Upgrade Examination (I)

As the light faded and vision returned to normal, Jose, his five fingers wreathed in dark energy, lunged at Sordil, catching everyone's attention.

"Dark Combo"

"Seraph's Cross Flash"

Faced with his opponent's fatal blow, Sordil did not hesitate and immediately unleashed a powerful attack.

"Whoosh"

A milky-white cross emitting a strong light flew out from behind Old Suo and landed squarely on Jose's finger.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

After a violent collision, the darkness vanished, the cross moved forward a short distance, and then slowly dissipated.

"Cough cough"

Once everything returned to calm, a coughing sound came from the cross-shaped pit. The next second, the Phantom Lord Guild Master, dressed in beggar's clothes, his face covered in blood and looking utterly wretched, staggered out of it.

"Buzz!"

A flash of silvery-white light appeared, and then the boy who had humiliated Jose stood before him.

"President Jose, shall we continue?"

After wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Jose said coldly, "No need! I surrender!"

"Then... what are our stakes?"

Upon hearing this, Jose closed his eyes and calmed himself for a long time before standing up and shouting to the group of guild leaders, "From today onwards, I, Jose Bora... am no longer one of the Ten Wizard Saints!"

After Jose finished speaking, a heated discussion broke out in the audience.

However, someone had no intention of letting Jose go. After all, these empty titles were just extras; the real purpose of this guy was the treasure of the guild— the Magic Circle Cannon Jupiter.

"President Jose, our bet seems to go beyond this, doesn't it?"

Upon hearing Old Suo's words, Jose's chest heaved violently, as if he were about to pass out.

"Hey! President Jose, you can't die! You haven't fulfilled our bet yet!"

Jose could still bear the blow from Old Suo's blade, but he couldn't tolerate the mouthful of blood in his throat! So, it transformed into a jet of blood and shot towards Sordil in front of him.

"Puff!"

"I'll dodge!" (Here, Old Suo easily avoided the ambush thanks to his agile skills.)

After his breathing became clear, Jose gritted his teeth and said, "Once I get back, I'll disassemble Jupiter and send it to your guild. Is that alright?"

"Oh! How could I trouble you with such rough work? I'll go back with you and carry it back myself!"

"Okay! It's settled then!"

After dealing with Jose, Old Suo walked over to the audience with a grin.

"Hehe! Fellow guild leaders, Guild Leader Jose has already fulfilled his promise. Shouldn't you also honor your bets?"

Seeing Sordil's sly grin, the faces of the other guild leaders instantly darkened.

After some internal struggle, the association presidents, out of consideration for their reputation, had no choice but to reluctantly say, "Alright! We accept our defeat!"

"In that case, I will visit you all after I return Jupiter to Fairy Tail."

Hearing this, the group of guild leaders felt much better. After all, they had only passed on their magic, which was much better than that guy who lost face, injured his body, and lost the guild's most prized possession.

After everything was settled, Old Suo hopped and skipped over to Makarov.

"Guild Master, our agreement has to be postponed. I need to go to Phantom Lord first to retrieve the spoils."

"Okay! I understand!"

Upon hearing their conversation, the pain in everyone's hearts vanished instantly, replaced by complaints about Makarov.

After Sordil and Jose left via the Teleportation Array, a public denunciation meeting regarding Makarov began.

"Little Ma, you're so mean! You teamed up with others to trick us!" (Bob)

"That's so cunning! I'll make you spin around countless times!" (Ouba)

"Makarov, that's going too far! (Goldman)"

Makarov was completely bewildered as he watched the crowd gathering around him.

"I didn't do anything, why are you all coming after me?"

"Hmph! You knew perfectly well that Sordil was incredibly strong, yet you remained silent, causing us to suffer such a crushing defeat, and now you have the nerve to play innocent! (Sabertooth)"

"How was I supposed to know that bad boy Sordil could actually beat Jose? Besides, you guys were the ones who voluntarily bet with that bad boy, not me. How can you blame me for this?"

"Hmph! Still trying to deny it! If you had told us he beat you, would we have fallen for this trick? (Mermaid Heel)"

"That's right!" (Everyone)

Upon hearing this, Makarov immediately realized where the problem lay.

"Hey! You guys don't actually think that the agreement we just talked about is like the kind of wager Jose made, do you?"

"Isn't that right? (Goldman)"

"Of course not!"

"What was that agreement?" (Bob)

"Oh! This was before..."

In front of the branch of the Grimoire Heart in Ogu Town

"President Jose, we've arrived. Could you please send someone to bring Jupiter over?"

"What? Mr. Sordil isn't going in?"

"Heh! President Jose, your attempts to provoke me won't work. You'd better hurry up and dismantle Jupiter!"

Seeing that the man was unmoved by reason, Jose snorted and walked into the branch with a gloomy face.

"President Jose, I hope you won't break your promise, or you'll regret it!"

Jose paused when he heard the threat behind him.

"Hmph! I haven't stooped so low as to break my word!" (Jose)

"That would be best, so we all don't have to suffer!" (Old Suo)

Just as Old Suo was about to master the skill of sleeping standing up, the long-silent Phantom Lord finally stirred.

"Knock knock"

"Knock knock"

Feeling the vibrations from the ground, Old Suo perked up, a slight smile playing on his lips.

After using Quality Magic to transform Jupiter into a miniature form and storing it in his storage space, Old Suo left Ogu Town. However, this lecherous fellow neither returned to Clowbar City nor Magnolia, but instead slipped away to the Northern Continent while the surveillance personnel were away.

"It's four o'clock in the afternoon, and there are still two hours until sunset, which is just enough time for me to survey the surrounding environment!"

After saying this, Old Suo built a windboat and began to wander around the ice field.

With guidance from Ulu, a local, Old Suo's efficiency in finding the Snow Domain Blue Crystal increased significantly, and he easily harvested what he needed before sunset.

After swallowing his share, he stored the rest in a specially made container and then embarked on his journey to Finnil Town.

After fulfilling their agreement, to avoid being detected by the surveillance personnel, Old Suo immediately found an excuse to leave Ulu's house and returned to Clowbar City. When he arrived at the meeting place, the regular meeting had just ended, so he and Makarov bid farewell to the guild leaders and returned to Fairy Tail.

In the time that followed, Old Suo either stayed in the guild learning magic from Makarov, teamed up with Sonia to carry out missions, or went to various guilds to collect gambling debts.

Oh, right! He also returned to Philiers a few times, and the reasons... were probably 80% to check in and make sure Her Majesty the Queen didn't add a bad word to his name in her little notebook. The other 20% were because someone had completed a commission he issued, and they were meeting to discuss payment. Of course, during the meeting, that person didn't use their real appearance.

Unfortunately, these people only provided useless information and didn't offer anything of value. Therefore, apart from the Ice God Slayer Magic they had unexpectedly acquired, Old Suo's collection of annihilation-type items remained untouched.

Time slipped by quietly, and before we knew it, the end of the year had arrived, and then came that exciting moment.

Fairy Tail, Guild Hall

"Haha! This day has finally come! I wonder if I'll have a chance to get a spot this time! (Macao)"

"Hmph! Macao, stop dreaming. If you can get a spot, then we can all get one! (Wakaba)"

"That's right!" (Everyone)

"Hmph! It hasn't even been announced yet, how do you know I definitely can't do it? (Macao)"

"It's not impossible for you to get a spot, as long as you can reach the level of those three. (Wakaba)"

Looking at the three figures pointed out by his friend, Macao's confidence was instantly shattered.

"Exactly! Unless you can reach the level of those three, even if you're given a spot, you probably won't pass the assessment. (Member A)"

"Hehe! I don't know about the other two, but the one in the middle is far beyond our reach. (Member B)"

"Tsk tsk! With that person around, even Gildarts might not be able to advance successfully. (Member C)"

"It's not 'maybe,' it's 'definitely failing the assessment!' (Member Ding)"

"Yes! That guy even defeated Guild Master Jose, one of the Ten Wizard Saints. In the entire guild, probably only the guild master himself has a chance of defeating him. (Wakaba)"

"Heh! That's impossible!" (Member A)

"Why?" (The crowd)

"Because that person has already learned all of the president's magic! (Member A)"

"Hiss... So the person who was promoted to S-Class this time is that guy? (Macao)"

"What do you think?" (Member A)

Just as Member A finished speaking and everyone was shaking their heads in frustration, Macao, wearing a white trench coat, appeared on the second floor.

"Cough cough"

After clearing his throat, Makarov began, "Everyone, according to Fairy Tail's long-standing rules, I will now announce the list of those who will participate in the S-Class Mage Upgrade Examination."

"They're here! They're here!" (Member A)

"This year's assessment venue is the Croba Grand Canyon, and there are six members participating in the assessment: Sordil, Sonia, Gildarts Clive, Ivan Dreyar, Bohr Zotim, and Rexar Heri."

"Hehe! Those three are indeed on the list! (Member Ding)"

"Now the others are going to cry!" (Member B)

"Yes, all our hard work this year has been wasted." (Member C)

"Since there are new members among the participants, I'll now explain the rules. (This is probably a standard line, said every year.)"

"Each participant needs to find a partner to participate in the assessment together. This partner must be a member of our guild and cannot be an active S-Class Mage."

"The assessment is scheduled for next week. We hope that all participants can find partners as soon as possible and get into peak condition."

"Did you all understand?"

"Understood!" (The participants)

"Okay! Let's meet at the entrance of town a week from now and head to Croba Grand Canyon together."

Yes! (Participant)