"Legend has it that fairies once existed on that very island!"
As soon as they heard they were almost there, Master Makarov—who had been lying around on the deck groaning like a melted corpse just moments before—immediately revived and jumped enthusiastically onto the ship's cabin roof.
Makarov's booming voice drew all the guild members to gather below him.
"Master!"
"What on earth are you wearing?!" Gray pointed up at Makarov and complained loudly.
Makarov was wearing a brightly colored, tropical floral shirt on his upper body... and breezy beach shorts on his lower half.
For a moment, it was really hard to believe he was an esteemed Master.
"Because it is just too insanely hot..." As he spoke, Makarov pulled out a small paper fan and began waving it vigorously.
He wasn't even pretending to be dignified anymore, laying all his cards on the table.
To be perfectly honest, the old man was boiling hot too.
"Someone who is currently not wearing any clothes does not have the right to say that..." Lucy muttered nearby, covering her face.
She was completely speechless and exasperated by Gray's utter lack of self-awareness.
"Now then, I will officially announce the content of the first stage of the S-Class Exam for everyone!" Makarov declared.
"The first stage?" Lucy asked, looking somewhat confused.
"The exam every year generally has several different stages. Sometimes more, sometimes less," Kagura explained quietly. "A pure, one-on-one duel with an examiner right at the start is actually very rare."
"Look over there! Do you see the smoke rising from the island's shores? First, everyone must get to that location." Makarov pointed his fan toward the sandy beach. "There are a total of eight hidden paths leading inland from there, and each path only allows one single team to enter."
"As for the configuration of the paths ahead!" Makarov clapped his hands, and a large, glowing magical diagram appeared in the air below the cabin where he was standing.
"Only the teams that can successfully pass through these specific tunnels will be considered to have passed the first exam."
"Fight?" Natsu read one of the glowing symbols.
"Erza, Ultear, Gildarts... their paths all have the character for 'Combat' written on them," Gray noted, analyzing the diagram.
"And there is one path with the 'Quiet' character."
"Wait, five S-Class Mages..." Gray suddenly realized, sucking in a cold breath. "Laxus is participating as an examiner too?! Isn't the difficulty way too insanely high this year?!"
Makarov paid absolutely no mind to their panicked discussion and continued his explanation.
"Among the eight designated paths, two paths will naturally merge together to meet at a 'Fight' zone. That means the two candidate teams will battle each other, and only the winning team can pass."
"The other five paths each contain one S-Class Mage waiting for you. The specific combat rules for those tunnels are set by the examiners personally. It might be the most difficult route of all, requiring you to completely defeat them to advance."
"As for the 'Quiet' path, it is the ultimate lucky route! It allows you to safely avoid fighting anyone at all and pass the first exam directly without lifting a finger."
"The true purpose of the first exam is to test your raw strength, but also your luck!" Makarov cheered.
"Luck???" Those participating for the very first time were completely stunned by this wild variable.
"Luck? My luck is actually pretty good, you know," Lucy smiled, looking excitedly at Kagura.
"The overall probability of successfully choosing the 'Quiet' path is only one in eight. Do not get your hopes up too much," Kagura replied, ever the pragmatist.
"Theoretically, up to seven teams could pass this first stage, right?" Wendy asked.
"Impossible! Gildarts, Laxus, Erza... how are we supposed to win against monsters like them?!" Elfman yelled, his forehead suddenly beaded with cold sweat.
"The absolute worst-case scenario is that only two teams manage to pass smoothly," Levy stated, analyzing the bleakest possible outcome.
"Do not be so pessimistic, guys! This is getting more and more interesting! No matter who the opponent is, I am going to beat them up!" Natsu roared, punching his palm.
"Alright! Everyone get ready! The S-Class Exam is officially starting!" Makarov announced.
"Huh?"
"Wait, aren't we still sailing out at sea?!" Lucy panicked.
"Did you hear that, Happy?!" Natsu yelled.
"Aye! I have participated before, so I fully expected this!" Happy cheered.
Having taken part as Kagura's partner in the past, he had long anticipated Makarov's sneaky, sudden tactics.
"Let's go choose our route first!" Happy grabbed the back of Natsu's vest and flew straight up into the sky.
"Aye, sir!"
"Hey, that is cheating!"
"Natsu, you sneaky brat!" Gray yelled.
Bam!
Suddenly, Natsu's head crashed hard into what seemed like an invisible glass wall in mid-air.
A glowing row of purple characters instantly materialized in a dome shape around the guild's ship.
"Is it a spell?!"
"Don't worry, I set the Jutsu Shiki barrier to automatically dissolve after exactly five minutes," Freed smirked.
He and Bickslow were already flying safely away toward Tenrou Island.
Not just Happy, but even Freed, who had participated before, had anticipated this sudden start.
While the others had been relaxing on the ship, he had sneakily set up his Rune traps in various places across the deck.
He could have set the barrier for a much longer duration, but completely trapping everyone wouldn't really count as a fair exam anymore.
Both Raizel and Ultear had clearly observed him doing this earlier but didn't mention it to the others, as this was rightfully considered Freed's tactical advantage.
It would have been better if the other members had been vigilant enough to notice, but unfortunately, none had.
Even Kagura, who was busy discussing strategies with Lucy, had overlooked this sneaky detail.
"Old man! How could you let him do this?!" Gray protested loudly.
"Anyway, this first part isn't exactly about who is faster!" Makarov laughed, waving his fan nonchalantly.
Raizel crossed his arms and smirked. "The competition officially started the very moment we stepped onto this ship. Freed has been quietly setting up his Jutsu Shiki spells everywhere all along. You guys just didn't notice."
"Dammit, if he gets up there first, won't the whole beach be full of his trap spells later?!" Gray yelled, immediately realizing the worst possible outcome.
"Everyone, we are leaving now!" Levy suddenly announced.
Using her Solid Script magic, she rapidly analyzed and rewrote Freed's complex barrier runes, creating a small hole.
She immediately jumped off the ship with Gajeel.
"Nani?!" The remaining trapped members were left completely astonished.
"Levy-chan!" Lucy gasped.
"Sorry, Lucy-chan! We are going on ahead!" Levy waved back with an apologetic smile.
"Don't forget that I have worked closely with Freed for a very long time. I can easily modify his Jutsu Shiki too," Evergreen scoffed.
She quickly used her magical spell pen to alter a section of the purple runes.
"If it were a much more complex spell, I wouldn't be able to change it in time, but something at this basic level is well within my capabilities."
"Let's go, Elfman!"
"Manliness!" Elfman roared as he plunged headfirst into the ocean water after her.
"How much longer until it automatically dissolves?" Kagura asked calmly.
"A full four minutes remaining," Lucy groaned.
"Levy managed to rewrite the spell in under thirty seconds? She is truly impressive," Kagura nodded thoughtfully, resting her chin gracefully on her hand.
"You are still calmly praising Levy at a stressful time like this?! We are falling behind!" Lucy cried, looking at her partner with an expression of pure incomprehension.
"The Guild Master specifically said this isn't a speed-based event. There are eight paths on the island, and no matter what, there will always be one route left available to choose in the end," Kagura reasoned logically.
"Alright..." Lucy sighed, reluctantly accepting this incredibly calm explanation.
If Kagura, the actual candidate, wasn't sweating it, why should Lucy, the mere sidekick, be panicking?
Boom!
Exactly five minutes later, Freed's purple barrier finally transformed into a harmless firework that exploded in the air.
"It dissolved!"
"Let's go, Lucy." Kagura quickly manipulated her Gravity magic to lift both herself and Lucy high into the sky, flying rapidly toward Tenrou Island.
"Happy, let's go!"
"Aye, sir!"
"Ice-Make: Floor!" Gray yelled, instantly creating a frozen slide across the ocean's surface to skate on.
"Miss Lisanna, are you keeping up?" Juvia asked.
"Of course!"
Juvia transformed her body entirely into rushing water, while Lisanna used her Animal Take Over to become a sleek fish, both of them swimming swiftly toward Tenrou Island's sandy shores.
"Everyone is using their own unique skills. Shall we head to the first gathering point to watch?" Raizel asked, glancing back at Makarov and Ur.
"Alright, thank you for your efforts, my boy," Makarov nodded.
A glowing magic circle flashed brightly beneath Raizel's feet, and the three of them vanished seamlessly from the ship's deck.