237. Big Arena

The next day, Ben goes to the competition place in the east of town. There is a big arena already built there, surrounded by a tall wall. Ben sure it wasn't there yesterday, so it must've been built last night with magic.

He is right because when he meets Jura, the guy tells him that the Council asked Jura to make it. It's just a temporary arena but Jura makes it as strong as possible because it will house battles between 4 Mages of Wizard Saint caliber.

Sometime later, Ben is called to wait on the north side. The other 3 fighters will wait on the other 3 sides. Jura has also built waiting rooms for the contestants and rooms for the audiences. He has made this arena very seriously.

In the waiting room, Ben just lazes around while reading magic books that have been scanned by AI Chip. He doesn't have even the slightest bit of worry about the incoming battle. He has high confidence in his strength even against Wizard Saints.

Well, he knows he has surpassed Makarov, a strong Wizard Saint. Ignoring the 4 Gods of Ishgar, Makarov is one of the strongest Wizard Saints. Ben who has surpassed the old man surely doesn't need to worry about these candidates.

The only Wizard Saints that he needs to worry about are the 4 Gods of Ishgar. It is said that their powers are beyond common sense. But Ben never meets them or scans their powers so he doesn't know if it's true.

Ben really wants to know just how high those people who claimed themselves as Gods are. He will acknowledge them as God if their powers surpass Acnologia. But the possibility for that to happen is 0.000.....1%, AI Chip is the one who calculates it so it must be true.

"Well, if they are that strong, then Alvarez Empire wouldn't dare to invade us a few years ago. I don't believe that Empire will dare to challenge people at Acnologia's level. They will just get their Empire destroyed instead," says Ben.

Ben continues to read books for some time until he gets called. The competition will start so he needs to enter the arena now. He walks there following the guide and finally sees just how big & wide the arena is.

"It sure is tough," says Ben while touching the arena floor.

He can sense the toughness of the floor that Jura has made. The guy is really skillful with Earth Magic that he can create such a tough floor. Ben will need some effort to break this hard floor, not to mention normal Mages, they might not be able to even scratch it.

While Ben checks the floor, 3 more people come out of the other 3 sides. They are the other candidates for the Wizard Saint position. There are 2 men and a woman which look like they are in their 30s. Compared to them, Ben is still very young.

'Hmm, I guess it's more normal for people their age to become Wizard Saints. Jura is actually still young for a Wizard Saint which means he has high talent. Then, if I become a Wizard Saint, won't I be the youngest?' ponders Ben before his attention shifts to the other 3 candidates.

They all look at him with prying eyes, trying to judge his strength. He is the one who caused this competition to be held, after all, and he is still young. Such a young candidate actually makes them wary because that means he has high power at his young age.

Also, Ben is very famous now after the incident on Tenrou Island. As one of the only 3 who survived the incident, people think that they are either lucky or very tough. So the 3 candidates are curious about him.

'It seems they aren't Magic Council's dogs. I thought the Council prepare these 3 so they can remove me. But it seems these 3 are really Wizard Saint candidates who met the qualification to be one. Still, it won't make me change my plan,' thinks Ben.

Ben looks around to see many Council officials and Wizard Saints. 2 of the 4 Gods of Ishgar also arrive here. They are Wolfheim & Warrod who watch from a rather close spot together.

Ben looks at Warrod who also looks back at him. Warrod was a Fairy Tail Mage, a friend of Mavis the 1st Master and Precht the 2nd Master. He must've something in mind regarding what happened on Tenrou Island.

'I don't know which side that he chooses now. He can be on our side, Precht's side, Magic Council's side, or maybe neutral. I won't do anything and won't approach him first. If he wants to talk to me, then he needs to come to me himself,' thinks Ben.

Then suddenly, 2 big screens appear beside Wolfheim & Warrod. On the screen, the other 2 Gods of Ishgar's faces appear. They are Serena & Draculos, the 1st & 2nd rank of Wizard Saints.

Most people are murmuring because they are surprised that Serena appears here even if it's via virtual. He rarely comes to an event like this so it's quite surprising. Only a few people know that he will watch this match, so most of them are surprised.

Serena watches this match because he is quite interested in Ben. Just like Ben, he is a Dragon Slayer, but an artificial one. He uses 8 Dragon Lacrimas to have 8 types of Dragon Slayer Magic for himself.

Ben looks at Serena & thinks, 'Serena, an arrogant guy who added God onto his name. If it's the old me then maybe I'll acknowledge him as one. But now when I've seen Acnologia's power, I will never call him a God. Unless he can defeat Acnologia with a flick, then he'll never be a God. I'm not sure how strong he is, but I doubt he is as strong as Acnologia. He just has 8 Dragons in him while Acnologia has killed numerous Dragons. 8 is a low number.'

Ben also doesn't know Serena's 8 types of Dragon Slayer Magic. If they are the strong types, then Serena might have a chance against Acnologia.

'The only superior types of Dragon Slayer Magic that I know are mine & Natsu. Escanor was an Ancient Dragon God, while Igneel was the Fire Dragon King. That means Escanor was stronger than almost all Dragons while Igneel was stronger than all Fire Dragons. Unless Serena's Dragon Slayer Magic types were from Igneel's level, then he won't have any chance,' thinks Ben.

Ben's attention returns to the battle when the host calls out to everyone. The battle will start soon so the host gathers everyone's attention. Ben goes to his spot while making preparations.

The 4 candidates stand on 4 sides of the square arena. Then some layers of barriers are erected around the arena. A battle between 4 Mages at Wizard Saint caliber can cause a catastrophe, so they need to use barriers to prevent it.

"Barriers? Such useless things," comments the man on the west side.

"I agree, they will get destroyed when the battle start," comments the other man on the east side.

"Don't underestimate them. They are made with much consideration of our power," says the only woman there.

"Heh, I wonder about that," comments the first man.

"All of you don't need to worry about that. Even without barriers, the destruction won't be high," says Ben.

"Ho? What do you mean, kid?" asks the 2nd man.

"Easy, you all will get defeated by me before the damage gets too big. That's why I agree with you 2 that these barriers are useless," says Ben while smirking and looking down at the other 3.

"Huh? What'd you say, you brat?" asks the woman with a pissed tone.

"I say that you all are weak, old hag," says Ben while spreading his arms arrogantly.

Now the other 3 candidates get pissed at Ben and want to beat him up. Ben just smirks haughtily while using his hand to taunt them even further. This battle won't be interesting without some spices, after all.

______________________________________________________________

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