Makarov scanned the room. "The specific details of this trial will be announced on Tenrou Island, but there is one piece of news I can reveal to you in advance..."
"Every S-Class Mage in Fairy Tail will become an obstacle in your path during the upcoming exam!"
"Eh——!!"
"Every one of them? Doesn't that mean..."
"Gildarts will be participating too!"
"No need to be surprised! This is a path every S-Class Mage must take!"
"..."
In previous S-Class Promotion Exams, there was usually only one S-Class Mage or Makarov himself serving as the examiner. After Erza became an S-Class Mage, she became a permanent examiner for the annual exams.
But this time, Gildarts, Mirajane, Mystogan, and even Laxus—who rarely participates in such things because he doesn't know how to hold back—will all join Erza as obstacles for the exam.
This is going to be way too hard...
Amidst the lively discussion, Makarov announced the final instructions: "The eight participants, remember to bring your partners. Gather at the port in Hargeon in one week. That is all. Dismissed!"
The meeting ended, and the guild members who had gathered to watch dispersed. Some went to take on jobs, while others gathered to excitedly discuss who would finally be promoted to S-Class this time.
Natsu, unsurprisingly, became the most popular candidate.
Although this guy is always getting beaten up in the guild, it's Erza doing the beating. There aren't many people in the guild who wouldn't feel nervous seeing Erza with a straight face.
Below S-Class, Natsu could be considered the strongest in the guild. During the previous Harvest Festival civil war, he single-handedly defeated Fried, even after Fried used his trump cards.
He not only possesses monstrous combat instincts and the second magic source—which greatly increases his maximum magic power—but also wields the top-tier lethal 'Fire Dragon Slayer Magic', and his physical constitution is akin to an unkillable cockroach.
If he can't win, he can always activate "Dragon Force"...
The more everyone analyzed it, the more they felt Natsu's recent growth rate was terrifyingly fast.
As the chatter continued around them, the participants of the exam formed their own small groups to discuss things with their close companions.
"The path to becoming an S-Class Mage is too far away. A man feels so sad!" Elfman clutched his head, feeling hopeless about the upcoming exam on Tenrou Island, while Lisanna cheered him on from the side.
Gray also had a deeply furrowed brow.
Cana, who had been full of confidence, now looked unhappy. She had thought her new cards would give her a fighting chance, but she hadn't expected this to be hell difficulty.
"This year's exam is really hard."
Levy slumped onto the table, looking troubled. "Other than Cana, who has experience, the seven of us are participating in the S-Class Promotion Exam for the first time. To run into this level of difficulty... we're so unlucky..."
"You're all participating for the first time? That's really surprising."
Lucy was very surprised. She had assumed that the standouts of the younger generation like Natsu, Gray, and Fried would have all participated in the exam before. It turned out they hadn't done so even once.
Gajeel rarely stayed silent, but he and Juvia were also participating in the S-Class Promotion Exam for the first time.
Back in Phantom Lord, although they were S-Class Mages, as long as one's strength was sufficient and they gained Jose's approval, they could become S-Class directly. It was completely different from Fairy Tail.
Unlike his worried companions, Natsu was incredibly energetic right now. "I'm fired up! I'm definitely going to pass the exam and become an S-Class Mage!"
Lucy looked at the inexplicably excited Natsu, completely failing to understand what he was Happy about. Just hearing the lineup of examiners made her feel like it was all over.
Fortunately, she wasn't the one participating in the exam.
Wendy held Carla and, seeing the atmosphere was a bit strange, kindly changed the subject. "By the way everyone, have you decided who to invite as your partner?"
"I'm obviously teaming up with Happy."
Natsu pointed to the blue cat beside him, and Happy raised his hand in response. "Aye! I'm Natsu's most important battle partner. Lucy, you better not be jealous of me~"
Lucy tilted her head. "Who would be jealous of a cat!"
Juvia looked at Gray with affection, her cheeks flushing red. "Juvia is of course teaming up with Gray-sama~"
"We're competitors, how could we possibly team up..."
Gray's shirt had gone missing again at some point. He rested his head on his hand and smiled. "Besides, I've already decided on my partner."
"What!"
Juvia was shocked, and her whole demeanor soured. "It's a love rival! Has this day finally come... Who is that person? Is she prettier than me?"
"Ah——this is such a pain! I'll bring her here right now!" Juvia, overcome with jealousy, slammed her hand on the table. "I want to see who dares to seduce my Gray-sama!"
"It's me."
Amidst Juvia's freak-out, a beam of starlight appeared, and a handsome man in a suit and glasses materialized. It was none other than the Lion Celestial Spirit, who had returned to the Spirit World to recover.
"Loki?!"
"Everyone, long time no see." Loki greeted them with a smile.
"We made a promise long ago that whoever qualified for the S-Class Promotion Exam would receive the other's full support."
Listening to Gray's explanation, the Fairy Tail jealousy queen Juvia immediately let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't expected Gray-sama to be with a Celestial Spirit... though, the two handsome men were actually kind of shippable.
Indescribable, bromantic scenes automatically played in Juvia's mind. Besides being a super romantic airhead, this girl was also a fujoshi...
And the object of her fantasies was none other than Gray...
Loki skillfully pulled up a chair and sat down. "Lucy, I'm sorry, but I need to dissolve our contract during the exam period. Otherwise, my activities will drain your magic power."
Lucy waved her hand. "I'm fine with that, but Loki, will you be okay without a contractor's support?"
"Of course, no problem. I am the leader of the Zodiac, after all. Supporting Gray should be enough." A confident smile appeared on Loki's face, but in reality, he was panicking like crazy.
With this lineup of examiners, even Loki in his prime wouldn't be confident. Let alone the two years he spent stranded in the human world, which had severely impacted his strength.
The flow of time in the Spirit World is much slower than in Aslant.
Three months here is only one day in the Spirit World.
For Loki, he had only been home for half a day before returning to Fairy Tail for his friend's sake. The time he actually had to quietly recover his body was pitifully short.
It was only because he had the strong foundation of a Golden Celestial Spirit; otherwise, Loki might not have been able to scrape together enough magic power to act independently in the human world after dissolving the contract.
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