Fairy Tail was even wealthier than Charles had imagined. Despite all those fines, they'd somehow managed to afford such a luxurious ship.
This very ship, departing from Hargeon Port, now carried Fairy Tail's mages on their way to Tenrou Island.
Natsu hung over the ship's railing like a freshly laundered sheet, swinging helplessly with the waves.
Raising his hand toward the sky, Natsu groaned, "Charles, help me!"
Half-reclined on Fal's back, Charles waved lazily. "We're rivals this time, idiot—why would I help you?"
Before Natsu could even cry out in despair, a sudden jolt of the ship rocked him into silence.
The group aboard was almost identical to the team that had gone to Edolas—except now they had Makarov, Gildarts, the undercover Mest, and the returned Lisanna along as well.
In other words, Fairy Tail's entire core force was assembled.
Which made sense—after all, those taking the exam would obviously choose their most reliable comrades as partners.
Charles had chosen Wendy as his partner, while Mest, having no other choice, had pulled Lector in.
Given that Mest was posing as Mystogan's apprentice, that connection had helped persuade Lector to agree.
On Fal's back, Carla rested in Wendy's arms, her expression helpless.
She had objected to Wendy joining this dangerous affair, but once Wendy learned that something might go wrong during the S-Class exam, she insisted on joining the fight.
Carla had no choice but to follow—but during the actual exam, she'd remain by Makarov's side and offer no aid.
"Is that Tenrou Island?" Wendy suddenly exclaimed.
Charles sat up and immediately spotted the strange island ahead.
It was a small island with a colossal tree rising from its center. The tree was so large that its canopy supported another island atop it.
That was the sacred ground of Fairy Tail—Tenrou Island. The area surrounding the island was saturated with dense magical energy and shrouded in a powerful barrier.
No magic could detect this island, and the only key to entering it was one thing.
Charles looked at his shoulder, where his guild mark faintly glowed. He really wanted to study it in detail.
This place wasn't called sacred without reason. While on Tenrou Island, all Fairy Tail members received constant magical and life-force replenishment from the Tenrou Tree.
It was well known that mages absorbed magical particles from the environment and converted them into their own magic power.
But the Tenrou Tree went a step further—it directly converted ambient particles into Fairy Tail-exclusive magical energy, transmitting it to each member via their guild marks. The process was nothing short of miraculous.
And while the world believed Tenrou Island was where the first guild master, Mavis, rested, Charles knew better. Mavis's body was actually sealed beneath the guild as the core of the super-magic Fairy Heart.
But her soul resided on Tenrou Island, and this island undoubtedly had something to do with that mystery.
Charles speculated there was an unknown super-magic here—one even greater in scale than Fairy Tail's three legendary magics.
While Charles pondered, Makarov below got to the main point.
"Now I will announce the contents of the first stage of the exam!"
Many participants had taken the exam before and knew it consisted of multiple stages.
Pointing toward Tenrou Island, Makarov continued, "You can see the smoke on the shoreline there. That's your destination. There are nine paths, and only one group may enter each path.
Now, here's what lies ahead."
As a Wizard Saint, illusionary projection was no trouble for Makarov. A magical screen appeared before the crowd.
On it was a map showing nine paths. Three of them were marked with the portraits of Gildarts, Erza, and Mirajane, each labeled with the words "Fierce Battle."
The other six branched off and intersected into three battle zones, each marked with a large "BATTLE" at the junctions.
At the end of each was a label: "Trial Passed."
Makarov added, "As the chart shows, only those who break through will pass the first stage!"
It couldn't have been clearer—six teams would battle two-on-two, and the victors would proceed.
The remaining three teams had to defeat one of the current S-Class mages to move forward.
So the test was about...
"Strength and luck!" Makarov declared.
Magic was an extraordinary force capable of many things. But one could not deny that pure strength was the most important.
For mages, combat prowess was paramount—only those with sufficient power could handle difficult missions.
And luck, too, was a part of strength. Sometimes, it mattered even more than raw power.
In this exam, lucky teams would face weaker opponents, while the unlucky ones… would have to battle current S-Class mages.
Or worse… Charles.
Everyone looked up at Charles hovering in midair. Facing him was just as bad as drawing one of the S-Class fights—maybe worse.
Hopefully, Charles would get a "Fierce Battle" path… preferably Gildarts's. Let the monsters fight each other, they all silently wished.
All except Natsu, of course! He was already looking forward to the upcoming battles—whether it was Gildarts or Charles, both were opponents he wanted to challenge.
"Alright, take your positions—let the exam begin!" Makarov announced, even before the ship had docked.
Although the first stage technically began on the island, reaching it first and choosing a favorable path was also part of the test.
Charles patted Fal. "Not that choosing first matters much, but I'm not falling behind."
Fal's wings beat, and they vanished in a blur toward Tenrou Island.
The others scrambled to follow, each deploying their own methods.
Freed was the quickest, flying ahead while casting runes to trap the others.
Levy, being the most knowledgeable, was the first to rewrite the runes and give chase.
Evergreen, familiar with Freed's magic, successfully altered the runes and swam toward the island with Elfman. The rest had to wait until the trap lifted.
Charles arrived first and had his pick of the nine paths.
Due to the island's barrier, his magical sensing was severely weakened. Fortunately, his ki-reading still worked, allowing him to identify which routes had guardians.
Luck could compensate for a lack of strength sometimes, but Charles believed that true strength could solve most problems.
There were hard battles ahead—he had no interest in wasting energy fighting S-Class mages now.
So he picked an unguarded path and waited for an opponent.
Mest and Lector, arriving later with fewer options, could only sigh upon seeing Charles already waiting there.
So much for luck.
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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