Fairy Tail: You said you were just acting, are you serious

Speaker Crawford Simm's statement was met with nods of agreement from all the council members in the roundtable meeting room.

The judges present also felt that the previous assessment system was too outdated and rigid, leaving the ERA headquarters in a predicament of a lack of capable leaders.

To prevent this situation from worsening, we must start discarding the old rules now and drafting new ones. Next year's Junior Mage Examination is the first step in absorbing fresh blood.

Speaker Crawford looked at Toch, who was sitting on his left, and asked:

"Toch, this plan was your idea. Do you have any specific suggestions?"

"We do have some ideas at the moment."

Toki Anderba nodded, casually flipping open the document in front of him, his gaze sweeping across the room. This had to be done well, to continue smoothly year after year.

"To ensure the credibility of this first-ever youth assessment, we need to improve the rigor of the assessment and the guild's recognition. I propose that we impose strict restrictions on the eligibility of the candidates."

Toch turned to the first page and announced:

"The first step is to assess eligibility. This assessment will be led by the Council of Magic, in conjunction with various magic academies and registered guilds."

Of course, the scale of this assessment must be controlled, so each legitimate magic guild will only have one recommendation slot!

These words immediately sparked a murmur of discontent around the round table.

A councilor with a goatee frowned.

"Only one spot? Isn't that too harsh?"

There are still many large, legitimate guilds. If only one spot is given, those guild leaders will definitely have objections.

How about adjusting the number of recommended members according to the size of a regular guild?

Toch shook his head and righteously refuted the councilor.

"If you have any opinions, we can improve them next time. This is the first time, and I hope that there will be fewer places available."

Let them discuss it internally within their guild. The representative they ultimately choose will likely be the best person in their guild, and that's the kind of high-quality candidate we need.

Speaker Crawford stroked his chin and nodded slightly.

"I agree with Toch's point of view; one spot per guild is indeed enough."

"Go on, what is the form of the assessment?"

"We are currently considering dividing it into two phases."

Toch raised his index finger and continued solemnly:

"The first stage is the written test."

"written examination?"

The judges exchanged glances, clearly surprised.

"That's right, it's a written test. The talent the council needs obviously needs to have a foundation in magical theory and a clear mind. Only then will these council candidates be qualified to sit at this round table."

Furthermore, the written test effectively filters out most of the candidates; those who only think about sabotage and don't think critically will naturally be eliminated at this stage.

This remark struck a nerve with several hot-headed councilors, who all turned their heads away, pretending not to hear it.

Meanwhile, the Ajma councilor standing to the side had his lips twitching unconsciously.

Why does this sound like Councilor Toki is indirectly criticizing his old friend's guild?

Somewhere in the distance, a short old man sitting at a bar suddenly sneezed and looked puzzled.

"Only candidates who successfully pass the written test and rank in the top sixteen are eligible to enter the second stage."

At this point, Toch extended his second finger and continued:

"When we got to the second stage, which was the final internal selection,..."

At that time, these sixteen young people who have passed the assessment will be summoned to ERA headquarters, and we will score them based on their performance. As for the format, it is not yet fixed, and we can discuss it later.

The final rankings will be determined by performance scores, and the top-performing young people will be eligible to become candidates for councilors. This is the current plan.

The council's new and comprehensive evaluation system was thus presented to everyone.

Everyone at the round table quietly flipped through the documents, all looking at the plan that was about to be finalized.

Speaker Crawford Him nodded, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

"A very good plan."

This ensured both the quality of the selection process and the prestige of the council.

I think both the magic academy and the mage guild will be satisfied with this assessment.

The speaker scanned all the councilors in the round table meeting room and asked:

"Do you all agree with this plan? If you have any opinions or suggestions, please feel free to bring them up now."

Seeing that all the council members nodded in agreement and had no objections for the time being, the speaker nodded as well.

"Then, let's implement the first phase according to this framework. Some details of the second phase need to be adjusted, so we'll discuss them in the meeting room next time."

Once everything is finalized, this document will be promptly distributed to the presidents of all legitimate mage guilds on the continent of Ishgar in January of next year, specifically X775, and also to all magic academies to inform them.

"Yes, Your Excellency Speaker."

Everyone responded in unison.

Afterwards, the meeting spent some more time briefly finalizing the scope and direction of the written test questions before moving on to other plans.

When all the lengthy agendas finally came to an end, the clock on the wall was already past the halfway mark, and night was gradually falling.

Speaker Crawford rubbed his temples, feeling a slight soreness.

He breathed a sigh of relief after the pain subsided.

"Thank you all for your hard work today. That concludes the meeting. Meeting adjourned."

All the council members stood up after hearing the meeting adjourned.

Whoosh!

In that instant, the councilor who had recommended the Pure White Theatre Company in the round table meeting room picked up a broom with a serious expression, mounted it, and flew away.

"I'm taking my leave now. Farewell!"

Amidst the astonished gazes of all his colleagues, the serious councilor, without even bowing to say goodbye, smashed open the wooden door with a broom and rushed out.

The remaining council members in the meeting room froze in place, looking at each other in bewilderment.

"What...what's wrong with him? Did something happen at home?"

One of the council members stared in shock at the still-shaking wooden door.

Speaker Crawford's eye twitched, and he shook his head speechlessly.

Representative Toki Anderba paused for a moment, then laughed helplessly.

The Yajima councilor's eyes, hidden by long, drooping white eyebrows, revealed a curious look.

Is this direction heading towards the town of Magnolia?

Meanwhile, the councilor above the ERA headquarters maintained a serious expression, but in reality, after calculating the time, he unconsciously became excited.

If we double the speed at which the broom's magic output is increased, we can still make it before the performance!

Although this kind of flight speed would quickly deplete his old bones' magic, compared to missing the premiere of "Bleach," this loss of magic was negligible!

Now I can finally watch the first performance of "Bleach" from the front row!