newbobooks Chapter 223 Lucy: S-Rank Assessment? Wait a minute!
Chapter 223 Lucy: S-Rank Assessment? Wait a minute!
Chapter 223 Lucy: S-Rank Assessment? Wait a minute!
Above the Sea of Wise Trees.
A massive, dark golden magic array, tens of meters long, slowly rotated, releasing powerful energy that supported the rock fortress as it broke through the clouds and headed towards the distant horizon.
The six meticulously crafted jade feet are laid out flat, resembling the six wings of a rock fortress when viewed from below, with the hidden magic crystals emitting a faint glow.
With a wingspan of 100 meters, a central plaza that resembles a grand magic arena, and a vast undeveloped space at the bottom, this is the Fairy Tail magical weapon, Nemesis, which has taken initial shape after being modified by Chess!
The towering control tower is located at the tail of the new Nexus. Because we need to return to Magnolia as soon as possible to report to Makarov, it still retains its original battle-damaged appearance.
A small magic circle hovering around the perimeter, used to monitor the operational status, adds a touch of magical technology to the simple and dilapidated environment.
"After removing so many things, it can still fly!"
A hurricane high in the sky blew Lucy's golden bangs aside, revealing her stunningly beautiful face.
Despite knowing that Chess always does unexpected things, the scene before her, which was a guild newbie—well, now a veteran—still felt like a dream.
Fairy Tail has truly acquired its own magical weapon!
And it's such a big one!
"The principle of the flight array is not complicated. The original Nirvana already possessed incredibly powerful propulsion. After being simplified into its current form, it's not difficult for it to take flight," Uru explained with a smile.
She had been learning about magic in the current era, so her expression remained relatively calm.
After all, mages have various jobs, and even with much reluctance, the guild alliance has reached the point of disbanding.
After the battle between Chase and Jura ended, everyone parted ways with mutual blessings and returned to their respective guilds.
Since it was on the way, and since Ul was the guild master of Sabertooth and didn't need to report to anyone, he took Minerva with him and hitched a ride on Fairy Tail's "private car".
"That's true," Lucy said, still a little incredulous.
"Bringing such a massive magical weapon into Magnolia will probably cause a huge uproar."
Erza's eyes flickered as she thought of another issue that could not be ignored: "I wonder if the mayor and the council agree."
"Don't worry, the mayor's side is easy to handle. At worst, I'll deposit a few hundred million more. We're not some kind of weapon of destruction," Chase said casually.
As for the council, there's even less of a problem.
The six-legged walker of the Phantom Lord and Christina of the Blue Pegasus demonstrate that the Council's requirements for guilds possessing magical weapons are not strict, or rather, it is within the legal scope.
Moreover, those guys still owed the Tower of Paradise a favor, and their attitude towards Fairy Tail had changed significantly; they no longer suppressed it at every turn.
"It's just that the old man has to put in some effort to report to the council in advance." Erza nodded gently, quickly understanding the relationship between them.
"It sounds like Chesgo talks about hundreds of millions as casually as tens of thousands!"
Lucy's lips twitched; she was once again stunned by Chase's extravagance.
However, when she thought of the six million she received from the SS-level commission, she suddenly felt relieved.
S-class cars really make money!
Because of money, the heiress of the Heartfilia Foundation seriously considered becoming an S-class mage for the first time.
This awareness, which would never have appeared before, naturally stemmed from the confidence gained from soloing Sora and the new Celestial Spirit companions he had met.
Perhaps even she herself did not realize that, influenced by Chase, her mindset, vision, combat experience, judgment of the situation and other soft skills had undergone a qualitative change!
Erza stepped forward, put her hand on Lucy's shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "Lucy, it's a good thing that you want to become an S-class mage."
Lucy, whose little scheme was instantly seen through, shrank back, scratched her head, and let out an awkward laugh.
If I'm not mistaken, the next thing to come is probably "that kind of thing is still too far away for you," right?
Lucy thought to herself.
However, Erza's words this time took her by surprise: "So, try your best and strive to be selected by the student council president in this year's S-rank assessment!"
"I don't have anything to say yet!"
Lucy, who was used to being a weakling, almost thought she had misheard. "An S-rank assessment? What?!"
"You're a mage who defeated Oración Seis, so don't make that face," Gray overheard their conversation.
"Wait, even Gray thinks I'm qualified?"
"Because if you get selected, this year's competitors will be one person less."
"Thank you!!"
Normally, Nazhabi would definitely be involved in such a spectacle, and he would be the main force in mocking Yin and Yang.
Unfortunately, with one of the brothers vomiting on the ground and the other chasing after Xia Lulu to fawn over her, they didn't have time to mock Lucy.
As for Minerva and the newly joined Wendy, they were holding hands and whispering to each other.
"Erza is right. With your current strength, you can indeed barely reach the threshold of the S-rank assessment."
Recalling the scene of saying goodbye to Ichiya and the others, Chase said with a smile, "You pretty boy from Blue Pegasus, didn't I give you a super spell related to Celestial Spirit magic?"
During the operation to defeat the Oración Seis, Hibiki witnessed Lucy's power and potential as a Celestial Spirit Mage, which far surpassed Kallen's.
As a comrade-in-arms and a brother guild with a long-standing friendship, he voluntarily gifted Lucy with the super magic about the stars recorded in an ancient book—the Star Chart Chronicle!
"That's a sound!"
"He who takes a bribe is bound to be obligated to serve it." Although Lucy didn't have any feelings for handsome guys like Hibiki, she still corrected his way of addressing him.
"Besides, with my current magic power, casting the Star Chart Chronicle is a bit of a stretch, but since Chesgo said so, I'll definitely do my best!"
As she spoke, Lucy clenched her right fist, took a deep breath, and her beautiful eyes shone with longing and hope. "Let's do our best to become an S-class!"
"Then I'll look forward to our battle during the assessment~" Chess revealed his true colors and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Huh? The S-rank mage exam involves fighting Chesgo?!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise.
"Although the format of the assessment varies from year to year, there have indeed been several years in which the exam questions required us to defeat the current S-rank members of the guild," Erza explained earnestly.
"In other words, it's not just Chess; I might also run into Erza and Mira?!"
Looking at the two monsters standing beside her, Lucy slumped down, as if all her strength had been drained away.
Suddenly I felt that it was better not to participate in this S-level assessment.
"Hahaha, the S-class mage qualification exam? I'll have to ask Mr. Makarov for some pointers sometime."
Uru was in high spirits and began to analyze with his fingers who the first S-rank Saber-Biting Tiger would be.
"Sabertooth doesn't need to worry about this kind of thing right now—" her good apprentice Gray poured cold water on her enthusiasm.
Sabertooth has just escaped the predicament of being on the verge of disbanding, and there are hardly any proper mages left. It is still a long way from the S-rank assessment.
"What does it matter? We can just find more powerful mages. Since we've decided to do it, we must ensure Sabertooth ascends to the throne of Fiore's strongest!"
Uru ripped off his Nebit tribe coat, put his hands on his hips, and said, "So even if it's Fairy Tail, I won't hold back, Gray~"
"Hmph, you can't pretend you didn't hear that." Gray smirked and took off his shirt as well.
Suddenly shifting from the S-rank assessment to Fiore's strongest guild, the topic you two master and disciple are discussing has taken a rather drastic leap!
And why take off your clothes?!
Lucy's inner voice was ranting wildly.
In a harmonious and joyful atmosphere, Niefan left the lush forest below far behind and headed towards its destination.
Following the original meeting route, they needed to leave the Sea of Wyeth, surrounded by mountains, take a boat from the nearest coast on a long detour to the port city of Harugion, and then take a train from Harugion back to Magnolia.
Now that we have the practical aerial magical weapon Nebula, although our speed is far inferior to Christina's Blue Pegasus, the tight journey that would have taken most of the day has been reduced to just a few hours, greatly improving our efficiency!
Considering the potential impact of unregistered magical weapons, Ne did not drive directly into the city where Sabertooth was located, but instead sent Uru and Minerva outside the city.
After waving goodbye to them, Ne started up again and soon arrived at the outskirts of Magnolia.
Once on his own turf, he had no more scruples. With a wave of his hand, Chess swaggered over Magnolia in his hundred-meter-long rock fortress.
The residents below recognized Chase standing in a prominent position and began to curse at him, warning him to be careful not to suddenly fall and damage the flowers and plants.
As for what that huge floating thing was, and where Chase got it from, not many people cared—they were already used to it.
I feel so embarrassed.
Erza and Lucy successfully enjoyed the same enthusiastic treatment Chase had given Mira when he brought her into the city with the giant rock warrior last time, and quietly retreated to a secluded corner.
Try to minimize your presence.
Wendy, who had just decided to join and was greeted with such a grand scene, huddled up in a ball, looking cautiously frightened.
From a purely experiential standpoint, it would be better to be tied up in a pink sack and taken to the guild!
Just as the residents of Magnolia were passionately denouncing the incursion, the rock fortress in the sky suddenly lit up with the glow of a magic circle.
Immediately afterwards, a dense barrage of black and white light shone down, falling on every corner of the city!
Besides his personality, Chase had another crucial purpose in driving Niger into the city so ostentatiously.
That's right, that's to test Nirvana's magical mechanism for detecting good and evil!
A white light, representing goodwill, enveloped the residents below who were cursing and shouting, while the black light, symbolizing malice, was much less prevalent.
Those who came to them were mostly people who didn't swear, were hiding in alleyways, or had strange behavior.
"Your magic seems pretty unreliable. Is it like you've turned black and white upside down?" Charlotte asked as she walked up to Chess.
"Those Magnolia guys are always so two-faced, you get used to it," Chase said, not directly answering her question.
Lucy really wanted to complain that it only applied to you.
Under Xia Lulu's skeptical gaze, Chess smiled and brought up a screen connected to the black light from the control panel.
In the video, a sleazy-looking man is reaching for a passerby's wallet. A sudden dark light shines on him, startling him so much that he quickly pulls his arm back, whistles, and turns away nonchalantly.
Other scenes illuminated by black light exhibit similar characteristics.
"It turns out that this detection magic is working perfectly, and it works very well." Chess pressed the stop button with satisfaction.
The black and white light that filled the sky above Magnolia vanished instantly.
The Nirvana he painstakingly transformed could not possibly be used for something as trivial as catching thieves; that would be a waste of its talent.
It will only continuously consume the energy collected by the magic crystal.
Therefore, the threshold for detecting magic will be raised. There's not much to say about benevolent intent, but malevolent intent will only be triggered if it reaches the level of murder or arson.
The upper limit of the radiation range of the black and white beam, the sensitivity against Fairy Tail members, the triggering conditions of the defense protection mechanism, and other aspects all need to be fine-tuned and tested.
Professional matters should be left to professionals. Chess decided to wait until Nephew's filing documents were issued before hiring a few Fairy Tail natives who were proficient in magical weapons to complete the project.
Anyway, these kinds of guild-related expenses can be reimbursed by the Heartfilia Foundation.
As for the potential safety issues related to the magic core, there's absolutely no need to worry about that if we ask the Dark Mage to supervise the construction!
Amidst the cheers and applause of countless residents, Niefan arrived at the edge of the city, above the huge lake located behind the guild.
This is an excellent location to store large magical weapons like Ne: it's close to the guild for easy management and doesn't take up much space.
The powerful force released by the flight array created ripples on the calm lake surface.
Six rocky legs extend straight into the water, firmly rooted in the lakebed like tree roots, drawing power from the earth—the very source of the Nirvana Crystal's energy.
The large platform above naturally protrudes above the water, looking like a small island in the lake from a distance.
Perfectly designed for ease of access, one of the rocky legs leads directly to the shore, just a few meters from the guild's back door.
Marcao and the others, who had been drawn by the commotion, crowded onto the shore. When they saw Chess and the others walking down from the river, they burst into cheers.
"Wow! Is this the magical weapon that Chess mentioned to the guild master through the communication crystal? It's so cool!"
"What a man! That enormous magical weapon is so manly!!"
"Dancing on it in the pitch black night must be an amazing experience!"
"I want to paint a picture of it and hang it on the guild wall to commemorate this historic moment."
"Who is this super cute girl, and the cat that looks just like Happy?"
Lord Grei~~~
Hmm, something strange seems to have gotten mixed in—