**Chapter 2: Ren vs. Mirajane**
Ren turned around and saw a girl standing behind him.
The girl looked to be about fifteen years old, with striking white long hair tied back in a ponytail with a purple ribbon bow.
Although her face was beautiful, her expression looked extremely fierce.
She was wearing a purple outfit and a short skirt, dressed in a style that screamed rebellion.
Although she looked different from the anime, Ren recognized this girl as one of the future S-Class Mages of the Fairy Tail Guild, "The She-Devil" Mirajane.
She was also the future poster girl of the Fairy Tail Guild, incredibly beautiful and cute, and one of Ren's two favorite female characters.
However, the difference between her childhood self and her adult self was too great; Ren preferred that gentle and lovely girl.
Ren glanced at Mirajane's chest. *Hmm, looking at it from all angles, it seems I transmigrated a bit too early.*
"Hey! Bastard! What are you staring at? You want to fight?"
Mirajane usually didn't care about newcomers in the guild. In her eyes, boys her age were all trash, and none of them could fight.
But when she heard that this new guy, Ren, might soon become an S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail, she immediately got annoyed.
She had just lost to Erza in the S-Class Mage Promotion Exam not long ago, allowing Erza to become the youngest S-Class Mage in Fairy Tail's history.
Everyone in the guild aspired to and pursued the rank of S-Class Mage.
Naturally, she was unhappy that a mere newcomer who had just joined the guild wanted to compete for it too.
Plus, Ren had just glanced at her chest, which made her feel even more offended.
Ren shook his head and said, "Fight? I don't fight girls."
From childhood to adulthood, he had never fought a girl. As a man, hitting a woman wasn't right, except, of course, for those who were unreasonably pestering.
"Looking down on girls?!" Mirajane was even more annoyed with Ren now.
What she hated most were guys who looked down on girls, even though none of those guys could actually fight.
"No."
He was a college student who had lived for over twenty years; asking him to hit a fifteen-year-old girl was just impossible. He couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Then fight me!"
Ren felt a bit helpless. Was this the childhood Mirajane? She was so violent.
Ren had no choice but to cast a pleading look at Master Makarov.
Unexpectedly, Makarov stroked his chin and said, "Hmm, having a fight is actually quite good."
Ren was a bit dumbfounded. *What do you mean having a fight is good?*
"You just joined the guild, and you will be a member from now on. It's good to let the guild members understand your strength a bit earlier."
Makarov's thinking was simple. Guild members were actually quite free-spirited. Only if Ren demonstrated his strength would more people invite him to form a team, and he could integrate into the guild faster.
Hearing Makarov say this, Ren could only nod.
It was a blessing, not a curse, but a curse could not be avoided. Given Mirajane's current personality, if he didn't agree now, she would definitely come looking for a fight later anyway.
Besides, he wanted to know how his current strength compared to Mirajane's, so he could roughly gauge his own power level.
"Oh oh! The newcomer is going to duel Mirajane?!"
"I wonder how strong the newcomer is?"
"Who do you guess will win?"
"Definitely Mirajane! You know how strong Mirajane is."
"Not necessarily. The newcomer was brought back by the Master, and he carries a sword. He doesn't look simple."
The crowd in the guild got excited as soon as they heard Ren was going to fight Mirajane. The people in Fairy Tail loved watching fights the most.
They had just finished watching Natsu and Gray's duel. Although they hadn't used magic, it was still quite satisfying to watch.
Now, getting to watch a magic duel between the newcomer and Mirajane would definitely be even more exciting.
"Place your bets! Place your bets!"
"Mirajane to win, 2 to 1! The newcomer to win, 1 to 2!"
Macao began to shout loudly.
"3,000 Jewel on Mirajane!"
"5,000 Jewel on Mirajane!"
"7,000 Jewel on Mirajane..."
Many people excitedly placed their bets one after another. The highest didn't exceed 10,000 Jewel.
It was just the price of a few meals. They would be happy if they won, and it wouldn't hurt too much if they lost.
For the mages in the guild, making money was actually very simple as long as they were slightly diligent.
For example, a powerful mage doing a highly difficult subjugation mission could earn a reward of over 1,000,000 Jewel.
For S-Class missions, the starting price was at least 5,000,000 Jewel.
Of course, high returns meant high risks. One shouldn't attempt dangerous missions without powerful strength.
Most people bet on Mirajane to win. The reason was simple: Mirajane was indeed very strong.
Although she was only fourteen, her strength was top-tier within the guild.
Let alone a peer like Ren, even among the adult mages in the guild, there weren't many who were Mirajane's match.
Macao was a bit distressed. He didn't expect so many people to bet on Mirajane. If Mirajane really won, he would have to pay out a lot of money.
At this moment, Makarov appeared in front of Macao.
Macao jumped in fright when he saw him.
"Ma... Master!"
Makarov reached out, slammed 50,000 Jewel down in front of Macao, and said, "Bet on Ren to win!"
"Eh—?!!"
Everyone in the guild was shocked when they saw this. The Master favored the newcomer? What was this newcomer's background?
Mirajane became even more unhappy seeing that the Master favored Ren.
"Hmph! I'm going to teach you a good lesson and let you know who is the strongest in the guild!"