Chapter 15: The Trial Begins! If You Won't Come Out, I'm Leaving!
Soon, the day of the S-Class trial arrived.
That day, inside the guild, Makarov looked at everyone's excited faces, smiled, and shouted loudly, "This year's S-Class Mage Trial begins now!"
As Makarov's voice fell, everyone present roared in unison.
"Ren Dikasis!"
"Laxus Dreyar!"
Makarov called their names, and Ren and Laxus stepped out from the crowd together.
Laxus shot Ren a provocative look, then strode up to Makarov, burning with fighting spirit.
With a proud, serious expression, he said, "Old man, I'll prove it to you. I'm the strongest in this guild!"
As he spoke, arcs of lightning crackled around his body.
Ren also stepped forward.
Zeus and Prometheus hovered around him, and a sheathed long blade hung at his waist.
"Every year for the S-Class trial, you may choose one person as your partner. Or you may choose to go alone."
Makarov's gaze swept over Ren and Laxus as he spoke in a serious tone.
After scanning the crowd, Laxus didn't hesitate. He chose Freed, who had also joined not long ago but was already strong.
After joining Fairy Tail, Freed strongly admired Laxus. He even formed a squad with two others under Laxus.
They were called the Thunder God Tribe, with Freed as the captain.
He was also one of the men Laxus acknowledged.
After Laxus made his choice, Ren didn't hesitate either and chose Erza.
Erza hesitated and said to Ren, "I'm too weak. What if I hold you back?"
Ren answered directly, "You're strong. You just haven't realized it yet. One day you'll definitely become an S-Class mage and stand on your own."
Seeing the seriousness in Ren's eyes, Erza nodded hard.
"I won't let you down!"
A determined light rose in Erza's eyes, and the seed of becoming S-Class began to sprout in her heart.
"Alright. Then we'll head to the trial location."
Seeing both of them choose their partners, Makarov nodded and walked out of the guild with his hands behind his back.
Ren and Laxus followed behind Makarov, with Erza and Freed behind them respectively.
They boarded a train to a seaside town.
Then they boarded a small boat, slowly sailing toward their destination.
Because he was a Dragon Slayer mage, Laxus looked increasingly miserable on the way.
But fortunately, the trip wasn't long. Before long, an island appeared ahead.
Facing the island, Makarov turned around and said sternly, "On this island, there are three routes. One is a dead end with no finish line. The other two routes contain ten flags. You must collect ten flags and bring them to the finish line. Someone will be waiting for you there."
"Now, begin!"
Makarov waved his hand.
Ren leapt from the boat, grabbed Erza, and jumped onto Zeus.
Zeus wore a vicious grin and glanced at Laxus with disdain.
In the next instant, he turned into an afterimage and shot straight toward the island.
"Hmph."
Watching Ren leave, Laxus snorted.
Beside him, Freed traced symbols in the air with his finger.
In the next moment, wings appeared on both of their backs.
With a beat of those wings, the two of them also sped toward the island.
Ren, landing first, looked at the three routes ahead.
He activated Observation Haki, covering the entire island.
Not long after, Ren led Erza into a rocky cave path.
As soon as they stepped into the cave, a red flag not far ahead caught Erza's attention.
Erza was about to go take it when Ren suddenly raised a hand to stop her.
Erza looked at Ren, confused, about to ask why.
Ren waved at Zeus, and Zeus immediately rushed toward the flag, eager and excited.
The instant Zeus entered the flag's area, countless arrows rained down from above, repeatedly piercing through Zeus's body.
But in the blink of an eye, Zeus recovered completely.
"You knew?"
Erza stared at Ren in shock.
Ren spread his hands helplessly and smiled. "Do you really think the Guild Master would let us pass that easily?"
Hearing Ren say that, Erza felt embarrassed and lowered her head, not daring to speak.
They continued forward and, before long, collected seven flags.
When they reached the eighth flag, Zeus moved to pull it out.
Suddenly, the cave shook violently.
In the next moment, a massive magical beast erupted from the ground. Its grotesque face startled Zeus.
"You disgusting thing!"
Zeus's color slowly darkened. Anger filled his face as lightning surged around him.
"Die!"
With Zeus's roar, thunder exploded through the cave.
In the next instant, the beast was struck into ash.
Seeing the beast completely dead, Zeus still didn't feel satisfied.
"Alright, alright. Let's go."
Ren looked helplessly at Zeus, who kept calling down lightning onto the beast's remains. He yanked Zeus along and headed deeper into the cave.
As expected, the next flag was also guarded by a magical beast.
But this time, Zeus didn't get a chance to act.
Prometheus, like a devil crawling out of hell, surged forward. Roaring flames swallowed the beast whole.
With the beast's shrill screams, the flames faded, leaving only ash scattered across the ground.
Only the final flag remained. The two of them continued onward.
Before long, they entered a massive lava cavern.
Not far ahead, a red flag was planted there.
Erza carefully scanned the surroundings. She didn't see any magical beast.
"I'll go get the flag."
Erza, who hadn't had a chance to do anything, saw how quiet it was and suggested it to Ren.
Ren shook his head and didn't answer her.
Instead, he shouted into a dark corner not far away, "Come out. If you won't come out, I'm leaving!"
Erza's eyes widened as she hurriedly looked toward that corner.
"Ay, ay… newbies are that strong these days?"