Alex stood in front of a giant boar, three meters tall nearly double his own height. In a way, he felt small standing before the beast.
Alex was nervous; he had never seen such a massive animal with such a ferocious appearance.
However, he was now a Fairy Tail wizard, and he would fight even worse monsters in human form later on. He couldn't chicken out just because of the giant boar's appearance. He possessed a broken magic after all, so his nervousness was, in a way, a type of anticipation.
From now on, his life would depend on constant battles where strength decided everything.
The giant boar grew tired of staring at Alex. With its imposing height, it charged forward, intending to crush him with its meter long tusks.
Alex was surprised by the boar's speed; something that massive moved in a way that defied its appearance. The beast tore through everything in its path, and trees fell as if they were made of paper.
Leaving a trail of destruction behind it, the boar did not feel its target getting hit. Alex had easily dodged the boar's charge. Even if the beast was fast, it was no problem for someone who possessed instant movement to dodge or attack.
"Well, it's time to see if a normal punch reinforced with magic does any damage to the beast."
Alex moved, appearing beside the giant boar in an instant. He struck the beast's ribs. The result: the beast did not seem affected by the blow at all.
"The giant boar's natural armor is no joke; its skin seems to be made of steel."
The boar charged once again at the human who had attacked it. This time, its tusks glowed with magic. Upon reaching the position where Alex was standing, a small horizontal slash shot out from the boar's tusks. Alex dodged the moment he sensed the danger, letting the attack pass right through where he had been standing.
The sight of several trees being sliced like paper played out right before his eyes. He was surprised; who would have thought that the boar had that kind of attack?
"Alex!!! Stop playing around! The giant boar is a magical beast, that's why its size is so massive. On top of that, its skin acts like armor against physical attacks, and since it possesses magic, some have special abilities!" Erza shouted. "You already saw what it can do with its tusks. Any ordinary person or rookie wizard would be cut in half by that attack!"
Alex was no fool; that attack was strong, and even the charge wasn't something you could stop head on.
"Alright, I just wanted to test if I could defeat it by reinforcing my body, but I see that isn't effective."
With that, Alex began to get serious. Two screws materialized from his hands, large enough to inflict real damage on the boar.
The boar charged at Alex once again. He dodged again, but this time, he pierced the boar's back with his two screws.
"Grrrrr!" The boar grunted in pain. Alex did not waste any time. This time, he appeared right in front of the boar's head and drove another screw into the beast's forehead, killing it on the spot.
His magic screws negated the magic within the boar's body and also negated its defense, making its coat that of a normal animal. That was how Alex's first hunt against a magical beast came to an end.
"Congratulations, Alex! I knew you could do it. This kind of mission isn't something a rookie who just joined the guild can pull off, let alone someone who just learned magic."
A silence followed Erza's words. Alex looked her up and down."Then why did you let me take this mission?"
Erza patted Alex on the back. "Because the Guild Master has high expectations for you, of course! Only by facing strong opponents can you grow faster as a wizard. Besides, you already defeated Natsu! Even if he is a bit loud, he is currently one of the strongest in the guild. So you have the Master's and Mirajane's trust to pick these kinds of missions."
Alex approached the giant boar. "I see. I will live up to their expectations and the trust they have in me. Now, what do we do with this boar?"
Erza stood beside him and said with a smile, "The other reason I like these magical beast hunting missions, Alex, is because of the extra profit! A magical beast can be sold for a very good price to merchants, blacksmiths, or even some noble who wants to use it as a decoration."
Erza tapped her armor. "Sometimes I take parts from the beasts and use them to forge my armors, Alex. But that is with stronger beasts. We can sell this one for a higher price if you use your magic to negate the wounds you inflicted on it."
The idea of making double the income by completing a mission was something Alex was very pleased to hear. If the beast was undamaged, the price would be worth even more.
Both of them brought the beast to the town. When they entered, they were stopped by the guards. Erza took care of explaining everything; she seemed to have experience dealing with these situations. Afterward, Erza took him to see a merchant.
The man was happy with the giant boar's body. Since it was intact, the selling price was much higher. It went for about 50,000 Jewels for the giant boar's body not bad at all for a first mission.
After selling the body, they went to the Mayor. After verifying that they had defeated the beast by asking the guards who saw the body, the Mayor paid them the reward of 150,000 Jewels. That made a grand total of 200,000 Jewels. Minus the 10% commission that the guild takes, it left a profit of 90,000 Jewels for each of them.
"With a single mission, I earned more than what Lucy pays in rent for her little apartment," Alex thought.
Both left the town hall with their pouches full. Afterward, they went to the bank to deposit most of the money, keeping just enough for a day's expenses.
"Do you want to head back right away, Alex? Or do you want to do a bit of sightseeing?"
Alex needed to learn more about the world of Fairy Tail; he was practically a villager with no clue about his surroundings. So, he went on a little date with Erza to hang out.
Erza was happy to go out with Alex. Normally, she used to go on missions alone; she was strong enough to complete them on her own. So having company to see the town was something new for her. She liked the feeling of not walking alone, and the two grew a little closer after that mission.