Midnight
The massive bell at the center of Crocus rang out.
Dong—— Dong—— Dong——
"What's going on?!?" Natsu tilted his head with a confused expression.
"Why is the bell ringing at this time?!?" Gray wore a look of bewilderment.
"Good morning to all the Mages from various Guilds who have come for the Grand Magic Games!!!" a loud, cheerful voice boomed.
"Outside?" The group followed the sound to the inn's balcony.
"Good morning my ass!!!"
"Do you know it's 12 midnight right now?!"
"I'll report you for disturbing the peace!!"
"Which idiot is looking to die?!"
"I must still be dreaming—since when are there giant floating pumpkin heads? I need to go back to sleep."
Raizel stood by the balcony, occasionally hearing sleepy curses from the surrounding inns.
This was perfectly normal—it was midnight, the dead of night.
Ringing bells and then using amplification magic across the whole city... Who knows how many people's sleep was disturbed.
Not everyone stays up late, after all.
"What is that thing?! It's huge!!!" Natsu looked up at the enormous glowing pumpkin head high in the sky.
"It's a hologram," Lucy and Ultear quickly concluded.
"It's a pumpkin!!!" Happy's mouth watered uncontrollably.
The pumpkin head hologram above paid no attention to the violent curses from below and continued speaking happily.
"To select eight teams from the 113 participating groups, all contestants please gather at the following designated locations at 10 AM tomorrow—or rather, later this morning! Kabo!"
Below the pumpkin head appeared several lists of locations, corresponding to the east, west, north, and south districts.
All were hotels or inns within Crocus city.
The name of the Honey Bone Inn where the Fairy Tail members were staying was clearly listed.
"Let me give you a sneak peek! The preliminary round is called Sky Labyrinth! Kabo!"
"Also, the preliminary round may involve life-threatening dangers, kabo! If anyone wants to withdraw, better do it early!"
Amidst a wave of loud curses from sleepy mages, the pumpkin head vanished into the night sky.
"113 teams... That shouldn't be right. The Fiore Kingdom shouldn't have that many official Guilds," Lucy frowned in thought.
"Maybe guilds from neighboring kingdoms joined too. And it's not necessarily one team per guild—our guild, for example, registered two teams," Ultear explained.
"Sky Labyrinth, kabo—what does that actually mean?" Erza rubbed her chin, puzzled.
"It's called Sky Labyrinth... Kabo seems to be his catchphrase," Lucy broke out in a sweat.
"Designated locations but only eight teams will be selected?" Wendy looked down at Carla, hoping to get some information from her.
"Probably because many teams are expected to fail the labyrinth anyway." Carla shook her head—she didn't really understand either, and she hadn't seen any future visions about it.
"No need to rush. We'll find out tomorrow." Makarov turned around and went back to sleep—after all, he wasn't the one competing.
"Don't go back to bed yet! At least tell us the official roster you submitted!" Gray yelled.
"Ahem, I clearly said it earlier. You just weren't paying attention..." Makarov's face flushed red as he awkwardly spoke to everyone while facing away, too embarrassed to turn around.
"You never said anything at all," Gray retorted bluntly, calling him out.
"Team A: Ultear, Erza, Kagura, Lucy, Cana."
"Team B: Laxus, Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Gray."
"MEEEE?!?" Lucy's voice suddenly shot up an octave.
"I can't do this!" Lucy frantically waved her hands, but unfortunately, Makarov had no time to deal with her panic, as Natsu and Gray had already surrounded him, chattering away angrily.
Natsu and Gray were initially proud to be selected, but not hearing Mira and Raizel's names left them unconvinced.
"What about Mira and Raizel?!?" Natsu demanded.
"Each team can only have five members!"
"Then form another team!"
"The royal rules restrict each Guild to two teams maximum, no more than that," Makarov grumbled, slapping Natsu's hand away from his pajamas.
Natsu looked to Levy for confirmation, and she nodded in response.
"I'll be cheering for you all," Mira said, shaking her clenched right fist.
"It was my decision. I don't want to participate in the tedious preliminaries," Raizel yawned.
"Even though I wasn't selected, it's a shame, but I'll cheer for everyone, man!!!" Elfman pumped up the crowd, though he was crying manly tears while doing so.
"Sorry everyone, I forgot to mention..." Levy seemed to remember something, lightly tapping her head with her right fist.
"What do you mean?" Everyone's gaze fixed on Levy, making her suddenly nervous and tongue-tied.
After carefully choosing her words, Levy continued, "The five-member teams submitted can have substitute players. Teams A and B can each have one. You still have a chance. The substitute doesn't need to be officially reported right now."
"Nani!!!"
"So... we still have a chance to appear?" Elfman asked after a moment of stunned silence.
"Exactly," Levy replied with a vigorous nod and a smile.
Leaning against the wall, Laxus said, "I don't know if only one team can pass per venue. You'll compete in the preliminaries here tomorrow, while I take Natsu, Wendy, and the others to another hotel designated on the list to avoid clashing."
"Agreed," Ultear nodded.
"Dismissed! Time for bed!" Makarov waved his hand, shooing everyone away.
...
At 10 A.M., the pumpkin-headed figure appeared punctually in the sky above Crocus again.
Ultear, Erza, Kagura, Lucy, and Cana stood beforehand in the designated red square area outside the inn, looking up at the holographic projection.
Surrounding them were participating teams from other minor Guilds, though no familiar faces were among them.
"Good morning, everyone! Did you sleep well last night? Kabo!" The holographic pumpkin-headed figure waved cheerfully down at them.
"The highly anticipated Sky Labyrinth is about to begin! Kabo!"
As soon as the pumpkin head finished speaking, a massive, impossible structure appeared in the sky above Crocus, momentarily blocking out the sun.
"Can everyone see the floating maze above the city? Kabo!" The pumpkin head raised its hand, pointing toward a massive, twisting labyrinth of stone paths, gravity-defying stairs, and floating platforms hanging miles in the air.
Sixteen stone staircases extended gradually downward from the circular platforms of the maze, perfectly straight at a forty-five-degree angle without any twists or turns.
There were no railings on either side—if one fell without the ability to fly... it was game over.
The width matched the pre-designated starting area, about five people wide.
The staircases gave the impression of slanting directly toward the heavens, endless at a glance.
Under the sunlight, the floating labyrinth carried a mysterious and vast aura.
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