A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"Felid, I'm very disappointed in you!"

In the illusion, Laxus looked at Freed with deep disappointment in his eyes, coldly uttered a sentence, and then turned and left without looking back.

Do not! ! !

The cool autumn colors rippled through my heart like waves...

Seeing Laxus's figure grow smaller and smaller, and unable to catch up, Freed instinctively dispelled Shadow Mode, revealing his original form, and knelt down, crying out, "Laxus, don't leave me! Laxus, how can I live without you?"

audience:"……"

The guild members were extremely embarrassed. Even Biggleslow and Abrams, who were also members of the Thunder God Clan, covered their faces with their hands, not daring to look up at the scene.

Kira exclaimed, "Mistgan is really something!"

The most important thing in the illusion is to understand the opponent's mindset. You don't necessarily have to use terrifying monsters or earth-shattering attacks to scare people every time. As long as you can break through the opponent's mind, even a swarm of rats or a crawling cockroach can be a good move.

Losing his composure, Felid quickly fell victim to Mystogan's follow-up move. With a "Fivefold Magic Circle: Kagura," Felid immediately lost consciousness, muttering things like "Laxus... don't go..." The crowd in the arena burst into laughter.

The second match ended with Dispel's ambiguous smile. Big Sloe, suppressing his shame, went onto the stage to help Freed off and hand him over to Abba Grin. He then returned to the stage for his next match against Natsu.

Although he was wearing a helmet, you could see that the exposed half of his face was red.

Without any embarrassing teammates around, Big Sloe felt a sense of relief standing on the stage. Even if he lost to Natsu later, it wouldn't be as awkward as those brief two minutes just now.

Natsu stepped onto the stage with a chuckle, facing off against Biggleslow. With his current strength, he felt no pressure whatsoever: "Let's have a big fight, Biggleslow!"

The passionate declaration of war made Biggleslow temporarily forget his earlier embarrassment: "Natsu... is a worthy opponent, isn't he, my darlings?"

Five puppets—Pipi, Bobo, Baba, Beibei, and Bubu—floated behind him, chattering incoherently in response. Biguslow nodded after listening: "Is that so...you guys are excited too..."

"Do you really understand what they're saying?" Natsu asked curiously.

“Of course!” Biguslo replied. “My babies and I have a soul connection and understanding that no one else can comprehend.”

Since the end of the preliminary rounds, not counting yesterday's crushing victory, the two have had nearly two days of rest, so they are in good condition. After a few simple words of exchange, the battle was about to begin.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!!"

Unlike Kira's composure, unlike Mystogan's dazzling display, or Gray's ability to cover the entire battlefield with magic, Natsu's fighting style is always the same: using magic to amplify power and using power to enhance magic. With a shout, a fist engulfed in flames swings forward.

With a powerful stomp of his foot, the red figure approached in the blink of an eye. With his legs slightly bent, he locked onto the target, his shoulder propelled his arm, flames shooting from his elbow to increase speed, and tongues of fire wrapped around his fist as he delivered a frontal left hook!

It may seem like a simple attack, but in terms of speed and power, few in the entire guild can match it. In Natsu's attack system, it is the most basic attack.

But Biggleslow had lived three or four years longer than Natsu. After joining the Thunder Gods, he followed Laxus on missions and had considerable close-combat experience. In his eyes, this attack, even if not full of flaws, could be said to be handled with ease. With a push of his waist and abdomen, he leaned half his body backward and easily dodged the attack.

This backbend was quick and steady, and the flexibility of the body immediately drew envy and screams from many women in the audience.

However, Natsu's attack did not stop!

Standing on one leg, he whips his right leg upwards and to the left, intending to trip Biguslo. At the same time, he clenches his right fist and strikes down towards his opponent's stomach.

Biggleslow is nearly two meters tall with long calves, so his explosive power is stronger than that of ordinary people. Facing Natsu's attack from above and below, he only lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his whole body shot backward at an incredible angle.

Seeing that Natsu's first attack missed, Lucy, who cared about him the most, exclaimed, "This guy's body is so agile..."

Hearing this, Kira knew she hadn't been paying attention to yesterday's battle. He turned to look at her, thinking, "This girl is definitely focused on Natsu... Oh no! Looks like I'll have to catch her up on the debt!"

How can you be so preoccupied with men without any sense of responsibility or debt? Can't you at least have some self-awareness about being taken advantage of?

As far as Kira knew, Erza's team's mission rewards were divided equally among Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy—a total of five people. An S-rank mission was worth at least 20 J, so each person would get 4 J. However, the compensation for mission losses was reduced by half...

No, that's not right, you can't think like that!

Kira threw away the air calculator and recalculated. Erza could afford the rent for 5 girls' dorm rooms, so Lucy shouldn't be short of money!

So this young lady must be living a very comfortable life!

Chapter 176 The Four Strongest

Kira didn't know how long Lucy had been gone, but based on Kira's observations during that time, she shouldn't have been as worried about her savings as she appeared—at least not since joining Fairy Tail.

With Erza, Natsu, and Gray carrying her, her reward/contribution ratio in the team is second only to Happy, the adorable pet.

"Although it's only right to pay back debts, constantly coming to collect them might damage my image. It's better to let her earn money for me on her own initiative... How about we increase the stock in the store and use guild member discounts and membership card discounts as gimmicks to stimulate her spending desire?"

"Speaking of which, what does Lucy like again? I've heard that most girls like the same things. Maybe I should ask Erza and Cana..." Thinking this, Kira suddenly shook his head violently, rejecting the idea. "I must be crazy to even think of asking those two. Even a fool would know the answer would be alcohol and desserts. They don't even qualify as ordinary girls. Asking Mira would be much better..."

In just one minute, Kira gleaned a lot from Lucy's seemingly ordinary words, and by the time he realized it, he understood how foolish his actions had been.

"I've never heard of a creditor working themselves to the bone while the debtor is as comfortable as a cat! Looks like I've been too kind!"

Once he regained consciousness and focused his attention back on the match stage, Kira discovered that Natsu was already close to winning.

"What's going on? So fast?"

It's only been a little over a minute!

The current situation is like being in a math class, spacing out for a minute, and then realizing the blackboard is already full, and you can't understand a single word the math teacher is saying.

They start with phrases like "obviously...", "we all know...", "everyone understands...", followed by AA theorem, BB law, CC rule, DD theory, and arrive at conclusions that are completely incomprehensible or inexplicable.

At this moment, you look at your deskmate on the left. He is looking down, immersed in his own novel world, and you can vaguely see words such as "brat," "forgive," and "live."

You looked at him with disdain, feeling ashamed to be associated with such a person. Then you turned to look at your deskmate on the right. He nodded in sudden understanding and started taking notes with his pen. You leaned over to take a look, but you didn't understand anything.

You were unwilling to give up, so you looked at the top student in front of you and found that he was sitting lazily, not taking notes in class, and hadn't even opened his textbook. But his eyes were shining brightly. His eyes met those of the math teacher in the air, and then the two smiled knowingly. You felt that they were as wonderful as the Buddha preaching and Kasyapa holding up a flower.

You were devastated, and then you spent the rest of the class looking at the girl you had a crush on...

Kira watched for another half minute and realized that the one-sided nature of the battle made sense. Natsu's attack was strong, and his defense and speed were not bad either. It could be said that each of his attributes was at least one level higher than Biggleslow's, so it was not surprising that he could suppress him.

"Fire Dragon's... Blazing Flame!!"

boom!

With a loud bang, the fiery attack created a burst of wind pressure, blowing Biguslo away and sending him crashing to the ground.

"Match over! Natsu wins!"

Kira was not surprised by the result, but he did not expect Biggleslow to lose so quickly. You know, even in the preliminary round the day before yesterday, he and Gray fought very well. Could it be that Natsu has really become much stronger?

"No...it should just be the initial impression effect that's worn off..."

Kira knew that all the "enemies" had a strong rookie aura. For example, in the Oración Seis arc, the newly appeared Oración Seis general, with only four people—Brian didn't even make a move, and Night was just sitting back—was able to easily defeat the guild alliance of twelve people.

Even though Biggleslow had his own magical gadgets, not only could his five treasures not withstand Natsu's abuse, but he himself was also far inferior to Natsu.

"And the terrain also has a significant impact!"

In the preliminary round, his battle with Gray took place on a narrow side path, where the terrain was confined, making it easier for Natsu's Star Chart Puppet Magic to attack in a straight line, while Gray was unable to unleash the full power of his Shape Magic. However, the battlefield on the competition stage is now open, making dodging easier, and Natsu can use his magic freely.

"Finally, there's the issue of mana sustain. Back then, Gray had to deal with the upcoming battle against the Red Team, but Natsu doesn't have to worry about that now."

Several factors combined have led to the current situation: Natsu finishes the battle in less than five minutes.

Looking at it this way, the difference in strength between the two is quite large. One is at level 3 (mid-level Fairy Tail), and the other is at level 5 (ordinary S-class). This is probably due to the difference in their positions, which is also quite in line with Kira's inner thoughts.

Ten minutes later, the final semi-final match began.

Mira is very popular; her sweet face, sexy figure, fair skin, gentle personality, and powerful strength all attract male admirers. Rocky is also quite popular; his handsome face, slender figure, and loving heart make him the dream boyfriend of many young girls.

One of them was the most popular cover model in Magic Weekly; the other was a handsome guy who was once on the "most desired boyfriend" list with countless fans. So as soon as they came on stage, their fans started shouting. The men cheered for Mira, and the women shouted for Rocky.

"Mira-chan, I love you!"

"Loki, you heartless bastard! Did some woman run off with you?!"

"Mirasan, teach him a lesson he deserves!"

……

Hearing the voice, Mira tilted her head and smiled, "Looks like your ex-girlfriends. Don't you need to explain?"

Less than half a month has passed since Loki reverted to his identity as Leo, the Leo Celestial Spirit. As a result, many of his ex-girlfriends have not yet received the news, and Lucy cannot notify them one by one. Only when the girls come to the guild to inquire will someone in the know tell them.

Upon hearing Mira's question, Rocky revealed a roguish smile: "No need, they'll find out eventually."

Mira sighed and said, "There's no other way. It seems I have no choice but to listen to them and teach you a lesson!"

Her tone was gentle, but the words she spoke were terrifying.

Sweat beaded on Rocky's forehead. Daring not to resist, he could only weakly say, "Go easy on me, Mirasan..."

'Damn it! How come I never realized Mira was so cunning before…'

"Demon, receive! Satan!"

As soon as the match started, Mira went straight into battle mode, absorbing the soul of Satan into her body. She no longer needed any armor; as a mage, it was most comfortable to use the magic she was familiar with.

A change in makeup can drastically alter one's aura!

The stark contrast between the sweet young girl and the ruthless demon elicited cheers from the crowd; and Rocky, with the Lion's Light gathering in his hand, was ready to unleash his power.

"lion……"

"Demon Storm!"

boom!

Mira raised her right hand, and the dark magic tide instantly swallowed up the lion's light. Loki was sent flying and crashed to the ground unconscious.

"The match is over!"

Kira: "Pfft—!"

Mira exited combat mode, reverting to her beautiful young girl form. She smiled apologetically, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry! I think I went a little too far..."

Lucy the吐槽王 (Tucaowang, a user name) says: "Mirasan... how scary..."

The people around nodded silently: "Yes..."

"She used to fight Erza all the time in the guild..."

"My sister is such a man!"

Mira's powerful strike brought today's semi-finals to a complete close. Amidst the audience's anticipation, Dispel announced the four finalists of the "Fairy Tail First Magic Tournament".

"They are: Kira, Mystogan, Natsu, and Mira!"

Making it to the semifinals would bring a prize, which made Natsu very happy. But what made him even happier was that neither Laxus and Erza, who were S-class, nor Gray and Gajeel, who were his equals, had made it this far, but he had!

On the way home, Natsu hugged his partner and whispered, "Happy, I'm so excited!!"