Kingdom of Fiore Magnolia
"Welcome to Fairy Tail!"
Makarov pushed open the heavy guild doors with a flourish, beaming down at Shun. The roar of chatter, clinking mugs, and boisterous laughter spilled out into the street.
Shun stood for a moment on the threshold, taking it all in. The familiar, rustic interior he had only ever seen on a screen was now real, tangible. The scent of wood, ale, and magic hung in the air. For five years, his world had been the silent, solitary expanse of Tenroujima. Now, surrounded by this vibrant chaos, the reality of his new life finally settled upon him.
"I'm really here," he murmured to himself, a sense of awe cutting through his usual pragmatism.
"Alright, where do you want the guild emblem?" Makarov asked, pulling out a stamp.
"My shoulder is fine," Shun said, and a moment later, the familiar crimson mark was etched onto his skin.
"Hey, Master! Who's the kid? A new member?" A burly mage called out, drawing the attention of others. Soon, a small crowd had gathered around them.
"Everyone, this is Shun. He's one of us now," Makarov announced.
"Another kid? Fairy Tail's turning into a daycare center," one member grumbled.
"Yeah, people already laugh at us on missions," another added.
'So this is Fairy Tail's famous chaos,' Shun mused silently. 'And this is probably without Natsu. I can only imagine the noise level then.'
"Shut up, all of you!" Makarov barked, his small frame suddenly radiating authority. "I know what I'm doing. In a few years, Fairy Tail will enter its golden era, mark my words!"
The grumbling subsided, and the members turned their curiosity back to Shun, peppering him with questions about his origins and his magic. Shun kept his story simple: he was a survivor who learned a Lost Magic called "Repel" from an old book on a deserted island. It was the truth, just with the serial numbers filed off.
As he spoke, two other children around his age approached—a dark-haired boy who was, for the moment, fully dressed, and a girl with a deck of cards tucked at her belt. Gray and Cana, he realized. As the only kids in the guild, they seemed to have formed a bond.
Their eyes widened at the sight of the pink pads on his palms, but they took it in stride. In a world with talking, magic-using cats and dragons, paw-hands were hardly the strangest thing.
The conversation was interrupted by a new voice. "Hey, Shun. Can you demonstrate this magic of yours? I want to see this so-called 'Lost Magic: Repel.'"
It was Laxus, a confident smirk on his face. This wasn't the bitter, arrogant young man from the future, but a talented teen testing the waters.
"Sure, I don't mind," Shun said.
As he was about to begin, Makarov, foreseeing catastrophe, suddenly shouted, "NOT IN THE GUILD! Outside! Far, far outside!"
The entire guild, now buzzing with anticipation, trooped out of the city and into a wide, empty plain. Makarov followed, keen to see the full extent of the boy's offensive power.
Once they were a safe distance away, Shun asked the crowd to move back even further. Puzzled but compliant, they did. When he was satisfied, he faced the open field.
He raised his hands, and a massive, translucent paw of compressed air began to form between them. He pushed and compressed, over and over, the bubble shrinking from the size of a house to a dense, shimmering sphere no larger than his head, held perfectly between his palms. With a final, gentle push, he launched it forward.
'Ursus Shock.'
For a moment, there was only silence. The compressed sphere of air flew, humming with contained power. Even the weakest mages present could feel the terrifying magic density within it.
When it was a safe distance away, Shun released his control.
The air decompressed all at once.
BOOOOOM!
A colossal, paw-shaped explosion tore across the plain. The shockwave that followed was a physical wall of force, washing over the spectators and nearly sweeping the weaker ones off their feet. Dust and debris clouded the air.
'I held back a lot, and it's still this powerful,' Shun thought, impressed. 'Kuma was definitely pulling his punches at Thriller Bark.'
A full minute passed before the wind died down and the guild members found their voices.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" "Terrifying! Lost Magic is terrifying!" "Idiot, Dragon Slayer Magic is a Lost Magic too, and it's not this scary!" someone retorted, glancing furtively at Laxus.
But Laxus wasn't paying attention. He stood frozen, his usual smirk gone, replaced by a look of stunned humility. This new kid, this brat, possessed power that might genuinely eclipse his own. The encounter lit a fire of determination within him.
Shun watched the reactions, a small, inward smirk forming. 'I might have just changed the plot a little.'
He walked over to a speechless Makarov. "That's my trump card. I'd say it's on the level of a Super-Tier spell."
Makarov, collecting his wits and his dignity as a Wizard Saint, coughed. "Indeed it is. Make sure you never, ever use it anywhere near the guild. Or the city. Or, preferably, civilization."
"Of course," Shun agreed.
"Now that you've seen how strong I am," he continued, "I can start taking missions, right?"
"You little brat," Makarov sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That was your plan all along, wasn't it?"
Shun needed the freedom to travel, to search for the Tower of Heaven. The anime had never specified its location, and his own memories were hazy. His only lead was to roam and gather information.
"All right, you can take missions. Anything below S-Rank."
"Thanks."
Leaving the dazed crowd behind, Shun returned to the guild hall alone and made a beeline for the request board. His eyes quickly landed on a suitable job:
Mission: Guard a merchant caravan from Magnolia to Crocus. Reward: 65,000 Jewels
'This will do. The merchant will probably complain about having a child as a guard, but that's Makarov's problem to handle.'
He took the poster, got the official approval from the master, and then headed into the city to liquidate his five years of accumulated monster parts. He found the largest trading company in town: Heartfilia Konzern.
'Lucy's family...' he thought, a pang of nostalgia hitting him.
"Welcome to the Heartfilia Konzern!" a receptionist greeted him warmly, not batting an eye at his age.
"I'd like to sell a large quantity of monster materials. The Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov, will vouch for me," Shun stated, leveraging his new connection without hesitation.
After a quick call for verification, he was ushered into a private room. The sight of his high-quality, Tenroujima-grade materials caused a series of impressed gasps and whispers among the appraisers. Thanks to Makarov's impeccable reputation, the transaction was smooth and professional.
By the time he left, having sold only half his stock, Shun's wallet was heavier by 40 million Jewels. Considering Lucy's future rent was 70,000J a month, he was, for all intents and purposes, set for life.
With his newfound wealth, he took a stroll through Magnolia, eventually finding the apartment building where Lucy would one day live. He rented the room right next to her future one for a cool 100,000J a month—a small price for a prime location and a piece of the future.
His accommodation and finances secured, Shun could now focus entirely on his dual objectives: climbing the ranks through guild missions and completing the system's task to find the Tower of Heaven.