togophonebook Chapter 320 Utter Despair, Lucy's Encounter with the Examiner
Chapter 320 Utter Despair, Lucy's Encounter with the Examiner
Chapter 320 Utter Despair, Lucy's Encounter with the Examiner
Moving slightly back in time, after Eclair became an apprentice of the Silent Magician, and before Fairy Tail launched its all-out attack on Devil's Heart.
Having just finished her commission, Lucy had a rare moment of free time and was relaxing in the guild hall.
"Lucy, you seem really busy lately." Acreya brought her a glass of juice.
"Everyone is working hard to be selected for the S-class assessment. Although I can only be considered a half-newcomer at most, Chess said so, so I thought I should be a little more proactive." Lucy thanked him and took the juice.
"I see. No wonder those people have been so crazy lately, even scrambling for commissions." Mengmeng jumped onto the table, looking at the quiet hall with a look of sudden realization.
"Lucy, being a mage must be really interesting, right?"
Eclair suddenly asked, looking at the guild emblem on her arm, her eyes filled with curiosity and longing.
She used to loathe mages and avoid such things like the plague, but after staying in the guild for so long and being subtly influenced by Fairy Tail's unique atmosphere, she has begun to look forward to it.
Especially after coming into contact with the magic of silence!
"Well—how should I put it? Sometimes I encounter incredibly difficult clients, and I have to follow all sorts of rules. I might even end up wasting my time because of an idiotic teammate's impulsiveness."
Lucy recalled her experiences after joining Fairy Tail and said with a smile, "But I also witnessed many interesting things and unexpected developments, full of mysterious unknowns, which was a super interesting experience!"
Hearing Lucy's description, Eclair's longing deepened: "I see—"
"How's Eclair's silence magic practice going? Let's go do some commissions together once we're done with this busy period!" Lucy invited enthusiastically.
Besides being genuinely happy for Acreia's change in mindset, her tone also carried a hint of barely perceptible smugness.
I never thought I'd reached the stage where I'd be mentoring newcomers on assignments! "Is this really okay?!"
Eclair immediately perked up, then lowered her head again, looking rather unsure. "But my silence magic is still far from the standard my master set. Right now, I can only prevent Macao and the others from using magic."
In her opinion, those lazy bums who just stay in the guild all day, loafing around and waiting to die, don't seem to be very impressive.
"It's okay, we can wait a bit. What did you say? You want to prevent Macao and the others from using magic?!" Lucy's expression instantly lit up.
It's normal for Eclair, who is new to the world of magic, not to know Macao and the others, but she knows all too well that those guys would definitely be the backbone of any ordinary guild!
In such a short time, and without anyone noticing, Acreya has already become this powerful?!
If she could help.
Lucy's eyes darted around, and she grabbed Acrea's hand and shamelessly kowtowed to it: "Please, Acrea, you absolutely must lend me a hand!"
The scene changes.
The hybrid sailboats carrying the participants sailed quietly on the vast sea.
Due to the influence of ocean currents and the unique environment, the sea area where Tianlang Island is located is hot all year round. Even now that it is winter, the sun overhead is still scorching.
The crowd, feeling unbearably hot, almost all changed into sexy swimsuits and eye-catching pants.
Lucy lay sprawled on the wooden table, completely exhausted and powerless, pouting that she wanted ice cream, while next to her was Happy, who had been sunburnt to the point of looking like a cat stick.
The others were in similar condition; the aura they had before setting sail, which they were determined to become S-class, had completely vanished.
Juvia, made of water, stared at Gray's naked body, saying how hot it was. Elfman let out a strange cry, using a manly catchphrase. Nazgajeel and his two unfortunate buddies kept retching. Cana, who valued the advantage of the assessment even more, sat down next to Eclair and subtly tried to find out more about her.
While others knew nothing about Eclair, she, as a drinking buddy of Macao and Wakaba, knew a little bit about her.
The combination of Lucy and Eclair is definitely not to be underestimated!
Unfortunately, Eclair kept her mouth shut and basically didn't reveal any information.
This made Kana very upset.
Time slowly passed in the agonizing wait.
Finally, the outline of Sirius Island appeared on the horizon.
The dejected crowd instantly perked up, marveling at the strange design of the guild's sacred ground.
"Now, let's present the preliminary test content for this assessment."
Makarov made a dazzling entrance in his flashy beach shorts, pointed to the rising smoke from the chimneys on the shore of Sirius Island, and began explaining the rules.
First, participants need to reach the shore where the smoke rises and then use one of the nine teleportation magic circles set up there to travel to the examination venues scattered throughout the island.
The nine channels consist of four "fierce battles" that defeat current S-class opponents, four "battles" where two opponents meet in pairs, and one unobstructed "quiet" channel.
The situation inside the passage cannot be known in advance, so the first test is a test of combat ability and one-ninth luck!
Without giving everyone much time to think and analyze, Makarov, who had noticed Fried's earlier actions, grinned mischievously and waved his hand, "Then, I declare the assessment officially open!"
"Huh, are we starting now?"
"Hasn't the ship docked yet?"
"Haha, it's great to take the lead right from the start! Happy, let's go choose our passages!"
"Love~!"
Happy grabbed the smug Natsu and flew away. As expected, the two of them crashed headfirst into the magic wall that was flashing with spell runes.
"Don't worry, Natsu, the spell will be lifted in five minutes."
Fried and Bigusro beat them to the punch; one sprouted dark wings from his back, and the other rode on a puppet formation, flying straight toward Sirius Island.
The trapped crew, including Grekana, strongly condemned this almost shameless behavior and went to Makarov to complain, but to no avail.
Just then, someone crawled out through the spell wall.
It's the Levy duo, who are proficient in word magic, and the Elfman duo, who are familiar with Fried's spells.
Unfortunately, they weren't generous enough to completely undo the spell for their rivals, only speaking to themselves and leaving Natsu and the others helplessly pacing back and forth on the deck, shouting "despicable and shameless!"
Whizzing.
The flashing spell wall immediately drew the attention of the remaining people.
"Wait, how come Lucy can go out too?!" Cana exclaimed in surprise.
"Isn't Abba Grinn Elfman's teammate? How come he's flying in the sky with her in his arms—wait, there are two Abba Grinn's?!"
Gray was completely bewildered.
"If I'm not mistaken, that should be Gemini Gemini in disguise. They obtained Abbagrim's information on how to break the spell." Loki revealed the truth.
"That's right, we'll be going ahead without any hesitation~" Lucy turned around and smiled at everyone.
This clearly demonstrates her growth: in a sudden situation with limited time, she immediately came up with a practical and effective way to break the deadlock.
As a teammate, Eclair was carried away by Mistletoe. Theoretically speaking, Mistletoe is both a member of Fairy Tail and her "magical" creation, so it does not violate the rule that contestants can only choose one partner.
"Damn Lucy, that's so selfish! At least take me with you!" Natsu pounded on the spell wall.
"Lucy with a brain feels so unfamiliar, Natsu, are we really going to let her become an S-class?" Happy sullenly.
"Shut up, you dead cat! I heard you!" Lucy's booming voice came from afar.
The five-minute time limit passed in the blink of an eye, and the groups of contestants who were already far behind rushed to catch up, using their own methods to launch an attack.
At this moment, Lucy, who had arrived earlier, had already chosen her favorite letter and was walking with Eclair and Mengmeng in the dimly lit, narrow passage.
"So why did Lucy choose G?" Eclair asked curiously.
"Because G stands for G0OD, and given that there's only one path that doesn't require combat, this is the most likely option!"
Lucy felt smug about her cleverness, "Being first definitely has a big advantage!"
"Is that so? I have a feeling the president wouldn't have set it up like that on purpose—"
Mengmeng looked at the dark end ahead with some worry, "After all, he said this is a test of combat power and luck."
"It's okay, it's okay. If it's just about luck, I've always been pretty lucky!" Lucy patted her chest confidently.
Besides training with Eclair this week, she also considered encountering other competitors or facing Chesgo's terrible situation right away, and formulated a battle plan specifically for this purpose.
He definitely can't win in a head-on fight, but if it's a card game challenge, the card master will definitely accept it without hesitation. It would be best if he could win, and if he can't, he can let Eclair find an opportunity to launch a sneak attack and make full use of his teammate's advantages. Maybe then he'll have a chance!
Having come this far, surrendering is absolutely out of the question!
Lucy, who gained an early advantage in the preliminary rounds, is now bursting with confidence.
"Is that so?" Akelia asked, looking puzzled.
She was skeptical that luck was the only factor.
Without realizing it, the narrow passage suddenly widened.
Fireflies, emitting twinkling starlight, danced around, illuminating the surroundings.
Lucy's nerves tensed instantly, and the confident smile on her lips gradually froze.
An invisible, terrifying sense of oppression assailed her from all directions, making it difficult for her to breathe.
In the dim light, she seemed to see a figure standing at the end.
Fireflies flew through the air, illuminating the "Fierce Battle" plaque hanging prominently, and at the same time revealing the true face of the figure.
"Uncle Kikiki Gildarts?!?"
Lucy was so shocked that her eyes practically popped out of their sockets, her expression as exaggerated as if she had seen a ghost.
"Oh, I didn't expect it to be you, Lucy—"
Despite being somewhat surprised, Gildarts, who was guarding the spot, still smiled and raised his hand in greeting.
It's over, it's all over—
In despair, Lucy immediately knelt down.
Her judgment was actually correct; with Chase's involvement, the letter "G," which served as an Easter egg, did indeed have a special meaning.
However, instead of "Good" which represents good luck, it's "Gildarts"!