Chapter 145: Five Try the Racetrack
After being stopped by Noah, Wendy went over to Erza's side. Nearby, Yukino's eyes were already filled with tears as she bandaged Sorano's wounds.
"It's alright. These are just superficial wounds. They'll heal quickly now that I've taken the potion," Sorano said, comforting her tearful sister. Yukino saw that her sister's wounds were indeed beginning to close and that her bruises were already fading, and her panicked expression finally eased.
Although Noah didn't let Wendy use her healing magic, she could still help bandage wounds, so she went to help Erza. On the other side, Lisanna was bandaging Mirajane's injuries, with Elfman assisting.
"I can't believe Erza got first place! I won't accept it!" Mirajane was still grumbling indignantly.
"Alright, Mira-nee. You need to take care of yourself and get some rest. There's still another exam this afternoon."
"That's right! There's one more! I'll definitely beat Erza then!" Lisanna could only sigh as she continued her work.
Simon also received help from his sister, Kagura, and his wounds were quickly bandaged.
"Don't feel too much pressure about the exam results, brother," Kagura said, looking at Simon with concern. She was afraid that getting last place would stress him out.
Simon just shook his head and said with a relaxed tone, "I already knew I probably couldn't win against them. This just confirmed my own judgment. For now, I just need to do my best."
Seeing his relaxed attitude, Kagura was finally at ease and quietly sat by his side.
Noah walked into the forest and saw the signs of destruction on all five tracks. Aside from the marks from his original traps, there were all sorts of traces of attacks. Mirajane's path was the most severe; the ground had been completely overturned. The other paths also had many attack marks. If Noah hadn't prepared in advance and set up barriers on both sides of the tracks, the aftershocks from their attacks would have leveled the entire forest.
Shaking his head, Noah restored the traps and changed their positions slightly. He also added a new function: if a participant was about to be seriously or fatally injured, they would be instantly teleported out.
After finishing the repairs, he came out of the forest and saw that everyone had already made lunch, so he decided to eat first. Natsu, seeing him, was eager to go to the racetrack right now, but Noah suppressed him with a single hand. He had no intention of missing a meal.
Natsu had no choice but to eat first. After lunch, when everyone had rested, Noah finally asked who wanted to try the course. Natsu was the first to raise his hand, with Gray right behind him.
"Two people. Anyone else?"
Freed looked around and saw that no one else was volunteering. He exchanged a look with Bickslow and Evergreen, and then the three of them raised their hands. "The three of us want to try," Freed said. They knew Laxus was an S-Class wizard and had thought that at least one of them would be chosen for the trial, but none of them had been. They were unconvinced and wanted to see for themselves how big the gap was between them and the participants.
"Alright. That makes five. If anyone else wants to try after this, you can go after they're done."
With that, Noah led the five of them to the starting line. The other guild members sat down with cheerful expressions, ready to watch their performance. Sorano and Mirajane, in particular, were smiling. They had suffered so much on the course, and now they could watch Natsu and the others suffer too, which improved their moods. Lyon was also looking on with anticipation, ready to record his rival Gray's "dark history." Erza and Simon also sat down, waiting for the show to begin.
"Ready! Go!"
The five of them shot into the course, and the ice daggers came flying at them. However, they had all seen the first run and knew that magic was sealed here, so they were prepared and all managed to dodge. The first four rounds were easy for them, but the density of the final round was much higher. Gray, who had grown up and trained in the guild, and Natsu, whose body was beginning to dragonize, both had first-rate physiques and reaction speeds and barely managed to dodge them all. The three members of the Thunder Legion, however, were not as physically capable and all took some minor damage.
By the time they had all passed through the anti-magic zone, Natsu and Gray had already charged into the forest. The others hurried after them.
Relying on his incredible intuition, Natsu dodged a number of traps but still triggered quite a few, and could be heard yelling in pain. But thanks to his dragon-like constitution, he tanked the damage and pushed through. Gray was much calmer, constantly probing and analyzing the path ahead. Thanks to Noah's teachings, he avoided most of the traps, and for the ones he couldn't, he just powered through.
The Thunder Legion did not fare as well. They didn't have the raw strength to tank the hits. In terms of analysis and evasion, Freed was the best, while Bickslow and Evergreen were a step behind.
Natsu and Gray burst out of the forest at almost the same time. They looked at each other, their gazes meeting in the air, and both understood.
"Let's settle this!"
Gray was the first to act. He struck his right fist into his left palm. "Ice-Make: Floor!" An ice path extended forward, and with blades of ice on his feet, he began to skate rapidly ahead.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu put both his hands behind him and released jets of fire from his fists. Using the recoil, he shot forward at a speed that was not much slower than Gray's.
By the time the two of them were far in the distance, Freed finally emerged from the forest, followed by Bickslow and Evergreen. It had taken them a long time to get through the trap zone. Seeing the distant figures of Natsu and Gray, they all sighed. The three of them couldn't even compare to Natsu and Gray, let alone the actual S-Class candidates. But they still had to finish the last leg of the race, to at least know how big the gap was.
Natsu and Gray crossed the finish line at the same time. They immediately got in each other's faces.
"I crossed first!"
"No, I was first!"
Neither would give in. They both turned to Noah and asked in unison, "Noah, who crossed first?"
"It was at the same time. You crossed at the exact same time."
"Impossible! I was definitely first!"
"No, I was!"
The two of them started arguing again. Noah just watched for a moment and then ignored them. Just then, Freed and the others also crossed the finish line and walked over.
~~~
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