21

Disclaimer I do not own Fairy Tail. Why would I be writing fanfiction if I owned something like that?

Beta Reader: volfwildman

Cana and I had spent most of the next day going over her knowledge of the trials and talking strategy as well. There were always three different trials. The first one being some kind of race to get to the next trial. The second being a game of chance where a participant would either just be allowed to move to the next trial, automatically fail because of some bad luck, face another participant in a fight or the hardest one being a fight against an S-class mage. You didn't need to win the fight against the S-class mage, just do good enough and they will allow you to pass.

The third and final trial is kept secret and changed every time. Unfortunately, Cana had never been able to get the third trial. Each time she took the trials she always fail at the second trial. The first failure was due to facing Laxus, the second failure was due to facing Mira and the Third she just got really unlucky and ended up with the auto fail.

That said she had gotten plenty of experience with the trials to be knowledgeable about them and she was rather powerful Card mage. I was confident that we would be able to at least get to the third trial. I was, however, regretting not pushing myself more over the years. I got too complacent in all honesty. Especially since I've been avoiding fighting people on my jobs.

Eventually, after a good night's sleep me and Cana were waiting in front of the guild with the other participants. Natsu had indeed gone with Happy has his partner, Levy had ended up choosing Droy has her partner, Freed had a grinning Bickslow by his side, Max appeared to have partnered up with Warren the Telepathy mage if I remember right, Wan had gone with a very muscular guy apparently named Joey, Macao, of course, had Wakaba with him and Mikuni had decided to do the trial without a partner for some odd reason.

Once it turned 10 am the Makarov exited the guild with a serious look on his face. He nodded his head towards us and motioned for us to follow him. He led us to the train station where we boarded a train made especially for the Fairy Tail guild and we were off.

The trip lasted about two hours do to Fiore being a rather small country before we were at the city of Norden which was settled right outside of the Twisting Canyons. The Twisting Canyons was a geological landmark that lay on the borders of Fiore, Seven and Bosco. It acted as a natural border between the three countries and made it very hard for them to invade each other on land.

The Twisting Canyons themselves were a series of canyons, hills and even a few dozen mountains that formed a natural labyrinth that was hell to navigate through. The few paths in this area were dangerous because of the local animals and how easy it is to fall down to your death if you're not careful. It was a popular place not just for Fairy Tail to hold its S-class trials but for a lot of other guilds as well.

"Now then." Said the Guild Master catching all of our attention. "Before me is the Twisting Canyons. A very dangerous place even for mages. Your first trial will be to navigate through this place to six different tunnels on the other side of the area. Once you enter the tunnel it will close behind you so only six of you will move on to the next trial."

The Master pause to allow us to take in the info. "Now most of these tunnels will lead to the place where we while holding the third trial. The second trials are the tunnels. One will take you straight to the third trial, one is a dead end and if you get that one you're out, two lead to a battle area where two participants and their partners will fight each other with the winner moving on and finally two tunnels lead to battle rooms with an S-Class mage in it. Either beat the mage or do well enough to let them pass you. Everyone got this?"

There were murmurs of agreement as most of us keep staring into the canyons, trying to map out a path. "Good now than before we start I should inform you that to make this a little harder we've added a few...obstacles in the first trial. Do your best to get past them. Now…" Makarov paused as he looked at each of use.

"BEGIN!"

(3rd Person POV)

There was a second of pause as all the guild member's mind processed that the trial had just begun. That pause didn't last long as Bishop throws his right hand into the air and cast a spell.

"Fragmented Sight"

Next thing everybody besides Bishop and Cana knew was that their sight was utterly messed up. Everything looked like a mirror that had been shattered into a million pieces as colors mixed together to make the entire world a rainbow blur. The spell was meant for a large group of people and would last a good dozen minutes.

"Come on Cana. Let go!" Cana moved to Bishop's side as the two ran into the Twisting Canyons and for added security Bishop throw up one more illusion for protection. "Vanish" and just like that, all traces of the two siblings disappeared.

"Oh come on Big Bro!" Shouted an annoyed Natsu as Happy clings to his shoulders. The pink head lifted his nose and started to smell around him. While Cana and Bishop's smell was gone he could just barely smell a humanish smell from the other side of the canyons, probably leftover from the creation of the tunnel.

"Hang on Happy! I think I know where to go!" "You think!" shouted Happy but it was too late has Natsu was already making his way through the natural labyrinth.

"Bickslow can your babies see?" Asked Freed as he finished making a few runes around the area despite barely seeing. "Ya, my babies say they can see just grab on to me and we'll leave this place in the dust hahaha." Bickslow finished his sentence with a tongue out laugh.

Free grabbed on to Bickslow's shoulder as the Seith mage's puppets lead them on. The other however couldn't find a way to get around with their vision so messed up.

"Humph, this is no problem! My Earth magic will allow me to navigate this place even without my eyes!" Said Mikuni confidently as he took some steps forward as he prepared to use his magic. That proved to be harder than he thought as a wall of magical letters sprang up around him.

"What the! What's going on! I can't get out of here!" The Earth mage had been disconnected from the earth thanks to the magic wall of letters. Everyone else hearing Mikuni's situation decides it would be best to what for the illusion to wear off.

Eventually, about 10 minutes later everybody's sight returned to normal. "Come on Levy! We got to go!" Shout out Droy as she grabbed Levy and proceed to run. "Droy wait! We have to b-" Levy's words were cut off as another barrier of letters sprang up around them.

"What! Oh, come on its Freed's runes! Ok, what do we need to do to get out of here?!" While Droy shouted Levy pick up a book that had appeared with the wall. Inside the book told them that they need to solve the problems within to get out and upon turning the page it showed the two a rather large math problem. Judging from Mikuni's horrified screams he has the same book for his wall.

"We can't do this! Levy can you use your magic to get us out!" Levy started to use her magic to examine the wall and after a few seconds, she responded. "Yes I can but it's going to take some time." And with that, she got to work while Droy cheered her on.

The other participants and their partners took note of the trapped mages and carefully made their way into the Canyons; avoiding any traps left by Freed the best they can.

The First trial has begun. Now to see who passes it.

(3rd Person Macao and Wakaba POV)

Macao and his partner were making their way down a winding path to the bottom of one of the canyons hoping to walk along the bottom to the tunnels. Macao was running rather fine with little more than sweat running down his face but Wakaba was wheezing and panting.

"Ok, we're stopping so you don't suffocate to death." Said Macao as he stopped at the beginning of a rather large outing along the path they were taking.

Wakaba stopped and promptly sat his butt on the ground and tried to regain his breath. Macao couldn't help but smugly grin at his best friend. "I told you smoking would ruin your lungs."

"Screw (cough) you Macao." Was Wakaba's comeback. The two rested for about two minutes before preparing to leave but before they could start running a loud crash come from beside them and the two looked over to see a large 15-foot earth golem staring down at them rather impassively.

The two mages just stood there for a few seconds staring at the magic creation. "You think this is what the Guild Master meant by extra obstacles?" Ask Macao with a Bishop like calm and even voice. "Yep." Said Wakaba in the same type of voice.

The talking was apparently all the golem need for provocation as it quickly raised one of its lumbering arms and proceed to try and smash the two. Macao and Wakaba were able to jump out of the way in time though.

"Ok big guy! Let's see how you handle this!" Macao held out his hand and pushed his magic into his hand. "Purple Spear" Solid purple flames appeared in his hand before shooting out towards the golem in the shape of a decently large spear. The purple flames impacted the golem causing a largish indent to appear on its chest from the impact.

"Oh come on! That all the damage it did!?" Wakaba chuckled at his friend's dismay before speaking up himself. "Let me try." "Smoke Impact" A large plume of smoke came out of the caster's pipe before forming into a large fist and rushing the golem. The smoke fist impact and even broke through the construct and dissipated as the golem broke down into small bits of earth.

"Ha, I always did have a better punch than you." Macao rolled his eyes at his best friend's comment. "Ya ya, let's just get moving bef- OH COME ON!" While the purple flame mage was talking the remains of the golem started to take new shape and soon the two were surrounded by over a dozen 1-foot tall golem that were slowly marching towards the two.

"Goddammit! Ok, let me try something." As he spoke Macao raised his hand once again to cast a spell. "Purple Smelting" At his words several ropes of solid purple flames shoot out of his hand and each rope proceed to wrap around a golem. The mini golems tried to get the flames off but had no luck and soon found themselves melting into purple lava.

"Well, that's a new one." Stated Wakaba as he looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow. Macao just shrugged and stated "Little something I was working on. Melts metal and earth but it's not quite right yet. Only really works on little things."

With that said the two mages start running once more. Ready to complete this trial and move on.

(3rd Person Freed and Bickslow POV)

"Freed are you almost done?! My babies can't hold this thing off for much longer!" As Bickslow shouted this he directed his puppet in another coordinated assault on the giant serpent made of earth that he was fighting. It was proving to be rather difficult as it would just merge with the ground and then sprout out somewhere else to dodge any damage, and the one time the puppets broke the thing in half the pieces just reattached themselves and continued like nothing had happened.

"Almost! Just another minute!" Shout Freed as he inscribed runes with his sword into an area of ground to the side of the battle. Bickslow let out a quiet curse before preparing his Seith magic for an attack.

"X Formation" the five puppets quickly gather into an x and shout out energy beam shaped like an x towards the serpent. The construct simply diving into the ground, merging with the earth as the x passed it and dissipated. The Seith mage waited with bated breath for the creature to appear again.

Eventually, the serpent appeared from the ground just in front of Bickslow who had to quickly dodge out of the way to avoid any damage. The serpent simply twisted its body and start chasing the helmet-wearing mage.

"Ok, Bickslow! It's done; just lead the thing over here!" At Freed's shout, Bickslow turned and ran toward his friend with the serpent not far behind. Just as the serpent was about to make a lunge at the mage Freed shouted.

"Jutsu Shiki: Crush" A cube of purple letters appeared around the serpent, trapping the beast. The cube then rapidly started to get smaller with the creation inside it until it was as big as a marble. The prison promptly disappeared and the only remains of the serpent were a small explosion of dust that quickly disappeared into the wind.

"With the beast defeated let us be off." Said Freed who quickly started run ahead much to the winded Bickslow's annoyance. "Oh come on! A minute off rest wouldn't be the end of the world." Mumbled the Seith mage as he quickly ran to catch up with his friend.

(3rd Person Wan and Joey POV)

Wan and Joey found themselves cornered by a dozen human-sized spiders made from earth. The two had been running along a path before said path gave out and they slide down the side of the canyon and into these things.

"Joey. Fight." Wan slowly and smoothly spoke those two words before summoning his magic which resulted in his right hand becoming a round dog head made from metal. Joey, however, was doing little more than shivering in the corner as he stared fearfully at the giant abominations.

It appeared like the spiders were done waiting as they soon were rushing the Iron Dog mage. Wan gave one spider a right hook with his dog hand which caused the spider to break into little pieces. The mage was then able to swing his dog back around and take out another spider but before he could attack again the spiders were on him.

"Wan! Help!" Shout the shades wearing mage as he tried and failed to stop the spiders from restraining and attacking him. Joey even in the state of fear he was in knew he had to at least do something for his friend/rival.

Joey gathered as much courage as he could before stepping out of the corner and preparing his magic. "Muscle Speak: Plus" As the mage cast the spell he flexed his rather impressive muscles.

A green aura surrounded Wan as the rather skinny man started to rapidly grow muscle that matched his partner's. Wan let out a grunt before using his new strength to free himself and with a mighty swing, his iron dog hand went around in a 360-degree motion, destroying all the spiders. Afterward, the mage's body mass decreased to what it was before.

"Ya way to go, Wan! Now let-" Before the muscle mage could finish a crash came from beside them and upon turning they saw a giant earth spider more than twice as large as the others they faced.

"O-oh come o-on!" Joey said nervously. Wan simply stared at the huge spider before turning slightly to Joey and saying. "Combo."

Even with just the single word, Joey knew what Wan was talking about. The muscle mage once again prepared his mage and he gave the most impressive flex he could. "Muscle Speak: Plus Ultra"

Wan's body once again rapidly increased in muscle mass but even more than before. With a large, exhale of breath Wan rushed toward the spider who also rushed to meet him. As the two were about to clash Wan cast his spell. "Iron Dog: Ultra Bite"

The round iron dog hand of Wan's quickly started to increase in size until it was as big as the spider. There was a second of pause as the dog and spider stared at each other before the dog let out a loud bark and promptly bite the spider. Once the construct was in its mouth the dog started to rapidly shake its head as the spider pieces were thrown everywhere until pieces were all that was left the spider.

With that done Wan once again decreased back to his normal size and also turned his hand back to normal. "Way to go Wan! Sorry about not helping right away back there" Wan simply responded by flicking his shades up and down slightly before running down the only path in the area.

Joey sighed at his rival's weird little talking ways before he ran to catch up with him.

(3rd Person Levy and Droy POV)

"How much longer Levy?" Droy and Levy had been in the purple letter trap for about 30 minutes at this point. Levy had been hard at work trying to use her Script magic to undo the barrier but despite Freed's quick placement it was still very well made.

"Not too much longer now. Just about done." Levy wiped some sweat from her brow as she said those words. She was going to need to work on deciphering and modify runes with her magic after the trials were over. She was pretty sure this situation had cost her the first trial.

Off to the side was Mikuni who was trying and ultimately failing to solve the math problems he had been given. A smile appeared on his face for a moment when he finally got past a particularly annoying problem but said smile disappeared when he saw the next problem which was even longer.

He was really regretting not bringing a partner, particularly a smart one.

The barrier that surrounded Levy and Droy promptly flashed before disappearing as Levy finished her work. "Yaaa! Way to go Levy! Now let's go!" Droy grabbed Levy's wrist and then sped into the Twisting Canyons, planning to give it his all to make sure she passes.

Mikuni tried to ask them for help but before he could utter a word they were gone. He was now all alone with nothing but a book of torture to keep him company. He let out a sad sigh before once again having a go at the math problems.

(3rd Person Max and Warren POV)

Max let out a groan as his spell did nothing to the mud golem in front of him. Any attack he did would either have no effect or if it did do some damage the thing would repair the damage in seconds. It didn't help that his partner was doing nothing.

"Warren get off your ass right now or so help me!" Max screamed at the sitting Warren as he dodged another attack from the muddy construct.

Warren was, in fact, doing something despite his partner's words. Using his Telepathy magic he was feeling out the magical mind of the construct and trying his best to find a way to disrupt it. Eventually, his efforts paid off as he found a weak spot in the creation's mental protection.

"Mind Disruption" At the casting of the spell the mud golem stopped moving and seemed to start to slowly melt. "Max hit it now before it has time to put its mind back in order!"

Max was confused at first but not one to look a gift horse in the mouth he prepared his magic and got ready to cast.

"Sand Rebellion"

Sand started to swirl around the unmoving construct for a second before a large explosion of sand erupted around the creations and sending pieces of it everywhere. There was a moment of silence as Max and Warren looked around them to see if anything else would come at them but when nothing came the two relaxed.

"You're welcome by the way." Said a very smug Warren. Max just rolled his eyes and apologized for his words. The two need to get a move on if they wanted to pass the first trial.

(3rd Person Natsu and Happy POV)

"I hate these stupid birds!" Shouted a very annoyed Natsu he punched one of the earth birds that came to close to him and Happy. In order to make up for lost time, Happy was flying the two across the canyons which had been a very smooth journey until a flock of birds made from earth attack them.

"Happy how about we try that combo we made up for the trial!" Happy gave Natsu a nod as the two prepared to perform a move they had practiced for hours yesterday.

"Flying Fire Dragon Blitz"

A magic crest appeared behind Happy as Natsu's hands were light a flame and for a second the two just floated there before moving. The two moved faster than the eye could see as Happy flew through each bird around them with Natsu's fist smashing them upon contact. Before long the flock was gone.

"Way to go Happy! Now let's get goi-" Natsu cut himself off as something below catches his attention. The remains of the birds were just floating below them; just floating in the air like gravity wasn't a thing.

Before either Natsu or Happy could do something the remains all came together and before the Slayer and Cat's eyes a huge bird of earth was made. It let out a loud cry before rushing the two that had caused its creation.

"Happy look ou-" Was all Natsu could get out before the bird smashed into them. Both of them fell to the ground, Natsu even leaving a little crater on impact. "Stupid bird! Happy you ok?" Natsu got up and looked over to see his blue friend lying on the ground with a few scratches on his fur.

See his friend in such a state caused Natsu's anger to start overflowing as he turned back to the flying construct. The pink-headed mage let a large amount of magic out of his core as he prepared to end the stupid bird's existence. He took a deep breath and cast his spell.

"Fire Dragon's Roar"

As Natsu breathed out a beam of fire shout out of his mouth right at the huge bird. The creature tried to dodge but that only resulted in the onslaught of fire only hitting and destroying the thing's right wing. It let out a cry before it fell to the earth and shattered into dust upon hitting the ground.

"Ya that what you get ya dumb bird!" Natsu let out a little victory yell before remembering his hurt friend and rushed over. "Happy! You ok buddy!?"

The blue cat twitched at hearing his friend's voice before slowly getting up from the ground. "Ya Natsu I'm fine. Just a bit roughed up."

Natsu was glad that one of his best friends was ok and was about to speak when something interrupted them.

"X Formation"

An energy beam shaped like an x came out of nowhere and hit Natsu. The Fire mage, however, was not affected by the attack much as he was back on his feet a second later ready to punch something. He looked in the direction that the attack came from to see Bickslow up on a hill laughing down at him.

"Hahaha, what's wrong Lizard boy!? Did the birdy mess you up that much!" After saying the taunt the Seith mage turned around and ran. "Hey come back here!" Shouted Natsu as he made chase with Happy flying after him. Said chase did not last long however as walls of purple letters appeared around him and Happy with a book popped into existence on the ground in front of him along with a pencil.

Stepping out from behind a ridge Freed and Bickslow approached the now trapped Dragon Slayer. "Well, that was simple. Now Natsu if you want to get out you ne-" Before Freed could finish Natsu was already sitting on the ground working in the book that contained the same math problems as the other trapped participants.

Freed was rather surprised when the first-page flash, showing that the problem had been solved and Natsu was already on page two working away at the problem. "How…?" Was all the Rune mage could get out as he stared at the Slayer who had just solved the problem on page two.

Natsu flipped to page three but look up at Freed before working on the problem "What? Did you think that I spent all my free time goofing off? Ha! Mom made sure that I was able to do this kind of stuff. With her, Bishop and Erza all working me I had little choice!" Natsu shivered a little at the memory of his homeschooling in the Vern household before shaking his head and looking back to Freed.

"I might not like this stupid stuff but that doesn't mean I can't do it!" And with that Natsu got to work on problem number three. Freed couldn't help but look the pink-headed mage with a little newfound respect in his eyes before he too shook his head and turned around.

"Come on Bickslow. We got to be close to the tunnels." And with that the two were off, leaving the Fire mage to work out the math problems.

And judging by the flash from page three he was making some good progress.

(3rd Person Tunnel Entrance POV)

At the east end of a series of canyons laid six different tunnels in the side of a particularly large hill. The area around the tunnels was rather bare, little plant life and not much life in general. Nothing was around the area or at least nothing appeared to be around until two figures appeared out of nowhere in front of the tunnels.

"Well, that was easy," Bishop commented as he and Cana looked at the tunnels. "That because none of those earth constructs saw past your Vanish Bish. Not that I'm complaining." Replied Cana as she also looked over the tunnels.

The two stood there for a few more seconds before Bishop spoke once again. "So which one should we go through?" Cana shrugged before a grin spread across her face as she started to dig through her pockets. Eventually, she pulled out a white dice.

"Really." Said Bishop as he gave Cana a flat look to which she just shrugged at and counted the six tunnels before rolling the die. When it landed on a five she picked it up and put it back in her pocket. "Well, tunnel number five it is then."

Cana walked forward into one of the tunnels with Bishop not far behind. Once both of them were in the tunnel an iron gate fell from atop of the tunnel and closing the tunnel off. The area was once again empty but only for about 15 minutes before another two figures came into view.

Freed and Bickslow came to the entrance of the six tunnels and they noted the closed off tunnel. "Looks like we the second pair here. Who do you think beat us?" Ask Bickslow as he took in the area around them.

"Probably Cana and Bishop since they both got a good head start." Replied Freed. Freed had always respected Fairy Tail's Illusionist. He was impressed with how far Bishop had gotten with his illusions and felt that he really showed how good a Fairy Tail mage can be. Unfortunately, Laxus didn't see it that way and rather disliked the Illusionist, often stating how he should stop playing mage and face reality.

"Want me to use my babies to scout out the tunnels?" At Bickslow's suggestion, Freed gave his friend an offended look. "Of course not! A Fairy Tail mage would never cheat like that!" Freed shook his head a little at his partner before randomly picking a tunnel and heading forward with Bickslow. An iron gate also dropped behind them.

The area wouldn't have more visitors until 36 minutes later when Wan and Joey made their way into it. "Hey! Were number 3! Yesss!" Said a pumped Joey as he fist-bumped the air and high five the equally happy yet calm Wan.

"Ok, so which one should we go down?" At his partner's words, Wan simply adjusted his shades before pointing to a random tunnel and moving forward. Joey couldn't help but roll his eyes at his rival's refusal to talk. During a New Year's party, his friend Chico had an idea to attach one of her ghosts to Wan just for the sole purpose of timing every time he spoke. With a bit of help from other guild members, one of her ghost was able to attach to Wan.

At the end of the year, Chico had the ghost come out and tell her how much Wan had talked. To the shock over everyone in the guild, Wan had only talked about an hour's worth of time in the entire year. Just ONE hour in the entire YEAR.

How Wan's vocal cords still worked was considered one of the great mysteries of Fairy Tail. Along with that mug that ended up stuck on the ceiling and no one could get down.

Joey just chuckled at his thought before following his friend through one of the tunnels that closed behind them just like the others.

It would only be 7 minutes later when Macao and Wakaba came running into sight. Both stopped before the tunnels and proceed to pant for a few seconds as the two regained their breath.

"Well (pant) looks like three groups beat us here. Who you think it was?" Asked a rather tired Wakaba as he took out a flask from his back pocket and took a sip. "First was probably Cana and Bishop, between their head start and Bishop's bullshit illusions they probably had no trouble getting here first. As for the other two, I'm guessing Freed and Natsu." Said Macao as he accepted the flask from his friend and also took a drink before handing it back.

"Ok let's head to that one on the far left. Got a good feeling about it." At his best friend's words, Wakaba nodded his head as he put his flask back and followed him into the tunnel which closed behind them.

In about 14 minutes Max and Warren appeared in the area. "Wow, we cut it close man," Max said while rubbing the back of his head as Warren nodded in agreement before closing his eyes and raising his finger to his temples. Warren stayed like that for a few seconds before speaking up.

"Ok from what I can tell the tunnels with S-class mages in them are already taken. I think that one on the left connects to a battle room for two pairs of participants to battle in while the other is either the auto win or auto loss." At Warren's words, Max gave his friend a raised eyebrow at how the Telepath mage could know this.

Warren just shrugged before speaking, "You know how dolphins can scan their environments with sound waves? Same thing but with mind waves. Still working on it. The auto tunnel is too deep to tell if it's a dead-end or not though."

Max nodded at Warren's words as he looked at the two tunnels. One was a coin flip while the other was a battle that they might be able to win. After a few seconds, Max just grinned before walking forward. "Well nothing risked nothing gained as I'm sure Cana would say. Let go with the coin flip." Warren looked like he wanted to say something but ended up just sigh and following behind his friend as the sound of a closing iron gate came from behind them.

About 20 minutes later two figures literally flew into the area. "Ahhh come on were in last place! Stupid math problems, that last one gave me way to much trouble! Come on Happy we got no time to lose." Once Natsu finished his words he ran into the last tunnels with Happy flying not too far behind as the last tunnel closed itself off.

Just a minute later another two figures came into the area. Levy and Droy, "Ahhh no! There's no tunnels left! Sorry, Levy." Droy bowed his head to his teammate who simply waved it off. "It's fine Droy. At least I had a chance to try. Besides, we still did better than Mikuni. Probably still doing those problems."

Droy shook his head at his friend's comforting words "Ya but if you had picked Jet then you would have probably passed this trial. With his Speed magic, he could have got you here in no time. Guess I'm just not good enough."

"Hey! Don't you dare say that! You're my friend Droy and while Jet probably could have got me here faster I'm still happy with my choice in partners. Now come on, let's head back. We can at least look forward to the party at the end of the trials." Droy found himself smiling at Levy's word before he straightened up and gave a happy nod as the two made their way back.

And so Levy and Mikuni have failed. Only six more participants are still in. Who will beat the second trial and go onto the next and last trial? Only time will tell.

(Meanwhile)

"Haaaa! Just one last problem and I out of here! I probably failed at this point but now I just want to get out of this horrible prison and away from the evil numbers and letters!"

With that Mikuni turned to the last page of the small book with a smile on his face. Only for that smile to quickly fade as he took in the last problem. A problem that was almost as long as the entire page. More than twice the longest problem he had solved before.

Mikuni just stared at the wall of numbers and math equations for a few seconds before he released a soul retching wail and threw the book at the wall and curling up in the fetal position.

Math had claimed another victim.

AN: Beware the evils of math. Anyway, that was a rather long chapter, longest so far and nearly twice as long as what I aim for too. I thought I wouldn't have enough in it so I decided to add in some POVs of the other characters for a more interesting experience and to lengthening the chapter. Ended up lengthening it a bit too much but hey just more for you guys to read. There was actually supposed to be one more section at the end but ended up deciding to move it over to the beginning of the next chapter.

Thanks once again to volfwildman for being a Beta. A thanks to Blaze1992 as well for his review, message and ideas and another thank you to Rachnis for his amazing constructive review.

A nightmare is coming. It's darkness spreads throughout the realms and must be stopped! Come warriors of fanfiction! We must muster and fight this growing evil. Review and give unto us your strength for the coming battle. Or else we shall face an age of darkness.

Have a great day.

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