Chapter 14: The Exam Begins
A week passed in a flash.
Margaret Town
When Shun and Natsu arrived, Erza was already there.
"Morning! Everyone is here!"
Shun raised his hand and greeted them.
"Hmph!"
Laxus crossed his arms and looked away disdainfully.
"Too slow!!"
"It's the S-Class Promotion Exam, why are you so late?!"
Erza aggressively scolded Shun. For such an important exam, seeing the time approach without Shun arriving made her anxious.
Then seeing Shun and Natsu arrive leisurely, she got angry.
"Uh... sorry, we got a little lost on the way."
"Lost?! How can you get lost for such an important exam?! If you knew you'd get lost, why didn't you leave earlier!"
"I... I didn't know I would get lost..."
Seeing Erza so fierce, Shun's momentum weakened slightly.
Just then, Master Makarov walked over, rescuing Shun from Erza's scolding: "Is everyone here? Then let's set off."
Makarov took Shun and the others in a carriage.
"Now I will announce the content of the first round of the exam."
Makarov said, and everyone listened attentively.
Makarov raised his hand, and a magical screen appeared beside him, displaying a map.
"The location for this S-Class Mage Exam is the Magic Beast Great Forest."
"Numerous vicious Magic Beasts inhabit this place. The deeper you go, the stronger the Magic Beasts become."
"Facing endless attacks from Magic Beasts, even powerful Mages find it difficult to retreat unscathed, so this place is also known as a forbidden zone for Mages."
"However, the more dangerous the place, the richer the resources, attracting countless adventurers every year."
Makarov took out four scrolls and distributed them to the participants: "This is the list of items you need to collect. The location of each item is also marked on the map. After collecting all the items on the list, proceed to this location."
Makarov pointed to a spot in the Magic Beast Great Forest on the magical screen.
"Eagle Beak Cliff!"
"This is a dividing point in the Magic Beast Great Forest. Going deeper from here, the level and strength of the Magic Beasts are on a completely different level. Even if I enter, I might not be able to retreat unscathed."
"Even the Master?!!..."
Everyone was shocked to hear this. Makarov was one of the Ten Wizard Saints, possessing incredibly powerful magic power.
If even such a Master might not be able to retreat unscathed, how dangerously terrifying must it be inside?
"This first round tests your comprehensive abilities, which are essential qualities for an S-Class Mage. The exam time is four hours. If you fail to arrive within the stipulated time, you will be considered to have failed the exam and will not be able to participate in the next round."
"Alright, the exam begins!!!"
"Begins? But we haven't even arrived yet?!"
Everyone was a bit confused. They had just left Margaret Town not long ago and were still on the carriage.
Makarov grinned mischievously and said nothing.
Shun was the first to react, smiling: "I see. Natsu, we should go."
After speaking, Shun jumped off the carriage. Natsu also reacted and immediately followed.
The others also understood at this moment. The exam had started. Reaching the Magic Beast Great Forest was also part of the exam content. The earlier they arrived, the more time they would have to search. They all jumped off the carriage one after another.
"Gray, let's go too."
"Oh!"
"Elfman, we can't lose either!"
"Yes! Big Sis!"
Laxus said to Makarov, "Grandpa, this S-Class Exam is meaningless. The S-Class Mage title will definitely belong to me."
After speaking, he also jumped off the carriage, and Freed hurriedly followed.
Watching Laxus, Makarov shook his head helplessly. Recently, Laxus had become increasingly rebellious and arrogant, not at all like the well-behaved and cute child he was when he was young.
"Meaningless? Laxus, if you're careless, you might suffer a big loss!"
Shun and Natsu quickly arrived at the collection point for the first mission item. It was a gathering place for a pack of Magic Wolves, and the item was inside their lair.
Magic Wolves were Magic Beasts about the size of calves, very fast. Besides biting like ordinary wolves, they could also spit magic bullets.
"So many Magic Wolves!"
Natsu felt a bit daunted seeing so many Magic Wolves. The best way would be for one person to lure them away while the other retrieved the item.
"Shun..."
Just as Natsu was about to say he would lure the wolves away...
Whoosh—!
Shun completed his transformation into One-Tail form, then immediately charged into the pack of Magic Wolves, slaughtering them.
"Eh————?!!"
Natsu was instantly dumbfounded. Was Shun this brave? He usually seemed so gentle.
But since Shun went in, naturally, he couldn't lag behind.
"I'm coming too—!!!"
After a fierce slaughter, Shun and Natsu successfully collected the first mission item.
Natsu had a new understanding of Shun's bravery. He was usually reckless enough, but compared to Shun, he paled into insignificance.
"Let's go to the next location."
Shun and Natsu immediately headed to the next item location. This time, a group of Magic Snakes guarded the item.
Shun again took the lead, charging directly into the snake nest. After a slaughter, they got the mission item.
Then came the Magic Boar lair, another one-sided slaughter.
Natsu began to doubt life. Is this how missions are done?
At the same time, he had a deeper understanding of Shun's strength.
Too strong, simply too strong.
That power made Natsu feel his body trembling just standing next to him.
Was Shun's strength originally this powerful? It would be great if he possessed such powerful strength too.