A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"Yeah, if they saw us, we'd probably get beaten half to death..."

"Hey, Erza turned around, why are you still looking down?"

"I just twisted my neck..."

"..."

Kira walked over to the crowd and sat down. He glanced at Cana, who was drinking heavily from a barrel of liquor next to him, and said, "I thought you'd sleep until tomorrow. You're awake already?"

Kana was as drunk as ever, except she had a few useless bandages wrapped around her body: "What do you know? Alcohol is the best medicine!"

“That’s right, this kind of injury will heal with just a good night’s sleep…”

Nearby, Gray and Rocky, half-drunk, downed another drink. On the table in front of them, there were more than a dozen barrels of liquor piled up haphazardly, indicating that they planned to drink until dawn.

"Don't you have a match tomorrow? Is it okay for you to drink like this?"

The two exchanged a glance, and after a couple of seconds of thought, they realized with a start: "A competition? Oh right, we have a competition tomorrow!"

"But there's probably no way we can win... Just do our best in these situations, drink up!"

Tomorrow's semifinals will see Gray face Kira and Rocky face Mira. It seems like the two are planning to just tank.

This attitude left Kira feeling powerless, like hitting cotton.

No way! As a representative of the younger generation in the guild, I can't watch my comrades fall into such a decadent lifestyle! Nor can I allow them to utter such spineless words!

"Wake up, you two! Don't be so pessimistic. Don't let alcohol corrupt your fighting spirit. Maybe if you work hard, you still have a chance?"

Kira snatched the wine glasses from their hands, grabbed their shoulders and shook them back and forth, taking the opportunity to slap them across the face dozens of times, wishing he had two more hands!

Yeah, it feels pretty good to be proven wrong...

Unfortunately, even so, the two still did not react, and instead showed signs of falling asleep.

"Forget it, there's no hope. Just wait to die!"

Kira, feeling somewhat bored, casually tossed the two aside and then turned to drink with Cana...

Three minutes later...

"Kira, are you sure you can drink like this? Don't you have a match tomorrow?"

Seeing the worry on Cana's face, Kira, his eyes glazed with drunkenness, said nonchalantly, "A match? What match? My opponents are all down, what am I afraid of? Drink!"

Kana: "..."

Chapter 173 Kira: In terms of ice-making, I would call you the guild's strongest.

The next day, the stadium was still bustling with noise.

After the preliminary rounds of 100 to 30, the semi-finals of 30 to 16, and the semi-finals of 16 to 8, the "Fairy Tail First Magic Tournament" has finally ushered in the fourth day of the competition, the semi-finals.

Today's four matches are Kira vs. Gray, Mystergan vs. Fied, Naz vs. Biguslo, and Mira vs. Rocky.

Judging by their strength alone, apart from Kira, Mystogan, and Mira, who have already become S-class mages, the remaining five are also key members of the guilds who are expected to qualify for the S-class mage assessment this year. Natsu and Gray, in particular, are practically guaranteed to qualify.

But for the guild members, today's matches weren't really worth watching, because the two sides in these four matches were quite evenly matched.

In the audience, Erza crossed her arms and quietly watched the eight people on stage, thinking things like, "I shouldn't be here, I should be there..."

Kira was the first to step onto the stage, leading Gray with great strides. The previous night's drunkenness hadn't affected either of them; they were still as energetic as ever.

"Aren't you going to surrender? You had absolutely no confidence yesterday!"

Kira jokingly remarked, recalling Gray's drunken words of encouragement in the guild last night.

Gray chuckled and casually took off his shirt: "I've long forgotten about that! Now I just need to give it my all!"

"The match begins!!"

Dangdang Dangdang!

"Ice-forged, Lancer!"

"Ice Forge, Hammer!"

"Ice Forged, Giant Axe!"

"Ice Forged, Demon God Sword!"

Gray made the first move. He only used a few moves over and over, but he became more and more proficient with them. If this move were in a game, his proficiency would definitely be at the maximum level!

Almost simultaneously, four weapons appeared around Kira and in Gray's hands. He shouted to bolster his courage and slashed at Kira with all his might.

Kira, having anticipated this, moved with the agility of a dragon, easily dodging the attack: "The audience must be tired of seeing battles of ice and fire. How about something different today?"

Upon hearing Kira's words, Gray's interest was immediately piqued: "What? You're not planning to fight with fire?"

In their previous encounters, Kira would always use fire attacks directly. The power of his fire magic was not much less than Natsu's, and the temperature was even higher.

But today, he wanted to try something different.

"Dry!"

Kira stretched out his right hand, and an earthen-yellow magic circle appeared in his palm. Ripples then spread outwards, immediately reaching the entire arena. The pale yellow ripples were faintly visible, but upon closer inspection, it was discovered that they were composed of tiny grains of sand.

When these tiny, light sand grains passed over the ice, they absorbed its moisture directly. The ice, which had been emitting a cold aura, vanished without a trace, leaving no trace of its chill, as if it had never existed.

"sand?"

In the audience, Marcus, from the Fairy Tail section, was shocked and envious when he saw this scene. He felt that he had found his future direction.

"Is that sand magic? That's amazing!"

"That must be Crocodile's technique! The one where he can turn his right hand into sand and absorb the moisture from anything he touches!"

On stage, many audience members who had read "One Piece" exclaimed, "So the novel wasn't lying after all, those magic spells are real! I never thought sand magic could actually be used like this!"

"Drying up? A magic that absorbs moisture?" Gray said, looking at the relaxed Kira. "You really have a lot of tricks up your sleeve, but I don't believe your absorption speed can be faster than my ice-making speed!"

"Then let's give it a try!"

Gray: I disagree!

Kira: If you don't like it, then fight!

The moment their eyes met in mid-air, they immediately understood what the other was thinking.

Perhaps out of interest, Kira held back, abandoning his most prized high-intensity magic and instead competing with Gray in a different way—a contest of casting speed.

Rapid spellcasting is an essential quality for a mage. Generally speaking, ability-based mages, especially elemental mages, can cast spells faster than those who rely on magical items, because they do not need to use magical tools.

Even among abilities, the speed of casting can vary depending on the type of magic. Among the many types of magic, shape magic ranks among the top in this regard, as this is its greatest advantage.

The speed of casting is equal to the speed of shaping. As an ice-shaped mage, Gray's casting speed is undoubtedly very fast, but it is still not enough in front of Kira.

Gray placed his hands in front of him, gathering magic power and casting spell after spell, each one different. But no matter how he cast the spells, Kira simply stood there, arms crossed, calm and composed, his expression unchanged.

Kira's spirit covered the entire arena, like playing whack-a-mole. Whenever an ice block appeared, he would use his drying magic to cover it and eliminate it in the shortest amount of time.

The dazzling appearances followed one after another, only to vanish in the blink of an eye. The entire battle seemed to take place in a microscopic world invisible to the naked eye, yet traces could be discerned. The intermittent appearances drew enthusiastic cheers from the audience.

"That's right, that's exactly it!"

"This is the kind of battle between mages! This is the kind of magical battle we've always wanted to see!"

Hearing this, Kira was speechless. Didn't this mean, "The kind of sword and staff fighting yesterday is not what we want to see"?

It can only be said that audiences are always looking for cool magical battles. If a match between mages doesn't impress them, they might just ask for a refund.

Seemingly sensing the audience's waning enthusiasm, Kira said, "It's about time you used your ultimate move, Gray?"

"Hmph, fine, then so be it," Gray sneered. "Ice Forging, Lancer Frenzy!!"

"Dry!"

Countless weapons took shape instantly, but in the next second, they all liquefied into water, fell weightlessly, and evaporated continuously in mid-air until not a single drop of water fell to the ground.

"Damn it! Even this trick doesn't work?"

At that moment, Kira had only one thought in his mind: No matter how fancy your moves are, I will defeat them with one move!

Originally, he didn't really like this kind of fighting style that relied on one trick to succeed, because it wasn't flashy enough. But thinking about it carefully, it did have a different kind of exhilarating feeling.

For a full ten minutes, whether it was a feint, a sneak attack, or a full-scale assault, Gray's attacks were completely neutralized from the air, behind, the side, or the ground, without causing Kira any damage.

"Honestly, this magic is really troublesome. In the end, is it still only possible to win by speed or power?"

'This kind of magic is the most annoying; it completely counters my ice-making magic, and I can't find a way to break it,' Gray thought to himself. 'But, trying to break through in battle is never that easy.'

If Kira knew what Gray was thinking, he would definitely say to him, "You underestimate yourself! For us Fairy Tail members, breaking through in the heat of battle is just commonplace!"

Sensing that Gray was starting to break down, Kira decided to push him even harder, secretly increasing the power of the Dryness.

Soon, Gray couldn't even cast spells anymore. Before the ice he created could even appear, Kira's drying spell absorbed all its moisture, making it difficult for it to even take shape.

The severe lack of moisture made the air feel even drier. Sweat that appeared from continuous spellcasting was blown away as soon as it appeared. Gray even noticed that his lips were starting to crack and he was noticeably thirsty.

"Give it your all! You should be more than that, Gray!" Kira shouted at Gray, standing there without a care in the world. "Use that magic you used on Cana yesterday! That must have been something you got back from Zonya, right?"

"Ah, you were right!" Gray forced a smile and said, "Looks like that's the only way... Take this, you bastard Kira!"

Kira: "..."

"Ice Forged, the Demon King's Eternal Frozen Fang!!"

In an instant, a biting cold and frost swept over us! The dry atmosphere on the competition stage vanished completely!

"As expected of a powerful move, it still possesses such extraordinary power even in such an environment."

Kira raised an eyebrow and said loudly, "I acknowledge you, Gray. In terms of ice-making, I call you the strongest in the guild!"

Chapter 174 Ice and Sand

Upon hearing Kira's words, Gray almost burst into a tirade.

What do you mean you're willing to call me the strongest? You talk like you're some kind of genius! And in the guild no less? Why don't you just say you're the strongest in the Kingdom of Fiore!

Gray attacked directly, his hand raised, and the three-meter-long ice sword slashed forward, the ice blades moving with it, all firing towards Kira's position.