"That day, a group of wizards attacked our village."
"Everyone in our village was just ordinary farmers; we couldn't fight off wizards at all, let alone since there were so many of them."
"Those wizards went on a rampage in the village, burning, killing, and looting. In less than half an hour, the entire village was reduced to ruins."
As the cruel past was unearthed from the depths of his memory, the boy's voice continued to drop lower.
"The people of our village were very kind; we never held grudges against anyone and didn't know that group of wizards at all."
"Even now, I still don't understand why they attacked us."
"After entering the village, those wizards set fire to our houses without a word, stole our money, and killed many people."
Speaking to this point, his face became contorted, and his eyes were instantly filled with anger and fear.
"However, they didn't kill everyone; they left a portion behind."
"We originally thought they planned to take us captive for menial chores and even thought, 'At least we can keep our lives.' We never expected that what awaited us in the end was torture more painful than death!"
"They drew a runic symbol like a magic circle on the ground in the center of the village, tied us on top of it, and finally knelt beside it chanting."
"One by one, my fellow villagers and I were transformed into wild boars just like that!"
This...
It sounds like some kind of Black Magic ritual!
Darwin immediately turned to look at Precht, only to see him nodding toward him with a serious expression, signaling him to continue questioning.
"Besides that, what else do you remember?"
"For example... were there any characteristics regarding those wizards' clothes or appearance? Did they have guild marks on them? Or did they say anything?"
Hearing this, the boy reminisced carefully for a long while before shaking his head in regret.
"Regarding clothes and appearance, I couldn't see any distinct characteristics."
"Most of them wore black hooded robes, covering themselves very tightly, so I couldn't see any guild marks either."
"But before I lost consciousness, I think I heard them mention things like 'Awakening,' 'Key,' 'Mistake'..."
Awakening, Key, and Mistake?
The final "Mistake" probably refers to the ritual going wrong and accidentally turning people into wild boars.
The focus should be placed on the preceding "Awakening" and "Key."
Those wizards likely need some kind of key to awaken a certain existence?
Darwin could only think this far for the time being.
He turned around, wanting to consult Precht for more information, only to find that the other man had already pulled out his phone and was tapping away rapidly.
"...He sure moves fast!"
Darwin knew that Precht pulling out his phone at this time was definitely not to study magic knowledge or play games!
Ten to one, he was contacting Darwin's dad to report the situation here.
Darwin was about to lean in for a closer look, but as the people around them gradually woke up, he had to temporarily abandon the idea. He then took the first conscious Wild Boar King boy and began looking after these poor souls one by one, explaining the current situation to them.
At nightfall.
Darwin and this group of unfortunate people brought the wild boar back to the village, explained the situation to the village chief and the local residents, and apologized sincerely.
Upon learning the truth, the chief and the villagers were greatly shocked: "To think that the pack of wild boars attacking our village's crops were actually a group of people cursed into boars by Black Magic. This..."
"We are truly very sorry!!"
"Sigh... forget it, forget it. You were acting against your will; we can't blame you!"
"However, this matter cannot end with just an apology! You people should stay here forever from now on and make amends for your 'crimes'!"
"Ah, this... thank you so much!!"
This village chief is quite a tsundere too!
"Yosh—"
"To celebrate the resolution of the trouble and to celebrate the village adding more people, let's slaughter this wild boar and eat it!"
"Agreed!!"
"In favor!!"
"Eh? But... umm... are you sure this wild boar isn't one of your villagers?"
"We're sure! There were exactly 24 people transformed into boars, and they are all here! This one should be a real wild boar!"
"Then it's fine! By the way, we can join the banquet too, right?"
"Hahaha... of course!!"
...
Two days later.
Darwin and Precht returned to the guild.
"You're so slow, Darwin!"
"I finished my novice mission and came back yesterday!"
As soon as they entered the guild, they bumped into Chris's clean face, full of banter and laughter. Her twitching eyebrows seemed to say, "See, I beat you once again."
The first job Chris chose was a "Rain-making Request."
It was said that a certain place hadn't seen rain for half a year, the crops were nearly dead, so the locals posted a request to Fairy Tail, wanting wizards to help start a heavy rain.
Something like this was naturally effortless for Chris, who had awakened "Weather Magic."
Not only did she make it rain to solve the immediate crisis, but she also helped adjust the local climate so that there would be favorable weather for the next three months!
This method of "changing the climate of a region for a long time" was something even the accompanying Zera found breathtaking and incredible.
Chris looked at Darwin and clicked her tongue repeatedly: "Taking this long for your first job? Don't tell me you messed up halfway and had to rely on Uncle Precht to finish the mission?"
Normally, hearing Chris's mockery, Darwin would have indignantly jumped over and shouted about a "duel."
But this time, he just waved his hand and gave a light, cold laugh.
"My foolish little sister, when can you become a bit more mature like me?"
"We are now qualified wizards!"
"You must learn to be steady, understand humility, carry out the guild's tenets, help those in trouble, and fight against evil!"
Chris's jaw nearly hit the floor in shock.
Who is this?
Is this still my idiot brother who only knows how to shout blindly all day?
Could it be someone in disguise?
He just went out to do a novice mission, and he came back... acting so pretentious?
The others in the guild were also incredibly surprised by Darwin's "arrogance" and began to get suspicious.
"Did this kid Darwin eat something wrong?"
"I bet he did something good during this mission, and that's why he's getting cocky!"
"Makes sense... I just wonder what exactly he did?"
"If you want to know what he did, just ask Precht! Where is he?"
"I just saw him go up to the second floor with a stern face. Maybe something serious really happened..."