"Hey, don't worry man. You're good at traps & captures, but it's just bad luck that you were up against me." Eric said with a smile as he patted Jäger on the back, to which the brute just snorted with a smirk as the other six competitors chuckled.

"Yeah, right. If you didn't have those eyes, I could have kicked your ass." Jäger boasted and Eric just chuckled as he nodded.

"Sure, sure, bud. Let me know if you have any other daydreams today."

"Hey! I could kick your ass if I wanted to!" Jäger exclaimed, Eric just chuckling as he waved at the man over his shoulders while walking towards the end of the line, waving at Flare.

He chuckled as she waved back demurely while turning a deep crimson at the whistles & giggling of the ladies around her before he rolled his eyes as those from the guild wiggled their eyebrows & nudged him in the side.

"I knew you two weren't roommates. So, how long has this been going?" Rocker asked with a teasing smirk.

"Firstly, there's nothing going on and secondly, even if there was, what makes you think I'd tell any of you guys?"

"Oh, she's playing hard to get, huh? I think what you need to do is-!"

"All right, everyone! Time to start the second round." Eric gave Guy a thankful nod as the man began speaking, snickering as the man just gave him a thumbs-up back while Rocker just smirked whilst turning back to face the front.

"I hope everyone enjoyed the first battle for the day?!" The crowd cheered at that and Eric smirked as he saw Flare & his newfound cheerleaders gleefully waving the flag with his face on it.

"As we all expected, Eric walked away with a win…"

"Hey!"

"And now we head on to the second match of the day! Will number 2 & number 7 please step forward?!" Eric's focus was brought towards the two fighters walking to the front, Screecher smirking as he rolled his neck while Semmes lumbered forward with heavy thuds.

"As discussed, Screecher will go in first and Semmes a minute later. Are you ready?" He asked Screecher, the short man smirking as he nodded and Guy smirked as he nodded back before speaking.

"Then, let's not keep the people waiting. You can go…now!" As soon as Guy finished speaking, Eric blinked as an eerie whistle echoed through the air, his eyes widening as Screecher began to warp before the mage vanished entirely.

Even as he activated his Heavenly Vision, he frowned in concentration as he couldn't see anything, the single trace of Screecher's ambient ethernano vanishing at the same point where he last saw the mage.

"Scary, isn't it?" Rocker said with a smirk as he saw Eric's shocked eyes and the Gravity mage sighed as he nodded.

"Yeah, how the hell does he do that?" He asked and Rocker chuckled as he shrugged.

"None of us know. All he tells us is that he 'becomes one with the world' and that's it." Eric frowned in slight disappointment at the answer, but nodded as he turned back, watching as Semmes stood silent whilst feeling his mind racing.

'Is he manipulating the air waves around him to hide himself? No, I would have still be able to see his heat signature. Is he vibrating himself then? That's not exactly impossible, but he'd have to vibrate both his body & his ethernano to match the exact frequency of the ambient ethernano in the atmosphere. …Hahaha! I knew this was going to be fun!' Eric thought with a grin as he watched Guy telling Semmes to go in, chuckling as the behemoth's face was covered by a blue visor before he turned into a spinning top.

"Oh come on! I thought I said no going overboard!" Eric & the rest of Quatro burst out in laughter at Goldmine's shouting as Semmes tore into the forest, bulldozing tree after tree in his path.

"Oh, so that's how you watched our match." Eric hummed as Guy's Archive screens appeared in the air in front of them, the other mages nodding as they kept their eyes on the screens and watched Semmes making his way deeper into the forest.

For a short while, it looked as if the man was just destroying tree after tree before they all blinked as the man stopped spinning, waiting for him to do something before their eyes widened slightly as he just fell over.

"Well, that was easy."

'What the fuck?!' Eric thought in bewilderment as Screecher walked back out of the forest with a carefree smirk, his hands in his pockets as he walked towards Guy before taking out a pair of cards & holding them out to Guy.

"Not bad. You've improved a lot." Guy said with a chuckle and Screecher just nodded as he walked towards the line, Eric congratulating the man along with the others while he watched Bacchus walking out with Semmes being carried on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. He's just knocked out." Bacchus said to the mages as he walked off to the side, slowly placing the giant on the grassy ground whilst sitting down next to him & continuing with his drink.

Eric just kept his attention on Screecher using his Heavenly Vision, frowning as he saw how the ambient ethernano around the mage was just barely visible before disappearing as soon as it touched his body.

'Oh, he's definitely subtly vibrating his ethernano to hide his form away. A mage with some kind of invisibility? I think I can handle that.' Eric thought with a frown before he blinked as Guy began speaking.

"I know that match was a lot quicker than we expected, but don't worry! We still have a lot of matches to go through and next up is one between two of our most popular members, Rocker vs Buffer!" Guy announced and Eric was surprised to hear excited cheers & squeals coming from both the crowd & the Quatro mages, watching as Rocker & the blonde haired man he now remembered to be Buffer walking towards the front.

'I didn't know they were this popular. Huh, the more you know.'

"I hope both of you heard me explaining the rules over and over because I am not doing it again." Guy said with a deadpan, Rocker rolling his eyes as Buffer smirked.

"Don't worry, lazy idiot. We heard you the first time."

"Damn idiots. Well, since Buffer has the number three card, he goes first. Are you ready to go?"

"Give me a few seconds at least."

"No. Now, go." Buffer just groaned as he began to walk into the forest, Rocker chuckling at his laziness while Guy just rolled his eyes as he activated his cameras/ screens.

Eric watched as Buffer walked through the forest before blinking at the chuckles that came from everyone when the man just stopped in the middle of a clearing near the east of the forest & sat down.

"Well, I guess he's ready. Go." Guy spoke to Rocker, who nodded before the man took off, taking long strides as he made his way towards Buffer's position.

"Think Rocker's gonna take this one?" Eric heard a mage ask behind him and turned to see everyone from the guild discussing amongst each other.

"Maybe, but it depends on if he gets close enough to Buffer. Otherwise, the lazy blonde's just going to keep away & try hit-and-run tactics to get him faster."

"Is Buffer that strong?" Eric asked as he turned to Nobarly, the man frowning as he nodded.

"Despite his laziness, Buffer is still one of the top ten mages in the guild, with a job completion rate of over 80% and he's been a big pick for becoming S-Class. However, Rocker has the highest job completion rate of the entire guild bar you with 97% and he's been here since he found out he was a mage in his teenage years."

"I see. So, this is a battle of two of the top mages in the guild, eh?" Eric muttered with a smirk as he began to actually focus on the match, watching as Rocker began to reach Buffer's position while the lazy mage yawned as he stood back up.

"You're not going to hide like usual?" Rocker asked with a smirk as he walked into the clearing, Buffer shrugging with a chuckle as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

"I did think of it, but then, I would get bored so I decided to finish this early and take a quick break before the next round." Buffer said as he rolled his shoulder and Rocker hummed in agreement before the ground under him cracked as he blurred forward.

Spinning through the air, Rocker grunted as the air around his legs pulsed before they span like whirlwinds, Buffer's face going from lazy to feral as a light blue aura covered his body

"Rocky Road!" Rocker roared as he brought his right leg down in an axe kick, but cursed as Buffer stepped back, a pulse of aura from his foot sending him flying back as he flipped through the air before kicking the air.

In an instant, he turned into a blur as he leapt from tree to tree, Rocker frowning as he barely kept track of the man bouncing in the shadows of the tree before he quickly spun his lower body & sunk into the ground.

Buffer frowned as he flew over Rocker's head, quickly raising his arms in a cross guard as Rocker rocketed out of the hole & smashed a spinning fist into his arms.

However, Rocker gasped as he felt his fist being pushed back, gritting his teeth as Buffer grinned before a pulse of ethernano smacked him back into the ground.

'Yep, there's that Double Impact magic.' Rocker thought with a groan as he shook his head, Buffer shaking his arms as he flipped through the air before landing on his feet.

"I didn't realize you learned how to redirect impacts as well?" Rocker said with a smirk as he kipped up, Buffer chuckling as the light blue aura flowed to fully cover his arms & legs.

"It took a bit of training and a lot of bruises with Screecher, but I finally managed to get it down." Buffer said as he raised his fists up, Rocker doing the same as his legs & arms began to spin rapidly before both fighters lunged forward.

A right hook was thrown from both sides, Rocker ducking under Buffer's while Buffer blocked Rocker's with a smirk. Swinging his left hand towards his side, he frowned as Buffer spun away whilst also raising his leg to snap out a hook kick.

Rocker cursed as he stopped his fist and brought his arms back to guard, grunting as the first impact felt heavy against his arms & made them shook before the second made him grit his teeth as he was sent flying through the air & deeper into the forest.

Without stopping, Buffer charged after him, sending out pulse after pulse of ethernano in rapid succession to boost his speed even further until he raced past him & spun around.

Rocker grinned as he spun around and clasped his hands together above his head before, in front of Buffer's shocked eyes, he turned into a living drill.

Buffer growled as he pulled his arms back and sent an abundance of ethernano towards them, waiting as Rocker drew closer before he howled as he slammed his fists forward just as Rocker's drill smashed into him.

The ground under them shattered as the two monstrous attacks smashed into each other, both mages roaring as they tried to push the other back.

Rocker growled as he spun himself faster to get through, but gritted his teeth as he couldn't advance further, forcing himself to speed up before his eyes widened as he felt a pulse of ethernano from the clashing point.

"Double Impact: Full Counter." Buffer's voice echoed throughout the clearing before Rocker's eyes widened as his spin was abruptly stopped, floating in the air as Buffer appeared face to face with him before his world went white as a fist crashed into his chest.

"Good work, but not good enough." Buffer muttered to Rocker as he caught the man, grunting as he landed in the crater before placing him down on the ground.

Searching through Rocker's pockets, he smirked as he pulled the card out before groaning as a hand weakly grabbed at his wrist.

"Come on, man. We're both low, but we're both too prideful to take the loss." Buffer spoke with a frown before blinking as Rocker let out a chuckle whilst letting his wrist go.

"Don't…worry. You won…fair…and square." Rocker said and Buffer smirked as he nodded, Rocker groaning in pain as Buffer threw him over his shoulder.

"What…are you doing?"

"You didn't think that you could be that badass and expect me to leave you here, did you?" Was all Buffer said, Rocker letting out a tired chuckle as he went back to sleep.

"Wild!" The crowd & the Quatro mages cheered in unison as Buffer walked out of the barrier, Eric chuckling as one of the mages rewrote the jutsu shiki to let Bacchus in to pick up Rocker before the mage quickly rewrote the shiki once again to seal it off.

"Thanks for that, Nova." Goldmine thanked the chubby mage, who nodded before he disappeared back into the Quatro crowd as Eric frowned.

'I didn't think there was someone that was good with jutsu shiki? Also, why does he look familiar?'

"Cards?" Guy asked Buffer, who pulled out the numbers 3 & 6 cards before handing them over to Guy, who nodded as the cards disappeared in a flash of light.

"That was a great match between two of our great Quatro mages, wasn't it everyone?!" The crowd roared at that, Guy chuckling as he nodded before turning to the final two fighters.

"Well, think you two can do the same?" He asked, Leo & Nobarly both grinning as they looked at each other before nodding eagerly.

"Then, let's not keep the people waiting. Leo, you're up first. You…can…go!" Leo nodded as he jogged into the forest, Eric noting how easygoing the mage looked before turning to the two other winners next to him.

"Is he always this easygoing?" He asked Buffer & Screecher, both mages chuckling as they nodded.

"Yep. He joined the guild just a few months before you and despite his easygoing attitude, he still has a great job completion rate. However, he tends to be a bit of a pacifist, wanting to talk his opponent out of a fight before he actually takes his opponent serious."

"I see." Eric muttered as he watched Leo walking through the forest before blinking as Nobarly spoke up.

"Master, since this is the final fight, is it okay if I don't worry about destroying the area around me?"

"Well, since most of these idiots didn't listen to me when I said to keep terrain damage to a minimum", Goldmine began with a pointed glare at those that have already taken the exams, all of which looked away & making the guild master scoff as he turned back to Nobarly.

"I suppose it's fine. Besides, Guy already has the forest copied, so he can replicate it after the fight."

"What am I? The repair Guy?" Guy asked with a smirk, making everyone groan as Goldmine just sighed.

"That one was bad, but yes, you are the repair 'Guy'. Now, Nobarly, get ready and…go!" Nobarly nodded as the air around him began to warp before he took off, Eric blinking as each step left a scorching footprint in the earth.

"Is that Fire Magic?" Eric muttered before turning to Guy as the man chuckled & shook his head.

"Close, but no. It's Heat Magic."

"I assume it lets him raise his own body heat, correct?"

"Who knows?" Guy said with a mysterious smile, to which Eric just rolled his eyes as he heard the others chuckle, turning back to the screens before he as well as everyone were confused by Leo turning around & walking back the way he came.

"…Is he actually heading directly towards Nobarly?"

Nobarly focused as he jogged through the forest, making sure that his heat doesn't scorch anything apart from the wet ground under him as he made his way down the path that he remembered Leo following.

However, he frowned as he neared a clearing and was surprised by Leo standing on the far side of it, the man leaning against a tree before pushing off of it as soon as he walked into the clearing.

"Hey, I thought you would follow after me." Leo said with a smirk as he walked into the middle of the clearing whilst stroking his short beard, Nobarly shrugging with a smirk as he followed his example & stopped just a meter away from him.

"Then, let's not waste any more time." Nobarly said with a smirk as he rolled his shoulders and Leo didn't respond as he looked at Nobarly before flicking a finger upwards.

As soon as he did, a loud crack echoed through the air as Nobarly's fist crashed into a golden transparent sheet of light appeared in front of Leo, the air in front of it warping from the heat that came from his fist whilst smoke began to exude from the point between the impact point.

"Huh, looks like you managed to go higher with your heat." Leo said with a smirk as he snapped his fingers, Nobarly quickly unleashing a pulse of heat that sent him flying backwards just as two golden light walls smashed into each other & barely missed crushing him.

"Not bad, Nobarly. Not bad at all." Nobarly just frowned at Leo's words as more heat began to exude from him, taking a deep breath and letting out a puff of steam as he grinned.

"If that's not bad, then you might want to watch out for this. Hyper Mode." Nobarly spoke with a smirk as his skin gained a light pink tint and Leo frowned as his shield vanished.

The next instance, he swiftly leaned to the side as he felt a searing heat sailing past his face, looking directly at the grin on Nobarly's face before a chuckle escaped his lips as a golden sheen of light covered his entire body.

Sending out a fast punch, Leo grinned as Nobarly moved out of the way, but the mage's eyes widened and a wheeze escaped his lips as something smashed into his chest, looking down to see a hammer made out of light extending from the man's chest.

"I tell you guys this every time, but you never listen. My entire body is a weapon, not just my magic." Leo spoke with a smirk as he jumped backwards, raising his hands up high before bringing them down in a hammer fist.

As soon as he did so, the light around his arms twisted before expanding to form a giant hammer, Nobarly quickly raising his hands above him & unleashing a scorching heat wave that crashed into the hammer.

"Don't look away!" Leo exclaimed as his leg snapped out & Nobarly gritted his teeth as a staff extended from under his boots & slammed into him.

However, Leo's eyes widened as Nobarly tanked the blow, the mage grinning at him before he roared as he unleashed even more heat that blasted the hammer away.

'Not too bad, Nobar.' Leo thought with a smirk as he dismissed the hammer & flipped backwards, watching as the Heat mage grinned while clenching his right fist at his side.

Leo just nodded in acknowledgement as the shield around his body began to glow brighter while a shield of light appeared on his right arm, the shield growing brightly with the Omega symbol on the front of it.

"Hyper Cannon!/ Aegis Decimation!" Both mages chanted in unison as they charged forward, Nobarly pulling his fist back & Leo grinning as he held his shield in front of him before they both roared as they unleashed their attacks.

A moment of silence hung in the atmosphere before a loud boom echoed from the clearing, the forest area around them going up in flames & being uprooted by the shockwaves.

"Guy!"

"On it!" Guy spoke as he clapped his hands together before slamming them onto the ground, a pulse of ethernano travelling across the ground before a giant wall of earth shot up from the ground & blocked the devastating shock wave.

"You didn't have to help!" Guy shouted at Eric with a grin, the mage just smirking as the air in front of them warped & pushed the winds that came from around the wall away.

"Eh, but I was getting bored!" Eric shouted back, Guy just rolling his eyes before he snorted as a wall of plants shot up from the ground and reinforced his rock wall.

"Oi! I'm the S-Class mage here!" He said to Jäger, sighing at the man's grin while Eric chuckled in the background.

They kept their combined barrier up until all of the force pushing against it had disappeared, Guy snapping his fingers & dropping the barrier as Eric reverted gravity back to how it was while rubbing his temples.

'Note to self: Calculating how to stop a continuous shock wave just enough to nullify it in the span of a second is exhausting.' He thought with a groan before waving away Jäger's concerned frown, the man nodding as they all turned back to the forest.

Eric frowned as he activated his Heavenly Vision & scanned through the dust cloud that hung around the forest before smirking as he saw a person making his way to the edge of the barrier whilst carrying their defeated foe.

"Not bad." He muttered, everyone blinking at his words before they turned as footsteps echoed through the air.

"Oh? You have good eyes." Leo spoke with a grin as he walked over the barrier's edge, handing the number cards 4 & 5 over to Guy before turning back to pick up Nobarly after Nova had rewritten the jutsu shiki for him.

'Seriously, where do I know that guy from?' Eric thought with a frown as he stared at the chubby mage, watching him rewrite the barrier before disappearing back into the crowd just as Goldmine cleared his throat.

"A congratulations to Eric, Screecher, Buffer and Leo on winning the first matches of the Quatro Cerberus Promotional Exams!" He started, the crowd & Quatro mages cheering as the four mages smirked at each other before Goldmine calmed them down with a raised hand.

"As for those four that lost, I would tell you that you gave it your all and that there's only another chance in the next couple of years, but why would I tell you that when you still have a chance?" He spoke, smirking as everyone turned to look at him.

"As we said at the beginning, this year is going to be a bit different and in an unusual twist, two of the four losers of today will get a chance to join our four winners in the next round, but all of that will be left for tomorrow. For tonight, rest, get some needed sleep and be prepared, because tomorrow, we're going to be putting you all through the ringer to find the true diamonds in the rough."

A/N: Firstly, sorry for the late upload. I started my apprenticeship this week and let me tell you, studying is nothing compared to the actual work you have to do.

Anyway, that's it for the first round...or is it?

As always, read, enjoy, review and if you want to read up to seven weeks early, KingCrimsonNova on the big Pat & Reon.

Now, as always...

Ba-Bye~!