Chapter 158 - The Trials.

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Goals and rewards of the week.

TOP 1 = Three double releases.

TOP 2 = Two double releases.

TOP 3 = One double release.

Remember if we reach one of these tiers and remain you can pick the days for the releases you won.

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[Adam C. POV.]

My role for the exams was simple.

Wait for someone to get to my area, and fight them, and if they showed during said fight enough talent to warrant an attaboy, allow them to pass.

It might seem like a simplistic path to success, and well, it... kind of was. The real difficult part was before they reached me, I had set a bunch of... traps, and other things that required most of the guild to think outside the box.

People like Levi, and Lucy… scratch that, Levy alone would excel in that part of the test.

But for them, well, we had a few surprises.

"How long do you think before someone reaches you?" Mavis asked, as she sat next to me, her eyes scanning the dark forest below us.

I shrugged. "It's hard to say. They might not even make it this far."

I was, after all, a bonus path. I wasn't one of the main options for any of them to take. It was the option that would present for them, in the course of the trials, leaving them the option to continue with the path they had so far, or... the alternative.

Mavis smiled. "Don't be too hard on them."

I smiled at her, pretending to pat her on the head. "I won't be. But I won't make it easy either."

"Do you really think Acnologia will come?" Mavis asked, her eyes darkening with worry.

If things went the way I knew, yes. But then again, seeing I'm a part that wasn't supposed to exist in this world, there was always the possibility of... things not going the way I knew.

I had pondered this thought for quite a while.

What if Acnologia didn't... come?

It was an important question, after all.

Well... In the event that came to happen, I suppose my best call would be to hunt him down. He was the strongest, or at least, one of the strongest beings on this planet, so even for my sensing skills, it should be easy to find him.

"He will," I replied, leaning against a tree. 

Mavis sighed, looking out into the forest below us once more. "You put quite a lot of traps. Are you sure it is even possible to reach you?" 

Changing the subject, are we?

Okay.

"It is," I replied. I think it was.... I mean, Erza and Laxus could, so I wasn't asking for much.

I mean, the place wasn't that hard to complete.

Sure, the forest was filled with traps, illusions, and other obstacles that I had set up to test the guild members, some of which could traumatize any normal person. It was a somewhat sadistic approach, perhaps, but it was necessary to weed out the weak and allow only the strong to move forward.

Hm.

Maybe I did put too many traps in my path...

Hmmmm....

Are seven hundred and ninety-two traps too much?

Now that I think about it, I wonder if that's why Gildarts and Gramps were looking at me like I was... some sort demented super villain in the making.

Mavis seemed to sense my thoughts and chuckled softly. "You put too many traps, didn't you?"

I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head. "I might have gone a bit overboard."

Mavis shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "Well, let's just hope they don't hate you too much after this."

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[Cana Alberona Clive. POV.]

I faced the forest before me, a seemingly innocuous spread of trees and undergrowth. At first glance, it looked just like any other forest, maybe a bit creepy but mostly harmless.

But this was the path... that led to my big brother.

If I could show him how strong I was...

If he could acknowledge how much I have grown.

Then, all of this would be worth it!

"Alright, Cana. You can do this," I muttered to myself, stepping hesitantly into the forest. The silence was deafening. Every rustle of leaves had me on edge, every snap of a twig made me flinch.

And then it happened.

My foot plunged into a hole that wasn't supposed to be there, I tumbled forward, shrieking as a net suddenly ensnared me. I dangled upside down, my world spinning. A little disoriented, I grabbed onto the net, trying to untangle myself.

"Traps, great," I grumbled, finally freeing myself and dropping onto the ground with a thud. "Since when is he into traps?"

I brushed myself off, shaking my head and then pushed on. Ten steps later, a shower of something gooey and sticky splashed over me. I gagged at the smell and tried to wipe it off but only ended up spreading it more.

"I'm going to kill him," I groaned in disgust. 

Pushing forward, I stepped on what seemed to be an innocent-looking twig, only for it to spring up a boxing glove on a spring, punching me square in the face.

"Where did he get these things?! A cartoon catalog?!" I roared, rubbing my sore nose.

As I continued walking, the forest echoed with my exasperated groans and occasional screams of terror. Why? Well, a tree that swung down to hit me on the head. False grounds that dropped me into pits filled with mud, honey, maple syrup, and something I'm telling myself was... cake. Strange mechanical contraptions that launched all sorts of things at me: water balloons, rubber chickens, custard pies, rubber chickens carrying custard pies.

It was like being in an old-fashioned cartoon.

And I hated every second of it.

After a while, I found myself laughing. Laughing at the absurdity of it all. It was funny, really. Frustrating, VERY FRUSTRATING, but funny. 

Each trap was more ridiculous than the last.

"Okay, if the next one is a flock of rubber ducks, I swear..." I began, only for a rain of said rubber ducks to pour down on me. 

I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I WILL BURN YOUR HOUSE FOR THIS BROTHER!" I shouted to the heavens, I knew he was near, and I knew he could hear me!

This might be a daunting path, full of hilariously annoying trials, but I was determined to get to the end, to prove my worth. 

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[Adam C. POV.]

I laughed maniacally as I watched my little sister struggle through each of my carefully crafted traps, most of them inspired by Acme. 

Thank God, she didn't pick the SAW path. 

But boy oh boy, was it amusing to watch her get hit by all sorts of things, without actually being hurt. I could barely contain myself as I saw her get hit by the boxing glove on a spring; it was a classic. 

They don't make cartoons like they used to anymore.

"Oh god, this is too good," Mavis gasped, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes as she watched Cana's ordeal with me. "You do know she will burn your house, right?" 

I shrugged nonchalantly, still grinning from ear to ear. "Eh, it's a small price to pay for a good laugh. Besides, Gildarts destroys my home on a weekly basis. At this point, it is a family tradition to destroy each other's property."

Mavis chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're insane, you know that right?"

I gave her a mock salute. "Why thank you, I try my best."

Mavis paused her laugh, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "Do you feel that?" she asked, her voice soft but filled with concern.

I met her gaze, a knowing look passing between us. "Yes, I do," I replied calmly.

It seems it was starting. 

Based on what I could feel, it had to be Hades and his underlings.  

The energy approaching was unmistakable, one of the energies in particular felt like Ur's, but different, which if I had to guess was Ultear.

"It seems like many presences are drawing near," Mavis added, her eyes turning cold as she gazed at the horizon, from where we could feel the energies approaching. 

I nodded, acknowledging her observation. "Indeed, they should reach the island in a few minutes."