**Chapter 06: S-Class Exam**
Magnolia Town.
Fairy Tail Guild.
*Creak!*
Ren pushed open the heavy wooden doors of the Fairy Tail guild.
"I'm back!"
Hearing Ren's voice, many people in the guild looked over and greeted him one after another.
"Oh! Welcome back!"
"Ren! Welcome back!"
Natsu, seeing Ren, looked at him excitedly and shouted loudly, "Ren! Fight me!"
*Smack!*
"Oww~!"
Just as Natsu finished shouting, he was shoved flying by a hand.
"Get out of the way, Natsu! If anyone is going to fight him, it's me first!" Mirajane looked at Ren with a fierce expression.
Ren said somewhat helplessly, "I just got back. Can't you let me rest a bit?"
"No!" Mirajane charged toward Ren.
Suddenly, Makarov called out Ren's name: "Ren!"
*Zwoom!* A sound like air being displaced rang out.
Ren's figure vanished, instantly reappearing in front of Master Makarov.
"Ren, you bastard!" Mirajane was very unhappy that Ren had dodged like that, so she immediately continued her attack toward him.
"Master, you're here. Long time no see, I missed you."
Ren said this while holding the Master and spinning him half a circle.
*Thud!* Mirajane hurriedly tried to pull back her punch, but her fist still hit the Master on the head.
"Ouch!!" Makarov cried out in pain.
"Uh oh!!" Mirajane realized she had caused trouble and quickly turned around and slipped away.
"You brat! You dare use me as a shield!"
Makarov was so angry he raised his hand and knocked Ren on the head.
Immediately after, Makarov cried out in pain again: "Ouch! You brat, what is your head made of? It's getting harder and harder."
Ren spread his hands. As his fusion rate with the Ulquiorra template increased, his Hierro's defensive power also grew stronger.
Many times on missions, he encountered enemies with guns, but he was completely fine. Some bullets even bounced back and took out the enemies instead.
Not only that, but ordinary magic couldn't break through Ren's defense at all.
"How was the mission this time?" Makarov asked Ren.
Ren then reported the details of the mission to Makarov.
After listening to Ren's report, Makarov said, "Well done!"
In any world, where there is light, there will be darkness.
Legitimate guilds represented the light, while Dark Guilds represented the darkness.
Conflicting with Dark Guilds carried a certain degree of danger, but ignoring them would lead to more people being harmed.
Therefore, most of these subjugation missions were given to Ren to complete.
Makarov only felt at ease when Ren took on these kinds of missions.
"Go back and rest well this time. I have something to announce in two days."
"Okay!"
Ren happened to need a two-day rest as well, to properly digest his increased power.
---
Two days passed quickly. Ren originally thought Natsu and Mirajane would seek him out for a duel.
As it turned out, neither of them came looking for him. They were both busy doing their own missions in a rush, which actually made him feel a bit lonely.
Over the two days, more and more people gathered in the guild. When Ren arrived at the guild in the morning, it was packed full.
Everyone was waiting quietly, and many other members in the guild were the same.
Ren also found an empty seat and sat down, wanting to see what the Master had to announce.
Suddenly, the door on the second floor opened.
Master Makarov, Gildarts, and Erza appeared on the second floor.
The gaze of everyone in the guild was drawn to them.
"It's coming!"
"We've waited so long!"
"Finally!"
"Master, hurry up and announce it!"
"Who will it be this year?"
Macao clasped his hands in front of him in prayer: "It must be me! It must include me! If it's not me this time, I might never have another chance."
Macao was an excellent core member of the guild, in his early thirties—the prime time for a mage.
He had been nominated for the S-Class Mage Exam a few times before, but unfortunately, he had failed every time.
However, he hadn't given up and still held onto the dream of becoming an S-Class Mage.
Ren liked Macao. He and Wakaba were the only two veterans who stuck by the guild after Fairy Tail suffered a major calamity.
It could be said that without Macao, when the Tenrou Team returned, the Fairy Tail guild might have long since disappeared.
Clearly a powerful mage who would have been comfortable developing in any guild, he chose to stay and guard the guild, showing just how deep his feelings for Fairy Tail were.
Besides Macao, many others in the guild were also praying.
Although they guessed they might not get nominated, they still held hope in their hearts. *What if?*
"Ahem!" Makarov cleared his throat, and the guild quieted down slightly.
"In accordance with Fairy Tail tradition, I will now officially announce the participants for the S-Class Mage Promotion Exam!"
"Oh oh oh! It's finally here!"
Many people in the guild cheered.
Hearing these words, Ren immediately understood. It was the S-Class Mage Promotion Exam.
Currently, the guild had a total of three S-Class Mages: Gildarts, Laxus, and Erza.
Erza had been promoted to S-Class Mage last year.
"Is this the day?"
Ren's heartbeat also accelerated slightly.