After testing the sses and confirming they worked, Nate asked, "How much?"


    "150,000J."


    So expensive.


    Nate couldn''t help but think. A month of odd jobs had only earned him a little over 100,000J.


    But now that he had the money, he bought them without hesitation.


    After paying, Nate left the shop and boarded the return train.


    With the help of the Gale-Force Reading sses, he finished reading the remaining half of the magic book within an hour.


    After devouring the entire book, Nate had a good grasp of photography magic.


    He immediately activated the Inte''s programming function and began building the library.


    At 9 p.m. that evening, the train arrived in Magnolia.


    Instead of going to the guild, Nate went straight back to his apartment.


    However, when he arrived at his door, he was surprised to find that the neighboring apartment had a new tenant.


    "Nate?"


    Lucy, who was in the middle of moving in, widened her eyes in surprise.


    Nate raised an eyebrow. "What a coincidence. You live here too?"