In the evening, heavy snow began to fall from the sky.
Takeshi and Mirajane walked along the riverbank street together.
"Ever since you learned about the S-Class trial, you seem a little uneasy." Mirajane said to Takeshi.
Takeshi was startled. "Huh? Is it that obvious?"
Mirajane shook her head. "No, it's that your lack of obvious concern is what's strange. Is there anything you need to worry about?"
Takeshi's strength was already top-tier on the Ishgar Continent. She couldn't imagine what could still worry him so much.
"Hmm, I've just been feeling a bit restless lately. Don't worry."
Mirajane hugged Takeshi and said, "No matter what happens, I will be by your side."
Takeshi hugged Mirajane and whispered in her ear, "I know, and I will always be by your side too."
Wendy, holding Carla, stood on the opposite bank of the river and saw the two embracing, her face slightly flushed.
"Takeshi-nii and Mira-nee really suit each other."
Carla said, "Wendy, you're still too young. Don't learn these things."
Wendy said shyly, "What are you talking about, Carla?"
Not far away, Lucy, walking behind with her Celestial Spirit, saw this scene.
"A boyfriend? That really makes me envious."
"Pururu?"
"No. I definitely don't want a boyfriend."
"Pururu pururu!"
"Fine. I do want a boyfriend, but it's normal for a 17-year-old girl like me to want to date, right?"
"Pururu!"
"Alright! Let's go home!"
Just as Lucy arrived at her doorstep, preparing to enter the house, she saw an acquaintance sprawled in the alley next to her house, surrounded by a pile of liquor bottles.
"Eek! Where do you think you are, collapsing here!"
Lucy quickly brought Cana back into the house. If she left Cana out in this heavy snow, she would freeze to death overnight.
"Ah, thank you, Lucy. You really saved my life. If no one had noticed me, I'd be dead now."
"Is something wrong, Cana? Didn't you qualify to participate in the S-Class trial? Why are you completely drunk?"
"Yes. If it were anyone else, they'd be happy to get a spot in the exam, but me..."
"What's wrong?"
"This is my fifth time participating. I've already failed four times. I truly am a disappointing Mage."
"Four times? How did you fail four times?"
"The first failure was when Mystogan became an S-Class Mage, the second failure was when Erza became an S-Class Mage, the third failure was when Mira became an S-Class Mage, and the fourth failure was when Takeshi became an S-Class Mage..."
"Uh..."
Hearing this, Lucy couldn't help but feel speechless.
The few S-Class Mages in Fairy Tail were all monster-level. It was just bad luck for Cana to encounter opponents like them and lose.
"There's nothing you can do about it. Those guys are all monsters. Everyone understands."
"I'm the only one who has failed four times, so I'm treating this as my last chance. If I can't become an S-Class Mage, I will leave Fairy Tail."
"Why?!"
"Because I must succeed. If I don't become an S-Class Mage, I won't have the qualifications to meet that person."
Cana told Lucy the reason why she absolutely had to become an S-Class Mage.
"If I can't become an S-Class Mage this time, I'm leaving the Guild. I've already decided."
"I'll be your partner, Cana. I absolutely won't let you quit the Guild. I will definitely make you an S-Class Mage."
—
A week quietly passed.
"It's so hot!"
"It's supposed to be winter, so why is it like this?"
A ship was sailing on the sea, and all the members participating in the trial were sitting aboard.
"I'm about to melt." Lucy slumped weakly in her chair.
It was still snowing heavily in Magnolia Town, but after sailing here, it was unbearably hot, with the air temperature soaring above 50 degrees.
Happy slumped down next to her.
Cana fanned herself and explained, "Due to convection in this area, the climate is like this all year round."
Lisanna, drinking a cold beverage, asked Juvia, who was still wearing winter clothes, "Juvia, aren't you hot dressed like that?"
"I'm not hot, but if I had to say, Gray-sama's nudity is making me very hot."
Juvia's eyes turned into hearts as she looked excitedly at Gray nearby, who had even stripped off his underwear.
"So hot..."
Gray groaned.
As an Ice Mage, he wasn't afraid of cold, but heat was his worst enemy.
Loke said, "If you're hot, just use magic to conjure some ice blocks. Wouldn't that cool you down?"
Gray said, "I'm not going to let these guys freeload off my air conditioning."
"Seriously, they're about to become rivals, yet they're still so close." Evergreen said.
She had teamed up with Elfman to participate in the trial. For Elfman, although Evergreen was a bit scary, she was undoubtedly stronger in terms of power, and teaming up with her increased his chance of becoming an S-Class Mage.
Suddenly, Lucy, lying down, looked up and saw an island.
"Ah! That is..."
Everyone in the Guild quickly looked over.
"Have we arrived?"
"Is that Tenrou Island?"
"What an incredible shape! An island on top of an island!"
Makarov's voice rang out. "Legend says that fairies once resided on that island, and it is also the resting place of Fairy Tail's First Guild Master, Mavis Vermillion."
"Now, for the contents of the first stage of the public trial."
Hearing Makarov's words, all the examinees became serious.
"You all see the smoke rising from the island's shore, right? Go there first. There are eight paths there, and only one team can pass through each path. The end of the paths looks like this."
A Magic Circle appeared beside Makarov, displaying a simple diagram.
There were eight paths shown. Some paths led to an encounter where teams would fight, and the victor would pass, there were two such battles. There were also three 'Fierce Battle' icons, featuring the portraits of Takeshi, Gildarts, and Erza. Besides these, there was also a 'Silence' path.
Makarov explained, "The path marked 'Battle' means two out of the eight teams will meet and one will win and pass. 'Fierce Battle' is the most difficult checkpoint, requiring you to defeat an active S-Class Mage. 'Silence' is the path where you don't need to fight anyone and pass directly through the first stage."
"The first stage tests 'Might' and 'Luck'."
"Only the teams that clear this stage will be qualified for the first stage."