Tokyo Area, 39th Ward, Fairy Tail…

“Ugh!”

Noah stuck a needle in his arm, he groaned in that dark room.

Inside the ampoule and the machine connected to it, he had an incubator filled unknown liquid. The decreasing levels inside the tank meant that he was injecting the liquid into himself.

His eyes are already dyed in a very ominous red color. His body twitched and his muscles flexed and relaxed intermittently. A simple view would make anyone nauseous as his muscles bulged abnormally like his own body is threatening to rip apart the skin blocking its development. He churned and turned as the unknown liquid worked its magic.

Gasp

Noah grabbed at his chest, it felt like he’s on fire. He crouched on the floor with his back arched, his muscles tensed up without his conscious control. He gasped for more air as the liquid continued modifying his body.

Soon, the liquid inside the incubator was drained in its entirety. Noah also relaxed and he returned to his calm self.

“Phew…”

Noah got up from the ground and he removed the needle in his arm. Clenching his fists, he furrowed his brows as he sighed.

“As expected, the Gastrea Virus cannot enhance my body beyond this limit, huh?”

With his innate understanding of his own power, he discovered that the enhancement this time failed to bring about the same change as the last time he injected himself with the stimulant.

The magnitude of improvement is just terrible compared to the first time he augmented himself with the Gastrea virus. The efficiency this time around is 10% at best, enhancement in other areas also weakened significantly.

Only the genetic traits carried by unrecorded organisms can enhance him at this point, even then, this occurrence is relatively rare.

There are millions of species in this world but that is still a finite amount.

After continuously biologically modifying himself for an entire year, Noah has now assimilated close to all known species on this planet.

Since he didn’t specifically separate the traits in the serums he used, duplication of genetic traits was inevitable.

There are no stacking similar traits so as time went on, the strengthening he got from this process decreased drastically.

At this rate, probably one or two shots maximum, the Gastrea injection he gave himself won’t be able to enhance himself anymore.

Noah felt the surging power inside himself and he evaluated it against the past him who just arrived in this world. The difference could be said to be the difference between heaven and earth.

“But, one year of augmentation, I should be happy with the progress made.”

Noah raised his head, with the feeling of saying goodbye to this world soon, he put the ampoule back on the apparatus that gathered and concentrated the Gastrea virus from the surrounding air. Turning around, he left his room.

===

“Guildmaster.”

When he closed the door to his room, a petite figure greeted him with a cup of tea on the plate she’s holding.

“Good job, please drink some tea.”

Noah recognized the owner of the voice and he replied with a troubled face.

“Kayo, you again?”

“Hmm?”

Kayo tilted her head and she blinked her puppy-like eyes at him.

“Does the guildmaster not wish to see me here?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Noah scratched his cheek.

“You always come here unannounced. Maybe ring the bell next time, yeah?”

“Is that so?”

Kayo’s cute but detached look never wavered despite being busted for breaking into someone’s home. She replied as if it’s natural for her to be here.

“If that’s the case then I won’t be able to help the guildmaster when the time comes. Even if you need my help it’s not like you would tell me, isn’t that right?”

Ever since she joined Fairy Tail, Kayo always lived like this.

She never expressed the desire to pair up with another promoter. She also eschewed the lifestyle of the other cursed children. She doesn’t want to go to school, play games, or otherwise live a life a child should live. Instead, she chose to serve Noah whether or not he liked it, offering a helping hand whenever the chance arises.

According to her, this was born from her desire to help Noah however she could.

Moreover, she wants to help even more, not just with small tasks, she wants to be of greater use to Noah.

During this period, she would do anything from pouring tea to participating in brainstorm sessions concerning the development of Fairy Tail, all in the name of helping out.

To make matters worse, this girl had over 210 IQ so she would always be able to pull off her given task without fail, making it hard for Noah to turn her down whenever she offers assistance.

He’s very grateful that Kayo helped him solve a lot of matters, certainly, she lightened his load substantially.

But, if he can fix her bad habit of breaking into his home to help, that would be fantastic.

Wait, there are more important issues to address before that.

Like for example…

“Enlighten me on why sneaking into my blanket at night helps me out?”

Noah asked in all seriousness.

“It’s not fun to wake up deep in the night thinking that somebody ambushed me. Remember how I almost attacked you the first time you did that? That’s problematic for me, don’t you think so?”

“I never expected your guard to be that formidable. I was thinking that if I sneaked into your bed, I wouldn’t bother your rest if I did it in a furtive manner.”

Kayo said as if she’s trying to solve the mystery of the century.

“Also, you can easily guess how I can help you out, right?”

“Sorry, I have no clue at all.”

Noah denied it immediately.

“I fail to understand how that would help me out though?”

Kayo replied just as quickly.

“Warming your bed.”

“Har?”

Noah doubted his own ears.

“Come again?”

“Warming your bed.”

Kayo replied with a calm look.

“My body is small, but I am very warm, so I can warm your bed up just fine.”

“I…”

Noah kept opening and closing his mouth but he couldn’t find the words to even begin.

“I understand. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“It’s okay.”

Kayo met his eyes and she had an excited look.

“Then, tonight we can…”

“There will be no need to warm up my bed tonight!”

Noah pressed down on her slender shoulders, he couldn’t emphasize the importance of this matter any more than this.

“I understand.”

“Good girl.”

Noah gave her tiny noggin a good rub. He picked up the cup of tea and he drank it.

“Oh, right.”

Kayo suddenly said.

“Guildmaster, there is something I need to report.”

“Hmm?”

Noah stopped his actions and he looked at her.

“What is it?”

“There was a job request that came into Fairy Tail. The job request specified that only the guildmaster can take the job.”

Kayo put down the platter and she walked to the table in front of the sofa. She took out a piece of paper from the stack of documents and she passed it over to Noah.

“I think this request is rather special so it’s best if Guildmaster reads it himself.”

Noah read the job request and he flinched in surprise.

“A security detail?”

He saw the name of the person who placed this request and he was momentarily stunned.

“To protect Seitenshi?”