A Devil's Heart

First Job

The first thing to greet Vergil the moment he walked into the Fairy Tail guild hall was a flying stool. He was able to avoid it with ease by simply moving his head to the side, but it still angered him to the point where he wanted to cut down whoever had thrown it at him. Was no one in this guild capable of displaying even the simplest manners?

"Oh, Vergil! You actually showed up!" Natsu exclaimed from the side. "Wanna join in on this fight?"

The eldest son of Sparda chose to say nothing as he ignored the energetic dragon slayer and made his way over to the request board. Like usual, Nabe was standing in front of the board without actually choosing a job. Vergil shoved him to the side and began to study the various requests.

"How dull. None of these seem like a challenge." Vergil spat. All of the requests were full of meaningless jobs in his eyes. Find a lost cat? Get real. Defeat a pack of monsters terrorizing a village? Child's play. Teach some rich noble's son how to use a sword? A waste of time.

"Hoh? Does Mr.Bigshot think he's too good for this guild?" Mirajane taunted with glee from her usual spot on top of a stack of beer barrels. "Don't even think about going for the S-rank jobs on the second floor! A weakling like you has no business getting ahead of himself!"

A vein visibly popped out of Vergil's forehead as Mirajane continued to insult him, but he managed to calm himself down by taking a deep breath. Getting provoked by a child's taunts was not something someone like him would easily fall victim to. Though, what this brash child did say somewhat intrigued him.

"S-rank jobs?" Vergil questioned. He could see a flight of stairs leading to a second floor, and he saw a request board up there too. But no one else was going up there to take those jobs.

"Please don't mind Mirajane. This is how she normally is," Lisanna apologized. "I'm sure her intentions are good. Many people like Natsu are so gung-ho about becoming an S-Class wizard, so they end up biting off more than they can chew."

"So this S-Rank is a separate classification?" Vergil asked.

"Yup. Wizards like you and me are your typical standard mages. We can take normal jobs as long as they're within our capabilities. S-class jobs are specifically restricted to S-Rank wizards only."

"And how does one become an S-Class wizard? By defeating current S-Class wizards in battle and taking their position?" Vergil continued.

Lisanna nervously laughed, brushing off Vergil's guess as a mere joke. "Not through battle. We hold S-Class trials once a year, and those who can pass them are granted the appropriate title by the Master."

"How interesting. So it is through a contest of strength and wits," Vergil mumbled. "When do these trials start?"

"In a couple of months. But remember, you have to be chosen by the Master himself. And it's a lot harder than you think. I'm sure you're strong, but don't get too ahead of yourself." Lisanna replied.

"My safety is the least of your concerns." Vergil responded coldly.

"Geez! I'm just worried for a fellow guildmate!" Lisanna pouted.

"That aside, I need to gather more information about this strange world. Would you happen to know of a library that is available in this town?" Vergil asked.

Lisanna blinked in surprise. "A library? There is, but we have our own right in this building. Just go through that green door over there and that'll be it."

"I see." Vergil turned away from Lisanna and was about to head towards the door Lisanna mentioned, but the sight of a flying table forced him to punch it into several pieces as it sailed towards him and Lisanna, protecting the young girl behind him. The wooden furniture shattered from the impact, spraying wooden splinters everywhere.