### Chapter 15: The First Stage
"Eh————?!!"
Everyone around was dumbfounded upon hearing this.
"Me?!"
Happy was also somewhat flabbergasted; after all, he was just a little cat with no combat power.
Riku looked at Happy and nodded: "Happy is great! He's cute, convenient to carry, and can fly. A very good partner."
Praised by Riku, Happy scratched his head in embarrassment: "I'm not that great!"
Elfman asked in confusion: "But normally, shouldn't you bring a partner with relatively strong combat power?"
"Combat power? Having me is enough."
Riku showed a confident expression.
Seeing Riku so confident, Cana was very envious. If she had Riku's strength, she wouldn't have to worry about becoming an S-Class mage.
Riku tempted Happy: "Happy, when I promote to S-Class, I'll buy you 100 big fish to eat."
"100 big fish!"
Happy's eyes instantly lit up.
"I will definitely make Riku an S-Class mage!!"
Happy immediately jumped in front of Riku, raising his little fist and saying seriously.
"No, no, no! That's not right! Riku, shouldn't you be asking me to be your partner?"
Natsu hurriedly spoke up. Although it was regrettable that he didn't get a spot, he still wanted to participate in the trial. That way, he would have more experience when he participated after getting a spot in the future.
"But I chose Happy."
"Aye!"
"No, no! Even Happy is participating in the S-Class exam; I can't just stand by. Cana, I'll be your partner!"
Natsu rushed in front of Cana.
"Natsu?"
Cana and Natsu had known each other for five years. Initially, Natsu's strength was average because of his young age, but as he grew older, the advantages of his Dragon Slayer Magic showed, becoming more and more powerful.
Although Natsu was only fifteen now, he was already a top-ranked expert in the guild. With Natsu's help, maybe she could really compete for S-Class.
"Okay! Please!"
"Leave it to me!"
"Riku and Happy, Mira and Elfman, although we are partners, I won't go easy on you. I will definitely make Cana an S-Class mage!"
Natsu declared war on Riku and Mira.
"Good! Then let's decide the winner! Bring it on if you have the skill!"
Mira immediately chose to accept the challenge. Mira's personality was inherently somewhat competitive, and it hadn't changed because she was in love.
Even while dating Riku, she would sometimes challenge Riku and strike without mercy.
Riku felt like Mira had a *My Sassy Girl* vibe. Fortunately, he had eaten the Goro Goro no Mi; otherwise, he really might not be able to handle it.
"Everyone, do your best!"
Lisanna cheered for them.
"We can't delay like this any longer. I'm going for special training, special training!"
Natsu pulled Cana and ran out of the guild.
"Elfman, let's go for special training too. Riku, if we really face each other, you are not allowed to go easy on me, or I'll ignore you from now on."
Mira warned Riku.
"Okay, okay! I know."
Riku agreed with a helpless bitter smile.
Originally, he did plan to go easy if he faced Mira; after all, she was his girlfriend, and he had to pamper her.
But he didn't expect his little thought to be seen through by Mira. Then let's compete seriously for this S-Class mage title.
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
The group gathered and set off for the Great West Forest together.
The Great West Forest was located at the border junction of the Kingdom of Fiore and the Kingdom of Seven.
The forest stretched for hundreds of miles and contained countless monsters. One hundred thousand was just an estimate given by some adventurers; no one knew exactly how many there were.
Fortunately, the monsters in the Great West Forest preferred the high-magic environment inside. Apart from occasionally some monsters running out to cause trouble, it was relatively safe.
Otherwise, if such a multitude of monsters rushed out, it would absolutely be a terrifying disaster.
"Haugh~~! Haugh~! ..."
On the carriage, Natsu was battling motion sickness, looking like he was dying. Only then did Riku recall that Dragon Slayers had this weird setting of getting motion sickness on transportation.
It seemed that no Dragon Slayer could avoid it, including the Black Dragon Acnologia.
"Is Natsu okay?"
Elfman asked with some concern.
Happy replied with a cheerful face: "Aye! It's an old problem. Natsu gets motion sickness on all transportation."
"I wonder what the content of this assessment will be?"
Cana was thinking about this exam. After all, it was related to whether she could acknowledge her father. She didn't pass last time, and she didn't have confidence in this exam either.
Mira said: "No matter what the exam content is, I will definitely pass and become an S-Class mage."
Screech!
The pig-drawn carriage stopped.
The driver's voice rang out: "Guests, we have arrived at the destination."
"Are we here?"
The group quickly got off the carriage.
What came into view was a villa with a somewhat peculiar design; there were heart-shaped designs everywhere on the villa.
"A villa?!"
"There's actually a villa here?!"
Everyone was very surprised that there would be a villa in this wilderness.
At this time, Makarov walked out of the villa.
"You're here."
"Master!"
Cana asked in confusion: "Master, this villa is?"
"Oh, this is my friend's villa. The location of this trial is nearby, so we're just borrowing this place."
"Since you're here, I will announce the content of the first stage of the exam."