Gray and Lucy are surprised and confused when Alex says that they pass the test. Leo disappeared a while ago because Lucy can't control her magic power under Alex's Killing Intent's influence, so Leo got sent back to the Celestial Spirit World.
"H-huh? W-what do you mean we pass? I-I've said that I give up." Gray asks while still shivering in fear even though Alex has stopped his killing intent.
"Knowing how to give up is also important even if you are an S-Class Mage, no, especially when you are an S-Class Mage. It's important to know when to give up. Sometimes there are situations where giving up is the best choice. When continuing will only make worse results, giving up is a better choice. Old man Gildarts showed this to you some time ago when he returned from his 100 Years Quest. He knew he couldn't clear it and if he continued, he would just die needlessly. His death in that job won't help anyone and instead will only cause grief. So he gave up the quest. When you have just become an S-Class, you might become very proud and it might make you impulsive. You might think you can do anything and you have no limit. Such an arrogant mindset can cause your demise sooner or later. No one is omnipotent. Even the feared Dragons went extinct, yet humans still prevail to this day. Why? It was because humans know when to back off. As long as we are still alive, we can find a way to overcome the problems that block us. But once we die, then that's the end."
Alex gives them a lecture while they catch their breaths and start calming down after being pressured by his killing intent.
"Of course, there are times when we can't give up no matter what even if it kills us. Like when we need to protect our loved ones. Obviously, it's better to stay alive if you want to protect them. But there are also situations where the only way is to sacrifice yourselves. Even so, such situations mostly won't happen in S-Class jobs. Instead, being rash might lead to that, because it will endanger your team. Knowing when to give up will not only save your life, but also your teammates' lives. Maybe it's shameful to give up. The clients might condemn you and people might look down on you. But is that more important than yours and your teammates' lives? That's why S-Classes need to know when to give up because they aren't omnipotent and being too prideful will only end badly for everyone."
Alex has experienced situations where he could only give up on his jobs. The same also happened to the other S-Classes. Had they not given up on those jobs, they might not be standing here today. Of course, there are exceptions as Alex said, but the points are still the same.
After Gray and Lucy finally calm down, Alex lets them pass. He is now wondering about the situations in the other paths, especially Gildarts's path. It might not be Natsu who enters that path now, but Gildarts should still do the same thing as in the story.
Anyway, Alex copies what Gildarts does in the series because it will be unreasonable for the candidates to defeat him or Gildarts. But instead of using his massive amount of Magic Power like Gildarts, Alex uses his terrifying killing intent.
For Alex, knowing the gap in power that can make them give up is easy. A massive gap in power surely can put deep fear in someone's heart. That's what Gildarts tried to show to Natsu who coincidentally chooses his path now, just like in the story.
But sometimes there are opponents that are very dangerous despite not having a very great power. Sometimes people also underestimate the feeling of fear caused by their opponents' bloodlust because they think they are stronger than their opponents.
There are many situations where weaker people can defeat and kill people stronger than them using strategies, trickery, and other things. Danger doesn't just come from incredibly powerful opponents, but also those experienced with killing even if they are weak.
Alex wants them to experience an intense killing intent that can scrape their skin. It will be a valuable experience for them in the future so they will be more wary and cautious when dealing with people.
"Sigh, I wonder how the other exams go."
Alex is wondering about the other exams when he suddenly senses a burst of magic power. He can tell that it's Gildarts's magic power, so he knows that Gildarts's real exam has truly started. Though he doesn't know who takes it and he will be surprised when knowing that it's Natsu just like in the series.
Meanwhile, the ones who take Laxus's path are Juvia and Lisanna. Laxus's test is more straightforward than Alex and Gildarts. They just need to show skills and power that can satisfy his standards.
The remaining 4 teams should have easier times because instead of S-Class examiners, they are fighting other candidates, which are more reasonable opponents than the S-Class Mages, even though they need to fully defeat their opponents.
Elfman and Evergreen are facing Mest and Wendy, while Levy and Gajeel are facing Freed and Bickslow. Their paths' exits are sealed and will only open once they defeat their opponents, so they are fighting all out.
Alex wants to check the other paths, but he thinks that it's more interesting to just wait for the result, so he leaves the cave. Besides, he also needs to be ready all the time for the attacks. Things have changed, so Grimoire Hearts can come to attack anytime.
Though what worries him the most now is Zeref who should be here already by now. It would be best if his Guild Mates don't encounter him, but there's no telling where he can be now because just being close to him is dangerous.
Even now, Alex still doesn't know how to face Zeref's deadly curse that can kill any living beings around him. Natsu will be fine thanks to the scarf that Igneel gave him to block Zeref's curse, but the others don't have anything like that.
"Tsk! There are just too many problems that will come this time."
This will be the most difficult event that Alex will face in his life so far ever since he received all this power and knowledge. He has prepared everything he could, but even he still thinks that everything he prepared isn't enough.
There wasn't just enough time for him to grow strong enough to face the incoming calamities, which are Zeref and Acnologia. Despite not knowing how strong they are, he believes he still needs years to even match their power.
That's why he still can't make sense about how Natsu and co can defeat both Zeref and Acnologia even after being frozen in time for 7 years. They only need less than 2 years after that to defeat Zeref and Acnologia who are known as the strongest in the world.
No matter how Alex thinks about that, it just doesn't make sense how they can achieve that even with unlocking their Second Origin. He always feels like the author was just in a rush to finish the story and gave the main characters a very strong plot armor.
But Alex can't rely on that now because if his guess is right, then those Gods that gave him his power must be changing other things as well. They want entertainment and see different things from the story, after all, so it makes more sense if they change things to make differences as well.
What makes everything harder is also the fact that he isn't a Dragon Slayer. He is more wary of Acnologia than Zeref obviously because even Zeref is helpless against Acnologia. Yet he isn't given the power of a Dragon Slayer by the Gods even though his target is a Dragon.
It's not that he is ungrateful for receiving the Tailed Beasts' power. But even the Tailed Beasts are worried that their power might not be as effective as Dragon Slayer Magic against Acnologia who is known to be immune to almost all magic other than Dragon Slayer Magic.
Alex has a lot of uneasiness because of those reasons. But he can only do his best to be as strong as he can so he'll be able to overcome the incoming difficulties. If his Magic is useless against Acnologia, then he'll simply use physical power as the Tailed Beasts are also physically powerful.
There is a lot in Alex's mind right now that he ends up thinking so many things. He thinks too much that he doesn't realize the 1st stage of the S-Class exam is finally over. Those who pass have already reached the meeting point and they will start the 2nd stage soon.
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Ch. 182. 2nd Day Games