"Natsu, go home!"
"The battle is completely over…"
"However, Natsu, don't be disheartened. You are still very young…"
After Happy discovered that the examiner of this passage was Medivh, he seemed to have awakened the ability to foresee the future, just like Carla, and saw Natsu's despairing future…
So, Happy obediently packed all his luggage and advised Natsu, "If we don't pass this year, we can still participate in the S-Class Mage Examination held by the guild next year. As long as we don't meet Medivh or Gildarts next year, we still have hope."
"That's right, Natsu."
"Just as Happy said, hurry home."
Medivh, with his arms crossed in front of him, looked at Natsu somewhat absentmindedly and said.
"Hey, Happy…"
"You're telling me to go home before I even fight?"
"Don't joke around here…"
"How could I possibly give up like this?!"
"No need for next year, I'll pass this year, just watch me…"
As Natsu spoke, he began his warm-up exercises. He gently moved his neck, wrists, and ankles, making crisp 'crack, crack' sounds, and looked at Medivh with burning eyes, his heart full of eagerness to try.
He would never be content if he gave up without even trying. If he didn't challenge, he would never know how big the gap was between himself and Medivh and the others! Since he came, he had to live up to his restless heart.
"I'm fired up."
As Natsu spoke, raging flames appeared around his body…
The scorching flames turned Natsu into a man of fire.
"I'm coming…"
"Medivh, you'd better be careful when facing my fist!"
Then, Natsu did not forget to remind Medivh to be careful of his fist. With a push from his feet, he leaped from the ground, and using the downward momentum in mid-air, he rushed in front of Medivh, punching hard towards Medivh's face, while shouting, "Take this, Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
"Iron Fist?"
"Why didn't I see it?"
"Such a soft fist, instead of calling it an Iron Fist, it would be better to rename it 'Little Bean Bun'."
When Natsu's fist was close enough for Medivh to feel the hot blast, he finally raised a finger and pointed it towards Natsu.
"Boom!"
With just Medivh's light, seemingly effortless, ethereal finger-point, a massive amount of Gravity pressed horizontally onto Natsu's body, clearing the air around Natsu, cutting off oxygen, and extinguishing the flames wrapped around Natsu.
"…"
When Natsu realized that no matter how he channeled his magic power, he couldn't use Fire Magic at all, his pupils were filled with terror. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but found himself in a vacuum and couldn't speak at all.
"The flames are gone?"
In the end, it was Happy, Natsu's mouthpiece, who looked at everything in front of him in bewilderment and asked in confusion.
"That's right, the flames are gone, because it's a vacuum."
Medivh explained, then changed his finger to a palm and slapped Natsu's chest.
"Whoosh…"
Natsu, who was originally held in place by Medivh's Gravity Magic and unable to move, felt a pain in his chest and a dullness in his eyes…
By the time he reacted, his body had already shot through the air like a cannonball, in a straight line, smashing through the wall behind him and returning to the hole he came from.
"Natsu OUT!"
The moment Natsu was propelled out of the hole by Medivh, a voice resounded throughout the island, announcing Natsu's defeat.
"Ah…"
"I accidentally used too much force."
"Happy, quickly go check on Natsu's safety, will you?"
After blasting Natsu away, Medivh did not forget to remind Happy in the cave.
"Aye!"
Happy nodded slightly, spread his small wings, and slowly flew out of the cave.
Outside the passage.
"How could I fail like this?"
"Let me take the exam again, just once more…"
Natsu was utterly disheveled at this moment…
However, the gravity wall Medivh had previously applied around him to clear the air saved his life at a crucial moment, so apart from looking disheveled, he wasn't significantly harmed.
When Natsu heard the announcement of his elimination echoing across the island, he roared, looking indignant, and stood up from the soft sandy beach where he was lying. He casually shook off the sand clinging to his surface and then flew like the wind, rushing towards Medivh's cave once again.
"Bang!"
However, when Natsu actually reached Medivh's passage, he hadn't even entered it! He only heard a loud bang…
Natsu crashed violently into the magic formula wall that Makarov had set up outside each entrance.
"Damn it, let me in!"
"I'm so mad, I can still fight…"
Natsu at this moment was like a cat baring its claws, constantly scratching at the semi-transparent magic formula wall, which was invisible to the naked eye, and roaring.
"This magic formula wall was specifically written to deal with people like you."
Not far from Natsu, Makarov, who had arrived leisurely, fanned himself with his feather fan and said with a chuckle.
"Master, I can still fight!"
"Hurry up and let me in…"
Hearing this, Natsu turned his head to look at the belated Makarov. He seemed to have seen his savior and quickly pleaded loudly with Makarov to let him enter the passage where Medivh was.
"Still able to fight? What will you fight with?"
"If Medivh hadn't held back, that last blow would have been enough to shatter you to pieces."
Makarov looked at Natsu and warned in a deep voice.
"No way…"
"I still have a secret art I haven't used."
Natsu shook his head, his expression stubborn.
"You child…"
Makarov was somewhat helpless. Just as he was about to further dissuade him, he seemed to sense something, his brows furrowed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "Natsu, feel the changes in the atmosphere! Not everyone is as gentle and benevolent as Medivh."
"Hmm?"
Upon hearing this, Natsu immediately closed his eyes as Makarov instructed and began to feel the restless magic power in the air.
"The atmosphere! The earth! The ocean! The sky…"
"All of them are restless at this moment, what's happening?!"
Cold sweat broke out on Natsu's forehead, and his expression was tense.
On the other side.
In the passages of the other examinees.
Erza and Ere encountered Cana and Lisanna in the passage.
"Ere, you don't need to act…"
"Leaving this to me alone is enough."
As Erza spoke, she drew the knight's sword from her waist and walked towards Cana and Lisanna alone.
"This is truly the worst possible outcome."
Cana looked at Erza, who was emanating a powerful magic power aura, and the unfathomable Ere, who stood not far from Erza, her brows tightly furrowed.
Originally, Cana and Lisanna had cooperated with Ultear and Laki…
First, Lisanna, who could use Animal Soul to transform into birds, transformed into a large bird and flew Ultear to Tenrou Island, while Cana used the anti-Gravity Magic cards she had prepared beforehand to fly Laki over.
The terms of the cooperation were…
If Cana and Lisanna encountered Ultear and Laki's team in the cave, then Ultear would go easy on them.
If they all successfully passed the first round, they would first cooperate to eliminate all other teams' members, and then compete internally.
Unfortunately, the original cooperation was no longer applicable.
Cana had encountered the woman least likely to hold back in the Fairy Tail Guild.
"Lisanna, be careful…"
Cana glanced at Lisanna beside her, who was trembling with nervousness, and reminded her.
"O-okay…"
Lisanna nodded lightly, facing Erza, who could rival her sister Mirajane, and even once held the upper hand in their clashes…
Deep down, Lisanna truly had no confidence at all.
Facing Erza directly at this moment, Lisanna even felt a faint fear…
In this world, probably no one understood her sister Mirajane's strength better than her, and Erza was even above that.
To be honest, her legs were already starting to feel weak, and she was only holding on by sheer willpower.
"Boom!"
It was precisely the moment Lisanna turned her head and gave Cana a reassuring look that Erza, who had already drawn her knight's sword, had sliced through the air like a scarlet phantom, arriving beside Lisanna.
"Take Over: Animal Soul…"
Lisanna's face suddenly changed. Without any hesitation, she immediately activated her Take Over Magic.
"Too late."
Unfortunately, Erza had no intention of giving Lisanna a chance to breathe…
She kicked Lisanna in the lower abdomen, sending the delicate and lovely Lisanna flying, crashing into the wall of a nearby cave, and immediately falling unconscious. In fact, Erza had held back with this attack. She only used the strength of her body, not to mention Re-quip Magic or Attachment magic; she didn't even use the most basic magic power.
"Lisanna!"
Cana watched Lisanna, who had been kicked away by Erza and fallen unconscious. Her expression clearly panicked, and subconsciously, she pulled out all the cards in her pocket at once. However, due to her extreme nervousness, her hands trembled, and the cards immediately scattered across the floor.
"Cana, you're too nervous."
"You clearly have a lot of strength…"
"You need more practice with your mindset."
Just as Cana bent down to pick up the scattered cards, Erza's knight's sword was already at her neck.
"I lost."
Cana felt the biting chill on her neck. She fell to the ground with a 'thud', and tears streamed down her face against her will…
This year, she seemed to have lost the S-Class Mage Examination of the Fairy Tail Guild again. Although in terms of magic power, she was the fifth strongest among the S-Class candidates this year, only surpassed by Erza, Laxus, Ultear, and Mirajane. As a mid-tier candidate, she still had a good chance of advancing, but in the end, she ended up like this, being instantly defeated without even being able to fully utilize her abilities.
"Cana, don't cry, don't cry…"
"Be good! It's really nothing. Actually, in terms of magic power, you are undoubtedly an S-Class Mage. We've all seen your hard work these past few days…"
"It's just in actual combat…"
"Especially when facing enemies stronger than you, your mindset isn't stable enough."
"After this examination ends, I will help you intensely train in actual combat."
"So, you'd better be prepared!"
Erza looked at Cana, who was kneeling and weeping. Her expression softened. She silently returned her knight's sword to its sheath and knelt on one knee in front of Cana…
Just as her mother, Irene, had comforted her in the past, she embraced Cana to her chest, gently stroking the back of Cana's head, and spoke softly.
"Waaah…waaah…"
"Erza, why are you always so gentle?"
"It makes me feel a bit embarrassed and unable to continue being sad."
"Also…it's so hard."
Under Erza's comfort, Cana's emotions gradually stabilized. She leaned against Erza's chest, silently complaining about Erza's incredibly hard breastplate.
"Waaah waah waah…"
"Big Sister Erza, you kicked me so hard just now, I want a hug too."
At this moment, Lisanna, who had sobered up, also hugged Erza…
Hey, hey, hey!
Wasn't she the one who was unilaterally beaten?!
Wasn't she the one who needed the most comfort?!
For a moment, the atmosphere in this passage was infinitely good…
But the other passages were not so lucky.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo…"
"Gildarts's strength is unfathomable."
"Laxus, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'll have to stop here…"
"From now on, it's all up to you alone."
In the passage Laxus was in, Freed collapsed to the ground and completely fainted before he even finished speaking.
Leaving Laxus alone to face the orange-haired uncle whose strength was extremely abnormal.
"Hey! Uncle, are you some kind of monster from somewhere?"
Laxus gasped. After a year of training by Medivh, he believed that both his 'mind, skill, and body' and his most basic magic power had reached the threshold of the Ten Wizard Saints. He only needed a little opportunity to break through this threshold and join the ranks of the top powerhouses of Ishgar…
However, even with his strength having reached the quasi-Ten Wizard Saints level, when he teamed up with Freed, a Magician who wields a magic that claims to have absolute rules—once successfully written, everyone must obey its rules—and fought with all his might, he still couldn't make Gildarts move even a single step inside the cave.
In other words…
Gildarts, without moving, defeated the combined forces of Laxus and Freed.
"Yo, Laxus, after fighting to this extent, do you still want to continue?"
Gildarts, cloaked, his feet rooted to the ground like a pine tree, looked at the disheveled Laxus and asked.
"Isn't that obvious, uncle?!"
Laxus forcefully pounded the ground, his body once again erupting with the continuous crackling sound of thunder. He staggered to his feet from the ground and said coldly.
"Laxus, actually, with your current strength, you are fully capable of being an S-Class Mage of the guild. In other words, if I let you pass now, it's not impossible…"
Gildarts, seeing that Laxus didn't attack, began to speak to himself.
"What a joke?!"
"If I don't defeat you here, how can I move forward?"
Laxus's attitude was firm. In his opinion, if he didn't defeat Gildarts here and continued forward, that victory would be meaningless.
"Right?"
"I just knew you'd think that…"
"But Laxus, you must remember, in this world, there are always people stronger than you, and there's always something beyond what you know!"
"If you rush at every enemy without thinking, you will surely die on some mission…"
As Gildarts spoke, he suddenly recalled the genuine fear he felt when he confronted Irene and Selene…
If he hadn't accepted Medivh's persuasion earlier and had gone to complete the Hundred-Year Quest on his own, he would probably have been buried in a foreign land, just like countless brave warriors who failed the Hundred-Year Quest over the past hundred years, right?!
Thinking of this, Gildarts decided to teach Laxus one thing: what is fear?!
"Since you, Laxus, insist on challenging me, then let me give you a good taste of what a true power gap is?!"
As Gildarts spoke, his brows furrowed tightly. Terrifying magic power, like a raging tide, roared out from his body at this moment, like a pillar reaching the heavens, breaking through the cave above and rushing towards the clear sky, slowly spreading in all directions. The aftershocks generated by the magic power instantly covered the entire Tenrou Island.
"Boom, boom, boom…"
Immediately, amidst bursts of roars, the entire island began to shake.
"So terrifying…"
At this moment, Natsu, who had been rejected by Medivh, knelt on the ground, feeling the trembling of Tenrou Island and the magic power roaring like an ocean, his mouth wide open in astonishment.
"Now, do you still want to go in and challenge Medivh?"
Makarov, with his hands behind his back, looked at Natsu, who seemed to be scared silly, staring dumbfounded at the soaring magic power, and asked.
"Are the other passages that intense?"
Cana and Lisanna, who had originally lost, felt the overwhelming magic power that even made the atmosphere tremble. They suddenly felt a bit fortunate that they only encountered Erza and not someone else.
If those separated by the passages were so astonished and flustered, let alone Laxus, who was directly facing Gildarts…
"This is…"
The moment Laxus directly faced Gildarts at full power, he finally understood the so-called power gap. Gildarts, enveloped in magic power, was as terrifying as a demon god.
"It seems my strength is still a bit lacking."
Laxus, helpless, knelt on one knee and shook his head.
"No, you passed…"
Gildarts looked at Laxus, who knew when to retreat, and finally revealed a slight smile.
For a professional Magician, what is most important?!
Honor? Status? Power? Strength? Or money?
No, none of these…
For Magicians who dance on the edge of a blade, there is only one thing that is always most important: life.
Everyone only has one life, and no one can mess around with it…
On the other side.
"It seems we also need to be a little more serious."
In the passage of Warrod Sequen and Ul Milkovich, both became serious at the same moment they felt the magic power released by Gildarts.
Suddenly, two more astonishing streams of magic power soared into the sky!
Ur, Warrod, and Gildarts's magic power intertwined, causing the entire Tenrou Island to tilt at that moment…
By the way, Warrod encountered Ultear and Laki Olietta…
Ur encountered Mirajane and Elfman.
Yes, the teams of Gray and Bickslow, and Lyon and Warren, met in the battle-ridden passage. Although the overall strength of their two teams was certainly at the bottom among all teams participating in the S-Class Mage Examination, at this moment, no matter what, one of their two teams had already secured a spot to advance to the second round.
Hmm, the Fairy Tail Guild's S-Class Mage Examination is just like that, full of unknowns, just like everyone's life…
It's never the case that if you're strong, you'll definitely break through!
According to Makarov, luck is also a part of strength.
"Boom…"
When Tenrou Island began to tilt under the magic power of everyone…
On the island, birds scattered like startled beasts, flying out of the forest and soaring into the sky!
Next to the giant tree on Tenrou Island, the magical beast, tens of meters long, with strength approaching S-Class, which Makarov had originally brought as the BOSS for the second stage of this year's S-Class Mage Examination, was now frantically spinning in circles, clearly completely disoriented, not knowing where to run! Because in its eyes, at this moment, danger was all around it.
"Ah…"
"Are you trying to tear down Tenrou Island?!"
"Damn it, stop it right now!"
"Senior Warrod, why are you also messing around with these kids?"
Makarov was completely numb. You know, Tenrou Island is not an ordinary island.
It is not only the sacred ground of the Fairy Tail Guild, but also the grave of the First Guild Master Mavis. Are you making such a ruckus next to her grave?
Are you being fair to Lady Mavis?
Just as Makarov was in a state of extreme panic…
At a certain stone monument on Tenrou Island, at the grave of the Fairy Tail Guild's First Guild Master Mavis, where a flame, seemingly alive, constantly pulsed in the center.
A young girl, wearing a white dress, with cute little angel wings decorating her head, and bare feet, stretched lazily and slowly woke up.
"That was a really good sleep~"
The barefooted girl was precisely the First Guild Master Mavis, whom Makarov had always thought about. Now that Mavis was awake, she felt the restless magic power in the air, her eyes slightly brightened, and she murmured to herself: "Is this the magic power of the current members of the Fairy Tail Guild? It's really so powerful!"
"It seems that during the years I've been asleep, the Fairy Tail Guild has fully grown to be as powerful as I expected in my lifetime. That's wonderful!"
Hmm, the First Guild Master did not, as Makarov feared, run out of her grave because she was angered by the Fairy Tail members. The reason she awoke from her grave was simply that she wanted to celebrate with all the Fairy Tail members present~
----------------------------------
I've already uploaded over 40 new chapters on Patreon!
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead, feel free to check it out.
Your support truly means a lot to me!
patreon.com/Kazenova223
Thank you so much for being here!
And if you're having fun with the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone for me!