Chapter 16: I Must Obtain S-Class
On the other side, the clash between Erza and Mirajane was even more intense than Gray and Elfman's.
Both sides were giving no quarter. Because they were stimulated by Shun, both of them had been training desperately for the past half year.
Their strength had improved significantly. Through their daily battles with each other, they both grew rapidly.
Therefore, they were very familiar with each other's moves, and for a while, no winner could be determined.
"Have Mirajane and Erza's strengths reached this level?"
Makarov was somewhat surprised watching the duel between Erza and Mirajane. Their strength was much greater than half a year ago, improving much faster than he had anticipated.
During the battle, the four participants' magic power was rapidly consumed. Gray and Elfman were the first to falter, their magic power nearly exhausted.
Even so, neither of them gave up. If they couldn't use magic, they used their fists.
The situation with Mirajane and Erza wasn't much better. Magic power is a Mage's life force.
Rapid consumption of magic power causes physical and mental exhaustion. If consumed too much, it could even endanger one's life in severe cases.
After a while.
Bang! Bang!
Gray and Elfman punched each other in the face simultaneously, and both fell to the ground unconscious.
Mirajane and Erza also exhausted their magic power and lay on the ground.
"That's enough!"
Seeing Mirajane and Erza still struggling to stand up, Makarov hurriedly spoke to stop them.
Their strengths were similar, and neither could stand anymore. Continuing the fight would yield no result. Makarov usually stopped them when such a situation occurred during their duels.
"Grandpa, what about the winner?"
Natsu asked curiously.
Makarov said grumpily, "Winner, winner, you only know about winning and losing. Do they look like they can continue to compete? We'll talk after the result of Shun and Laxus's duel comes out."
Mirajane and Erza's duel this time was very intense. It would take at least a day to fully recover, so they had completely lost the ability to compete with Shun and Laxus.
Duels were like this. When two capable contenders clashed, both ended up hurt or eliminated, allowing a third party to win the championship.
So, as the saying goes, luck is also part of strength.
Erza and Mirajane's luck in drawing lots wasn't necessarily bad; after all, they both avoided the strongest, Shun and Laxus.
Ending up with both sides hurt like this only proved one thing: they weren't strong enough.
If they were strong enough to defeat all opponents, it wouldn't be like this.
"Shun, Laxus, both teams get ready."
Shun and Natsu, Laxus and Freed all came before Makarov.
Laxus looked arrogantly at Shun and said, "Shun, if you don't want to be beaten too badly, you'd better admit defeat now. That way, at least you can suffer a little less."
Shun didn't speak, but Natsu immediately shouted indignantly, "I won't admit defeat!"
"Alright! Stop chatting, are you all ready?"
"S-Class Mage Promotion Exam, Second Round, Second Match, Team Shun VS Team Laxus."
"Now... Begin—!!"
Makarov announced the start of the match.
Laxus sneered, "Since you won't listen to advice, don't blame me."
Laxus waved his palm, and a bolt of golden lightning shot out from it.
Crack————!!
The lightning shot toward Shun and Natsu. Shun and Natsu jumped to either side to dodge.
Boom!!!
The lightning struck a tree behind where Shun and Natsu had been.
Crack—!
The tree trunk was snapped by Laxus's lightning.
Freed quickly charged at Natsu. When chatting with Laxus earlier, Laxus had already arranged it.
King against King, General against General.
He would deal with Natsu, while Shun would be left to Laxus.
Shun also instantly activated his Nine-Tails Demon Fox One-Tail form. He was now very proficient in activating One-Tail form and could complete the transformation rapidly without causing much commotion.
Seeing Shun transform, Laxus couldn't help but tease, "Oh? Is this your battle form? Isn't it a bit too cute?"
Laxus had heard that Shun took over the Nine-Tails Demon Fox, but this was the first time he saw Shun activate his battle form.
"But the cuter something is, the more I want to destroy it."
"Lightning Lance!!"
Laxus raised his palm, releasing a powerful electric current that formed a golden spear of light shooting straight at Shun.
Shun stood still and waved his claw rapidly.
The Lightning Lance was casually knocked away by Shun, shooting into a nearby rock.
Boom————!!
The rock exploded with a crash.
"Hmm?!" Laxus was startled. He hadn't expected his magic to be blocked so easily by the opponent.
Shun looked up at Laxus with vertical pupils and said indifferently, "Sorry, Laxus, I'm taking the S-Class Mage title this time. You can get promoted next year."