The Dawn of Victory

Macao patted himself all over, finding no hair at all, and looked rather embarrassed. He didn't dare look in Wakaba's direction at all. He had just mocked the other person for being stupid, and now he had lost his own hair too. This was too shameful.

"Ahem, it seems I underestimated those two brats." Macao coughed, feigning composure as he spoke.

This time, it was Wakaba's turn to look smug, as if losing the magic crystals or something didn't matter at all, and that the happiest thing in the world was that his best buddy could suffer together.

"Hahaha, you two are so embarrassing!" Gildarts, who was standing to the side, couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

Gildarts laughed as he patted Macao and Wakaba on the shoulder, showing no intention of giving them any face. Although Gildarts was almost ten years older than them, he was considered an old friend from the same generation in the guild, and he couldn't possibly hold back such a funny incident.

Macao and Wakaba were red-faced from being teased. The two grown men in their thirties had been tricked by two teenagers, and they were furious no matter how they thought about it.

Macao suddenly snapped his fingers, and a purple flame precisely lit the cigarette that Wakaba had in his mouth.

"Wakaba, how about we team up for now, and then settle things after we've dealt with the brat?"

Wakaba took a deep drag on his cigarette and exhaled rings of white smoke.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. We absolutely can't let those two brats look down on us!"

After saying that, the two bumped fists. To protect their senior's face, these two old buddies finally chose to join forces again after many years to fight the enemy together.

Gildarts watched the two men with a smile, making no intervention. These two, having lost their magic crystals, were no longer his hunting targets. He let them disappear into the canyon, arms around each other's shoulders. Next, Gildarts would begin hunting Laxus and Eleven.

"Phew, this place should be safe for now, right?"

In a cave with a dense network of passages, Eleven gradually revealed himself, leaning against the wall and panting heavily.

Escaping from Gildarts was no easy task. No matter how fast or cautious he ran, he always felt like he was being watched until he entered this winding underground cave and regained his sense of security.

Eleven even suspected, no, was certain, that Gildarts had deliberately let them escape; this cat-and-mouse game was infuriating.

Looking at the two glittering magic crystals in his hand, Eleven sighed inwardly; he had almost stolen three.

Eleven did indeed only have two magic crystals; the one belonging to Wakaba had really been stolen by that brat Laxus, which greatly annoyed Eleven. He regretted not warning Laxus to escape earlier!

The reason Laxus ran away was largely due to Eleven's interference. It was Elaven who warned Laxus to make a quick getaway and also who suggested that Laxus steal the Sensing Magic Crystal.

Of course, Eleven wouldn't be so kind as to help Laxus; he just wanted to use Laxus as bait.

I originally thought that the arrogant Laxus would definitely hesitate for a long time and struggle before running away, and then Eleven could take the opportunity to switch out Wakaba's magic crystal. It would be easy to use illusion magic to make a glowing stone or something, so that he could create the illusion that he and Laxus had both stolen two magic crystals at the same time.

Compared to Eleven, who tries to hide his presence and escape, Laxus, who charges around recklessly, will reveal more of his presence. Gildarts will definitely choose to chase after the more easily exposed Laxus, so that Eleven can complete the mission without anyone noticing.

However, ideals are always beautiful. Who would have thought that the usually arrogant Laxus would agree to Eleven's suggestion without hesitation and directly steal Wakaba's magic crystal! It was so fast that even Eleven didn't have time to react.

Don't let Laxus's usual irritable and foolish demeanor fool you; he's actually very shrewd and knows exactly what to do and when to do it better than anyone else. You can't fool him at all!

"Pah, shameless! I never thought you were the kind of Laxus who would steal without hesitation!" Eleven muttered shamelessly.

However, the current situation is still acceptable. Overall, Eleven still holds a significant advantage and can win at any time.

There's actually a hidden condition in this game: once someone has two magic crystals, they lose the advantage of using magic crystals to find people, because the two Sensing Magic Crystals together are always glowing.

Gildarts's magic crystal is shattered, and Laxus has two more magic crystals. This means that as long as they don't reveal their presence, everyone present, except for Eleven, is essentially blind.

What's the most important thing to do after the enemy is out of sight?

That's right, it was a sneak attack!

Find Laxus, approach stealthily, unleash a burst of speed to take him down, knock him unconscious, loot the corpse, and then turn in the quest!

(≖‿≖)✧Hehehe

Today is the day I become S-Class!

Thinking of this, Eleven's mood suddenly brightened, and his Spiritual Power, like a wild donkey unleashed, surged outwards in all directions, beginning to probe the locations of the others.

"Wow, this place is amazing!"

Although they hadn't found Laxus yet, Eleven immediately discovered something else amazing: there was a sinkhole beneath the Grand Canyon, a huge pit two or three hundred meters deep. Although there was nothing at the bottom, it was large enough to be several kilometers wide.

What surprised Eleven the most was that the pit was actually the ground they had just been standing on. That ground was just a layer of rock less than ten meters thick, and below the rock layer was this hollow pit. He really didn't know how this special landform was formed. If Eleven hadn't been in the underground cave at that moment, he would never have discovered this wonder.

However, Eleven only observed for a short while before shifting his attention. Although the deep pit was fascinating, since there was nothing inside, it was irrelevant to Eleven. He was currently taking an exam, not sightseeing, so he didn't have time to study the terrain.

The Spiritual Power continued to explore the ground, while not forgetting to remain hidden. Who knows if that bug-like Gildarts could sense the presence of the Spiritual Power?

It didn't take long for Eleven to find Laxus, who wasn't far away. However, the moment he spotted Laxus, the smug look on Eleven's face froze.

"Damn it! Those two old bastards Macao and Wakaba, are already out of magic crystals, why are they still causing trouble?!"