Finally, the next day arrived.
Almost all the guild members had gathered in the guild's lively tavern.
Even Raizel had received a letter from Makarov early in the morning, arriving at the guild ahead of time to meet up with the other members.
Raizel and Laxus each stood at opposite corners of the main stage, mainly serving as two intimidating mascots while also helping to maintain order over the rowdy crowd.
The guild members whispered and murmured anxiously among themselves, eagerly anticipating who would make it onto the S-Class Exam list.
"What is everyone fussing about?" Panther Lily, standing mixed in with the crowd, was quite puzzled by the intense atmosphere.
"Who knows," Gajeel yawned, looking bored.
"You will find out in a moment, Gajeel. I actually think you might have something to look forward to," Wendy answered with a bright smile, holding Carla in her arms.
Wendy genuinely felt that with Gajeel's incredible strength, he should easily be one of the top candidates.
"This moment is finally here, I am so nervous..." Alzack muttered.
"We have worked really hard, Al. It will be fine," Bisca reassured him.
Alzack was nervously tapping his fingers together in a slightly timid manner, while Bisca remained much more composed.
"So excited... so nervous..." Natsu muttered, practically bouncing on his heels.
"Natsu, please calm down a little," Happy waved his paws helplessly.
"This tense atmosphere is so manly!" Elfman roared.
"Is it finally time to find out?" Lucy was also very eager to hear the list, even secretly harboring a faint hope of hearing her own name called.
"Juvia's heart is beating so fast." Juvia clasped her hands tightly together, looking just as expectant.
"Gray-sama's back looks so handsome..." Juvia's whispered words nearly made Lucy stumble in disbelief.
"Maybe you should just go home..." Lucy sweatdropped.
Suddenly, the stage curtains parted to the sides, revealing Master Makarov standing sternly in the center with his arms crossed.
He was flanked by several of this year's official examiners.
"Master!"
"We have been waiting forever!"
"Please announce it quickly!" the crowd yelled.
"Ahem, ahem." Makarov cleared his throat loudly to silence the room. "According to the ancient rules of the Fairy Tail guild, I will now... announce the list of official candidates for the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial!"
"Woooo—!" Instantly, massive cheers erupted, nearly blowing the tavern roof right off its hinges.
"I'm all fired up!!!" Natsu yelled as his entire body burst into bright, hot flames.
"This year's exam location will once again be our guild's sacred ground—Tenrou Island," Makarov announced.
"What is the exam actually about?" Lucy quietly asked Levy.
"The trial's content is different every year, but I have heard the difficulty is always incredibly high," Levy whispered back.
"Well, passing the exam means an official promotion to S-Class Mage," Alzack said, turning around and giving them a thumbs-up.
"I have carefully observed each of your abilities, your minds, and your souls over this past year!" Makarov declared powerfully.
"The total number of participants this year is eight!"
"Kagura Mikazuchi!"
Kagura tightly gripped her sword, Archenemy, and raised it high in proud response.
"That's Kagura for you!"
"Kagura, you must do your best!"
"Natsu Dragneel!"
"Excellent!!!" Natsu clenched his fists, completely brimming with fierce fighting spirit.
"You did it, Natsu!" Happy cheered, equally excited for his best friend.
"Gray Fullbuster!"
"The moment I have been waiting for has finally arrived," Gray grinned confidently.
This was Gray's very first S-Class Exam, and he had finally been selected.
'Do your best.' Ur stood gracefully on the platform, nodding to her disciple and encouraging him with a warm look in her eyes.
"Juvia Lockser!"
"Huh?" Juvia was completely startled when her name was called.
"Me? Juvia?" She hadn't even considered participating, she had only wanted to safely team up with her beloved Gray.
"Elfman Strauss!"
"A real man should become an S-Class Mage!" Elfman bellowed.
"Good luck, Elf-nii!" Lisanna cheered.
"Freed Justine!"
"If I truly want to become a better support for Laxus... I must become an S-Class Mage..." Freed muttered seriously.
"Levy McGarden!"
"I finally made the selection too!" Levy gasped in delight.
"Levy finally got selected too!" Droy and Jet cheered loudly, shedding tears of joy for their teammate.
"And the eighth and final candidate, Mest Gryder!" Makarov finished.
"So it is Mest! He was really unfortunate during last year's exam," a guild member noted.
Mest, who had just been selected, remained perfectly silent and expressionless in the back of the room.
"In the end, I still didn't make the cut this year..." Alzack crouched on the ground, quietly nursing his heavy disappointment.
"There is always next year. Don't be too sad," Bisca silently comforted him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Finally, it is Natsu and Gray's turn."
"This is really great. Everyone seems so happy." Macao and Wakaba smiled, genuinely proud of Natsu and Gray's steady growth.
Meanwhile, Raizel quietly turned his gaze toward Mest, who should currently be suffering from self-induced amnesia.
At present, Mest had accepted a secret mission from the Magic Council to infiltrate Fairy Tail and gather intelligence.
To ensure his cover was flawless, he had magically altered the guild members' memories so he could sneak seamlessly into their ranks.
However, Mest was actually originally a true member of Fairy Tail to begin with... this was a bizarre, complicated case of a spy spying on his own home.
But since he had intentionally erased his own memories to join the Council, he currently had absolutely no idea that his true identity was a Fairy Tail mage.
Only Raizel and Makarov knew the absolute truth about this delicate situation; even Ur was completely unaware.
With advanced memory-altering magic like this, unless someone explicitly points it out or notices a glaring flaw, it is very difficult to detect.
To uncover such tampering, one needs to be actively vigilant or possess incredibly strong magical perception.
Even Gildarts hadn't noticed anything wrong, though Raizel strongly suspected Gildarts simply didn't pay attention to such trivial details.
In the face of Gildarts' absolute raw power, everything else just seemed insignificant.
"Everyone, please do your best!" Wendy cheered enthusiastically for all the chosen members.
"Only one person among the participants will successfully pass this exam," Makarov warned strictly.
"The trial is scheduled to begin exactly one week from now. Use this precious time to prepare yourselves physically and mentally for the ultimate challenge!"
"Only one person can pass?"
"Kagura and Freed seem the most promising, right?"
"Mest is pretty strong too, isn't he?"
"Do not forget about Natsu and Gray!" The regular members discussed the odds animatedly.
But there was one specific person in the room who was feeling particularly hurt...
"Wh-why wasn't I selected?!" Gajeel yelled, utterly shocked and heartbroken.
"Even Juvia got chosen over you," Panther Lily pointed out.
"I have heard about your shaky standing in the guild. It seems you are not very trusted here," Lily noted calmly, delivering another ruthless blow to Gajeel's already deeply wounded pride.
"That is not true!" Gajeel bristled all over, his eyes wide with frustration.
"Though I cannot say it out loud, this is absolutely not the case! I really want to say it! But I can't!"
The real reason Gajeel couldn't participate in the S-Class Exam was to give Makarov's villainous son, Ivan, a false misconception—the illusion that Gajeel was not highly trusted within the guild so his dangerous double-agent status remained completely secure.
"Erza said so too," Lily added, pointing a small paw at Erza.
"You still have a very long way to go, Gajeel," Erza nodded proudly, crossing her arms.
Gajeel had heavy grievances that he simply couldn't voice out loud.
"Damn it!" he grumbled bitterly.