Chapter 652: First Day of Competition: Snatch
On July 1st, the Grand Demon Fighting Competition begins!
On the mountain west of Kulokas, there is a square arena built with four stone busts holding weapons as corners. The place is bustling with people.
More than 10,000 spectators, standing or sitting in the auditorium, talked about everything about today's grand event with great relish.
Guilds, wizards, schedules, venues... each one can keep the people gathered here chatting for half a day. Even if they may not have known each other before and will never see each other again in the future, at this moment, they have common topics to talk about.
“So many people…”
“What a shocking cheer!”
"It looks like more than 70% of the audience are wizards..."
"It should be from the magic guilds that signed up for the competition!"
The population of the Kingdom of Fiore is about 17 million, and the number of wizards accounts for less than one percent. Magic guilds are local organizations, so the number of people in each magic guild will not be large.
Even Fairy Tail, the strongest magic guild in the Kingdom of Fiore, only has over a hundred members, not to mention other guilds, where dozens or even a dozen members are the norm.
"Good morning everyone!! The long-awaited magic event 'Grand Magic Fighting Competition' has finally arrived!! I am the announcer Chapati Lola!!..."
Similar to the original work, the announcer of the competition is still the bald man with a wig, as well as the commentator Yajima, a competition pet, and the mysterious pumpkin man.
“…Now let’s announce the items for the Grand Magic Fighting Competition!!”
Inside the arena, a wide competition stage was paved with the simplest stones. Following the announcer's instructions, a large stone slab rose up in the venue, writing the progress of this five-day competition.
"There are both competition events and combat events during the day. For the competition part, players can be randomly selected from the team, but they cannot be repeated. For the combat part, a machine is used to randomly select players."
"But as you can see, there are 66 guilds registered for this competition . Each guild consists of a five-man team and a substitute, which means there are a total of 330 wizards!"
"There are too many contestants, so there is an elimination mechanism for the first day of the competition! Only the guilds that pass today's competition can continue to the next competition!!"
As soon as this was said, all the wizards of the participating guilds looked at each other in bewilderment, and the audience also talked a lot. No one expected this to happen. However, after thinking about it carefully, they knew that according to the competition process given by the organizer, it was impossible to let so many people compete one-on-one, so it was necessary to have an elimination mechanism at the beginning.
"Now, the opening match of the Grand Demon Fighting Competition, [Snatch], begins!!!"
"The number of participants is one per team. Once all 66 players are gathered, the rules of the competition will be explained!!"
After the announcer's voice fell, all the participating guilds began to get agitated.
At the Fairy Tail camp, a group of wizards gathered together for a discussion, with Kira and six other contestants as the center.
"How is it? The topic is [Snatch], who should we send?"
"Robbery? We are not robbers!" Makarov's old face was twisted into a knot, with a sad face and an embarrassed look, "We are a legitimate magic guild, and we are not good at robbing things..."
Lucy said speechlessly, "Are you serious about that?"
The harpy at the side echoed, covering his mouth with his paws and laughing, his fat cheeks puffed out on both sides: "Compared to destruction, we are indeed much more unfamiliar with 'robbing'..."
How dare you say that! What's there to be proud of?
Several “#”s appeared on the Mediterranean Sea above Makarov's head, and his blood pressure instantly soared.
Erza closed her eyes and thought carefully, then said, "Because this is the first time the competition is held, there is no reference for the difficulty, and it is difficult to guess the rules. But since it is a 'plunder', we should send the person who is best at plundering, right?"
This is the truth, but it brings up another question:
"Are any of us good at snatching things?"
The air suddenly became quiet for two seconds, and then everyone looked at Kira, the meaning was self-evident.
Kira: “…”
"What do you mean?! Why are you looking at me? I would steal things? In your mind, I am that kind of person?! Even when I am doing business, it is always an equal transaction, okay?! Hey! If you keep looking at me, I will hit you!!"
The harpy floated over and patted Kira on the shoulder, slightly getting carried away: "Be confident, Kira! We are confident in your moral level in this regard."
"What did you say?!"
Kira's face darkened instantly. He grabbed the blue cat before it could fly away and pinched its cheeks which had become rounder due to eating too much fish recently. "I think you are really drifting, harpy."
If murderous intent had substance, at this moment, the harpy would have been stabbed dozens of times by Kira's 'eye sword', and countless cold sweats fell from the blue head: "I'm... I'm sorry... (rolled tongue sound)"
“It’s too late!!”
Boom! Boom!!
It turns out that there is a price to pay for seeking death.
After punching Habib twice, Kira felt much better. "I am the strongest in the team! How can we let the strongest player play at the beginning? What if more difficult questions appear later? Do you just use the strongest card when playing cards? What a joke!"
What he said made sense, not to mention that with the previous experience of Habib, they knew they couldn't make a fuss about the matter of 'stealing things'.
Thinking of this, Mira smiled slightly: "Compared to snatching, this time there is actually something more important, that is, 'the qualification to continue the competition'? In other words, whether we can pass this round is related to whether we can continue the competition later. I think we should find someone with a stable character, right?"
"Is it safe? How about I take over?"
Natsu strode forward and volunteered. He put his hands on his hips, flames burning behind him. Then he raised a thumb to himself, exuding a strong fighting spirit.
The guild's many complainers (Makao, Wakaba, Marcus, Sarusuk, Dorel, Lucy, Happy...) immediately blushed and said, "Well... no matter how you look at it, Natsu, you have nothing to do with the word 'stable'..."
"Flo thinks so too~"
“ Ehhhhh??!!”
"Do you really need to be so surprised?! Anyone can see this!!"
Makarov looked at the barefoot and excited Mavis next to him: "Does the first generation have any suggestions?"
Yes, Mavis was here too. As the first president of the guild or because of her childish nature of playing, she was unwilling to miss this rare event.
"Well... the lack of data makes it difficult to calculate..." Mavis's expression suddenly became awkward after hearing the consultation, "But, I suggest sending someone stronger up!"
What kind of advice is this?! It's like saying nothing at all! ! As expected, the "Fairy Military Advisor" is all fake! !
“By the way, Shodai, is it okay for you to suddenly follow us like this?”
Makarov sighed, then seemed to have thought of something, looked around vigilantly, then approached Mavis and whispered, "If we leave that person in Magnolia, there won't be any problems, right?"
He was naturally talking about Jeref. Given the other party's reputation, it was hard not to worry about the consequences of him staying in his own nest. Others also had this concern, so they all turned their eyes to Mavis.
"Don't worry, Magnolia will be fine! Because he's coming with us! Oh, and Auguste is here too!"
The air suddenly became quiet.
“Ehhhhhh?!!! Together?!?!”
Makarov blinked in confusion at first, then his mind cleared up, his pupils shrank instantly, and his voice unconsciously increased by dozens of decibels, "They are here too?!"
"Hmm..." Mavis smiled brightly, but Makarov's heart sank.
"So where are they now?"
If he didn't get to the bottom of this matter, Makarov felt that he wouldn't even be in the mood to watch the game later.
"Well... after arriving at Crocus, he said he sensed a familiar magical energy and then left together."
Hey, hey, hey... This is even more worrying! ! There are so many people here now, if it is discovered that Fairy Tail and Zeref are involved, it will be really bad! ! Why are you still laughing in this situation ? ! !
It’s over. I’m not in the mood to watch the game anymore!
After a while of playing, people from other guilds had already walked up one after another. Kira didn't waste any more time: "I'm the leader! Everything is under my command! Since this is the opening round, it must not be too difficult. Let's send Natsu up to test the waters. He is the weakest in the team!"
"What did you say?!"
Hearing Kira say that he was the 'weakest', Natsu immediately roared in dissatisfaction, and even wanted to jump up and hit Kira's knee, but his behavior was quickly stopped by Lucy and Gray: "Don't be impulsive! That's Kira..."
"That's right... And what Kira said is actually right. You are the weakest one."
"ha?!"
Natsu got even angrier and instantly turned around and started fighting with Gray, "Then let's see who's weaker!! The droopy-eyed guy who doesn't even have an S-rank title!!"
"That's exactly what I meant, you droopy-eyed guy!!"
Pa pa pa… bang bang bang… puff puff puff…
"Is Natsu-san going to play?"
The only one who didn't think Natsu was weak in the team was probably Stinger, who had always worshipped him as an idol. His little head looked at Natsu who was making a fuss with Gray, his eyes sparkling.
"Stinger-kun has been wanting to see Natsu-kun show off his skills for a long time!"
The fox... No, the red cat exposed Stinger's little thoughts, making the fourteen-year-old boy look shy.
"If it's Natsu-san, there will be no problem!"
Although he prefers Gajeel, Roger has to admit that Natsu's strength is above Gajeel, and he feels that this kind of opening match will definitely not be difficult for Gajeel, and naturally it will not be difficult for Natsu either.
"Flo thinks so too~"
"Have you two had enough of the trouble?!"
Finally, Erza's two punches ended the fight between Natsu and Gray, "Natsu, since you want to go on the field, move faster!!"
Feeling the murderous aura coming towards them, the two men froze at the same time, and then stood there trembling, not daring to make a sound.
"Also, if you dare not pass, you're done!!!"
“Gurgle…Yes!!”
Natsu didn't hesitate. He left Gray with a fist mark on his face and ran towards the backstage without any image. His heart was pounding all the way.
"It was a close call... I've gotten a little carried away recently because I was able to play..."
