Cathal Crowley was walking down the street under the summer sun, headed towards the local store so he could buy supplies for the weekend. What supplies, you may wonder? Snacks, energy drinks, energy bars, sweets, and a gallon of water. Why would he need said things? Because he was going to spend the next two days no-lifing Warframe, a game he had invested over 4000 hours into, and the reason he didn't have any other hobbies. Since the latest Isleweaver update was close to dropping, Cathal wanted to farm as many resources as he could, just to make sure he had enough of everything in case he needed it.
As Cathal neared the store, something unbelievable happened. He hadn't even noticed when or how, but a truck with no driver appeared literally in front of him, going at full throttle.
"What the f-?!" Cathal couldn't even finish his sentence, his consciousness fading instantly when the truck made contact with him, the force of the impact ending his life. His last thought, surprisingly was about how he wouldn't be able to try Oraxia himself.
*
The warmth embrace of sunlight was the first thing Cathal felt when his consciousness returned to him. Then he felt his body, then his heart beating. Then he heard the sounds of the forest: birds chirping, frogs croaking, and the rustling of leaves in the wind.
With some hesitation, Cathal opened his eyes. A bright spectacle welcomed him. The sunlight shining down through the canopy of the forest, softly illuminating the otherwise dark area, the bright, lively green of the leaves, the colourful flowers in the earthen bed where he lay... it was a sight so beautiful that Cathal had trouble figuring out how he could forget how beautiful nature really was. Ever since his ex had left him, Cathal had seen no reason to put effort into enjoying things anymore, so he dedicated himself to Warframe, the only thing that took his mind off of his mood.
They had both agreed to break up, but... Cathal knew the truth. He never wanted to break up with her, but he forced himself to agree that it was the best for both of them. All for her. All so that she could be happier without him. He was dragging her down, or so he convinced himself to believe. It was only later down the line that Cathal realized he never dragged her down, they just weren't compatible from the beginning. Which hurt even more to realize after four years of being together. With his self-esteem bottomed and his mind and heart in disarray, Cathal turned to solitude and entertainment.
Now though... nature had reminded him of the beauty of life. Of being alive. He had died, hadn't he? Even if only for a moment, he had truly, really died. He had been wasting his life away, not really living, not enjoying the process of breathing and nurturing his body, his soul. Now... now he didn't know if he was truly alive. For all he knew, he could be in paradise. But still, Cathal would certainly continue with a newer appreciation for life.
It was then that something broke his train of thought.
[Welcome to the Fairy Tail universe, Host!]
[You have been chosen to be reincarnated in a different world, as a second chance at enjoying life. In order to facilitate the Host's adaptation to his new universe, the Host has been granted Warframe Take Over Magic. While this universe is almost the same as the one the Host remembers from entertainment, some things may differ. Host is adviced to not depend too much on previous knowledge.]
[If the Host wants to see the current status of his Magic, Host just needs to call out status. The System is only a tracker for the Host's Magic, there is no strengthening function. The System may give out a quest to the Host in order to facilitate his growth, but will not help the Host in any other way.]
"What the fuck?" Cathal said, his mouth wide open and his eyes bulging. He stayed like that for a good minute, no reaction, no movement, no sound. Only after a full minute did he act again, this time laughing hysterically. "HAHAHAHA! Oh God, I can not believe this shit!"
"This is so stupid..." Cathal thought, unable to believe the things he was reading. He was now in Fairy Tail, with Warframe Take Over magic. If his memory was to be trusted, Take Over magic allows the user to take control over the soul of a being they have defeated and absorbed, so long as the user's will and magic power are strong enough. Bar the Void fury, he would basically be a Tenno. "I almost want to pinch myself, geez."
Without thinking much about it, Cathal decided to call out 'status', if only to check if he wasn't hallucinating. To his –mild– surprise, a status screen did appear before his eyes.
[User: Cathal Crowley
Magic Power: Rank-A Magician
Unlocked Take Over Souls:
-Excalibur
-Mag
-Volt]
"Hm... not bad, I have the three starting frames, but I wonder..." Cathal said, striking a thinking pose with his fingers on his chin. "Do they work like in the game? Or will this be... lore accurate?"
Cathal then tried to focus on Excalibur, to see if he could acquire more information on it. He already knew everything about pretty much every warframe ever, so this wasn't information he didn't know. It was mostly an attempt to confirm his guess.
[Excalibur: This frame has the makings of a swordsman, with the ability to create an energy blade and emit powerful energy waves and slashes, as well as dashing towards his objective to engage in close combat. It boasts of incredible physical capabilities.]
"Yup, lore accurate it is." Cathal confirmed. There was no mention of the warframe's abilities, just what it was capable of doing. That meant that he was free to use it however he wanted and create his own skills. "This'll be so much fun."
*
Cathal spent the following day doing mild tests of his warframe's capabilities with his current power and he had to admit, he was extremely giddy. Without going into much detail, Cathal had been able to cut an eight meter wide stone in half with his current power level and, considering how power in Fairy Tail grew exponentially, he would probably be able to cut down small mountains if he reached the level of a Wizard Saint. And that was only Excalibur. With Mag he had been able to levitate said stone, as well as other animals in the area he was in –they got so scared they immediately ran away when he let them go– and, with enough focus, he was able to compact the stone a little bit. Then there was Volt. To say he moved fast was an understatement. If he was that fast with Volt he couldn't wait to have Gauss, if it was even possible to unlock him or other frames –though something told him it was. The highlight though... he was able to summon lightning. Since Volt creates electricity, he was able to ionize air and summon lightning. At that moment, even if only just for that moment, Cathal felt like what Warframe was all about. A god.
"Phew... welp, if I didn't know I am still weak, I would be over the moon." He said after testing his newfound powers. "Guess it's time to start moving towards..."
His sentence got caught in his throat, a presence approaching him. Something he had learned about while testing his powers was that he could switch between frames extremely fast, so he switched between Mag and the others so he could keep a magnetic field up from time to time. Why? So he could sense if someone or something got close to him. And someone was getting closer.
The bigger problem? He didn't even need to use his magnetic field to realize. The amount of magic power that person had... it was like a walking beacon.
"Hmm... so you're the one that has been causing such a ruckus in our backyard..." A small, old man said, his head almost completely bald bar the sides and a white mustache adorning his face. "Tell me... why are you in Magnolia?"
Not knowing what to say, Cathal stared at Makarov in disbelief. He thought he had been in a random forest somewhere in Fiore, not in Magnolia City where Fairy Tail is located. This made things both easier and more complicated, since Cathal already had plans to join Fairy Tail.
"Umm... sorry?" He finally got out, scratching the back of his head. Only then did he realize... he was still in his Mag form.