Fairy Tail: You call this Celestial Magic?!

Chapter 215 The Assessment Begins! (Supplement. Please Subscribe!)
After the cheers from below subsided, Moen stood up and went to the front of the stands. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he began to explain the assessment rules.

"Draw lots for the battles, one-on-one, and we won't be fighting our own guildmates in the first round. That's great! That's the point of us being here!"

As Moen explained the rules of the assessment, Pakas was filled with excitement. His gaze was directed toward the stands of "Blue Pegasus" and "Fairy Tail," mainly observing the mages who were already somewhat famous.

Erza, Mirajane, Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel—the first two are powerful and have already made a name for themselves in the Kingdom of Fiore, while the latter three left a deep impression on Pacas because they had previously captured Councilor Dowell.

As for the "Azure Pegasus" team, Hibiki Retis, Ren Akatsuki, and Karen Lilika are all worth noting. He actually wants to have a fight with Karen; the grudge they formed a few years ago is still unresolved. Anyway, he dislikes that girl just like Moen.

Packas didn't want his opponents to be weak, even though that would guarantee his advancement. But he preferred to fight against strong opponents, which was his purpose in participating in the assessment.

"Is it a race to see who can win faster?"

Erza listened attentively. The conditions for obtaining this bye spot bothered her. It wasn't that she wanted to get the bye, but rather that she was thinking that maybe she could win a little slower in the battle, so that she wouldn't have to fight one less round due to the bye.

If the other contestants knew Erza's thoughts, they would definitely be on edge.

Many people were hoping to get a bye and advance directly to the quarterfinals, but Erza didn't want a bye. She acted as if she could get a bye if she wanted to, showing no regard for the other contestants.

Of course, she is qualified. At least everyone in Fairy Tail thinks that Erza is most likely to be the one to receive a bye, and only Mirajane is qualified to compete for it.

"Everyone should do their best to finish this quickly and fight for this bye spot."

After Moen finished explaining the rules and was about to start the draw, Erza turned to her companions and reminded them that at least in this first round, they were no match for each other.

"Why? Erza, aren't you going to try to get this bye?"

Erza's words of advice puzzled everyone. Emerald asked a question, her expression showing great surprise.

When Emerald first heard about the bye opportunity, she thought that if she was lucky, she could get a bye in the round of 15 to 8. But when the bye rule came out, she was stunned and completely gave up the idea of ​​getting a bye. She decided to just work hard and not tarnish her master's reputation!
Unexpectedly, Erza doesn't seem to be planning to fight for a bye; it seems she wants to deliberately give up that opportunity.

"That's right, I don't plan to compete for it. You guys try your best to get this spot."

Erza nodded. Although she herself did not want to compete for a bye, it did not stop her from hoping that her guildmates would get a bye. After all, it was a direct spot to the top eight.

"I won't argue, you guys figure it out."

Upon noticing Erza looking at her, Mirajane immediately spoke up, saying that since Erza wasn't going to compete, she certainly wouldn't either, not for any other reason than to emulate Erza in everything.

'Very good!'
Emerald felt a surge of joy; with two strong competitors eliminated, she could finally look forward to that bye again.

Emerald looked around at her companions: Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Juvia, Elfman, Lisanna, and Cana. They were all formidable opponents, but none of them inspired her to fight like Erza and Mirajane did.

'And I also have a secret weapon.'
Thinking of the "secret weapon" that Master Moen had given her before the assessment, Emerald's confidence grew stronger. She was determined to make a name for herself in this assessment!
"Even though you say that, I guess it's not going to be my turn."

Lisanna shook her head helplessly. Even if Erza and Mira didn't compete for this qualification and gave them the opportunity, no matter how she thought about it, it was definitely not her turn to compete for it.

Lisanna knew perfectly well that among the ten contestants in "Fairy Tail," her strength was among the lowest.

“Just do your best!”

Kana offered Lisanna a serious word of comfort, which was also a way of comforting herself, as she also really wanted that bye.

Kana's goal is to advance to S-rank, so a higher ranking definitely increases her chances. If she gets a bye in the second round, she'll be guaranteed a spot in the top eight. If she draws a weaker opponent in the top four...
Although this sounds like wishful thinking, if Kana didn't think about it this way, she would probably be in despair, as her fortune reading for today was extremely bad.

"Playing one less round or one more round isn't that important. What's important is a spot in the quarterfinals, and we absolutely cannot give that up easily."

Gray spoke very seriously. He looked at everyone's expressions. Apart from Natsu, who was excitedly interacting with the players from the other two guilds, and Gajeel, who was rubbing his hands together in anticipation, the rest of his companions were obviously interested in the bye qualification.

“Gray is right, so you all have to fight for it with all your might.”

As the leader of the Fairy Tail team, Erza naturally thought of this as well. She looked at Gray and Natsu, the two candidates on whom she had placed high hopes. Originally, she wanted Mirajane to compete for them, but Mirajane obviously did not think so.

"Of course I'll go all out! I'm aiming to become an S-class mage!"

Natsu leaned closer and answered excitedly.

In fact, he didn't understand what everyone was saying at all, but no matter what, he would definitely give it his all in the battle.

Nobody is worried about that; Natsu is absolutely serious when he fights.

"Don't worry, I'll fight for it too."

Gray nodded solemnly. Of course, he didn't want to miss the battle either, but it was for the honor of the guild. Gray's sense of honor and responsibility made it impossible for him to refuse Erza's request.

"."

Juvia opened her mouth, thinking that she could also compete, but then she felt that it would be useless to say anything. Erza and Mirajane were confident and even thought they could stall for time, but the other companions could not. They could not be considerate of each other.

Moreover, securing a bye spot depends not only on one's own strength but also on the strength of one's opponents. Before the draw results are announced, no one can say for sure whether one is qualified to compete for it.

"I don't think anyone would suspect me of rigging the draw, right?"

On the stands, Moen asked with a smile, interrupting the discussion of the Fairy Tail team, because Moen on the stage had already begun to draw the first pair of fighters to compete.

"of course not!"

Amidst the cheers of the contestants and audience below, Moen reached into a transparent box and began to stir.

The box contained thirty small balls, in three colors: orange-red, cyan, and yellow. Inside each ball were representatives from Fairy Tail, Blue Pegasus, and Four-Headed Hound, each represented by their respective guild's symbol color. Moen stirred the balls, grabbed one, and brought it up, causing a commotion below, with the Fairy Tail group reacting the most.

Sure enough, when Moen took out the ball, it was indeed an orange-red sphere belonging to "Fairy Tail". He smiled, opened the sphere, and inside was a note with a name written on it.

".Erza Scarlet!"

The moment Moen uttered the name, it caused an immediate sensation.

As everyone knows, Erza is the "top seed" in this assessment. If you draw her, you're really in big trouble and you'll probably be eliminated in the first round!

"Not a bad opponent!"

Pakas stared intently at Erza, one of his targets, for Erza was strong enough!

"Don't pick me! Don't pick me! Don't pick me!"

Many people silently prayed to avoid this formidable foe, fearing they wouldn't even have a chance to showcase their abilities.

Considering the rule about the bye spot, if you really face a strong opponent like Erza, she'll probably unleash her ultimate move right away. In order to race, these strong opponents certainly won't hold back, and you might be carried out of the duel arena in just a few seconds.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Moen reached out and scooped up another one, only to find it was red again. Helplessly, he put it aside and scooped up another one, this time scooping up a yellow one.

"Walkley!"

Under Packas's gaze, Moen uttered the name, which disappointed Packas somewhat, but he immediately looked to his side.

"Go for it, Walker! It's time to show your manhood!"

Packers patted Walkley on the shoulder, encouraging him.

"Must take it!"

Walker gritted his teeth and raised his hand to encourage himself. He was wearing a dog-skin cloak over his head, with a complete dog head on it, its face protruding from the open dog mouth.

"come on!"

The surrounding "hunting dogs" all started barking, creating quite a stir, and the other guild members who were watching also cheered him on.

On the other hand, Fairy Tail didn't react much; everyone was quite calm because no one thought Erza would lose.

The only suspense is how many seconds Walkley can last. Even if Erza holds back, she still needs the opponent to cooperate a little. She is not good at holding back, and if the opponent is too weak, she won't last long against her.

"He's a guy I've never heard of before."

Erza calmly commented that, in fact, she only knew a few of the younger generation of "Blue Pegasus" and "Four-Headed Hound," and Walkley obviously hadn't left any impression on her.

"Mr. One Night, it's your turn to draw next."

He put Erza and Walker's balls aside, below the sign that read (Erza vs. Walker), and called Moen up to him, indicating that he would also be in charge of the draw. At the same time, he looked towards the "Four-Headed Hounds" stands.

The "Four-Headed Hound" team was led by Packas, who was also a contestant. Naturally, they couldn't let him draw the lots, so they had to invite the three presidents out in advance, with President Goldman drawing the lots in person.

Moen, Yi Ye, and Goldman each drew one pair of matches, and in no time they had drawn all fifteen pairs.

Moen glanced at the draw and found that the results were only average for Fairy Tail. Some matches were easy to win, but some opponents were troublesome.

Erza vs. Walkley, Mirajane vs. Jenny Lyralight, Natsu vs. Ren Akatsuki, Gray vs. Yego, Gajeel vs. Roca, Emerald vs. Karen Lyrica, Elfman vs. Pacas, Juvia vs. Gabe Zek, Cana vs. Syms, Lisanna vs. Hibiki Retis.

To ensure that each player's opponents are not from the same guild, five of the ten players in "Fairy Tail" will be "Blue Pegasus" and five will be "Four-Headed Hound," which took a lot of effort during the draw.

It took Moen, Yi Ye, and Goldman a long time to draw a match that perfectly matched the rules. The drawing process could be optimized next time. Although drawing one by one is exciting, it also tests everyone's patience.

"The draw is complete. Please get ready. The assessment will begin in ten minutes."

After the draw, everyone's names and opponents were all registered, and the match diagrams freshly created by Lidas were hung below the stands of the examiners' table so that everyone could see them.

The match map even includes portraits of the players, allowing players unfamiliar with the mages from other guilds to identify them.

During the ten-minute break, many people observed their opponents and began urgently gathering information about them. This was part of the battle; knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory, and developing strategies in advance is also part of the assessment.

Of course, there are also those who are very leisurely and don't bother to collect information about their opponents at all. For example, Natsu. No matter who the opponent is, he is confident that he can win. After all, he is so confident that he dares to challenge Moen. Natsu has never lost in terms of confidence.

Is this what a real man's mindset is?

Looking at Natsu, who was rubbing his hands together in anticipation, Elfman was quite envious. He was a little nervous because he had heard that Pacas was very strong, even the leader of the "Four-Headed Hounds." Wasn't that directly comparable to Erza in terms of status?!

This draw was definitely not a good one for Elfman. He clenched his fists and started to stretch. No matter how strong the enemy was, he had to go all out and not let Fairy Tail down.

Ten minutes passed quickly, and with a burst of rousing music, the first joint S-level assessment officially began.

"First match, Erza vs. Walkley, both players enter the arena."

In the dueling arena, Moen, standing in the very center, spoke, and as his words fell, both sides emerged from the entrance.

Erza's striking red hair and armor made her look incredibly dashing, quite different from the dog-headed Vockley opposite her. However, they both received the same cheers, with mages from all sides shouting encouragement.

(End of this chapter)