The Exam Begins!

Three days passed, and at last, the promised day arrived. Everyone from Fairy Tail gathered in the hall, watching excitedly as a stage covered by a huge red curtain stood before them.

"Finally! It's that time again!" Gray said excitedly.

"Yeah, yeah! I wonder who'll be taking part this year, and who the examiner will be? I've got a pretty good chance of being selected this year~" Natsu was equally excited, rubbing his fists together with boundless enthusiasm.

"Quit talking nonsense. You think you'll get picked? Go home, wash up, and sleep. I'm the more likely one." Gray glanced sideways at Natsu and immediately began mocking him.

"What did you say, you exhibitionist? Want me to flatten you?" As the two continued arguing and tried to escalate into trading blows, the huge red curtain slowly began to rise.

As the curtain opened, three people stood above them. Makarov was in the middle, with Erza and Laxus standing to either side of him.

"Huh? Laxus is back? Wait, both he and Erza are up there... Could it be?!" Someone noticed that the two beside Makarov were already S-Class Mages.

"Could this year's examiners be Laxus and Erza?! Wasn't there only one examiner in previous years?" The crowd began to discuss it.

"Quiet down! Listen to me!" Makarov shouted.

"Guild Master! Who can take part in this year's S-Class Mage exam?" "Hurry up and announce it!" "I can't wait any longer!" Everyone remained noisy.

Makarov drew in a deep breath, enlarged one of his arms, and slammed it heavily against the floor. Only when they saw Makarov getting angry did everyone finally quiet down.

Makarov cleared his throat and declared loudly, "Everyone! According to Fairy Tail's rules throughout the years, I will now officially announce the list of participants for the S-Class Mage exam!"

"Oh! Hurry and announce it!" "This is what we've been waiting for!" "I'm definitely on the list this time!" The crowd cheered excitedly.

"I have witnessed all of your efforts, strength, and maturity over the past year." Makarov paused before continuing loudly, "Therefore! I announce that the participants in this year's S-Class Mage Promotion Trial are..."

"Cana Alberona!" Cana abruptly raised her head, her face full of surprise. Ed looked at this companion he rarely saw but had heard Mira and the others mention many times, then offered his congratulations. "Congratulations, Cana!"

"Thanks, Ed. I'll definitely pass the S-Class exam this time. I won't fail like I did last time!" Cana thanked Ed and spoke with a serious expression.

"Huh? This is Cana's second time?" Ed whispered into Mira's ear.

"That's right. Cana and I took the exam together last year, but I was the one who passed." Mira whispered back. "She probably didn't expect to be selected two years in a row."

"The second participant!" Makarov continued loudly.

"Ed!"

The moment Ed heard his name, he answered excitedly, "Yes!" "Congratulations, Ed. Do your best~" Mira encouraged him.

"Don't worry. As your boyfriend, I'll definitely win this exam!"

"What does that have to do with being my boyfriend? Sigh... You can still fool around, so I guess you're pretty confident, huh?" Mira looked at Ed with Zero resignation. Ed patted his chest. "Of course. Just wait for the good news!"

"All right, those are the two participants for this exam." Makarov finished announcing the names and began revealing the next details.

"This exam will be held on an island with Zero inhabitants in the eastern sea. The specific content will be announced in three days. Dismissed!"

"Damn it, I lost to Ed, who's only been in the guild for a year. I must not be strong enough yet. I need to keep training! I'm fired up!" Natsu had somehow gotten fired up for no reason.

"Just you, Natsu? You can't even beat me, and you want to beat Ed?" Gray, who had once been defeated by Ed, mocked him.

"Are you itching for a beating?" Natsu immediately got in his face.

"If you've got the guts, give it a try!" The two were like sodium and water—once they came together, they exploded. They were practically fighting all the time.

Soon, three days passed. Ed and Cana arrived at the harbor, waved hard at the members seeing them off, and boarded a ship for the exam site.

As time passed, the ship gradually approached the island where the exam would take place. When Makarov saw the island vaguely coming into view, he called Ed and Cana out of the cabin to announce the rules of the exam.

"Listen carefully, you two. I will now announce the specific rules for Fairy Tail's S-Class exam!"

Makarov paused before continuing, "This exam is a twenty-four-hour survival challenge. You must survive on the island for twenty-four hours while obtaining your own food and securing a place to rest."

"That sounds pretty easy." Ed looked out at the sea. As a mage surrounded by the ocean, he had no reason to worry about food.

There were ways to obtain water as well. All he needed was a container to fill with seawater, then he could use fire to evaporate it and collect the condensed steam. There was no difficulty at all. In fact, even going without food or water would not be a problem.

"Hmph! Being S-Class isn't just about survival. Exploration and combat are both indispensable!" Makarov could tell from Ed's expression that he was taking it too lightly.

"Erza and Laxus are already on the island, and many magical beasts have been placed there. They will attack you directly."

"At the same time, the magical beasts carry four different secret letters. Any two can be combined into a message, which will reveal either Erza's or Laxus's location. I will now announce your specific tasks!"

"First! Survive for twenty-four hours! Second! Collect at least one complete set of secret letters and decipher the message! Third! Follow the message to Erza's or Laxus's location and earn their approval! Complete all three tasks, and you pass the exam! That is all! Is that clear? Do you understand?!"

"Clear!" "Understood!" Ed and Cana answered loudly at the same time.

"Very good. There is one more thing to note. If neither of you has reached the third task by the final hour, Erza and Laxus will begin attacking you directly. Even if you defeat them then, you will still fail the exam if you have not completed the first two tasks."

Makarov paused and said seriously, "The missions undertaken by S-Class Mages are all extremely dangerous. Even if your strength alone may have reached the S-Class threshold, without the necessary intelligence, trying to brute-force an S-Class mission with strength alone is no different from seeking death. So take this exam seriously, understand?!"

Seeing Ed and Cana nod seriously, Makarov said, "One more thing: if neither of you completes the exam, then no one will become S-Class this time. Now that all the rules have been explained, if there are no questions, the exam officially begins!"

"The island is still some distance away, isn't it?" Ed shouted as he looked at the island at least five hundred meters away. "That's part of the exam too. Figure it out yourselves!"

"Then I'm off!" Seeing this, Cana jumped straight into the sea and began swimming toward the island with Zero inhabitants.

Seeing that, Ed pulled out a kunai and pinched it between his fingers. He drew his arm back, gathered magic power into it, and readied Monster Strength. "Then let's begin!"