"I am sorry, I lost."
After shaking hands with Lucy, Jeni returned to her team with a discouraged expression.
"It is alright. Miss Lucy is a very strong Celestial Spirit Mage to begin with." Yerol hugged her comfortingly, much like how Mira hugged Wendy.
Team Captain Locke commented, "Losing to yourself simply means your training is still insufficient, Jeni."
Yerol immediately came to her defense. "What is so strange about losing to yourself? If you were facing an opponent who understands all your magic, knows all your weaknesses, and possesses the exact same abilities as you, what would you do?"
Locke crossed his arms. "Simple. To defeat your current self, you only need to become stronger in the next moment than you were in the previous one."
Yerol stared at him. "Then what if that self also has two helpers?"
Lucy had Gemini as a clone helper, and she could summon an additional Celestial Spirit, making it essentially a three against one situation.
Locke's answer was immediate. "Defeat one, then defeat the other two."
Yerol slapped her forehead. Why had the Guild Master made such a simple-minded brute the team captain?
On the Fairy Tail side, Lucy received enthusiastic praise.
Natsu said, "Well done, Lucy."
Erza added, "You lived up to everyone's expectations."
Gray nodded. "Excellent strategy."
Cana leaned close and whispered, "Did you secretly get taught by someone strange?"
Lucy smiled shyly. "Three against one feels a bit like bullying."
Cana gave a firm thumbs up. "No problem. Outnumbering the opponent is the essence of strategy."
"Lucy wins. Fairy Tail Team A earns ten points."
The audience exploded into cheers. They had seen Celestial Spirit Mages before, but none as formidable as Lucy.
Gemini's transformation had especially left a strong impression.
Although Lucy and Jeni were not very popular when the match began, their excellent performance won them the crowd's approval.
"Next is the second match. Ren from Blue Pegasus versus Arana from Mermaid's Heel."
One was a handsome dark-skinned man in a suit, the other a curly-haired beauty in a spiderweb-patterned bodysuit. Their entrance alone drew loud cheers from the stands.
Both used similar styles of magic, air and threads, and they seemed familiar with each other's techniques. Their duel was evenly matched.
"What an excellent matchup," Chapati praised. "If I remember correctly, they fought last year too."
"Yes," Jenny confirmed. "Last year it was during the arena portion and they could not decide a winner. They must have been voted into the battle portion this year."
As the battle heated up, a red-haired girl from Lamia Scale suddenly stood and cheered loudly for Ren.
That was his fiancée, Sherry.
Ren awkwardly spouted a few tsundere lines, then, overflowing with excitement, combined his confession with his ultimate attack.
Arana was instantly defeated.
"Ren has good taste," Rhodes remarked.
"Does he not?" Mira smiled, pleased that Rhodes remembered the gossip she shared with him. "It is a pity she rejected Droy, and now he always sticks to Levy. It would have been nice to check on him otherwise."
"Yes. It is a pity he is always following Levy." Rhodes looked at Gajeel. "But Levy has clearly rejected both him and Jet, right?"
Gajeel turned away. "Do not look at me when you say that."
Mira chuckled softly, then suddenly asked Rhodes, "If I had rejected you back then, what would you have done?"
"I would have…" Rhodes stopped mid-sentence. "Wait, is that not the wrong question?"
"Oh, right." Mira blushed lightly, thought for a moment, and said, "Then you ask me."
"I will not ask. It is impossible for me to reject you."
Mira laughed. "Saying sweet things now will not raise your favorability anymore."
Juvia: Envious.
The referee had already announced the result.
Chapati sighed with regret. "What a shame. With this, Mermaid's Heel will not earn any points today."
Arana apologized to Kagura, visibly embarrassed.
"It is alright. If we can understand our weaknesses, it is still an improvement."
Besides, losing points to her brother's guild made the outcome easier to accept.
Kagura felt embarrassed by her earlier thoughts, then quickly composed herself and said, "It is only the first day. We will catch up later."
"Yes." Her companions seemed unaware of her momentary lapse and were simply motivated by her cool, confident statement.
Chapati announced, "For the third match, Dobengal from Sabertooth will face Refis from Dragon's Treasure."
Although Sabertooth had lost their first battle, their popularity remained strong, and cheers immediately erupted throughout the arena.
Orga instructed coldly, "Your opponent is from a new-generation Mage guild. Do not lose to such a half-trained Magician."
Dobengal wanted to point out that surviving until this stage meant the opponent definitely had some skill.
But he thought better of it and stayed quiet, giving a simple nod.
It was understandable that Rufus had failed to win earlier when he ran into a Wizard Saint. But if Dobengal lost this match as well and brought back zero points, their Guild Master would not be pleased.
Dobengal adjusted his mask and cloak, patted the ninja tool pouch at his waist, and calmly walked into the arena.
Walking toward him was Refis from Dragon's Treasure.
He had neat short hair, thick sideburns, and a scar at the corner of his eye. A half-worn coarse red cloak draped his sturdy frame. A double-barreled shotgun was strapped across his back.
He looked exactly like a seasoned mercenary.
The two did not know each other, and neither was talkative, so the moment the referee shouted "Start," the fight began immediately.
Refis dashed forward in an instant, grabbing the shotgun from his back. But instead of firing, he swung the gun like a club straight at Dobengal's head.
Dobengal was caught off guard. He had expected a gunman to create distance, not close the gap.
Fortunately, his combat experience was solid. He rolled to the side to avoid the strike, tossing several smoke bombs behind him.
Refis retreated cautiously, but the smoke still swallowed him.
When he stepped out of the smoke, masked and alert, Dobengal had already vanished.
"Invisibility magic?" Refis murmured. This was not unfamiliar to him.
His ears twitched. He swung his shotgun sharply to the left.
A loud crack sounded as the gunstock collided with Dobengal's hand blade.
Dobengal's blade glowed with dazzling multicolored light, clearly not a simple martial technique.
He noted the silver sheen covering Refis's gunstock and immediately realized that this firearm was no ordinary weapon either.
Refis pulled back quickly and fired a shotgun blast toward Dobengal.
With another bang, the shot hit nothing. Dobengal's figure had already disappeared again.
...
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