### Chapter 13: S-Class Trial
That's right, that Mantra from Skypiea.
But Skypiea's Mantra is actually Observation Haki. Enel's Mantra is Observation Haki combined with the Goro Goro no Mi's ability.
This allows for super-large-scale perception covering the entire Skypiea. If anyone speaks ill of him, he can hear it and send down judgment. It's top-tier even among the many users of Observation Haki.
Riku's Mantra didn't have the ability to hear conversations like that, but that was because the worlds were different.
However, through Mantra, he could accurately perceive the strength of everyone's Magic Power.
In the Fairy Tail guild, the one with the strongest Magic Power was that person in the basement; their Magic Power seemed endless.
Then there was Guild Master Makarov. Don't let the old man's small stature fool you; the Magic Power contained within his body was terrifying.
In the anime, the old man used Fairy Law to wipe out nearly a million soldiers of the Alvarez Empire all by himself. If not for the old man, the Ishgar Allied Forces wouldn't have had even a one in ten thousand chance of victory; the difference in numbers between the two sides was just too great.
The reason the old man underperformed most of the time was mainly due to physical reasons. Whenever his emotions fluctuated violently or he engaged in intense exercise, his heart would have problems. Coupled with his old age, even with strong Magic Power, he couldn't fully utilize it.
Next was Uncle Gildarts. His Magic Power was a bit less than the old man's, but far higher than anyone else in the guild.
At this moment, Mira was rarely acting extremely shy, carefully looking left and right, afraid of being seen by someone she knew, completely unlike her usual fearless self.
This feeling was like a high school student secretly dating behind the backs of teachers and classmates.
Riku found it very amusing watching her: "Alright, don't be afraid. There are no acquaintances around. Even if we're seen, it doesn't matter."
"I... I'm not afraid."
"Eh! Erza."
"Erza!! Where?! Where is she?!"
Mira hurriedly looked left and right but didn't see Erza anywhere. When she saw Riku snickering, she realized Riku was teasing her. She immediately chased after Riku, punching and kicking him until Riku admitted his mistake and begged for mercy before she stopped.
******
Early morning.
Riku was doing his daily training, doing a one-finger handstand push-up on the ground.
Before, he wouldn't have dared to imagine doing such a move, but now this level of training was very ordinary for him.
"Riku!!"
A voice rang out, and Riku immediately recognized it as Natsu.
Looking up, sure enough, Natsu and Happy were running towards him.
"Riku, you're still training? Don't you know what day it is today?"
"What day is it?"
While Riku was confused, Natsu grabbed Riku's arm and started running: "Let's go, or we'll be late."
Soon, the two ran to the guild.
At this time, almost everyone in the guild was present, and the whole guild was slightly crowded.
Riku was a bit surprised. It was the first time he had seen so many people in the guild, all waiting quietly.
Suddenly, the door on the second floor of the guild opened.
Guild Master Makarov, Uncle Gildarts, and Erza appeared together on the second-floor platform.
Everyone's gaze in the guild was drawn to the three of them.
"Master!!!"
"We've been waiting for so long~~~!"
"Hurry up and announce it! Who is it this year?!"
Seeing the three appear, the guild instantly became lively.
"Cough cough!"
Makarov coughed lightly twice, signaling for the guild to be quiet, and then said: "According to Fairy Tail's ancient tradition, I will now announce the list of participants for the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial!!!"
"OHHHHHHHH!!!"
Hearing this, everyone in the guild cheered.
Riku also shuddered upon hearing this. The S-Class Trial—he didn't expect it to be the S-Class Trial.
Of course, he knew about the S-Class Trial; he just didn't expect it to be at this time.
S-Class Mage—of course, he incredibly desired to become an S-Class Mage. Becoming an S-Class Mage would not only raise his status in the guild but also allow him to challenge higher difficulty S-Class quests.
You have to know that a random S-Class quest pays around 10 million Jewels, equivalent to 500,000 RMB. For many mages in the guild, this is a reward they might not earn even after working hard for a year.
It was the goal that all guild mages strove for, and Riku was no exception.
Riku clenched his fist in excitement, then slowly relaxed.
He had only joined the guild for three months and hadn't done many quests, averaging three or four a month. This S-Class promotion trial probably had little to do with him. However, he could strive for the qualification next year.
"The venue for this year's test is the Great West Forest!"
Makarov announced the location of this trial.
"Great West Forest?! Isn't that... the Great Monster Forest?!"
"That's right! It is said that over a hundred thousand monsters inhabit that place!"
Many people in the guild turned pale. The Great Monster Forest was like a forbidden zone. It was a Magic singularity and a place where Magic naturally converged. The Magic density there was more than twice as high as normal places.
It was also for this reason that many monsters who liked high-density Magic lived there.
Over time, the scale of the monsters grew larger and larger, and now it had become a place similar to a forbidden zone, which was the main reason everyone was surprised.