"Erza is so amazing." Wendy leaned on the railing and sighed, then glanced back at the phantom left by Rhode, "I wonder how Brother Rhode is doing over there."
Just then, Rhode's phantom suddenly tilted its head, widened its eyes, and stuck out its tongue long.
"Eek——!!!" Wendy's hair stood on end in fright, her whole body shook as if electrocuted, her back pressing tightly against the wall.
Rhode laughed heartily as he dispelled the phantom and stood back in that position, waving to Wendy: "I'm back."
"That's so mean!" Wendy puffed out one cheek, angrily looking at him.
"Sorry, sorry. I was worried you'd be bored with these two." Rhode disparaged Laxus and Jubia's dull personalities without any psychological burden.
The two glanced at him and paid no attention.
Is scaring kids considered a fun personality?
Wendy pouted: "I don't want that kind of 'fun'."
Rhode thought for a moment and said, "How about I treat you to macarons later?"
Wendy's face immediately showed joy, but she quickly held back: "I'm not a child anymore, I don't need coaxing like that."
"..." It must be Carla leading Wendy astray. Rhode added, "You can invite Sherria along."
Wendy exclaimed in surprise: "Really?!"
"Really." Rhode nodded, "And besides, we can bring you guys along to scare Lucy."
Wendy forced a smile: "Maybe not that..."
Still too kind-hearted.
Laxus wanted to ask about the investigation, but Rhode waved his hand, indicating to discuss it back home.
In the arena, the Pumpkin Man had already announced Erza as the first place.
The commentator praised Erza lavishly, with endless compliments. It seemed to fill the time for the organizers to think of a countermeasure.
Rhode carefully observed Erza's state; apart from some significant magic power consumption, she didn't seem to be injured much, no wonder Wendy stayed put.
But looking at it this way, the Pumpkin Man was indeed exaggerating. Talking about S-Class monsters that even Ten Wizard Saints struggle with...
Or maybe Erza has reached the level of a Ten Wizard Saint too?
Thinking about it, Rhode pointed to the departing Erza, and the blue Crown of Insight appeared around her.
Erza was momentarily puzzled but looked in Rhode's direction.
Such a rapid restoration of magic power might be somewhat unfair to other contestants if she's selected for the upcoming battle segment.
Rhode waved his hand, returning a serious expression.
Erza immediately understood that Rhode had a reason for doing this, so she nodded and went back to rest.
In fact, Rhode felt there was a suspicious person nearby, so it's better for everyone to stay at full strength.
Rhode believes in caution throughout his life.
The Pumpkin Man finally came up with a countermeasure, instructing someone to bring up a piece of equipment.
Rhode found it familiar: "Magic Power Tester? They're actually using this thing?"
Although the style had changed a bit from seven years ago, the main parts were still the same. It had a crystal ball on top and a metal bracket below. Once activated, it could hover in the air about a foot off the ground.
Wendy curiously asked: "What's that?"
Not only her, but most of the contestants and spectators present hadn't seen such a thing.
The Pumpkin Man briefly explained its function.
Everyone thought for a moment; rather than saying it measures magic power, it's more like measuring attack power?
The Pumpkin Man said: "Next, each of the 7 contestants will attack sequentially according to the draw order, and the number displayed above is your MPF. Then rankings will be determined by the values."
The rules were simple and easy to understand, and everyone expressed no issues.
Gajeel grinned openly; he preferred this straightforward method compared to earlier rounds.
"Following the draw order, I'm first, nya." Mirena stepped forward first and quickly gathered power before swinging out her right hand, "Kitty Shockwave!"
Called a shockwave, it actually fired a peculiar rope from the magic array in her palm, spiraling and striking the crystal ball.
The number quickly displayed: [365]
The crowd fell silent; there were no cheers or sighs, for no one knew what the number represented.
"Is 365 high or low?" Jabadi voiced his doubt first.
Lahar smiled: "It's already considered a high value; it's enough for a team leader level in our Strong Detention Team."
Jabadi quickly replied: "So, that means Miss Mirena is quite an excellent mage."
Mirena brightened up: "Energetic to the max!"
The audience finally offered a bit of applause.
Only within Mermaid's Heel did they sigh; Mirena was a bit disadvantaged in this attack power measurement competition.
Next, Yeluo'er of Rays of the Rising Sun stepped forward, first casting a glance toward Fairy Tail, and then stretched her arms: "Requip!"
Golden light flashed on her body, and shortly, metal gauntlets and gloves appeared on her hands, combat boots showed on her feet, and her clothing transformed into an extremely daring style.
Rhode looked carefully; the hands... Why do they resemble Mira's Devil Claws? The clothing also looks similar to the Satan's Soul style...
What's going on?
"Devil Armor!" Yeluo'er loudly declared the name of her equipment.
Her combat boots stomped heavily on the ground, creating a pit, and she darted forward like a swift leopard.
Her clenched fist was already covered in purple-black magic light, followed by a bang against the Magic Crystal.
Black magic surged from her fist, enveloping the entire Magic Power Tester, only dispersing when she retreated.
Behind the Magic Power Tester, a layer of floor tiles was lifted, creating a shallow trench.
Elfman exclaimed: "The move also resembles my sister's."
"Oh dear..." Mira wasn't yet sure if this person was a fan or a challenger, so she cautiously remarked, "It's a bit inferior to my Satan's Soul."
Lisana said: "Definitely more than a tiny bit, right?"
Though she hadn't seen her sister go all out in a long time either.
At this point, the Magic Power Setter displayed the number: [2957]
The audience erupted in gasps.
Mirena was startled: "Is it 8 times mine? Or 9 times?"
Miss Kitty's basic education wasn't strong; she cutely counted her fingers but couldn't calculate it accurately.
Yeluo'er removed the Requip and sneakily glanced at Fairy Tail, muttering to herself: "My performance should be okay, right?"
"2957! What an astonishing number!" Jabadi loudly praised, then asked, "Mr. Lahar, if I may ask, what is the highest MPF record?"
"Well..." Lahar hesitated, glancing toward Team B's direction, "Actually, so far, the highest record is still held by Mr. Rhode. I'm unsure if he's willing to share."
Rhode nodded to him, signaling it was okay.
It's data from 7 years ago anyway.
Lahar then said: "Seven years ago, Mr. Rhode received an MPF test by the Council, scoring... 6934."
Yajima nodded: "Yes, an excellent result."
"Isn't 'excellent' an understatement?!" Jabadi exclaimed, "Isn't that close to twenty times Miss Mirena's score?"
"No, it's not calculated so simply." Lahar explained.
But the entire audience was already in an uproar.
Makarov laughed heartily non-stop.