Meanwhile, elsewhere...
Ian collapsed onto his bed as soon as he returned to his room. Taking care of kids was exhausting...
But if Ian didn't step up, these kids would be in a pitiful state.
After all, in the entire Fairy Tail Guild, it was almost impossible to find a kid who had both parents still alive.
Yes, behind the laughter and joy of Fairy Tail, there was always a knife lurking in the shadows...
A knife that had cut deep into every family, leaving nothing behind.
For some of them, it had been pursuing their lineage for 400 years, mercilessly cutting again and again.
It was the kind of fate that would make even a novelist like Yu Hua, author of To Live, write ten more volumes in a single night after hearing their stories.
At least, that was the case for the four kids currently staying in Ian's villa.
Natsu's parents had died 400 years ago.
His only remaining... no, his three remaining family members were in equally tragic situations.
One was trapped in the guild's basement in a crystal, frozen in suspended animation for decades.
One had gone mad, driven to the brink of insanity by Acnologia, intent on killing his own wife to tear out her heart...
And the third was tormented by the curse of Ankhseram, unable to reunite with their parents even though they were alive. Living without love, they existed like an orphan despite having a family.
Gray's parents and master had all been killed by Deliora, leaving him an orphan as well.
And Cana...
Let's not even bring up her father.
Who do you think kept the entire construction industry of Fiore and the entire Ishgar continent alive?
If Cana were to reconnect with Gildarts, she wouldn't even ask him to take care of her. The least she could do was not make him pay for her debts!
As for Erza...
Erza's tragic fate had started 400 years ago when her mother, Irene, trusted the wrong people.
Sigh...
"If only there weren't so many tragedies," Ian muttered as he lay in bed, reflecting on the heartbreaking stories of the Fairy Tail kids. He raised a hand to cover his eyes, feeling melancholic. As people grow older, they tend to become more sentimental.
Ding!
Dream Simulator loading complete.
Please begin simulation...
Just as Ian was about to drift off to sleep, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Huh?!"
"Am I dreaming or..."
Ian was startled, unsure if what he had just heard was real.
Dream Simulator allows the host to travel to various timelines before tragedies occur and alter their outcomes, leading everything toward a better future. By breaking the chains of nightmares that have plagued others, the host will receive rewards based on the outcome of the altered timeline.
The system seemed to sense Ian's confusion and provided an explanation.
"This..."
In that moment, Ian realized what was happening—he had finally awakened his cheat ability.
"Hold on, I'm already an S-class mage. I've been planning to just relax and take it easy in this world, and now you show up with my cheat power?! Where were you when I first transmigrated, when I was lost and confused in a foreign world?!"
Ian yelled at the system, venting his frustration.
Ding. Scanning in progress.
Results detected.
To respond to the host: the system initiated emergency measures when the host first transmigrated and successfully completed two simulations.
However, due to the vast time spans of the simulations, the system exhausted all available energy, preventing it from issuing rewards and forcing it into hibernation.
Now that energy has been fully restored, rewards can be distributed at any time.
The system continued its explanation.
"Wait... I've already done two simulations?"
"Which simulations?"
As Ian processed this new information, a sense of unease crept into his heart, as if something sorrowful was about to come to light.
Ding! Retrieving data...
Host's first simulation: the host traveled back 400 years and used illusion magic to take the place of the general who was originally supposed to marry Irene Belserion. During the final battle, the host burned through his life force to use gravity and illusion magic to hold off the enemy dragons for one minute and fifty seconds, long enough for Acnologia to arrive, thus reducing the casualties on Irene's side.
Host's second simulation: the host again traveled 400 years back and helped a group of young dragons escape Acnologia's hunt by guiding them to the Northern Continent. During this time, the host... did certain things with the Moon Dragon God Selene.
The system quickly provided Ian with the details.
"Wait, what?"
"That wasn't a dream?"
"You're telling me now that all those things I did back then were real?!"
Ian suddenly remembered. As the system had said, he had indeed experienced two simulations.
In the first simulation, Ian thought his cheat ability had finally arrived.
In the 400-year-old timeline, he carefully manipulated events to help Irene escape her tragic fate, sacrificing himself in the process and earning a high rating...
But the system had never delivered the promised rewards.
As for the second simulation...
Because there had been no rewards after the first, Ian assumed he was suffering from some sort of transmigrator's delusion, imagining the cheat system. He believed everything he had done was just a dream.
Thinking it was his own dream, Ian had gotten a little carried away during the second simulation.
For instance, he had used "Dragon Control Techniques" to thoroughly humiliate the young dragons...
After the second simulation ended, the system had gone offline again, and Ian had gradually forgotten about it. He'd spent the last three years enjoying life in Fairy Tail, adapting to his new world.
"If what the system says is true..."
"Then I need to get stronger, fast."
"If the Five Dragon Gods on the Northern Continent find out about me, I'm doomed! I'm sure Ignia, that Flame Dragon idiot, will come after me for revenge..."
Ian's eyes were filled with uncertainty. For the first time since arriving in the world of Fairy Tail, he felt a genuine sense of danger.
Because of the second simulation, which he'd thought was just a dream, Ian had somehow managed to offend five and a half of the Five Dragon Gods all at once!
Yes, there were five Dragon Gods... but the count also included one more.
The Flame Dragon God Ignia, the Water Dragon God Mercphobia, the Wood Dragon God Aldoron, the Gold Dragon God Viernes, and the Earth Dragon God Dogramag—all of them would love nothing more than to rip him apart.
As for the Moon Dragon God Selene...
Well, let's just say, some things are better left in the past. Ian would rather not mention that particular debt.
"System! Start a simulation, right now!"
"And make sure to give me all the rewards you owe me, as soon as possible!"
Faced with the potential threat to his life, Ian shook off his confusion and opened the Dream Simulator.
He had to fix the tragedies that had befallen Fairy Tail's members and ensure that his own future didn't turn into a nightmare. Ian had to take action.
"Wait a minute. Since I've completely changed the timeline where Irene entrusted Erza to the wrong people, and her story has moved toward a happy ending... who will Erza's father be now?"
Before starting the simulation, a thought struck Ian, and his face turned pale.
"Could it be that Erza is..."
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