"Cough cough, I didn't expect to cause such a huge commotion either."
Moen spoke awkwardly in explanation. It was imaginable that the strange phenomenon he created today would definitely become a major hotspot, and it was estimated that it would soon appear in various newspapers.
After all, that scene of countless stars shining was not an illusion. The sky above sparkled brilliantly, illuminating heaven and earth as if it were daytime. Unless one was blind, there was no reason not to see it. Even in places where it was daytime, people would notice the shining stars in the sky.
After confirming that it was Moen who caused the commotion, Makarov also let out a sigh of relief. That scene was indeed a bit too grand, making even him nervous, afraid that something major had happened. It would be very bad if something big happened near Magnolia.
"Has your strength improved greatly?"
Looking at Moen, Makarov asked with concern. Even if it was caused by Moen, there must be a reason. With such a big scene, it was likely that his strength had increased tremendously. After all, Moen's magic was related to stars.
"A little bit."
Moen stretched out his hand and smiled, making a "universe at the fingertip" gesture.
"."
Both Makarov and Laxus felt speechless. With such a huge commotion, how could it only be a little improvement?
That powerful surge of magic power just now had shocked both of them greatly. Makarov had been startled badly even while in the city.
"Let's put it this way, I will definitely take down this year's S-Class exam. Even if Uncle Gildarts comes, he won't be able to stop me."
Moen didn't keep them guessing anymore and directly made a bold declaration.
Although the specific content of the S-Class exam had never been made public, Moen could roughly guess part of the process.
Judging from previous years' exams, there must be a segment where one fights against an S-Class mage in the guild, because Uncle Gildarts was basically present every time. This absolutely couldn't be a coincidence.
After all, Uncle Gildarts didn't spend much time in the guild, yet he was present at every S-Class exam. To say the exam had nothing to do with him, Moen absolutely didn't believe it.
Moreover, after those who participated in the S-Class exam returned, when they looked at Uncle Gildarts again, their eyes were filled with awe. One of the procedures of the S-Class exam was practically obvious.
As soon as Moen said this, both Makarov and Laxus' expressions changed. They weren't surprised that Moen could figure this out; they just felt that his words were a bit exaggerated.
"Has your improvement been that great?"
Makarov looked doubtful. He felt that Moen might not fully understand how powerful Gildarts really was.
Gildarts' strength couldn't be measured by common sense. His power had already far surpassed the concept of an "S-Class mage." Even among the "Ten Wizard Saints," Makarov was confident he could compete for first place. At the very least, Makarov didn't dare say he was stronger than Gildarts.
"You might not necessarily run into Gildarts in the S-Class exam."
Laxus, standing nearby, spoke up. As an S-Class mage, he was now qualified to be part of the exam process.
In Laxus' view, the number of participants this time wasn't large, so there was no need for Gildarts to make a special trip back. In fact, in the future, it might not even be necessary at all, he could handle it himself.
"Oh? Could it be that my opponent is you, Laxus? Then the difficulty is reduced quite a bit. Uncle Gildarts isn't coming back?"
Hearing Laxus' words, Moen was somewhat puzzled. He spoke bluntly, directly saying that Laxus wasn't as strong as Gildarts.
"You'd better defeat me first before saying that! I know your strength, so I definitely won't hold back! Let's have a proper fight between brothers! Don't worry—even if you lose, I'll still let you pass."
Laxus, irritated by Moen's sharp comment, spoke angrily, but he also admitted that he was far inferior to Gildarts.
If there was anyone in the guild whose strength Laxus truly acknowledged and respected, it could only be Gildarts.
When he participated in the S-Class exam last year, he had just fought Gildarts. It could be said that he suffered a heavy blow and setback, getting thoroughly taught a lesson and realizing how terrifying top-tier powerhouses were. This was also why he had suddenly become a bit more restrained over the past year.
As for his grandfather's strength, Laxus naturally knew it was very strong.
But his grandfather had never beaten him, and his grandfather's age was already advanced. Compared to that, a powerful middle-generation like Gildarts gave him a much more direct sense of shock.
When Laxus first took part in the exam, Gildarts defeated him without even trying much. Laxus knew Gildarts was strong, but didn't yet understand how strong.
The time Laxus truly passed the exam, Gildarts acknowledged his strength and also displayed some of his own power, letting Laxus understand that there is always someone stronger. It was also a lesson for Laxus.
"So it's not necessary to defeat the examiner in charge, even if you get beaten up, you can still pass the exam, right?"
Moen spoke with a smile. Although he was asking a question, it sounded more like an insult.
Laxus' face immediately turned red. That was indeed the case for him, he had been beaten up but still passed.
"This is a very normal thing. As veteran S-Class mages, the examiners are definitely stronger. At the very least, handling the challenges of young people is not a problem. As long as the young ones gain recognition, they pass the exam."
Makarov explained from the side, helping Laxus out. He didn't avoid revealing such "exam details."
In fact, there was no need to hide this part anyway. This stage was all about strength.
Even if you knew the "questions" in advance, if you couldn't win, you still couldn't win. If someone could defeat the examiner and gain recognition through "finding a way," that was also a kind of ability. Wisdom itself was part of battle.
"So for a new-generation examiner like Laxus, even if he gets defeated by me, the examinee, it's actually understandable, right?"
After hearing Grandpa Makarov's words, Moen nodded seriously, then said something that made veins bulge on Laxus' forehead.
"You brat! Your confidence is really overflowing. I'd like to see how much stronger you've become compared to when you fought Jose Porla last time!"
Laxus gritted his teeth. Although he also had a feeling that Moen's strength had definitely improved a lot this time, maybe even comparable to his own, Moen's tone of absolute certainty still made Laxus want to teach him a harsh lesson.
"I'm already a bit impatient."
Moen smiled and bantered with Laxus, but his confidence was clearly greater than Laxus'.
Laxus' impression of Moen's strength was from when they fought Jose Porla side by side.
At that time, they were already roughly equal. Now Moen had completely upgraded himself. With such a grand scene he created, his improvement seemed significant, so Laxus naturally felt a bit less confident.
But Laxus would definitely not back down verbally. Following behind Makarov, the two brothers continued exchanging sharp words as they walked back.
The old man walked ahead, smiling and shaking his head as he listened. He wasn't worried about the two bickering like this—Laxus would only banter back and forth like this with Moen.
"Rumble rumble rumble rumble!"
The next day, Magnolia woke up amidst a burst of roaring noise. The "dang dang dang" of bells kept ringing, and flying loudspeakers shouted everywhere, "Gildarts Mode activated," telling everyone to hide properly, because that man had returned again!
"Didn't they say we wouldn't need you this time, old man?"
At the guild entrance, Moen came out to greet the returning Gildarts.
There was a hint of confusion on his face. Clearly, he hadn't expected Gildarts to come back. Could it be that Laxus had reported false information? Or had that guy chickened out? Didn't dare fight him, so he invited Gildarts back instead?
No matter how he thought about it, it didn't seem likely—didn't seem like something Laxus would do.
Being stopped by Moen, Gildarts seemed to snap out of a dream. He scratched his head, looked around, and realized he had already arrived at the guild entrance.
"Huh? What do you mean I'm not needed?"
Gildarts looked at Moen, completely confused, not knowing what he was talking about.
"The S-Class Mage exam. Didn't you come back for that, old man?"
Moen tilted his head. Seeing Gildarts' expression, he also got a bit confused. So the old man didn't come back for the exam?
"Oh! It's starting again? Then I really came back at the right time!"
After Moen said that, Gildarts suddenly understood. Then he looked at Moen seriously and asked.
"You brat, are you going to participate in the S-Class exam?"
"That's right, I'm participating this time."
Moen nodded. Looks like the plan had changed, since Gildarts had come back, Laxus would probably have to step aside.
Thinking of this, Moen's expression turned serious. Against Laxus, he was quite confident in winning, but against Gildarts, that confidence dropped quite a bit. All his earlier bragging had just been to show confidence.
There was no helping it—Gildarts' "Crush" Magic was just too overbearing. It directly crushed everything at the atomic level. Everything in the world, including magic, could be crushed. Compared to that, this guy was more like a real Saint!
Moen couldn't guarantee that the "Crystal Wall" he had just mastered would definitely be able to block or even reflect Gildarts' Crush Magic.
After all, "Crystal Wall" didn't nullify the enemy's attacks. Gildarts' power could even crush the opponent's magic itself. He was indeed a very troublesome opponent.
'Starting off with a high-level match right away? Interesting.'
Moen became a bit excited. Fighting Gildarts would definitely be far more thrilling than fighting Laxus.
"With your strength, you should be participating by now."
Gildarts spoke with Moen as they walked into the guild. He wasn't surprised at all that Moen would participate in the S-Class Mage exam. Although Moen wasn't even fifteen yet, his achievements and strength spoke for themselves, he was completely qualified.
After entering the guild and warmly greeting everyone, Gildarts sat down at the bar, ordered a drink from Erza, then looked at Moen as if he suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right, last night the stars in the sky suddenly flickered like they went crazy. Was that your doing, brat?"
Gildarts took a sip of his drink and asked curiously. Moen, the "Rose Star," was already quite famous. The abnormality among the stars made everyone think of him. After all, whenever he fought, the stars in the sky would flash along with him.
"It was me. My ability made a bit of progress."
Moen nodded helplessly. He had already gotten used to people associating such things with him. After going out in the morning, quite a few townspeople had asked him about it, and many newspaper reports had specifically mentioned him, the "Rose Star."
That's how it is when your fame gets too big—any incident gets linked to you.
With the release of "The Great Detective Folmos II," along with the gradual release of some new music, although Moen hadn't made any big moves in the past half year, his fame had indeed been growing larger and larger.
Having debuted for only two or three years, across the entire continent of Ishgar, Moen's fame had even surpassed the Fairy Tail guild. After all, Fairy Tail mainly operated within the Kingdom of Fiore, and only powerful mages would go to farther places.
Not only had he surpassed Fairy Tail, he had even surpassed Makarov. After all, Moen's fan base was broader, while Makarov was mainly famous as a mage.
Just as he thought of Makarov, the old man appeared carrying a bottle of wine. His face was slightly flushed as he looked at Gildarts and said:
"Gildarts, you're back. Just in time, there's a new S-Class job. Take a look and see if you want to accept it. The client specifically requested you."
Gildarts had just returned, and Makarov was already assigning him a new job.
There was no helping it—it wasn't that Makarov was trying to overwork Gildarts. The client had specifically named him; otherwise, they wouldn't proceed.
If someone else could take it, Makarov would have assigned it to Laxus. There was no way he'd have Gildarts take another job before he'd even had time to sit down properly.
"No problem, I'll go right away."
Gildarts took the request sheet, glanced at it, then drained his drink in one go. He agreed immediately.
Setting down the glass, Gildarts stood up and was about to leave.
"."
Moen bared his teeth—this was truly some workhorse behavior. Gildarts being away from the guild all year round had also made huge contributions to the guild's S-Class job quota. He was really doing one mission after another!
Beside Moen, Cana, who had just come over, opened her mouth, wanting to speak to Gildarts. But seeing him about to set off again without stopping, she quietly closed her mouth.
"Cana? What's wrong? Are you also participating in the S-Class exam this time?"
The standing Gildarts noticed Cana approaching. Seeing her hesitant expression, he thought she had come to ask about the S-Class exam.
".No."
Cana opened her mouth, wanting to explain that she hadn't signed up.
"Do your best! Cana, you're very talented. You can definitely become an S-Class Mage too."
However, Gildarts didn't wait for her to finish explaining. He directly encouraged her. He meant it sincerely, he believed every child in the guild was outstanding and would one day become pillars supporting the guild.
"S-Class Mage?"
Hearing Gildarts' words, Cana froze. She muttered to herself, seemingly deeply affected by what he said.
"Becoming an S-Class Mage means you can take on higher-paying jobs like me. You'll officially become a pillar of the guild, someone everyone can rely on."
Gildarts continued. He strongly encouraged everyone to participate in the S-Class Mage exam. He hoped they all had ambition and drive, and wouldn't give up after a few setbacks. To become an S-Class Mage, one must go through trials.
"Alright! I'm signing up too!"
"I'm joining too!"
"Count me in!"
With Gildarts' encouragement, the guild immediately erupted. A bunch of people shouted about signing up for the exam, with Gray, Natsu, and Gajeel being the most excited.
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