Internet Magic in Fairy Tail

The waitress had gotten cheeky.

Nate thought to himself, 'Would I dare go to the guild to kiss you?'

Sigma Male: "I'm afraid if I go over now, I might get beaten up."

The Departing Traveler: "That's what you get for setting the draw rate so low, haha."

'What can I do? I need to break even,' Nate thought.

By breaking even, he didn't mean just covering the cost of a single Pokémon—he meant the cost of 'all three draw pools.'

The points pool consumes points, and the money pool consumes money, but their underlying cost is still 'magic power.'

He needed revenue from the magic power pool to balance out the consumption of the other two. It also involved tweaking the output ratio, a process that would require time and broad testing to fine-tune the balance.

In simple terms, both the points pool and the money pool would have lower drop rates.

For Nate, it was his first time handling something like this, and it felt like solving a complex math problem.

Sigma Male: "By the way, there's something I need your help with."

The Departing Traveler: "What is it? Tell me—I'll help you with anything~"

Sigma Male: "The original goal of this game was to let 'everyone,' even non-mages, enjoy it."

Sigma Male: "So, for this test, we need to involve some ordinary folks too."

The Departing Traveler: "You mean inviting the citizens of Magnolia to join?"

Sigma Male: "Yes, but not too many—just a couple hundred should be enough."

Magnolia now had official stores selling magic net rings, which were hugely popular among the residents. Out of the 60,000 to 70,000 people in town, a good majority already owned one.

But if he didn't set a limit on testers, he wouldn't have enough star power to create the necessary number of Pokémon. In simple terms, there wasn't enough star power to meet the required supply.

The Departing Traveler: "Understood! That's easy. Leave it to me~"

After chatting a bit longer with Mirajane, Nate prepared to get some sleep.

Just then, he received a message from Erza.

Knight: "Didn't get anything…"

Knight: "I saw someone in the guild chat mention Mirajane got one on her first try. 🤔"

The expression on that "puzzled" emoji was way too suspicious…

Nate had to explain.

Sigma Male: "It's just a matter of luck!"

Knight: "I want one."

Sigma Male: "Which one?"

Knight: "I want them all! 😆"

Erza was always straightforward about what she wanted. Nate liked that about her; she never played hard-to-get or made him guess her intentions.

So, he opened the game's back-end, tapped a few buttons, and added 200 gold tickets to Erza's account. For his girlfriend, he wasn't going to hold back.

Sigma Male: "But don't tell anyone!"

Knight: "Got it~ 😆"

Sigma Male: "Aren't you at the guild?"

Knight: "I'm in Mengo City on a job, escorting a shipment of gold."

Knight: "Did you… miss me? 😳"

'Something's up with you! When did I say that? You're the one who misses me!'

Nate couldn't help but think that with all the time he'd spent working on this game recently, he hadn't had much time to see his girlfriend in the evenings.

Just then, Erza sent him a photo.

Knight: "[Secretary in black stockings.jpg]"

In the photo, Erza posed in front of a mirror in a hotel room, dressed in a sleek professional skirt and black stockings, intentionally striking a flirtatious pose.

Knight: "This mission's gold escort is for a bank. I saw the tellers there dressed like this, so I bought an outfit too."

Knight: "How does it look?"

Nate knew about Erza's outfit collection hobby. Her Requip space held a vast variety of clothing, but he'd never seen her in a secretary's outfit before.

Quietly saving the photo, he responded with a single word.

Sigma Male: "Want."

Knight: "I miss you too… I'll be back soon! ☺️"

They chatted for a bit, and then Nate, now wide awake, thought he should be fair: since he'd sent Erza 200 gold tickets, he should probably do the same for everyone else.

So he sent 200 gold tickets each to Juvia and Ultear as well.

Sigma Male: "Shh! Don't tell anyone!"

Both replied at the same time.

Sunny Doll: "Juvia promises not to say a word! 😚"

Witch of Pain: "My guess is you gave Erza and Juvia the same thing, didn't you?"

Nate: "…"

Of course, Ultear would figure it out in no time.

Witch of Pain: "But I'm pleased anyway. What do you want as a reward? 👈"

Sigma Male: "You're mine already—nothing's better than having you."

Witch of Pain: "You're so smooth with words 🙄"

Witch of Pain: "But I like hearing it. Keep going!"

The witch was as straightforward as ever.

They chatted for another ten minutes, and finally, Nate, utterly exhausted, was about to sleep. But just as he closed his eyes, he realized he'd forgotten someone.

Ur? She was still in Edolas and didn't know about Pokémon yet.

Thinking it over, Nate decided he'd tell her next time he visited.

Then he thought of Lucy. With so many girlfriends, there were bound to be some challenges.

He counted them out carefully:

Ultear, Juvia, Erza, Ur, Lucy.

Just five—not too much to manage.

One day he'd reach nine and earn the ultimate achievement!

So he messaged Lucy.

Sigma Male: "Want some gold tickets? 😏"

Gotta Earn Money: "Yes, please!!!"

Sigma Male: "Should I give you a few?"

Gotta Earn Money: "Please do, please do! 🥺"

Sigma Male: "But I'm so tired… If only a beautiful blonde would come here and let me hold her. [sigh.jpg]"

Gotta Earn Money: "You just want to misbehave! [glare.jpg]"

Sigma Male: "Misbehave? How so? 😇"

Gotta Earn Money: "…Just a hug, nothing more, okay? 😳"

Gotta Earn Money: "Are you at your place?"

After Nate confirmed he was at home, Lucy didn't reply further. He figured she was probably already on her way over.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Lucy arrived at his apartment.

Nate pulled her into his arms with a grin.

"You actually came?"

"Well, I thought you sounded pitiful. It seems like you've been working really hard."

Lucy blushed, a little flustered.

"I haven't had a good night's sleep in days," he replied, pulling her onto the bed and wrapping them both in a blanket.

She smelled sweet and felt warm—just holding her like this was comforting.

Nate nestled his head against her chest, feeling genuinely relaxed.

Seeing that he was content just cuddling, Lucy felt relieved and watched him as he drifted to sleep, a gentle smile on her face.

"You really have been pushing yourself. Get some good rest."

After a while, though, Nate's eyes opened suddenly. "Are you really going to sleep in your clothes?"

"Huh?"

"Nobody sleeps in clothes, you know?"

"Wait, hold on!"

"Let me help you take them off."

With the covers rustling, her clothes were tossed aside one by one.

Lucy's face turned scarlet as she found herself stripped down, her mind going hazy.

Just as she was about to protest, he kissed her again, and her thoughts grew even more muddled.

'Maybe I shouldn't have come… you incorrigible wolf, Nate!'

But as his girlfriend, it seemed natural enough, didn't it?

Nate snapped his fingers, casting a soundproofing magic to keep all sounds sealed within the cozy apartment.

And in the warmth of the blankets, passion quickly took hold.

Before long, one less girl remained in the world of innocence.