A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

This assessment was formulated by the three chairmen, Mavis, Precht, and Makarov, with August supplementing the details. Therefore, even Kira and the other twelve 'supporters' were unaware of the process and content, and could only proceed step by step.

Looking at the twelve candidates lined up in front of him, Kira sighed, "It feels like I'm going through the S-class exam all over again!"

"Didn't you only have Gildas as your examiner back then?"

"I meant the atmosphere, the atmosphere!"

Kira smiled at Happy, who was hovering around Natsu, "Look, the previous candidates were all too weak, even with teammates. This time, because everyone has a powerful support, it feels like there's a strong and evenly matched force. Just thinking about it is exciting."

Too watery?

Laxus, Erza, and Mira, who were not far away, were quite dissatisfied and glanced at Kira in unison.

Cana remained calm, after all, last year's session was the weakest in the past few years. If it weren't for the appearances of 'Heart of the Devil', 'Tarren's Gate', and Acnologia, the entire assessment would have been extremely boring. Fortunately, Kira wasn't just mocking Cana, so she decided to let it go for the time being.

"With so many strong guys around, this year is going to be a lot of fun... I just wonder how the president will arrange things. I'm getting a little excited just thinking about it!"

Kira smiled and said, "A chaotic free-for-all is the most fun!"

Not long after, everyone gathered again, and Mavis, as the examiner for the first round, announced the test content: "The task requirement for the first round of this S-level test is: each team must proceed in the direction of the clock corresponding to their team number and capture a monster within three hours to serve as food for the next few days."

"The restrictions are as follows: 1. Within a five-kilometer radius of this base, no matter what obstacles are encountered, you cannot turn back or change direction. Even if you encounter a mountain, you must break through or climb over it! You can only change direction after leaving a distance of five kilometers."

"2. Each candidate can only attack a monster once and bring it back as the one to be submitted for this assessment. During the capture process, the supporter cannot sell it."

"3. The monsters brought back must be alive and not missing any limbs."

"Within three hours, the more 'edible' parts of the monsters a candidate brings back, and the shorter the time taken, the higher their ranking."

"There are only eight spots for advancement in the first round, which means four candidates will be eliminated."

Mavis's voice was soft and sweet, yet she spoke clearly and logically, explaining the assessment rules in just a few words. Then, smiling at the crowd before her, without even asking if they had heard her clearly, she announced directly, "Now, the assessment begins!!!"

As he spoke, he took out a timer from his pocket and turned it off. The stopwatch immediately started ticking.

The 24 people standing in front of the girl were staring at each other, completely bewildered: ??

"Eh?! It's starting already? That's so sudden!!"

"I haven't even heard the assessment rules clearly yet!!"

"Following the clock's direction, you should first clearly state where 12 o'clock is and where 6 o'clock is!"

Fortunately, besides a few people whose brains were all muscle, there were also those with online intelligence who were used to analyzing things: "The substitute can only act once? And it has to be used on the monster that was brought back? That means that before and after that, no matter what monster is encountered, the supporter can only deal with it, right?"

"I thought we were going to have a free-for-all, but it turns out we're going to be babysitters?!"

Of course, there were also those who only had a vague understanding of the rules: "Yosh! I don't quite understand, but basically it's about capturing the largest monster, right?"

"Are you even listening?! The rules say 'edible parts,' not the largest size!! If we bring a monster that's covered in shells or is poisonous, we lose!!"

"Gajeel, please don't cut off the monster's limbs!!"

"I understand! I'll try my best not to use the Iron Dragon Sword!"

The swordsman rebuked him without any politeness: "Not 'try your best,' but 'absolutely not'!! You can only attack once. If you miss and hit it, I'll cut you down!"

"Mountains can be cut through, rivers can be dammed—isn't that Kira's forte?!"

"If we encounter other teams during the process, we can help them, right?"

"..."

The commotion took up fifteen minutes.

"Shut up! What are you all doing here?! Get out of here now! If we exceed three hours or fail to capture the monster, it will be considered a failure!!"

At Makarov's roar, the group awkwardly determined their direction and then sprinted forward.

This stronghold is a valley surrounded by mountains, where there are few magical beasts. No matter which direction the candidates set off from, they will inevitably encounter mountains blocking their way within five kilometers.

In other words, the mountain in front of them is essentially an unavoidable problem for the candidates.

Since the substitutes cannot take action, this problem can only be solved by the supporters; otherwise, they would have to climb over the mountains. These mountains are not very high, but climbing them would inevitably take a lot of time.

The mages were full of energy, and the distance of several kilometers was no problem for them. They soon arrived at the foot of the mountain.

When problems arise, they must be solved, and the mages of 'Fairy Tail' are best at solving problems by fighting! They may not have much else, but they have plenty of physical strength and magic power, and they are incredibly agile!

Faced with a mountain blocking their path, each team displayed their unique abilities, which can be roughly categorized as follows:

[One-on-One] Mode: Wendy, who can now control the wind, easily carries Demalia over the mountain; Freed and Kira can use magic to create wings, making it easy for them to carry Jellal and Natsu respectively; Cana, although she can't fly, uses the magic card she bought from Kira at a high price to summon a magic flying carpet, carrying the over 200-pound Elfman over the mountain with difficulty;

[Both Can Fly] Mode: Abrams and Erza, one with fairy wings and the other with black feather armor, can easily traverse mountains and valleys; Mira transforms into a demon, and Bicuse leaps on a puppet, both can fly; Lisanna gains the ability to fly after receiving the animal soul—the bird, while her teammate Laxus can transform into lightning, although it consumes some magic power, it doesn't matter much to him;

[Violent Demolition] Mode: Dispel violently clears a path with several slashes, directly splitting a trail through the hill; Gildarts uses shattering magic, advancing over the mountain ruins;

[Clever Use of Magic] Mode: Gray's "Ice Creation War God Spear" sent two people flying into the sky; Brandish used shape magic to turn the mountain into small stones; Serena used Rock Dragon Slayer magic to change the terrain, all of which were relatively peaceful.

Meanwhile, at the base, the four humans and three cats weren't idle; they engaged in a spectacular battle of strength.

With Mebis as the referee, the three old men Auguste, Precito, and Makarov formed one team, while the three kittens Happy, Charlo, and Lili formed the other, setting off a tense and exciting showdown!

The three people on the left are all white-haired, one of whom has even developed a receding hairline; the three cats on the right are young and strong, two of whom can even transform into human form, and there are six identical iron barrels next to them.

"Are you ready?" Mavis slowly walked to the center and asked seriously and earnestly.

"Ready!" the three people and three cats said in unison.

"Is there anything you want to say to your opponents?"

The others shook their heads, but Precito snorted sarcastically: "Fishing is a health-preserving activity, and my skills in this area are second to none!"

Seeing the old man opposite him spouting such nonsense, Happy sneered and took out the "Never Go Home Fishing Rod" he had bought from Kira from the small blue package on his back!

Chapter 580 The True Purpose of the First Trial

With this amazing tool in hand, I've got my fishpond!

"We...are not fighting alone!"

Holding the "Never Go Home Fishing Rod," Happy felt a surge of pride, as if he could breathe in the heavens and earth, extract the sun and moon, and turn the world upside down. For the first time, he felt incredibly cool!

Three mere old human men dare to compete with us young and strong felines in fishing? How ridiculous!

This "Never Go Home Fishing Rod," also known as a telescopic fishing rod, can be adjusted to any length and has excellent flexibility. It was bought by Harpy from Kira a long time ago.

Since acquiring it, Harpy has been incredibly successful at fishing, catching countless fish with his hook. It's a true marvel of skill and his secret weapon for conquering the fishing grounds!

In Harpy's eyes, these three old men were already old and blind, how could they possibly recognize the weapon in his hand? Little did they know that Augustus and Precito had already seen that the fishing rod in Harpy's hand possessed special magic, but they were just unaware of the specific effects.

As someone's cold sweat dripped down, a tense and exciting competition officially began!

"The fishing competition begins!"

Whoosh...

With a few soft clicks, the fishing line formed a perfect parabola in the air.

The fishing hook, baited with fish, shot through the air, and the iron hook sank into the river with a 'thud,' stirring up subtle ripples that gradually subsided, leaving all the killing intent lurking underwater.

The next moment, the fisherman and the fishing cat simultaneously closed their eyes and focused their mental energy on the fishing rod in their hands. All their senses carefully perceived its subtle changes, while their bodies seemed to merge with nature, completely forgetting themselves, as still as a virgin, waiting for the right moment to act.

Da...da...da...

The air seemed to freeze at that moment, with only Mebius crouching between the three people and the three cats, looking at her petite reflection on the river, her bright eyes blinking to prove that time was still passing.

……

On the other side, the twelve teams climbed over the hills, crossed the five-kilometer boundary, and arrived at their respective hunting grounds.

"Once you're here, you're free to move around!"

Kira looked around and said to Natsu, whose eyes were practically spitting fire, "What's your next move?"

"Keep moving forward!!"

"What kind of magical beast do you want to hunt?"

"The biggest one!!"

Kira: "..."

I knew it! You can't have much hope for someone like Natsu who hardly uses his brain.

With a helpless sigh, the two continued forward, while Kira began his lesson: "Natsu, do you know the purpose of this level?"

"What's the purpose?"

Fortunately, although Natsu can't think, he can hear what's being said.

“Recall the rules: each candidate can only make one move, and that move must be used on the monster they bring back. We are unfamiliar with this place, both in terms of the types of monsters and the terrain. Moreover, there is a three-hour time limit. In other words, apart from luck and strength, this test mainly examines your reconnaissance, analytical, judgment, and calculation abilities.”

"The most difficult part of the whole process is that we need to scout out all the monsters we can encounter within the area as quickly as possible and analyze which one has the most parts that can be used as food."

"We also need to consider the time spent fighting the monsters and the round trip! There are two things to note here: during the battle, you can't use your full strength as usual because we need to bring them back alive; and on the return trip, carrying the monsters will slow down our movement speed... If we miscalculate the time for the whole process, we might be doomed this time!"

"Mmm...I understand!"

Although Natsu didn't quite understand what Kira was saying, he repeatedly assured him that he knew Kira wouldn't betray him in this matter, so he readily handed over all the tasks that required thinking to Kira, just like he usually listened to Erza and Lucy.

You have absolutely no idea!!

Kira could tell what Natsu was thinking just by looking at his expression.

But there was no way around it. Although this was Natsu's test, it was his responsibility as a supporter to help hunt and analyze the questions. Mainly, Mavis and Makarov said that the supporter of the person who ultimately obtained an S-rank spot would also receive a mysterious gift.

With guests from the Western Continent present, even if Makarov were stingy, he couldn't possibly try to fool people with a bunch of coupons, right?

With this in mind, Kira decided to do everything in his power to help Natsu become an S-class mage!

"Also, you need to be careful of the other teams!"

"What?! People from other teams?"

Kira nodded, then began to imagine the darkest possibilities: "Exactly! If they're waiting on our way back and targeting the monsters you've already acquired, it'll be two against one! Two of them against one of me, and you can't even intervene because you've already used up your monster-targeting attempts!"

"Huh?! You can do that?!?!!"

Natsu was completely stunned, his triangular eyes staring blankly at Kira: Wasn't the idea that everyone would each fight a monster and then bring back a comparison of who had the most meat? How could they steal it??

For the first time, he realized how dark Kira's heart was, that he even doubted and schemed against his own comrades.

"The ones you need to be most careful of are Lucy and Brandish, who are closest to us, and Wendy and Timalia. Their magic is very strong, so they should be able to find their target monster quickly..."