yasinovel Chapter 171 S-Class Mage Assessment!
Chapter 171 S-Class Mage Assessment!
Chapter 172 S-Rank Mage Exam! (Please Subscribe!)
"Kildarts left and still caused me so much trouble."
Makarov grinned angrily as he watched Kyldas walk away.
Gildarts gave everyone a pep talk, then left without a word, leaving Makarov to handle the S-class assessment himself, which naturally annoyed him.
Originally, only Moen, Erza, and Mirajane were going to participate in the test, and a simple setup would have been enough. Makarov knew that only Moen among the three would be able to pass the test, while Erza and Mirajane were just there to make up the numbers.
Even S-class mages in "Fairy Tail" ultimately require a certain level of strength.
Erza and Mira are both exceptionally talented children, but they are not yet qualified to be S-class mages; they can't even get past the first hurdle guarded by Laxus.
Therefore, this S-class mage assessment was basically held separately for Moen. In reality, it was just a formality. Moen's strength is indeed evident to all.
"Grandpa Makarov! Let's all join in!"
Natsu shouted that he had always wanted to participate in the S-class mage exam, but had been rejected before. Makarov thought it was too early for them to participate now and hadn't even given them a chance to register.
Now, inspired by Gildarts' words, Natsu was naturally very unwilling and started making a fuss with Makarov again with the other kids.
"Even just going to join the fun and experience the atmosphere is fine!"
Gray shouted as well, expressing his strong desire to become an S-class mage.
After all, he was taken in by Gildarts, who is an S-class mage, and he made Gildarts his goal.
However, Gray was more clear-headed than Natsu. He knew that with his current strength, he definitely couldn't pass the S-class assessment. But it didn't matter if he failed this time. Even Laxus didn't pass on his first try. He could just try a few more times!
"Alright, alright, everyone come on in! Anyone who wants to participate, come on in!"
Surrounded by Natsu, Gray, and the others who kept nagging him, Makarov had no choice but to agree in the end.
"Yay!"
The little ones cheered and eagerly began to sign up.
Some of the other adult mages were also inspired by Gildarts and soon a few A-rank mages signed up.
To register for the S-rank mage exam, one must at least be an A-rank mage; this is the basic requirement.
Compared to S-class mages, the promotion to A-class mages is much simpler and completely different. Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, and the others are already A-class mages.
After Makarov agreed, Moen saw that Kana next to her visibly relaxed, and then she went over and signed up as well.
"Are you really going to participate?"
When Kana returned after registering, Moen patted her on the shoulder and asked.
"Yes, I want to become an S-class mage!"
Cana nodded and gave a very serious answer. Her conversation with Gildarts had given her a goal: she would confess everything to her father after becoming an S-class mage!
"."
Moen remained silent. He always felt that Kana seemed to have a significant misunderstanding about Gildarts, which was why she had always kept quiet about her identity.
"Brother Moen, do you know anything about this? What are we supposed to do for this S-level assessment?"
Kana looked at Moen, her eyes shining brightly. She was truly serious, unlike the other children who were just participating for the sake of it.
"If I'm not mistaken, the first challenge is a battle against Laxus."
Moen didn't hide anything and directly told him what he knew.
Of course, he was just guessing. Makarov and Laxus's reactions seemed to be tacit agreement, but they didn't give a clear answer. Maybe it was Grandpa Makarov who personally intervened.
"What?!"
Upon hearing Moen's words, Kana was completely stunned. Her eyes widened as if she had heard some shocking news.
"Laxus... how could we possibly beat him?"
Cana lowered her head, her whole body turning ashen. No matter how confident she was, she didn't believe she could defeat Laxus.
Cana joined Fairy Tail very early, at the age of six, even earlier than Gray, so she was naturally more familiar with Laxus.
When Cana arrived, Laxus was only eleven years old. She watched Laxus grow stronger and stronger, and knew more about how terrifying Laxus's talent was than other children.
"Of course not. How could we directly ask you to defeat him? We just need him to acknowledge your strength."
Moen smiled helplessly. Kana really dared to think that the requirement to pass the S-class mage exam was to defeat the previous S-class mage exam. This difficulty was a bit too high.
"Gaining his approval? That seems difficult too."
Hearing Moen's words, Kana couldn't help but click her tongue. The difficulty hadn't decreased much. Laxus was now very picky, and she didn't think she could gain his approval.
"That's why I asked you, are you really going to participate?"
Moen spoke up again to persuade her. He knew Kana quite well. This girl wasn't actually the kind with a particularly strong will, and because she had something on her mind, Kana's emotions were more sensitive than others.
In other words, Moen felt that Kana was the type who might lose confidence after participating in too many events.
Of course, this is just his guess and may not be accurate.
No one can say for sure that they can accurately grasp a person's personality.
"I have to try! I have to!"
Kana bit her lip, but ultimately decided to participate; her father, Gildarts, had just encouraged her.
No matter what, she had to try. Maybe if she became an S-class mage, her father would finally be able to see her!
Just as Moen thought, Kana did indeed have some misunderstandings about Gildarts.
Cana always felt that Gildarts couldn't see her, but in reality, Gildarts treated her no differently than the other children.
The truth is, Cana sees Gildarts as her father, but Gildarts is unaware of this and does not show her any fatherly favoritism, which is why she feels that Gildarts cannot see her.
But if she doesn't actively approach Gildarts, Gildarts will naturally interact more with the children who do approach him, which has nothing to do with whether she is an S-class mage or not.
Laxus became an S-class mage, but there was no indication that he had a close relationship with Gildarts; the two were not connected.
"Okay, good luck."
Moen didn't try to persuade her any further. It wasn't a big deal. Kana did indeed have considerable magical talent, after all, she was Gildarts' daughter, and she had her bloodline inheritance figured out.
"Moen! Are you teaching Kana some secret technique?"
After registering, Gray came over and looked at Moen and Kana suspiciously.
Although Gray was prepared to just sit idly by, he was certainly willing to listen to any "exam tips" he might have.
Gray's attitude was much more proper than Natsu's and Gajeel's; the other two had already begun to dream about the glory of becoming S-class mages.
"There's no special technique involved, just some guesses."
Moen naturally welcomed all inquiries and answered everyone's questions. He didn't mind if they spread the news, as the S-rank mage assessment ultimately depended on strength.
Soon, the news spread, and everyone who participated in the assessment basically knew that the first stage might involve fighting Laxus. Only Natsu and Gajeel, the two "dragons," were unaware of this.
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Knowing the assessment content beforehand, some people actually came up with some solutions, such as acquiring magical items that could defend against lightning.
Laxus scoffed at this, saying that anyone who thought they could defeat him with those things was seriously underestimating him.
However, Laxus will not target those who prepare items in advance; in fact, she will give them extra points, because gathering information and preparing items in advance are professional skills that mages need to master, and magical items are also part of one's strength.
Laxus is quite open-minded on this point. He doesn't think that weapon-wielding mages should be discriminated against. Having magical items that can unleash powerful abilities is their own skill.
Amidst the intense "exam preparation," the day of the S-class mage examination arrived as scheduled, and Makarov was extremely busy these days.
After all, as the president, he definitely had to accompany them throughout the entire process. He would follow them from the shadows to ensure their safety during the exam.
"We shouldn't have let so many people take the exam all at once!"
Looking at the twenty-odd people who came to take the exam, Makarov remarked that the number was still a bit too many.
However, he wasn't working alone. He recruited some veteran A-rank mages from the guild who weren't participating in the assessment. Most of them had participated several times before and had been so discouraged that they had completely given up hope of advancing to S-rank.
These people are very familiar with the entire assessment process, so they are naturally very suitable to be staff members in the assessment process.
"We still need to be more careful in the future, and not let people with absolutely no hope participate."
As a candidate, Moen stood beside Makarov and offered his suggestion. He agreed to set a threshold for participating in the S-class mage exam, since, based on past experience, taking the exam too many times could really damage one's confidence.
In the past, there have been instances where members were so discouraged by failing the S-level assessment several times in a row that they eventually left the guild.
This is why Makarov set a threshold for participation in the S-class assessment. There was no other way; the S-class mages in the guild were too abnormally strong, which raised the bar for S-class mages too high.
Although Gildarts isn't a very strict person, if someone's strength isn't up to par and carrying out an S-rank mission would be dangerous, he will still strictly control their promotion to S-rank.
Failing the assessment time and time again, losing confidence and quitting the guild, is quite demoralizing.
Therefore, Makarov would screen the list in advance, and those who were not strong enough or had the right mentality would have their eligibility to participate temporarily suppressed.
Makarov readily agreed to let these kids participate because he trusted their mindset. He believed that even if they faced setbacks, they wouldn't be discouraged; instead, they would work even harder to improve themselves.
Moreover, a single blow is unlikely to have a significant impact.
"You brat! Get back to your line of test takers!"
Makarov said something to Moen in an annoyed tone. Although it was a certainty that Moen would pass the exam, the procedures still had to be followed.
Standing next to him, this kid acted as if he were already an examiner. Although he was capable, he would only be truly qualified after he obtained the title of S-class mage.
Hehe~
Moen smiled and returned to the group.
Actually, when Moen stood next to Makarov like an examiner, no one below found it strange. After all, everyone knew Moen's strength, and everyone knew that Moen would definitely pass the test this time.
Therefore, when they learned that they could team up in pairs to participate in the assessment, many people came to Mo En, hoping to be in a group with him. Everyone naturally wanted to get close to such a strong person.
But Moen refused them all. He said he didn't need to form a team. Laxus had participated twice by himself, so of course he wouldn't bring teammates. To him, teammates would only be a hindrance, unless it was Erza and Mirajane.
However, Erza and Mirajane are also popular teammates, since they were originally qualified to participate in the assessment with Moen.
Moreover, these two girls, who are the same age as Moen, are both genius mages who are gradually becoming famous. Teaming up with them would greatly increase the success rate.
But Erza and Mirajane both refused outright. Seeing that Moen didn't bring any teammates, Erza followed suit, while Mirajane naturally wasn't going to fall behind. She didn't even bring Elfman, and Lisanna didn't sign up, instead becoming their cheerleader.
"Grandpa Makarov! Tell me the rules already! I can't wait!"
Natsu shouted loudly, he was very excited. Natsu didn't have a teammate. No, his teammate was Happy. Although Happy wasn't considered a "test taker" according to the rules, Natsu firmly objected, believing that Happy was his teammate.
Makarov naturally wouldn't argue with Natsu about this kind of thing, and in fact, it was a good thing. It fully showed Natsu's shining qualities; this kid really values his companions and friends, which is exactly what Makarov likes.
"Fairy Tail" is the chosen one.
"Natsu, I'll definitely become an S-Class Mage before you!"
On one side, Gajeel and Natsu were competing. Gajeel was also alone, without any teammates, because he saw that Natsu also had no teammates. Clearly, Gajeel did not consider Happy to be Natsu's teammate.
Of course, Gajeel was actually a little envious of Natsu, because Natsu had a "cat". Not only Natsu, but another Dragon Slayer mage, Wendy, also had a "cat". Only Gajeel did not!
Although Laxus doesn't have one either, he's different from the other three. Laxus became a Dragon Slayer Mage through the "Dragon Slayer Crystal," and he, Natsu, and Wendy were all personally trained by dragons. So it's not surprising that Laxus doesn't have a "cat," but he should have his own "cat"!
(End of this chapter)