A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

"This tournament adopts a three-team survival elimination system. Each team consists of three mages who will engage in a free-for-all battle on an arena created using magical technology. The team that survives to the end will receive the 'Fairy Tail First Team' trophy, a prize of 500,000 J, and a three-story villa located 100 meters away on the central street!!"

Chapter 444 Three-Person Team

On the field, Makarov, in high spirits, introduced the three-person team participating in the competition to the audience.

"First up is one of the most famous teams from Fairy Tail: 'Fire Dragon' Natsu, 'Celestial Spirit' Lucy, and 'Cute Pet' Happy!!"

"Oh my god!!! It's 'Fire Dragon' Natsu!! And Miss Lucy!!!"

As soon as the first team appeared, the audience cheered in unison.

Seeing the audience's enthusiastic reaction, Makarov nodded in satisfaction: 'Just as I expected! Putting the highly popular Natsu first was definitely the right choice.'

In fact, there's a reason why Natsu is so famous!

One part of it, of course, came from the infamy he earned by destroying towns, which was a testament to his power; the other part came from Kira's "Demon Breaker," and by using the protagonist as a model, he left a deep impression on those who longed for magic but did not know how to use it.

In comparison, both Happy, who is always inseparable from Natsu, and Lucy, who is known for her relationship with her boyfriend, are merely supporting characters.

"The members of the second squad are: 'Fairy Queen' Erza, 'Wind Maiden' Wendy, and 'Catwoman' Charlene!"

"Oh oh oh!!!"

"Erza!! Erza!!..."

"Wendy-chan!! Wendy-chan!!..."

When this group appeared, the audience cheered even louder than before! This high popularity was mainly due to Erza's fame—of course, Wendy's fame was also considerable.

In fact, before joining Fairy Tail, Wendy had the nickname "Sky Priestess". However, because the magic guild "Cat's Nest" was not famous at the time, almost no one knew her, and naturally no one cared about the nickname of an eleven or twelve-year-old girl.

Since the Tenrou Island incident last year, under Kira's influence, the guild members started calling Wendy "the Wind Girl". Later, at some point, this nickname became a popular one, like Natsu's "Fire Dragon" and Erza's "Fairy Queen".

"Erza and Wendy, the Queen and a little girl... this is a dream team!"

In the audience, a group of perverted men, their eyes sparkling with pink hearts, drooled over the newly debuted group. "But... what is this 'catwoman'... Wow!! What does she look like?! Is she some kind of [catgirl] who has come to life?"

It's no wonder the audience reacted this way; Xia Lulu was simply too eye-catching at that moment: a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl in a white shirt, black jacket, black tie with cat paw prints, white skirt, black stockings, and black loafers, plus long hair and cat ears—she was the dream killer for countless otaku!

"That...is that Xia Lulu?! Can she transform into a human like Lili?!"

Let alone viewers who barely knew her, even her guildmates were stunned by her appearance. Some lecherous older men even had nosebleeds: "So cute!!"

Amidst the gasps of shock, only one person... or more accurately, a cat, was severely traumatized—that was Harpy, who could only be referred to as "cute pet" at the time!

At this moment, he stared blankly as his goddess stole the show, while he stood like a lackey. The cat's whole being turned ashen. He knelt on the ground in resentment, and two lines of salty, crystal tears couldn't help but flow from the corners of his eyes: "How could Xia Lulu... I feel like my entire cat life has come to an end."

Lucy and Natsu looked helpless, and could only stroke his fur with heartache, patiently comforting him, "It's not that bad, Happy. Be confident! You're great too!"

However, Harpy certainly wouldn't listen to such words now.

On the other side, Erza looked at Charlene, who was still in human form and enjoying the cheers of the audience, and asked, "Is this okay? I remember that it takes a lot of magic and stamina for a Transcendent to maintain human form, right? Can your body handle it?"

Xia Lulu smiled happily: "It's okay! This is my first time appearing in front of everyone in this form, so of course I have to maintain it for a while! Besides, this isn't my first time transforming, Wendy knows that!"

Erza looked at Wendy with a questioning look, and the little girl nodded: "What Charlene said is true! She can usually maintain this state for more than ten minutes."

"Really? That's good!"

Xia Lulu casually tossed her hair and chuckled, "Actually, more importantly, my magic is amplified in this form, and my precognitive abilities are also stronger, which will be very helpful in the upcoming match."

Erza laughed heartily: "Really? That's impressive! But don't push yourself too hard, after all, I'm here for you!"

"Do not worry!"

After a brief interruption, Makarov continued announcing the next group: "The third group consists of Kana, Gray, and Juvia!"

"That Kana and Gray? I remember they were opponents in the top 16 of last year's guild tournament, right? They're teammates this year? I can't wait!"

"I heard that Cana-chan has become an S-class mage in Fairy Tail!"

"No way?! Really? Can Kana really do that?"

Gray looked at his old friend beside him, his eyes full of mockery: "What are your thoughts after hearing everyone's opinions of you?"

Kana looked helpless, waved her hand with a wry smile, and then suddenly revealed unprecedented confidence: "I'll surprise them! I'm counting on you guys this time!"

Gray smiled and said, "Don't worry! I don't want to lose either!"

Juvia immediately became alert, her eyes fixed on Kana: "Rival in love..."

"Uh……"

"Group Four members: Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna!"

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Mira's sweet smile and adorable waving gesture immediately drew even louder cheers from the audience: "Mira-san!! Mira-san!!..."

"Another sibling duo...no surprise at all!"

"Next up are the members of the fifth group: Laxus, Fiend, and Big Sloe!"

"Finally... I can fight alongside Laxus again!" Freed was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes.

Biguslo joked, "This time, I won't let being on a different team cause any trouble!"

Laxus: "Hmph!"

"It's Laxus and his Thunder Legion! — But only two of them! Did you abandon Abba Grin? What a disgrace to you three bastards!!"

"Sixth Group Members: Gajeel, Levy, and Lillie!"

Gajeel arrogantly shouted in Natsu's direction, "Hehehe... Fire Dragon, I deliberately chose the same lineup as you. This time, we must settle this once and for all!!"

Levy exclaimed in surprise, "Huh?! You want me to fight with Rukie?"

Lilley crossed his arms and grinned: "So my opponent is Happy?"

"Hey, hey, hey?? What's going on with this team? Can they even win with this lineup?"

"Wait a minute!! Levy has left the 'Road Engine' team? Could it be that she finally realized those were two useless men? And she'd rather choose a cat than those two men?"

"Group Seven: Kira, Abba Greene, Marcus!"

"What's going on with this combination? Why would Kira, who's so strong, choose these two as teammates? Does he think he's strong enough that he can bring anyone along?"

"Hey... what do you mean 'you can bring anyone'? Are you looking down on people?"

Hearing the endless chatter from the audience, Abba Green and Marcus were furious, especially the former who had been abandoned by her teammates and was now extremely frustrated and angry.

Kira shrugged: "I didn't choose those people simply because I didn't want to be subjected to dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection)! Besides, everyone's right, with me in the team, even pigs can take flight!"

"What did you say?!" ×2

"Finally, the members of the eighth group: Gildas, Ridas, and Alzak!"

"Hey! Long time no see, everyone!" Gildas waved with a smile. "I heard the prize this time is a villa, so I came back."

His appearance stunned all the contestants from the other groups: "Gigi... Gildas?! When did he get back?!"

Gildas smiled and glanced at everyone, saying, "No matter who the opponent is, I won't show any mercy! The same goes for you, Kana!"

Kana broke out in a cold sweat, but still stubbornly replied, "I couldn't be happier!"

"Hey! If Gildas also participates in the competition, do we still have a chance?"

"Kira might be one? It would be best if those two fought to a standstill, then we'd have a chance!"

"Idiot! It's not that easy."

Natsu burst into flames and shouted excitedly, "Gildas? I'm on fire!!"

Lucy threw a punch right away: "Don't get worked up!! That's clearly not a match we can beat!!"

"Speaking of which, Gildas's teammates are incredibly weak... Do all these super-strong people like to carry two people at once?"

Hearing the voice coming from somewhere, Kira burst into triumphant laughter: "That's right! That's right! This is the first step to becoming strong! Laxus, you should learn from this, you're not even as good as Erza now!"

With a crackling sound, electricity surged through Laxus's body, and he glared fiercely at Kira: "What did you say?!"

Erza's eyes were equally hostile, and she drew her longsword: "Kira! You'd better explain what you mean by 'even Erza is no match for you'?!"

Xia Lulu: "I feel offended..."

Wendy tilted her head, looking puzzled: "Kirasan's last sentence... wasn't he saying I'm weak, was it?"

Philid and Biguslo exchanged a glance: "In other words, it means we're strong enough, right?"

"That concludes the information on the eight teams and twenty-four mages participating in this competition!" Maklov roared into the microphone, his voice echoing throughout the arena.

"Now, the competition begins!!"

Chapter 445 The Arena, Eight Perilous Situations

Last year's competition was a tower defense game similar to King of Glory, but this year's is different; it's an elimination tournament similar to PUBG.

Eight teams of three, totaling 24 people, included a few who seemed to be just there to fill the spots, but also a number of popular mages. Such a lineup was enough to get all the spectators excited.

Amidst the astonished gazes of thousands of spectators, accompanied by several metallic clangs, magical, jet-black mosaic tiles rose from the vast plaza before them, gradually forming a gigantic black magic sphere that enveloped the center.

Then, the magic crystal screen hanging in the air crackled and, after a flash, revealed the playing field made of magic within the magic sphere.

This amazing scene drew the attention of thousands of spectators.

Even some of the knowledgeable mages among them found it quite novel. Such magical technology was absolutely unheard of before, thanks to the significant breakthroughs in magical technology only in recent years—not referring to the crystal display screen, but to the technology used to construct this magical field.

"Oh oh oh!!!"

"What is this thing?? It looks amazing!!"

Even if you've never seen a pig run, many people have eaten pork. They quickly guessed how the arena was built; although the method was novel, they soon saw through it.

"A arena materialized using magic? That's some ridiculous magic! But why is it surrounded?"

Why is it surrounded? Of course, it's because the competition venue is so different from the outside environment.

Since the competition is based on the battle royale game mode, the venue should be designed to be more complex, exciting, and diverse to add more fun and interest to the event.

In addition, there are considerations regarding proportions and safety.