A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"I just doubt the feasibility of that plan. After all, the last person who claimed to have dealt with 'Zeref's soul' was standing right in front of you!"

To put on a good show and lower Hades' guard, Gerald went to great lengths, constantly recounting his own experience of being deceived.

“I am not like you. You are merely blindly following a ghost whose truth is unknown! But I have personally witnessed the abyss of the demonic path!”

Hades said in a calm voice, "With this eye, I witnessed firsthand that 'Zeref is still alive and can't even defeat Ultear'!"

"Then there's no other possibility besides 'Zeref is asleep'!"

'Looks like he was fooled pretty badly too!' Gerald thought to himself, 'Sure enough, people will believe anything they see with their own eyes…'

How can you be sure the person you saw was Jeff?

"I met Jelf once many years ago, and the future I see through this eye shows that his appearance is exactly the same!"

Gerald suddenly realized: "So that's how it is..."

No wonder I was scammed so badly!

Hades didn't notice Jellal's expression, only lowered his eyes and sneered: "Isn't it interesting to have a hunting feast of demons and fairies as a prelude to awakening Zeref?"

"Are we going to war with Fairy Tail? We can't underestimate them!"

Hades scoffed, “They don’t understand what true darkness is, the absolute darkness buried in the abyss!”

"After all that talk, where exactly is Zeref?" Gerald asked.

"It's located in the sacred land of 'Fairy Tail,' Tenrou Island!"

……

Sirius Island.

This is a small island located in the southern sea. It can be reached in less than half a day by boat from the port of Harujón.

The most eye-catching thing on the island is undoubtedly the towering tree that has been growing for who knows how long. It is called the Sirius Tree and has the function of absorbing the energy of the earth and gathering magic power. It can be said to be the symbol of the vitality of this island.

Over a hundred years ago, through the joint research of Mavis and Precito, the Sirius Tree gained another function: magical enhancement!

It can protect mages who bear the Fairy Tail guild crest, greatly amplifying their magical power. As long as the Sirius Tree stands, guild members will not lose their lives on this island.

However, magic has both advantages and disadvantages. If Tenrou Island is destroyed, all the Fairy Tail mages on the island will rapidly lose their magical power.

"What amazing magic!"

Kira set foot on the land of Tenrou Island, carefully sensing the changes in the magical power within his body.

The magical power within him was immense, even surpassing that of Maklov and Gildarts. Logically, it should have been more difficult to detect this increase in magical power, but when he actually arrived at Tenrou Island, his keen senses proved him wrong.

Kira could react immediately to any fluctuation in the magic power within his body; this feeling was even more acute than being hit on the toe or having his elbow go numb.

After a long while, Kira opened his eyes, clenched his fist, and muttered to himself, "It's increased by about one-tenth. I wonder if this is a percentage increase based on magic power or a fixed increase..."

He turned to the others in his group and asked, "Do any of you have a clear sense of it?"

Behind Kira were Gildarts, Laxus, Erza, and Mira. These five were the examiners for the first stage of the test, and they had come here first to stop the eight examiners.

"No! Who would care about something like that!"

Clearly, apart from Kira, who has an extraordinary sensitivity to magic, the others do not have this talent. Therefore, since they already have a lot of magic, it is extremely difficult for them to notice the changes in their bodies.

On the other hand, unless they encounter a life-or-death battle, they are not the kind of people who care about how much magic they have. In their hearts, it is always "enough to protect their companions with magic power!"

Kira sighed, "There are still three days until the exam. Sending us here so early, are they trying to get us to set up camp here first? Honestly..."

After saying that, he suddenly changed his tone and said like a tour guide, "Since you've come all this way, why don't you all explore the island on your own first and then meet up later?"

Chapter 293 Camping on Sirius Island

Kira's proposal was accepted by Gildarts and Laxus, but rejected by Mira and Erza.

"What?! You have absolutely no adventurous spirit! We're Fairy Tail! The name of our guild represents endless unknowns and adventures! Why are you refusing?!"

Somewhere on Tenrou Island, at Fairy Tail's camp, five figures were preparing for the S-rank assessment three days later: setting up tents, starting a fire, gathering firewood, and washing cooking utensils...

Everyone is very busy!

As it turns out, you can't fight city hall.

Erza, hands on her hips, snapped at Kira, "The exam is the most important thing right now! Besides, this is the guild's sacred ground, not some MapleStory!"

Erza had changed into an apron over her dress and was holding a metal spoon half her height, looking every bit the cook. Mira was happily helping her, her face beaming with her usual smile.

"Honestly...it's just like a nagging mother worrying about her kids who are about to take the college entrance exam..."

Kira muttered to himself as he and Gildarts frantically set up the tent.

However, neither of them had any experience in this area, so their efforts were inefficient. Of course, this was also partly due to the fact that they had been playing around the whole time.

Tread...  

Footsteps drew closer, and Laxus emerged from the forest carrying a pile of firewood. Upon seeing Kira and Gildarts frolicking, his expression froze for a moment, then turned into one of fury at being teased.

"What are you two doing?! Weren't you supposed to be setting up a tent?"

Kira turned around and waved: "Hey, good job, Laxus! Now that you're back, I'll leave the tent-pitching to you! This thing is so difficult to handle, Gildarts and I have no idea how to do it!"

"If that's the case, why did you rush to do it just now?!"

Although Laxus was extremely annoyed, Kira pretended not to notice his anger and lazily said, "I wanted to give it a try because I'd never done it before! But now I realize I can't handle it, so I'm leaving it to you! Besides, you're Ray, you'll be able to gather firewood faster..."

"Damn it! Do you think I use lightning to travel all the time?"

Kira pretended not to hear, took the firewood from Laxus, and ran to the side: "Then the tent is yours, and I'll take care of the rest of the life!"

As he said this, he took a thick, long branch from the woodpile and began to rub it together to start a fire.

Laxus became even angrier: "You're actually using friction to start a fire? Are you a caveman? If you want to start a fire, you can just use magic, right?"

“What do you know? This is what creates the atmosphere of camping in the wild!” Kira retorted. “Using magic would just be cheating, wouldn’t it?”

Before Laxus could speak, Gildarts leaned in, his eyes gleaming as he watched Kira's movements with great interest: "Oh! This looks interesting! How about we have a contest to see who can get the fire first?"

He's clearly a man in his fifties or sixties, but at this moment he's acting like a teenager.

"I'll fight you to the bitter end!"

Slurp slurp...

The sound of the wood turning filled the air, and Laxus's rage increased by 1...

"This is so interesting! Isn't Laxus coming?"

"How could someone as hypocritical as him do something like this? I bet he's thinking of beating us, but he's too ashamed to actually compete!"

"You two..."

Laxus's face flushed with anger. He gave a low shout, rolled up his sleeves, and walked over... sitting down next to the two of them, and began to start a fire by rubbing sticks together.

"Stop looking down on me!!!"

Sobbing sobbing sobbing...

Boom!Boom!Boom!

Erza appeared behind the three of them without them noticing, and tapped each of them on the head with an iron spoon: "You three better get to work!!"

One minute later...

"combustion!"

"flame!"

Kira squatted in front of a small pile of firewood, looking utterly hopeless, and cast a fire spell with each hand.

Boom! Whoosh!

As the words fell, the spell took effect. The magic used magic power as fuel and the spell as a medium, and the firewood was instantly ignited, bursting into flames.

On the other side, Gildarts stood in front of rows of logs, his masterful shredding magic quickly cutting a pile of logs into pieces; as for Laxus, although he had already done the work of gathering firewood, he was still helping to set up the tent.

There's no other way. If they really have to rely on Kira and Gildarts, they might end up sleeping on the ground or in trees tonight.

"Seriously, if we're just building shelter, why not just use magic to create it right away? Why go through all this trouble?" Kira got up and walked over, watching the two busy at work. "I wonder if magic like the Wooden Pillar House is even possible..."

Laxus slammed his hammer into the ground, driving the stake in, and said angrily, "Shut up! If you can do it, then do it now. If you can't, then shut up and stay in the corner! Stop making sarcastic remarks!"

He was the only one who couldn't be helped; he could only use his strength.

Hearing his words, Kira thought for a couple of seconds, then turned and walked towards Mira and Erza: "Since you've said so, then I'll just leave it at that."

By evening, all the work had been completed.

The group set up tents, tidied up the kitchen, and cleaned the campsite thoroughly.

After enjoying a delicious meal, the group started stargazing and chatting, looking like a single father with his four children on a camping trip.

On the open ground, a large, exquisite white cloth covered the hand-cut wooden floor, separating the five people lying in a row from the earth. Without soiling their clothes, it allowed them to smell the earthy fragrance in the air, see the twinkling stars in the night sky, and experience the tranquil night that enveloped the entire Sirius Island.

"That's great! Camping is so much fun, isn't it?"

Kira rested his hands behind his head, his sky-blue eyes reflecting the starlight above. At this moment, he didn't need to think about how to cultivate and use magic, nor did he need to worry about Zeref or the black dragon. This leisurely and peaceful atmosphere made him feel very comfortable.

Hearing his words, Laxus, who was not far away, suddenly spoke up, cursing, "That's because you did almost nothing!"

Kira replied lazily with some nonsensical words, "You're older, so you definitely have to do more! It's the old saying, 'the older you are, the more you have to do'!"

Laxus ranted: "What do you mean by 'older'?! Why should older people do more?! Who made this rule?! And this 'older people should do more' nonsense? There's no such thing as that!"

“Well said!” Gildas’s voice boomed as he interrupted their conversation. “Young people should be given more experience, otherwise when will they ever mature? That’s what the saying ‘the young should do more’ means!”

Laxus was even more indignant: "Come on! You old man are not a decent person either! What 'young people should do more work' is even more outrageous!"

"You three are so noisy! Get some peace and quiet!"

Just then, Erza joined the conversation, "They've been chattering away ever since we started setting up camp. With so much energy, is it a clash between puberty and menopause?!"

The three of them fell silent instantly.

"Oh dear! Erza's way of talking now sounds just like Kira's... no! It's exactly like those old men who come to the guild tavern every day to drink and brag!"

"What did you say?!"

"You just said it was an older man?"