Chapter 284: Poor Natsu
"Let's draw lots!"
On the small island, Makarov took out a box he had prepared in advance.
This time, a total of one hundred and ten mages signed up for the competition, so fifty-five pairs of lots were prepared in the box. The participants who drew the same number would face each other in the first round.
Everyone took turns stepping forward to draw, and George was no exception.
"Number twenty-three."
Seeing the number on the slip, George scanned the crowd and quickly found the mage who drew the same number as him.
"It's actually George. My luck is just too bad!"
Upon realizing that his opponent was George, the mage immediately let out a wail.
Similarly wailing were those who drew Laxus, Erza, the Thunder God Tribe, Natsu, and others.
Because everyone was generally aware of how strong they were, and knew they stood no chance.
"Everyone, please proceed to your designated stage based on the number I assigned and begin your matches."
After the draw ended, Mirajane, floating in mid-air with a microphone, announced.
Mirajane was one of the few mages not participating in the competition, thus becoming the host of the event.
The flat area atop the mountain that George had carved out was vast, and Mirajane used a magical pen to draw fifty-five arenas, allowing all matches to take place simultaneously.
Thus, everyone simply needed to find the arena corresponding to their drawn number to start their match.
This tournament was proposed by George on short notice, without much preparation, and so there were no complicated rules.
Next year, when the event would be better organized, it naturally wouldn't be as casual as today.
But it didn't really matter, since they were all mages from the same guild, familiar and well-acquainted with one another; the competition was more like a friendly sparring match.
Many mages had a clear sense of their own strength, knowing that competing for the championship was impossible, and even reaching the top ten was a slim chance.
Except for a few, most maintained a relaxed mindset.
That few naturally included Lucy, who particularly wished to enter the top ten to win prize money for rent. Thus, during the draw, her hands trembled nervously, afraid of drawing George or Laxus and being eliminated in the first round.
"The first round of preliminaries, begin!"
Standing at their respective arenas according to their numbers, amidst the dense crowd's cheers and Mirajane's announcement over the microphone, the matches began.
"Stupefy!"
In a flash of lightning, George appeared behind his opponent and knocked them out with a stunning spell.
Given his current magic level, with the enhancement of his wand, unless faced with someone with a special physique or magic, he could subdue any mage below S-class with a simple stunning spell.
After dispatching his opponent, George heard the sound of thunder from the adjacent arena.
Turning his head, he saw Laxus electrocuting his opponent with lightning.
Similarly, at several other arenas, similar scenes were unfolding—Erza, Natsu, Gray, and others also defeated their opponents in a single move.
This was the difference in strength.
Other matches ended quickly as well.
For ordinary mages, being hit by a few spells was usually enough to end the fight.
Only mages like Natsu, who had dragon-like physiques, could withstand multiple magical attacks and still stand to continue fighting.
The first round of preliminaries was completely finished in less than ten minutes.
"Rest for half an hour, then we will proceed to the second round of the draw!"
After all matches ended, Mirajane announced.
The half-hour break was, of course, to allow the participants to recover their magic and physical strength. Not everyone, like George, could end a match with a single move, expending almost no energy.
Most mages had given their all in the previous battles, so they needed a short rest.
"The second round of the draw begins."
Half an hour later, the fifty-five winners stepped forward again to draw lots, while the fifty-five losers became spectators cheering from the sidelines.
This time there were twenty-seven pairs, with one participant getting a bye.
"I'm number twenty-eight. I got a bye! This is awesome!"
Seeing the number on her lot, Lucy jumped up in excitement on the spot.
For her, getting a bye meant advancing directly to the third round, and if she could win the third-round match, she would enter the top fourteen, getting very close to the prize money.
"Stupefy!"
Again, a one-move victory—mages not faster than him basically couldn't dodge his stunning spell.
He would circle behind and cast the stunning spell with his wand pressed against the back of the opponent's head.
"Requip: Flame Empress Armor!"
After defeating his opponent, George heard a burst of exclamations from an arena near the center. Smiling slightly, he flew toward that direction.
"Poor Natsu."
It turned out that during this round's draw, a strong-versus-strong pairing emerged: Natsu and Erza drew the same number.
It couldn't be helped—draws were random, and it was even possible in the first round for George to face Laxus.
Thus, in this tournament, aside from the rightful champion, the rest depended not only on strength but also on luck.
Just like this second round, where either Natsu or Erza would have to be eliminated. George guessed it would most likely be Natsu.
Because Natsu, when facing enemies, could unleash extraordinary strength, but against companions, he usually only maintained his original strength.
Especially when facing Erza, who had beaten him up since childhood, Natsu's strength would drop by several levels.
It could only be said that he was unlucky, not that his strength was only enough for the second round.
As expected, after fighting for more than twenty minutes, Natsu was ultimately defeated by Erza.
However, this thrilling battle pushed the tournament's atmosphere to its climax.
After another half-hour break, the third round of the draw began.
This time, there were only fourteen arenas, with twenty-eight participants, and the rest became spectators.
Among them, several strong mages faced off early, becoming key highlights for the audience.
For example, Evergreen of the Thunder God Tribe, with her petrifying eyes, faced Elfman Strauss, who had, after the Phantom Lord battle, learned to fully take over the Beast King form.
Gray, the Ice Make mage, faced Bigslow, one of the Thunder God Tribe.
George's good friend Levy faced Gajeel, who had once attacked her but failed.
And George himself faced Juvia, an S-class mage from Phantom Lord.
"Even if it's George, I won't give up. Juvia will show a more dazzling self for Gray-sama!"
Juvia, who had fallen in love with Gray at first sight and joined the guild in a relentless pursuit, showed no sign of fear when facing George, immediately entering her liquefaction form, rendering physical attacks ineffective.
Though she had witnessed George's strength during the Phantom Lord battle and the Tower of Heaven incident, and knew she couldn't possibly defeat him.
"Water Lock!"
Raging torrents of water surged from beneath George's feet, completely enveloping him.
(End of chapter)