Rules? Schemes? They Really Weren't That Important~

"Now, I will announce the contents of this exam to you all!" Standing at the entrance of the forest, Makarov turned around and looked at the six people participating in the exam.

The theme of this assessment is survival and hunting!

"This forest is home to all sorts of magical beasts, which I have categorized into four levels based on their strength. Your task is to fight these beasts in this forest."

Just as Makarov finished speaking, a small, rabbit-like demon suddenly darted out of the bushes beside him. Seeing so many people standing there, the rabbit demon turned and tried to run away, but Makarov, with lightning speed, knocked it unconscious with a single blow of his staff.

Surprisingly, a small magic circle suddenly appeared on the body of the stunned rabbit, and then a small green card fell out of the magic circle.

Makarov bent down to pick up the green plaque, held it up to show Laxus and the others, and then said, "Defeating monsters of varying strengths will earn you corresponding points, and this little plaque is the proof of your points, the only proof."

"This green plaque, found on the weakest monster, represents one point. Above it are blue plaques, representing 10 points; purple plaques, 100 points; and gold plaques, belonging to a powerful monster that can definitely be classified as S-Class, worth 1000 points."

Upon hearing this, Laxus, Erza, and Mira's expressions became much more serious. They hadn't expected to encounter such a powerful monster in this trial; it was truly exciting!

Makarov observed the expressions on everyone's faces and continued, "The total number of each color's tokens is limited. Once the limit is reached, it's pointless to continue defeating monsters of the same level."

This rule is to prevent people from intentionally using low-level monsters to farm points, Erza and the others naturally have no objections. Right now, all they can think about is the gold badge and 1000 points; they haven't even considered the issue of farming points.

At this point, Makarov stopped talking and slowly pulled out three white placards from behind him, sticking them around the necks of Laxus, Erza, and Mira before continuing.

"Furthermore, in this assessment, you are not only hunters, but also potential prey. As an S-Class Mage, Eleven will also be hunting you during this assessment. If you are unfortunately found by him, and your white identity tokens are taken away during the battle, then you will be considered disqualified."

"The assessment will last for 24 hours, and the person who gets the most points at the end will have the opportunity to be promoted to S-Class."

"That's roughly the set of rules. Do you have any further questions?"

A hush fell over the room; no one uttered a sound as they all continued to process what Makarov had said. Erza and Mira exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of bitterness in each other's eyes.

Not only do they have to hunt powerful monsters, but they also have to be constantly on guard against Eleven's sneak attacks. No wonder the theme is "Hunting and Survival"—it truly deserves to be an S-Class assessment!

However, this level of difficulty was absolutely not enough to defeat Mira and Erza. The two girls quickly regained their fighting spirit, snorted coldly and turned their heads away, cursing each other as cowards in their hearts and vowing to defeat each other and become the first S-Class Mage.

Seeing that no one spoke, Makarov assumed they agreed there were no problems, so he waved his hand and shouted, "Then, the test begins!"

As soon as they finished speaking, Laxus and Freed dashed into the forest like arrows. Erza and Mira didn't hesitate either, finding their respective partners and following closely behind.

At this moment, Cana moved closer to Erza, whispering to Erza as they ran.

"Erza, what do you think our role is in this assessment?"

Erza glanced back at Cana with a puzzled look, unsure how to answer. A helper, of course, is meant to fight alongside you, what else could they do?

Cana's little head was spinning rapidly. Ignoring Erza's bewilderment, she continued, "Actually, if we're really dealing with monsters, Erza, you can handle them all by yourself. I don't think adding me would make much of a difference in difficulty. So I think the value of an assistant should be reflected in another aspect."

"That means that when Eleven finds you, your assistant should hold Eleven off, while you are responsible for protecting your qualification token..."

"I disagree! I would never abandon my companions and run away!" Before Cana could finish speaking, Erza suddenly interrupted her with a serious expression, even stopping in her tracks, turning around, and intending to correct Cana's thinking.

Cana was startled by Erza's sudden braking, and then fell silent. She was just staying to stop Eleven; it wasn't that serious. Eleven wouldn't do anything to her.

Seriously, Erza is so rigid!

Seeing that Erza was about to start scolding her again, Cana quickly took out a card, waved it in front of Erza, and changed the subject.

"Let's not talk about that. Erza, look at this card. Doesn't it look a lot like the cards the guild leader showed us before?"

Erza: [·_·]

Cana grinned mischievously and continued, "The guild leader specifically emphasized twice that those cards were the only proof of our points. Do you know what that means?"

Erza thought for a moment, then looked on with a sudden realization, her expression towards Cana somewhat strange.

Cana knew Erza wasn't stupid, and chuckled, "That's right, it means that those cards don't necessarily have to be obtained from monsters; you can steal them from others, or rather, that's the hidden rule of this test. So, do you think I can fool Mira and Laxus with these cards?"

Having been corrupted by Eleven's mind since childhood, Cana has unknowingly become less pure and is gradually drifting further and further in the direction of lewdness.

Erza could never have come up with such a clever idea on her own. Although she's not stupid, her upright character makes it difficult for her to consider such petty tricks. She really intends to confront all kinds of magical beasts head-on.

However, being upright doesn't mean being inflexible. Erza is quite open to new things, especially Cana's various ideas, Erza she finds very appealing.

Move forward a little distance.

Just as Erza and Cana were secretly discussing how to exploit the loopholes in the assessment rules, Laxus, who was running in the lead, also stopped.

At this moment, Laxus was covered in lightning, his face contorted in a terrifying grimace, and it was unclear what evil rage he was unleashing.

"Laxus, are you alright?" Freed asked with concern.

"Freed, go hunt monsters and collect some cards."

Laxus glanced at Freed, gave an order, and then turned and walked away.

"Um... Laxus, so where are you going...?" Freed, somewhat puzzled.

"I'll go and get rid of those troublesome guys!" Laxus grinned menacingly.

"Ah! As expected of Laxus!" Freed exclaimed admiringly.

After running around for so long, Laxus finally understood the role of the assistant. Laxus had no interest in fighting monsters, so he decided to leave that kind of work to the assistant.

That old geezer just said Eleven would come to hunt them? He, the mighty Laxus, is actually being hunted?

Very well! Eleven, you're quite something! You actually planned to hunt me! You're quite something!

I want to see who's hunting whom!

Laxus no longer cares about the assessment; he's here to challenge Eleven!

Wasn't Eleven supposed to be a hunter?

Alright, then Laxus will take care of the other two teams before Eleven, so that Eleven can't be the hunter!

In this forest, only Laxus can become a hunter! Everyone else is doomed!