"Oh, what enthusiastic cheers! Blue Pegasus has sent out Eve Tearm!" Jabba Droll shouted excitedly.
"Next up is Grimoire Heart, and they've sent forth the Monster Summoner—Dirocatillo!" As Jabba Droll's passionate commentary continued, the atmosphere in the arena grew even more fervent.
"Lamia Scale has sent out Lyon Vastia!" The audience's cheers echoed, as various teams sent forth their respective contestants.
However, in stark contrast to the other teams' proactive displays, Fairy Tail's two teams had yet to select their contestants. Everyone waited anxiously, their gazes frequently drifting towards Fairy Tail's direction.
"Although I don't know the game rules, just the word 'Hidden' suggests it's related to concealment..." Erza mused, resting her chin in her hand, contemplating various possibilities.
"In that case, I'll go first! My body is small, so I'm easy to hide~" Wendy suddenly exclaimed excitedly, her hands clenched into fists, her eyes sparkling with an unusual light, clearly brimming with self-confidence.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Wendy!" Erza agreed to Wendy's request without hesitation and immediately submitted her name.
"Mhm, I'll definitely do my best!" Wendy giggled twice, agreeing emphatically.
"Oh, Fairy Tail Team B has sent out... the adorable Wendy!" When Jabba Droll announced the news, the entire venue erupted in applause and cheers.
"Lamia Scale sent Lyon? Hahahahaha, perfect! I'll go myself; I want to see what secrets this so-called tournament truly hides!"
Gray stared sharply at Lyon, a confident smile playing on his lips.
At the same time, his gaze seemed to inadvertently drift towards the personnel sent by the Kingdom Guard and the Monster Summoner dispatched by Grimoire Heart.
These two teams appeared exceptionally mysterious in this competition, piquing curiosity.
"This match is up to you~ Gray!" Laxus patted Gray on the shoulder, trusting him greatly.
"Leave it to me!"
...
"Ah... Master Gray, Juvia really wants to fight alongside you too!"
Upon hearing that Gray would personally enter the fray, Juvia twisted with excitement like a pretzel, her eyes sparkling with overflowing love.
Lucy, standing by, sighed helplessly at the sight, thinking that perhaps only Gray could endure such fervent love.
"Damn it! Juvia should clearly belong to our guild!" Seeing Juvia's infatuation with Gray, Lyon couldn't help but feel a surge of jealousy and resentment.
He secretly muttered, "Why can Gray win the heart of such a wonderful girl, while I can't gain Juvia's favor? Clearly, he and Juvia are a match made in heaven!"
However, no one noticed Sherria puffing out her cheeks nearby, glaring fiercely in Juvia's direction.
"Finally, Fairy Tail Team A has sent out Gray Fullbuster."
"Those are all the contestants, so let's announce the game rules directly!" The moment Jabu Dirola finished announcing all the participants, his voice barely fading.
"Haha, then I'll be the one to announce them! Pumpkin!"
A small pumpkin-shaped figure descended from the sky, landing steadily in front of the participants of the first match, its arms outstretched and a wide smile on its face.
"What exactly are you, you... thing?" Gray bent down and asked, puzzled.
Honestly, he had wanted to ask since the preliminaries; it was truly peculiar that a pumpkin could talk!
"Ah... this... As you can see, I'm a Pumpkin! Pumpkin!" The Pumpkin Host was momentarily flustered by the question, swaying from side to side, and his answer was stammering, making him sound quite suspicious.
"Hehe, but this is also quite cute! It must be someone from the staff playing the role, right, Mr. Pumpkin?" Wendy said, squatting down and gently stroking the Pumpkin Host, helping him out of his predicament.
"Then, Mr. Pumpkin, could you please explain the details of this competition to us?" Eve of Blue Pegasus behaved very politely, stepping forward and respectfully inquiring of the Pumpkin Host.
"Yes, yes, hurry up and tell us!" Gyosuke of the Kingdom Guard also couldn't contain his eagerness, urging him on incessantly.
However, in stark contrast to the others, the person sent by Grimoire Heart stood a short distance away, silently observing Everyone like a bystander, offering no opinions.
"Then, let me reveal the venue directly!" The Pumpkin Host waved his hands, muttering incantations.
With a thunderous "rumble," numerous houses, streets, and various buildings suddenly emerged from the previously empty flat ground. These structures sprung up rapidly like mushrooms after rain, a dizzying sight.
"What's happening?!" "Buildings? Streets? They're so tall!" People exclaimed in astonishment, deeply awed by the sight before them.
"What on earth is going on?!"
Everyone was stunned by this scene, cries of surprise erupting. This scale of materialization was truly a first.
Zorn looked down at this moment, and seeing this scene firsthand, his eyes couldn't help but light up. Honestly, this amount of magical power is quite impressive, truly impressive.
This King is truly playful, insisting on participating in the game himself.
The moment the houses appeared, the crowd below, in what felt like a mere blink, found themselves alone on the streets.
"Wendy! Lyon~" Gray shouted left and right, but received no response.
Gazing at the empty streets around him, he couldn't help but become serious: "Where did Everyone else go?"
"Damn it, the range of Observation Haki isn't enough~ Can it only detect this much distance?"
Although he had also undergone special training with Zorn, his mastery of Observation Haki only extended to a small radius around him.
He was nowhere near as proficient as Zorn, Laxus, Cana, Erza, or Mirajane.
Honestly, he couldn't even compare to Wendy.
"Everyone has disappeared!"
"I need to observe the environment first!"
At this moment, Wendy also looked around in surprise, but still instinctively used Observation Haki, combined with her perception of the surrounding air, to ensure no abnormal situations occurred.
This was also a skill the Sky Dragon taught her: in unknown places, one must maintain a high degree of vigilance and skillfully use air fluctuations to detect danger.
Especially after understanding Observation Haki, he guided Wendy on how to combine the strengths of both.
This was also why Wendy was so confident about this 'Hidden' competition event.
"The rules are very simple~ Both sides are ghosts!" The Pumpkin Host said in an odd tone.
"Find your opponent in this town and use any magic to launch an attack on them. Regardless of whether it successfully hits or causes damage, you will earn one point," he continued to explain.
"However... hehehe..." The Pumpkin Host suddenly paused, letting out a cunning laugh that instantly put Everyone on alert.
Just then, countless replicas of the contestants instantly appeared throughout the town. These replicas were difficult to discern without careful observation.
"However, if you hit a replica, you'll lose one point! So be careful! Pumpkin reminds Everyone again!" The Pumpkin Host added triumphantly.
To be continued~
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