While the four of them waited, Master Makarov's old face, creased like a chrysanthemum, jumped onto the bar counter with a beaming smile.
"Everyone, quiet down! I have an announcement to make!"
Makarov stood on the bar, his small frame appearing pitifully tiny, but his voice boomed like a bell. The people in the guild immediately fell silent, looking curiously at their Master.
The Master, his face ruddy and a wide grin, showed no signs of being an old man over eighty. He shouted loudly:
"I, Makarov, the Third Master of Fairy Tail, have served for over forty years, but in all that time, I have only selected one S-Class Mage!"
"But in recent years! Our guild has produced more and more talent, so I've decided to restart the S-Class Exam starting this year, to select new S-Class Mages!"
As Makarov's voice faded, the guild fell into a dead silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
But then, an even more enthusiastic cheer erupted.
Everyone's faces were flushed red, and they roared, flailing their arms, as if they themselves had already become S-Class Mages.
Amidst the enthusiastic shouts that sounded like a mountain and a tsunami, Mirajane, holding Lisanna's hand and accompanied by Elfman, pushed through the crowd to Ankh's side and asked, somewhat confused:
"Ankh, is there a difference between an S-Class Mage and a regular Mage? Why is everyone so excited?"
Ankh, influenced by the boisterous atmosphere, his facial features softened considerably, explained: "Some missions in the guild—the extremely difficult ones I told you about before—can only be accepted by S-Class Mages recognized by the guild."
"Besides that, the title 'S-Class Mage' is also the acknowledgment from various guilds for their strongest Mage."
Erza smiled, standing beside Ankh, and took over the conversation, saying: "You can also understand it this way: only by obtaining the title of S-Class Mage do you truly take the first step on the path of a strong individual in the guild world and the Magic World."
Lisanna poked her little head out, looking up at her older brother and sister, who were much taller than her, and asked, "But our guild is one of the best in Fiore, so why do we only have one S-Class Mage?"
"Lisanna heard before that several other guilds have many S-Class Mages!"
Laxus scoffed disdainfully upon hearing this, and, for once, interjected into the conversation with a fierce tone, saying: "Those trash guilds' selections, do they even deserve to be called S-Class Mages?"
Lisanna was startled by Laxus's expression, shrank her head, and dared not speak again.
Ankh gently stroked Lisanna's white hair and said, "Each guild has different S-Class selection criteria. Stronger guilds have stronger standards, there's nothing strange about it."
However, what Laxus said was actually correct.
No matter how many so-called S-Class Mages those ordinary guilds selected, they definitely couldn't withstand a casual slap from Gildarts...
Makarov stood on the stage, letting everyone cheer below. Amidst the festive and joyous atmosphere, he loudly announced his next sentence:
"Based on my observations, there are four slots for this year's S-Class Exam!"
Everyone's eyes widened, wanting to see who the Mages eligible for the exam were, and also hoping they could enter the assessment themselves.
Natsu and Gray, in particular, were frantically bumping their butts together, constantly elbowing each other.
People nearby could even hear their mumbling, constantly chattering about things like: "It's definitely me who's selected," "Slanted-eyes bastard," "You don't deserve it," and other trash talk...
Makarov drew out his words, keeping everyone in suspense, and then rattled off the names of the participants in one breath:
"Ankhseram, Laxus Dreyar, Erza Scarlet, Cana Alberona..."
"Congratulations, you are eligible to enter the S-Class Mage Exam!"
Looking at the lively atmosphere in the guild, Uncle Macao, one of the guild's elders, stood with his arms crossed, sighing with emotion: "This era has changed, it now belongs to the young people..."
Macao's good friend, Wakaba, who had a pipe in his mouth, gave him a disdainful look and sarcastically retorted, hitting a nerve:
"What era has changed... Isn't it just that us old guys can't keep up with the kids anymore? Why are you being so melancholic?!"
"Damn it, would you die if you didn't expose me?!"
The S-Class Exam slots were announced. Those not selected were inevitably a bit disappointed, for example...
Natsu and Gray, supporting each other, walked out of the guild dejectedly, accompanied by a gloomy, depressing background and the tragic BGM of "A Spray of Plum Blossoms"...
Ankh watched their miserable departure, speechless. Was it really necessary to be like this?
Even if you two participated, normally you wouldn't be chosen, right?
Which of Laxus or Erza could you two defeat?
Mirajane sighed, somewhat disappointed, and said, "Why wasn't I chosen? I've been working very hard too..."
Ankh seemed to show a mocking expression and sneered, "You haven't even been in the guild for a month, what skills do you have to catch the Master's eye? You're dreaming."
Mirajane glared angrily at Ankh. Elfman, who had been quiet and honest, suddenly poked Ankh's shoulder and timidly asked, "Big Brother Ankh, then why was Cana chosen?"
The timid Elfman had made many friends in the guild and received a lot of care from the Little Fairies of his generation.
Among them, "Senior" Cana was the most prominent, so when he heard Cana was selected, he asked with some concern.
Ankh stroked his chin and guessed with some uncertainty in his tone: "Cana is young, but she was the first of our generation to join the guild. Although her strength isn't outstanding, her contributions have accumulated over time and shouldn't be underestimated."
Upon closer inspection, Cana entered the guild as soon as she became sensible. In terms of time alone, she had been there longer than many of the uncles in the guild.
While the few of them were discussing, Makarov suddenly squeezed in and said seriously to the four: "For this S-Class Exam, I intend to have you divide into two groups for a showdown."
"First, choose the partner you most want to cooperate with. I will tell you the full rules of the showdown in three days."
With that, Makarov, like an old mischievous child, ran off without waiting for them to ask questions, not even looking back.
"Choose the partner you want to cooperate with, what does that mean?" Erza was a bit confused. Didn't the Master usually decide the exam partners? Did they have to choose their own teammates?
Laxus sat on the table, as steady as a mountain, his gaze turning to Ankh, and calmly asked, "What do you think?"
Ankh hesitated before speaking: "Given the Master's temperament, two-group showdowns should be to test our cooperation ability. Only the winning group will advance to the next round."
Erza nodded, deep in thought: "If it's the Master, it's very likely he would want to test cooperative combat..."
Ankh continued his deduction: "After testing cooperation, he'll test individual strength. The winning group will probably turn from teammates into opponents... That's my guess."
For the first S-Class Exam of the younger generation, Ankh personally felt that the questions shouldn't be as impossibly difficult as the one on Tenrou Island later on.
So Ankh could only try to deduce the Master's personality, trying to figure out the exam questions for him...