Chapitre 287: Soul Weapon Sparring

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

December, x784.

While the S-Class girls, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla were congratulating Erza on completing her [Soul Weapon's] first shift, the elevator doors opened once again. And through those open doors, Alfonzo entered the main hall of the Fairy Tail guild.

Immediately, when Alfonzo took his first step into the guild hall, Elicia's head whipped in his direction.

"Fonzie!" Elicia shouted happily. "You'll never guess what Erza did.'

Hearing Elicia's exclamation, Alfonzo's gaze immediately fell on Erza. And when he noticed the sword on her hip, he knew exactly what she had accomplished. Before he could congratulate her, however, Elicia continued exclaiming loudly.

"Erza activated her first shift!" Elicia said, clearly proud of Erza's achievement.

"Um… Lici, I think you should have let Erza say that." Ultear said, softly reprimanding Elicia.

Immediately, Elicia froze in place. Then, like a robot whose joints needed oil, she slowly turned her head in Erza's direction.

"Oops…" Elicia muttered, a guilty expression making its way onto her face. "I'm sorry, Erza. I was so excited that I forgot.

"It's fine." Erza replied casually. "I'm just happy that all my hard work paid off."

Hearing that, Elicia felt even more guilty. Though she could tell that Erza really did not mind, she would have felt better if Erza had gotten angry instead.

"*Sigh* And here I thought your habit of speaking without thinking had improved." Alfonzo said with a wry smile while shaking his head. "But Erza's finished her first shift, huh? And I thought I'd have been the first. Oh well, it's not a race, I guess."

"Don't worry, Alfonzo." Ultear said in a conciliatory tone. "I'm sure you'll get yours soon, too."

"OH, nah, that's not what I meant." Alfonzo said with a smile. Then, he reached his hands to his lower back before pulling out a pair of magi-steel tonfa that were strapped to his back. "I finished mine just a few minutes ago."

Hearing that, the girls were dumbfounded. Then, their gazes shifted between Alfonzo's tonfa and Erza's longsword. A few moments later, their attention fell on the pendant that was hanging around Elicia's neck, and they could not help but look at her with pity.

Seeing the gazes she was getting from Ultear, Mirajane, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla, Elicia's eyebrows began to twitch.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?' Elicia asked defensively. "Unlike those two, I take a lot of quests. I also spend a lot of time working on my new clothing designs. I just don't have as much time to circulate my magic power as they do."

"It's okay, Lici." Mirajane said with her usual pleasant smile. Though, a hint of sadism was hidden behind it. "Coming in third isn't so bad."

In response to Mirajane's statement, Ultear, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla nodded in agreement. Though, the slight smiles they all wore made it clear that they were teasing Elicia. Elicia, on the other hand, felt her eyebrows twitching even more fiercely. Then, when she could no longer take it, she…

"Fonzie~~~~!" Elicia cried loudly before she threw herself into Alfonzo's arms. "Everyone is bullying me~~~~~!"

Hearing Elicia start crying, the girls opened their eyes and mouths wide in surprise. Meanwhile, Alfonzo, although he was rubbing Elicia's back tenderly to try and calm her down, was doing everything in his power to not start laughing at his fiancée.

Though, after seeing Alfonzo's facial expression, Ultear, Mirajane, Lucy, and Carla started laughing immediately. Meanwhile, Wendy was genuinely feeling guilty about making Elicia cry. Erza, on the other hand, was staring at Alfonzo with the desire to fight blazing in her eyes.

"Alfonzo, can we spar?' Erza asked eagerly. "I really wanna put my new weapon through its paces."

Continuing to pat Elicia on the back, Alfonzo put on a battle hungry smile that let Erza know that he was ready to do the same with his tonfa.

Seeing Alfonzo's smile, the girls were also interested in seeing the spar between Alfonzo and Erza, as well. So, after calming Elicia down, the group made their way into the elevator and went up to the training room their group usually used for the spar.

During this time, many of the other guild members who were still present in the guild noticed what was about to happen as well. So, they also made their way towards the training room. Even Makarov, Gildarts, and Ur were attracted by the spectacle.

A few minutes later, Alfonzo and Erza were standing in the middle of the training room while the walls were lined with the members of the guild who were drawn to the sparring match.

"I'm actually surprised to see you here, Laxus." Elicia said after noticing Laxus was standing next to her.

"Well, if these [Soul Weapons] are as good as advertised, I'll probably ask Alfonzo to make one for me, too." Laxus replied casually.

"I hope you don't ask him to do it like you used to when you wanted something from him." Elicia replied with a cheeky smile.

"Hmph!" Laxus snorted in response while looking away with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face. "I already realized I was an asshole back then. Do you have to keep on bringing it up?"

"Oh, if you thought you'd ever live that down, you were clearly dreaming." Elicia said happily.

"Whatever." Laxus replied in an annoyed tone.

"But I'm pretty sure you're gonna be disappointed if you were looking forward to seeing what the [Soul Weapons] can do, this time around." Elicia said, getting back to the main topic.

"Huh?" Laxus exclaimed in confusion as he turned his head back in Elicia's direction. "What do you mean?"

"Well, according to Fonzie, they won't really start showing their power until they learn the [Weapon Spirit's] name and release its first seal.

"I see." Laxus said, sounding a bit disappointed. A moment later, however, he shrugged it off. "Oh well, I guess I'll just enjoy the show then."

At the same time, everyone's attention was drawn to the middle of the room as Erza dashed forward with er sword raised. In response, Alfonzo took a step backward, and with the long end of the tonfa in his left hand running along his forearm, he blocked Erza's downward slash.

Then, while moving his left arm in a circular motion, Alfonzo moved Erza's sword to the outside of his body. At the same time, he stepped forward, whipped the tonfa in his right hand forward, and lashed out at Erza's left side.

Reacting quickly, Erza stepped back, narrowly avoiding Alfonzo's strike, while simultaneously disengaging. Then, she swept her blade at Alfonzo's front leg, causing him to step back quickly, before following up with an upward slash.

Taking another step backward, Alfonzo swung the tonfa in his left hand while swinging both weapons at Erza's blade, knocking it towards the right side of his body. Then, he returned the tonfa in his left hand to its previous position and threw an elbow strike at Erza's abdomen.

Sidestepping Alfonzo's elbow strike, Erza stepped in with another slash from above., this time, wielding the sword with only one hand.

Arching his back to avoid Erza's slash, Alfonzo fell into a bridge, supported himself with the short ends of his tonfa. Then, he pushed himself back to an upright position once Erza's blade passed. At the same time, he flipped the tonfa around, and brough the long ends of his weapons down at Erza's shoulders, which she, once again, stepped back to avoid.

During this entire exchange, Although Alfonzo and Erza were circulating their magic power into their weapons, they were not using any to strengthen their bodies. This spar was to test their [Soul Weapon's] feel, after all.

Still, they continued to exchange attacks. And as time went by, their speed increased. Though, it was clear that Erza was gaining the upper hand.

To be honest, both Alfonzo and Erza expected him to be at a disadvantage. Although he had trained with various weapons over the years, thanks to his ability to make just about any weapon with his [Metal Magic], he mainly focused on Eskrima. So, he was much less familiar with tonfa combat.

In fact, he was thoroughly confused by the fact that his [Soul Weapon Embryo] evolved into a pair of tonfa rather than a pair of Eskrima sticks. But since there was nothing he could do about it, he never questioned it. Since these were supposed to be the weapons that best suit him, he would just have to learn how to wield them properly.

Meanwhile, the audience was thoroughly impressed by the display of skill they were witnessing. Even though most of them could tell Alfonzo was losing, they could not believe that he was so skilled with the weapons he was using.

"Alfonzo usually only uses those two sticks he always creates, right?" Wakaba asked curiously.

"Yeah, and he's damn good with them, too." Macao replied. "Especially when he uses them in combination with his magic, You never knew if they'd turn into one long stick, or just grow a little longer when you thought you avoided them."

"Then, why is he using those things?" Wakaba asked.

"They're called tonfa." Gildarts said. "And from what I've heard, those should be the weapons best suited for him. If his theory about those [Soul Weapons] was correct, anyway."

"It probably is." Ur added. "Although his movements aren't quite as smooth as usual, likely because he's using a less familiar weapon, his moves are much more varied. Especially because he can change the position of the long and short ends."

Hearing that, the three middle-aged men nodded in agreement.

"but still, that Erza's talent with a sword is incredible." Ren said with a smile. "She's probably even a match for you now, Masa."

"I wouldn't doubt that, Ma'am." Masa replied with a nod. "Though, I'm much more proficient with knives than swords."

"*Sigh* It really is a shame you're still only an A-Class wizard, Masa." Gildarts said in a tone of lament.

"If it weren't for my husband's foolish pride, Masa would have been promoted to S-Class over a decade ago."

"Hmph!" Gozaburo snorted while looking away from his wife's piercing stare.

"Oh, really?" Ur asked with interest. "Now that you mention it, he did fight Laxus in the tournament, and neither of them could land a blow on each other, could they. That kinda makes me wanna spar with you, Masa."

Hearing that, Masa could only smile wryly. Though he was physically stronger than any human, other than maybe Alfonzo after he used the Techno Organic Metal to strengthen his entire body, Masa knew that he did not have enough magic power to contend with Ur. On top of that, no matter how much physical strength he had, what good would it be if he were frozen into an ice statue?

"Hahaha! The kid lost!" Gozaburo shouted happily.

Hearing Gozaburo's laughter and subsequent exclamation, the others looked in the direction of the spar and saw Erza had stopped with her sword at Alfonso's throat.

"Even if he lost, his display was quite impressive." Masa said. "Give him a year, and the outcome might be different."

"Hey, whose side are you on, Masa?" Gozaburo asked in a betrayed tone.

"Huh? I wasn't taking sides though, Boss." Masa said in a panicked tone.

*Bang!*

"Stop being an ass." Ren said after punching Gozaburo in the side of the head. "Now he can't even make a simple observation if it doesn't agree with what you want to hear? Maybe someone needs to spend some more time on the washing board and sleeping on the couch?"

"Wait, Ren, I'm sorry." Gozaburo replied in a panic. "Anything but the washing board. Please!"

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." Ren said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Hearing that, Gozaburo glanced at Masa while gritting his teeth. Then, he took a deep breath before lowering his head with veins popping out on his forehead.

"I'm… So… Sor… Sorry… Masa." Gozaburo said in a tone filled with venom.

"No, Boss. There's no need to apologize." Masa replied while waving his hands frantically.

Meanwhile, Erza had lowered her sword from Alfonzo's neck. Then, both she and Alfonzo began to inspect their weapons for any chips, cracks, or damage of any kind.

"Not a single chip." Erza said in an impressed tone. "Quite impressive."

"Yeah, especially if you consider how hard we were going." Alfonzo replied. "I guess we'll have to try strengthening our bodies with magic power, next time. Then, after that, we'll have to try using our magic on the wea---"

Before Alfonzo could finish, however, Erza stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, before kissing him passionately. In fact, this kiss was so passionate that even some of the married members of the guild looked away in embarrassment.

"Thank you, Alfonzo." Erza said with a dazzling smile on her face after breaking the kiss. "This is the best gift I could have ever asked for."

"I'm glad you like it, Erza." Alfonzo replied with his own radiant smile before pecking Erza on the forehead. "Anyway, let's call it quits for today. On top of the first shift, I also completed my research. Now, I need to turn all that theory into something practical."

With that, the spar ended and everyone made their way out of the training room. Meanwhile, Elicia decided that she would put all her effort in attaining her first shift as well after seeing Alfonzo and Erza. Then, the next day, she announced her own first shift.

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commentaire Commentaire 5

Voter

Chapitre 288: x784's S-Class Candidates

Earth land , Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, magnolia.

December 8, x784.

The next evening, the entire guild had gathered in the main hall. And just like when the Miss Fairy Tail pageant was held, a stage had been lowered from one of the walls. While all the A-Class wizards and below were gathered in the audience area, Makarov and all the S-Class wizards stood on the stage.

Though none of the S-Class wizards usually wore weapons of any kind in most situations, today, three of them had something extra on their person. First, there was Alfonzo with his tonfa strapped to his lower back. Then, there was Erza with her longsword sheathed on her hip. And lastly, there was Elicia with a black, leathery wristband with silver, metallic fixtures holding a number of sewing needles of various sizes.

When Elicia came into the guild hall in the morning with this wristband around her wrist, and dark circles under her eyes, the girls who had been teasing her the day before almost felt bad about what they had said to her. But at the same time, they felt proud of being able to get Elicia to focus on her [Soul Weapon Embryo] for a decent amount of time.

Then just like Erza had done the day before, Elicia requested a spar with Alfonzo, which he accepted happily. Though, since this one happened during the normal training hours, there was not so much of an audience to witness it.

After that, things went as usual. Until Makarov gathered everyone together for an announcement.

"Good evening, my children." Makarov said from the top of the stage while he was flanked by Gildarts and Ur. "I'm sure most, if not all, of you know why I have gathered you."

Hearing Makarov's opening statement, most of the A-Class wizards in the guild showed clear excitement. Like Makarov said, they knew why they were gathered. And the only thing they could do was wait for the rest of the announcement.

"In seven days, Fairy Tail's x784 S-Class Promotion Exam will commence." Makarov continued. "And today we are gathered for the announcement of the rules for this year and the participants."

With that, the atmosphere in the guild hall rose to another level.

"Just like every year, the exam will be held at our guild's ancestral home, Tenrou Island. And like we have for the last few years, we can thank Alfonzo for the transportation to the island via his ship." Makarov said, this part of his announcement surprising no one. "This year's exam will be a bit different, though. This time around, each participant must find a partner to take the exam with among the wizards below S-Class. And your teamwork will be one of the criteria on which we will grade your performance."

Hearing the second part, however, caused the entire guild to be taken aback for at least a moment. Like Makarov said, usually the S-Class Promotion Exam only tested a wizard's individual capabilities. But considering how often most wizards work in teams to complete quests, this was not all that strange if one thought about it.

"As for the S-Class wizards, don't worry." Makarov said with a grandfatherly smile. "They'll be participating in the exam, as well. As both your opponents and the examiners."

With that said, all the S-Class wizards on the stage with Makarov smiled at the crowd. Though, everyone in the crowd felt as if they could see the images of demons and monsters floating behind them.

"And now that all that is out of the way, let's announce this year's eight participants." Makarov said, raising the hall's atmosphere to its peak.

With that, all the A-Class wizards in the guild waited in anticipation for the eight names who would be called to participate in this year's S-Class Exam.

"Gray Fullbuster…"

When his name was called, Gray did not react much. Though, he did nod his head confidently.

"Yes, Juvia will team up with her darling Gray." Juvia shouted happily. "Then, with the power of our love, we will defeat all those who stand in our way!"

However, when Gray heard Juvia's declaration, he almost stumbled, even though he was standing still.

"… Elfman Strauss…"

"Yeah! Because I'm a real man!" Elfman shouted with his fists raised over his head.

"*Sigh* Big Brother…" Lisanna muttered with her hand over her face.

Meanwhile, on the stage, Mirajane secretly pinched and twisted Alfonzo's waist while mouthing the words, "This is your fault."

"… Levy McGarden…"

"Really? Me?" Levy asked in a surprised tone.

"Congratulations, Levy." Jet and Droy cheered in unison, before they glared at each other as if they were trying to decide who would be her partner in the exam.

"… Cana Alberona…"

Like Gray, Cana did not react much either. But the determination in her gaze grew stronger.

Although Cana did not react much, both Alfonzo and Elicia, who felt that something was off, looked at her with concern.

"… Fried Justine…"

Fried nodded in response to hearing his name called. Meanwhile, Bickslow and his dolls laughed happily for their friend's success.

"… Juvia Lockser…"

"Wait, does that mean Juvia can't team up with her beloved Gray?" Juvia muttered, as she started melting into a puddle of water on the floor.

"... Sun Seto…"

"Sun! You did it! Daddy's rooting for you!" Gozaburo shouted before Sun could react. "Masa, did you bring the recording lacrima?"

Immediately after hearing her father, Sun's happy expression turned into an embarrassed one as she lowered her head in shame.

*Bang!*

"Stop embarrassing her!" Ren shouted as she punched Gozaburo in the gut and caused him to fall to his knees in pain. "Can't you show even a shred of dignity"

"… and Mest Gryder…" Makarov said, bringing the announcement to an end.

"What?" Natsu shouted, not believing that his name was not called to participate in this year's exam. "Didn't you forget someone, Gramps?"

While most of the guild were just as surprised as Natsu, there were a few who understood the case.

"Natsu, I thought I explained this back when you went on that unauthorized S-Class quest back in the summer." Makarov said in a stern tone. "You proved to me on that day that you were not ready to be an S-Class wizard."

"Yeah, but…" Natsu said, trying to protest.

"Therefore, for this year, you were excluded from the list of participants. But as long as you don't do anything like that again, your name should be on the list of participants for next year."

With Makarov's explanation, everyone who was surprised by Natsu's non participation remembered the event he was referring to and could only look at Natsu with sympathy. Natsu, on the other hand, could only look on blankly with his mouth and eyes wide open in disbelief.

At the same time, while all this was going on, Alfonzo and Elicia had their gazes fixed on Mest, who they knew was sent by the Magic Council to infiltrate the guild. But even if they did not know that due to their meta knowledge, the fact that neither of them recognized his magic power signature would have been a red flag.

"Now, my children, choose your partners wisely." Makarov said, quieting all the discussion in the hall with his voice. "Like I said before, you have seven days to prepare. Then, you must gather at Hargeon Port by 10 am on December 15, or you will be immediately disqualified from the exam. Now, let me see whom among you will become Fairy Tail's next S-Class wizard!"

With that, Makarov and the S-Class wizards left the stage. And as soon as they did, the eight S-Class candidates began to move.

"Bickslow, let's go." Fried said as he turned towards the guild's front doors. "We need to polish our tactics."

"Right." Bickslow said with a smile.

Meanwhile, Evergreen could only look at her two team mates with a left out expression. Then, she turned her attention towards the other participants, not wanting to be left out of this year's exam. A moment later, her eyes landed on a certain participant.

"Hey." Evergreen said as she approached her target. "Let me join you for the exam."

Meanwhile, Evergreen's target, Elfman turned around and looked at her in confusion.

"Uh… Sorry, Evergreen." Elfman said awkwardly. "but I was gonna ask my sister to team up with me."

As he spoke, Elfman looked in Lisanna's direction.

"Sorry Big Brother, but I'm gonna be Juvia's partner." Lisanna said while helping the spaced out Juvia to sit down at a table.

"Well?" Evergreen asked impatiently with her arms crossed under her breasts.

"But why me?" Elfman asked.

"Does that matter?" Evergreen asked, her impatience growing from not receiving an answer. "Will you choose me as your partner, or not?"

"Uh… Sure." Elfman replied a bit meekly, as he was slightly overwhelmed by Evergreen's pressure.

"Good, then let's get to training." Evergreen said as she turned towards the guild's front doors. "We can't show an unbeautiful performance during the exam."

Though he was confused, Elfman followed Evergreen out of the guild so they could start training together.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the crowd, a similar conversation was going on.

"Sun, Daddy will be your partner for the exam." Gozaburo said excitedly as he approached Sun.

"No way." Sun replied without hesitation.

Hearing Sun's instant rejection, Gozaburo's footsteps came to a stop while his smile froze on his face. Never in his wildest dreams did he think Sun would reject him.

"Boss, are you okay?" Masa asked as he caught Gozaburo before he fell to the floor.

And although Masa was not sure, he felt as if he saw the image of Gozaburo's soul escaping from his mouth.

"boss! Boss! Pull it together!" Masa shouted in panic.

"*Sigh* He's such a handful." Ren said as she made her way over to the bar while shaking her head exasperatedly.

Meanwhile, Sun quickly made her way over to Marin and wrapped her in a hug.

"Marin, will you be my partner for the exam?" Sun asked with a smile.

"Of course." Marin replied with a smile of her own while returning the hug.

Meanwhile, in another part of the crowd…

"come on, Levy, we should get going." Jet said with a smile. "We need to start training."

"What are you talking about, Jet?" Droy asked in an agitated tone.

"Well, isn't that obvious?" Jet asked confidently. "Levy is obviously going to pick me as her partner, right?"

"And why would she pick you?" Droy asked angrily. "Isn't it obvious that she'd pick me?"

"What did you say?" Jet fired back.

And just like that, Jet and Droy began arguing over who would be Levy's partner during the exam, not even waiting to hear Levy's input. Meanwhile, Levy could only look at her two childhood friends with a troubled expression on her face.

"Hey, Pipsqueak!" Gajeel said aggressively, ignoring the bickering young men.

"Uh… Yes?" Levy replied in surprise.

"I'm gonna be your partner for this exam." Gajeel said in a tone of finality.

"Okay." Levy said, agreeing absent-mindedly.

"Good, let's go." Gajeel replied with a satisfied nod. "I'm glad I can do this with you. I can't wait to fight those guys."

With that said, Gajeel grabbed Levy by the arm and dragged her towards the guild's front doors so they could start training together, leaving jet and Droy behind with stunned expressions on their faces.

After hearing Gajeel mention that he was glad to be doing the exam with her, Levy blanked out while blushing slightly. Unfortunately, that caused her to miss the rest of what Gajeel had to say while she let herself be dragged along.

Standing at the front of the crowd, Gray was considering who he should ask to be his partner.

Unlike in the canon version of events, the Celestial Spirit, Leo, or rather Loke never joined the guild since he was never banished from the Celestial World. As a result, he never made a promise with Gray to help him during the S-Class Promotion Exam.

While looking around and assessing potential partners, Gray made eye contact with Natsu. Holding that eye contact for a few seconds, Gray eventually shook his head and looked in a different direction.

"Hey, come on, Gray!" Natsu shouted when he saw Gray shake his head. Let me team up with you! We're already on the same team, after all."

"not a chance." Gray replied. "I can't team up with someone so stupid if I wanna pass the exam."

"What did you say?" Natsu asked angrily.

Ignoring Natsu, Gray found the person he thought would be the perfect partner for him. So, he made his way straight over to her.

"Hey, Meredy, will you team up with me for the exam?" Gray asked.

"Sure." Meredy replied with a smile. "Since you use the same magic as Ur and Ultear, I should have no problem working with you."

"Thanks." Gray replied with a smile. "I'll be counting on you."

"Leave it to me." Meredy replied while thumping her fist on her chest.

Meanwhile, two people were staring at this pair with grievance in their eyes.

"While Natsu wore a somewhat depressed expression, he started thinking about what led him to this point. And realized that his impulsive behavior was the cause. Then, he started a serious introspection.

Seeing Natsu's expression, Happy started to get worried.

"Someone, anyone, help!" Happy shouted in worry.

"What's wrong, Happy?" Lucy asked curiously, a bit of worry in her tone.

"It's Natsu, something's wrong with him!" Happy shouted.

"Really, I can't see anything wrong with him, though." Lucy replied.

"He's thinking!" Happy shouted. "Natsu's using his brain! Something must definitely be wrong!"

That seemed to be enough to snap Natsu out of his contemplation.

"Happy, how could you say that?" Natsu asked in an agitated tone. "Why does it mean something has to be wrong with me if I stop to think. It's not like I never use my brain."

Hearing that, all the nearby wizards remained silent.

"Right?" Natsu asked as he looked around at all the nearby wizards.

One by one, as Natsu made eye contact with someone, they turned away, not daring to make eye contact.

"Right…?" Natsu asked again, this time not nearly as sure of himself.

A moment later, Natsu felt that he had been tapped on his shoulder. Looking in the direction of the pat, he saw Happy smiling at him.

"Just accept it." Happy said.

In response, Natsu could only stare blankly at his best friend before walking away with a pout on his face.

Meanwhile, the other person who was staring at Gray and Meredy was naturally, Juvia.

"That little hussy." Juvia muttered in a dangerous tone. "She's trying to steal Gray's love from Juvia."

"Uh, I don't think that's the case." Lisanna said with a wry smile. "I think Gray chose her because his master, Ur, trained her, too. On top of that, she often teams up with Ultear."

A moment later, however, Lisanna realized she had said the wrong thing to try and console Juvia, as she heard the sound of water boiling from right next to her.

"That thieving hussy is trying to take away all of Juvia's soul mates." Juvia said in a gloomy tone while she gave off a dark aura.

"*Sigh* Let's just go and start training, Juvia." Lisanna said in a tired tone. "If you show Gray how strong you are, then I'm sure you'll be able to gain his heart."

Hearing that, Juvia nodded strongly. Then, she followed Lisanna to the elevator as they had already decided that they would train in the gravity chambers inside the guild hall.

Like that, the night continued uneventfully as the members of the guild not participating in the S-Class Promotion Exam began discussing who they thought would pass the exam this year. Eventually, everyone went home, deciding to call it a night.

Not long later, Wendy, while making her way to Fairy Hills, ran into Mest, who asked her to be his partner. And she accepted, despite Carla's protests.

At the same time, Lucy, who had just arrived at her new apartment, decided she was going to take a bath after a long day spent training. But after entering her bathroom and taking a shower, when she turned towards her bath, she was surprised to see Cana already sitting in it, chugging a bottle of whiskey.

"Cana, why are you here?" Lucy asked in confusion. "And why are you drinking in my bathtub."

"*Sigh* If I don't become S-Class after this exam, I think I'm gonna quit the guild." Cana said in a forlorn tone.

Completely shocked by Cana's declaration, Lucy listened to Cana's story. In the end, she offered to be Cana's partner during the exam and promised to help her pass.

'Still, I think I should tell Alfonzo about this later.' Lucy thought to herself while she continued to talk with Cana about their training schedule for the next week