The S-Class Exam Begins
After a day and a night of sailing, Natsu was almost dead.
Half of his soul had already floated out of his mouth, lying face down on the ship's side, uttering muffled groans.
"Ugh... Ugh..."
Happy crouched beside him, flapping his wings against his back.
"Aye, Natsu, hang in there a little longer, we're almost there."
"I... I can't... go on..."
Natsu slowly raised his hand, then dropped it back onto the deck with a thud.
Around noon, the boat stopped some distance from Tenrou Island.
The outline of Tenrou Island can be faintly seen on the distant sea.
The examiners disembarked early in the morning, landed on Tenrou Island ahead of time, went to their respective caves, set up their positions, and waited for the unlucky ones to come to them.
Makarov stood on the second-floor railing, the wind blowing his beard backward, and he cleared his throat.
Everyone immediately fell silent, all eyes turning to him.
"Now I'm going to announce the rules for the first assessment."
He paused, glanced at the people below, and a slight smile appeared at the corner of his eye.
"The rules are simple. There are eight cave entrances on the beach of our guild's Tenrou Island. You can choose one to enter."
"You might encounter obstacles from examiners, or you might face competition from other examinees. Whether you pass depends on your luck and your own abilities."
Lucy raised her hand to ask a question, her fingers held upright.
"So when do we start making the selection?"
Makarov's lips curled into a meaningful smile.
"From now on, from here."
This statement was so simple that it left everyone present momentarily stunned.
What? Now? On the ship?
Everyone looked at each other, still trying to process what was happening.
[Dark Ecriture - Wings]
Freed was the first to react.
He unfurled a pair of black magical wings on his back, grabbed Bickslow's wrist, and soared into the air, flying rapidly towards Tenrou Island.
At the same time, the spell he had inscribed on the ship was instantly activated, and a layer of light purple light enveloped the entire ship.
"Sorry, it will be untied in a little while."
Freed's voice floated down from the air, carrying a hint of apology, but more so a sense of smugness that said, "I was prepared all along."
The crew members on the ship were stunned for a second, then erupted in chaos.
"Despicable! Utterly despicable!"
"Freed, you actually inscribed a spell on the ship beforehand!"
"Let us out!"
Levy the first to take out a pen, squat down, and begin writing and drawing on the spell shield.
Her fingers slid rapidly across the light shield, she muttered incantations, her brows furrowing and relaxing repeatedly.
"Here... and then here... it's broken!"
A small opening appeared in the surgical technique, just big enough for one person to squeeze through.
"Levy-chan, you're amazing!"
Lucy clenched her fists, her eyes shining.
"Hmph, it's nothing, it's nothing."
Levy wiped her nose, her lips curled into a wide smile, but her hands didn't stop moving, continuing to widen the opening.
Then she grabbed Lucy's hand, and the two of them squeezed through the gap, jumped into the sea with a splash, and swam towards Tenrou Island.
Evergreen also took out a pen and traced a few lines on the light shield with her finger.
"That guy, Freed, his techniques are still the same old thing, there's nothing new about them."
She quickly deciphered the spell, grabbed Elfman's arm, and jumped down.
"Oh, Evergreen, you're amazing!"
Elfman shouted in mid-air.
"We've been teammates for so long, of course I know a little bit."
Evergreen didn't turn her head, her tone carrying a hint of smugness.
Lisanna also took out a pen and squatted down next to the light shield to write and draw.
Cana looked over in surprise, her eyes wide open.
"You can do that too? When did you learn it?"
"My brother-in-law taught me, so I only know a little bit."
Lisanna was a little slower at deciphering the code than Levy and Evergreen. She got stuck halfway through writing, biting her pen for a few seconds before continuing.
But they eventually succeeded in breaking the spell and pulled Cana down with them.
In mid-air, she received the Dolphin Soul, and a faint blue magical glow appeared around her body.
The instant she fell into the water, she transformed into a water arrow, carrying Cana towards Tenrou Island, leaving a white trail on the sea surface.
Mest calmly stood up, walked over to Wendy, and extended her hand.
Are you ready?
Wendy nodded and took his hand.
Mest grabbed Wendy's wrist, magic surged, and the two of them vanished from their spot in an instant.
The next second, they appeared on the sea surface dozens of meters away.
The next second, it disappeared from the spot again.
They appeared several times in succession, even faster than the groups that had gone out earlier, and were already approaching the coast of Tenrou Island.
Happy wanted to fly out of the air with Natsu, so he pulled Natsu upwards.
Before it had even flown halfway, it crashed into the top of the spell with a thud.
"Ouch! That guy Freed doesn't even spare the top!"
Happy held his head, tears welling up in his eyes.
Natsu lay face down on the deck, practically terrified.
But he still struggled to his feet and, with all his might, punched the magical light barrier.
Boom!
At the same time, Gajeel also punched the spell from the other side.
Boom!
The two men slammed their fists into the light shield simultaneously, but the shield remained completely still.
"I hate spells!"
"I hate spells!"
The two spoke in unison.
Juvia looked around and found that Gray was still on the ship, so he immediately went over and patted his chest.
"Lord Gray, would you like Juvia to take you ashore later? Juvia can use the current to safely transport Lord Gray there!"
"No need, I have a better way."
Gray stood with his hands in his pockets, his tone indifferent.
"Lord Gray is truly amazing!"
Juvia cupped her face in her hands, her eyes sparkling.
Gajeel stomped his feet beside him, the iron rod clanging loudly on the ground.
Hey Juvia, you two are rivals now!
Juvia glanced at Gajeel and clicked his tongue.
That "tsk" sound was clean, crisp, and extremely lethal.
Lily shook his head and sighed beside him, flicking his tail slightly.
"There's a reason why Iron Dragon is unpopular."
Carla shrugged.
"Who can argue with that?"
After a while, the spell was finally broken.
The light shield shattered with a snap, turning into specks of purple light that dissipated into the air.
Happy the first to rush out, grabbing Natsu and flying towards Tenrou Island.
"Wow! It's on fire!"
The pale green on Natsu's face vanished instantly, replaced by a burning fighting spirit.
"Aye!"
Gray flipped off the ship, his feet landing on the sea. Instantly, frost magic spread out, and a straight icy road stretched towards Tenrou Island.
He reached out and caught Leo, who jumped down after him, and the two stood side by side on the ice.
"Charge through in one fell swoop!"
"No problem, partner!"
The two glided across the ice at great speed, leaving a trail of ice crystal fragments behind them.
Juvia's eyes reddened, and they were practically spitting fire.
She grabbed Gajeel by the back of his collar, kicked him off the boat, and then jumped in herself.
In mid-air, she transformed into a stream of water, engulfing Gajeel within it, and the surging waves rushed towards Tenrou Island.
"Why isn't the person you're holding Juvia?! Damn it, it's all your fault!"
"Huh? What does this have to do with me?!"
Gajeel was tumbling in the water, head down and feet up, completely bewildered.
The large ship continued its journey, slowly approaching Tenrou Island.
Only Makarov, Ur, Carla, and Lily remained on the ship.
Makarov stood at the bow of the ship, the wind blowing through his beard and hair, watching several groups of people rushing towards Tenrou Island, his eyes filled with emotion.
"They've all grown up."
Ur walked over to him, crossed his arms, and smiled slightly.
"Yeah, they're all pretty troublesome."
This assessment has only just begun.