Chapter 146: The Second Trial, Begin!
"How did it feel?"
"The gap feels a little big," Freed said, dejected. The three of them were older than Natsu's group, but their strength was clearly inferior, to say nothing of the five who were participating in the S-Class trial.
"It's because they have systematic training, so of course their strength grows faster. You three must have felt it too after joining Fairy Tail," Noah said.
Freed and the others all nodded. When they had first joined, they had been stunned by the training environment. The massive and comprehensive training facilities, and the intense and enthusiastic training atmosphere, had been a huge shock to them. They found that their rate of progress here was much faster than when they trained on their own. On top of that, the frequent sparring had also rapidly improved their combat skills. Not to mention, they could occasionally ask for guidance from incredibly strong and knowledgeable wizards like Makarov or Noah, which accelerated their growth even more.
"You've only been here a short time. After a bit longer, you'll be able to reach their level of strength," Noah said, comforting them. He then turned to the five S-Class candidates. "Since Natsu and the others have had their turn, it's now time for you all to continue the exam."
"What's the next trial?" Sorano asked.
Noah just smiled at her. Sorano's heart lurched; she felt as if something bad was about to happen.
"The trial is very simple. All of you attack me at once. The longer you can last, the higher your score," Noah said with a grin.
Sorano was completely dumbfounded. "What the hell? You want us to last under your attacks? And we're being scored on who lasts the longest? Are you kidding me?" As someone who had lived in the same house as Noah for a not-insignificant amount of time, she knew just how terrifying his strength was. To withstand his attacks... wouldn't they lose in a single blow? What was there to even score?
The others had similar expressions. Although they seemed to have an inkling of what he was getting at, they didn't say anything, just looked at him, waiting for his answer.
Seeing their expressions, Noah knew what they were thinking and explained, "Of course I'll adjust my power and gradually increase the intensity. I won't go all-out from the start."
Sorano still felt something was off, but seeing his serious expression, she knew he wasn't joking. She glanced at Erza and the others, who were already starting to prepare, and with a sigh, she began to prepare as well.
Noah waved his hand, teleporting the group to the other side of the island. A site had already been prepared here, and Noah had reinforced it with magic formulas to ensure the surroundings wouldn't be destroyed.
The five of them walked to the center of the field, adjusting their states as they went. By the time they reached the middle, their faces were calm and their gazes were grave. They were ready. The rest of the guild members stood outside the field to watch. Seeing that everyone was prepared, Noah flashed into the center of the field, stood before them, and confirmed one last time, "Are you all ready?"
"We're ready!" the five of them said in unison, their expressions tensing as they focused on him, not daring to be distracted.
Noah nodded. "Good. Now... S-Class Trial, Second Round, begin!"
The moment his voice fell, the five of them shot forward, attacking him at once.
"Darkness Magic: Dark Moment!" Simon was the first to cast his spell. The area around him was instantly covered in blackness. Inside, Noah could see nothing but a field of pure dark.
Not bad. Cooperating with each other will indeed let them last longer. And opening with a visual blockade is a good tactic. But...
A brilliant light erupted from Noah's body, pushing back the darkness and restoring his vision. At the same time, he made an "OK" gesture with both hands, and a golden magic circle appeared in front of each.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
Countless light bullets emerged from the two magic circles, shooting towards the five figures who had just appeared in front of him.
"Heaven's Wheel: Blumenblatt!"
"Dark Spark!"
"Small Angel!"
"Ice-Make: Ice Eagle!"
"Darkness Arrow!"
The five of them each unleashed their own magic, not only blocking or destroying all of Noah's light bullets but also launching a counterattack.
Not bad at all. Try this! "Light-Make: Rho Aias!"
Noah clapped his hands together. An incredibly solid, seven-petaled, seven-layered shield appeared in front of him. The five's attacks hit it and vanished like stones into the sea, without even making a ripple. Then, without changing his hand seals, the shield began to melt from the front, and from it emerged a volley of golden lances.
"Light-Make: Lances!"
The lances shot out towards the five of them. Erza and Mirajane relied on their agile movements to dodge, and what they couldn't dodge, they destroyed. Sorano's physical abilities were not as high, so she summoned small angels to intercept the attacks, and for a moment, the air was filled with explosions.
"Ice-Make: Shield!" Lyon created a shield, which was nearly broken by a single lance. He quickly created several more layers to protect himself.
"Darkness Shield!" A pitch-black shield appeared in front of Simon, blocking the incoming lances. His larger build made him less agile than the others, so he had to rely on his shield to defend. However, light and dark were opposing elements, and blocking the light magic consumed much more of his own power than it did for the others.
Seeing that they had all blocked the attack, Noah didn't continue. Instead, he switched to a different magic.
"Ice-Make: Blizzard!"
Noah took a deep breath and then blew out. A frigid wind, carrying specks of snow, blasted towards them. The temperature plummeted, and they instantly felt as if they were on top of a snowy mountain. A path of ice shot out along the ground towards them.
"Requip: Ice Empress Armor!" Erza instantly changed into a suit of ice-blue armor she had specially made to fight ice wizards, which increased her resistance to cold. She held an ice-blue sword in her hand. With a flash, she charged at Noah.
"Dark Spark!" Mirajane kept it simple, creating a ball of black light in her hands and throwing it against the cold wind at Noah.
"Dark Capriccio!" Simon first dodged to the side, then clapped his hands together and pushed out a spiral of dark magic.
"Power Angel!" Sorano had snuck up behind Noah and summoned her Power Angel, which silently threw a punch at him.
"Ice-Make: Great Ape!" Lyon had also gotten behind him. A Great Ape made of ice was instantly formed and also threw a punch at Noah.
~~~
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