Once Ur finished her declaration and the crowd began to disperse, the candidates immediately moved to secure their partners.
Cana Alberona wasted no time and immediately sought out Freed Justine, the captain of the Raijinshū.
Having worked with him before, she was well aware of Freed's capabilities—specifically the potent combination of Dark Script enhancing his swordsmanship and his versatile spells.
She calculated that if she could just buy enough time for him to write some beneficial spells during combat, their chances of winning would be significantly higher.
On the other side of the room, Mira turned to her sibling.
"I'll leave it to you, Elfman."
She didn't hesitate for a second to choose him.
They possessed excellent chemistry from years of fighting together, and his raw strength was entirely reliable.
"Leave it to me, sis! A real man will definitely help you become an S-Class Mage!!!" Elfman roared, striking a pose; by now, he had thoroughly made "a real man" his signature catchphrase.
Meanwhile, Kagura had been deeply pondering who to choose ever since the announcement about selecting teammates was made.
Natsu was the first she ruled out.
While his strength was undeniably impressive, she felt he was far too conspicuous and noisy. If there were any exam segments that required stealth or subtlety, Natsu would be nothing short of a ticking time bomb.
She didn't want Gray either—she simply didn't want the burden of constantly reminding him to put on clothes.
"Aren't you going to choose Natsu or Gray, Kagura?" Erza asked, watching Kagura who sat deep in thought with her chin resting in her hand.
Erza hadn't made her choice yet, thinking that as an older sister figure, she should graciously let Kagura choose first.
After all, there was a strength gap between Kagura and herself, and Erza knew that having Natsu on her own team wouldn't be much of an issue.
With her Flame Empress Armor, Natsu couldn't really harm her even if he tried.
Kagura seemed to have anticipated Erza's question.
She firmly shook her head, stating clearly. "Neither of them is within my consideration."
"Wait, fine if you don't pick Natsu, but why not me?" Gray, who was still in the middle of a brawl with Natsu, protested vehemently at Kagura's firm rejection!
"Clothes... Gray..." Cana quickly explained the reason he wasn't chosen from the sidelines.
If it were her, she wouldn't want a partner who kept stripping either!
"What?! When?!" Gray looked down and realized he was once again only wearing underpants in the middle of winter—and worst of all, he had no idea where his clothes had gone.
He was just fighting!
Natsu was about to retort and mock him when Erza punched both of them, finally quieting them down.
"Gray, come help me."
After seeing that Kagura had no interest in either of them, Ultear thought it over and chose Ur's disciple, Gray.
Seeing Kagura's lack of interest in these two, Ultear had been torn between choosing Natsu or Gray.
Realistically, in terms of strength, it had to be one of them, and she was more familiar with them than the others.
In the end, Ultear chose Gray because she could make him obey her, whereas Natsu might not listen—he was simply too unpredictable.
"Then I'll choose Natsu." Erza finally picked the unwanted Natsu.
What the others worried about wasn't an issue in her view.
Actually, Erza was quite satisfied with this outcome.
At least Natsu's strength was substantial, and if they encountered situations requiring team battles, Natsu would be a valuable asset.
Although Natsu's win rate in the Guild was small... it was somewhat understandable since he always challenged those stronger than himself.
"Leave it to me, Erza. I'll definitely help you become an S-Class Mage," Natsu confidently assured Erza.
Even though he wasn't the one taking the S-Class exam, being able to fight everyone to his heart's content was enough for him.
Oh, and he'd make sure to beat the shit out of Gray too.
Kagura ultimately made the surprising choice of selecting Happy as her partner, though no one quite knew her reasoning when she could have chosen Bickslow or Evergreen instead.
...
After everyone had chosen their teammates, they each began a week of special training and adjustments to strengthen themselves as much as possible.
The week passed quickly, and the exam participants, boarded the Guild's ship from Hargeon Port alongside Makarov.
Ur, Raizel, and Laxus weren't with them, having already arrived at Tenrou Island ahead of the group to prepare.
One person stood out on the ship—Natsu.
He was currently leaning against the ship's railing with a purple face, looking like he was about to die.
Natsu's motion sickness from vehicles was getting increasingly severe.
Seeing Natsu in this state, Erza began questioning whether choosing him had been the right decision.
Fortunately, Tenrou Island itself wasn't a vehicle.
Wendy, seeing how miserable Natsu looked, approached to tell him she had a way to alleviate his motion sickness.
After all, she wasn't anyone's partner this year and had just come to watch the excitement.
Wendy had only heard from Happy about Natsu's motion sickness, but she never realized it was this severe.
"Please... help me... ugh~~ Wendy..." Natsu managed to thank Wendy between bouts of vomiting.
Wendy quickly cast Troia on Natsu, a spell that enhanced the caster's sense of balance.
"Hey! The dizziness is gone! Thank you so much, Wendy!"
With Troia's help, Natsu quickly recovered and began running around the ship excitedly after thanking her.
"Is that Tenrou Island?" Lisanna asked, seeing the peculiarly shaped island for the first time. "What a strange shape. The tree in the middle is so tall."
Tenrou Island's appearance was indeed unique, mainly because the Tenrou Tree was so enormous that Lisanna could see it clearly from afar, dominating the island's center.
"That's our Guild's sacred ground, Tenrou Island. Legend says fairies once lived on that island," Makarov promptly answered Lisanna's question.
"Finally, we're here," Gray rubbed his hands together eagerly.
Makarov stood at the ship's railing and drew everyone's attention.
"Now, let me announce the first exam's contents."
"See that column of smoke on the island? There are eight entrances at that smoke column, but only the first five—A through E—can be chosen. Each entrance only allows one team to enter."
"As for what enemies await you ahead, or whether you'll be lucky enough to choose the path with no obstacles and safely exit the cave—that depends on your own luck. After all, luck is also part of one's strength."
"Any team that manages to safely exit the cave will pass the first exam."
"I'll be waiting for you at the first exam's exit, where I'll announce the second exam's contents."
"Now then, let the exam begin!" Makarov finished announcing the rules and swung his hand downward.
"Eh? We're still on the ship, aren't we? How do we start?" Gray looked at Makarov with confusion.
"Hehe." Makarov didn't answer Gray, just grinned with his teeth showing.
"Happy, let's go!"
Kagura immediately reacted, calling Happy as she leaped directly from the Guild's ship into the open air.
"Aye! Full speed ahead!" Happy cooperated seamlessly, immediately using Wing Magic to catch Kagura mid-air and flew straight toward Tenrou Island.
Natsu watched in shock as Happy already flew off with Kagura.
"You're cheating! Kagura! Happy!"
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Kagura : 12 years old
Ultear, Mirajane, Erza : 15 years old (in canon X780 is the year Erza become S-class mage, the youngest one in Fairytail history).
Cana : 14 years old