With the test concluded, the Magic Rune barrier at the cave entrance vanished.
The trapped ocean currents immediately surged out from within, quickly draining and restoring the cave to its previous dry state.
Ankh ran a hand through his wet hair, looking delightedly at the two girls collapsed on the ground, and praised them.
"Impressive. I thought I wouldn't even need Ophi to intervene."
Ophiuchus maintained her usual expressionless demeanor, striding over to Ankh with her long legs and silently returning the bell to him.
Lucy lay sprawled on the ground, gasping desperately for fresh air while staring unwillingly at Ophiuchus.
"Wait, Ankh, didn't you say you wouldn't use Magic?!"
Cana lay on the ground clutching her swollen, cracked, and bleeding arm, spoke dejectedly.
"What Ankh initially said was that he wouldn't use Gravity Magic or God Slayer Magic. He never mentioned Celestial Spirit Magic. We just didn't think of that."
Ankh laughed heartily. "Although my words contained a trap, exams do test your language comprehension."
"Ah... how could this be..."
Lucy resignedly lowered her arms, looking up at the cave ceiling with tearless frustration.
She knew many of Ankh's Magics quite well.
She saw his Gravity Magic and God Slayer Magic—his most frequently used spells—every single day.
There was also that Magic capable of evolution and physical transformation, which Lucy often saw Ankh use during his special training with Natsu and Gajeel.
'How could I have overlooked Celestial Spirit Magic... when I'm literally a Celestial Spirit Mage myself...'
While Lucy felt deep regret and frustration, Cana was no different.
Cana silently stared blankly at the cave exit, feeling incredibly disheartened.
Though she no longer bore the crushing pressure of becoming an S-Class Mage solely for Gildarts's sake, she still desperately desired that prestigious position.
As the two girls wallowed in dejection, the naturally oblivious Ophiuchus seemed completely unaware of the mood.
She quietly picked up both girls to heal them.
Ophiuchus activated her unique ability, transferring the severe injuries on Cana's arm and the bruises on Lucy's... ass, along with the physical pain, directly onto herself.
These minor injuries could easily be absorbed and digested by Ophiuchus just by passively consuming some of Ankh's immense Magic Power.
Ophiuchus silently rubbed her own buttocks, giving her master a very strange look.
Ankh really kicks hard!
On the other side, Ankh didn't notice Ophiuchus's strange expression.
He stood in place, pondering for a moment while looking at the two girls who looked as if they had lost their souls.
"Cana."
After a while, Ankh looked toward Cana and called her name softly.
Cana gazed back with hollow eyes, only to have a small, jingling bell fly straight toward her face.
Fumbling to catch it, Cana glanced at the bell in her hands in disbelief.
Her eyes cleared as she looked back up at Ankh.
Ankh put away the hourglass and formally announced the test results.
"You have passed this stage."
"What?!"
Overwhelmed with sudden excitement, Cana let out an unpleasant, choked squeal from her throat.
Lucy revived instantly, springing up from the ground like a carp and exclaiming excitedly.
"Really?!"
"But we clearly didn't manage to grab the bell?"
Ankh looked at the two girls, whose expressions had shifted instantly from despair to pure joy, and smiled.
"Well, you have it now."
As he spoke, he subtly applied gravity to the hourglass device, pressing the final grain of sand—so tiny it was barely visible without close inspection—down to the bottom chamber.
"I'm the evaluator of this exam, and whether you pass or not is ultimately my decision. The process was merely my way of observing you."
If he had really wanted to play games, Ankh had plenty of ways to use his Life God Power to break them completely.
Ankh felt a sudden sense of paternal pride, as if watching his own daughters grow up, and gently speak.
"If you had resorted to underhanded methods or sacrificed your companion—even if you'd grabbed the bell—I wouldn't have let you pass."
"On the contrary, you demonstrated excellent tactical planning, reasonable use of hidden trump cards, and great coordination. Though your raw strength is somewhat lacking, that can be developed later. These qualities are equally important for an S-Class Mage."
Cana excitedly clenched the bell tightly in her hand, while Lucy jumped up and down, her enthusiastic bouncing making her bikini strings appear ready to snap.
Meanwhile, Lucy's sarcasm instincts couldn't be stopped.
"So the test was really just based on your whims all along? And you scared us with all those strict rules earlier~"
Ankh narrowed his eyes and smiled dangerously. "If you two don't leave right now, I will take the bell back."
"We're leaving!"
Both girls bowed sharply to Ankh before scampering toward the cave exit like streaks of smoke.
"Those little rascals..." Ankh shook his head, then stretched vigorously.
Ophiuchus watched the retreating figures and asked, genuinely puzzled, "Why did you let Lucy and the others pass, Ankh?"
If he had summoned her from the very beginning, they likely wouldn't have stood any chance at all.
Ankh explained, "Because I thought carefully—if the other teams faced my specific test, would they have performed any better?"
"No, because I know them well enough to know they couldn't have employed this level of strategy. Only these two broke through to a level of tactical capability I hadn't anticipated."
"Their efforts proved they truly deserve to aim for S-Class. Giving them this chance is a fitting reward."
Ophiuchus nodded vaguely, catching another implication hidden in Ankh's words.
'Them?'
'Did Ankh think Lucy also had S-Class potential?'
...
Under Tenrou Island's blazing sun, at the endpoint where seven routes (the two "Duel" paths having merged into one) converged, two figures waited boredly for their companions to appear.
At that moment, two more people emerged from the cave and froze momentarily upon seeing a man and a woman already seated on a rock at the endpoint.
Gray looked at Gajeel and Levy.
"Seems like you two got the 'Calm' route."
Loke glanced around and remarked, "As expected, our two groups arrived first. The 'Duel' and 'Calm' routes really are the simplest."
Gajeel sat cross-legged on the rock, his face full of displeasure as he grumbled, "Simple? I wanted to pick a fight with someone..."
Levy sighed helplessly. "Don't say that, Gajeel..."
Gray declared triumphantly, "In that case, it looks like we'll be the ones in the final showdown."
"Not exactly. Natsu is sitting over there too."
The two froze, then indeed found a heavily sulking Natsu sitting behind a giant rock.
"What's wrong with that guy?"
Before Happy could speak, Makarov walked over, stroking his chin as he announced:
"I will now announce the current results: The Gray-Loke team defeated Mest and Wendy to pass the 'Duel' route."
Gray proudly rubbed his nose and chuckled.
The Guild Master continued:
"Gajeel and Levy luckily passed the 'Calm' route."
"Natsu and Happy... passed the Gildarts route."
"NANIIII?!" Gray yelled in total confusion.
"Wait a minute!"
Just then, Evergreen helped a heavily wounded Elfman emerge from a cave.
Breathing heavily, Elfman shouted to the Guild Master:
"We defeated my sister and won too! Like a real man!"
As for how exactly they defeated her...
Don't ask.
"HUUUUHHHH?!" Gray screamed in terror.
"And us!"
At that moment, Team Lucy came running out of their cave.
Lucy proudly flashed a "V" victory sign, grinning as she said, "We passed Ankh's test too!!"
"NUANIIII?!!!"
Gray couldn't comprehend it.
Transforming completely into the "What Guy," he let out three soul-shaking cries, nearly banging his head against the rock.
Gray's earlier words on the ship had come entirely true—the three S-Class Mages he'd predicted would be "gentle" had all, unsurprisingly, let their opponents pass.
As for the unlucky Thunder God Tribe and Team Juvia...
They'd probably been eliminated by now.
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