~ - Okay so… I really don't know how to make it so people know Vali's singing, so if you see '~' at the beginning then he's singing alright? Cool
Oh yeah, let me know how you want the songs staged, like you you want me to state [Verse 1, [Chorus, [Bridge, etc during the singing, do you want me to put the song name above the story (Here), above the songs/before they're played, or should I put their names at the end above the authors notes? Please let me know, thanks!
"... the Candidates for the X779 Fairy Tail S-Class Trials are…" Vali, along with the rest of the Fairy Tail guild waited in anxious silence as they stared at the Guild Master who was making the announcement
S-Class.
S-Class was a class that could be awarded to wizards in each guild so long as they completed a Trail in which to prove themselves, to be S-Class made you one of the most Elite members of the guild and becoming an S-Class mage was a pretty big deal, in Fairy Tail only 3 mages out of the 136 members were considered S-Class and all three of them were monsters in their own right
Makarov Dreyer, the Giant of Fairy Tail and it's guild master, not only has he mastered his natural Magic - Giant Magic - the guild master is extremely proficient and knowledgeable in - and of - multiple other forms of magic, being able to use all four basic elements to a high degree
"...Macao Conbolt…"
Gildarts Clive, The Ace of Fairy Tail as well as it's most destructive member, even more destructive than Natsu could ever dream to be. Due to the man's Natural Magic he doesn't have an affinity for any other type of magic, still that didn't stop him from becoming a wizard considered one of the best in the country by using his deadly Crash Magic
"...Wakaba Mine…"
Finally Master Makarov's Grandson Laxus Dreyer, a Lightning Mage who boasted a shit ton of strength despite his young age, in fact out of the current and previous generation the only Mages capable of fighting and defeating Laxus are other S-Class mages and maybe the contestants from previous years
"...Erza Scarlet…"
S-Class isn't just a title for show however, as S-Class mages are able to take S-Class - and above - quests, these quests being so dangerous that any mage below S-Class would more than likely die when taking it, in return however the S-Class Mages have much higher pay, with each quests being at least a couple Million Jewels each due to the severity of the attacks
Because of the severity of the title and all the perks that come with it, guilds around the world give their members a test where they would nominate certain mages to compete in an exam to prove that they had the strength required to be an S-Class Mage
Each Guild had different requirements for becoming an S-Class Mage though so if an S-Class left their original guild and joined a different one they might lose their rank, because of this most Mages stay within their original guild to retain their rank and money, only leaving if their guild is disbanded, they're expelled or they no longer agree with how the guild works
"The final competitor for this year's Trial is Valentine Mizushima"
The God Slayer blinked as his name was called before a smirk broke over his face, nodding his head as he started paying more attention to the guild master, not flinching at the cheering or pats he received for becoming a candidate
"The venue for this year will be the Achillea Mountain, South West of the Lamia Scale guild. For you newbies in the Guild I'll explain the rules for the exam. Each S-Class Candidate is to take one partner with them and will have a one week before the examination to train" The Master finished speaking, allowing the large, orange haired figure behind the man to take over, a smirk on the S-Class mages face as he continued speaking
"There are two rules for partner selection: One, your partners must be from Fairy Tail, Two, They can't be an S-Class Mage, so me and Laxus are out" Said Lightning Mage rolled his eyes from beside the Guild Master, his face stoic as he listened to whatever song he had playing today
"The details for the exam will be revealed at the Venue, I wish you four and your partners luck, your week starts now." Vali nodded his head, closing his eyes as he began listening the people he'd wish to be his partner before eventually settling on one specific person
Ignoring the people around him Vali scanned the guild for a single person, eyes locking on to the person he decided would be the [perfect partner this time.
-/-
"I'm surprised you asked me to be your partner Vali, I was sure you'd pick Cana or Mira" Smirking at the younger mage, Vali reached out and patted her head. Vali had decided that his partner for this exam would be Levy and for more reasons than just because she was his friend
Their magic complements each other, his God Slayer Magic being capable of defending and attacking while Levy's Solid Script Magic can provide easy counterattacks to anything the other candidates could produce, making a wind spell to blow away Wakaba's smoke magic, Using a water spell to douse Macao's Purple Fire Magic, Creating a shield to tank Erza's blows.
'I'm actually more surprised no one else asked her, her magic is incredibly useful and has massive potential plus she's smart enough to make effective strategies against anyone, if only she's more confident I'm sure she could be a great S-Class Wizards'
"Your an amazing Mage Levy so stop doubting yourself, I'm sure in the next few years you'll be an S-Class candidate yourself if you keep practising as hard as you do now" Glancing around Vali nodded his head before sitting down, the duo had walked away into the East Forest so that they could train for today thought, Vali wanted to get to know more about Levy's Magic
"Aww, You flatter me Vali, I'm not that special compared to everyone else in the guild" Vali rolled his eyes, chuckling slightly even as she make a self-deprecating joke
"I am serious Levy, from what I know of your magic it has some serious potential plus you're one of the smartest people in our generation, I'm not trying to flatter you, I'm simply saying the truth, you could very easily become one of the strongest mages in the guild" The smaller girl gained a small blush at his complement going to deny it when he raised his hand for her to stop
"We'll begin properly training tomorrow alright, for today I want to know more about your magic and skills" The blue haired girl nodded her head
"Well, I use a letter magic called Solid Script that lets me create effects using words, I also started learning another type of letter magic called Jutsu Shiki that creates barriers and have rules to them" Vali nodded his head, accepting the information with ease
"As you know I use Sea God Slayer Magic, a lost magic designed to kill God's much like Natus's Fire Dragon Slayer Magic is designed to slay Dragon, I take it you remember my explanation from April when I told you all about my magic? Cool, I'll elaborate God Slayer Magic is the pinnacle of Slayer Magic, comparing it to Dragon Slayer Magic would be an insult, as such my magic is highly dangerous to any normal person so naturally I'll be holding back when fighting our guildmates"
The two descended into silence, allowing Vali a moment to flashback to when he revealed his magic. It took him over a year to fully trust the guild - and thus everyone else - with the knowledge of his Magic, once he revealed it to the guild reported were quick to show up and question him about his magic, all of which he explained.
Luckily the reveal of his magic wasn't as severe as it could've been, with people happily accepting the knowledge that the Gods are real, luckily most people in the world already believed in them and the few that didn't were mostly sceptical, the history of magic in this world helping people believe that his magic and origin is true
"Right, take today to relax because we'll be doing some hardcore training for the next 6 days alright, meet me here tomorrow at 7 oh and, bring some lunch with you, you might need it"
-/-
"That was good Levy, though I wonder what would happen if you used different words, like instead of [Water] use [Flood] or instead of [Fire] use [Blaze]" Vali commented, ignoring the panting coming from his partner as she finished casting another spell
"H-h-how *pant* does *pant* t-this *pant* h-help?"
"Well, from what I assume the words you create are catalysts for the effects produced, writing [Fire] creates fire, fire that is wild and uncontrollable, but if you cast [Blaze] then you create a much faster acting spell, the words will burn brighter and be faster to attack then fire, you get it?"
"I-I think?"
"Basically using synonyms for words can alter how the spell works, does that make more sense?"
-/-
Day Two
"You need to keep moving while you attack Levy, staying still like that'll just get you hit. Remember, you don't have Jet and Droy backing you up right now and while I'll be fighting with you this time I won't have the time to be attacking and defending you at the same time, especially if we end up facing one of the S-Class during Masters Trial"
"I-I get that Vali but how?"
"Have you tried making a [Clone] spell or a [Forget Me] spell? I could guess that a [Forget Me] spell probably wouldn't work but a clone spell might, you do that and create an [Invisible] spell you'll be able to fight from anywhere on the field unseen, well unless you're against a sensor like me but an [Disrupt Sense] spell could fix that easily."
"I-I see, I didn't think of that."
"That's why we train Levy, discovering new things about our magic and making new spells is part of being a mage, a good thing to do with your magic would be to study a dictionary and a thesaurus, expanding your vocabulary will give you access to a lot more spells, especially since you don't know the limits to your magic"
-/-
Day Three
"T-This is so intense… have you done this everyday since you were a kid?" Vali nodded, continuing his routine as Levy sat on his back, a dictionary in hand as he worked out
"Yup, like Dragon Slayers us God Slayers also get natural perks, our bodies are naturally much stronger and resistant, I could do what Natsu does with a [Fire Dragon Iron Fist] without any magic when I was 8, normal people can't even damage our skin, you'd have to have some good physical strength to do any damage to us and if Jet didn't use his magic I'd beat him in a foot race any day of the week. We dem- I mean, God Slayers a tough bunch of people, we are made to slay Gods after all"
"E-Eh, so why do you still train like this?"
"Well think of it this way, you have a perfectly good spell, it's powerful, it's fast and it's cost effective so you don't train it, what happens?"
"Your other spells get stronger because they get trained more- ohhhh"
"Yup, just because my body's naturally powerful doesn't mean sh-anything, It doesn't mean anything, so I continue to work on it, building my strength and endurance, toughening my muscles."
The two sat in silence for a moment, Levy dropping her dictionary into her lap while Vali continued his push ups
"One thing to remember Levy is that people only see the result, they don't care or know about the journey. People look at Master Makarov and see an immensely powerful man who earned his spot on the Wizard Saint because of his power, but Master also trained, he pushed himself to become that strong, taking decades to become as powerful as he is. Master's a master of at least 7 different types of Magic and knows many more, he didn't cheat his way to power by implanting lacrima into himself he earned his power through strength of will"
Once again the two descended into silence, unlike before though Vali could feel the shift in Levy's magic, feel her determination to become better, to become as powerful as she could be
It's a good change he decided, if only her fanboys would train as hard as she probably will, then Team Shadowgear would be a formidable opponent
-/-
Day Four
"Now, Levy!"
"[Thunder]"
Vali watched in satisfaction as the Gorian fell, fried to a crisp by his and Levy's magic. Day One was focused on getting to know each other magic and mainly just the relaxing, day two was spent on opening each others view on parts of their Magic they hadn't already noticed, Day three had mainly seen them training physically and improving on what they discussed on Day 2
Day four was combat situations, Vali brought Levy into a small excursion into the East Forest so that they're not in each others way and uncoordinated, Vali not being used to Levy's presence and Levy not used to Vali's, however as time went on and they fought more and more they started getting more and more comfortable around each other until Vali felt they could properly fight well together
-/-
Day Five
"Planning is all well and good but we also need to be able to think things up on the fly, every fight we've practised this week have been planned so today I figured I'd ask Master Makarov for some help-"
"Eh? But isn't that against the rules?"
"Well, technically the only rules we were given were that our partners aren't supposed to be S-Class already and that we have a week to train, plus I'm just using all the resources given to me."
"Ooooooh"
"Yeah so anyways, I asked Master Makarov to send some people from the guild to attack us-"
"WHAT?!"
"Hehehe, yup, I asked the Master to send random guild members at us with the intent to kill and better yet, I don't even know who's coming so we might even face Laxus, Gildarts or even the Master himself!"
"WHAT?!"
-/-
Final Day
"Well Levy this is the final day of our S-Class Preparation Training, so for today we'll relax, we've done some really intense training the past couple of days so for today just take it easy alright? I'll see you at the guild tomorrow and remember, we got this!"
-/-
"~Don't wanna live as an untold story
Rather go out in a blaze of glory
I can't hear you, I don't fear you
I'll live now 'cause the bad die last
Dodging bullets with your broken past
I can't hear you, I don't fear you now
Wrapped in your regret
What a waste of blood and sweat
Oh oh oh
I wanna taste love and pain
Wanna feel pride and shame
I don't wanna take my time
Don't wanna waste one line
I wanna live better days
Never look back and say
Could have been me
It could have been me
Yeah-"
Stopping his song Vali turned to look at who tapped his shoulder, sitting up and twisting his head he was met by the shocked visage of his blue haired partner. Reaching up he grabbed his Lacrima Headphones, pushing them down, around his neck as he waited for the girl to speak, gently nudging her as he did, an eyebrow raised at her shocked face
"O-Oh, Vali, uh Masters calling all the candidates, I uh, didn't know you could sing, you're really good! You should sing in the guild at some point, I've never heard that song before, did you write it before? Oh, Oh, can I hear the rest after the exam? A-ah, that is if you don't mind that is, P-please?"
'Must've ended up singing along at some point, oh well I was planning on becoming a musician at some point anyways so it doesn't really matter, and if I end up doing shows or tours or whatever I better get used to singing in front of people so practising in the guild - hell even practising for Magnolia - is a good idea'
Vali chuckled gently, standing up and stretching, preparing himself for the upcoming trials. Glancing down at himself he nodded, he had chosen to wear his usual attire - black trainers, a black pair of trousers, a black vest and his yellow hoodie that is, plus his earrings and Gungnir - the idea behind it being that he'll likely be wearing something similar during his S-Class missions so he may as well take the trail in them
"Alright I'm ready, you? Oh and, thanks. I've been thinking about doing music in my spare time and of course you can, when we get back to Magnolia I'll show you the instrumental to go with it" The Blue haired girl seemed both happy and relieved at his words before giving a resolute nod of her head, seemingly completely prepared and ready for the trials
"Well come on then, don't want to keep Master and the others waiting do we?" The two shared a small laugh as the left the room Vali was allocated, the Master decided that they'd be staying at a small Inn just a few miles away from the mountain since they'd likely be travelling over night
It didn't take the two of them long to reach the bar downstairs, just having to walk along the corridor and down the stairs until they were greeted by the normally rowdy guild members sitting at the bar completely still and silent, their partners behind them
"Vali, nice of you to join us." The two men shared a small laugh as Vali sat at the bar, smiling at the bar maid who gave him a small glass of water
"Alright you lot listen up, your first task is this. Somewhere on the mountain I've hidden four chests, two of these chests contain passes, two contain fails but beware, two of the chests are protected by your fellow guildmates and future comrades. Your goals in this first trial are luck and skill, now. Go!"
At the masters proclamation 6 of the 8 gathered mages jumped from their stools, bolting out of the inn with speed that would make any Speed Mage blush in embarrassment at. Finishing of his glass of water he turned to look at Levy, who was looking at him with worry and confusion at his calmness
"Well, Are you ready? We can talk along the way but there's no real rush" The bluenette hesitantly nodded her head, her confusion becoming so apparent that Vali chuckled lightly as the walked out of the inn
"You're wondering why I'm not rushing like the others yeah?" He didn't wait for her to answer, her face already telling him everything he needed to know "There's a 50/50 chance that we pass the exam so the odds are in our favour, Gildarts and Laxus are already waiting for us and if they're gonna trap the place they've had a week to do it, the others are rushing so much they won't plan and think, chances are they'll set off the traps for us"
"You really put some thought into this huh Vali" The Solid Script mage praised, understanding why he isn't rushing to get to the mountain now
"Nah not really, just paid attention to what Master Makarov said. Master never said what chests the S-Class are protecting, he didn't say anything about dummy chests, any traps, hell he only said 'Fellow Guildmates and future comrades' so Master may have enlisted some other A-Class mages to wait on the mountain, meaning we could face mages from either Fairy Tail or Lamia scale, though I highly doubt it"
"Oh."
"Yup, S-Class Jobs are some of the most dangerous and confusion quests, what could've just been a simple request could turn into a whole operation, the idea -I'm assuming - is that things can go wrong, in fact we're lucky that Master even pointed out that the presence of other mages, who knows what could happen in a real mission after all"
"O-oh"
"Yup"
-/-
"Right Levy, which way are we going?" Standing at the base of the mountain Vali turned to look at his partner, who seemed completely thrown off guard by his question as she stuttered to answer. While the two did start planning during their travel to the mountain Vali made sure to keep their plan flexible in case things chance
'In the words of a wise man "No plan survives first contact with the enemy"'
"Ummm, left. We'll go left." Nodding his head the two began their ascent, Vali making sure to keep his senses sharp as he felt out for the magic of the guilds mages.
It took them nearly 40 minutes, 5 fights with random creatures and a Vulcan, 1 avalanche started by who he could only assume to be Erza, two traps and 1 close breakdown later before eventually Vali stumbled across a cave he could sense a strong magical presence coming from
"You sure Levy? Pretty sure there's gonna be an S-Class in here" He turned to his partner who looked as if she'd spent the last few hours doing none stop exercise - which, to be fair, she basically had - nevertheless the blue haired mage looked determined to see through their fight to the end
'You've got to admire her bravery but still, I'm worried. This fight isn't going to be easy, as annoying as he is, Laxus is powerful and while I can definitely beat him it'll be a long fight, I'm more worried Gildarts is gonna be in there, He isn't called the Crush Demon for nothing, the dude's just as much a monster as Master is.'
"If you're sure but the moment you feel you can't continue tell me alright, I'd rather you be okay then get a stupid rank alright?" Despite the girls agreement Vali still felt nervous at her appearance, he knew that a weeks worth of training wouldn't do much to help but he had hope that Levy's magic would be stronger, which is is but the girl herself wasn't ready for the power boost and ended up exhausting herself, an oversight on his part that he's kicking himself for right now
Sighting the two entered the cave, pushing away the vines the two descended into the darkness that was only slightly alleviated by the cinders of dying candles. The further the two went the more Vali felt anxious, body tense as he prepared for a fight
As the duo eventually found a large open space in the cave Vali felt his nerves burn, body moving instantly as he jumped at Levy, pushing her down and out of he way, an arc of white, net like magic shooting over them as light finally entered the cave, revealing the one person Vali didn't - but also Kinda did - want to see
Standing at the other side of the cave, stood a tall, muscular man with shoulder-length orange hair and a stubbly beard, donned in a long, tattered black cloak with shoulder plates, a simple belt wrapped around his waist keeping his plain dark brown pants held up, pants that were tucked inside of two light grey boots
"Yo." Staring at them from his place, completely uncaring of the atmosphere around them, a casual smile on his face stood Gildarts Clive, The Crush Demon. The Ace Of Fairy Tail.
"Fuck." Vali didn't actually mean to say anything, the word just slipped out of his mouth as his eyes locked onto the Ginger haired man, the only plus side being that he had automatically spoken in his native language, protecting poor Levy's ears from his cursed language
"Haaa, I don't suppose you'll just let me take the chest will you?" The request was spoken more to see if it would work than for it to be an actual strategy, he highly doubt that Gildarts would actually allow him to take the chest and even if he did he'd refuse
'If Masters doing what I think he is and actually simulating an S-Class quest then if Gildarts does give us a chest then It's probably rigged'
"Sorry Kid but it's not gonna be that easy" Vali just shrugged, a sigh leaving him as he did. Still it was worth a shot. Rolling his shoulders he cast a quick glance at Levy, the bluenette still looked to fatigued to be in the fight and a large part of him worried for her
'Gildarts isn't exactly good at holding back and fighting an opponent of his calibre while injured and exhausted… dammit'
"Levy, I want you to stay back and support, remember the spells you learned and what we went over for situations like this and you'll be good, Gildarts is strong mage, easily on par with Wizard Saints so be careful and if you feel like you have to retire then do so alright." His partner gave a determined nod of her head, fists clenching at his ending words but she understood the situation enough to not fight him on this one
Cracking his neck he pushed forwards, pulling his headphones over his head, music filling his ears as he approached his opponent, allowing himself to get lost in the music while checking his surroundings for potential surprise attacks from Levy
Standing across his opponent - because that's what he is - Vali hopped a little, psyching himself up for the fight as the music continued on, shooting forwards as the beat dropped, fist swinging as engaged the larger man in physical combat
His opening jab met the mans forwards, bringing his arm back he shielded his own body from the man's own punch, grunting at the weight behind the blow before sending a right hook to the mans face, absorbing a punch into his side as he delivered a elbow slashed into the man's jaw, forcing a grunt from the physically larger man
Hoping away he pushed forward as he landed again, shooting towards the larger mage as they once again exchanged blows, fists flying at one another, each man exchanging such powerful hits that you'd think they were boxers of some kind in Vali's original world
As Gildarts arm swung around into a hook, Vali ducked under it, kicking his own foot out, lodging it into the man's stomach forcing a cough out of the large man, Vali delivering strikes with strength no normal 14 year old should have, still his strength wouldn't do much as Gildarts grabbed ahold of his leg, trapping him- or well, trying to try him
Twisting his leg he flipped his body, sending his spare foot into a spinning kick, the attack landing soundly in the side of Gildarts face, forcing the man to let go, finding himself free Vali continued his spin, landing back on his feet and launching himself away
Skidding to a holt Vali slowly stood from his crouched position, a small trench in the ground from where he landed, chuckling slightly he pushed magic into his headphones, lowering the sound to silence as the two finished their physical testing of one another
"I've gotta say Vali, that was impressive stuff, with your magic no one would expect you to be that good close-combat, hell even I assumed you'd sit back and let your magic do the work but colour me surprised and impressed"
"Why thank you, while hand to hand definitely isn't my go to form of fighting sometimes letting hands fly can be fun, plus it's not like I can just bust out Gungnir to fight people in the guild, that would be overkill."
The two shared a chuckle, relaxing as they took a small break of their serious-but-not-so-serious fight to have some banter, still that banter didn't last long as the two of them finally started getting ready to continue their battle
"Well I do believe our little break has gone on for long enough Vali, whaddya say about taking it up a level huh?"
"I'm down, ready when you are Old man"
"I'M NOT OLD!" Vali giggled cheekily at the older mans shout, enjoying the man's annoyance as he started worrying about his age, even if the scene is more of a gag than anything else, well kind of a gag anyways, since Gildarts really did start worrying about his age and being called old
Still, the ginger haired man's worried panic slowly stopped, Vali returning his headphones to their original place as he turned his magic back on, bouncing to the music once again as he closed his eyes getting in the zone-
Woosh
Dodging out of the way, Vali turned his body sideways, allowing the net of magic to fly past him, his own magic working instantly as it shot to his feet, a cyclone of water shooting from his legs as his [Sea God's Cyclone] did its job of propelling him towards Gildarts
"[Sea Gods Whirling Blade]" Around his right arm, which was kept drawn back near his head, a spinning drill of water appeared, the 'blade' covering the majority of his arm descending into a fine point just out of reach for his middle finger
Once he was in range he thrust the blade forward, the rapidly swirling water preventing his senior from grabbing his arm, forcing him to tank the hit, Vali wasn't finished however, already moving the magic through his body and into his throat as he utilised one of his stringer spells at a point blank range-
"[Sea Gods Bellow]"
The water could barely form into the cyclone that it usually took the shape of thanks to his close proximity to Gildarts, still the old man didn't take the spell lying down, gaining a foothold in the ground as he thrust his own fist forward
Unlike with Vali and a majority of other guild members Gildarts didn't call out the name of his spell, just allowing a singular net like magic to flash between them, 'demolishing' Vali's magic
Even with his spell counter Vali had moved, cutting the magic in throat off with practiced ease he pushed himself away, landing on the ground with little sound before stomping his foot on the ground, magic falling into the earth as he used his spell-
"[Sea God's Unrelenting Tide]"
From where his foot clashed with the earth, semi-large, 4 foot tall waves appeared, shooting towards Gildarts like stampeding horses, holding all the speed and power the animal they were compared to has
As the wave approached him, the older man allowed himself to be hit with the wave, being pushed back by the tide as the salty water covered him, coughing as the water entered his mouth and cringing as it entered his cuts, thinking it was over the man went to call upon his own magic when
"Now, Levy-"
"Okay! [Thunder]"
From out of nowhere, electrified words shot towards the soaked man, hitting him with a loud crackle as his water amplified the lightnings power, still she wasn't finished as Levy prepared her next spell-
"[Freeze]"
This time the icy words shot towards the still shocked man, whose eyes widened upon remembering that Vali isn't alone in his fight and as the words clashed with the electrified water his body went from relatively warm and shocked to frozen, the words turning the warm water into an arctic one
"[Wildfire]"
This time, raging flames shot from nowhere, the spell coming from a different place as the somehow invisible girl laughed a fire spell as hot as Natsu's at him, the cold water evaporating as his previously freezing cold body turned boiling, the sudden change of temperature taking the older man's breath away, drying his eyes and throat as Vali went for an attack
"[Sea God's Explosives]" Bringing his hands to his mouth, Vali made a 'funnel' over his mouth, producing magic through his lips and hands bubbles of thin water shot outwards towards Gildarts, hitting his form with power, exploding upon contact with furious bangs
Despite the situation he was in Gildarts didn't seem to be as affected by it that a normal man should've been, he had definitely been in pain from the combined attacks of Levy and his as well as the explosive bubbles Vali sent his way but any other person would've been passed out or dead from the combined attack
Gildarts just looked like he went for a swim in the ocean and fought a sea monster or two. Which is probably just a typical Tuesday for Gildarts
"[Sea God's Sacred Art: Trident of Poseidon]"
His spell formed and flew in seconds, one of his stronger sacred arts shooting towards the overpowered mage, Vali instantly moving to protect Levy and himself, thrusting his hand forward a large, thick shield appeared, cutting the cave in two to ensure Levy was protected from Gildarts counter attack
"Shit Vali, you're really making me work here [Crush]"
The two spells met in a fierce clash, Vali's sacred art holding out and even pushing against the older mages attack but ultimately the spell was destroyed, a large explosion rattling the mountain as Vali felt his shield collapse and the older mages spell pushed on through, the wide net slamming into Vali and Levy like a wrecking ball
"AHHHHHH"
Vali winced, head pounding as he forced himself up, eyes landing onto his partners form where she lay, passed out as Gildarts spell hit them
"Fuck [Sea Gods Cl]- [Sea Gods Clone]" Forcing the words out Vali pushed his magic through the body of water which had appeared from the remnants of his spells, large waves shooting towards his downed partner that quickly formed into clones that picked her up, rushing with all the speed of a clashing wave to get her out of te cave
Standing up, Vali panted, his body in pain from the man's attack, he could feel the clothes hiding his upper body fall to tatters around him, his headphones laying in pieces on the ground partially covered by the remnants of his vest and hoodie, in fact the only things to survive the mages attack was Vali himself, his Earrings and Gungnir
"Damn, sorry kid didn't mean for that to happen, put a bit to much magic in that one" Despite all the chaos he had caused the Overpowered Mage stood firmly in place, scratching his head in sight embarrassment as he looked over the completely damaged cave, nothing had been spared from his attack, not even the chest, the only things to survive being the three humans themselves
"Hey you alright there kiddo? Didn't kill ya did I?" Vali tuned the man out, catching his breath as he felt his magic container which was lower than it had been in years, still with all the water around him he could push his magic into it and control it and if worst came to worst-
'God fucking- desperate times, desperate measure'
Gaping his Jaw slightly Vali moved his magic upwards, creating a small vortex inside. The response was imminent, water falling from the stalactite shooting towards him instead of to the ground, the fewest drops of water rejuvenating him enough that he could get his breath back easier
"[Sea Gods Hidden Mist]" whispering the name of the spell to himself he pushed his magic into the water below him, the water boiling slight and rising in a thick fog
"Huh? Did you say something there kid? Where'd all this fog come from"
Sucking up a deep breathe Vali decided it's all or nothing, his partner taken out, him being injured and dangerously low on magic plus the chest being destroyed Vali decided that-
'Fuck this, fuck this exam, fuck Gildarts and his stupid fucking Magic, fuck Makarov making us fight in caves so I couldn't call out my more powerful spells, fuck Gildarts for being such an overpowered beast'
"[Sea God's Sacred Art: Bow of Artemis]"
He moved his body, posing as if creating an invisible bow which quickly became a reality as the clashing waves appeared in his hands, an arrow lodged in place that's tip resembled his [Sea God's Whirlpool Blade]. Closing his eyes he locked onto Gildarts Magical signature, aiming in through the thick mist with ease as he let his arrow fly
…
…
…
"[Crush]"
Sighing Vali dropped to his knees, body finally giving up on him as he felt his arrow shatter under the older mages strength, the mist evaporating quickly, a combination of Vali stopping powering it and from Gildarts [Crush] spell
"I- I admit defeat"
The cave was silent and despite what he told himself, despite how many times he consoled himself that he didn't care about the S-Class rank Vali felt tears rolling down his eyes, the silence of the cave leaving the sound of pitter-pattering raindrops to become apparent as the skies reflected Vali's defeat
"I gotta admit kid, you did good for a kid. You pushed me a couple of times, prioritised safety of your team mate instead of the exam and actually made me forget about her a in the beginning of our fight. You kept fighting even after the objective was destroyed and only admitted defeat when you physically couldn't do anything else."
The two we're once again enveloped in silence, Vali slowly calming down at the face of defeat even if he knew he would never win this fight, not yet at least
"Answer me this kid, what does it mean to be S-Class?"
Vali didn't answer for a second, pushing him up he forced his body into a sitting position, so he could answer the man
"S-Class… it means being strong enough to protect the guild- to protect people, I've been in the guild for over a year now and done so much good and as an S-Class I can do more, so… S-Class to me means being able to protect and help people as much as possible."
He hadn't noticed it at first but eventually Cana pointed out to him that he only really takes quests that end up helping people, ridding a village from Chupacabra's, retrieving a necklace that belonged to a young girls recently departed mother, destroying bandit camps from terrorizing people, he would just come in, look at the job board and take them, the rewards didn't matter but the quest did
The more he thought about it the more he realized the truth behind his friends words, every quest he did that he chose resulted in him helping people… usually because those quests resembled his own self
A village terrorized by a beast, killing its people? A dragon raided his home and ate his family.
Returning a necklace that belonged to a girl's dead mother? He would kill to be able to have his mom's wedding ring or her necklace
Destroying bandit camps that terrorized people? Well, see above for that one
So yes, when he thought about it he wanted to help people, his obsession with his legacy had probably stemmed from his divine adoption, the want to be remembered coming from Iva divine nature but helping people? Helping people was all him
"That's an admirable goal kid but the chest was destroyed which means…" Vali sighed, closing his eyes as he prepared "…You Pass!"
"Huh?"
"The reason for us S-Class fighting you wasn't just to be obstacles but to test you, see if you had what it takes to be an S-Class mage and well, it seems to me like you meet the criteria perfectly so I've decided. You pass."
Despite the happy smile and laughter left on his throat, tears still trickled down his face. Forcing himself to a stand Gildarts and him left the cave, beginning their descent down the mountain even with Vali on his last legs
"Oh yeah, Gildarts."
"What kid?"
"You owe me a new hoodie and headphones?"
"What? Why?"
"That hoodie was a gift from Iva and Laxus was the one to help me buy the headphones."
"Eh?"
-/-
"I'm glad to see you two could make it" The pleasantly smiling Makarov immediately set the two men on edge as they reached the base of the mountain, glancing around Vali noticed his partner being treated and healed alongside a very injured Macao and his partner, Wakaba and his partner looking no better from where they sat in the infirmary thing
"Now, would one of you like to explain WHY THERES A GIANT HOLE IN THE MOUNTAIN?!"
The two men glanced at each other, looked at Makarov, turned around, sweated and turned back to Makarov
"No clue-"
"It's Gildarts fault"
"Hey- what, you little brat-"
"Grrrr, I'll deal with you idiot in a minute, did Valentine pass his potion of the exam?"
"Yup Master, the chest ended up dest- uhhhh, missing, yeah missing but even without it I've decided that Vali deserves to join the next round."
"I see, congratulations Vali. You've officially become Fairy Tails newest S-Class Mae."
"Huh? What about the second round?"
"Haaa, well you see. Macao and Steve ended up finding the win chest so they should have progressed to the next round but..."
"We were attacked by a group of Vulcans and the chest got destroyed, which means we're disqualified"
"Yes, that. On the other hand Erza and Louise found the fail chest and returned to the base, they departed back to the inn an hour ago, as you can guess Wakaba and Jerry were met by Laxus who failed them, which means-"
"We won. I… I don't know how to feel about winning like this Master but..."
"Oh just accept it boy, as of now Erza doesn't possess the mindset to become S-Class but maybe if you take her one a few quests she'll become one next year, Macao and Wakaba… haaa, as passionate as they are, the two just don't have the strength to be S-Class. You won fair and square Vali, it takes a lot to get a compliment out of Gildarts as I'm sure you know"
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh do not get me started with you boy, what do you think your doing nearly killing poor Levy like that-
Despite the growing Chaos Vali felt himself chuckle, accepting the title given to him by Master Makarov gratefully the second time, heading over to Levy to check to see if she's alright or not
'God, todays been a long ass day, I can't wait to get some sleep'
The song Vali was singing in this chapter is 'Could Have Been Me' by 'The Struts'
I originally didn't include the Vali vs Gildarts fight in this chapter, I tried writing it like 10 times and hated each of them so I planned to just write it some other time, however I ended up getting super motivated and wrote a version of the fight that I as happy with. Let it be known that yes, Vali did push Gildarts but the man was holding back, as of now he could crush Vali easily. If you have to them Vali right now is probably close to Natsu's level when he fought Gildarts in the X784 S-Class Exam, if not slightly stronger. Am I overpowering Vali? Probably, but eh, I don't care right now aha
I do hope y'all enjoyed that fight though, I know I'm not the best writer in... well anything but fight scenes have never been my forte so I hope that the fight was good and didn't get too dull for y'all
So some friends of mine actually read this fic - which is embarrassing as all fuck, whyyyyy - but anyways, they ended up helping me construct a decent Album for Vali to make, so I'm thinking of naming the Album itself something simple, like… uh idk 'Unveil', ooh I kinda like that, daaaamnnn
Anyways, in case y'all wanna know what the Album is so y'all can listen to it yourself then this is it:
Unveil
1) Warriors - Imagine Dragons
2) Believer - Imagine Dragons
3) Born For This - The Score
4) Hall Of Fame - The Script
5) Superheroes - The Script
6) Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time - Panic! At The Disco
7) Centuries - Fall Out Boy
8) Monster - Imagine Dragons
9) Emperor's New Clothes - Panic! At The Disco
10) Immortals - Fall Out Boy
11) Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) - Fall Out Boy
12) Comeback - The Score
Yeah I wanted it to have a sort of… idk Hype aspect to it, like songs that can get you pumped up and then I kinda just added more songs in, so uhhh. Yeah enjoy that
Also noticed that people are starting to review less and less which is sad but eh, not much I can do about it, thank you to the people who take the time to comment or PM me, I do appreciate it
Anyways yeah, anyways Next Chapter marks the beginning of my Seven Sins Arc so prepare your faces for that I guess, also I'd say watch out for the Easter eggs Imma be leaving in the coming chapters but they're gonna be pretty obvious aha
Umm, Yeah think that's it, probably gonna be slowing down my publishing rate a bit. Don't get me wrong I do still love this fanfiction and I still have tons of ideas and shit but I also need to focus on my mental health right now - Ya boy's getting forced to speak to a councillor (again) - and constantly posting and writing isn't really helping, so please don't be expecting 10 chapters a month or whatever aha, idk how many I'll do a month since I write when I want and publish when I want but writing this is basically just what I do ion my spare time so It'll still probably be a couple chapters a months or whatever, again idk but probably not 10 a months aha
So for my 10th chapter, the first double digit of this fanfiction and the beginning to a new arc in my fanfiction!
Peace and Cheers,
Neo!
P.S. Is it me or is none of the authors I like updating? Like I'm sitting here (Barbeque sauce on my tittides) and nobodies posting anything, my inbox hasn't been this dry since I got the app