257. Preparing

After Alzack's & Bisca's wedding finished, Ben focuses on managing the guild and researching the Sun God Slayer Magic. He also helps their Mages develop themselves by giving them some advice. Ben is the most knowledgeable Mage in Fairy Tail right now so he can give advice to most of their Mages.

Nothing unusual happened to Fairy Tail for the rest of the year. They aren't holding any big event again this year after the wedding. Fairy Tail just focuses on taking jobs and increases their job completion rate.

The big wedding party really helps them because they get more job quests now. Everyone is also eager to take jobs more frequently. They can't slack off after Ben has put a lot of effort into their guild's development.

All of them also don't want to disappoint their friends on Tenrou Island when they return. They don't know when the Tenrou Island team will return but they know that the day will come sooner or later. Ben is working hard to find a solution so they can't just stay silent doing nothing.

Mira & Ben also takes S-Class jobs often because they are the only ones who can take those jobs. Completing S-Class jobs is very important for their guild. S-Class jobs affect their guild's prestige a lot.

If they can't finish difficult jobs like S-Class jobs, then people's trust will reduce and they will only get easy jobs with low difficulty. Easy jobs also mean low rewards which will affect their fund. A big Magic Guild like Fairy Tail needs a lot of money to work properly.

That's why Ben & Mira are working hard to finish their S-Class jobs. With their power, they never fail to finish the S-Class jobs that they take. Mira has improved a lot this year because Ben has helped her improve her power.

Ben even has the confidence that Mira can take a 10-Years quest now. But he still doesn't let her take it because the danger level is too high and they have never taken it before, be it Ben or Mira. That's why they will take it together in the future but not now.

Furthermore, the 10-Years quest might take a long time to finish. They can't afford to leave their guild for a long time in their current situation. So they just do what they usually do and get stronger for now.

Then in February year X786, a big event that takes Ishgar's attention is being held. It's the tournament for the Wizard Saint position that Ben proposed. The first tournament is being held in Fiore's capital.

For this event, Ben & Jura are called specially to set up the venue. Battles between high-ranked Mages are very dangerous and can destroy their surrounding. That's why they need to make the venue strong enough to withstand the effects and prevent damage to their surroundings.

Fiore's Royal Capital already has an arena to hold battle tournaments. But it is not strong enough to withstand high-caliber battles like these. So they need to strengthen it for this tournament and do other preparations.

Jura will use his Earth Magic to strengthen the whole arena. As for Ben, he will enchant the arena after being strengthened by Jura's Magic. He will also set up barriers to protect the audience and block stray magic spells.

Of course, Ben & Jura are getting paid handsomely by the Kingdom. This tournament will give the Kingdom a lot of profit so their high fees are insignificant. A lot of people from all over Ishgar will come, after all, so it will boost Fiore's economy.

Ben also heard that Fiore gets an idea from this tournament and will hold something similar. He doesn't know the detail so he will just wait for it. If it benefits Fairy Tail, then he doesn't have any problem with it.

"How is it, Ben? Do you think the arena will hold the damage?" asks Jura.

Ben smirks and says, "Even Wizard Saints will have a hard time destroying our work. Well, the 4 Gods of Ishgar might be able to destroy it easily. But those guys aren't competing and I doubt there are contestants with strength on par with 4 Gods of Ishgar."

"Yeah, they are strong beyond reason. I doubt there is someone stronger or at least on par with them on Ishgar," says Jura.

"Hey, we never know. I never said that there isn't someone stronger than them," says Ben.

"Hmm? But you said there won't be any contestant with such power," says Jura.

"That's right, among the contestant that is. Those with power rivaling the 4 Gods of Ishgar will not participate in this tournament. After all, there's no way that they haven't been offered the position of Wizard Saints. Even if they haven't, they would try to get it before if they want it. But the fact that they didn't do it means that they aren't interested so they won't participate," says Ben.

"Do you think such people exist?" asks Jura.

"Why can't they exist? Ishgar is vast and many types of people live here. It won't be strange if there are strong people who are hidden from the public," says Ben.

"That makes sense. There are people stronger than me but don't hold the title of Wizard Saint. I guess it's possible for people with strength rivaling the 4 Gods of Ishgar to exist. Well, that's that. Ben, I want to ask the reason for you to propose the Council to make this tournament," says Jura.

"It's simple, for fun. You know that I don't like the current Magic Council, right? I just want to mess with them and give them more jobs. Having people competing for our positions is also good because it will make the Wizard Saint realize that there are people as powerful as the out there. I don't know much about the other Wizard Saints but I have a feeling that they are already satisfied with their power. I want them to have the feeling of crisis when they see there are people with similar strengths as them. Well, I also want to see powerful magic," says Ben.

"You talk long but I think the last part is the real reason. I've heard many talks about how you were visiting the Council's library for months. You are someone with a strong curiosity toward magic so that last part must be your real reason," says Jura.

Ben doesn't say anything and just smiles while looking at the arena. The ground and walls seem very sturdy because of Jura. Combined with Ben's enchantment, his arena becomes sturdy enough to not get destroyed even when Wizard Saints fight here.

Of course, he is sure of it because he & Jura have tested it. They tried to attack the arena using their magic and no spell can reach the audience even though they used strong spells. If even a direct attack can't break it, then the indirect impact caused by battles won't break it either.

"I'm really anticipating this tournament. As a new Wizard Saint, I'm sure the one who wins this tournament and gets the chance to challenge one of the Wizard Saints will choose me. Hehehe, I'm looking forward to it," says Ben excitedly.

"So this is your true intention, sigh," says Jura while sighing.

Ben just grins before he leaves the arena, followed by Jura. There are still some days before the tournament starts so they return to their guilds. Time flies fast and finally, the tournament day comes.

______________________________________________________________

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