Mest and Lucy were actually the first to arrive, but after entering the cave, they waited under the 'Fight' flag for quite a while before their opponents appeared.
This was because they relied on teleportation to travel, while Gray and Loke were third to last in the race.
"Too slow," Mest said with a smile, "but, it seems we're facing strong opponents right from the start."
Gray stopped in his tracks, "Of all people, it had to be you two."
Loke pushed up his glasses and chuckled, "Although I don't want to fight Lucy, it's better than running into Erza and the others."
Mest asked Lucy, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Lucy confidently held a key, "I have a Star Spirit here who is a match for Loke!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Loke thought Lucy was referring to Aquarius, the Water Bearer, and chuckled, "There's no water here, you know."
"No water needed! Open, Gate of Aries!"
Golden light shimmered, as if a grand gate opened from the void, and the pink-haired wool girl, Aries, appeared, greeting them with a soft, adorable, "I'm sorry."
"Aries?" Loke didn't even react. When did Aries become a match for him? Did Lucy think he couldn't bring himself to fight?
"I'm sorry, Leo!"
"This is fine too," Loke said with a smile, getting into position, "Come on, Aries, the last fight was unavoidable, but this time, let's have a proper battle."
"Yes!" Aries' face was a little red. She cupped her small fists to her cheeks, gently swaying her body, and ran towards Loke with a very standard 'girly run,' "I'm sorry, can I pounce into your arms?"
"What?!" Lucy and Gray were stunned. They were about to fight, what was this about?
Loke covered his face with one hand, "I say, Aries;"
Aries had already run close to Loke and raised her hand to unleash pink wool balls: "Wool Attack!"
"Don't use the moves I taught you against me!" Loke threw a punch, and golden light shone.
"Ah~" The pink wool balls were scattered by the golden light, and Aries was also knocked back, colliding with Lucy, "I'm sorry."
Lucy caught her with difficulty and asked in confusion, "Why are you suddenly acting spoiled towards him?"
Aries said, "Because Leo said, 'Men are very simple creatures,' and if I learned this move, I could help Lucy."
Lucy angrily shouted at Loke, "What have you been teaching them?!"
'Them' referred to Aries and Virgo.
Even after returning to the Star Spirit World, Loke still liked to trick young girls.
Loke looked smug, "Was I wrong?"
"Of course you were wrong! How can you win against an enemy by acting spoiled?!" Lucy felt she had the most right to speak on this matter. Honey traps and such were completely useless!
He had originally wanted to tease Lucy a bit more, but perhaps noticing Gray's resentful gaze, Loke finally became serious: "Alright, Aries, let's fight seriously."
This was Gray's exam, and he had promised to help him pass, so he couldn't just cause trouble.
"Yes!" Aries quickly stepped forward to engage Loke in battle.
Lucy also unhooked the whip from her waist and joined the fight.
She really wanted to whip Loke across the face a couple of times right now.
"Then," Gray was about to say something when Mest suddenly disappeared.
He quickly turned around and raised his arm to block the whip kick Mest threw from mid-air.
Just as he was about to grab the opponent's ankle, Mest disappeared again, reappearing behind Gray and throwing a punch at the back of his head.
Gray ducked and swept his leg, tripping Mest.
But before he could continue the pursuit, Mest reappeared ten meters away.
"What a troublesome Magic! Ice Make: Lance!"
More than a dozen ice lances shot out, aiming for Mest's position.
However, Mest disappeared the moment he activated his Magic, appearing beside Gray and punching him in the left cheek.
Gray flew sideways, maintaining his pose for activating Magic in mid-air.
When Mest teleported over to pursue, Gray instantly activated: "Ice Make: Knuckles!"
Two ice fists rose from the ground, one hitting Mest's face and the other hitting his chest.
Mest flew backward, trying to adjust his posture in mid-air.
However, Gray activated his Magic again the moment he landed: "Ice Make: Floor!"
"What?" Mest misjudged the ground's texture, causing him to slip with a thud and fall to the ground.
"Good opportunity!" Gray pressed his advantage, "Ice Make: Great Hammer!"
A giant ice hammer appeared above Mest and slammed down. Mest's hands and feet slipped twice on the ice, and he scrambled to roll and crawl away.
The ice floor shattered with a bang.
Mest looked at the hammer, which was taller than him, with lingering fear. The Magicians of Fairy Tail were truly reckless.
It was supposed to be an exam, but it felt like he could get killed if he wasn't careful?
Speaking of which, before the exam, Makarov seemed to have said something about fighting without holding back. Did one have to risk their life to become an S-Class Magician of Fairy Tail?
Mest didn't really want to fight anymore.
His Magic should be used for investigating Tenrou Island, not wasted on this kind of exam.
Surely, losing candidates wouldn't have to leave immediately, right?
Gray charged forward again, and Mest was forced to steel himself, pondering how to end the battle quickly and naturally.
On the other side, Lucy was in a predicament.
While dealing with Aries, Loke actually kicked her wrist, causing her whip to fly out of her hand.
Not only that, Loke also tried to snatch her keys multiple times.
If not for being ridiculed by Rhodes for this before the exam, Lucy might have been caught off guard by Loke the first time.
"Although I'm sorry, Aries, please go back for now!" Loke dodged a ball of pink wool, found an opening, and swung his fist, "King's Light!"
"Ah~ I'm sorry~" Aries cried out in pain and disappeared into starlight.
Lucy was somewhat stunned, pointing at Loke and shouting, "No way! That's not right, is it? Weren't you two evenly matched before?"
"No matter what, I am the leader of the Twelve Zodiacs, the strongest combat Star Spirit. Last time..."
Loke felt a little reluctant but still told the truth, "Last time was because the person who summoned Aries was much stronger than the person who summoned me."
"That's true." Lucy nodded in agreement, then felt something was wrong and bristled, "Are you saying I'm weak?!"
Loke, as if comforting her, pressed his hands down in front of him, "Relatively speaking, relatively speaking. If it were Lucy now, the result should be different."
This was the truth. As a Star Spirit, Loke could sense that Lucy's growth rate had been quite fast since she joined the guild.
It was just not as abnormal as a certain someone.
And when choosing keys in battle, she always seemed to pick them randomly, as if without thinking.
"Open, Gate of the Golden Bull, Taros!"
"~ ~"
Taros made a grand entrance, wielding a large axe, "As long as it's Miss Lucy's command, even if it's Leo, I will..."
"Wait a minute, Taros!" Loke raised a hand to signal a pause, "Look back at Lucy!"
"Huh?" Taros turned his head in confusion and saw Lucy wearing a very sexy bikini.
She only had a loose belt around her waist to hang her key ring and whip.
"~ ~ ~" Taros's eyes instantly turned into pink hearts, his gaze firmly attracted by something with strong gravitational pull.
White steam puffed from his nostrils.
He dropped his axe, excitedly rubbing his hands together as he leaned close to Lucy to get a good look: "Miss Lucy is especially sexy today!"
Lucy roared, "Fight properly, you perverted bull!"
"Opportunity!" Loke cunningly launched a sneak attack, his fist shimmering with golden light, sending Taros back to the Star Spirit World with one punch. Then, taking advantage of Lucy's distraction, he successfully snatched her key ring.
"~ ~ ~ Miss Lucy's chest is the best ~ ~ ~" Taros made no secret of his preferences.