The Candidate Chosen by Makarov

(Congratulations to 'Thor of Thunder' for becoming this book's sect leader!)

(Many thanks to 'Thor of Thunder' for the 50,000 reward! 'Ye Yue Chen Yu' and 'Han Ye Shi Yin' for their 10,000 rewards! 'Shao Feng Ye' and 'e Zang Song ж Ji' for their 1,000 rewards! And thanks as well to 'Bing Yue Ying,' 'Yun Qi Qing Gu,' 'Sing Zai,' 'Hui Yi.,' 'Wu Jin Hua Yu,' 'Ling Chen Tian Feng,' 'Xiao h Zhai,' and 'Wandering in a World Without You' for their rewards!)

(During the new book period, I desperately need your support! For this book, please give it a bookmark, a recommendation, and a click! Ru Qing would be endlessly grateful!)

"Noah, you'll be the one to complete this job!"

The moment those words echoed throughout the Fairy Tail (fairytail) guild, the entire place suddenly fell silent. Everyone's eyes turned toward Noah, their faces filled with astonishment.

Forget the mages in the guild—even Noah himself froze for a moment before blurting out in disbelief.

"Me?!"

"Old man, you're not joking, are you?!" Even Gray nearly jumped up.

"Noah can't even use a single spell. How could he possibly complete a job that requires dozens of mages?!"

"If I've said it, then it's obviously not a joke!" Makarov closed his eyes as he faced Noah's still-stunned gaze.

"The main issue with this job is that Lake of Rituals requires an enormous amount of magic power to be poured into it. That's why every time, a large group of mages has to go together before it can be completed. Aside from the matter of magic power, the job itself isn't difficult at all, nor is it dangerous!"

"Noah!" Makarov suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Noah with a grave expression.

"You may not have begun learning magic yet, and you can't use magic either, but the magic power within you is extraordinarily vast. Even at your age, the magic power in your body is enough to rival that of dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of outstanding mages. There could be no one more suitable for this job than you!"

After hearing Makarov's explanation, the guild members were astonished that Noah possessed magic power so highly regarded by Makarov, but they also understood why he had made this decision.

Indeed, the greatest difficulty of this job was simply the enormous amount of magic power required. Once that issue was resolved, the job itself was not difficult at all.

Now that Noah alone could solve the biggest problem of magic power, there was no need for dozens of mages to head out together. Naturally, the reward no longer had to be split so many ways. The job that had once been the least popular suddenly became highly sought after.

After all, the reward for this job was three million Jewel!

Three million Jewel split among dozens of people would indeed be pitifully little. But if it did not need to be divided, then the reward was high enough that no one could help being tempted.

With the job being neither difficult nor dangerous, and the reward being so high, how could it possibly not become highly sought after?

At once, the guild members began speaking up.

"Congratulations, Noah!"

"To receive such a high reward for your very first job in life is really enviable!"

"When I first started out, my first job only paid seventy thousand Jewel. It was so little that I still want to cry whenever I think about it!"

"What's that? Mine only paid fifty thousand Jewel!"

"Wait, wait, wait! All of you, wait!" Gray finally shouted in exasperation, hopping about furiously.

"Even so, it's still a fact that Noah can't use magic! A random wild beast could bite him to death! It might not seem dangerous to you, but for Noah, isn't it extremely dangerous?!"

"Th-this..." The guild members all fell silent.

"Grandpa..." After hesitating for a while, Noah shook his head.

"Although I really want to officially start taking jobs, Gray is right. Even if my magic power isn't weak, I still can't use magic. If I go out on a job, it isn't impossible that I might fail, so... forget it..."

"Don't worry. How could I possibly watch my own grandson go out to work alone at such a young age?" Makarov suddenly smiled.

"This time, Laxus will be going with you as well!"

The guild members erupted into commotion.

"Laxus? He's going too?"

"If he goes, then there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"What a shame. I'd originally wanted to go with Noah..."

While the guild members noisily discussed it, Noah and Gray both fell silent.

Laxus Dreyar, the grandson of Fairy Tail (fairytail) Guild Master Makarov and Noah's nominal older brother, was an exceptionally talented mage who had already become independent at only fifteen years old!

Though he was only fifteen, Laxus ranked among the strongest mages in all of Fairy Tail (fairytail). He even surpassed many older guild members and was remarkably outstanding. By now, he had already completed quite a few high-difficulty jobs by himself.

With such an outstanding mage accompanying him, even if something unexpected happened during this easy job, Laxus's strength would definitely be enough to handle it.

However, Noah's expression became somewhat complicated.

Only Noah knew that, for certain reasons, Laxus's relationship with Makarov was currently very tense. His relationship with Noah was not good either. That was precisely why Noah lived in the Fairy Tail (fairytail) guild instead of Makarov's home.

Grandpa must have gone to considerable effort to persuade Laxus to travel with me, right?

Thinking of that, Noah, who had still been hesitant and worried that he lacked the ability to take on a job, took a deep breath and nodded heavily.

"Grandpa, I'll definitely complete this job!"

Perhaps sensing the emotions contained in Noah's words, everyone around them suddenly fell quiet. Makarov smiled in relief, then changed the subject.

"Also, aside from Laxus, Noah, you'll need to bring one more person!"

With that, Makarov directly turned his head toward a wooden table in the corner of the guild.

"Erza, you're coming too!"

The moment those words were spoken, everyone present fell silent, and the atmosphere around them began to grow oppressive.

Erza, who was seated at the wooden table in the corner of the guild, seemed unaware of the oppressive mood. She stood up, nodded, and walked straight out of the guild.

Watching this, the guild members still could not say a word. Only Gray muttered softly.

"What the heck? They're all companions. Do they really have to be so cold?"

Those words voiced the thoughts of everyone in the guild.

Makarov kept watching Erza until her back disappeared through the guild doors. Only then did he softly speak to Noah beside him.

"If possible, I hope you can save that child. She's quite pitiful too..."

Noah turned his head and looked toward the doors as well. He neither nodded nor shook his head, his face completely calm.

As for what Noah was thinking, Noah himself knew, and Makarov seemed to know as well. A comical smile appeared on his face as he continued drinking.

After returning to his room, Noah packed only some changes of clothes and travel expenses into a small bag. Amid Gray's complaints of "Why can I use magic, yet I can't take a job?" and the guild members' farewells, he walked out the doors.

There, Erza stood quietly waiting for Noah. She carried nothing at all, wearing only a cold suit of armor. She did not say a word, and Noah did not pay attention to her either.

Because his gaze had long since been drawn to a figure leaning against the wall of a building nearby.

It was a boy of around fifteen or sixteen with short golden hair. At his ear was a modern-looking Magic Item capable of playing music.

The boy folded his arms and leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, seemingly listening to music. Only after Noah arrived did he appear to notice something and open his eyes, his sharp gaze landing directly on Noah.

Facing that sharp gaze, Noah did not even pause. His expression did not change in the slightest as he walked directly over, stopping only when he was less than two meters away. He raised his head and met those piercing eyes.

The two stared silently at each other. Erza stood beside them without saying a word, making even the air feel heavy.