The Grand Magic Games Preliminaries Begin

When Riyao passed by Future Lucy, it quietly left a mark.

I'll come see her again when I have time.

The group returned to the hotel, took off their hoods, and collapsed onto the beds.

In the next room, Erza's roar was so clear it sounded like it was right next to her ear.

Immediately following was the sound of a window being smashed open, and Ye Yi flew out with his three apprentices, tracing an arc in the air.

Waiting and waiting.

Cana had already finished two barrels of Baihua wine; the barrels were lying on their side on the ground, with a few drops still hanging from the rim.

Her cheeks were flushed, and she let out a loud burp, filling half the room with the smell of alcohol.

"The Hundred Flowers Wine from the Flower Capital is quite delicious, burp."

"Keep drinking, or you won't be able to walk later."

Mirajane snatched the barrel and tossed it into the corner.

The wooden barrel rolled twice on the ground before hitting the wall and coming to a stop.

Cana hugged Mirajane tightly, hanging on her body and burying her face in Mirajane's chest.

"Hehe, Mira just hug me later."

Riyao reached out, pressed a finger against Cana's forehead, and pulled her away from Mirajane.

"Go away, don't hug my Mira."

"You stingy person."

"Ha, drunkard."

The two were bickering animatedly, exchanging words at a faster and faster pace.

Wendy sat on the edge of the bed, nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, her fingers crumpling the fabric.

She had already clenched her skirt so tightly that it had several creases.

Laxus leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and glanced at her.

"What's there to be nervous about?"

His tone was harsh, and it didn't sound like he was trying to comfort anyone.

It sounds more like he's lecturing someone.

Wendy became even more nervous, her shoulders hunched, and the hem of her clothes was already crumpled into a ball.

Laxus scratched his head in confusion, running his fingers through his hair, completely unaware of what the problem was.

The three members of Riyao were speechless for a moment, then sighed in unison.

Mirajane walked over, squatted down, patted Wendy's head, and gently ruffled her hair with her palm.

"Don't be nervous, we're very strong. We'll easily crush all the guilds, and even Sabertooth will be just a stepping stone."

But I'm afraid of holding others back.

Wendy's voice was soft, her head was down, and her eyes were fixed on her toes.

"It's okay, you're the one holding us back, I'll pull us forward, we're even, right?"

Riyao chuckled and teased Wendy, then winked at her.

Wendy pursed her lips, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and nodded.

Thump!

The Midnight bells rang, echoing round and round over the city.

A giant Pumpkin head projection appeared above the city, Pumpkin face grinning with an exaggerated smile.

"Pumpkin! Sorry everyone, the Grand Magic Games preliminary rounds have officially begun."

Countless parts rose into the air from all directions, assembling into a giant spherical maze, with dirt and gravel falling from the edges.

Countless staircases extend from the various entrances of the maze, connecting the balconies of all the participants' rooms, gleaming faintly in the night.

"The rules for this preliminary round are as follows. The venue is called 'Giant Egg Frau,' and participants need to navigate the maze to find the finish line to complete the challenge."

"By the way, there are only eight spots available, Pumpkin."

Riyao and the others stretched their muscles, and their necks cracked twice.

"Cana, would you like a fortune telling?"

"No problem, I've been practicing my divination and alcohol tolerance diligently for the past three months."

"..."

The group was somewhat speechless.

After three months of intensive practice, I've mastered tarot card reading?!

What the heck is this "alcohol tolerance" thing?!

Cana took out a tarot card from her pocket, flipped the back of the card over her fingertip, and handed it to Riyao.

Riyao randomly picked out a few cards without even looking at them.

Cana took the cards, looked down at them, and tapped her fingers back and forth between the cards.

She pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised her head and pointed in a certain direction.

"In this direction!"

[Life Mimicry - Celestial Spirit]

Riyao with its five fingers spread out, a gravitational field expanded, dragging the group of people along as they sped off in that direction.

The five people seemed to be supported by an invisible giant hand, suspended half a meter above the ground, and then shot out with a whoosh.

Inside the giant spherical maze, the paths are intricate and complex, with stone slabs floating in the air, some horizontal, some vertical, and some diagonal.

Upside down, unable to distinguish left from right.

Looking up, you can see other teams running upside down overhead, their feet touching the ceiling.

Each door, different in color, leads to a completely different scene inside.

One second it's a desert, the next it's an ice field, and then you push open the door to find the whole room flooded with water.

Every now and then, someone would misstep and fall straight down from the maze, their screams echoing from the sky and fading into the distance.

On the way, Cana and Mirajane worked together to perform divination.

Mirajane draws cards, Cana interprets them, and the more she points, the more accurate the direction becomes.

Riyao charged recklessly, its gravitational field enveloping the five of them, sending all the contestants blocking its path flying.

One after another, they fell down from the maze, like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

"Don't stand in the middle of the road pretending to be a speed bump, you have no sense of public decency."

Wendy covered her face, her eyes peeking out from between her fingers, her ears bright red.

She's still young and easily embarrassed.

Laxus closed his eyes, pretending not to see anything, but his ears were already bright red.

Cana and Mirajane, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned, constantly urging Riyao to speed up.

"Faster! Chuangfei and the others!"

Riyao bumped into an acquaintance on the street and casually greeted him.

"Hey, isn't this Uncle Jura? He's here to join the competition too!"

"Riyao, I'm not that old yet, am I?"

Jura sighed helplessly.

"Oh dear, it's been seven years, hasn't it? That's like I'm seven years younger now..."

They only chatted for a couple of minutes before Riyao and the others flew away.

When they met one night, Riyao casually kicked his butt, leaving a mark on it with the sole of his shoe.

We've already exchanged greetings.

"Man~"

The sounds of the night faded into the distance below, trailing off with long, drawn-out echoes.

It's a pity we didn't encounter Raven Tail on the way, otherwise we would have grabbed him, given him a good beating, dragged him to the finish line, and then given him another beating during the actual race.

With Cana's advanced tarot card readings and the gravitational field of the Riyao, the five people stumbled through the maze, their speed increasing rapidly.

A large door appeared at the end of the field of vision.

Riyao and his team rushed through the gate, followed the road, and successfully reached the finish line.

"That was easy, not challenging at all."

The mascot, Pumpkin Head, played by King Toma E. Fiore, hopped and skipped towards them, the Pumpkin head mask jiggling with his movements.

"As expected of Fairy Tail, congratulations on winning first place in the preliminaries! Pumpkin."

"Wait a moment."

Riyao held up one finger, his expression serious.

"If we choose not to clear the level yet, but instead stay here and eliminate all the other teams, wouldn't we be the champions of this Grand Magic Games?"

Laxus opened his eyes, Cana stopped yelling, and Mirajane tilted his head.

The three people's eyes lit up at the same time, and their gazes turned to the Pumpkin head.

That's a great idea!

Pumpkin Toma froze, his smile on the Pumpkin headpiece stiff as he stared at the group.

Uh... um... um...

He couldn't utter a complete sentence; the Pumpkin headgear swayed from side to side.

"Although the rules don't explicitly forbid it, doing so would make the game less exciting."

"Right, the rules don't prohibit it."

Riyao rubbed his hands together, palm to palm, making a rustling sound.

"Wouldn't it be better if we just finished this quickly?"

Pumpkin Toma wasn't entirely convinced they could actually eliminate all the contestants.

But looking into Riyao's eyes, I felt that this guy might actually do it.

He jogged over to Riyao and tugged at Riyao's sleeve.

Riyao crouched down and put his ear close to the Pumpkin head.

Pumpkin Toma leaned close to Riyao's ear and whispered something in a low voice, the breeze tickling Riyao's ear.

"Riyao, give me some face, after all, this is an annual celebration."

"Hey, who are you...?"

"Shh~ Let it go. Fairy Tail needs this tournament to rebuild its reputation, doesn't it? If you end the tournament quietly like this, no one will appreciate your heroic performance."

These words struck a chord with Riyao.

"Hiss..."

Riyao touched his chin and ran his fingers along it twice.

"That's not wrong, okay?"

He stood up, brushed off imaginary dust from his knees, and waved to the group.

"Let's go. When the official competition starts, we'll crush all the other guilds in front of the entire kingdom and reclaim our title as the kingdom's number one guild."

Laxus snorted, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Cana put the tarot cards into her bosom, and Mirajane took Riyao's arm.

Wendy loosened her grip on the hem of her clothes and jogged a few steps to catch up.

Five people crossed the finish line.

The first place in the preliminary round was thus determined.

Fairy Tail Elite Team!

What a terrible name, Team B.