The day of the S-Class exam finally came and the participants are on their way here. So the S-Class mages are getting ready at the first exam location. They are located in 6 caves where the participants will face either a S-Class mage or other participants.
The S-Class mage stay in their designated locations and wait for the participants to come to them. Ben waited in one of the caves like the others, but his clones were spread out in other caves so he can supervise all the battles.
Also, he wanted to make sure Wendy is safe from that lolicon's hands. He doesn't know what cave they'll choose, so his clones went to all the caves. His clone will save Wendy if something bad happened.
The clones won't be detected because Ben is a master of stealth, so his clones have the ability as well. Not even the other S-Class mages can sense the presence of the clones. So the participants won't detect them either unless they have greater senses than Ben, which is unlikely.
Ben also stationed a clone outside to check if the participants have come to the island and see which caves they will choose. There are 6 caves and he can make 7 clones, so allocating them was easy.
Soon, the participants arrive at the island on a ship and the exam starts. Ben's clone saw Freed and Bickslow fly towards the island. Freed is very smart and set up enchantments around the ship to prevent anyone else from leaving it.
They arrived on the island first and chose a cave that isn't guarded by an S-Class mage, so they will fight another team. On the ship, Levy is trying to break Freed's enchantment and did so quickly. But the 2nd team that arrived wasn't hers, it was Mest and Wendy.
'So he can teleport, huh? They didn't come in contact with the enchantment barrier, so it didn't affect them. Using teleportation is a good choice. But it won't make me like you just because you can teleport like I can. Come to my cave! I'll show you fear.' Ben's clone thought with a demonic smile.
Unfortunately, Mest and Wendy chose an empty cave like Freed's team. So they wouldn't face a S-Class mage and will fight another team. Ben's clone is very disappointed, but he informed the main body and the clone in the cave that Mest and Wendy chose.
Soon after that, Levy's team reached the island by swimming to it. She teamed up with Gajeel even though he beat her up in the past. But it seems she had forgiven him and now they even work together. Also, they chose Ben's cave.
"Time to get to work." Ben said with a smirk.
Levy and Gajeel follow the path and soon they encountered Ben in a rather big room. He sat on a stone while patting Bella's head. Levy was scared and nervous because they were up against a S-Class mage, but Gajeel was eager to fight Ben.
"Challenger, welcome to my lair. Before we start, let me explain my test-" Ben started, but Gajeel cut him off.
"Stop the chitchat! We just need to defeat you, right?" Gajeel asked, before rushing towards Ben.
"Gajeel, wait!" Levy shouted, but he didn't listen.
Ben just looked at Gajeel and sighed because this guy was too rash like Natsu. Gajeel ran towards Ben, but he suddenly appeared in front of him and kicked him in the stomach. It caused Gajeel to fly back and crash into the wall.
"Good grief, can't you let me finish speaking first? Your test from me is simple. You just need to touch me. I will not attack you or even block your attack. I will just move around. Furthermore, I won't use any magic. If I use magic, it's your win." Ben said smugly.
"Hah, you underestimate us too much. I'll make you regret this." Gajeel said as he started to attack again.
But now Gajeel doesn't rush to attack at close range, he used Iron Dragon Roar instead. Ben remained true to his word and jumped away to evade the attack. He jumped to the left, but Levy prepared her attack for him.
"Solid Script: Storm!" Levy shouted as she finished writing the word Storm in the air.
Her magic created a strong gust of wind that blew towards Ben. But his reflexes were too high and he easily jumped again to evade the surprise attack. Gajeel doesn't let him rest and immediately attacked.
"Iron Dragon Lance!" Gajeel yelled as his right arm turned into a long iron rod that extended towards Ben.
Ben easily dodged it by moving sideways but Gajeel moved his arm towards him. Still, Ben had monstrous reflexes and he leaned his body backwards. He dodged the attack and leaned back at a very low angle without falling.
"You're kidding me, he even managed to dodge that? And how can he not fall in a position like that?" A surprised Gajeel asked.
"The key is training." Ben said with a smirk.
"Damn! Not yet!" Gajeel exclaimed as he used the same attack with his left arm.
Ben dodged it again and now he jumped over to Bella then picked her up. She would be in danger if she remained where she was. The safest place was with him, so he held her in his arms.
"Solid Script: Fire!" Levy yelled as she produced fire using her magic.
"Idiot! Fire doesn't affect him." Gajeel reminded her.
But Gajeel was surprised to see Ben dodge the fire instead of withstand it. Gajeel then looked at Bella and thought Ben dodged it so Bella wouldn't be hit.
"If you think I dodged that because of Bella, you're sadly mistaken." Ben stated.
"Huh? Then why?" Gajeel asked.
"It's because he said that he wouldn't use his magic. His immunity to fire is a magic ability, so he dodged that. And here I thought you would fall for it and take the fire attack." Levy explained in disappointment, having expected him to fall for her trap.
"I have prepared for any possibility, so I won't fall for a simple trap like this. But I have to praise you for realizing this small detail. No wonder you are a candidate for S-Class instead of Metal Head over here." Ben explained.
Levy was flattered by Ben's praise while Gajeel was pissed. So he wanted to attack him again, but Levy stopped him and whispered into his ear. Gajeel agreed to whatever she was planning and then covered his body in iron scales.
Then Gajeel rushed towards Ben and attacked him at close range with punches and kicks. Ben grinned and evaded Gajeel's attacks by a small margin, taunting Gajeel to do better than this. Gajeel being Gajeel fell for the taunt and attacked a lot more fiercely.
However, none of his attacks hit or even touch Ben's hair. But his attacks have directed him to Levy's position and she had set a trap. It was a trap hole that she made with Solid Script and Gajeel was leading Ben to it.
Too bad Ben always paid attention to his surroundings and he jumped past the trap. The trap hole caught Gajeel who was pushing Ben towards it at close range instead. So their plan failed, but Levy thought of this possibility and prepared another trap.
Her next trap was Oil, which she placed behind the hole. But oil has a smell and Ben's nose is very sensitive, so he realized it. Ben can't change the direction he was jumping in midair, so Levy was certain that this would work.
It would work if their opponent wasn't Ben. He immediately ripped his shirt off and threw it onto the oil then used it to jump. The shirt prevented him from slipping in the oil and he can jump away.
Right after Ben evaded the oil trap, some stone rods ripped out of the ground and created a cell. Levy had written the word Cage below the oil as her last trap. But because Ben moved too fast, he wasn't caught in the cell.
"It's a good strategy, but it's not enough. I kept watching what you were doing while I dodged Gajeel's attack, so I know about all your traps. You need to do better than this." Ben said with a smirk.
Gajeel and Levy were in disbelief now because they can't handle someone who wasn't using magic.