After Makarov signaled for everyone to quiet down, he continued speaking.
It was only then that he realized Raizel had said a lot of encouraging words but hadn't actually explained many of the rules.
After all, many new members had joined this year, and they were unaware of the specific regulations of the Harvest Festival.
"Aside from magic tools inherently associated with one's magic—such as a Celestial Spirit Mage's keys, one's own cards, or Requip firearms and weapons—no other magic items may be used."
This rule was strictly enforced to prevent cheating or taking shortcuts.
If someone were to buy a powerful magic scroll or even bring something ridiculous like the Jupiter Cannon just for a competition, and then simply unleash it during a match, there would be no point in fighting—it would completely disrupt the balance of the tournament.
"Additionally, the prize pool has been increased this year. The top sixteen contestants will receive prizes: the Champion will get 1,000,000 Jewel, the Runner-up 800,000 Jewel, Third Place 500,000 Jewel, Fourth to Eighth place 300,000 Jewel each, and Ninth to Sixteenth place 200,000 Jewel each."
"Woo!!"
"Long live the Guild Master!!"
"200,000 Jewel just for making the Top 16?!"
Upon hearing that even ninth to sixteenth place would receive 200,000J, everyone's enthusiasm immediately soared.
No one really expected to make the top eight against the heavy hitters, and the champion's prize was beyond most people's dreams, but the top sixteen was within reach for many.
Everyone knew how stingy Makarov could be, so it was surprising that the prize pool, which hadn't been increased for so many years, was finally raised this year. It was like seeing a mythical creature scattering money—unbelievable.
The guild members were so excited that Makarov couldn't continue announcing over the noise.
Raizel stepped forward and signaled, "Quiet!"
"Moreover, this year there will be a team competition format," Raizel announced. "Teams will consist of five members and can be formed freely, with each team allowed a maximum of one S-Class Mage."
"The team competition prize pool will be divided equally among the five members of the Champion, Runner-up, and Third-place teams."
The Fairy Tail Harvest Festival battles often changed formats—sometimes team competitions, sometimes individual matches, and even doubles tournaments had been held in the past.
This year, Makarov originally planned to hold only singles matches, but considering the many new members, the team format would better foster camaraderie and cooperation among the guild.
"A team competition! If we get Raizel or Laxus on our team, isn't it an automatic win???"
"Aren't Ultear and Erza also really strong???"
"Mirajane and Cana aren't bad either, okay???"
"Where are you putting Mira-chan???"
"Mystogan is the GOAT!"
The guild members began chattering excitedly again.
Since Mystogan's unexpected rise during the last S-Class exam, where he defeated Kagura and advanced to S-Class Mage, he had gained many fans.
Combined with his elusive and mysterious nature, he seemed even more formidable.
Many guild members had their own supporters; even Natsu and Gray had their dedicated fanbases.
"Ahem, ahem."
Makarov cleared his throat tactically, drawing the guild members' attention back to him.
"Everyone, this year's team competition isn't just a simple showdown. There will be many rule restrictions, as well as different competition formats and events. It might not solely rely on magical power. Teaming up with other members could bring unexpected surprises."
Raizel had previously tried a team competition format where participants formed teams freely based on points, with 15 points allocated per team cap, but it still ended up being simple combat matches.
This year, Raizel wanted to try something different.
There were clearly many other options available, so there was no need for constant fighting every day.
The prize money was split equally between Makarov and Raizel.
It was Raizel's suggestion to expand the prize pool to sixteen winners this year—higher rewards would naturally boost everyone's enthusiasm.
This amount of money wasn't even enough for Raizel to undertake a high-difficulty S-Class quest.
To him, it was no big sum, but for many ordinary members, it meant a lot.
For example... Lucy.
She was already calculating how much she could earn at this year's Harvest Festival.
'Miss Fairy Tail... 500,000J for the top 16... 200,000J for the team competition... plus prizes for the champions, runners-up, and third place—this is way more than I usually make! I need to step up my game!'
The thought of earning a substantial amount ignited a flame of motivation in Lucy's heart.
If it weren't for tagging along with Raizel on a mission recently, Lucy would have long been in financial trouble.
Going out on solo missions often didn't pay off—sometimes she even lost money on travel expenses.
"This year's championship, whether individual or team, I must win it!" Natsu shouted.
"Hey, wake up! What kind of nonsense are you spouting? It's not even dark yet, and you're already dreaming, Natsu," Gray remarked, looking at Natsu with a face full of exasperation.
"Boring competition," Gajeel scoffed, turning his head away arrogantly.
"Gajeel-san, don't be like that. Juvia thinks it will be a good experience," Juvia encouraged him.
...
The Harvest Festival Battle was scheduled to begin on the fifth day before "Fantasia."
This year's competition would span a long time, even extending beyond the festival itself.
There would be no matches on the actual day of the Harvest Festival, as everyone would be busy preparing for the "Fantasia" parade.
That was the traditional event—no matter what competitions were missing, "Fantasia" had to remain.
After announcing the rules, Mystogan immediately approached Raizel to privately withdraw from the competition.
The reason? His face.
Before, it wouldn't have mattered if people recognized him.
But now, it was different.
Jellal was currently a wanted man by the Council.
If Mystogan's face—which was identical to Jellal's—were exposed during the competition, it would cause serious trouble that would be hard to explain.
It wasn't entirely impossible to explain the concept of Edolas, but whether the public would believe it was another matter. It was better not to invite trouble.
This was something Raizel hadn't considered carefully.
Fortunately, Mystogan brought it up himself.
After discussing with Makarov and Ur, Raizel announced that Mystogan would not participate in this year's competition due to "severe injuries sustained during a mission."
The commentators and judges for the competition were announced: the town Mayor, Raizel, Makarov, Ur, and Jason, the reporter from Weekly Sorcerer.
Of course, in the early stages, they primarily served as commentators.
Raizel would step down from the commentary booth once the Top 16 were determined to join the fight.
...
Ur had participated in the Harvest Festival Battle for the first three or four years.
It wasn't because she was particularly competitive or sought fame—rather, Raizel had insisted she join, using her status as one of the Ten Wizard Saints as a promotional gimmick to draw crowds.
To be honest, if Raizel hadn't pushed her to compete and Laxus hadn't expressed intense interest in facing her, she would have had zero interest in participating.
Fighting these people felt like overkill to her.
Of course, in recent years, Ultear and Erza had also grown significantly stronger.
But asking her to perform some kind of "mother-daughter confrontation" in the competition was out of the question.
Whether it was fighting Erza, Ultear, Kagura, Cana, or any other members she had watched grow up, she couldn't bring herself to strike any of them seriously.
Now that she didn't need to compete, the other members of Fairy Tail were strong enough to attract outside tourists to watch the matches.
Having already won the championship previously and proven her strength, she simply decided not to participate in the competition these past two years, instead joining Makarov as a commentator.
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