An Unusual Morning at the Guild

The next day, Jiang Bai yawned as he ambled up to the guild entrance.

Out of habit, he lifted his foot to give the door his usual friendly greeting, but halfway up, he abruptly stopped.

Something was wrong.

It was too quiet.

On any other day, he could hear the clamor, explosions, and all sorts of unearthly howling from the guild even from a street away.

But today, the entire guild building was as silent as a grave. He couldn't even hear a cough.

Something strange was afoot.

Jiang Bai frowned and lowered his foot, gently pushing the door open with his hand instead.

Inside, the hall, where tables and chairs should have been flying and bottles smashing, was unbelievably neat.

Everyone sat obediently in their seats. Even Natsu, the loudest of them all, was unusually quiet, merely glaring at Gray as the two fought another round with their eyes.

A strange atmosphere hung over the entire guild, solemn and expectant, with a hint of tension.

At the same time, a tall, broad back appeared in front of the guild bar.

It belonged to a man in a worn cloak, with long orange-red hair.

He merely sat there casually, without even releasing any magic power, yet he naturally exuded an aura as heavy and imposing as a mountain, weighing down the entire space.

The strongest man in the guild, Gildarts Clive, was back.

Jiang Bai's eyes lit up. A lazy smile appeared on his face as he walked over and gave the man a familiar pat on the shoulder.

"Old man, when did you get back? It was just a Ten-Year Quest. Why did you make it seem like you'd disappeared?"

Before Gildarts could turn around, Makarov jumped up from behind the bar and smacked Jiang Bai on the back of the head.

"You brat, you slept like a dead pig! There was such a huge commotion in town, and they even activated the Gildarts Shift. You really didn't hear a thing?"

The so-called "Gildarts Shift" was an emergency mode specially created by the town of Magnolia to welcome its strongest mage home.

Because Gildarts's powerful Crush Magic automatically destroyed any obstacle in his path, the entire town would split apart whenever he returned, making a straight road for him.

Despite all that earthshaking commotion, Jiang Bai had slept through it without knowing a thing.

"Come on, don't worry about the details."

Jiang Bai rubbed the back of his head and casually dropped the subject. His eyes fixed intently on Gildarts, and he rubbed his hands together excitedly.

"Let's get down to business, old man. What did you come back for this time? Did the old man finally come around and decide to have us go to war with some country?"

As he spoke, Jiang Bai grew excited, as though he could already see a wonderful future of raging battles where he could really show what he could do.

A vein bulged on Makarov's temple, and he dealt Jiang Bai another hard punch on the head.

"Can't you hope for something good for the guild? All you ever think about is fighting and killing!"

Gildarts finally turned around and looked at the boy in front of him, who seemed to want nothing more than to see the world in chaos. A hearty smile spread across his face.

"Haha, kid, it's been a year, and your magic power has improved quite a bit again."

He stood up and patted Jiang Bai on the shoulder, hard enough to make even Jiang Bai grimace. "But I'm not here for a war this time."

He looked around at the young faces, each tense and expectant, and said gravely, "Just about everyone is here, so let's begin, Master."

Makarov nodded. His small figure leaped up and landed steadily on the railing of the second floor.

He looked down at all the guild members on the first floor, who waited with bated breath. His usually kindly face now bore an unquestionable authority.

"Silence!"

The old man's voice reached every corner of the guild.

"I think everyone knows why it's so quiet today. Recently, a lot of people have been taking quests like mad, and I know very well what that's been for."

Hearing this, Jiang Bai finally understood.

No wonder the requests on the guild quest board had been cleared so thoroughly lately, leaving it cleaner than his face.

The annual event was about to begin.

Makarov paused, and each word that followed struck heavily against everyone's hearts.

"Now, I announce that Fairy Tail's S-Class Mage Promotion Exam for this year has officially begun!"

As his words fell, a wave of murmurs and sharp intakes of breath rose from the crowd.

"Now, I will announce this year's candidates!"

Makarov's gaze swept over the tense faces below before finally settling on two people.

"This year's candidates are..."

He deliberately drew out his words, keeping everyone in suspense.

"Laxus Dreyar!"

No one was surprised to hear that name. As the master's grandson and a universally acknowledged prodigy of the guild, his selection was only natural.

If he hadn't been waiting for Jiang Bai, Laxus would have become S-Class long ago.

The three members of the Thunder God Tribe immediately erupted in thunderous cheers.

"Lord Laxus will win!"

"Lord Laxus is the strongest!"

Makarov ignored their clamor and continued the announcement.

"And... Jiang Bai!"

That name, too, was exactly what everyone had expected.

However, after announcing the second name, Makarov closed the list in his hand and said something in an unequivocal tone that sent the whole room into an uproar.

"There are only two candidates for this year's S-Class Exam: the two I just named!"

What?

Only two?!

In previous years, the S-Class Exam had at least three to five candidates, sometimes even more.

Never mind whether they could pass; at least there were that many of them.

But this year, there were only two newcomers!

This was more than an honor; it was a declaration!

It announced to the entire guild that, in the master's eyes, these two had already left everyone else of their generation far behind, reaching a terrifying level that called for an exam venue just for them!

In the crowd, Erza looked at Jiang Bai, who was the center of everyone's attention, and a proud smile appeared on her face as though she shared in his glory. She pumped her fist.

"Jiang Bai, I knew you'd be chosen!"

On the other side, Mirajane, dressed like a delinquent girl, leaned against the bar with her arms folded and pursed her lips. She gave a huff, deliberately lowering her voice so that only she could hear.

"Hmph, you show-off... do your best!"

Yet the corners of her mouth were turning up.