A calm silence hung in the air around the Quatro Cerberus Guild's backyard as the ground itself cracked & cratered and yet, it stopped just a few meters away from its origin point as a curtain of crimson flames danced in the air above where the ground was slowly being destroyed.

Eric tuned out the world around him as he focused on both his flames & gravity, intensifying the pull of gravity even further and grunted as he felt his feet sinking into the ground below him as if it was mud.

Gritting his teeth as he pulled the circle of gravity inwards until it was coating just his body from head to toe, he concentrated on the flames trying to escape before tightening his grip around the flames & pulling them back as well.

Feeling the heat around him rising exponentially, Eric smiled as he felt the comforting scorching hot flames tightly clinging to his still form, opening his eyes before grinning at the sight of the crimson flames covering his body from head to toe like armour.

Along with the deep violet aura covering the flames and the way the sunlight was hitting them, the flames looked to be a dark indigo that warped the air around it with each ember that flickered, Eric grinning as he took a step and watched as the ground cratered with his footprint imprinted into it.

Dismissing the dark indigo flames, he grunted as he increased the gravity around him by six times before crimson flames coated his arms & legs.

'Claw.' Eric chanted as he got into a stance before dropping into a leg sweep, unleashing an arc of flames all around him.

'Iron Fist.' Quickly leaping back to his fist, Eric pulled a palm back before sending it flashing through the air, crimson embers fluttering off and making the air hiss with heat.

'Wing Attack.' Leaping forward at his imaginary opponent, Eric pulled his hands back before bringing them down in a cross chop, two pillars of crimson flames trailing behind his hands before they scorched the ground below him with a deafening roar.

'Crushing Claw.' Quickly flipping backwards as if to dodge an attack, Eric grunted as he launched himself forward whilst spinning through the air, coming to a stop in front of the crater his flames created before bringing his right hand down in a claw-like shape.

Crimson flames coated his fingers before they expanded into the form of claws as Eric's hand came down, unleashing five flaming air slashes that cut through the air before they dissipated as soon as they drew near to the trees in front of him.

'Scales.' Grunting as the flames of his arms hardened into crimson scales, Eric ripped up a chunk of dirt from the ground before attracting it at a breakneck pace towards him, grinning as he punched the gravity-enhanced dirt block and blew right through it while his arm didn't feel nothing but a dull impact.

'Roar.' Raising his arms upwards to pull a giant boulder from the ground and sent it flying high into the air as he took a deep breath before opening his jaw as wide as he could & roared.

A titanic pillar of deep crimson flames shot out of his throat and into the air, the boulder easily being obscured & melted by the boulder while the clouds around the pillar for a thirty meter radius were vaporized & evaporated within seconds.

Keeping the roaring flames going until he felt himself getting light headed from a lack of air as well as feeling his throat beginning to get sore, Eric's mouth snapped shut with a click of his teeth before a feral grin spread across his face as he looked upon the devastation around him.

'Day 30 of learning Hell Flame Dragon Slayer Magic: Claw, Iron Fist, Wing Attack, Scales, Crushing Fang and Roar have all been mastered. I've now finished mastering all of the basic moves of the Hell Flame Dragon Slayer magic according to Atlas' memories and surprisingly, I've also gotten down his Flame Form as well as creating my own unique variant of it by combining the crushing force of my Gravity along with the scorching heat from the flames. However, it appears that Atlas didn't try & learn any moves apart from those seven moves as well as another eighth one that is still too hard for me to pull off, so I suppose I need to start making my own.' Eric thought before he sighed as he stretched his body with a groan, feeling his body hungrily eating up the ambient ethernano around him before shaking his head as he remembered just how he first figured out Dragon Slayer Magic.

Who knew that all it needed was him getting pissed off and burning away an entire forest for him to understand that all he needed to do was show a bit of emotion and voila!

Hell Flame Dragon Slayer magic can be used.

However, what he didn't expect was to have all of Atlas' memories be unlocked at the same time that he unlocked his Dragon Slayer magic.

Let it be clear that having to relive almost 1200 years of memories of a dragon killing & slaughtering both humans & dragons for most of that lifetime was not fun.

However, he was thankful for Archive as he could just delete most of the gory memories and the ones that he didn't think he need or else, he would surely have gone either insane or braindead.

Perhaps a mixture of both.

Unfortunately, that meant he also had to relive the moment Acnologia went insane and the Dragon King Festival was started.

Eric admitted that with Atlas' lacrima/ heart and his own ethernano container, he was a contender for the top five mages with the most powerful ethernano in the guild, behind Warcry, Master Goldmine, Guy and Bacchus of course.

According to Atlas' memories, the Hell Flame Dragon himself had enough ethernano for about thirty to fourty Erics with some left over for three or four more.

Acnologia had enough to the point that Atlas had felt like an ant compared to him and that's not even mentioning the fact that Acnologia was injured when he massacred all of those dragons.

That's right. The strongest dragon in existence was INJURED when he eradicated a race known as the strongest beings in existence.

Now, Eric knew why Zeref wanted the Fairy Heart in order to fight against him. That thing was a demon.

No, that's an insult to Acnologia with how weak the demons in this world are compared to it.

That thing was the actual Devil of this world and yes, Eric was calling the dragon an it because no way was he a person now.

Nope, Acnologia was the concept of Destruction & Chaos that just decided to take a mortal form to amuse itself.

"…You know Master's going to be mad, right?" Flare said with an amused smile, giggling as Eric grinned & shrugged before he groaned as vines shot up from the ground and wrapped around his body in a tight cocoon, leaving his head exposed.

"Oh, I'm mad, all right. I thought I told you to use the forest river to train." Goldmine spoke with a glare as he stomped towards Eric, Guy sighing as he stood up after reverting the ground back to the way it was while Eric just raised an eyebrow.

"Right. Go and train my flames in a place with combustible materials. Great plan, master."

"You're banned from training. Go and do a mission."

"No! Okay, I'm sorry! Come on. Please don't send me on a mission. Training has been going so well!" Eric quickly apologized, Goldmine rolling his eyes while Guy just chuckled.

"You're the first mage that wants to train more instead of doing missions." The man said with a smirk, to which Eric just shrugged before Goldmine sighed as he nodded, Guy rolling his eyes as he snapped his fingers & the vines disappeared.

"So, what kind of magic was that?" Eric asked Guy with an eager smile, ignoring the sighing Goldmine and the giggling Flare in the background.

"It's Mirror Magic and no, I'm not teaching you it. I've already taught you Archive."

"Fine." Eric grumbled with a pout, Flare smiling as she walked closer and patted him on the shoulder.

"So, what's with the tattoos?" Goldmine asked with a nod towards Eric, who blinked before smirking as he looked down at his body.

The sun tattoo that Atlas gave him was still on his left pectoral, though it was now a dark crimson and there were a few new additional ones that had joined it.

Flame-like patterns ran down from the corners of his eyes to just below his jaw while another flame-like tattoo was on the left side of his forehead. Flame-like tribal patterns covered his left arm from the shoulder all the way down to his wrist and on the back of his left hand was a tattoo on the shape of a flying dragon with the tail connecting to his wrist, the wings spread out to either side of his hands and the head on the back of his knuckles.

"I guess it shows when I'm using my dragon slayer magic because that's the only time it shows up."

"I still can't believe you actually managed to meet a dragon and learn dragon slayer magic from it. Hell, I can't believe there was still a dragon alive." Guy spoke with a smirk, though Eric didn't miss the slight look of wonder in his eyes as he deactivated his dragon slayer magic & watched as the tattoos shrank back into the sun on his chest.

"According to the Great Elder, the tattoos are to help one have better control and mastery over your magic." Flare explained and Eric blinked before he hummed.

"Good to know. So, why did you guys come here? I know most of the time, Master would just send someone to come fetch me." Eric asked as he turned back to the other two men with them and Goldmine smirked before he took out a pamphlet from inside his jacket and handed it over to him.

Frowning as he took the page while giving Goldmine a curious stare, Eric unrolled the page before his eyes widened as he slowly read through his contents.

Quatro Cerberus S-Class Tournament:

Well done, Eric Creed, on being invited as a participant for the Quatro Cerberus S-Class Promotion Tournament

In two months' time, the Quatro Cerberus tournament to determine the next S-Class mage for the guild will be held in the Sentoria Forest Arena just outside the town.

Bring this letter as proof that you are allowed to partake in the Tournament/ Exams.

Come join us for the Wild Battles to come!

Rewards:

First Place: 7, 500, 000 Jewels

Second Place: 3, 500, 000 Jewels

Third Place: 1, 500, 000 Jewels

"…Seriously? I haven't even been a mage for six months."

"Normally, a mage would have completed about one or perhaps even two normal jobs if they've only been a mage for six months and yet, you've completed one S-Class job, one job that nearly became an S-Class and twenty normal jobs. Not to mention, you defeated a Wyvern." Guy explained and Eric groaned

"Why does everyone keep bringing up the Wyvern thing? It was injured severely and I had the element of surprise, so it was not that hard to beat. Seriously, both Flare & I have told you about the half a dozen Wyverns I defeated on my way to her village and no one seems to bring that up."

"That's because what you killed was not an ordinary Wyvern. That was an Elder, known to be the strongest of the wyverns."

"…He was still weak." Eric argued weakly with a shrug, to which Goldmine just sighed while Guy chuckled.

"I think you should take part. You keep on complaining about how you need new guys to fight against." Flare whispered to Eric, to which he looked back at her for a few seconds before sighing as he nodded.

"Fine, I guess it wouldn't hurt to at least check it out."

"Good! The letter was just to inform you earlier as tomorrow afternoon, we'll be announcing the other competitors at the Guild. Make sure you're there."

"Don't worry, master. I'll make sure he is." Flare spoke up before Eric could, the young mage grumbling as Goldmine gave her a thankful smile.

"Traitor." He muttered and Flare didn't say anything as she giggled, a small smirk spreading spreading across his face as he saw how happy she looked.

'…Who knew that her not going to Raven Tail would change her this much?' Eric thought with a chuckle as he softly stroked her hair, smirking in amusement as he watch her shiver before blushing along with her as a cough brought their attention back to reality.

"Not to bother you two lovebirds, but I think you two should go back to your apartment before trying to jump each other's bones."

"W-We're were not!/ I swear, master. You're one perverted old man." Flare and Eric responded respectively, the girl blushing brightly & glaring at the laughing old man while Eric just shook his head with a sigh as Guy chuckled.

"Well, we'll be going now. Come on, Guy. Let's leave the two lovebirds to their alone time."

"Sure thing, master." Guy said, nodding at Eric & Flare before walking away with a chuckle as Eric wrapped an arm around Flare & pulled her back just as crimson flames slowly began to coat her hair.

"No, Flare. If you try & kill the master, we'll become Dark Mages."

"…It's worth it." She grumbled, making Eric chuckle as he nodded.

"Yeah, I know."

"I'm certain you all know what's happening in two months' time, right?!" Goldmine exclaimed as he stood on top of the second floor of the Quatro Cerberus Guild Hall, the S-Class mages of the guild standing behind him while the rest of the guild cheered in acknowledgement.

"Hahaha! I see you guys haven't lost your wild side yet! Good, good! You'll be needing it as for those that don't know, the S-Class Exams will take place to determine the next addition to the S-Class mages of our guild!" The group cheered while Goldmine smirked in amusement as he saw Eric resting against the bar counter while a giggling Flare sat right next to him as she drank a glass of wine.

"Now, enough noise! You idiots are giving me a headache! It's time to announce who is going to take part in the tournament!" As if on cue, the guild quieted down, Warcry & Bacchus snickering at the looks of anticipation on everyone's faces while Guy just shook his head at their childishness.

"Firstly… Jäger Druta!" Jäger grinned as he walked towards the front of the group, rolling his shoulders as he grinned up at the master.

"Next…Nobarly Wisco!" A muscular man with an elongated nose walked forward, his hair covered by a light blue bandana that stretches to just above his head. He was dressed in a light sleeveless shirt, loose dark pants and a pair of dark shoes along with a dark collar covered in light spikes covering his neck.

"Next…Rocker!" A well-built, slightly tanned man smirked as he walked to stand next to Nobarly, his long blond hair styled into a single pair of massive, spiky tufts that jutted upwards from the top of his head. Dressed in a dark leather jacket with the sleeves reaching down below his elbows and a light shirt under it, a pair of loose dark pants, a simple dark belt and dark ankle boots along with a spiked collar made him look really similar to Goldmine.

"Next…Semmes!" Eric blinked as he saw an absolute human of a man shuffle over to stand next to the others and he meant that as the guy was easily bigger than everyone in the guild in both height & girth.

He appeared to have a mask that had two white spots for eyes, two white semi-circles located on the sides while the rest was blue. Covering most of his body was a single black garment that extended up to his head & acted as some kind of hood, a large gold decoration in the shape of the letter 'X' on the central part of the cloth while a pair of light loose pants that reached down to below his knees covered his legs with a pair of dark shoes.

"Next…Screecher!"

"Yes!" Eric blinked in confusion at the loud voice shouting before turning to the noise, watching as the guild laughed while parting for someone to get through.

Soon, a short young man walked to the front of the group, a wide grin on his face as he bounced on his heel in excitement. Messy black hair covered his head while a pair of green eyes gleamed with excitement as they looked up at Master Goldmine, loose light pants covering his legs while his upper body was covered in a white shirt with a dark blue jacket over it.

"Next…Buffer!"

'Another new face.' Eric thought with a frown as he watched a blonde man walk through the crowd & stopped next to the others, his hands in his black pants' pockets while he wore a light grey shirt on his upper body along with a pair of dark grey bracelets & a spiked collar around his neck.

"Next…Leo Lyonas!" Here, Eric was surprised to see a lanky guy that looked to be older than the others walk to stand next to the others, short & spiky blond hair covering his head with a pair of light brown eyes focused entirely on the group on the second floor.

A pair of dark blue pants covered his legs while a white dress shirt & a black jacket covered his upper body, but his feet were strangely covered by a pair of crimson sneakers.

"Well, wish me luck." Eric whispered to Flare with a small smirk and the girl nodded with a wink as the mage stood up and rolled his neck with a deep breath.

"Finally…Eric Creed!" That sent a wave of silence through the guild as everyone turned to Eric, who had a smirk on his face as he walked towards the front of the group before coming to a stop next to Leo, who just glanced at him before giving him a nod.

Eric smirked as he nodded back before they turned back to face Master Goldmine, who had a hand lifted up before he dropped it and all pandemonium broke loose.

"Master! That ain't fair!"

"Right! Some of us have been here for years and we don't get a chance!"

"And there's some of us that have the job record and strength level needed to take part, but we don't!"

"Quiet!" Goldmine shouted while also infusing his ethernano and the entire guild quieted down as Eric sighed before looking up at the master. The two just looked at each other before Goldmine sighed as he waved his hand for the mage to continue.

With just a thought, the guild shook as Eric unleashed the full brunt of his ethernano and even he had to admit that he was surprised by the results.

Six months ago, his ethernano would have cracked the ground under him and maybe make a few mages stumble slightly.

Now? The entire guild fell to their knees in unison, the air growing heavier & heavier while the temperature in the guild rose drastically as Eric turned to look back at them.

"Enough." Goldmine's voice echoed in the guild and instantly, Eric cancelled out his aura, waiting until everyone slowly stood back up, though he did notice most of them had looks of awe on their faces with a few having slight apprehension & a few others having looks of slight fear.

Surprisingly, the seven prospective S-Class mages didn't look affected that much by the aura, although some were sweating and a few hands & legs were shaking slightly.

"Before anyone complains, you idiots would have whined over and over on a day to day basis about how he shouldn't take part, so I decided to let him show you that he has the power for it. Does anyone else want to complain?" Goldmine asked, waiting a few seconds as everyone stayed silent before he nodded.

"Good! Those that weren't chosen, you'll have time within the next two years to show that you're ready! Those that were chosen, train & master yourselves within the next two months for the tournament will not be easy nor will it be fun. Dismissed."

A/N: And there we are! A quick little chapter away from battle before we continue right on with it.

Next chapter, a training trip before we continue with the tournament!

As always, read, enjoy, review and until next time…

Ba-Bye~!