Since he'd admitted defeat, Laxus didn't get melodramatic about it.
He briskly shoved Shane's hand away. Even though his steps were still unsteady, he kept his back ramrod straight and walked off in the opposite direction by himself.
"In that condition… can he really make it out of Clover Canyon?"
Shane stood there, genuinely a little worried.
But he wasn't tactless enough to run after someone who'd just admitted defeat—when pride is at its most fragile—and ask something pointless like, "Want me to escort you?"
"Whatever… he looked like he still had some gas left. He'll be fine."
Shane shrugged.
He wasn't the type to overthink one thing forever. After confirming Laxus wasn't about to keel over, he tossed the worry aside and turned toward the center of the canyon.
"Next… I go find that lecherous uncle and finish the final step."
Smiling, he beat his wings and flew back.
But the moment he landed, what he saw made him yelp.
"Erza?"
Right before the finish point, the girl was sitting cross-legged, casually tossing four star-engraved stones in her hand like she was playing.
And on the ground beside her—
Macao and Wakaba were in tatters. Their clothes had basically been shredded into strips, and the two of them were slumped there with dead, empty expressions—like roosters that had lost a fight and their will to live along with it.
"Oh, you're back?"
Erza looked up at the sound. Her face was a bit pale, but she still gave him a faint smile.
"How did you recover so fast? And…"
Shane's eyes widened as he looked her up and down.
He hadn't held back at all when they fought. Falling from that height—even with heavy armor—should've left her seriously hurt.
But aside from looking slightly drained, Erza honestly seemed… fine. She even had the leisure to sit here and play with stones.
"Why is everyone in this guild a monster…?" Shane grumbled internally.
"I heard the fighting over there end."
Erza gathered the four stones into her palm, stood, and walked straight over.
"I knew you'd come back."
She stopped in front of Shane.
"Here."
She held out the four stones that represented the exam's key condition.
"So confident I'd win?" Shane raised an eyebrow.
"Of course."
Erza nodded like it was obvious.
"You're not going to lose to Laxus. After all… even I lost to you."
Then she pointed at the extra one-star stone and added:
"And this is your 'spoils' for beating me—so I'm giving it to you."
That was a little "trope" from a story Shane once told her.
He'd complained that it was cliché how the winner always got loot, and Erza had argued that clichés become clichés because they work—because they're classic.
So the two of them had set an unspoken rule:
No matter what kind of duel it was, the loser owed the winner a small "prize."
"Thanks."
Shane smiled as he took the warm stones from her hand, feeling a surprising softness in his chest.
Then he glanced at the two completely broken-looking uncles on the ground.
"And those two…?"
He'd guessed the last stone probably came from them, but they looked so devastated it was almost theatrical.
Losing to Erza wasn't exactly shameful. It was normal.
…Wait.
Shane froze.
He suddenly realized something.
Erza had been knocked to the point of near total loss of combat capacity.
So—
These two guys… had still managed to lose to a heavily injured, weakened Erza?
"…"
Shane stared at their faces—faces that screamed Who am I? Where am I? I should retire—and went speechless.
Should he comfort the traumatized veterans?
Or praise the girl who was smiling calmly and looking… honestly in a pretty good mood?
"…Forget it. I'll pretend I didn't see anything."
To avoid cracking the fragile self-esteem of the old-timers, Shane wisely looked away and stopped paying attention to their misery.
He headed straight for the man who'd been waiting inside, already impatient.
"Yo. Finally willing to come over?"
Gildarts sat on a boulder, glaring at him.
"I thought you guys were so busy chatting you forgot this was an exam."
Shane and Laxus had fought forever, Erza had shown up with the stones but didn't come in, and instead sat outside waiting for Shane—
Gildarts, as the examiner, had been bored enough to almost start nodding off.
"Ahem…"
Shane scratched his cheek and asked plainly:
"So what's the process? Do we just fight?"
It was his first S-Class exam. The rules said "earn recognition," but how that worked in practice wasn't exactly clear.
"Fight?"
Gildarts looked him up and down, then suddenly grinned.
"For you, no need to make it that complicated."
"Huh? So I passed?"
Shane's eyes lit up.
Not fighting sounded great.
Gildarts' strength had always felt bottomless to him—from their first meeting up to now.
That pressure, like an ocean and a abyss, was even stronger than what Shane felt from Makarov as a Wizard Saint.
If he could avoid getting beaten up for no reason, he'd obviously prefer that.
But before he could celebrate—
Gildarts shook his head.
"Nope."
He raised one finger and wagged it.
"We don't need to battle… but you still need my 'recognition.'"
"…"
Shane's mouth twitched.
No fighting, but still need recognition.
It sounded like Gildarts was picking a fight on purpose—though Shane had no proof.
"Quit making that face."
Gildarts didn't drag it out. He hopped down and walked up, eyes bright with curiosity.
"Honestly… the first time I met you last year, I felt something weird on you."
"It felt dangerous. Like… if I wasn't careful, I might actually die."
He rubbed his hands together like a kid who'd found a new toy.
"So… I want to see what that move is. The one that made me feel that way."
"First time we met? A move that threatens your life?"
Shane lifted his chin and thought back, then his expression turned strange.
Back then, he only had the Archer class card, right?
And the only thing that could threaten a monster like Gildarts…
was Arash's one-use self-destruction Noble Phantasm.
"…"
Shane stared at Gildarts and sighed.
"It's not that I don't want to show you. It's just that… that move is something I can only use once in my whole life."
"I'm not going to blow myself up just to put on fireworks for you."
At this point he seriously suspected Gildarts was so strong he was bored out of his mind and chasing thrills.
Otherwise, why would someone who wasn't short on money live nonstop on the road doing jobs?
"One-time-only?"
Gildarts blinked, then looked openly disappointed.
"Ah… that's a shame."
"Then… let's just do a quick exchange the simple way."
He rolled his wrist, sounding bored again.
A terrifying wave of magic burst from him, making the air tremble.
"Hold up!"
Shane's eyelid twitched. That suffocating pressure hit, and he immediately changed his tune.
"If you mean a similar kind of move… I do have another one!"
"Oh?"
Gildarts' magic pressure instantly withdrew. He raised a brow.
"Also something that can threaten me?"
"In theory."
Shane thought it over.
If he tried to forge a sword specifically for Gildarts, he'd probably get pulverized by Crush Magic before he could even learn anything meaningful from him.
"…I need a little prep time," Shane said cautiously, "and you've got to cooperate. Don't move around."
"Sure!"
Gildarts agreed instantly, without hesitation.
So—
A deep crimson wasteland world abruptly spread out and covered the entire canyon.
…
A few minutes later, the Reality Marble faded.
Shane and Gildarts walked out from the canyon center with their arms over each other's shoulders, like old buddies.
"Man…"
Gildarts looked like he was still savoring it.
"That really is a ridiculous spell! I can't believe something exists that can materialize your 'inner landscape' like that…"
"You kid… you're full of surprises."
"Not at all."
Shane replied politely.
"That power of yours that can smash anything anytime, even inside the Reality Marble… that's the truly terrifying part."
"Yeah."
Gildarts didn't deny it. He laughed and clapped Shane hard on the back.
"But you did great too! That 'sword'—even before it fully swung—made even big brother here break out in cold sweat!"
Outside, Erza—and the two uncles still collapsed on the ground—couldn't make heads or tails of what just happened.
"No fighting sounds…"
"So did he pass or not?"
Gildarts answered by giving Shane's shoulder another firm pat.
Smack!
Then he looked at everyone and declared loudly:
"I recognize this kid!"
"So…"
Macao swallowed hard, staring at the black-haired boy standing beside Gildarts. His voice carried envy and awe.
"Shane is now…"
"…the only S-Class mage in our guild besides you?"
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!