Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Tenrou Island.
December 15, x784.
"Did you feel that?" Alfonzo asked while sitting in a camping chair at the camp the S-Class Fairy Tail wizards set up while preparing for this year's exam.
"Are you talking about the fact that Cana and Lucy passed the first round, or all the animal life that was just snuffed out?" Elicia asked in a curious tone from atop Alfonzo's lap.
"Yes." Alfonzo replied with a wry smile.
"Well, we both already knew that Cana would pass if she ran into Gildarts in the first part of the exam." Elicia said with a smile. "I mean, we all already know that Cana is an S-Class wizard in all but name, right?"
"Yeah." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "Honestly, Cana has just been unlucky. I mean, she's done well enough in every exam she's taken to get promoted. Unfortunately, there was always that one person who did just a little better."
"Yeah, that rule that only allows one person to pass each year is stupid." Elicia said with a pout. "Otherwise, we would have become S-Class at the same time."
"I know." Alfonzo replied while combing his fingers through Elicia's hair. "That rule will probably change after Gramps retires. I mean, I doubt the next guild master will stick to the traditions like that old fossil."
Meanwhile, at the rest area set up for the participants to rest between parts of the exam.
*Sneeze!*
"Master, are you feeling okay?" Fried asked while soaking in the hot spring at the back of the mountain where the six tunnels were. "Have you perhaps caught a cold?"
"No, I'm fine." Makarov said, waving off Fried's concerns. Then, he smiled lecherously as he continued. "It's probably because there's a pretty lady talking about me."
"I'm actually surprised you managed to beat us here, Levy." Bickslow said, while also relaxing in the hot spring. Then, he pointed at Gajeel and continued in a confused tone. "But what's wrong with him? Shouldn't he look happier after the two of you passed?"
"*Sigh* Gajeel is upset because we picked the cave with a free pass to the next round." Levy replied exasperatedly. "I swear, all the male Dragon Slayers I know are the same. Just battle junkies."
"Hey, I'm nothing like Salamander/Natsu!" Gajeel and Laxus, who just entered the rest area after taking Elfman and Evergreen to the camp, shouted simultaneously.
Turning their heads towards the new arrival, the group saw Laxus, who was only wearing a pair of swimming trunks as he approached the hot spring.
A moment later, Fried started wading through the hot water towards Laxus with sparkling eyes.
"Laxus, would you like me to wash your back?" Fried asked.
"Sure, why not." Laxus replied, taking a seat near the hot spring to wash off before entering.
Meanwhile, both Levy and Gajeel inched closer to Bickslow. Before asking a question quietly.
"Hey, Bickslow." Levy said in a whisper. "I've always wanted to ask this. But I was kind of scared."
"Yeah, what's up?" Bickslow replied nonchalantly.
"Are those two… you know?" Levy asked, her face reddening as she spoke.
"Are they… what?" Bickslow asked in a confused tone.
"Come on, you know…" Levy said, her face reddening even further.
"Huh?" Bickslow exclaimed in confusion.
"Would you stop dancing around the question, Pipsqueak." Gajeel interrupted impatiently. Then, he turned his attention back to Bickslow. "Are those two gay?"
Hearing Gajeel's question, Bickslow was initially startled. A moment later, however, he started scratching his head while wearing an unsure expression.
"Honestly, I'm not sure." Bickslow replied. "But… I wouldn't be surprised if Fried would swing that way for Laxus. Not sure about any other guys, though."
Hearing that response, Levy and Gajeel felt that was probably the best they would get as they nodded in understanding.
Meanwhile, Sun and Marin finally reached the battle area of their cave.
"You've arrived." Erza, who stood facing the entrance with her [Soul Weapon] stabbed into the cave floor and her hands resting on its pommel, said as soon as the two entered the area.
Meanwhile, after hearing Erza's voice, Sun could not help but smile as she gripped the hilt of her shirasaya. At the same time, Marin also gripped the hilts of her daggers in preparation for combat.
"I've been looking forward to this, to be honest with you." Erza said, pulling her sword from the ground. "This will be the first time we've been able to go all-out when facing each other, Sun."
"Yeah, I've always wanted to see exactly how I stand up to you, Erza." Sun replied as she dropped into an iaido stance.
"Very well then, show me what you are capable of." Erza said, taking her fighting stance.
"Did you two forget about me?" Marin asked as she pointed her left dagger towards Erza. "[Transformation Magic: Shoot to Kill]."
*Clang!*
"Of course not." Erza replied as she casually deflected Marin's attack. "I know very well how skilled you are as a wielder of daggers and a wizard, Marin."
A moment later, Erza flooded her body with magic power and dashed forward at high speed, closing the gap between herself and the team she was facing in the blink of an eye.
"She's fast." Marin exclaimed, crossing her daggers in front of her to block Erza's downward slash.
At the same time, Sun took a deep breath that was audible to both Erza and Marin as she unsheathed her sword in a quick draw slash.
"Water/Sword Compound Magic: First Form: Water Surface Slash]." Sun chanted as she drew her sword faster than most people could follow with their eyes.
Luckily, Erza was not like average people. Reacting quickly, Erza released her left hand from the hilt of her [Sol Weapon]. Then, she [Requipped a second longsword into it in a reverse grip before she used it to block Sun's technique.
Unfortunately, she was not expecting the force behind the slash as she was sent sliding to her right.
Taking advantage of Erza's unbalanced state, Marin took a step forward and slashed the dagger in her right hand at Erza's chest.
Able to block the slash, Erza was unable to block Marin's following stab. Though it did not land cleanly, it grazed her chest plate, leaving a small knick on her armor, and chained into a dance-like series of stabs and slashes.
"[Transformation Magic: The Claws and Fangs of Violation]." Marin chanted as she danced around Erza, continuously changing the distance and [Transforming] her daggers to make sure that each of her slashes would be able to reach her opponent.
At least, that's how it used to be. Now, after gaining much more combat experience, Marin even worked in feints. There were also times when she did not extend her daggers, leaving Erza in an awkward position after trying to block an attack that never came.
"[Water/Sword Compound Magic: Second Form: Water Wheel]." Sun chanted as she summersaulted towards Erza.
Taking advantage of one of the times when Erza went to dodge one of Marin's slashes that did not extend towards her, Sun flipped through the air and brought her shirasaya down on Erza.
Noticing the strength behind Sun's slash, Erza quickly crossed both swords overhead to defend. At the same time, she was covered in the light of her [Requip Magic].
"[Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor]." Erza chanted.
*Clang!*
As the light around Erza faded, she was surrounded by a dozen long swords while dawning the silver [Heaven's Wheel Armor].
Realizing that being so close to Erza in this situation was dangerous, Sun put more power into her shirasaya before pushing herself backwards with all her might. Simultaneously, Marin pointed her daggers towards the ground just in front of Erza and extended their blades at high speed to push herself backwards and get a little extra breathing room, as well.
Then, while controlling the dozen floating swords telekinetically, she fired them all at Marin and Sun from all directions.
While Marin performed her [Claws and fangs of Violation] spell once again to defend from the incoming swords, Sun took another deep breath that overshadowed the sounds from the swords cutting through the air.
"Water/Sword Compound Magic: Third Form: Flowing Dance.]" Sun chanted.
Stepping towards the incoming swords, Sun moved in a flowing pattern while moving her blade elegantly to deflect, block, and parry all of Erza's swords. At the same time, she slowly closed the distance between the two.
Seeing this technique, Erza could not help but feel impressed by the fluidity with which Sun advanced and defended herself simultaneously. Still, that did not slow down her flying sword assault. In fact, she intensified the attack by adding more swords to the mix.
"[Transformation/Telekinesis Magic: Growl]." Marin chanted as the dagger in her left hand broke down into a cloud of dust.
At the same time, Marin [Transformed] the bracelet on her left wrist into one of the backup dagger she received from Alfonzo in Edolas.
"Ugh… This still puts too much pressure on my mind." Marin complained as she controlled the cloud of dust her dagger [Transformed] into to clear a path for Sun to approach Erza. "Hurry, Sun. You gotta end this quickly."
Heeding Marin's request, Sun flooded her body with magic power as she increased her speed. Then, she rushed forward at Erza, who was still controlling the many swords to try and stop her. Unfortunately, with Sun's physical strength and the added speed her magic power provided, Erza's swords were unable to keep up.
A moment later, as she reached the proper distance, Sun leapt high into the air, nearly touching the cave's ceiling. Then, she raised her sword overhead as she began to fall.
AT the same time, Marin raised both her daggers and pointed them at Erza while controlling the dust cloud to approach her, as well.
"[Transformation Magic: Double Shoot to Kill]." Marin chanted as both of her daggers extended towards Erza.
At the same time, as she reached the proper distance, Sun swung her sword downwards with a forceful, yet graceful, slash.
"[Water/Sword Compound Magic: Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin]." Sun chanted.
Meanwhile, Erza quickly assessed the situation she found herself in. Then, after tightening the grip on the swords in her hands, she swung the two swords at high speed.
"[Pentagram Sword]." Erza chanted as she swung the two swords, creating a streak of light in the form of a pentagram.
*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Swoosh!*
In the next instant, three of Erza's five slashes deflected Sun and Marin's blades. Meanwhile, the wind pressure from the other two dispersed the cloud of dust under Marin's control. At the same time, Erza somehow managed to force all the dust in one direction.
Meanwhile, Erza gathered all her swords around her as she shifted her position slightly to get Sun and Marin in a line.
"[Blumenblatt]." Erza chanted as she dashed forward.
A moment later, Erza was standing behind Marin, who had attacked from a further distance. Then, she [Requipped] back into her [Heart Kreuz Armor] and sheathed her [Soul Weapon].
*Click!*
As soon as the sound of the handguard making contact with the sheath could be heard, blood splattered from all over Sun and Marin's bodies from nonlethal areas, all their magic was cancelled, and they both fell to the floor, unconscious.
"I must admit." Erza said in a serious tone while pushing her hair out of her face. "Your personal strength, technique, magic power density, and teamwork all qualify you to become an S-Class wizard, Sun."
Then, Erza made her way over to her unconscious guild mates. Reaching Marin first, she picked her up and slung her over her left shoulder, before doing the same to Sun and carrying her over her right.
"So, allow me to congratulate you on passing the first part of the exam." Erza said as she started walking towards the entrance that opened just as she announced that Sun had passed. Then, with a warm smile on her face, she continued. "For now, get some rest, you've earned it."
As she walked, Erza took the opportunity to spread her [Magic Power Detection] past the confines of the chamber where she battled with Sun and Marin. Wanting to see the situation of the other battles, she was not surprised when she saw that only Ur had yet to finish her battle.
"I feel kind of bad for Gray and Meredy." Erza said as she stepped through the entrance. "As her disciples, Ur will probably be much harsher on them than she would have with any of the other candidates. For now, I can only wish them luck."
With that, Erza continued making her way to the resting area, hoping that Sun and Marin would regain consciousness before the next part of the exam began.
If you wanna read 5 chapters ahead or just give me a little support, join my patr3on at:
https://patr3on.com/SixthSense1029
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story.
Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Tenrou Island.
December 15, x784.
As the last team to reach the caves, Gray and Meredy were naturally the last team to reach their opponent in the first round of the S-Class Promotion Exam. But when they arrived, they realized that this exam would be much more difficult than they thought.
"Of course, we'd run into Master." Gray said in an exasperated tone with a wry smile on his face. "I guess my luck isn't all that good today, huh?"
"It's good to see you, too, Gray." Ur said in a solemn tone. "Now, show me that you're worthy of becoming an S-Class wizard.
Hearing that, Gray breathed out all the hesitation he was feeling in a deep sigh. Then, his expression turned solemn as he made his casting gesture.
"Meredy, are you ready?" Gray asked as he began gathering his magic power. "This is going to be one of the hardest fights either of us has ever had."
"Yeah." Meredy said as she also prepared for the fight.
"Then let's go." Gray said as he pushed his hands forward. "[Ice-Make: Lance]."
A moment later, nearly a hundred ice lances materialized in front of Gray as they started extending towards Ur at high speed.
Meanwhile, Meredy, running alongside the extending [Ice Lances], covered her right hand in teal colored magic power.
"[Maguilty Sodom]." Meredy chanted as the teal magic power formed into the shape of a blade.
Reacting quickly, Ur made the same casting gesture as Gray. Then, she pushed her hands forward in a similar fashion to Gray, as well.
"[Ice-Make: Dahlias]." Ur chanted.
In the next instant, an ice shield in the shape of several dahlia flowers grew from the ground in front of Ur.
*Shatter!*
Then, as soon as Gray's [Ice Lances] smashed into the shield, both Ur's shield and Gray's lances shattered on impact.
"Impressive." Ur said with a slight smile as she took a step to her left.
Meanwhile, standing in the spot where Ur just stepped away from was Meredy with her right hand extended forward, having just missed piercing her [Maguilty Sodom] into Ur's abdomen.
"And your teamwork is pretty good, too." Ur added. "But you'll have to do better than that."
With that said, Ur whipped her left leg at Meredy's abdomen faster than she could react. Though, Ur did have to praise her young student for the way she tried to guard against her kick with her magic blade. Still, she was just a bit too slow to realize her plan.
*Bang!*
"Gah!" Meredy groaned in pain.
After receiving Ur's kick, Meredy was sent flying backwards at a much higher speed than when she approached.
"[Ice-Make: Slide]." Gray changed as he slammed his palms into the cave floor.
A moment later, a winding slide made of ice appeared in Meredy's flight path, stopping her from slamming into the wall behind her while reorienting her back towards Ur.
"[Ice-Make: Geyser]." Gray chanted once again, with his hands still in contact with the cave floor.
"Like I said..." Ur said as she stomped her right heel on the cave floor, freezing over her surroundings instantly. "You'll have to do better than that."
With the area surrounding Ur now saturated with her magic power, Gray's spell failed to cast, leaving him completely dumbfounded as this was the first time that he had ever been completely stopped from casting a spell. Sure, Ur had reduced the effectiveness of his spells before, but never had she completely negated his casting.
"Seriously?" Gray asked in a confused tone. A moment later, however, he shook his head and brought his focus back to the battle.
Meanwhile, Meredy, who had been sliding around the room on the slide gray created was once again facing Ur with her hands pointed in her teacher's direction.
"[Maguilty Rays]." Meredy chanted as yellow blades of magic power were manifested and fired in Ur's direction.
Noticing the incoming volley, Ur performed her casting gesture once more as she created a pair of thorny ice whips in her hands.
"[Ice-Make: Rose Whips]." Ur chanted as she elegantly danced through all the incoming magic blades.
Swinging her whips dozens of times with every step she took, Ur slowly closed the distance between herself and Meredy. Before she could get too close, however, Gray approached at high speed while carrying a large, spiked, ice hammer in his hands.
"[Ice-Make: Ice Impact].' Gray chanted as he swung the spiked, ice hammer down on his teacher.
At the same time, the volley of magic blades came to a stop. Though Meredy could definitely continue to fire them, the consequences of hitting Gray would not make this battle any easier.
Stepping back to avoid being crushed by the hammer, Ur flicked her eyes in its direction as it passed by her head. When she saw its properties, however, she quickly snapped the whip in her right hand at it.
A moment later, just before the hammer slammed into the cave floor, Ur's whip wrapped around its handle just under its head. As a result, the hammer came to a stop, less than an inch (2.54 cm) away from the floor.
"Not bad, Kid." Ur said with a grin. "Adding a little trick to the hammer that would freeze the immediate area upon impact was a good idea."
"Tch!" Gray clicked his tongue as he tried, with all his might, to force the hammer down onto the cave floor. "What good is it if you see through it and stop it before I can put it to use?"
"That's true." Ur replied with a chuckle. "Still, I should praise you for a good idea regardless, right?"
*Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!* *Tap!*
At that moment, Ur heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching. Raising her head, she looked over Gray's shoulder and saw Meredy approaching from behind him. Once again, her [Maguilty Sodom] blade was on her right hand as she ran.
"So, that was your actual plan, huh?" Ur asked as she raised her right hand to flick her other [Ice Whip] in Meredy's direction.
Seeing Ur's actions, and the fact that she took her attention off of him for a moment, Gray's eyes lit up as he flung the [Ice Impact] hammer upwards, before taking his casting posture once again.
Meanwhile, Ur, who had been using a decent amount of strength to stop Gray from slamming the hammer into the cave floor, had her balance disrupted greatly when Gray raised the hammer so abruptly.
Simultaneously, Gray made his casting gesture. Then, once he pushed his hands forward, Meredy arrived behind him and put her hands on his back while connecting the two of them with [Maguilty Sense].
"Do it, Gray!" Meredy shouted as she flowed her magic power into her team mate.
"Right." Gray said calmly as he cast his spell.
"[Unison Raid: Ice Cannon]." Gray and Meredy chanted in unison.
In the next instant, a large, bazooka-shaped cannon was formed out of ice above Gray and Meredy, before it fell onto their left shoulders. Catching the cannon and making sure it was held securely, Gray aimed its muzzle at Ur, whose arms had been spread out due to preparing to attack Meredy and having her balance thrown off by Gray.
Then, without any words or hesitation, Gray pulled the [Ice Cannon's] trigger.
*Boom!*
Fired from the [Ice Cannon's] large muzzle was an equally large missile made of ice, making contact with Ur almost immediately afterward. At the same time, the recoil from the cannon shot pushed Gray and Meredy backwards until they came to a stop against the wall behind them.
"Ow, that really hurt." Meredy said as she stepped from between Gray and the wall while rubbing her butt.
"Yeah, sorry about that, Meredy." Gray said, not taking his eyes away from the explosion sight. "I've used the [Ice Cannon] before, but it never kicked back like that."
"Well, this one was made with both our magic power." Meredy replied with a smile. "So, it makes sense that it would be stronger than before, right?"
"Yeah." Gray replied with a nod.
"By the way, Gray." Meredy asked, sounding a bit awkward.
"What's up?" Gray asked curiously.
"Well, when we cast the spell, you were fully dressed." Meredy said awkwardly. "But how did you end up almost naked between the time we fired the cannon, and I stepped out from between you and the wall?"
"Huh?" Gray exclaimed in confusion before looking down at his body. "What happened to my clothes?"
Letting his eyes scan cave, Gray noticed that his clothes, excluding the underwear that he was still wearing, were scattered all over the floor between the spot where he stood and where he fired the [Ice Cannon] from.
"I often wonder the same thing, Meredy." Ur's voice replied from inside the cloud of diamond dust Gray and Meredy's spell created when the ice missile exploded.
Hearing Ur's voice, both Gray and Meredy's head's snapped in its direction. A moment later, the diamond dust was scattered when Ur swung the [Ice Whip] in her right hand.
"Seriously?" Gray asked in dumbfounded amazement. "Even an explosion like that at point blank couldn't take her out?"
"Ur's kind of scary." Meredy said, hiding behind Gray.
Although the fact that Ur walked out of an explosion like the one she and Gray just made, the reason for Meredy to find Ur scary was the constant twitching of her teacher's eyebrows while she smiled at them kindly.
"Definitely." Gray replied with trepidation. "I can tell that she's super pissed off right now."
"I'll admit it, that was a well-executed attack." Ur said with a warm smile. "I honestly did not see it coming. I'm just lucky I had that ice hammer wrapped up with one of my whips. Slamming it into the missile weakened the explosion by just enough that I wasn't too badly hurt by it."
With that, Ur threw away the remains of the destroyed [Ice Whip] she held in her left hand. At the same time, Ur started walking towards her two students. And as she did, her clothing began to fall apart, leaving a trail of ice dust behind her as she stepped forward. By the time her clothes finished crumbling away, Ur was walking towards her pair of students barefoot while wearing only a set of black lingerie with purple lace.
"Unfortunately, the two of you need to be punished for destroying my clothes." Ur said, her smile growing warmer as she approached. "I paid an arm and a leg for Lici to make those for me."
A moment later, not only Gray and Meredy shuddered in fear, but even Ultear began to shudder violently as her expression paled rapidly.
"Lici is gonna kill us when she finds out about this.' Ur, Gray, and Meredy thought simultaneously.
With that thought, all three combatants slumped their shoulders in dejection.
"*Sigh* There's no point in continuing this fight." Ur said in a depressed tone. "You've proven that you're strong, resourceful, and skilled enough to be an S-Class wizard of Fairy Tail. So, you pass the first part of the test."
"No, I think we should continue." Gray said with determination in his eyes. "At least if you knock me out after a hard fought battle, Lici might show me some mercy."
Hearing that, Meredy nodded her head rapidly in agreement.
Ur, on the other hand, smiled at Gray with the warmest smile yet. Then, she approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"That's not an option, Gray, Meredy." Ur said in a bright, cheerful tone. "If I have to suffer Lici's wrath because of this battle, then as my students, shouldn't you weather this storm with me?"
Hearing Ur's shameless words, Gray and Meredy both glared at her disdainfully. Ignoring their glares, Ur wrapped her arms around her student's shoulders and started dragging them towards the newly opened entrance.
"Anyway, since you passed, we should hurry so the two of you can get some rest before the second part of the exam begins." Ur said, seemingly having not noticed her students glares at all. "And you're in luck, the resting area is a hot spring. So, you'll definitely be able to relax between rounds."
While all the teams who passed the first part of the exam were gathering at the hot spring to rest before the second part began, the two teams who were eliminated, Elfman and Evergreen, and Mest and Wendy, were brought to the base camp the S-Class wizards set up in the past few days while preparing the island for the exam.
"Ugh… where am I?" Wendy asked in a groggy tone as she woke up.
"Oh, you're awake, Wendy." Mest replied.
Opening her eyes slowly after hearing Mest's voice, Wendy saw him sitting next to the place where she had been sleeping.
"Did we… lose?" Wendy asked, sounding a bit downcast as she already had an idea what the answer to her question was.
"Unfortunately." Mest said with a nod. "Still, I think we did pretty well. Considering that was our first time fighting together and the fact that Juvia and Lisanna have teamed up a lot over the past few months. Don't you think?"
Though she did not respond verbally, Wendy nodded her head in agreement.
"If you're up to it, why don't we go for a walk and discuss what we could have done better in that fight?" Mest asked with a smile. "Besides, getting to see the beach without being attacked might take your mind off the loss, too."
Hearing that, Wendy looked at Mest skeptically once again while thinking that he was definitely a loli-con.
Meanwhile, Mest, though he did not know why, felt himself becoming quite irritated by Wendy's stare.
"Okay." Wendy replied quietly.
Even though she was skeptical of Mest's motives, she knew that at the very least, Alfonzo, Ellicia, and Ur were watching the whole island with [Magic Power Detection] to make sure nothing happened to any of the exam participants. So, she had very little to worry about.
With that, while discussing the battle they had with Juvia and Lisanna's team, Mest and Wendy left the camp and walked towards the shore.
If you wanna read 5 chapters ahead or just give me a little support, join my patr3on at:
https://patr3on.com/SixthSense1029
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy the story.
Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.