A few days later, the date for the S-Class Exam arrived.
Just as Ankh had guessed, this year's S-Class Exam was indeed not held on Tenrou Island.
Moreover, the Fairy Tail Guild's testing ground this time was incredibly crude compared to the one on Tenrou Island.
The testing ground was ridiculously close… right in the forest outside Magnolia… Ankh could only express his speechlessness regarding the stingy Master's arrangements.
At this moment, Ankh stood in the forest, a wave of nostalgia rising within him.
He remembered that just over a month ago, he had been brought out of this godforsaken forest by Makarov, and after joining the Guild, he had lived a peaceful and happy life.
Now, revisiting the old place, Ankh's heart was filled with longing… What a load of crap!
Not to mention the pain the Dark Guild deep in the forest had caused him, just look at the current situation… Why had his partner become like this!
The wind wantonly scattered her crimson long hair. Erza had, at some point, leaped onto a towering tree, one hand gently leaning on the trunk, the other shading her eyes.
Her gaze swept across the scenery of Magnolia City, watching the endless stream of people in the town, and she couldn't help but sigh softly:
"How beautiful…"
Ankh: (눈 _ 눈)
Big sis, stop being so beautiful!
Ankh looked at his new partner, feeling as distraught as if he had been swindled out of five million.
If you ask where Laxus went, good question… Ankh recalled Makarov's cunning old face and the words he spoke before entering this forest, before entering the testing ground.
The general rules were indeed guessed by Ankh with surprising accuracy, but there was a problem with the partners. Makarov had said:
"Facing sudden missions and a shortage of companions, you must choose trustworthy and compatible partners!"
"On the battlefield, he is your only reliance!"
"But…"
"In an emergency, there's no chance to choose, so all of your partners, swap them!"
"This is also a test, hahahaha…"
Ankh's mind was now filled with Makarov's triumphant laughter, and his fists involuntarily clenched… He was truly careless; how could he not have thought of this?
Everyone knew that the only friend Laxus spoke to was himself. How could that old man Makarov not know?
Perhaps, that old man had been holding a grudge from the start, wanting to scheme against them.
But fortunately, this maneuver didn't change anything for Ankh.
Whether he partnered with Laxus or Erza, the outcome of the team battle wouldn't be much different.
The worst result would be to partner with Cana, but that option had already been drawn by Laxus… According to the old man Makarov's exam requirements, this forest had been rigged with various traps.
The two teams needed to find and defeat each other while facing the traps. Whichever team was wiped out first would lose.
However, traps were really no threat to the three… four Mages present.
Stepping into a dark forest, Erza took the lead, walking at the very front. Ankh looked at Erza's back and recalled what he had been thinking about earlier.
Erza's uniqueness and the mysterious power within her were all mysteries to Ankh.
But when he read the original work before, he hadn't noticed anything special about Erza… Just as Ankh was lost in thought, the ground beneath his feet suddenly wiggled like water, and large chunks of twisting mud rose up, poised to engulf them both.
Ankh was slightly startled, "Huh, did we fall into a trap?"
Erza's reaction was extremely fast. Her enchanting red hair suddenly flew up, and despite wearing heavy armor, it didn't affect her at all. She lightly leaped out of the mud.
She lightly tapped her toes in the air a few times, her graceful figure quickly jumping to the top of a tall tree, looking intently at the flowing mud on the ground.
These mud and sand, wriggling like slimes, enveloped Ankh's body as if they had caught their prey.
Seeing Ankh about to be swallowed by the earth, Erza anxiously shouted from the tree: "Ankh! Grab my hand quickly!"
Ankh ignored Erza's call, thoughtfully observing the trap… It was a rather advanced application of clay magic, but for Makarov to set such a trap to stop Ankh was perhaps underestimating them too much… Ankh's body suddenly glowed with dazzling golden light, and faint magical patterns carried terrifying destructive power, as a repulsive force erupted from below.
The massive volume of yellow earth flew backward into the sky, defying the laws of physics, and the dense trees around it were not spared, being directly uprooted on the spot!
Within a hundred-meter radius, countless mud, sand, and trees shot straight into the sky. The scene was breathtakingly spectacular!
Ankh's expression was calm. He stepped on the stones flying backward in the air, then flipped over and landed gracefully beside Erza.
Erza stared blankly at the mudslides and trees flying straight into the sky. She quickly regained her composure and immediately analyzed: "Laxus and the others should have seen this."
"If they saw it, they saw it."
For some reason, Ankh suddenly sneered, then cast his gaze towards… the seemingly empty sky, and then slowly extended an indescribable finger… In the Fairy Tail Guild hall.
The Guild members were all gathered. Makarov proudly looked at the giant magic orb in front of him, which was live-streaming every move of everyone in the S-Class Exam testing ground.
Makarov laughed triumphantly, a childish, naive smile on his face.
Although it wasn't a big deal, being able to scheme against that arrogant brat Ankh felt very worthwhile!
If Ankh and Laxus had really teamed up, then this exam would have truly had no suspense at all.
When everyone saw Ankh fall into the trap, the hearts of the people in the Guild suddenly tensed.
No way!
Ankh wouldn't be eliminated by a single trap, would he?
Among the crowd, Mirajane, who was watching the battle, secretly clenched her small hand.
It's fine, how could such a trap stump Ankh!
Natsu squeezed into the front row of spectators by the magic crystal ball. As soon as he saw Ankh fall for the trap, he immediately jumped up and indignantly shouted: "What is this! The S-Class Exam is clearly a fair duel, why are there traps!"
Everyone in the Guild broke out in a sweat. This shouldn't be a sneak attack, besides, traps are also part of the exam… Ankh, who was in the testing ground, naturally couldn't hear their voices, but when everyone saw Ankh easily break free from the earth's restraints, they immediately cheered again.
"As expected of Ankh! Only he can achieve such a powerful magic burst!"
"How could this little trap defeat him!"
"Go, Ankh!"
Makarov watched the grand scene in the crystal ball, and his old face twitched.
It was just an advanced earth magic array, was it necessary to cause such a huge commotion?
And when he saw Ankh make that gesture, Makarov jumped up in horror.
He had personally set up and hidden the monitoring crystal ball; how could he have discovered it?
Also, what did that gesture mean? Why did he feel like he was being scorned… Just as Makarov was racking his brains, the other two-person team in the forest testing ground also saw the mudslide flowing backward into the sky.
Before, Cana had silently followed behind Laxus, not daring to approach and speak.
Laxus's temper was famously bad in the Guild, and Cana, who had been a member for many years, knew this best.
After entering the forest, the two traveled the entire way without any communication.
When Cana encountered a trap, she would even scream in fright, but Laxus, that guy, kept a straight face, merciless to the extreme… No matter what trick you fell for, if I make a sound, I lose!
The tragic Cana had to solve various traps by herself until Laxus saw the huge magic burst.
Laxus looked at this anti-gravity scene, and under Cana's shocked gaze, he actually slowly smiled.
Then, Laxus finally spoke his first words since entering the forest: "So that's how it is, this is fast enough…"
"Wait for me, Ankh!"
In an instant, a golden lightning bolt roared, and a golden-yellow lightning magic array, like a cannon, pointed directly at the trap-filled forest ahead.