Searching High and Low for an Opponent

At the beach, Makarov used Giant Magic, his body shooting upwards rapidly, transforming into a three-meter-tall giant in the blink of an eye.

He bent down and easily set up a tent, his movements as effortless as building blocks.

Ur helped pack the supplies, taking things out of his backpack one by one.

Carla and Lily weren't idle either; the two cats, holding ropes and wooden stakes, flew back and forth, helping to secure the tent.

"After the president grew bigger, his strength also increased; he almost drove the wooden stake through the ground when setting up a tent."

Lily flicked its tail, its tone tinged with helplessness.

Makarov was completely oblivious, humming a tune as he hung the flag on the tent, in a wonderfully good mood.

Inside the eight caves, one by one, they all displayed their true skills.

Natsu, relying on his keen sense of smell, accurately located the cave where Gildarts was.

He stood in the passageway, took two deep breaths, and his expression changed from focused to ecstatic.

"I was right!"

He rushed into the cave and saw Gildarts leaning against a large rock, legs crossed, looking like he had been waiting for a long time.

Natsu was incredibly excited, his fists clenched, magic surging within him, and flames seeping out from between his knuckles.

This is different from any other fight; today he can finally have a real battle with Gildarts.

"Only by fighting Gildarts can I prove I deserve to be an S-Class!"

Happy flapped his wings and landed on a rock in the corner of the cave.

It knew it couldn't get involved in the battle; what was the point of flying around inside the cave? It might as well find a good spot to be a spectator.

"Ah, Natsu is so stubborn."

Gildarts chuckled, stood up from the rock, and dusted off his trousers.

He could already sense Natsu's restless magical power; the air was filled with the smell of burning.

"You're really persistent, kid. You learned it all from Riyao."

The two mines accurately struck the largest mine.

They entered the Riyao Cave one after the other, then paused.

When Gray saw Riyao, his expression turned as if he'd eaten shit; his entire face scrunched up.

"No way?! We were the last to arrive on the island, and we still managed to run into you?!"

Leo rubbed his hands together, a business-like smile on his face, his tone slightly obsequious.

"Look, we're practically Celestial Spirit colleagues, can you go a little easier on me?"

Riyao sat in the center of the cave, sneezed, and rubbed his nose.

"You want me to go easy on you, and you still dare to curse me in your heart?"

The two of them paused for a second, then spoke in unison.

"If you want to beat us up, just say so. Don't make up such lame excuses!"

Riyao smiled but didn't say anything, but that smile sent chills down their spines.

After a series of divinations, Cana closed her eyes, threw several twigs, and muttered incantations.

Finally, she led Lisanna into Mirajane's cave.

As soon as she entered the room, she slapped her face with one hand, making a loud smack, her expression bitter.

"Oh no, the divination was done with Lisanna as the main person in charge, and it went straight to her sister."

Lisanna clasped her hands together, widened her eyes, and tried her best to look innocent, hoping to get away with it by being cute.

"Sister, I'm your dear, adorable little sister, please have mercy!"

Mirajane stood in the center of the cave, and when he saw the two Na's, the corners of his mouth curled up wider and wider.

Her laughter was unrestrained and exuberant, unleashing a burst of magic that stirred up a gust of wind, sending pebbles flying through the cave.

"Of course I will love you all dearly."

Lisanna and Cana exchanged a glance and simultaneously swallowed.

That word "affection" sounds a little scary.

The Phantom Lord Troupe arrived at the cave where Erza was.

Gajeel became excited as soon as he saw Erza. He had long wanted to compete with the S-Class Mages in the guild and see what the difference was between Fairy Tail's S-Class and Phantom Lord's S-Class.

Juvia stood beside him, her expression solemn, her hands already gathering magic, water flowing around her fingertips.

Gajeel transformed his right hand into a serrated sword and swung it forward, the iron blade slicing through the air with a whooshing sound.

I'm going to eat all of your broken sword today!

Juvia had already activated her magic, transforming her body into a stream of water, making her semi-transparent with water ripples flowing across her surface.

"Juvia will give it her all!"

Erza held the Edgeless sword, twirled it, the blade drawing an arc in the air before pointing it diagonally at the ground.

"I'm sorry, Edgeless is a wooden sword."

She paused, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"If you like it, I can put it in your mouth."

Gajeel's expression froze for a second, then he became even more excited.

"Interesting! Come on!"

The other four teams also encountered their respective opponents.

Levy and Lucy, best friends, bumped into Mest and Wendy after navigating several turns in the cave.

Levy had prepared for battle in advance, and her fingers traced patterns in the air, actually forming several Chinese characters.

The Chinese characters floated in the air, emitting a faint golden light.

Riyao thought the Chinese characters were quite descriptive, so he taught some of them to Levy.

"It's Mest, but it's still better than running into those four."

Levy breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately tensed up again.

"Lu-chan, be careful. I vaguely remember Mest's magic, but I'm not very clear about it."

Lucy frowned, feeling that something was off, but she immediately took out her key and summoned Taurus Taurus.

"What kind of magic is Mest? I have absolutely no recollection of it."

Taurus Taurus with a loud thud, letting out a low moo.

Mest stared blankly at the Chinese characters floating in the air, lost in thought, completely absorbed in her own world.

"Those words look delicious."

Wendy stood beside him, somewhat at a loss for what to do with the situation, unsure of what to do with her hands.

"Mr. Mest, Miss Levy's Letter Magic is inedible."

She whispered a reminder, but Mest didn't listen at all and was still staring blankly at the Chinese characters.

On Freed and Elfman's side, the Thunder God Tribe have essentially entered into a civil war.

Elfman was pleased to see that his opponent wasn't S-Class Mage, and he blurted out without thinking.

"That man has great luck today!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Evergreen kicked him in the shin with considerable force.

"Idiot, Freed and Bickslow are very strong. Do you think they're easy to deal with just because they're not S-Class?"

Freed placed his right hand on the hilt of his rapier, tapping it lightly twice with his fingers, his tone flat.

"Even if they are Thunder God Tribe's teammates, I won't show them any mercy."

Bickslow struck a rock-and-roll pose, flicking his fingers through the air, completely hyped up.

"Haha, we've been underestimated, darlings! Let's show them what you're really capable of!"

The totems hovering around Bickslow emitted sharp sounds that echoed through the cave.

"No mercy... no mercy..."

Each of the eight groups participating in the assessment encountered their own opponent.