Last year's exam content was completely different from this year's.
Back then, there were no fancy elements or complex puzzles—only two people dueling in a test of raw strength.
The winner of the duel advanced to the second round, and the exam only officially began after landing on the island.
Because of this precedent, the sudden race from the ship caught Cana and Freed completely off guard.
Freed had never participated in an exam before, and neither had anticipated a mobility test before even reaching the shore.
"If we had known earlier, I would have prepared a flight spell in advance," Freed muttered, frustrated by his lack of foresight.
But Cana made a quick, decisive call.
"Do it now! Use your runes!"
Freed nodded, instantly composing himself. He raised his rapier and slashed the air with elegance.
"Dark Écriture: Wings!"
Violet runes etched themselves onto their backs, manifesting into magical wings.
The pair launched themselves into the air, flying toward Tenrou Island with impressive speed.
Seeing this, Erza didn't hesitate. She didn't even bother consulting Natsu before acting herself.
"Requip: Black Wing Armor!"
Black wings sprouted from her back as she grabbed Natsu by his scaly scarf.
"Let's go, Natsu! I'll hold you, and you use your flames to propel yourself. Use your hands like thrusters!"
"Okay!" Natsu didn't question her.
He obediently gathered massive amounts of fire in his palms and blasted them backward.
WHOOSH!
"I'm flying!" Natsu grinned, feeling like he had unlocked a new skill tree.
The recoil of the explosions pushed them forward, boosting Erza's flight speed significantly.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the ship.
"Nee-san.. I can't fly," Elfman admitted, looking at the water.
He hadn't 'Taken Over' any avian Magic Beasts yet, leaving him grounded.
"I'll swim over. You fly there yourself! Don't let a real man hold you back!"
Mira smiled gently, shaking her head. The wind played with her white hair as she looked at her brother with soft eyes.
"It's fine, Elfman. Let's swim over together."
To Mira, becoming an S-Class Mage was important, but it was nowhere near as important as family.
She would never leave him behind.
Together, they dove into the ocean.
On the deck, Gray watched everyone depart in a frenzy of magic and water.
He turned to look at Ultear, who was leisurely lounging on a deck chair, sipping a drink with absolutely no intention of moving.
"Aren't you in a hurry?" Gray asked, puzzled. "Everyone else is halfway there."
"This isn't a speed race, Gray," Ultear replied lazily, slowly rising from her chair and stretching her limbs like a cat.
"Whether you go early or late, the path remains the same. Rushing leads to mistakes."
Gray had a lot of complaints on the tip of his tongue—mostly about how Natsu was already ahead—but considering he was absolutely no match for the woman in front of him, he wisely held back.
"Fine, but I'm doing this," Gray grumbled.
He slammed his hands together.
"Ice Make: Floor!"
A bridge of ice extended from the ship all the way to the island.
"Let's go, Ultear!"
Under Gray's urging, the two created ice skates on their feet and glided onto the frozen path. Even though it was technically Ultear's exam, Gray refused to lose—especially not to Natsu!
...
Thanks to Happy's Max Speed, Kagura and the blue cat were the first to arrive at the column of smoke.
"Which one, Kagura?" Happy asked, hovering before the cave entrances.
"You choose, Happy."
"Aye! Path A!"
They flew into the first cave. Immediately, a red X appeared over the entrance, sealing it off to others.
Seconds later, a blur of black and fire slammed onto the beach.
Erza and Natsu arrived second.
As soon as her boots hit the sand, Erza turned to the Dragon Slayer.
"Natsu, start sniffing! Find Ur or Raizel's scent. If we can track the examiners, we can find the correct path."
Natsu dropped to all fours, inhaling deeply. He sniffed the air, the ground, and the cave mouths.
"Strange..." Natsu frowned, standing up and dusting off his nose. "Why is there no scent at all? It's like... a void. These passages smell like nothing."
"Didn't you see that big sign?"
Cana and Freed landed gracefully nearby.
Cana pointed to a wooden signpost planted firmly in the sand. Written in bold, mocking red letters, it read.
[FRIENDLY REMINDER: Don't try to use your nose or divination—it's blocked by Magic. - Raizel]
Yes, Raizel had specifically asked Mavis Vermillion, the First Master, for advice on high-level shielding magic.
The entrance to the passages was completely cloaked, rendering scent tracking and clairvoyance useless.
"NANIIIIIIIII?!!" Natsu and Erza clutched their faces in shock, their jaws dropping.
"I don't believe it!" Cana shouted, not convinced. She whipped out her deck of cards. "My cards never lie! Divination!"
She laid them out on the sand.
...Nothing.
The cards showed gibberish. Or rather, every single path showed the exact same result: "Maybe."
"How is this possible?!" Cana screamed, clutching her head. "Why does every path show the same result?!"
This was the first time Cana had ever encountered such frustration.
Her divinations had never been wrong before—even when she performed them for Gildarts during their toughest missions.
(Actually, there was no need for divination back then; Gildarts had usually cleared the path with brute force, but he had insisted she do it to give her a sense of participation and confidence.)
"Has your divination never been wrong before?" Freed asked.
He was an honest man, so he asked the soul-crushing question bluntly.
"Never! NEVER!" Cana clenched her fists, her face darkening with a mixture of shame and rage.
Defeated by the anti-cheat measures, Cana resignedly pointed to Path E.
Seeing no way to cheat, Erza and Natsu quickly rushed into Path C.
...
Inside the cave, the air temperature plummeted.
Kagura and Happy cautiously advanced through the dark tunnel.
The silence made them initially believe they had luckily chosen a "Free Pass" route, but they soon discovered the harsh reality.
Path A indeed had no enemies—but it had something else.
A massive wall of ice blocked their way. And on it, a message:
[Trial Content: This stage tests your magical power, physical stamina, and perseverance. Shatter all one hundred ice walls in this passage to proceed.]
Kagura looked ahead.
The entire passage leading to the exit was filled with layer upon layer of translucent blue ice.
These weren't natural formations; they were created by Ur Milkovich using her Ice Make magic.
Given Ur's magical power, ordinary mages would struggle to break even a single wall.
And there were one hundred.
"I can't help with this one, Kagura," Happy said, his voice trembling as he read the sign.
He looked at the hard ice. "I only have speed. If I headbutt that, I'll get a concussion."
"It's fine, Happy."
Kagura's expression didn't waver. She rested her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"I want to test my limits too. Stay behind me."
Clang.
She unsheathed her blade, the Archenemy.
Without any unnecessary movements or wasted breath, she stepped forward.
She didn't use flashy spells; she employed simple, magic-enhanced slashes.
She needed to conserve her stamina.
SLASH.
The first wall shattered.
She stepped through the debris to the second.
SLASH.
After shattering over a dozen walls, Kagura began to grasp the technique required to break Ur's specific ice structure.
However, the recoil was brutal.
The vibration from striking the magically dense ice traveled up her blade, making the web of her thumb and her wrists ache with a dull, throbbing pain.
Breaking one hundred walls seemed like an impossible dream for her current self.
Yet, her eyes remained sharp. Thanks to the perseverance cultivated through years of constant sword practice, she had absolutely no intention of giving up.
'Even if I fail,' she thought, raising her blade again, 'this struggle will forge me.'
...
Erza and Natsu entered a large, cavernous room.
Waiting for them were Raizel's summons: The Three Sword Spirits.
They hovered in the air, glowing with ethereal light.
[Trial Content: This stage tests your evasion skills. Gracefully dodge the Three Sword Spirits' flame attacks within the designated area for two minutes. Maximum allowable hits: Three.]
A yellow square, created by Raizel using Archive Magic, glowed on the floor.
It served as both the arena boundary and the hit counter.
"Just dodging?" Natsu scoffed. "Too easy!"
The Sword Spirits moved.
They positioned themselves in a triangle formation and launched bolts of fire.
"Whoa!" Natsu ducked. "Too slow!"
He jumped to the left.
Bonk.
Mid-air, Natsu slammed directly into Erza. His hard head smashed into her armored breastplate.
"Ouch!" Natsu rubbed the large bump forming on his head. "Watch where you're going!"
"You jumped into my path!" Erza snapped.
Buzz.
The yellow square flashed.
Failure.
They tried again. And again.
The Sword Spirits attacked with increasing frequency and speed. The flames weren't just random; they wove complex patterns designed to corner them.
After failing three consecutive times due to collisions and confusion, Erza raised her hand.
"Stop. Natsu, we can't continue like this."
She analyzed the situation quickly. "Besides testing evasion, this stage is clearly testing our coordination. The space is too small for two people to move randomly."
If only one person needed to dodge, it would be simple.
The challenge was sharing the space without killing each other.
"What should we do then?" Natsu asked, rubbing the bump on his head.
"Stand behind me," Erza commanded. "I'll act as the eyes. I will call out the Sword Spirits' attacks, and you follow my movements exactly."
"Huh???" Natsu looked at her as if she were speaking an alien language. "If I stand behind you, how will you see the attacks coming from the rear? You don't have eyes in the back of your head!"
"Observe."
Erza's armor glowed. "Requip!"
She didn't change into armor this time.
Instead, she summoned a broad, flat greatsword.
She held the sword vertically in front of her face.
In the reflection of the blade, the movements of the Sword Spirits behind her were clearly visible.
"Whoa..." Natsu's eyes widened.
He immediately understood.
When it came to books, Natsu was hopeless. But when it came to combat tactics, he was a genius.
He grasped the concept instantly without needing further explanation.
"Got it!"
Natsu obediently positioned himself directly behind Erza's back, his senses tuned to her every muscle twitch.
"Here they come," Erza whispered.
"Left!"
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