While turbulent undercurrents surged outside, and the Third Master and the designated Fourth Master were nearly driven mad with worry, inside the Fairy Tail guild, everything remained calm and peaceful.
Indeed, it was unusually tranquil.
In the typically rowdy guild hall, hardly anyone had been fighting during this period.
Natsu and Happy rushed into the guild carrying bundles, urgently slapping a request form on the table and shouting.
"Mira! This quest is finished! Hurry up, I want to take on the next job!"
Mirajane flipped open the massive request ledger to register Natsu's completed task, then smiled gently and said.
"Alright, it's recorded. You can take on the next job now."
Natsu grinned widely before immediately dashing out again with Happy.
Lucy, who was holding the Canis Minor Celestial Spirit at the bar, saw Natsu and quickly called out to him, "Natsu! I'll go work with you!"
Without stopping, Natsu excitedly replied over his shoulder, "Sorry, Lucy! I'm not teaming up with anyone for work during this time!"
As he responded to Lucy without watching where he was going, Natsu collided with Gray, who was running back in.
The two immediately began butting heads again, looking like they were about to engage in a long-awaited brawl.
Mirajane watched the two confronting each other and softly reminded him, "Gray, are you here to take on a job too?"
Gray immediately snapped out of it, ignoring Natsu and ran to the bar to hand over his request form, saying quickly, "This job's done! Next job, please, Mira!"
Lucy watched as Natsu, without fighting Gray, quickly left the guild, then saw Gray hurriedly run out.
Her confusion only grew.
Soon, Lucy, who had been sitting leisurely at the bar, was pushed aside by a crowd of Mages coming to pick up jobs.
Wide-eyed, Lucy watched everyone's high work enthusiasm and asked in bewilderment.
"Why is everyone so motivated lately?"
Mirajane calmly processed everyone's job requests and smiled at Lucy. "That's right. It's been almost a year since you joined the guild, Lucy. This is probably the first time you're experiencing this."
Lucy paused, curious. "Experiencing what?"
Mirajane smiled mysteriously without giving her the answer. "You'll probably find out tomorrow."
Seeing the sly Mirajane piquing her interest without finishing her sentence, Lucy could only pout unhappily and find a table to sit at.
Wendy was also curious.
Watching the large group enter the guild only to rush out again, she asked, "Lucy, do you know why everyone's like this?"
Lucy spread her hands helplessly. "After all, I'm still a newcomer."
After chatting for a while, Lucy began observing those still in the guild, trying to find some clues.
Carla was proudly showing off her somewhat successful predictive abilities to Lisanna and Juvia, pointing toward Macao and saying that Wakaba would soon come to discuss some topics about newcomers with him.
Shortly after, Wakaba indeed found his way to Macao's side, and they started chatting about the topic of newcomers...
Although the conversation revolved around the pointless subject of "which newcomer has a better ass or boobs."
Lucy glanced in another direction, where Panther Lily was brandishing a large sword in a spar with Erza.
Before long, Lily transformed into a small black cat.
This was the form Lily's body had adapted to in Earthland... much cuter now.
The little black cat Lily marveled at Erza's formidable strength, and out of nowhere, Gajeel popped up, proudly boasting to Erza about how amazing his cat was.
At another table, Ankh and Laxus were seated opposite each other.
Laxus had his arms crossed and was dozing off, while Ankh was tinkering with a Magic Crystal, though it was unclear what he was doing.
After scanning the room, Lucy withdrew her gaze, her confusion only growing instead of fading.
Most people in the guild were very busy, yet some seemed unchanged from their usual selves.
This group didn't appear to have any common traits either...
Unable to figure it out, Lucy went to ask the old-timers like Macao, but all she got were mysterious smiles and words similar to Mirajane's.
"You'll find out tomorrow."
Lucy: (●—●)
After a day of racking her brains without success, the next day, Master Makarov gathered everyone in the guild's main hall.
Lucy stood beside Wendy, both looking expectantly at Makarov on the stage.
"The Guild Master said he'd announce something today—this must be why everyone's been so busy lately!"
Among the crowd, most were excitedly waiting on tenterhooks.
For instance, Natsu couldn't contain his excitement, constantly turning his head left and right to ease his nerves.
Alzack nervously fidgeted with his fingers, while Bisca comforted him beside him.
People like them made up the majority, and when all the S-Class Mages of the guild stepped up behind Makarov, the crowd erupted in spontaneous cheers.
Behind Makarov, five S-Class Mages stood in a row.
Seeing this lineup, a sudden flash of insight struck Lucy, and she guessed what was happening.
Just as Lucy had surmised, the Guild Master cleared his throat and solemnly addressed everyone:
"According to Fairy Tail's long-standing tradition, I will now announce the list of participants for the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial."
"Oh!!"
The crowd burst into even more enthusiastic cheers.
Lucy and Wendy exchanged glances, both seeing the dawning realization in each other's eyes.
No wonder everyone had been so proactive lately—they were working hard to promote themselves, hoping to be included in the candidate list by the Master, right?
Makarov continued loudly, "This year's exam will take place on Tenrou Island, the sacred ground of our guild."
Lucy quietly asked Warren, who seemed relatively calmer, "What's the exam content like?"
Warren shrugged. "No idea. It's different every year, but the difficulty is always equally tough..."
'Ah... after all, they're selecting S-Class Mages like Erza.'
Makarov's authoritative voice echoed through the hall as he solemnly declared, "I have carefully observed your abilities, character, and souls over this past year!"
"There are a total of eight participants in the exam!"
"Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Elfman Strauss, Cana Alberona, Freed Justine, Levy McGarden, and... Mest Gryder!"
The names of the participants were read out one by one.
When the final name was announced, the crowd erupted in cheers once more, though this time with mixed reactions of joy and concern.
For instance, Natsu excitedly waved his fists and cheered, Juvia was startled and somewhat confused, Alzack knelt on the ground sobbing in despair while Bisca comforted him again...
And Gajeel, bewildered, stared at Makarov and grumbled, "No? Juvia was selected, so why wasn't I chosen?!"
Lily calmly analyzed, "I've heard about you during my few days at the guild. It seems you're still not fully trusted by everyone."
"That's not it, the truth isn't that at all..."
Gajeel's face turned almost green with frustration.
He stammered for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence with great difficulty.
"I didn't... damn it... I really want to say it..."
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