The Snake and the Dog's Bet

After a brief respite at noon, the heatwave once again enveloped the entire Grand Magic Games Arena.

In the commentary booth, Chapati gulped down a large mouthful of throat-soothing tea and slammed the megaphone crystal on the table, making it sparkle.

Alright! We've kept the audience waiting!

"The second day of the Grand Magic Games, and the most thrilling one-on-one duels have officially started!"

"The draw results are in! The first match will be between Black Snake Serpent from the Raven Tail guild and Toby from the Lamia Scale guild!"

"The raven's ferocious serpent clashes with the snake princess's hound; in this duel between snake and dog, who will emerge victorious?!"

"Now, the first match officially begins!"

Applause and cheers erupted from the stands.

In the Fairy Tail stands, Natsu lay sprawled on a cushioned bench, finally recovering from his motion sickness, with a half-melted ice towel still on his head.

"A snake and a dog fighting? That doesn't sound very strong. I really want to go down and stretch my muscles."

Gray leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, and casually flipped the ice towel over.

"Stop talking nonsense. People who were foaming at the mouth after crossing the finish line this morning have no right to complain."

Jiang Bai leaned against the railing, biting on a straw, his gaze fixed on the battle area below.

"The Lamia Scale is currently in eighth place, at the bottom. Obaba has probably broken her cane backstage by now. If Toby doesn't score in this match, he'll likely suffer a lot when he gets back."

On the other side, in the spectator stands of the Lamia Scale, Obaba was frantically drawing circles in the air with her index finger.

"Toby! Did you hear me?! Skin that snake off the other side for me! If you dare lose the game again, I'll hang you at the hotel entrance until dawn tonight!"

Toby, sporting a hairstyle resembling two dog ears and a strange cloth necklace around his neck, pounded his chest, causing the wooden pendant hanging from his chest to sway wildly.

"Don't worry, Mother-in-law! I will definitely bring victory back!"

Toby leaped into the ring, took a few steps to the center, and stood still.

From the opposite contestant tunnel, a long, thin, and twisted figure slowly emerged.

The Black Snake wore a long, gray-black robe embroidered with snake patterns. Its body was limp and its gait was completely erratic, like a soft rope sliding on the ground.

Toby his hands on his hips, looked the Black Snake up and down, and spoke directly.

"Hey! Your codename sounds pretty cool, 'Black Snake,' way cooler than mine!"

The Black Snake tilted its neck to the side, its arms hanging naturally at its sides.

"Cool? What a boring comment. Black Snake is just a code name within the guild, not my real name."

Toby immediately became interested and pointed at the Black Snake.

"Not your real name? Then what's your real name?"

The Black Snake gave a sinister smile.

"Want to know? How about we make a bet?"

"If you win this match, I'll tell you my real name."

"But if you lose, you have to shout out your deepest, biggest secret in front of the entire audience."

Without even a second's hesitation, Toby swung his fist forcefully.

"Deal! I accept this bet!"

In the stands, Lucy raised her hand to her forehead.

"Is that guy Toby a child? Why did he agree to such a weird bet so easily?"

Jiang Bai drank the last drop of juice from the glass and placed the empty glass aside.

"Single-celled organisms tend to have a straightforward thought process, but this kind of thinking often makes them most vulnerable to being taken advantage of in competitive situations."

On the field, the referee waved the red flag down.

Without another word, Toby stomped his feet and lunged forward like a wild dog.

As the magic within his body circulated, the fingernails on both hands grew rapidly at a visible speed, transforming into ten sharp claws several inches long in the blink of an eye.

The claws gleamed with a piercing, eerie green light and emitted a slightly fishy odor.

"Taste my secret technique, honed over many years!"

"Hundredfold Poison Jellyfish Paralysis Claw!"

Ten sharp claws tore through the air ahead, creating a trail of green, poisonous mist, and lunged straight at the Black Snake's face and chest.

An ordinary mage would naturally avoid such close combat.

The Black Snake stood still, not moving an inch, and didn't even bother to raise its hand to block.

The eerie green claws pierced through the Black Snake's body without any resistance.

There were no scenes of blood and gore flying, nor any impact bounces that hit real objects.

The Black Snake's entire body suddenly transformed into a large, scattered mass of fine yellow sand, which dissipated in the wind.

Toby's claws pierced straight through the sand, the force causing him to lean forward and nearly fall to the ground.

"What?! My body turned into sand, woof?!"

The scattered sand did not fall to the ground, but instead spun and gathered mysteriously in mid-air, instantly circling behind Toby.

The fine sand rapidly compressed and condensed, transforming back into the pale, gaunt face of the Black Snake.

In the Fairy Tail stands, Marcus, who had been there for seven years, suddenly stood up straight from his seat, gripping the stone railing with both hands, his face full of astonishment.

"What a joke! That was my Sandstorm Magic?!"

"Really? How does that guy know Marcus's moves?"

The first president, Mavis, floated in mid-air with her hands behind her back, looking down at the Black Snake in the arena.

"It wasn't Sandstorm Magic I learned beforehand; it was Mimic Magic, an extremely rare high-level magical secret technique that allows one to instantly imitate the magical properties of an opponent or bystander and use them at will."

On the stands of the Lamia Scale, Jura's gaze darkened slightly, and she saw through the clues.

"Idiot! That's Mimic Magic!"

On the arena, the Black Snake materialized half of its body and suddenly swung its right arm outward.

The sand and gravel in mid-air violently surged, transforming into dozens of high-speed spinning, sharp sand blades that slammed into Toby's back from a blind spot.

"The Sand Rebellion!"

Bang!

The flying sand and gravel struck Toby squarely in the back.

A dull thud followed, Toby's clothes ripped apart on the back. He was thrown more than twenty meters by the force of the impact, crashing face down onto the hard stone arena.

The eerie green light on the claws suddenly dissipated, and the ten fingernails quickly retracted to their original shape.

Toby struggled for a moment, then his arms went limp, and he collapsed unconscious in the pit.

One-hit kill.

The entire battle, from its start to its end, didn't even take a minute.

The referee immediately stepped forward to check, raising his right hand high.

Chapati, in the commentary booth, announced loudly.

The outcome is decided!

"In a single exchange! The Black Snake Serpent with Raven Tail crushed its opponent with overwhelming power!"

"Black Snake Serpent has won the first battle! A valuable ten points have been earned for Raven Tail!"

Scattered applause rang out from the stands; the audience clearly hadn't had enough, finding the match, which decided the outcome in an instant, far too rushed.

In the arena, Black Snake did not immediately return to the players' tunnel, but instead walked with strange steps to Toby, who was lying on the ground.

The Black Snake crouched down and poked Toby's head with a pale finger.

Toby shook his head groggily, barely managing to regain consciousness.

A burning pain shot through his body. Toby wiped the dust from the corner of his mouth, his face full of frustration.

"Damn it... I lost."

The Black Snake leaned closer, its tone mocking.

"A bet's a bet. Now it's time to keep your promise. Tell me your deepest, biggest secret."

Toby sat on the ground, head down, fists clenched, struggling for a long time before finally steeling himself and shouting at the top of his lungs.

Actually! I've never been able to find one of my socks!!

The entire venue came to a standstill.

Chapati, in the commentary booth, gaped open, nearly dropping the microphone from his hand.

The hundreds of thousands of spectators in the stands blinked and looked at each other in bewilderment.

In the Fairy Tail viewing area, Lucy's entire face was twitching.

"Huh?! Not being able to find a single sock is hardly the biggest secret! What's wrong with this guy's brain?!"

Erza her chin on her hand, her expression serious.

"For mages who value the neatness of their clothes, missing a sock can indeed be unsettling, and I understand that pain."

Lucy turned her head away, speechless.

"No, even a normal person wouldn't understand that, Erza, don't be silly like that."

In the center of the arena, Black Snake's originally cold expression froze for a moment, his gaze slowly moving down to Toby's chest.

A black and white striped piece of fabric was tightly tied around Toby's neck, hanging down to his chest, serving as some kind of peculiar decorative pendant.

Black Snake pointed to the piece of cloth.

"Hey, is that sock you're looking for the one you're wearing around your neck?"

Toby was taken aback by what he heard. He looked down, grabbed the fabric hanging around his neck, and tugged at it. His eyes widened suddenly.

"You can't be kidding me, right?! This... this really is the sock I've been looking for for three months!"

The Black Snake sneered, and its withered arm shot forward with lightning speed.

Sizzle!

He grabbed the sock with both hands and tore it apart violently without any mercy.

The already worn-out socks were torn to Crush on the spot, turning into countless strips of cloth that scattered in the mud and dust.

Toby stared at the scattered pieces of cloth on the floor, feeling as if he had been struck by lightning.

Her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground, clutching her head tightly with both hands, tears streaming down her face like a waterfall.

"Waaaaah--! My socks!!"

A mournful, desperate wail echoed throughout the entire arena.

"Haha, the more precious something is, the more worthwhile it is to destroy."

After saying that, Black Snake patted the ash from his palm, turned around, and walked into the dark contestant passage without looking back.

The entire Lamia Scale in the stands glared angrily at the Black Snake, determined to teach this Black Snake a lesson when they got the chance. Even though Toby was a fool, they couldn't let him be bullied.