Chapter 102
"Macao, Freed, Juvia, Natsu, Gray, Cana, Mystogan, and Marshall. Those are the candidates for this year’s S-Class Mage Promotion Trial."
Makarov looked over the guildhall.
"Each of you may choose one fellow guild member to accompany you during the trial."
"What?!"
Natsu immediately started jumping up and down.
"Why does that bastard get to participate too?! I’m the one who’s gonna become S-Class!"
On the surface, Natsu’s repeated failure to be selected in previous years was blamed on his recklessness.
In reality, Makarov had mainly used the selection process to encourage everyone to behave themselves and complete jobs properly.
Whether someone truly qualified for S-Class still came down to his personal judgment and their actual strength.
"Hehehe."
Marshall smiled smugly.
"Natsu, you may complete plenty of jobs, but the amount of money you’ve earned for Fairy Tail isn’t even a fraction of what I’ve brought in."
"When it comes to contributions to the guild, I’m far ahead of you~"
Since Cana had made it clear that she didn’t want his help, and Marshall had already registered with Makarov, he saw no reason to keep pretending.
He had originally wanted to interact with his family as an ordinary guild member.
In return, he received nothing but mockery and disrespect!
Marshall had decided to reveal his true power.
This year, he was becoming an S-Class Mage!
Erza currently held the record as Fairy Tail’s youngest S-Class Mage, having passed it at fifteen.
Marshall still had more than a month before his thirteenth birthday.
If he passed before the end of the month, he would become S-Class at twelve years old.
That would probably be an achievement no one had ever matched—and perhaps no one ever would.
"You bastard! Eat this!"
Natsu charged forward with his fist raised.
Unfortunately for him, Marshall’s strength was no longer what it had once been.
Marshall casually snapped his fingers.
A thin golden outline instantly appeared around Natsu’s body, freezing him in midair.
"What kind of magic is that?! Natsu can’t move at all!"
"Is it Script Magic again? Can Script Magic really do something like this?"
"He isn’t moving even slightly. Is it connected to that golden light?"
"As expected of Marshall! I’d say there’s a very good chance he’ll be the one promoted this year!"
The guild members gathered around the suspended Natsu and began examining him.
Some knocked against his arms.
Others poked his face or slapped various parts of his body, having far too much fun with the situation.
Marshall had created this Binding Spell by combining Script Magic with Spatial Magic.
Its true function was to lock the space surrounding the target, making physical movement impossible.
The idea had come from the time he restrained Mira.
As for the golden light...
That was purely a visual effect.
It served no practical purpose whatsoever.
[Marshall! You bastard! Let me go! I know you can hear me!]
Natsu’s brain still worked well enough for him to remember Marshall’s Telepathy Magic, so he began shouting inside his own head.
Marshall pretended not to notice and turned toward Cana with a pleasant smile.
"Oh, Cana, I suppose I should choose a partner for the trial."
"What do you think of this guy?"
"I happen to possess a little spell that can keep him quiet, so he might be useful to carry through the forest."
Natsu glared so hard that his eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
[Bastard! Let me go and fight me one-on-one!]
"Ahaha~ Natsu really has a terrible memory."
Marshall wagged a finger.
"Didn’t we agree that before challenging me, you first had to defeat Gray?"
"You’ve broken the rules again~"
He cheerfully waved toward Gray.
"Gray, Natsu is completely unable to move right now."
"He can still feel pain, though, so you’re free to hit him as much as you like. He has no way to fight back."
"Wait, you can do that?!" several people shouted at once.
"Marshall, don’t release him! I’ve been waiting ages to get revenge on this bastard!"
"That’s right! You fireball asshole, you’re always beating us up!"
"Hahaha! Your day has finally come! Prepare to die!"
Several large men rushed forward and began punching and kicking Natsu with great enthusiasm.
Just as they were enjoying themselves, cracks appeared across the glowing character for Bind floating above Natsu’s head.
Marshall sighed and waved his hand, canceling the spell.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Natsu crashed to the ground before springing back up in a rage.
"You bastards! You used some cowardly spell to hold me still!"
"Fight me one-on-one if you’ve got the guts!"
"Are you kidding? Why would anyone fight you fairly, Natsu?"
"No thanks. I’m going home. Bye~"
After throwing one final log onto the fire, Marshall happily vanished.
The temperature inside the guildhall seemed to rise several degrees.
"You... bunch... of... BASTARDS!"
Natsu returned like an enraged dragon, and the guild immediately descended into chaos.
Makarov watched the familiar scene with complete calm.
He had long since become numb to it.
He stroked his chin and turned toward Erza.
"Erza, are you confident you could defeat Marshall now?"
"I’m not certain."
Erza considered the question seriously.
"Marshall’s Spear-and-Staff Arts are already no weaker than my own combat skills, and his magic power has slightly surpassed mine."
"His Spatial Magic and Script Magic are also extraordinarily powerful."
"The only areas where I might still hold an advantage are physical maturity and combat experience."
"To be honest, I’m not very confident."
The surrounding guild members fell silent.
"Uh..."
"That’s..."
Erza smiled brightly.
"I’m not troubled by it!"
"I’ve decided that I’ll always protect Marshall. How could I possibly stop working hard?"
Seeing one of the guild’s next-generation pillars filled with so much determination made Makarov proud.
It also gave him a headache!
"All of you, quiet down!"
"Since we’re talking about this, Erza, haven’t you been accepting far too many jobs recently?"
"I don’t object to hard work, but you still need to rest occasionally."
"You’ve cleared out nearly every S-Class request available to the guild!"
"Oh, that’s because I used to spend a great deal of time traveling while carrying all my luggage."
Erza explained matter-of-factly.
"Marshall recently gave me a Fourth-Dimensional Storage Bag, and Mystogan allowed us to use the teleportation arrays he established between major cities."
"My mobility has improved considerably, so naturally my efficiency has increased."
"...Please take more time to rest."
Makarov then turned toward Mira.
"And Mira, could you show a little restraint during your jobs?"
"Your title has already changed from The Demon to The Bloodthirsty Witch!"
"If this continues, people will start thinking Fairy Tail is a dark guild!"
"Well..."
Mira smiled gently.
"That’s only because those people were far too arrogant."
"And considering the nature of those requests, don’t you think Fairy Tail should—"
Makarov covered his face.
What in the world were these two talking about?
"In any case, both of you need to calm down!"
"Take a break until the S-Class Promotion Trial."
"Our guild has been completing requests so efficiently that other guilds are starting to complain!"
Makarov sighed.
"I’m beginning to agree more and more with Marshall."
"Perhaps Fairy Tail really does need a different operating model."
"We no longer depend on the relatively small amount of money earned from ordinary requests..."
Erza looked confused.
"Master, why should we care what other guilds think about how many jobs we complete?"
"Isn’t Fairy Tail becoming more famous a good thing?"
"You certainly seem pleased about it."
Makarov lowered his voice.
"The truth is that many guilds have close ties to Fairy Tail."
"For example, the Guild Masters of Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus were once members of our guild."
"What?!"
"They only left after growing older and established guilds of their own."
"We can’t go too far and steal every job they rely on to survive."
"I understand."
Erza nodded thoughtfully.
"Then the next time I meet Ichiya from Blue Pegasus or that drunkard from Quatro Cerberus, I’ll be gentler with them."
"I may have beaten them slightly too hard before."
"...What?!"
Makarov stared at her.
"Why have I never heard anything about this?"
"Was it worth mentioning?"
"...F-Fair enough."
...
Time passed quickly, and the end of X782 arrived.
Fairy Tail’s annual S-Class Mage Promotion Trial was about to begin.
Sitting inside the enormous magical vehicle Makarov had rented, Marshall glanced over his current status.
[Energy: 6,069/6,666]
[Stamina: 5,060/5,090]
[Magic Power: 66,666/66,666]
Below those values stretched an absurdly long list of skills.
His fundamentals included Magic Control LV4 and Script Magic LV4.
His more advanced abilities included Wind Magic LV3, Fire Magic LV3, Water Magic LV3, and Lightning Magic LV3.
He also possessed Spatial Magic LV4, Alchemy Magic LV3, and Firearms Mastery LV3.
Then came a huge collection of Level Two skills and more Level One abilities than he could reasonably count.
Marshall genuinely couldn’t imagine how he was supposed to lose.
Even seventeen-year-old Erza, whose Energy and Stamina were considerably higher than his, possessed only a little over forty thousand magic power.
Her Magic Control had barely reached the threshold of Level Four, while her swordsmanship was approaching Level Four and she possessed the valuable trait of mastering all weapons.
Mira, also seventeen, only had her naturally awakened Take Over Magic at Level Four.
Even her Reinforcement Magic hadn’t yet reached that level.
Laxus’s Lightning Magic, however, had successfully reached Level Four.
Judging purely by the System’s skill ratings, Marshall could almost declare himself invincible.
Of course, combat strength couldn’t be measured entirely through statistics.
Their mature bodies gave them a genuine physical advantage, and their battle experience far surpassed his.
If someone managed to close the distance and force him into direct combat, the outcome might become uncertain despite all his advantages.
That possibility was extremely small, however.
As long as Marshall maintained his distance, he was practically unbeatable.
Looking over the trial’s participants, the only people who could genuinely pressure him were Fairy Tail’s established S-Class Mages—Erza, Mira, Laxus, and Gildarts.
As for the actual candidates...
Macao and Freed were respectable, but hardly threats.
Natsu...
Juvia possessed the highest-ranked Water Magic in the entire guild at Level Five, but her magic power was only a little over five thousand—less than both Natsu and Gray.
Cana’s magic power had reached the necessary threshold at roughly fifteen thousand, but a summoner facing a spatial assassin...
There was no real contest.
Mystogan’s magical-array expertise genuinely surpassed Marshall’s, but he possessed no internal magic power at all.
Once again, there was no real contest.
Ten thousand units of magic power represented a major dividing line.
Anyone above that level had entered an entirely different class.
Against Marshall’s magic power of over fifty thousand, the other candidates were facing an overwhelming difference in scale.
If Marshall became serious, the trial could already be declared over.
It was practically a guaranteed promotion with no suspense whatsoever.
Makarov seemed to agree, which was why this year’s S-Class trial felt somewhat improvised.
"This is the Forest of Demons!"
Makarov pointed toward the dark wilderness ahead.
"It is filled with dangerous magical beasts."
"Do you see that tall mountain in the distance?"
"I placed a target on the summit deep within the forest. The first candidates to reach it will qualify for the next round!"
Natsu raised his hand.
"What does that mean? Am I supposed to fly there too?"
"That’s your problem."
"This trial is meant to test your abilities as a Mage."
Cana had chosen Levy as her partner.
The two climbed onto a wyvern summoned from one of Cana’s cards and immediately flew away.
"Come on, Wendy! We can’t lose to them!"
Juvia had selected Wendy.
She transformed into a stream of water, wrapped herself around the younger girl, and rapidly vanished into the forest.
The other candidates departed one after another.
Only Marshall remained beside Makarov, calmly chatting as though the trial had nothing to do with him.
No one was worried.
Everyone knew Spatial Magic was his greatest specialty.
"Boss! When are we leaving, nya?!"
Marshall’s partner was naturally Ruby.
Choosing anyone more capable would have felt a little too much like bullying the others.
"Go on, Marshall."
Makarov gestured toward the remaining passengers.
"Teleport all of us there first."
The only people left inside the vehicle were the Guild Master and the examiners—Laxus, Erza, and Mira.
Marshall spread his hands helplessly.
"Seriously? I’m not your personal servant!"
He glanced at Makarov.
"Master, why don’t we make a bet?"
"What would we wager?"
"If you lose, you’ll grant me access to every S-Class request in the guild."
"I’ll clear them all myself."
"What?!"
Makarov stared at him.
"Your imagination is painfully limited, Master."
"Mira! I’m revoking this rotten brat’s eligibility for the S-Class trial!"
"My, my~ Don’t be angry, Master."
Mira covered her smile.
"Marshall only spoke the truth. That hardly deserves disqualification."
"You two! Hmph!"
After amusing himself by teasing the old man, Marshall finally asked in a leisurely voice:
"So, Master, what’s the second round?"
"Is there a third?"
"The second round will be a tournament."
Makarov explained.
"The eight remaining candidates will fight one-on-one until only four remain."
"In the third round, those four will challenge the three S-Class examiners."
"I don’t think we need to make it that complicated."
Marshall smiled.
"I promise I won’t waste much of anyone’s time."