"Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus have both submitted their lists. They aren't sending many participants either—seems they've handpicked their elites."
Inside the Fairy Tail guild office, Makarov examined the two lists before handing them over to Marco.
After receiving the specific start time for the exam, both Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus promptly submitted their rosters.
Clearly, they had prepared in advance, sending only the most promising young mages from their guilds—such as Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus.
Marco skimmed through the lists.
Aside from Bacchus, Quatro Cerberus had sent Locker, Yager, Rockley, Nobarly, Semmes, and four older mages.
All were familiar faces to Marco, as he was indeed more acquainted with Quatro Cerberus' mages.
The strongest among them was naturally Bacchus, while the others were average—except for Rockley, who stood out due to his tear-based magic.
Unusual magic always left a deeper impression.
As for Blue Pegasus, their young talents—Hibiki, Ren, Karen Lilica, and Jenny Realight—had all arrived, along with a few unfamiliar faces, totaling ten participants.
This matched Fairy Tail's numbers, ensuring neither guild was at a disadvantage in terms of headcount.
"Thirty participants in total—perfect for drawing lots into fifteen matchups. Though that means one person will get a bye in the second round," Marco remarked.
He already had an idea for handling the bye: awarding it to whoever secured the fastest victory in the first round.
This would be far more exciting than a random draw.
Adding this rule introduced an extra layer of challenge for the examinees, injecting more unpredictability into the battles.
Those vying for the bye would have to strategize for quick wins, while others could exploit their opponents' haste.
The rule would undoubtedly heighten the tactical complexity of each fight.
"That's a solid idea," Makarov nodded.
While the exam's combat format was meant to streamline things, it wouldn't hurt to spice it up a little.
"For the first round, avoid pairing guildmates against each other. Let everyone face mages from other guilds. By the second round, we can randomize it completely," Makarov suggested.
With thirty participants in the first round, it was easy to ensure cross-guild matchups.
The uneven numbers in later rounds made this impossible, so pure luck would take over.
"Agreed. Let's proceed like this," Marco said.
Truthfully, there wasn't much to refine about the rules—victors would advance, plain and simple.
The only room for creativity lay in minor details like the bye rule.
As for team battles, those weren't on the agenda this time.
Keeping things simple for the first attempt would allow them to gather experience for future events.
After finalizing the rules, all preparations for the assessment were completed, and all that remained was the waiting.
.....
Marco had been so busy with this matter that he hadn't taken on any missions during this period.
Instead, he had used his free time to compose several new songs.
For example, the entrance theme for their guild, Fairy Tail, was incredibly intense—so much so that just listening to it made people feel like they could unleash their full potential.
It received unanimous praise from everyone.
Natsu even demanded that this music be played nonstop during his battles.
Marco flatly refused.
As the official in charge of the assessment, he certainly wouldn't play music for Natsu continuously.
However, if Natsu brought his own sound system to play the music, that was within the rules of the exam.
Natsu had already decided to do just that.
He bought a magical sound system and planned to provide his own BGM during the assessment.
Marco truly hadn't expected Natsu to love this music so much.
"Listening to this track, I feel like I have endless energy inside me."
Natsu's review was so metaphysical that Marco was left speechless.
'Good grief, does everyone in this world need their own personal BGM that grants them a power boost when it plays?'
"I don't feel anything at all."
Marco found the whole thing rather absurd.
He had composed so much music himself, yet he hadn't found his own BGM.
But Natsu, of all people, had somehow stumbled upon his perfect match right away.
"He's just spouting nonsense." Mirajane gave a blunt assessment.
She wasn't the only one who thought so.
Everyone was skeptical—even dismissive—of Natsu's "BGM power-up theory."
Natsu pulling stunts like this was nothing new.
He might genuinely believe that hearing this BGM made him stronger, but in reality, there was no such effect—it was just his own delusion.
....
Time passed quickly, and soon, the day of the assessment arrived.
The mages from Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus had already reached Magnolia and settled into hotels in the city.
More mages had come than Marco had anticipated.
Even though the assessment would only last a few days, guild operations still had to continue.
He had assumed many would stay behind to take on missions, but it seemed this event had drawn far more interest than he expected.
Fortunately, he had the foresight to expand and reorganize the spectator seating in advance.
The current setup could comfortably accommodate all these mages.
"Magnolia is so lively! It's way better than our place—I'm kind of jealous."
Among the mages from Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus, many were visiting Magnolia for the first time.
They were now witnessing firsthand the pull of Marco's reputation—the city was bustling like never before.
"The current Fairy Tail truly lives up to its reputation as the number one Wizard Guild in Fiore. It's even driving the development of an entire city. The boost Marco-san has given Fairy Tail is just too strong—other guilds can't even hope to catch up." Ichiya sighed.
In the past, Master Bob would often talk about surpassing Fairy Tail, but now, he never mentioned it at all.
Especially after the "Nord Forest Incident," Fairy Tail has now gained fame beyond the borders of the Fiore Kingdom, becoming one of the most renowned guilds across the entire continent of Ishgar.
Ichiya heard that there were even immigrants from the western continent who came specifically to join Fairy Tail, not to mention people from other countries in Ishgar.
Under Fairy Tail's influence, Magnolia City was truly on its way to becoming an international metropolis.
"Let's go to Fairy Home. The examination venue is set up there."
Adjusting his mood, Ichiya led his guild members toward Fairy Home.
They had already explored Magnolia the day before, but today, they were still amazed by it.
As for Master Bob, he had gone to Master Makarov's house with Master Goldmine.
The old friends gathered to reminisce.
It was said that even the rarely seen Porlyusica had made an appearance.
As for Quatro Cerberus, Bacchus was leading the team, and they had already headed to Fairy Home ahead of them.
Ichiya and the Blue Pegasus members quickly made their way to Fairy Home, where they encountered the Quatro Cerberus team at the entrance of the arena.
At the same time, they also met Fairy Tail's representatives.
Leading Fairy Tail were Erza and Mirajane, whom Ichiya had met once before.
Facing these two ladies, Ichiya was extremely polite, refraining from any inappropriate actions and even stopping Hibiki Lates, who seemed eager to show off.
It was quite awkward—Hibiki Lates and Karen Lilica, who had recently broken up, were both in the team.
Their relationship was tense, mainly because of Karen.
Hibiki had now seen the light, but Karen clearly couldn't stand his behavior.
Although she was the one who dumped him, she had hoped he would be heartbroken over her, not turn into the flirtatious playboy he was now, showering all women with equal kindness.
Hibiki didn't avoid Karen, treating her no differently from other women—fair and impartial—but this only made Karen angrier.
"Can we go in yet?"
Standing at the arena entrance, Bacchus was growing impatient.
Rubbing his hands together, he was eager for a fight, and the "hounds" behind him wore similar expressions.
In Bacchus's eyes, there were no men or women—only opponents.
Their team didn't even have a single female mage, truly a group of sigma males.
Creak!
Just as Bacchus was about to lose his patience, the arena doors finally opened.
Macao and Wakaba stood on either side, smiling as they greeted the guests.
The two of them were in charge of welcoming the participants.
"Please follow us inside."
Macao motioned for Blue Pegasus to follow him, while Wakaba led Quatro Cerberus.
The two of them guided the guild members to their respective waiting areas.
The Fairy Tail team didn't need anyone to guide them—their position was on the viewing platform above the main gate.
There were three representative teams in total: Quatro Cerberus on the left viewing platform, Blue Pegasus on the right, and Fairy Tail on the platform above the gate.
Directly opposite the main gate was the examiners' platform.
The examiners' platform was elevated, and three empty chairs stood out prominently on it.
"This arena is huge! Fairy Tail really went all out!"
Upon entering the arena, the mages from Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus couldn't help but marvel.
It could be said that ever since arriving in Magnolia, they hadn't stopped being amazed.
And after coming to Fairy Home and seeing this arena, their admiration only grew.
From this place alone, it was clear that Fairy Tail's current financial state was outstanding—far beyond their own level.
Looking at Fairy Home, how could they not feel envious?
The living conditions were excellent, with facilities that left everyone in awe.
After the three representative teams entered, the other mages who weren't participating in the exam were gradually seated in the spectator stands, naturally positioned behind their respective teams.
"Examiners entering."
As everyone buzzed with chatter, a broadcast echoed through the arena, accompanied by music.
The teams and spectators immediately fell silent, raising their heads to look at the even higher examiners' platform ahead.
The platform faced the main gate and was significantly taller than the waiting areas of the three teams.
Later, the guild masters would also observe the matches from beside the examiners' platform.
As a powerful piece of music played, three figures appeared on the examiners' platform.
First was a flash of lightning—Laxus made his entrance in a burst of thunder, his expression cold as he swept his gaze over the crowd, looking at them as if they were trash, fully embodying the demeanor of the "Thunder God."
Spurred by Marco's influence, Laxus had trained exceptionally hard over the years.
His reputation was now thunderous across the Fiore Kingdom, and naturally, everyone recognized this "Thunder God."
"I heard Laxus is fierce, but his strength doesn't match Marco-san!" Jenny Realight whispered quietly to Karen.
Karen shot Jenny a sidelong glance, her face twisting in disgust as she walked away without a word.
"?"
Jenny was left utterly confused, having no idea how she'd offended Karen.
"Ahem, Jenny, Karen is an anti-fan of Marco-san."
Hibiki, who had witnessed the exchange, quietly reminded Jenny, signaling her not to waste her breath.
"WHAT?!" Jenny's eyes widened in disbelief.
She couldn't believe Marco-san actually had anti-fans!
From then on, Jenny's expression toward Karen also turned disdainful—now it was mutual dislike.
On the examiners' platform, the next to appear was Gildarts.
The scruffy-looking man wore a friendly smile as he waved amiably at the examinees, presenting a stark contrast to the stern Laxus beside him.
"It's Gildarts!"
The appearance of Gildarts naturally sparked another wave of discussion among the crowd.
For the mages from other guilds—especially the older ones in the audience—Gildarts' fame far surpassed that of Laxus.
Laxus and Gildarts entered the arena and took their seats.
On the examiner's platform, three large chairs stood prominently.
Laxus and Gildarts each occupied one side, leaving the central chair conspicuously empty.
"Just waiting for that one now!"
Everyone knew who that chair was reserved for.
In the current Fairy Tail, the most renowned figure was undoubtedly Marco.
"Hum!"
A flash of light flickered, and Marco's figure abruptly appeared in everyone's line of sight.
Clad in golden armor, he directly took his seat in the center chair.
The moment Marco appeared, he instantly became the focal point.
Many recognized that golden armor—it was the very same set Marco had worn when turning the tide in the "Nord Forest."
"Marco-san!"
"Ahhh!"
Cheers erupted from the audience, accompanied by screams from the contestants' seats.
Mages from all three guilds buzzed with excitement.
"..."
For a brief moment, Marco felt like a pop idol.