"What? They have to fight Gildarts?! That's completely impossible! How can anyone become S-Class like that?"
"Gildarts is so strong! Can anyone in our guild actually beat him?"
"No, no, no, there's no way anyone can win a fight against Gildarts! Doesn't that just mean no one can become S-Class?"
The guild members were stunned that the final trial was a battle against Gildarts.
"You don't have to win," Makarov clarified. "You just need to earn Gildarts' approval."
"Even so, to get his approval, you'd have to be at a pretty high level," a member mused. "If you get taken out in a single hit, there's no way he'd approve. This really is the S-Class Trial... it's as difficult as ever."
Cana was thrilled to hear that Gildarts would be part of the trial. She turned to Noah excitedly. "Gildarts is coming back? And he's an examiner for the S-Class Trial? When you said he'd be back at the end of the year, this is what you meant?"
"That's right. Because I told Gramps I wanted to participate in the S-Class Trial, he specifically called Gildarts back at the end of the year to be an examiner."
"So that's why you knew he was coming back," Cana said, the realization dawning on her.
Seeing that the discussions were dying down, Makarov spoke again. "The trial will be held one week from today. At that time, the entire guild will set sail together for Tenrou Island. I expect the participants to use this time to prepare and get themselves in peak condition. One week from now, we will gather at Hargeon Port. Dismissed!"
The crowd that had gathered around the counter began to disperse, still buzzing with discussion.
Laxus, who had been frozen in shock ever since hearing Noah's name on the list, finally snapped out of it. He stalked over, his face a mask of fury.
"Noah! Why didn't I know you were participating in the S-Class Trial? You and Gramps never said a word to me!"
"It's simple," Noah said with a cheerful grin. "I asked Gramps not to tell you. I wanted to see the look on your face right now."
Hearing this, Laxus's expression grew even angrier. He spun around and started walking towards Makarov. "Fine! I'll just tell Gramps I want to participate too! If you can do it, so can I!"
Noah reached out and grabbed Laxus's arm. "It's impossible. Gramps won't agree to let you participate. Your strength isn't there yet."
"S-Class wizards have to complete S-Class missions, and the strength requirement for those is extremely high. One wrong move and things can easily go wrong. Casualties on S-Class missions are common. With Gramps' personality, how much he cares for every member of the guild, he would never approve someone for the trial unless they had more than enough strength. Even if they participated, they would just be weeded out in the exam he sets up."
"The only reason I was allowed to participate is because I demonstrated sufficient strength to him. That's what finally convinced him. But because of that, he specifically called Gildarts back to be an examiner, precisely to test me and see if I truly meet the requirements to be promoted."
"As his own grandson, the standards for you will naturally be even stricter. Without overwhelming strength, Gramps will never let you take the trial."
Laxus listened, thought it over seriously, and slowly calmed down. He knew Noah was right. His strength wasn't sufficient. Noah had to prove himself just to get a reluctant approval, and even then, Gildarts was being brought in to test him. Since he couldn't even beat Noah in their daily duels, there was no way Makarov would approve him for the trial.
Having figured it out, Laxus slumped into a chair, looking dejected. Noah smiled. "If you want to participate in the S-Class Trial and become an S-Class wizard, you just have to train more. You have plenty of natural talent. If you work harder, I'm sure you'll meet Gramps' requirements soon enough. But... surpassing me is going to be very, very difficult! Hahaha!"
Laxus, already feeling gloomy, became even more agitated. He shot to his feet. "Let's go! We're fighting, right now! I refuse to believe I can't beat you!"
"Don't worry," Noah said, standing up as well. "I'll make sure you know you've still got a long way to go!"
As they prepared to head out, Cana spoke up from the side. "I want to become an S-Class wizard too."
Noah turned to her. "You can come train with us too!"
After Cana's training had gotten on track, Noah had been busy with missions and hadn't trained with her directly, only occasionally answering her magic-related questions.
"Of course, you can. In fact, training together will help us all improve faster," Noah replied.
Cana was overjoyed to hear this. She went with Noah and Laxus to the place where they always trained.
First, Noah and Laxus had a match. As usual, Noah easily overpowered him. Laxus could only sulk as he went to a corner to do his physical training. Noah, on the other hand, cheerfully went over to Cana to practice magic conditioning with her and increase their magic power.
After their individual basic training, they would spar together. It was usually Noah against both Laxus and Cana, with Laxus as the main attacker and Cana providing support. Noah would focus his attacks on Laxus, which gave Cana more opportunities to practice without being taken out of the fight immediately, maximizing her training effectiveness.
A week passed by quickly. On the day of departure, everyone woke up and gathered at Hargeon Port bright and early.
"Master, I didn't know we owned such a big ship!"
"Master, when did we buy a boat?"
The guild members saw Makarov standing in front of a large vessel at the docks and peppered him with questions.
"I didn't buy it, I rented it!" Makarov barked. "So all of you better be careful not to break anything! Alright, since everyone is here, let's get on board! Let's go to Tenrou Island, our sacred ground!"
Everyone cheered as they boarded the ship. Once they were all on, Makarov gave the order, and the ship pulled out of the harbor, heading for Tenrou Island.
Once they were out at sea, everyone changed into swimsuits, but they were still dripping with sweat from the heat, sprawled out on their seats without any desire to move.
"Why is it so hot?!" Cana asked Noah.