Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters.
-The Enchanter of Fairy Tail-
Chapter 57: S-Class?
Year: X758. 26 years till Canon begins.
Cade POV:
Today I was at the guild hall as there was a very special announcement today. Everyone was gathered here to watch and hear who the candidates would be for the S-Class trial.
We had now come up to the end of the year, and now I was 16 years old, and would soon be approaching adulthood.
In the last few weeks, I had gone on a few more jobs with Macao and Wakaba as they wanted me to hang around them some more and just make sure that nothing bad happens to them while they are on jobs. They had both been making some decent progress with their magic and had gotten used to doing things like fighting bandits and running away from Rune Knights. Just the standard stuff.
Gildarts had gone out on a few more S-Class jobs whenever he could. The guy now seemed to think that he was too powerful for the regular jobs downstairs. Quite frankly, I agreed with him on that one. He was still making sure to leave jobs for the other S-Class wizards which was nice to hear.
Since I had been helping out Macao and Wakaba these last few weeks, I hadn't made that much progress on learning any new spells. Still, I was happy with what I had, so I wasn't too bothered.
Anyways, now it looked like Master was about to announce who he thought was worthy for S-Class. He had left his office to head upstairs and I saw all the S-Class wizards upstairs at us us from above.
I was quite curious as to who he would pick for this year's trial. My mind tried to think of some of the wizards that he would select. Apparently Master alone was the one that decided who should be worthy for S-Class.
Master Makarov jumped up onto the banister of the second floor and raised his voice to us.
"Everyone! Quiet down and pay attention!" He shouted to disperse the murmurs and mutters of the guild members below him. "It's time for me to announce the candidates for this years S-Class trials!" He announced loudly.
All the guild members shouted and cheered at the announcement, hoping that they would be the ones that get selected this year, before Master shouted out at them.
"Silence!" He shouted. That shut everyone up again. Master then cleared his voice. "Alright, this year I have selected three candidates for this year's trial." He stated.
'Alright. Who are they gonna be?' I wondered as I put my finger on my chin.
"Frag Ille!" Master announced with a nod.
"Hell yeah! About time I got another chance at this!" Frag shouted as he pumped his fist. A few guild members near him gave him a few words of encouragement and praise for being selected. I was also happy for the man.
"Scarlet Hexea!" Master said next.
I heard some cheers from Scarlet and her friends. "Alright!" She cried with joy. "S-Class here I come!" Well that was nice for Scarlet to be selected. I've heard that she had been doing some good work over the last two years in the guild. Now who would the final candidate be?
"Finally, Cadewell Philipe!" Master finished.
'Wh-What? Me!?' I was astonished by this information.
This information completely took me by surprise; however, I didn't get much time to take this in as Master began to continue speaking.
"Now listen up you three! The trial this year will take place on Tenro Island, Fairy Tail's sacred ground." Master said, bringing great importance to the location we would be going to. "The trial will be held in a week from today. We will meet at Magnolia train station at 12:00am. After that we will head to Hargeon to take a boat to the island." Master Makarov explained.
"There is one more thing that I have to say to you all. The S-Class mages we have in this guild will be unable to help train you for this trial coming up. I have asked them to not help, train you, or give you any advice for this." Master stated.
There were a few mutters in the guild when Master said that. Everyone shut up through to hear what Master had to say next.
"That's all I had to say today. For the three candidates selected, train hard, train well and be prepared for the upcoming day of the trial!" Master cheered us as he pointed a finger up in the air.
After he said that, he leapt up off the balcony to the planks of the second floor. He then turned away and walked to the back of the floor with Ivan, Quikora and Gildarts following. The three of them gave us varying looks as they turned away from watching us.
Ivan in particular gave me a sneer. Jerk…
When they all left eyesight, everyone in the guild began to talk and give their thoughts as to what happened. That also left me to my own thoughts.
I had… conflicting thoughts about this.
Master… selected me as a candidate? Me?!
I never thought that he would select me as a candidate… Was I really that strong? I had always felt like I was pretty powerful among some of the other guild members, but I never considered myself S-Class level.
A small part of me was excited to move up the ranks and take some S-Class quests to complete. But there was another part of me that had me thinking IF I wanted S-Class or not. The pressure and responsibility would be a big thing to carry for the rest of the time I would be at Fairy Tail.
As I was thinking these vast and conflicting thoughts, I heard a male voice from behind me. "Hey Cade. Nice work with being selected there!"
I turned and saw Frag and Scarlet coming over to see me.
"Frag, Scarlet." I greeted them with a smile. "Er, nice work with being selected." I gave an awkward chuckle as I scratched the back of my head.
"I know!" Scarlet beamed. "I was so happy when Master selected me! I never thought that he would consider me as an S-Class worthy wizard." She said.
"How do you guys feel about being selected?" I asked curiously. Both gave a surprised look, before they spoke up to answer.
"Well I'm happy that I got selected again." Frag grinned. "I got really close to winning the trial last time I did it. Hopefully this time will be different." He said with hope.
Scarlet spoke up next. "I feel great about being selected! That means that Master thinks I'm ready for the big jobs upstairs." She answered me.
"But what about… the responsibility of S-Class." I said with hesitation. "Do you think you can handle that?"
Scarlet and Frag gave me puzzled looks. "Responsibly?" Frag questioned. "Well I think I can be a good role model and leader if it came down to it." He gave a thoughtful look after he said that. "I'm sure I could handle the responsibility." He concluded with a nod.
"What about you Scarlet?" I asked.
"O-Oh the responsibility?" She said with a bit of shock. "Well I think that I would be good at making sure everyone in the guild didn't get us to too much trouble. I would be willing to step in line and help them if the need arose." She said with some thought on the matter.
"I see…" I muttered.
'It seems like the both of them feel like they can handle the position.' I realised with an internal sigh.
"What about you the Cade? How do you feel?" Frag asked with a smile.
"O-Oh! Er, I feel great about it!" I lied with a forced grin. "Can't wait to go on Tenro Island!" I said as I clenched my fist and gave it a sway across my chest.
'What am I saying!? I'm not sure if I even want the position!' I cried in my mind.
"Well I'd love to stay and chat but I have to get to planning and training." Frag said with a laugh. "Have lots to do in these next few days." He informed me. "Good luck!" He said as he left my side and walked away out of the guild to begin his training.
Scarlet then turned to me as well. "It's the same with me I'm afraid. Have to get going to work out a plan for this trial. Maybe I can speak to some of the other previous candidates and see how they can help me…" She then turned away from me and walked away from me to chat with some other if the guild members.
That left me alone again, allowing me to better process my thoughts.
I took a seat at one of the guilds benches and thought about what had happened in greater detail.
'Master chose me as a candidate for the S-Class trial. That means that he has confidence in my abilities as a mage. Not only that but he must think that I can be a good leader as well as a good role model.'
'I remember what my father said to me once: Being S-Class means that you have to be responsible for others in the guild at all times. Making sure set a good example and being there to help them. You also have to make sure you face a situation head on no matter what it may be.'
'Do I have what it takes? Master Makarov seems to think so…' I considered.
A few minutes passed, but then a voice interrupted me from my thoughts.
"Hey Cade!" I looked up and saw Macao and Wakaba coming over to see me. "Nice job getting selected for S-Class!" Wakaba cheered as he took a seat across from me.
Macao sat next to him. "I kinda had a feeling that me and Wakaba wouldn't be selected. But I guess we still have plenty of years ahead." Macao smiled.
I gave a chuckle as he said that. "Hey uh… we probably won't be going in any more jobs for a while with the announcement there." I admitted to the two boys.
"Oh that's fine. Had a feeling that you would be busy going to train for the trial." Macao said. "Speaking of which. Why are you still here?"
"Yeah I thought that you would be out training for the trial to get way stronger." Wakaba commented.
"Huh?" I said with surprise. I was honestly trailing off a bit towards the end there. "Oh er, yeah I should probably get to that…" I then stood up from my seat.
"Good to see you two. Er, guess I'll see you around?" I waved farewell as I left the guild immediately after that.
I then took a walk around town, before heading back up the hills to home. Now that I was 16 years old, I had my very own house key! I unlocked the door and entered the house. The door closed behind me automatically due to some wind, and I leant back against the door.
'Argh what am I doing? This is such a simple question! Do I want the position of S-Class or not?!' I grunted with frustration at not being able to make up my mind.
As I was getting frustrated at myself, I heard someone come down the stairs. I looked up and saw that it was mother coming down. She was wearing a nice casual dress – nothing to fancy, yet she did still look fashionable.
"There you are Cade. Was just about to have some lunch. Care to join me?" She offered as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
I walked forward to be a bit closer to her. "Yeah sure… Something big kinda happened today." I said, trailing off at the end there. "Maybe we can talk about it over some food?" I spoke.
Mother was a bit interested by what I had to say to her. "Yes of course!" She said with a happy look. "Pierce and Charles put on some nice soup for us to have." She informed me as we both moved into the dining room.
When we entered, I saw two bowls of soup on the table. I took a seat at my usual seat, and mother sat across from me.
"So. What is it that you want to talk about?" She questioned as she looked at me with a curious look.
I twirled the spoon around the bowl of soup that it was in before I answered mother. "Well today was the day that Master announced who would have the option to compete for the S-Class trials."
"Oh, who was it that got selected?" Mother questioned.
"Me and two others…"
Mother looked very supposed to hear that. "Really?" She said with amazement.
"Yeah. I barely expected it either."
"Well that's wonderful for you!" Mother exclaimed with joy. She then noticed my conflicted look. "What's wrong Cade?"
"I'm… I'm not sure if I want S-Class or not." I explained with a sigh.
Mother now looked quite surprised and interested to hear my reasoning. "Is that so? Why not?" She inquired.
"Well… S-Class comes with a big responsibility. You have to be ready to put yourself before others – which I would do. But you also have to be ready to be a leader to others in the guild and act as a role model to them." I spoke.
"There's also the issue of trying to make time for everything else I have. If I'm S-Class, then I'd be helping Master with things at the guild and going on even longer quests." I added.
Mother looked to take in everything that I said.
She leaned back in her chair, nodding a little, which perplexed me.
She then spoke up to explain her thoughts on this. "I think… that you are panicking about this a bit too much." She frowned as she leaned forwards in her chair.
"What?" I questioned with confusion. "What do you mean?"
"You got announced for S-Class and you immediately thought if you would be able to handle the responsibility of the role. You thought that you may not be able to do it due to how stressful it is." Mother began, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I've said this once before and I'll say it again: Just take the option to do it! You'll find you have plenty of time to go on S-Class jobs and manage your personal life. As for being a good role model, did you not help Macao and Wakaba with their first few jobs in the guild? I bet they look up to you as a good leader."
I thought about what she said there.
'Well… yes, I have been a good role model to Macao and Wakaba since they've started. They probably do look up to me now that I think about it…'
Then a curious thought crossed my mind. "Wait. What did you mean when you said that you've said this once before?"
"Who else could have I said it to? It was your father Cade." Mother answered as she smirked as she took a sip of the soup.
…What?
"Wait what!? Father doubted being in S-Class?" I questioned with high curiosity.
"Oh yes he did." Mother answered. "Remember. At the time he was selected as a candidate, you were still in my womb. He was paranoid and scared enough about the idea of you coming into his life, how do you think he felt about the idea of S-Class coming right around the corner?"
I couldn't believe this. Father had doubts about whether he could be a good S-Class wizard? Mother spoke to continue.
"He felt that he would be unable to be S-Class and take on all the duties and responsibilities that the role offered as you were coming into existence. He didn't want to be caught up dealing with a newborn child and trying to be a more busy wizard. It took a good talk from me to snap him out of his funk." Mother spoke with a nod.
"To think I'd be doing the same thing 16 years later." She gave a soft chuckle as she moved forwards in her chair.
"Right… but… I don't have a son or a daughter!" I said as I turned a bit red saying that.
"But you do have a girlfriend." Mother said as she smiled. "Tell me: What do you think Lilly would suggest you do in this situation?"
I gave a small look of shock. "…She'd tell me to keep going and take the position of S-Class."
"What do you think Pierce and Charles would have suggested you do?" She added immediately after I said that.
"They'd tell me to push forwards and fight for the position!"
"What do you think everyone in Fairy Tail would have suggested?" Mother said now smiling.
"They would tell me to get up and stop thinking about it so much!"
Mother now gave me a soft smile. "And what about me?"
I was silent for a moment.
"So… you don't mind if I go on S-Class quests then?" I said with some hesitation. "I mean these were the type of quests that… you know…" I trailed off, averting my gaze.
Mother simply scoffed at my worries. "Come on Cade. Do you not remember the promised that you made back to me in Lavender Village?" She then smiled at me. "I'd promise that I wouldn't get in your way of your future at Fairy Tail, and you would promise me that you would come home just as you left."
I have a soft gasp when she said that. "I just… I thought that because S-Class was so big and important that you would-"
"Would I what, stop you?" Mother raised an eyebrow. "Cade you are free to take whatever route you think is best at Fairy Tail."
"So here's what I think you should do: Get up off that seat and go tell your friends about how you got selected to be an S-Class candidate! After that get back here and start training for it!" Mother suggested with a serious expression.
I gave her a smile before I stood up.
"Thanks. I was confused and a bit conflicted before to what I should do. But you helped me realise what I should be doing here."
Mother gave me a grin. "And what is that?"
"I'm going to be on that train next week and take home the title of S-Class!" I said as I clenched my fist with eagerness. "First I gotta tell everyone what happened today."
I then stood up and began to head out of the dining hall. Before I left though, I turned to look at mother. "Thanks. I would have probably still been stuck if it wasn't for you." I thanked her sincerely.
Mother gave me a chuckle. "Ah, you probably would have found out what you should be doing sooner or later." She said as she waved her hand. "Good luck with the training Cade. Remember I think it's only seven days you have." Mother informed me.
I nodded my head before I left the manor to go and find Lilly.
As I left, mother huffed a little.
"Hmph. He could have at least ate some of that soup." She remarked.
"What?! You got selected as a candidate for this years S-Class trial!?" Lilly exclaimed with joy.
"Yup. Didn't think I would get selected, but here we are." I shrugged.
"So what's the plan going forward then?" Lilly asked with interest.
"Well I'll probably think about how I can go up against the S-Class wizards that will be trying to stop me." I spoke. "By the way… Er, I may be busy with lots of things going forward if I get the position of S-Class, but I'll still try to make time for you." I said smiling at Lilly.
Lilly was a little shocked to hear that. "Hey, don't worry about our relationship. I know that you'll be super busy and active when you get S-Class. Cornelia says how busy Gildarts always is, so I can understand if you find yourself overwhelmed." Lilly assured me with a wink.
"Heh, thanks." I sighed with relief taking Lilly's hands. "Say, where is Cornelia? Haven't seen her in a while." I asked.
"Oh yes." Lilly then gave a smirk. "Did you not hear? She's decided to move in with Gildarts."
"They moved in with each other?" I spoke with surprise. "I didn't expect that!"
"Apparently Cornelia liked staying with Gildarts so much that they decided to move in together." Lilly explained. She then swooned her head from side to side. "Ah~ That sounds like the thing that you would hear in a love story."
"I think you've been reading too many of those lately." I said as I raised my eyebrow.
Lilly gave a puff of annoyance, as she took her hands away from mine and put them on her hips. "Hey! It's not my fault that I found some books that I like. I was trying to read some more of the ones that my mother has, but she says that I'm too young for those ones…" She said with a bit of sadness.
"Right, right." I said softly, wanting to move away from this conversation topic. "Hey Lilly. Could you do me a favour?" I asked her.
Lilly listened to what I had to say. "If you see Cornelia, could you ask her to try and get some information about the upcoming trial from Gildarts?"
"Ooh sneaky move Cade." Lilly remarked. "That's one way to get some information from an S-Class wizard. So what kind of information are you after exactly?"
"Well things like the place we're going to for the trial, the structure of the trial and really anything else that could help me out." I explained. "If I have the option for an advantage over the others then I'll take it."
"How else do you plan on training for the trial?" Lilly asked.
That was what I was currently struggling with. "I'm… still thinking about that. There's a lot to consider for this." I said with consideration. "I'll get thinking on it tonight. That way I can start tomorrow."
I knew that there would definitely be a combat related section to this trial. Gildarts had always talked about those to me. He always said there would always be an S-Class wizard in your way. That meant I had three potential opponents that will be trying to stop me from succeeding in this trial.
Of course, there was also the non-related combat section of the trial. That was what I knew the least about. That could literally be anything from a hide and seek game to a riddle that I had to solve. The more information I had for this trial, the better.
"Well I can ask Cornelia for more details about the trial tomorrow. I'll get back to you as soon as I can." Lilly said as she kissed me on the cheek.
"I really appreciate that Lilly. You know, I was sceptical of S-Class when it was first offered to me today. Now that I'm thinking clearer, I'm pumped to get the position!" I said with determination.
Eventually after around an hour, we both said bye to each other, and I went to head home to plan for the upcoming trial, while Lilly moved to track down Cornelia and enlist her help for this.
No POV:
Meanwhile, across Fiore two men were sitting down on some lovely chairs in a small cabin that served as a man's house.
One of these men was Master Makarov. He was drinking some tea that was just set out for him. The other man was an elderly – almost ancient man.
"It's nice that you bring me these pages and pictures Makarov. Helps me remember the good old times I had with the others." The elderly man said as he pulled out some pictures and diary pages and glanced at them.
"Glad to be giving you something nice to do when you aren't busy with work Warrod." Master Makarov smiled.
"So how is he doing then?" Warrod questioned. "It's been a few months since you've came up here to see me." He said as he drank his tea.
"Ah Cade's been doing great!" Makarov stated with a grin. "That hint you gave me really helped him out."
"About Lavender Village? Well I couldn't say no to helping a guild member of Fairy Tail. I had a feeling that he would keep the secret of the village safe." Warrod nodded with a smile.
"Oh yes… had quite the hard time believing what you said about the village. To think it was in a mountain the whole time… Honesty I thought you were joking when you described it to me." Makarov muttered.
Warrod gave a chuckle when Makarov said that. "I do wonder how the people in the village have been since I last saw them. Perhaps I'll see if I can make a trip over there when I'm heading work out on pushing back the Dead Wasteland." He mussed, stroking his chin.
After a small moment of silence, Makarov spoke up. "Will you be busy next week Warrod?" He asked with interest.
Warrod gave an interested look. "Don't think I will be. Why do you ask?"
Makarov leaned forward in his chair slightly. "Well… It's this years S-Class trial next week. And I'm hosting it on Tenro Island."
Master Makarov then went on to explain his offer to Warrod. Warrod some deep interest and eagerness at the idea when Makarov described the idea to him. When Makarov finished speaking, Warrod smiled.
And that's all for this chapter! Do leave a review of your thoughts if you wish.
And now Cade has been selected for S-Class! This was something that I had been planing for some time now. Glad to see it finally come to light in this chapter.
I did quite like having Cade struggle with whether he wanted the position or not. There is a great deal of responsibility that would come with S-Class that I feel the anime didn't entirely gloss over. I felt it right that Cade would think about whether he could handle it or not. It only took a good pep talk from his mother to set his head straight and his ambitions secure.
We also got to catch up on old Warrod and how he has been doing. What do you think Master Makarov's idea was? And who will Cade face in the S-Class trial?
These answers will (thankfully) be answered in this arc. Stay tuned for the next few chapters!
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I hope to see you all in the next one!
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Kuroshiagami0 - And here it is. Glad to have kept you excited.