Erza looked worried, "President, Laxus..."
"It's okay, I'll have a good talk with him later." Makarov gently shook his head, then smiled at Kana and Rhode, "First, congratulations on passing the second round!"
"President, what's the next stage?"
Kana's excitement had faded, and now she looked a bit worried.
If the next round is of the same difficulty, given their current state, she fears they might struggle to cope.
Makarov chuckled, "Don't worry, just go to the camp and rest for a bit first."
Being able to rest before starting the third stage of the exam was certainly a good thing.
The two followed the president towards the camp. Of course, Kana could still walk on her own, but Rhode was basically being supported by Erza.
"By the way, the others..."
Rumble!
Rhode was about to ask about the situation of the other groups, but then he heard a loud noise behind him.
The ground shook, and before Rhode could turn back, Erza had already picked him up, pulling Kana and following the president to a safe spot.
When he was put down by Erza, he happened to see the mountain wall he had just punched a crack into collapsing.
Immediately after, the crack spread from the mountain to the ground, connecting to the large pit that had been created when Laxus was punched, and extended all the way to the opposite mountain wall.
So, this pair of spectacular mountain peaks in a line just collapsed, becoming a low, chaotic stony hill.
Makarov opened his mouth wide, showing signs of being petrified, "I remember, this exam site was specially reinforced with Earth Magic before the exam..."
Erza pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps it's because Rhode's summoned beast was drilling through the mountain and underground.
Also, when using Receiving Magic, those Floating Cannons extracted stones from the mountain, and coupled with the punch to the mountain wall, as well as the aftermath of the fight with Laxus...
It seems these factors combined, causing a chain reaction that made the reinforcement magic on the mountain fail."
"Will there be any compensation needed for this?" Rhode asked sheepishly, feeling like he'd caused trouble by accident.
But that punch to the mountain wasn't for fun; it was to cover Kana's position, part of a tactic...
Makarov sighed, "Probably not much need for compensation, but causing such a commotion near the railway... probably need to write a review letter."
He was even grateful that when selecting the exam site, he had chosen to move it several kilometers north.
In any case, as long as it didn't affect the railway, it's a relief, a relief indeed.
The S-Class exam next year should be held on our own turf.
Though it would still be distressing if things get broken, at least you wouldn't have to write a review letter, right?
And on their own ground, the kids would be more restrained, at least sensible ones like Rhode definitely would... right?
Makarov rubbed his temples, hoping that over the next year, Rhode wouldn't be led astray by others.
Rhode watched the president's actions, somewhat thoughtfully, thinking the receding hairline of the elderly couldn't be caused by rubbing like this, could it?
Being the president of a guild full of problem children... no, being the president, isn't easy indeed.
The temporary camp established specifically for the exam was in a slightly open area not far from the site.
In the center of the site, there was a makeshift tent with Wolian and Marcus lying inside. Fires were lit at both the front and back of the tent for warmth.
Mickey, Joy, and Wang Qiangji were preparing to cook, setting up pots.
Seeing the bandages on Mickey and Joy's arms, ointment patches on their foreheads, Wolian and Marcus seemed to have been quite aggressive.
Simple board racks were already set up beside them, and the things the president brought for camping were quite comprehensive.
Actually, Rhode remembered seeing Erza's luggage cart in the guild before, and suspected these were brought by her.
Kana counted the people and asked, "Where are Mystogan and Mest?"
"Mystogan had something to do, so he left early," Makarov said, "As for Mest, he said he wanted to wander around and will return on his own later."
He knew that silly kid Mest wanted to take this chance to investigate Fairy Tail's 'weak points', but as long as it didn't interfere with the exam, he was free to do so.
"Are you cooking? Let me help too!" Erza suddenly got into the mood, pushing Rhode towards Kana, "Re-equip!"
Wolian and Marcus, lying in the tent, sat up instantly, shouting in fear, "No re-equip! No re-equip! We give up!"
Kana helped Rhode over to sit down and asked, "Did you... encounter Erza?"
Wolian, seeing that Erza had simply changed into a chef's outfit, breathed a sigh of relief, "Yes, it was terrifying."
Marcus pointed to the bandages on himself and Wolian, "We were utterly defeated and taught a hard lesson."
"I can see that," Rhode said as he lay down, questioning, "Does that mean Mest and Wang encountered Mystogan? Did they make it through?"
When it came to other unfortunate souls, Marcus didn't feel sleepy anymore, "Their performance was even worse. It seems they fell asleep at the start of the exam and then Mystogan sent them to the camp."
With Teleportation Magic, in this type of flag-snatching entry exam, to not make it through?
Rhode suspected Mystogan had no sense of sportsmanship, announcing the rules and then immediately putting everyone to sleep. Or perhaps using Illusion Technique to create a fake flag or something.
Kana and Rhode exchanged glances, glad they hadn't encountered Mystogan, otherwise, they might not even know how they lost.
"Hahaha, this way, we're not doing so badly either," Wolian said with some cheer, "at least we fought Erza for several rounds."
Getting hit is part of the battle.
Rhode couldn't help but say, "But Mest and them weren't injured."
"Damn it, how can you say that with a straight face! You got beaten up worse by Laxus, didn't you?" Wolian snapped.
"But we passed the stage."
"Ahhhh..." Wolian collapsed holding his head, feeling that Laxus might have gone easy on him, "Why did we have to face a female knight who doesn't know how to hold back!"
Erza seemed to sense someone talking about her, turned back to look at Wolian, and raised a thumbs-up with the hand holding the knife, "You all still have a long way to go!"
Wolian lay back down, feeling exhausted, thinking he wouldn't come next time.
Unless he could make more progress next year.
Rhode laughed, chatting and joking with them, feeling his body was not so tired anymore.
After resting for a while, Kana suddenly said without any preamble, "Thank you, Rhode."
"Hm?" Rhode gave a wry smile, "How about you hold off on thanking me, I might not be much help in the third stage, sorry."
The Two Groups of Six Birds and Three Wolves, functional creatures, were all taken down and had not respawned yet.
His own condition was also poor, making it hard to say how much he could recover before the exam.
If there's a search task later, he could make an effort to summon a Shadow Wolf to help sniff things out.
But if it comes to fighting, he probably couldn't offer much assistance.
"Don't say that." Kana shook her head gently, "No one could have done better than you. In the next stage, I'll do my best."
The aroma of the dishes wafted over as Erza waved the ladle, "Hey guys, it's chow time!"