Here is the eleventh chapter of this story released when I wanted it to be in keeping with my self-imposed upload requirements for this series. The time is almost upon them, they've been in Earth Land for a little over two years, learned the ropes pretty well, seen the missing members of Fairy Tail return and observed some of them in action. However, all that is behind them as they are now on the eve of their first ever Grand Magic Games so it is time to make sure that they are fully ready for what is to come. That is all the administrative stuff I have for you as the only question posed can't be answered without a spoiler and there are no guest reviews that require a response so I will end this here. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from those who enjoy my work. Anyway, that is it for pre-chapter note so it is time to end it so that y'all can sit back and enjoy the eleventh chapter in Black Bull Banishment.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.
Chapter 11: Final Preparations
"Ok gather round." Yami barked out to the Black Bulls as soon as everyone was present. "It's time to go over the rules for the Grand Magic Games."
Three months had passed since Asta, Noelle, Mimosa, Nero, and Finral had attended Count Balsamico's magic ball and observed some of the more prominent members of Fairy Tail in action and not much of interest had really happened in that time. It seemed that after the return of Fairy Tail's top members things had calmed back down in Fiore following the splash that their return made.
That was more than fine for the Black Bulls as it gave them plenty of time to focus on the coming Grand Magic Games. Well, the focus was for those who were on the team as it allowed them to really knuckle down with the intensive training they were doing so that they'd be ready for the upcoming games. Meanwhile, the other members continued to do their own things be it bring money in, bring in intel, or continue research into the ins and outs of Earth Land. They may have been here for almost 2 years now but there was still a lot to learn about this new world that they would call home for 4 more years.
The only odd thing that had been noted during that time period was that several members of Fairy Tail, basically the entirety of Team Natsu along with Juvia Lockser and Levy McGarden, had once again vanished without a trace until they reappeared in Magnolia the day before. The reason why that had been odd was that other members of Fairy Tail, including all the others who'd been missing for 7 years, had been around and scattered all over Ishgar as they trained for the games according to Nero who had been keeping an eye on them and the other Guilds as they got ready for the games.
In the end it was deduced that they'd just found an extremely reclusive place that Nero couldn't find to train and would be stronger than before when they got back. It was frustrating to Yami as that meant that those 7, the exceeds Happy and Carla were missing as well but it was presumed that they'd not be on the team, were going to be complete unknowns. That was bad because it was presumed that at least one of the teams that Fairy Tail would field would have the 5 of Team Natsu while at least Juvia as a former S-Class wizard in another Guild would likely be on a second team.
That was one of the rules that Yami was going to go over though not one that he'd be exercising, the rule being that this year Guilds had been allowed to enter two teams into the games for the first time. Why was beyond him and for the Black Bulls, while doable, they weren't going to do that. They had their team and would win it with the ones Yami had selected for the games.
The rest of the Black Bulls would be there to support them and promote the Guild so all of them, even Henry, were now in Crocus for that purpose. They'd gotten Henry here by having him fly part of his house with his Recombination Magic while Asta fed him Charmy's food to keep up his magic, and just parking the thing on top of the Grey Deer Tavern where the Black Bulls would be based for the Games.
They'd even managed to get Henry into the main bar area for this meeting, albeit at a safe distance from the others so as to not drain them of their magic but close enough to absorb enough to function while Charmy's Sheep Cooks kept him well fed. He'd have to remain in the tavern for the games and watch them on a special Lacrima screen that was used for the games but at least he was around to support them in person and not stuck at the hideout for the duration of the games.
That worked well for them because it turned out that all Guilds had been assigned an inn or tavern as their base of operations for the games so seeing as they owned the Grey Deer Tavern that was their assigned tavern. It still didn't explain why when Yami had bought the place for the Black Bulls he'd been told that it had to be a preapproved location because of the Games. They'd actually learn that soon but for the moment they had to go over the rules before the games started tomorrow.
"Gordon, you've read the rule book, right?" Yami continued once he knew that he had all of the Squad's attention as they sat around the bar, some eating, Vanessa drinking, and in general eager for the games to begin.
"I have Captain." Gordon said with a nod as he produced the book in question and put it on the table in front of him.
"Alright, sum them up but I want at least one of the team to read them with those special glasses that they make here, you know the ones that they make that make you read faster." Yami said looking to the assigned team. "Er, Noelle, you're the most responsible on the team, and the most likely to understand the rules and sure the other morons follow them, so do so."
"Yes Captain." Noelle said internally pleased at the praise she got from her Captain. "I'll do it right afterwards."
"Here." Nero said pulling out a case from a bag she'd brought to the meeting that had the glasses in question. "Just give them back when you're done as they're the latest model that increase reading speed by 18 times what you would normally be able to manage."
Noelle nodded a thanks to Nero as she took them and waited. The 5 person team were all on a table and it had been decided that Asta, Noelle, Magna, Luck, and Finral would be the main team as together they presented a strong front while Charmy was the reserve who also sat with them, as were Mimosa and Nero but that was to be expected. Zora could have been on it, but his magic was a bit too well known by Twilight Ogre so best to avoid getting accused of things by them and besides, his skills were more suited to intel and subterfuge and not the likely events that they'd face in the games.
"See Gordon for the book after this." Yami said as he puffed on his cigarette. "Now Gordon, sum up the important rules of the games for us now so that we all know them. Noelle can review the specifics later."
"Right, there are three important rules from what I've gathered when it comes to the games themselves and something specific for tonight that should be noted." Gordon said as he opened the book. "The first is that the Guild Master cannot compete, he or she is the only member of the Guild barred from the games. If the Guild Master does compete then it would automatically disqualify the Guild from the games."
"Makes sense, for the most part a Guild Master is on par with a Grand Magic Knight in our world if not stronger given the ages of some of them." Yami said. "Though there are going to be some strong non Guild Masters out there."
"I have confirmation that Jura of Lamia Scale, a Wizard Saint, is going to compete." Nero said. "He's not their Guild Master so it makes sense that he be part of it to boost them as they came second behind Sabertooth last year, something they accomplished without him."
"Good to know and there will be others who are Captain caliber as well, I don't doubt it." Yami said. "Alright Gordon, what's the second major rule."
"Only members who bear the Guild's Mark on their body may compete." Gordon said. "So basically, full members of the Guild."
"Well, that's obvious." Noelle said.
"It is but it lends to another potential issue." Nero said. "On one of my spying days on Fairy Tail I learned that Laxus Dreyer, one of their S-Class wizards that is often considered their second strongest member but who was expelled from the Guild 7 years ago, and yet somehow ended up on Tenrou Island so was one of the missing, has been restored to the Guild."
"Didn't his grandfather kick him out though?" Mimosa asked confused. "Something about some town wide battle if I recall."
"He did but after Fairy Tail's strongest returned Macao gave up the position as Guild Master a few days after that magic ball we went to." Nero said. "And Makarov decided he wanted to retire so he named the strongest member of Fairy Tail, a man called Gildarts Clive, the new Guild Master but from what I've gathered he's even more of a wanderer than our Wizard King is. Gildarts made two decisions as Guild Master, the first was to reinstate Laxus as a full member and the second was to stand down and name Makarov as the 6th Guild Master."
"Ha that is amusing." Yami said with a bark of a laugh before getting serious. "Should we be concerned about this Gildarts though?"
"I've not actually seen him; the man wanders around more than anything, but he won't be at the games I know that much." Nero said. "But based on how they speak of him I'd say that there's no question he's at Julius's level, and Laxus's power feels to be around that as well so I'd say he's the strongest member of Fairy Tail who might be on one of their teams. Add in that Laxus is an artificial Lightning Dragon Slayer and he's going to be formidable if he ends up competing."
"It should be a given that all of their Dragon Slayers are going to be as that is a strength they can't ignore." Yami said as he looked at the team. "So best to remember that. Alright then and the final rule Gordon."
"The games themselves won't be revealed until right before they start and only then, after those who will be participating in them have been decided, will the rules of the event be given though I've read some of the examples and sometimes the concept can be understood from the name of the event." Gordon said. "Also, a study of the last few games have shown that there is no uniform pattern in the games so it could be random and feature a whole suite of new games that they've never done before. They've had things like dance contests, shooting with those gun things they have, and even a footrace so who knows what the events will be this year."
"Alright well then the team will just have to wait and see what the games are before they decide who goes but that will be down to the team members." Yami said still looking at the team. "Be sensible in your selections for the games. Use the event's name to predict what it will be and chose the best member for it based off that prediction."
Those on the team nodded at that. It was a given that they'd have to pay attention to the titles of the events so that they knew who was best to send to the games. There were also likely to be battles but given the air of mystery around all this they had no idea how that would work, if they were even part of the games to begin with.
"Right, what next?" Yami asked looking over to Gordon and recalling what he'd said at the start. "You said that there are three general rules which you've told us about and something about tonight. What happens tonight?"
"A curfew." Gordon said which got all their attention even Yami's as they looked at the Poison Mage. "It's only for the team members but it's there."
"There's a curfew?" Noelle asked. "Why?"
"Not sure but the rules state that all participants must be in their designated inns at midnight." Gordon said looking over the rules. "Seems like this one is new."
"Well, it's a good thing we're all here." Asta said with a grin. "No need to worry about missing it."
"What's the importance of midnight though?" Noelle asked.
"Maybe that's when we get to fight." Luck said with a grin. "Can't wait if it is."
"Yeah midnight's a real man's hour." Magna said. "I'm pumped for whatever it will bring."
"Course you lot are." Noelle said with a sigh though she was at least curious as to what it would be.
"Well, whatever the case that certainly explains why we could only purchase a designated inn when I wanted to buy one for our base in Crocus though that is certainly some forethought on their part." Yami said thinking on the rule. "And it also explains why one of the rooms had to be specifically designed to house 6 people. I take it that's important."
"Yes it is." Gordon said going over the rules. "It says here that all team members, including the designated reserve, must stay in the same room for the duration of the games unless they are recovering from injuries in the medical wing at the stadium."
"Well, we got Mimosa for that, so we'll be all fixed up in no time if that happens." Asta said with a grin that made Mimosa blush. "Nothing will stop us."
"Wait a minute." Noelle said as it hit her, and her cheeks flared red as well. "Sharing a room? Does that meant that Charmy and I will, we will be…"
Noelle didn't finish her sentence as she devolved into her usual panic over what she was thinking mainly the fact that she'd be sharing a room with Asta of all people and she didn't know how to react to that. The other boys were bad enough between Luck's fighting, Magna's street punk nature, and Finral's sleaziness that only added to the mixed gender nature of it, which was scandalous to a royal, but it was Asta that filled her mind and she didn't know how to handle that.
"Huh what about sharing a room?" Charmy asked looking up from her food clearly unphased by this but then again her crush, which she fully accepted, was open about and tried to pursue as actively as possible despite interference from that whiny bug, was on Yuno her Prince of Provisions so she had no qualms sharing with the other guys. "We have to do that?"
"Appears so which means no funny business, got it?" Yami said with a growl and they all nodded at that though none of them were sure what he exactly meant by that. "Good. It's a good thing that that room is there though regardless, it was a great seller for groups if I recall."
"Yeah a cheap room with 6 beds is hard to find even in this city and ours is deliberately cheaper than most to entice people to it." Zora said. "And easy to listen in on if they're up to no good. Helped us actually complete a job a while back by accident when the wanted criminals booked that room and then began joking about their crimes in it."
"Well I softened that group up with booze." Vanessa said with a slight slur. "Once they were good and drunk their lips really loosened up."
"I think it was more than just the booze witch." Zora pointed out.
"Whatever the case now things are making more sense about why I could only by from a preapproved list and why that condition was on it." Yami said. "So you 6 are to move your stuff into there after this meeting and I want you all present and in it by 11:30, got it."
"Yes sir." The 5 members of the team said while Mimosa suddenly got really jealous of Noelle for sharing a room with Asta and she wasn't sure why while Nero just enjoyed the amusement of the situation while also being glad that she didn't have to share a room with any of them.
"Good well that is settled for now so let's move onto the main players in the Games." Yami said shifting the focus of the meeting. "We're going to be beating all of them so we should know as much about them as possible. Nero, Zora, Vanessa, you three have been working the hardest on intel so inform us of the major players we're going to be facing. Save Fairy Tail for last, we know the most about them in general thanks to Julius asking us to focus on them and that whole three month break for some of their members has caused some confusion as to who to expect from them. The others will be easier to predict."
"Well, the top Guild is Sabertooth." Zora said simply. "And they're run by a right bastard obsessed with strength who expels members who fail him. They have 5 strong members who helped them rise to the top, but we saw them last year, so we know what they're capable of. Two Third Generation Dragon Slayers, a Memory Mage, a Lightning Mage who's at least at Luck's level, and that Spatial Magic user who has a few other tricks up her sleeves. They're the big fish this year."
"Yes but one of them is a reserve at the moment." Nero said surprising them. "I came in a few days ago to observe the big names and see if I could learn who was on their teams and it appears that Minerva, the strongest in Sabertooth and their Guild Master's daughter, is not present. She's been replaced by one of their newer members, a Celestial Spirit Mage called Yukino."
"Those mages are really rare, aren't they?" Magna asked. "And they use that magic we don't really understand."
"Yeah but I bet those Spirits are fun to fight." Luck said with a grin. "I hope I get a chance to tussle with a Spirit during the games."
"They are rare, but they exist however when it comes to talent and skill there are only two who are of any note." Nero said. "One is Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail, she's expected to be on their team and has 10 of the 12 zodiac keys which are the strongest keys apparently."
"13." Gordon corrected surprising them and causing them to look at him. "There are 13 zodiac keys, but the 13th is Ophiuchus, which is a bit different from what I've read, and some sources say that it is black not gold like the others so it's hard to gage that one. That's a branch of magic unique to this world so I've really looked into it to see if there are Celestial Spirits that can help cure things but without speaking to an expert I've pretty much learned all that I can on the topic."
"Alright there are 13 keys then and we know that Lucy wields 10, 2 of which I've seen in person but only the scorpion have we seen in action when she used it at the ball, but Velveno was ready and used Finral's magic to counter it." Nero said reminding them all of Finral's magic getting copied that he was still unable to live down. "From what I've gathered, Yukino is in possession of the other two which makes her second to Lucy in terms of skill as a Celestial Spirit Mage. She's the 5th member of Sabertooth this year. Minerva is almost certainly their reserve however."
"Alright so they're mixing things up." Noelle said. "That's different for sure but at least we know what the other 4 can do and if one gets injured we have a sense of what the replacement can do. Good to know."
"It is so keep an eye on that." Yami said. "That team is going to be strong so make sure that you are prepared for them. Who's the next biggest threat?"
"Lamia Scale." Nero said. "And as I said they've got Jura in this year who's going to be tough for sure. They've also got Lyon who's an Ice Mage that uses Maker Magic and is as strong if not stronger than Gray Fullbuster so he's going to be a tough opponent for sure. The other members that I've gleamed are a Wave Magic user who's a poor imitation of Asta called Yuka, some guy called Toby who uses a magic called Paralysis Powder that is basically poisoned fingernail magic, and a young girl called Sherria who I've not found out anything about other than that she's 14 which makes me think that she's an ace who knows magic that is going to be unexpected."
"Age here does seem to mean less than it does in our world." Yami said. "And they start to work for Guilds at around 12 so don't underestimate someone around that age who's on a top Guild's squad. Add in that Nero hasn't found out her magic makes me think that they're deliberately keeping it quiet to avoid showing their hand which means that it's almost certainly Lost Magic or something on that level."
"As strange as it is to us that someone under 15 would be active in this way we won't." Noelle agreed. "So, Lamia Scale is going all out then."
"It would seem so and they're not the only ones." Nero said. "Blue Pegasus has got their strongest in Ichiya again, you know that creepy little troll of a man who smells women and uses Perfume Magic."
"God don't mention him, he's so creepy." Vanessa said with a shudder. "I see him every time I do a gig with Jenny. She's their reserve apparently by the way as she let that slip during our last photoshoot. She's got some kind of Transformation Magic, you know that weird Take Over variant they have here that is kinda like Asta's black form but not at the same time, so Jenny will be a little tricky if she gets called up."
"Vanessa's right that she's their reserve so one to keep an eye on." Nero confirmed. "As for the others, three are the Trimens who use Snow, Air, and Archive Magic respectively, the last of which is the backbone of their strategy while the other two have their advantages as well though they aren't as strong as the others. Their last member though hasn't been revealed, I can't find that one out."
"Another team with a secret but to be expected as we've got our own as it's still not been realized what Asta can actually do." Yami said. "What about the other top level Guilds, who are they?"
"Mermaid Heel and Quatro Cerberus are the other two that will be big besides the three we've mentioned and Fairy Tail." Nero said. "The former is a girls only Guild with skilled users in Gravity Magic as well as various kinds of trap and restraint magics and some variant of Plant Magic called Vegetable Magic that I don't really know what to expect from. For the most part they are good but if it wasn't for their ace they'd be solidly middle of the pack."
"Their ace?" Yami asked. "Who is she?"
"A swordswoman and Gravity Mage called Kagura." Nero said. "I don't know much about her background, but I do know that she's skilled in the use of a sheathed katana as if it wasn't so her skills with one should be considered your level Captain."
"Good thing we got our own swordsman and ki will be useful there." Yami said looking to Asta. "Another advantage Asta has but this is a team event so all of you need to push past your limits in the games."
"Right Captain, I'll beat anyone on a swordfight and my Anti-Magic will cut through Gravity Magic." Asta said. "I won't lose if it comes to it."
"Precisely." Yami said. "Anyone else in Mermaid Heel that is a real concern to us?"
"Only one, a strange girl called Millianna." Nero said. "She's weirdly obsessed with cats to the point that she has red whisker marks tattooed on her cheeks, styles cat ears out of her hair, and even wears a cat tail that I do not want to know where it is kept as it seems to move on its own, but her magic is able to trap and either drain a person of their own magic or block that person from using it so she's a tricky one."
"Again, Anti-Magic will be good there but good to know." Yami said. "Alright and this Quatro Cerberus Guild, what about them?"
"They're the flip side of Mermaid Heel in a way, a male only completely bro guild." Nero said. "Vanessa has actually dealt with one of their best, an S-Class wizard called Bacchus."
"Oh yeah the only man I've met who can outdrink me." Vanessa said which impressed and disturbed everyone present. "Great time when we drink and he's really good at martial arts, even developed his own style that incorporates his love of alcohol into it, and it makes it unpredictable."
"I've heard of him, Bacchus of the Drunk-Chop Hanging Palm or the Drunk Falcon, those are the two ridiculous nicknames I've heard for him." Zora said. "He's the top that Quatro Cerberus has but he's not in town at the moment which is good as I learned that he's considered to be about even with Erza Scarlett, that redhead warrior in Fairy Tail who fell into my pitfall trap a while back, and that was before she vanished for 7 years, so he's got to be good."
"He is their reserve at the moment as he is away on a mission and won't be able to reach Crocus until tomorrow night." Nero confirmed. "And really the only big threat for them, the rest are just some bros who can fight well but they're not at the level of Blue Pegasus or Lamia Scale so of all the big names they're the weakest I'd say."
"Well, we can't count out lesser names like Twilight Ogre or even another surprise Guild showing up like us." Yami said. "But that is good to know. Now, Fairy Tail, who will represent them? They're almost certainly going to field two teams in this given how winning the games would be a shortcut for them to get back on top, I'm sure of it."
"Of all the Guilds they need to win this the most, other than us of course, so it's almost certain that they will enter two teams." Nero said. "And based on my observations, one team will be Team Natsu who we saw in action albeit briefly but beyond them there are plenty of strong mages. You've got the Strauss siblings who are all skilled in Take Over Magic and I'd expect Mirajane to be on one of the teams as she's an S-Class wizard with her brother Elfman as a reserve at least. Then there is Laxus as we mentioned and the Iron Dragon Slayer Gajeel Redfox. Others who are likely are Juvia Lockser, who's a former Phantom Lord S-Class mage and a Water Wizard at Noelle's level I'd say."
"Please she can't beat royalty." Noelle said dismissively. "Well maybe Solid but not me."
"Perhaps not but I think her water magic gives her advantages that yours doesn't but of all of Fairy Tail she's one of the ones I know the least about." Nero admitted. "So don't dismiss her."
"We've learned here that magic is different so you will surpass you limits against anyone." Yami said seriously. "I expect us to win this so don't let me down."
"Yes sir." Noelle said but she was still sure she could take on this Juvia woman and prove she was the best Water Mage around and hopefully there would be an event that allowed her to do just that.
"Who else in Fairy Tail should we expect to face?" Finral asked. "Any cuties?"
"I'm not going to validate that but there are a few others to consider." Nero said. "Cana Alberona uses some kind of magic that employs cards and is pretty strong from what I've heard but she's also Gildarts's daughter which would make sense. Then there is Levy McGarden who uses a variant of what we'd call Word Soul Magic that is called Solid Script here."
"You mean that freaky stuff that devil used?" Asta asked. "Someone here can use it as well?"
"I don't think it's as evil or destructive but yes someone here does use it." Nero said with a nod.
"Solid Script is similar to Word Soul Magic in the sense that it creates what the user says but that is it." Gordon said helpfully. "I looked into it when I came across Letter Magic which is the school of magic here that Solid Script is part of. It's Caster Magic and rather than creating the items it creates a word that spells out what the word is made of so for example if the caster says the word 'water' then the actual word water appears written in the language this world uses but it is made of water."
"I am so lost." Asta said trying and failing to understand it.
"That's to be expected, just know that a girl in Fairy Tail called Levy uses it and leave it at that." Nero said. "Anyway, I'd say that is about it for the Fairy Tail members likely to take part in the games. There are a few like Laxus's bodyguard that are called the Thunder Legion that may be part of it as well, but they are less likely to partake as are any of the ones who didn't go missing after their attempts in past years. Team Natsu has the teamwork part, and a second team would likely be more powerhouse based."
"Good to know." Yami said thinking on it. "Alright, we'll leave this here then. You've got a few hours. If you're part of the team don't leave the tavern and prepare but the rest of you can do as you see fit. I'm off for a dump and then bed, don't let me down."
The others nodded at that as Yami left them to their own devices to have another war with the toilet in this place though at least the toilets here were a lot nicer than back in Clover. He'd already gotten Henry to retrofit the hideout with the upgrades that could be found in Earth Land so his dumps would be smoother, and he had added the toilets and plumbing systems to the list of things he was bringing back to Clover to sell to the nobles at stupidly high prices, well for the ones he didn't like at least.
As for the others, they just chilled for over the next few hours. Noelle retired to her personal room here, she wasn't ready to move her stuff to the communal one, to read the book using the glasses that she'd borrowed from Nero to make sure she knew the rules while the others did their own thing. Asta was working out in said communal room, Luck was shadowboxing to work off some energy and get psyched for what was to come, Magna was trying to rest, Finral slipped out to try and sweettalk some women in a nearby bar, and Charmy eating but all were around.
The rest did their own things with Mimosa going for a private bath to sooth her nerves over Noelle sharing a room with Asta. Vanessa went back to drinking. Zora went out to get some more intel, as did Nero, while Gordon assisted Henry with a few things and Gauche continued his latest Marie statue that he'd been working on this entire time.
Yes, everything was looking up and soon it would be time for things to start and for the Black Bulls to make their debut in the Grand Magic Games which they fully intended on winning. First up was whatever was going to happen at midnight so as the hour neared they all got prepared for whatever was going to happen to kick off the Games.
"Ok we're all here so now what?" Noelle asked as Finral made it into the room last and closed the door behind him. "And just in time as well."
Noelle wasn't wrong as it was 2 minutes to midnight and all 6 Black Bulls who comprised their Grand Magic Games team were in the simple room that had 6 beds, some closets, and a balcony at the end that overlooked the area of Crocus that the tavern was located in. It wasn't exactly up to Noelle's tastes, and she had a bed next to Asta which both pleased and worried her in her constant internal war over that issue, but it was the rules, so she was putting up with it. Still, she'd had Vanessa help her install privacy curtains and several traps for her and Charmy's beds just to be safe.
That had been done right away after Yami's meeting and after that she'd sat down on her bed in her private room here and used the glasses that Nero had provided to read the book. The glasses were damned useful and helped her read and process the book at a speed she couldn't without them so she was definitely buying herself a pair to take home with all the other useful gadgets and items she'd found in Earth Land. That would come later though as the games were almost upon them and she'd made sure to know the rules so that the morons on her team could be guided and help them win the games.
One of the key rules had been for them to be back at midnight just like Gordon had said and she'd been worried that that might not be the case but all of the team except Finral had made it back with at least 10 minutes to spare. Thankfully whichever woman Finral was trying with this time had rejected him in time for him to make it back to the room as well so now it was just a matter of waiting for the clock to strike midnight.
"No clue." Asta said helpfully. "But I can't wait to see why we had to be here by a certain time."
"I hope we get to fight someone." Luck said happily. "Hopefully that person is really strong."
"Please, it's not like as soon as it hits midnight the Grand Magic Games will start with some chaotic free for all of sorts to whittle down the participants or something like that." Magna said as he lounged on his bed that was one of the two by the balcony door with Luck in the one opposite him. "Probably just some announcement that the games are starting and to abide by the rules."
"Aww but that's no fun." Luck said.
"Regardless, we're here and…" Noelle began when the there was a sudden loud gong followed by several more indicating that it was now midnight. "…it's midnight so time to find…"
"Attention everyone participating in this year's Grand Magic Games!" A loud voice clearly being projected to the whole city by magic said from outside causing everyone to look to it and head to the balcony which Noelle had left open for a good breeze in the room when she'd move her stuff here after finishing the rule book and making sure that she understood it. "Good morning, it's time to begin!"
That really got their attention, and they quickened their pace to get outside and gape at what they saw. Floating high above the city was a translucent image of a short man with a pumpkin for a head wearing a loud outfit. They recognized it as Mato, the mascot of the Grand Magic Games from the year before but why it was a projection stumped them.
"What's it doing there?" Asta asked. "Is it like that old man's Game Magic in the underwater temple?"
"Shut it Dorksta." Noelle said. "This could be important, but it does seem to be like that only more translucent."
"This year we have 114 Guilds participating in the Grand Magic Games so we need to whittle it down to a more manageable 8 who will compete for the title of Fiore's Strongest Guild!" The mascot's voice said though the projection never changed and was clearly just another feature to get those who were participating in the games' attention. "Which means that it's time to begin the preliminary round!"
"Preliminary round?" Magna asked confused as Luck beamed at the idea of a round that would almost certainly involve battling starting right now. "The didn't have that last year, did they?"
"No this is new, and I didn't see it in the rules but as they stated the events aren't announced until right before the event takes place." Noelle said. "Clearly the games have become so popular that they need to do this but it does seem a bit excessive."
"Well, it does make it more manageable." Finral said with a shrug. "8 is easier to deal with than 114."
"Though the number of Guilds increase and multiply each year." The voice, almost certainly Mato's being projected from wherever he was, said and now the projection was moving dancing a jig for some reason. "The games have gotten boring is all I hear. So, let's whittle it down I say to you and give just eight a cheer."
"Ok now he's definitely like that old man from the underwater temple." Magna said. "Right down to the random games and glee in them."
"Minus the perverted stuff." Noelle said but was cut off from more as the mascot's voice continued to speak.
"The rules for this preliminary round are straight forward." Mato said and suddenly there was a rumbling sound and the inn they were in began to rise up on what looked like mechanical gears which they could see under the other ones in the city as they rose with them. "So, once you're all in position I'll go over them for you."
"So that explains why the Guild could only buy certain inns." Finral said as they braced themselves through the sudden change in elevation while yells from within the building could be heard as apparently this had happened when Yami was in the middle of a particularly challenging dump. "This was always a planned event, even if it didn't happen last year, so we had to own an inn that was prepared for such a change. If we did then we could use it for the games when we entered."
"Good to know but still this is a lot." Noelle said. "These games really go all out."
"Yeah I can't wait." Asta and Luck both said at the same time.
"Now you will all be participating in a race to the Domus Flau Colosseum." Mato said as the tavern stopped its rise into the air though a glance around showed that the various taverns and inns were at different heights for some reason. "Only the first 8 teams to reach it will move onto the Grand Magic Games."
"A race well that's easy." Noelle said looking to Finral. "You can make us a portal there."
"True but I don't think it's that simple." Finral said as a sudden path appeared from the balcony as stones in a staircase leading into the air.
"You're free to use magic in almost anyway you see fit." Mato said. "The only rule is that it must be within the labyrinth, no spatial portals from your inn to the colosseum are allowed as that's no fun for this round but those who do use spatial portals may do so as much as they want within the labyrinth."
"I feel like they're targeting me." Finral moaned.
"They probably are." Noelle said.
"Remember that only the first 8 teams to reach the finish line will clear this round and to for it to count all 5 members must cross it or else you won't qualify." Mato said before his tone got serious. "One last thing. We are not responsible for any loss of life that may occur in the labyrinth."
"Come again." Noelle asked stunned by that before gasping as they all saw the giant structure above the projection that the paths were leading to.
"Yay this is going to be so much fun!" Luck said sparking with lightning in his excitement.
"Without further ado." Mato said. "The Grand Magic Games are now officially open and let the Sky Labyrinth Preliminary Round…begin!"
I think that's a nice little cliffhanger for this chapter to end at. The Black Bulls are ready to make their debut in the Grand Magic Games, they know who they may or may not face in them and who the strong players are but are ready for surprises so it's time to kick the games off with the preliminary round. That is really all that I have for y'all as I am sure you know what is coming next so I will leave this chapter off here. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and I will try to answer any questions posed in reviews and PMs as best I can. Until next time.
Stringdog