"12 o'clock!"
As soon as the clock struck noon, the eagerly waiting members of the guild shouted in unison.
Natsu was the first to open the [Magic Arena] and click "Join the Tournament."
A long list of instructions popped up, but he ignored them and scrolled straight to the bottom.
[Your tournament entry number is 1.]
[Matching process initiated. Do you want to enter the Magic Arena?]
[Confirm/Cancel]
"Hahaha! I'm number one!" Natsu shouted excitedly, as if he'd already won the championship.
The moment he clicked [Confirm], his head slumped down, and he collapsed onto the table.
"Natsu?" Happy yelled, "Oh no! Natsu's dead! Nate killed him!"
Nate rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"Are you stupid?" Carla scoffed. "He just entered the game."
'Seriously,' she thought, 'didn't the group chat explain everything?'
She sighed, placing her little paw on the [Confirm] button.
"Natsu already went in? He sure is fast."
"I bet he didn't read a single word of the instructions."
"A real man never backs down! I trust Nate—[Confirm]!"
One by one, more people clicked [Confirm]. Some slumped over the tables, while others simply fell to the floor.
'Why bother coming to the guild to do this? Wouldn't it be better to just lie in bed at home?' Nate mused.
Soon, only a few conscious people remained. The once lively guild had become eerily quiet.
Laxus, sitting cross-legged by the door, looked up at Nate with a grin. "I'll be waiting for you in the game."
With that, he clicked [Confirm], and his head immediately drooped.
Juvia, Erza, Wendy, Carla, Lucy, and others soon followed, entering the game world.
Finally, only three people were left.
Mirajane chuckled softly, "If a dark guild attacked right now, Fairy Tail would be wiped out."
'Mirajane sure knows how to make a cold joke,' Nate thought, shaking his head. "Don't worry. If there's any danger, they'll wake up immediately. You can even give them a nudge to test it."
Makarov laughed and added, "You two go on ahead. I'll keep an eye on the kids."
"Thank you, Master," Mirajane said, casting Nate a glance before pressing [Confirm] with her delicate hand, hesitating for just a moment. Then, she slumped onto the table as well.
'Not having a live streaming feature right now is kind of inconvenient,' Nate thought. 'If we could stream the matches, people wouldn't all have to dive into the [Magic Arena] at once.'
For now, though, that feature wasn't available, so Nate had to make do.
"Master, I'm heading in," Nate said, closing his eyes as his consciousness entered the game.
...
In Magnolia's eastern forest, near the secluded cabin of Polyushka, Mystogan sat beneath a tree, gazing calmly at the game's instructions.
[Important Notes:]
Your consciousness will enter the [Magic Arena], and your physical body will be in an unguarded state in the real world. Please ensure your surroundings are safe to avoid any accidents.
If you sense danger from the outside world, exit the game immediately.
This is a test version of the app and does not represent the final quality.
If you encounter any issues, please report them to the developer immediately.
Thank you for your cooperation and participation.
"A virtual world constructed by magic?" Mystogan murmured softly. "An impressive magic, Nate."
[Your tournament entry number is 261.]
[Matching process initiated. Do you want to enter the Magic Arena?]
[Confirm/Cancel]
Mystogan clicked [Confirm], and his head gently drooped as he leaned against the tree, falling into a light sleep.
Creak—
The door to the cabin opened, and Polyushka stepped outside. Seeing Mystogan asleep by the tree, she muttered irritably to herself, "Why come here? Why do humans love fighting so much?"
She raised her right hand, and on her index finger was a Magic Net ring.
"Mana Recovery Potions... That boy even knows alchemy?"
...
Magic Arena, Sky Island.
Calling it an island was a bit of an exaggeration; it was more of a floating platform, about 500 meters in diameter.
When Mystogan opened his eyes, he was momentarily confused by the surroundings.
"So this is the game world?" he murmured, looking around.
Fairy Tail members were scattered across the platform, all with similarly bewildered expressions.
The ground, the grass, the clouds, and the sun in the sky—it all looked so real.
If he hadn't known this was a magic construct, it would have been difficult to distinguish between this world and reality.
"Is this really a game world?"
"How is this even possible?"
"Incredible, Nate! This is unbelievable..."
Voices of astonishment echoed from all around. Mystogan felt the same way.
For a moment, he even suspected that the ring had teleported him to some remote location on the continent.
But that wasn't the case. He could still feel his body in the real world, resting in a light sleep. He knew he could wake up at any time.
Suddenly, a golden light flared in the distance.
Mystogan looked up to see a massive golden screen appear. On the screen, a list of information was displayed.
...
[Fairy Tail Guild Tournament]
Participants: 261
Remaining Participants: 261
Round One Matching in Progress...
Matching Complete!
[Seaside Arena]: Bickslow vs. Jet
[Desert Arena]: Macao vs. Vijeeter
[Volcano Arena]: Happy vs. Reedus
And...
[Forest Arena]: Mystogan vs. Wendy!
...
Mystogan saw his name paired with his opponent's and was stunned.
Wendy? Could it really be the Wendy he knew?
As the thought crossed his mind, the scenery around him shifted. The Sky Island vanished, replaced by a dense, verdant forest.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Not far from him stood a young girl with long, deep blue hair—a 12-year-old girl.
"Grandeeney... Grandeeney, where are you?" the girl called out anxiously.
Mystogan froze. It really was the Wendy he knew.
He hesitated for a moment, then took a step toward her, calling out, "Wendy, it's been a while. I'm..."
Boom!
Suddenly, a brilliant white light burst from Wendy's chest.
The light quickly expanded, forming into a large silver-white dragon.
"Grandeeney!" Wendy exclaimed joyfully.
"The match has begun, Wendy," Grandeeney said softly, her gaze fixed on Mystogan. "It's time to teach you the Dragon Slayer's Ultimate Secret Technique."
Wait a minute!
Mystogan was utterly confused. Wasn't Wendy supposed to be his opponent?
Where did this dragon come from?
'Am I really supposed to fight a dragon?!'
~~~
Hello! I'm awake now, so let's keep supporting the fanfic, everyone! Thank you so much for your support!
In the previous ranking, we reached Top 17 with 1,706 (wtf) Power Stones! Thank you!!!
Based on the chart below, the bonus Chapters for this week will be 9!
If you'd like to support me on Patreon and get access to more Chapters, voting with Power Stones will not only help me but also earn you more bonus Chapters.
Here's my Patreon—please check it out: Patreon(.)com/Bleam
—Currently, you can read 70 Chapters ahead of others!
1/9 Bonus Chapters this Week! If you want even more bonus Chapters, here's how:
Top 90-99 = 1 Chapters
Top 80-89 = 2 Chapters
Top 70-79 = 3 Chapters
Top 60-69 = 4 Chapters
Top 50-59 = 5 Chapters
Top 40-49 = 6 Chapters
Top 30-39 = 7 Chapters
Top 20-29 = 8 Chapters
Top 10-19 = 9 Chapters (previous week ranking and current ranking)
Top 9-6 = 10 Chapters
Top 5 = 11 Chapters
Top 4 = 12 Chapters
Top 3 = 13 Chapters
Top 2 = 14 Chapters
Top 1 = 15 Chapters
I'll divide the Bonus Chapters to
2-2-1-1-1-1-1 in any order.