"But then what would you S-Class Mages do?" Makarov suddenly realized a problem.
If the final victor of the battles earned the promotion, what roles would Marco, Laxus, and Gildarts—the existing S-Class Magic users—play?
"We'd be the judges, evaluating the candidates' performances. If someone performs exceptionally well, they might even earn a special promotion—it doesn't necessarily have to be the final winner." Marco grew more excited as he spoke, thinking of Nara Shikamaru, who had failed his match but still earned a promotion due to his outstanding performance.
At this point, Marco even considered inviting magic users from other guilds to participate in the "S-Class Mage Exam," essentially creating a "Fairy Tail version of the Chunin Exams"!
"What do you think? Could it work?"
Having entertained the possibility, Marco pitched the idea to Makarov, whose eyes also lit up.
"For example, inviting young magic users from Quatro Cerberus and Blue Pegasus?" Marco mentioned two "brother guilds"—and they truly could be called that, since their respective guild masters had once been members of Fairy Tail and maintained close ties with Makarov.
If Makarov had been merely surprised before, Marco's suggestion now had him genuinely intrigued.
"Though this would go against the original idea of keeping things simple, still..."
Makarov's face gradually lit up with excitement.
Just the thought of Erza and Mirajane defeating the mages from Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus in battle, and imagining the expressions on those two old friends' faces, made him feel exhilarated.
At their age and status, what they compared was the achievements of the younger generation and the development of their respective guilds.
Nothing could bring them greater joy than this.
"Let's do it this way!" Makarov immediately made the decision.
"You go and contact them to see if those two old fellows are interested. After all, there's still plenty of time before the assessment, so we have ample time to prepare."
Not wanting to trouble another person, Makarov directly assigned this task to Marco, who was the most suitable among the three S-Class Magic users in the guild to handle this matter.
Marco knew both Goldmine and Bob and also had the time.
Most importantly, he had the time. In terms of familiarity, Gildarts would definitely know them better.
"No problem, I'll contact the two guild masters." Marco nodded.
For now, this matter still needed to be kept confidential, so he could only communicate directly with the two guild masters.
"It's settled then." Makarov nodded, concluding this small meeting.
He felt the results were quite satisfactory, and Marco's proposal for a "Joint S-Class Mages Assessment" was very constructive.
The idea of having S-Class Mages serve as judges to evaluate candidates, where promotion wasn't solely based on victory in battle, was also an excellent suggestion.
After all, each guild had different criteria for assessing S-Class Magic users.
Everyone could judge their own members based on their own standards to determine if they were ready for promotion, without necessarily requiring victory in combat.
This would be fair for everyone.
The high standards of "Fairy Tail" were their own business; there was no need to impose the same criteria on other guilds.
.....
After parting ways with Makarov, Marco immediately left the guild and set off to visit the other two guild masters.
"If we make it bigger, we could even turn it into a nationwide event."
Marco mused, but that would be too much trouble.
Hosting something like this every year would undoubtedly require a significant amount of effort.
'If we further develop things like paid spectator seating, this could become a major project. Has no one ever thought of this before?'
On the Corvus Aircraft heading to the Quatro Cerberus guild, Marco kept pondering this matter.
He found it quite strange—with so many Wizard Guilds in the Kingdom of Fiore, numbering at least a hundred, how had no one ever organized something like a "World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament"?
'I'll look it up in books when I have time, or ask Levy to help find related information. And Hisui—her royal family has been ruling this land for so many generations; they must know a lot of secrets.'
Marco thought to himself.
His current network of connections was incredibly reliable, extending even beyond the Kingdom of Fiore.
He could ask friends from other countries to help investigate as well.
Of course, regardless of whether such events had existed before, they must have been discontinued by now—otherwise, Marco would have known about them.
So if he were to organize one now, there wouldn't be any competitors to worry about.
Lost in thought, Marco arrived at the guildhall of Quatro Cerberus.
The reason he came here first was simply because it was closer—Blue Pegasus was located further northwest.
"Marco?! What brings you here?! Here for a drink with me?"
No sooner had Marco stopped in front of Quatro Cerberus's guildhall than someone bounded over, greeting him with great enthusiasm.
It was Bacchus, an old friend of his.
"Don't flatter yourself. I'm here to see Master Goldmine," Marco replied bluntly, already walking inside as if it were his own home.
The other members of Quatro Cerberus around them also greeted him warmly, their eyes filled with reverence for a true powerhouse—especially those who had survived the Node Forest Incident.