Ever since the guild members had started working hard and constantly racking up "achievements," Makarov had already begun working on the relevant matters for this year's S-Class Mage Trial, such as the start date, personnel planning, budget, and so on.
The only thing he was unsure about was the location, hesitating between the far northern frozen lands, an uninhabited island to the south, and the guild's sacred ground, Tenrou Island.
He himself leaned more toward Tenrou Island. After all, with the protection of the Tenrou Tree, guild members bearing the emblem faced no risk of death.
The amplified magic power and the complex environment would also test the on-the-spot reflexes that an S-Class mage should possess.
And after today's battle against Grimoire Heart, after encountering and witnessing the fall of the long-unseen second-generation master Precht, Makarov no longer had any hesitation. He directly chose Tenrou Island.
Along the way, he could also pay his respects to the first master.
"This year's S-Class Trial is on Tenrou Island? Sounds like it could be interesting," Gildarts said with a smile, sighing.
As the most senior S-Class mage in Fairy Tail, he was naturally familiar with the guild's sacred ground and instantly guessed Makarov's intention.
"I feel like the difficulty and competition this year will be fiercer than ever," Mira said, thinking of the dangerous environment of Tenrou Island, where monsters roamed.
"Although it is a very painful thing to stand in the way of our comrades' progress, if one wants to become an S-Class mage, they must be prepared to make that corresponding resolve!"
Erza clenched her fist with a serious expression, immediately slipping into the role of a strict examiner.
"Tenrou Island is where our guild's first master, Mavis, is laid to rest, isn't it?" Chase asked, feigning ignorance.
He wasn't particularly worried about this location, where a major turning point in the original story had occurred.
After all, Grimoire Heart and Hades, who might have attracted Acnologia, had already been dealt with ahead of time. Normally, there shouldn't be any major crises.
In fact, even if Makarov changed his mind, Chase would have found an excuse to visit Tenrou Island to meet Zeref, who was hiding there.
Even if he couldn't break the death curse on Zeref, he could still gather more information about the god Ankhseram and the God Slayers, preparing in advance to face the God Realm!
At the same time, as a first-time examiner, he was eager to try, already scheming in his mind about how to torment the candidates he would encounter.
If it were his dear little sister Lucy, that would be even better.
Because he had been away on a Ten-Year Quest to the northern continent, he had missed last year's S-Class Trial.
"Oh, that's right. Chase has never been to Tenrou Island, has he?" Mira blinked her beautiful eyes, realizing this belatedly. She suggested, "Want me to take you there in advance to scout the area?"
"A d-date? No way! Absolutely not!" Erza was instantly on alert.
In the past, she might have held back out of consideration for the relationships between guildmates. But after laying her cards on the table today, the Fairy Queen, whose brain would short-circuit at the slightest mention of romantic issues, had become a little braver.
Unfortunately, in the face of the mischievous Mira, her barely mustered courage was insignificant.
"Then why don't you come along too, Erza? You know the way around Tenrou Island better than I do anyway."
Mira didn't refute the word "date" at all. Instead, she smilingly invited Erza.
Whether this invitation came from the heart was impossible to say. The only thing that was certain was that she wanted to take this opportunity to mess with her old rival.
"I-I-I-I-I—"
As expected, the image of a threesome popped into Erza's mind. Her face instantly turned bright red, steam practically pouring out of her as she shorted out.
"Haha." On the surface, Mira covered her mouth and laughed at her successfully executed scheme. But secretly, she was using the gesture to hide her own flushed cheeks and racing heart.
Although her main goal was to mess with Erza, she was, after all, also a lovestruck rookie who had never been in a relationship. Saying something like that still made her blush.
"Then I'll be in your care," Chase said with a shameless grin.
His single sentence completely stunned both Erza and Mira. They stood there stupidly, at a loss.
Having witnessed the entire process, Gildarts's eyes went wide.
Wait a minute. Did I miss something very important?
That woman who would flip the table at the slightest provocation (even though her personality has improved), and the disciplinary committee member the whole guild fears... they can actually act like this? This girlish side of them?!
All the shock in his heart eventually transformed into admiration on that uncle's face. Gildarts walked over and raised his hand to pat Chase on the shoulder. "You're... braver than I imagined, kid!"
"Ahem. As examiners, it's only natural to go ahead and scout the location and set up the venue," Makarov interrupted, unable to bear watching any longer. He emphasized with a light cough, "I called you here to have you recommend those qualified to participate in the trial!"
Although he, as the master, had the final say on the list, he still wanted to hear the opinions of the current S-Class mages.
Erza, whose brain had short-circuited, let out a huge sigh of relief and quickly picked up the conversation to avoid the previous topic. "I recommend Natsu and Gray."
"Natsu and Gray, huh. Though they're still a bit immature in some ways, they really have grown a lot this year," Makarov said, nodding slightly.
"For me, obviously Elfman. He's already able to fully use the Beast King's power, and now he's also gained the Sacred Beast Take Over." Mira raised her hand, tilting her head in brief thought before continuing, "Also Juvia and Gajeel. They were S-Class back in Phantom Lord, so their strength and character aren't really in question."
"Elfman and Juvia are fine, but as for Gajeel..." Makarov frowned slightly, hesitant to speak.
No one knew Gajeel's change of heart and determination better than he did. But unlike Juvia, Gajeel had been the one who destroyed his former guild and had even attacked Team Shadow Gear.
Even now, many in the guild were still wary of him. Putting him on the limited S-Class Trial roster would likely cause discontent.
More importantly, Gajeel was also on a special mission—infiltrating his bastard son Ivan's guild, Raven Tail!
Makarov didn't elaborate. He turned to Chase. "Chase? What about you?"
"Lucy. We have to drag—ahem, let her try the S-Class Trial too," Chase said, nearly revealing his true, dark intentions.
Even setting aside personal feelings, objectively speaking, Lucy was actually qualified.
She had defeated Sorano of Oración Seis one-on-one, had experience participating in a difficult SS-Class Quest (the Demon Village), could briefly maintain a triple gate opening as a Celestial Spirit mage, and had a wide variety of versatile Celestial Spirit Dresses...
Combined with her defeat of one of the Seven Kin and obtaining the Capricorn key, her current vision, magic power, and temperament were all enough to utterly crush her counterpart from the original story at this same time.
In any other guild, she would be a solid S-Class, even an ace mage!
Hearing this, Makarov propped his chin on his hand and fell into thought.
Although she was still a rookie, Lucy's achievements were obvious to all. She was also very active in the guild. She indeed had the qualifications to participate in the S-Class Trial.
But for some reason, Makarov had a strong gut feeling that even if Lucy really stood out and became an S-Class mage, she would still get picked on by Natsu and Gray, and she would still complain to her heart's content.
She would most likely become the least intimidating S-Class in Fairy Tail's history.
Regardless of the final outcome, this trial would probably be a good training opportunity for that silly Lucy.
He made his decision internally.
"Now it's my turn, Master."
Gildarts rubbed his hands together eagerly and said excitedly, "I recommend the world's one and only super cute, sexy, beautiful, kind, wonderful Miss Cana!"
After going on quests with Gildarts during this time, Cana's determination to become an S-Class mage had not diminished. In fact, it had grown even stronger.
Her reason had changed from "earning the right to acknowledge her father" to "becoming the daughter her father is most proud of."
Makarov, Chase, Mira, Erza: "..."
This guy's daughter-obsessed condition has definitely reached its terminal stage!
***
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