### Chapter 18: Face-off
"Since everyone is here, let's begin the second stage of the test. But before that, let's see how the points look."
"We'll start with the group that arrived last, Cana and Natsu."
Hearing this, confident expressions appeared on Cana and Natsu's faces. The reason they arrived only now was to farm more points.
Cana took out the small tool.
Gildarts pressed it, and a number immediately projected from the tool.
[209]
"209, not bad!"
Gildarts praised the two. Although the passing score wasn't given for the first stage, they had discussed it, and the minimum was 200. Only by reaching 200 points would they pass.
"What about yours, Mira?"
Elfman handed the tool over.
[320]
"No way!!"
Natsu and Cana were dumbfounded upon seeing this. They had risked their lives to take down 209, yet Mira actually took down over 300.
"Hehe! Of course."
Mira showed a triumphant little expression.
"Mystogan."
Mystogan handed the tool over.
[398]
"398?!!"
"Really?!"
"Isn't he alone? He actually took down so many monsters?!"
Natsu and the others looked at the number in disbelief. They had personally fought those monsters and knew how strong they were.
Mira's expression became somewhat serious. Although she had long known of Mystogan's existence, she didn't expect him to be this strong. He was definitely a powerful competitor.
"Finally, Riku!"
"Aye!"
Happy grabbed the tool and gave it to Gildarts.
[3000]
"3000?!!"
Almost everyone was scared silly seeing this number.
"WH——?!!"
"How is that possible?!"
"Took down 3000 monsters in such a short time?"
"Could this point counter be broken?"
Several people suspected there was a problem with the point counter.
Happy raised his hand to testify: "No, it's not! Riku really did take down 3000 monsters, although I didn't do anything."
"He really took down 3000 monsters!!"
Hearing Happy say this, everyone stopped doubting, because there was indeed no need to lie in this situation.
"Monster————!!"
Although they already knew Riku was a monster, wasn't this too monstrous?
Riku's attack power was strong, but the monsters weren't fools; they wouldn't gather together for Riku to attack. This meant Riku actively sought them out to take down 3000 monsters.
This had a completely different meaning than wiping out numerous monsters with one big move.
Gildarts laughed and patted Riku's shoulder: "Gahaha! Good kid, you really did it!"
He wasn't surprised. After all, he had personally taken Riku to eliminate monsters for combat practice. Back then, this little monster was already terrifying. Now, after more than three months, his strength was even more unfathomable.
Riku smiled and said: "It's nothing. My Magic is just a bit faster at dealing with these monsters."
Everyone rolled their eyes, thinking: Only a fool would believe you.
"Alright, next, we will begin the second stage of the test. This test is very simple: two groups will fight against two groups, and the winners will enter the third stage of the assessment."
"Face-off?!"
"Now that's more like it!"
Natsu became very excited upon hearing they were going to fight.
"I knew it would be like this."
Cana didn't look too happy. Last time there was also a battle, and she was defeated by Erza, who then successfully promoted to S-Class mage.
Of course, a battle test was only natural and the fairest assessment. After all, in the guild, no one could accept someone weaker than themselves becoming S-Class.
So she had to consider who her opponent would be. Mira and Elfman's group—she and Natsu had a certain hope against them.
Mystogan—intelligence suggested he seemed to specialize in Sleep Magic. If that was all, with two against one, they weren't without a chance.
As for Riku, Cana categorized him as a monster. If they ran into him, they might as well fold.
"The Master said earlier that more points would give an advantage in the next exam, right?"
"This advantage is also simple. The team with higher points gets priority in choosing their opponent."
"Eh————?!"
"Doesn't that mean once Riku chooses someone, the other two groups automatically fight each other?!"
Gildarts nodded in confirmation: "That's right!"
"..."
It's not "the higher the points, the more advantage"; it's "only the highest points have an advantage," right?
"Riku, pick the team you want to fight."
Gildarts looked at Riku.
Riku glanced at the combination of Cana and Natsu. Natsu looked eager to try, while Cana didn't dare look Riku in the eyes.
Riku looked away. Cana was Teacher Gildarts' daughter; bullying the teacher's daughter was somewhat unethical.
Mira looked at Riku arrogantly, acting like she wasn't afraid.
Riku quickly looked away. She was his girlfriend. Perhaps fighting wouldn't affect their relationship, but coaxing her afterwards would definitely be troublesome.
Finally, Riku looked at Mystogan. It seemed the only opponent he could pick was him. Suddenly, a phrase came to mind: To survive out here, besides strength, you also need connections.
He could only apologize to Mystogan in his heart: Sorry, brother.
"I choose Mystogan."