Chapter Summaries

Makarov explained to Rhode, Mira, and Erza that Mest had altered his memories to infiltrate the Council as Doranbolt, and asked them to keep the guild secret. Back at the tavern, Rhode chose not to take the S-Class Exam yet and questioned Erza about her armor and tactics.

• Makarov revealed that Mest had changed his and the guild members' memories before joining the Council as Doranbolt, where he unknowingly gathered intelligence on Fairy Tail.
• Mira and Erza agreed to keep the information secret, while Makarov refused to erase their memories and withheld details about Fairy Tail's coveted secret and its enemies.
• Rhode worried that Mest might someday turn against Fairy Tail, but Makarov said he would stop him if that happened.
• Makarov asked whether Rhode would join the S-Class Exam, but Rhode said he could not abandon Kana because she would cry.
• Rhode asked Erza about her armor and how she would fight him and Kana, and she described many armor sets and possible tactics.

Rhode and Kana discussed the Fairy Tail S-Class exam and the abilities of potential opponents. Rhode inferred that the advancing groups would each face an S-Class Mage, leaving Kana surprised by his deduction.

• Erza described Mystogan’s illusion and Sleep Magic and Laxus’s powerful Lightning Magic, then mistakenly encouraged Rhode as if he were the examinee before rushing off to train.
• Rhode persuaded Mira to keep Erza’s mistake secret by offering to buy her ice cream.
• Kana told Rhode and Mira that Miki’s partner was Joi and that Mest’s partner seemed to be Wang, while Rhode explained Mest’s Space Magic.
• Rhode and Kana planned for their possible opponents and concluded that each group advancing past the first round would face an S-Class Mage.
• Kana questioned how Rhode had inferred the exam structure from Erza’s comments.

Rhode and Kana prepared for the S-Class exam by reviewing opponents and practicing battle plans, then joined the guild members at the station to depart. As the group boarded, Rhode questioned whether Makarov should really take such an eccentric bunch on the train.

• Rhode encouraged Kana to build the resolve to face the S-Class Mages, and Mira helped her regain confidence.
• Rhode and Kana practiced mock battles against Mira and Elfman, planning for the first stage of the exam.
• Rhode checked that his mind and memories were intact before going to sleep, and five days later the exam day arrived.
• Rhode left his coat with Mira, then went with Kana to the station, where Makarov gathered the exam participants.
• Mest bit the train and Joi lost three teeth, prompting Rhode to whisper to Makarov about the group he was taking on the train.

The candidates began Fairy Tail’s S-Class promotion exam, a race through a canyon maze to find keys and reach its three exits. Rhode and Kana flew ahead, while the other teams descended by different means and Wollan froze at the cliff’s edge.

• The candidates rode the train to Croba Station, where Makarov led them to the canyon and explained the maze, key, exit, and forfeiture rules.
• Makarov began the exam, and Rhode and Kana summoned Sharp Beak Birds to fly toward the starting flag.
• Miki and Joi leaped down the canyon’s rock faces, while Mest teleported himself and Wang Jingi to the bottom and moved ahead.
• Marcus urged Wollan to follow, but Wollan clung to a rock and refused to jump.

Rhode and Kana searched the canyon maze for the keys while monitoring other guild teams, but no one had found a key yet. After Rhode's river crab was discovered, Wollan contacted them by telepathy, and their lively conversation was cut off just as Marcus began explaining how Wollan had descended the cliff.

• Rhode and Kana signed the notice board, then sent summons to scout for keys while Kana divined their route northwest.
• The river crabs spotted Miki and Joi, who climbed to a lookout point and planned to reach the exit and wait for other teams.
• Wollan and Marcus entered the maze, and Wollan used his tracking magic to head toward Miki and Joi.
• A river crab followed Wollan and Marcus, but Marcus recognized it as Rhode's summon and Wollan contacted Rhode through telepathy.
• Kana joined the conversation, and Marcus began describing Wollan's descent from the cliff before the communication was cut off.

Rhode and Kana found a key and reached the maze’s finish, where they chose an exit and entered the second stage together. Wollan and Marcus arrived battered but determined, then followed them into another exit and found Erza waiting to explain their trial.

• Rhode and Kana found the key, and Rhode sent the other monsters away so a second key could be found at random.
• Rhode and Kana reached the finish and learned that Mest had already entered an exit, while Miki and Joi were still searching for their key.
• Wollan and Marcus arrived bruised but insisted they would continue the exam, and Rhode and Kana prepared to enter the second stage.
• Kana chose an exit by intuition, inserted the key, and entered with Rhode as the passage sealed behind them.
• Wollan and Marcus entered the last exit and discovered Erza, who ordered them to fight her with the resolve to kill.

Kana and Rhode challenged Laxus in the S-Class Mage exam, trying to seize a flag and reach the Magic Circle while he guarded the route. Rhode briefly captured the flag, but Laxus stopped him, and the two prepared to continue fighting.

• Laxus explained that one of them had to take the flag and stand inside the Magic Circle to pass the exam.
• Kana and Rhode attacked Laxus with cards, summoned monsters, and coordinated magic, but he easily countered their assaults.
• Rhode used Take Over Magic to fly up and pull the flag from the mountain wall while Laxus fought off the summoned monsters.
• Kana struck Laxus with Reaper's Icicle long enough for Rhode to approach the Magic Circle, but Laxus broke free and kicked Rhode away.
• Laxus planted the flagpole on the ground, while Kana checked that Rhode was unharmed and drew more cards for another attack.

Rhode and Kana fought Laxus in the S-Class exam but were battered before they could reach the Magic Circle. As Laxus challenged them to continue, Rhode began his final move by taking over the Azure Carved Golem.

• Laxus attacked Rhode and Kana with lightning, and they fought back with cards, wolves, and traps.
• Rhode wounded Laxus but was struck by a powerful lightning attack, while Laxus’s smoke and illusions failed to stop him.
• Laxus hit Kana with a lightning sphere and kicked her away from the flagpole before she could reach the Magic Circle.
• Rhode caught the injured Kana and encouraged her to try again, but Laxus blocked their path and mocked them.
• Rhode put Kana behind him and used Take Over: Azure Carved Golem.

Rhode and Kana passed Laxus’s trial by using their strength and teamwork to distract him while Kana reached the flag. Laxus rejected their tactic, but Makarov confirmed their success, and the group left the trial with Rhode injured and Laxus angry.

• Rhode transformed into a stone golem and fought Laxus while using Azure Floating Cannons to keep him occupied.
• Laxus shattered Rhode’s golem form, leaving Rhode too weak to get up.
• Kana revealed that she had reached the magic circle and raised the flag, completing the trial with Rhode’s help.
• Laxus accused them of playing him and refused to accept their victory, but Makarov ruled that their magic, intelligence, courage, and teamwork earned them a pass.
• Erza helped Rhode up, and Kana hugged Rhode and Erza in celebration.
• Laxus and Makarov argued briefly before leaving, with Laxus saying he would not do something so boring again.

Rhode and Kana passed the second round, but their battle damage helped trigger the collapse of the test site's mountain gorge. At camp, they learned how the other candidates had fared and prepared to rest before the third round.

• Makarov congratulated Rhode and Kana on passing the second round and led them toward camp as Erza helped them walk.
• The test site's mountain wall and gorge collapsed, and Erza blamed a chain reaction involving Rhode's magic and battles; Makarov said he would have to write a self-criticism if the railway had been affected.
• At camp, Rhode and Kana found Wollan and Marcus bandaged after fighting Erza, while Makarov explained that Mystogan had left and Mest was still away.
• Marcus told Rhode that Mest and Wang had fallen asleep during Mystogan's exam and been sent to camp, so they had failed to pass.
• Kana thanked Rhode for helping her, and he worried that he might not be able to contribute much in the third round before Erza called everyone to dinner.

After learning that the third exam was to find and kill a juvenile Unicorn Demon Beast before sunset, Rhode and Kana decided to attempt it despite their injuries. They set out to search the canyon, splitting up with magical cards that could send a distress signal and reveal each other’s direction.

• Erza and Miki served a good lunch, and Makarov told the failed candidates to leave after they recovered.
• Makarov and Erza explained that Rhode and Kana had to find and eliminate a juvenile Unicorn Demon Beast before sunset, or Erza would take over the mission.
• Rhode persuaded Kana to try the mission after resting, and Erza described the beast’s features, habits, and earth-based defenses with a sketch.
• Rhode summoned a Rift Scuttler and went with Kana to search the canyon, using the crab’s vision while he continued to recover.
• Kana proposed splitting up and gave Rhode a magical card that could send a distress signal and point toward its holder.

Rhode and Kana found the sleeping Unicorn Demon Beast and launched a carefully prepared ambush with Swamp Toads and Kana’s traps and spells. The badly injured beast survived, triggered a mountain collapse, and chased them as they fled on the River Crab.

• Rhode followed Kana’s signal to a cave where the Unicorn Demon Beast was sleeping, and they planned an ambush.
• Kana arranged magical traps near the cave while Rhode sent two Swamp Toads inside to spray the beast with venom and lure it out.
• When the Unicorn Demon Beast charged into the traps, Kana unleashed a barrage of binding and offensive spells while the Swamp Toads kept spraying venom.
• The Unicorn Demon Beast blasted away the rubble despite its severe injuries, swatted the remaining Swamp Toad, and shook the earth until a nearby mountain peak collapsed.
• Rhode pulled Kana onto the River Crab and ordered it to flee as the enraged Unicorn Demon Beast pursued them.

Kana gave up the S-Class Exam after Rhode’s proposed ways to continue endangered him, and Erza defeated the Unicorn Demon Beast. Three days later, Mira sat with a withdrawn Rhode and gently helped him recover by talking about ordinary guild life.

• Rhode carried Kana away from the pursuing Unicorn Demon Beast, but she rejected his plans to summon the Crimson Mark Treant or Take Over the beast because of the risks to him.
• Kana fired a signal flare, ending her exam attempt, and broke down in tears as Erza arrived and defeated the Unicorn Demon Beast.
• Three days after the exam, Rhode trained in silence while Kana drank heavily, and the Master faced no further punishment from the Council after blaming the damage on the beast.
• Mira stopped Rhode from slipping away and invited him to sit with her, then shared a new drink and told him about everyday events at the guild.
• Rhode listened as Mira spoke, gradually calming down, and Mira offered him the rest of her drink because it was too sweet for her.

After the S-Class Exam, Rhode worried about Kana and his own limits, but Mira helped him feel better by pointing out the guild members supporting him. As the year ended, Rhode accompanied Mira to shop for the guild’s New Year celebration.

• Mira reassured Rhode that Macao and Wakaba were looking after Kana, who had been drinking after failing the exam.
• Miki challenged Rhode to a fight, and he defeated her with the Azure Carved Golem before she went to pick a fight with Wollan.
• Rhode continued taking carefully chosen jobs with Elfman, who seemed to be growing stronger.
• As X783 neared its end, Mira told Rhode she was going to buy supplies for the guild’s New Year celebration, and he went with her.

As the New Year approached, Rhode reflected on how much his life had improved and went shopping with Mira for the guild. Their outing ended with Rhode buying her several hair ties, and Mira blushing after he called one hairstyle “wifely.”

• Rhode reflected on his friends, work, and growing closeness with Mira as the year came to an end.
• Rhode pulled Mira out of the path of a snowball thrown by Natsu and Happy, then warned the pair not to damage anyone’s property.
• Rhode and Mira shopped for food, alcohol, decorations, and replacement tableware for the guild.
• Rhode and Mira ran into Goodman near Rhode’s home and browsed the hair accessories his wife had made.
• Rhode praised Mira in different hairstyles, and she blushed when he called one look “wifely.”

Rhode and Mira shared a teasing walk back to the guild before helping prepare for Fairy Tail’s New Year celebration. The guild welcomed X784 together at midnight, raising their glasses and cheering.

• Rhode bought Mira a matcha ice cream, but she ate it without sharing after teasing him about wanting a taste.
• Mira and Rhode returned to the guild, where Laki finished inventorying the delivered goods and joked about selling Rhode a chance to be treated to cake.
• On December 31, X783, Fairy Tail members decorated the guild while Erza and Elfman competed at pounding mochi in the courtyard.
• Rhode helped Mira hang a streamer, and Laxus painted the two of them standing together.
• Marcus hosted the New Year’s party, where guild members performed and Mira sang.
• At midnight, the Master led everyone in raising their glasses and cheering, “Fairy Tail, cheers!”

Rhode woke up after the guild's New Year's party and received a hand-knitted scarf from Mirajane, who helped him put it on. Later, Mirajane received an offer to model Heart Kreuz's new clothing line and asked Rhode what he thought, leaving her decision open.

• Rhode woke up to find Erza and Mirajane drawing on Gray and other sleeping guild members, then discovered Mirajane had drawn on his face too.
• Mirajane gave Rhode a blue-and-white scarf she had knitted and helped him arrange it around his neck.
• Erza led the guild's cleanup after the party, while Rhode preferred to rest on the first day of X784.
• Rhode opened a package addressed to Mirajane and found a letter inviting her to model Heart Kreuz's new clothing line for Weekly Sorcerer.
• Mirajane asked Rhode whether she should accept the modeling offer, and he encouraged her to go if she wanted to.

Tono Rabitz joined Fairy Tail and was assigned to Levy as his guide, while Rhode learned that Makarov had a dangerous mission in mind for him. Makarov sent Rhode and Erza to stop the Shadow of the Demon cult from sacrificing abducted children to summon a demon from the Book of Zeref.

• Tono Rabitz introduced himself to the guild and joined after Makarov stamped him with the guild mark.
• Rhode offered to guide Tono, but Makarov assigned Levy instead, noting that she had just returned from a job where Jet had been injured in a trap.
• Mira told Rhode she planned to visit Fairy Tail's Sosara branch to help restore the guild's image.
• The next morning, Makarov summoned Rhode and Erza and warned them about a dangerous mission near the kingdom's northern coast.
• Makarov explained that the Shadow of the Demon cult had abducted children to sacrifice them and summon Canibor, and assigned Rhode and Erza to arrest the cult and rescue the children.

Makarov assigned Erza and Rhode to investigate a dangerous Dark Magic Cult near the northern coast, where followers of Zeref were summoning demons. Erza and Rhode set out together, studying the mission information and planning their route.

• Makarov explained that the cult’s activities were dangerous and asked Erza and Rhode to take the mission; Erza agreed, and Rhode accepted because he trusted her strength.
• Mira gave Rhode the mission details and warned him to rely on Erza, while Rhode reassured her and they exchanged jokes about her former strength.
• Erza and Rhode prepared their luggage and supplies, then traveled by carriage toward the northern coast.
• Erza and Rhode studied the information Mira had provided, discussed the route near Manjushaka Town and Poppy Town, and planned to travel late or camp in the wilderness if needed.

Rhode and Erza camped in the wilderness, hunted dinner with Rhode’s Shadow Wolves, and made Wom keep watch. The next morning, Erza began teaching Rhode Requip Magic as their carriage resumed its journey.

• Erza persuaded the drivers to camp in the wilderness, and she and Rhode set up camp despite having no food ingredients.
• Rhode summoned Shadow Wolves to catch a roe deer, which Erza prepared and cooked for the group.
• Erza changed into Heart Kreuz pajamas and explained that she had persuaded the company to make her armor by asking in an intimidating manner.
• Rhode summoned Wom to watch the camp through the night, and the night passed without incident.
• Erza taught Rhode the basics of Requip Magic while packing up, and Rhode said he would practice after the mission to conserve magic power.