Fairy Queen Erza. She was the main female protagonist of the Fairy Tail anime. While she might be the second female lead, she was the fan favorite.
Kael Vane was a big fan of Erza, so he recognized her right away.
This was the first time he had seen her in person. When he joined the guild, she had been away on a mission.
"What's going on?"
"It looks like Erza wants to take an S-Class mission, and the Master refused."
"S-Class?!"
S-Class missions were incredibly hard. Even for an S-Class Mage, they were life-threatening. One wrong move and you could die.
Unless you were an extremely powerful S-Class Mage, like Gildarts, most S-Class Mages avoided S-Class missions.
"Master! I am confident I can complete this S-Class mission!"
Erza looked at Makarov. She had been an S-Class Mage for three years. She passed the S-Class trial at fifteen, becoming the youngest S-Class Mage in Fairy Tail's history.
After she was promoted, she didn't rush to take S-Class missions. She knew she wasn't strong enough, so she had been patiently building her strength.
She had planned to take one last year, but then the "incident with Mira" happened. So she waited another year. She was eighteen now.
Hearing that a new guild member had completed an S-Class mission on his first job had sparked Erza's competitive spirit. She was S-Class, but she hadn't completed an S-Class mission yet, while a new guy had.
So, she decided it was time to challenge one.
"No! This job is too dangerous. This isn't about confidence. It's about strength."
"I have the strength to complete this mission!"
"You brat, why are you so stubborn?!" Makarov yelled, hitting the table.
Elfman muttered, "Why does this scene look so familiar?"
He glanced at Kael Vane. This was almost the exact same conversation Kael had with the Master a few days ago.
"Master, I'm not being stubborn. I truly believe I can do this job."
Makarov sighed. "Sigh! You kid... S-Class missions aren't that simple. This request has been posted for over two years. In that time, seven or eight powerful Mages have tried to challenge it. None of them came back. Do you understand why I can't let you go?"
"What?!"
"Seven or eight Mages died?!"
The guild was shocked. Any Mage who takes an S-Class mission must be strong. For that many to have died, this mission was extremely dangerous.
"Master, I still want to try!" Erza said, her face serious. Every mission was dangerous. You could only break your limits by challenging yourself.
"This kid... I can't get through to you." Makarov was furious.
Just then, Makarov glanced at Kael Vane by the request board. He thought: This kid has been wanting to get to the second floor...
"Fine! I agree."
"Really?!" Erza was surprised. She thought for sure he would say no.
"But! I have one condition!"
"What condition?"
"You can't go alone. It's too dangerous. I'll assign someone to go with you. Only then will I feel at ease."
Makarov pointed at Kael. "Kael Vane! You will go with Erza!"
Kael was confused, pointing at himself. "Me?!"
"Ehhhhh?!"
The guild members were shocked.
Kael was just a new guy. He had just finished one S-Class mission, and now he was going on another? This was crazy!
"That's right! You, kid! Weren't you just wanting to do S-Class missions? I'm giving you the chance. Go with Erza. Will you do it?"
[Ding! Accept S-Class Mission: Sword of Legend? Mission Reward: One Ten-Pull!]
"I'll do it! I'll do it! I'll do it!"
When Kael Vane saw the system alert, he immediately raised his hand.
How could he not? One S-Class mission was worth ten A-Class ones. And doing ten A-Class missions was a huge hassle, running all over the place. One S-Class mission was much easier.
Kael quickly came over. "Master, I'll do it!"
"Erza, you and Kael will complete this mission together. If you don't agree, I can't let you go alone," Makarov said.
S-Class missions were too dangerous. Erza was strong, but the chance of failure was high. Kael was new, but he had experience completing one. And from Elfman's report, Kael's stamina was bad, but at full power, his strength was top-tier, even for an S-Class Mage.
If Makarov wasn't afraid of the kid's ego getting too big, he would have promoted him to S-Class on the spot.
He would only feel at ease if Kael went with Erza.
"I agree!" Erza said, without hesitation. She wasn't the type to be reckless. She would not refuse a safer way to complete the mission.
"Hello, I'm Erza. It's a pleasure to work with you."
Erza held out her hand.
Kael shook it. "I'm Kael Vane. Nice to meet you."
"I've heard about you. You defeated Phantom Lord all by yourself and completed an S-Class mission. You're very reliable."
"It was just a coincidence."
"You don't complete S-Class missions by coincidence. We should spar sometime."
"Uh... sure."
Kael Vane could see the strong desire to win in her eyes. She clearly wanted to beat him.
"Kael, take a look at the mission," Makarov said, handing him the request.
Kael took it. This was his first time seeing an official S-Class request.
It had a big red "S" on it, showing how dangerous it was.
[Sword of Legend (S): In a temple deep in the Western Great Forest of the Sorbear Kingdom, there is a legendary sword. Pull out the sword and deliver it to the Sorbear royal palace.]
"The mission doesn't look that complicated."
Makarov's face was serious. "The simple missions are the most dangerous. Seven or eight strong Mages have already died on this one."
"I don't know much about the mission, but I know about that forest. The official name is the Great Forest. But it has another name: 'The Great Forest of Monsters'!"