"In that case, let's team up."
Laxus suggested after hearing Ankh's analysis.
Ankh didn't hesitate, nodding decisively, "Alright."
The Guild Master had made it clear: for the S-Class Exam, partners had to be chosen from within the pool of examinees, unlike the exam in the original story.
So, if he really needed a teammate, Ankh would naturally choose Laxus.
During his time in the guild, the two of them often sparred, and their understanding of each other was already very high, and there was another very important point... because he was strong enough!
Laxus's strength goes without saying, and with his own array of trump cards, looking across the entire guild, there weren't many who could truly fight!
Although Erza wasn't bad, compared to Laxus, she was... As for Cana, there was even less to say.
To put it harshly, for Cana to even survive the exam, she could only rely on her cleverness for support and the protection of her teammate, Erza.
Ankh extended his fist. Laxus's eyes narrowed slightly, and he also extended his fist, lightly bumping it.
Alliance complete!
Before Ankh could even smile, Laxus's indifferent voice rang out:
"Let's quickly deal with these two troublesome people, and then have a fair one-on-one!"
Right, he knew Laxus would think that.
But hearing Laxus's arrogant words, Erza's face instantly darkened.
A faint dark red aura surged around her, and she looked at Laxus with gloomy eyes, saying coldly, "What do you mean? Is that how you view the S-Class Exam?"
Huh? Wasn't she angry because she was being looked down upon?
Such magnanimity, truly worthy of the Fairy Queen—
"And you bastard, how dare you underestimate me!"
Damn it, I take back what I said... Ankh sat in his seat, minding his own business, sipping wine and leisurely watching the drama unfold.
Laxus scoffed, not taking Erza's words to heart at all.
Seeing this, Erza furiously pulled Cana into a tight embrace!
Cana's poor head bravely collided with Erza's breastplate, letting out a crisp sound that made one gasp, hurting her so much she nearly fainted on the spot.
Erza held Cana with her iron-like "embrace," staring directly into Laxus's eyes without backing down, and declared confidently:
"Just you wait, Laxus, on the day of the S-Class Exam, we will definitely defeat you!"
Then she turned her head to Ankh, her gaze seemingly changing inexplicably, and her tone softened as she said:
"Ankh, you too, I must win the exam three days from now."
Erza's slightly subtle change in attitude made Laxus, who was beside them, raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"Let's go, Cana! Prepare to die! We're going to undergo hellish devil training!"
Erza, full of energy, lifted Cana horizontally and rushed out with great speed, so fast that no one saw the tragic expression on Cana's face.
Big sis, you have strong magic, so of course you're not afraid of them, but we're not like you monsters... Cana sighed, on the verge of tears, lamenting in her heart:
Why was Cana born when there are Ankh, Laxus, Erza, and Mira... While a certain child's confidence was shattered over there, Ankh and Laxus remained calm, drinking their wine.
Are you kidding? With this lineup, what suspense could there be in three days?
Even if these two were given a few more years to grow, there wouldn't be many on the entire continent who could rival them.
Moreover, in the current S-Class Exam, Erza was practically going one against two. What chance did she have of winning?
Eat and drink as usual... Mirajane looked at the fiery Erza, who was off to train, feeling more and more that she was a formidable opponent. Then she looked at the leisurely Ankh and asked, annoyed:
"Ankh, is there something going on between you and Erza? I always feel like she's very friendly towards you."
Ankh looked up in confusion and said, "Why do you say that? Hasn't Erza always been like this?"
Mirajane shook her head wildly, pointing at her head nervously and saying, "A woman's seventh sense is a magical kind of magic."
Ankh pursed his lips and rolled his eyes, indicating that she was spouting nonsense.
Mirajane immediately became displeased, counting on her fingers, "Erza is famously a busybody, I've noticed it since I arrived, but she never dares to meddle with you, and she didn't even dare to say anything harsh to you just now!"
Ankh scoffed, pointing at Laxus and saying, "That's respect for strength. Do you see her daring to be wild with Laxus?"
Laxus uncooperatively shook his head silently and said, "She's quite daring."
Ankh: ... Hearing even Laxus say that, Ankh finally took the matter a little more seriously.
Although he still felt that Erza was no different from the original story, if everyone was saying that... "Yuanfang... Seram, what do you think?"
Adhering to the principle of using a cheat whenever in doubt, Seram's distant voice resounded:
"Leaving aside other things, just in terms of magic, only Erza and that pink-haired one in the entire guild give me this feeling..."
"Although the pink-haired one's magic is weak, there seems to be a powerful magic source within him protecting him. That magic source doesn't even belong to this era, I can confirm that."
"As for Erza's magic, it probably comes from her bloodline."
If Natsu wasn't a child of this era, where did he come from?
Could Natsu also be a transmigrator?!
No, looking at his intelligence, it doesn't seem likely... Or, he transmigrated from a certain point in time in this world?
Ankh seemed to have thought of something and quickly asked, "You said Erza's bloodline, are her parents very strong?"
Unexpectedly, Seram was silent for a long time. After a good while, it replied in a low voice:
"There seems to be a special magic interfering with my perception, preventing me from making a specific judgment on Erza's information."
"That power, it's a bit... like your magic, a bit like divine power..."
Hearing Seram's words, Ankh couldn't help but widen his eyes.
In this world, was there something Seram couldn't see through?
And divine power? Did Erza also have it within her?
Ankh was deeply skeptical. Seram sighed:
"It's just a suspicion. In my current state, I temporarily cannot break through the protection of that special magic to investigate."
Suddenly, these complex pieces of information flooded Ankh's mind, piling up like tangled threads in his heart.
As expected of the main character's group, each of them is full of mysteries.
Ankh covered his forehead. With all this information piled together, he didn't know where to start for a while.
However, from now on, he would have to pay more attention to the movements of Natsu and Erza... Laxus saw Ankh in deep thought, so he simply clapped his hands and said, "Don't think about it. Perhaps we're just overthinking."
Ankh came back to his senses, murmuring with some fatigue, "Alright, let's take it slow..."
Laxus nodded, turned around, and walked away without looking back, waving his hand at Ankh and saying, "See you in three days."
Mirajane looked at Laxus walking away in confusion and asked, "Aren't you two going to train?"
Ankh took a small sip of wine and casually said, "We'll train separately."
For them, instead of wasting time training group combat abilities, it was better to honestly hone themselves and wait for the final one-on-one moment.
Mirajane pouted and kindly said, "So careless, be careful not to mess up then!"
The unconcerned Ankh didn't know yet that on the day of the exam, there indeed were some unexpected events... And the final outcome, he didn't know if it would also change.