At dusk.
On the southern side of the northern mountain range, the golden setting sun spread slantingly across the ground.
The once-level ground was now covered in spiderweb-like cracks. Over a dozen craters, each more than half a meter in diameter, gaped hideously. Trees lay scattered in all directions—some uprooted, others snapped in half, their breaks revealing charcoal left behind by scorching flames.
Dozens of wizards lay sprawled haphazardly amidst this wreckage.
Every one of them had tattered clothes and was covered in dust and abrasions. Their eyes showed either total exhaustion—as if they had worked seven days and nights without sleep and lost all strength—or they had long since lost consciousness, eyes rolled back, tongues out, and heads tilted, looking like a bunch of charred salted fish.
"Too strong..."
"We can't break through at all..."
"Dammit! It's just an examination, was it necessary to be so heavy-handed?!"
Thud!
Yet another wizard ran out of energy and fell backward.
The fighting force was reduced by one once again.
The remaining wizards panted heavily, looking at one another in dismay. They didn't know whether to grit their teeth and continue the charge, rest temporarily to recover their strength, or try to find a way around.
After exchanging glances, there was no answer.
The crowd could only continue to cast resentful gazes toward the battlefield ahead.
In the center of the battlefield, a tall, upright figure stood perfectly still, bathed in the light of the setting sun.
After enduring the first two stages—"Finding the Golden Lion Coins" and "Finding the Beast King Treasure"—the wizards of Fairy Tail had reached their third stage.
The content of this stage was simpler than the previous two—
Defeat the S-Class Wizard guarding the pass in the northern mountains and return to Magnolia!
There were no limits on the number of challengers, no limits on the challenge time, and no limits on the number of attempts.
There was no need to rack one's brains for puzzles or exhaust one's mind searching for treasures.
What it tested was a wizard's purest combat ability!
However, even with the conditions set so broadly, for the wizards of the guild, this was still more difficult than curing hair loss, constipation, and hemorrhoids combined.
"Truly disappointing!"
"Even with so many of you attacking together, you can't even manage to step past me!"
"You guys have become far too slack in recent years!"
Precht stood with his arms crossed over his chest, silently watching his fallen comrades. His heart was full of helplessness.
If he had to use one phrase to describe his current mood, it would be "disappointed that the iron won't turn into steel."
"Has the title of 'The Kingdom's Number One Magic Guild' made you arrogant, and consequently turned both your hearts and your power soft?!"
"If you continue to sink like this, Fairy Tail will become the laughingstock of the magic world!!"
Precht's cold and merciless reprimand left the wizards present feeling both embarrassed and ashamed.
They wanted to speak up in protest, to say it wasn't like that, to say they had been working hard over the years—but after opening their mouths, they couldn't utter a single word.
Because what Precht said was the truth.
In recent years, Fairy Tail had been glamorous and dazzling in the magic world.
It firmly held the reputation of the "Kingdom's Number One Magic Guild," maintaining a mission completion rate of over 90% every year, and not a single person had died on the job.
Such data made it impossible for other magic guilds in the Kingdom of Fiore to even see their tail-lights.
And the reason for this phenomenon relied entirely on Weston's sophisticated and precise "Wizard/Mission Rank Grading System."
Under this system, every job accepted by every wizard in the guild was within the scope of their abilities!
But it was precisely because of this that Fairy Tail had stopped moving forward!
As the saying goes: a sturdy flower cannot be grown in a greenhouse.
The comfortable and easy environment had gradually made the wizards of Fairy Tail lazy and arrogant.
Even though they were still very energetic every day, they often forgot to improve themselves, forgot to challenge their own limits!
In short, Weston had protected the guild and the guild's partners far too well!
"Stand up and keep fighting!"
"I don't remember my partners being such useless fellows!"
"If you can't defeat me today, then after this examination, every single one of you will start climbing back up from D-Class Wizard!!"
Precht's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for everyone present to hear clearly: "If you only have this much strength, how can your partners feel safe leaving their backs to you?! And how will the guild's next generation recognize you as trustworthy seniors?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone turned their gaze toward the corner of the battlefield.
The four little ones of the guild, Darwin, Erza, Chris, and Makarov, were all there.
The two teams led by Chris and Darwin were respectively the third and seventh to complete the second stage and arrive here.
However, Precht had used only one move to defeat them instantly.
Among them, Chris was slightly more impressive than the other three, lasting for two moves.
But that was all.
Until several hours later, when the twentieth team of the guild arrived, they were still stuck here, unable to break through the natural chasm that was Precht's barrier.
Although the four of them possessed great magic talent, it had been less than half a month since they awakened their magic; the amount of magic power in their bodies simply couldn't compare with the adults of the guild, let alone an S-Class Wizard like Precht.
The gap between the two sides was far too large!
"Ooooohhh—!!!"
"I say, Precht has already put it like that, so are you guys going to keep sleeping on the ground?!"
Hearing Precht's voice and seeing those four small figures, the hearts of the wizards were suddenly jolted as if seized by an invisible hand.
The wizards lying on the ground, already exhausted, suddenly moved their fingers. Their eyes opened once more, and one after another, they climbed up from the dirt.
Those who had intended to retreat temporarily or find a detour quickly adjusted their breathing and steadied their gazes.
Being demoted back to "D-Class" to start over was a small matter, but if they were looked down upon or mistrusted by the children of the guild—viewed as "unreliable adults" or "untrustworthy partners"—that would be a huge problem!
"Everyone, put in some more effort! The kids are still watching from the sidelines!!"
"Let's finish this examination quickly and go back to the guild for dinner!!"
All the wizards, whether they had lost their fighting capacity earlier or not, had their competitive spirits ignited by Precht's words. They rallied, squeezing out the last trace of magic power from their bodies, preparing to unleash their strongest moves.
"We are the wizards of Fairy Tail!"
"Don't underestimate our bonds!"
Precht: "..."
Wizards of Fairy Tail?
Who isn't one?