Fairy Tail: Metal and Threads

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus. 

July 2, x790. 

{"Alright, now that the eight competitors have been decided, let me explain the rules of 'Assault Course."} Mato said, drawing the attention of everyone in the arena onto himself. {"Assault Course is, for all intents and purposes, a race. A race through an obstacle course. One filled with flying projectiles, traps, and different terrains for you to traverse.'} 

As Mato reached that point, all the screens in the Domus Flau changed their images. Now, instead of Mato, there was a model of the obstacle course Mato mentioned. However, instead of being built on eh ground, the entire obstacle course was built atop a series of differently sized buildings. 

On top of that, there were different arrows with descriptions pointed at different parts of the diagram that showed the arena what the course looked like. For example, one of the arrows pointed at a section set up between two sky scrapers that said, "Tight Rope." Then, there was another that pointed at a couple of buildings on either side of the course that read, "Magic Concussion Cannons." 

{"As you can see, there are many things you need to be wary of while traversing the course."} Mato continued in his overly cheerful tone. {"But you don't have to worry about falling from the rooftops. Because there is a magic circle set up that will teleport anyone who falls past a certain point to less than a foot from the ground. However, anyone who needs to be saved in this way will be disqualified, resulting in immediately ending up in last place and receiving a 0 for their score."} 

"What if more than one person falls off, though?" The guy from Twilight Ogre asked. 

The other seven participants, Elicia, Karen, Yuka, Sui-Feng, Ikkaku, Rufus, and Aerith, looked at the one from Twilight Ogre as if he were an idiot. Even Mato, who was usually quite cheerful, was at a loss for words. 

"Seriously, what would happen then?" Natsu shouted from the audience. "They can't all get last place, right?" 

"*Sigh* Natsu, you're lucky you're cute." Lisanna said while looking at her husband with worry in her eyes. 

{"*Cough* Well, if more than one person has to be saved by the magic circle, then, their scores will go up from last place in reverse order of when they fell."} Mato explained while scratching the side of his pumpkin mask. He then lowered his voice and grumbled in his true voice at a volume so low that only the most powerful people in the arena could hear him. {"I think we should start implementing a simple I.Q. test for wizards who want to join guilds."} 

While most of the people in the audience were confused by what Mato mumbled, those with the strength to make out his words could not help but chuckle to themselves while glancing at the less intellectually inclined wizards in the arena. 

{"*Cough* Excuse me."} Mato said, realizing that there were a few people who heard him. {"Anyway, back to the explanation. You are obviously allowed to use your magic during the event. However, you are not allowed to attack any of the other competitors directly. Meaning, you can attack the course itself to cause even more obstacles for the others. But shooting a fireball at the others will be met with disqualification. Understood?"} 

As soon as the eight competitors acknowledged their understanding, the entire arena area of the Domus Flau was covered by a magic circle. Then, a full scale replica of the Assault Course from the screens rose from the ground. At the same time, the eight wizards were teleported to the starting line of the course. 

{"Good!"} Mato exclaimed as the magical construct was completed. {"Oh, and I want to thank Sixth Sense Holdings for providing their new technology, Hard Light Projection Technology, for this event. Now, is everyone ready? Well, it doesn't matter if you are. On your marks! Get set!"} 

The eight wizards, some more than others, scrambled to get ready to run when they heard Mato reach that point. All the while, Sui-Feng was staring at Elicia with flames burning in her eyes. 

Meanwhile, Ur was glaring at Alfonzo. And Alfonzo did not need to be as intelligent as he was to know why. 

"What?" Alfonzo asked without looking behind him. "You know why. They won't break it by doing something stupid. But our group of stupids is totally different." 

{"Go~~~~~~~~!"} Mato shouted before Ur could retort. 

Meanwhile, back in the arena... 

As soon as the signal was given, Sui-Feng, in a burst of speed with the use of the [Flash Step] vanished from the starting line. An instant later, she appeared and reappeared at the beginning of the first obstacle, a steep incline with little friction and only ropes the climbers can use to aid them. 

However, instead of grabbing the ropes to steady herself, Sui-Feng ran atop the ropes with great agility, causing the crowd to be extremely impressed. 

"Not bad." Elicia said while running up the rope next to Sui-Feng. "This really tests your balance, doesn't it?" 

{"Look at that, ladies and gentlemen!"} Loli shouted excitedly. {"Contestants Elicia and Sui-Feng have broken away from the pack and are already climbing the first obstacle. They both have such astonishing speed."} 

{"Yes, but the others look like they have no intension of giving up, either."} Yajima added. 

And just as Yajima said, the other six wizards were all charging forward as quickly as they could to catch up to the front runners. 

"[Haste]." Aerith chanted while running. 

In the next instant, a magic circle resembling a clock appeared at Aerith's feet. Then, the hands started spinning quickly. And as the hands spun forward, Aerith's speed increased. 

At the same time, Ikkaku, coming from Soul Continent like Sui-Feng, also used the [Flash Step] to increase his speed. However, he wore quite the dissatisfied expression while doing so. 

"Yumichika got to fight in his event." Ikkaku grumbled while flashing forward. "But all I get to do is run. How unfair is this. I was really looking forward to fighting Elicia again. It was so much fun." 

The others employed all their means to increase their speeds, as well. For example, Yuka, used his [Wave Magic] to propel himself forward while extending both arms behind him as he ran. Karen did something similar, using her magic ring imbued with [Wind Magic] to shoot herself forward in bursts. 

Rufus actually seemed to be at a disadvantage in this event. His magic, [Memory-Make Magic], allowed him to utilize any magic he had seen before as his own. However, it seemed that he had no prior contact with any movement-type spells that could keep up at this level. But that was not enough to stop him. 

"[Memory-Make: Iron Rock Wall]." Rufus chanted after raising the index and middle fingers of both hands to his temples. 

In the next instant, a solid rock wall sprung up from the edge of the building where the steep incline started. As a result, Aerith, Yuka, Karen, and the guy from Twilight Ogre were stopped just before they reached the first obstacle. Meanwhile, Ikkaku, who was also behind Elicia and Sui-Feng was fast enough to not be caught by this distraction. 

At the same time, Elicia and Sui-Feng had both reached the next obstacle, the tight rope portion of the course. 

"How are you possibly keeping up with me?" Sui-Feng, frustrated by the fact that she could not shake off Elicia, asked while running effortlessly across the tight rope. 

"Oh, you're not the only one with a movement technique, you know." Elicia replied with a smile while running just as effortlessly across the tight rope. "Fonzie came up with it a few years ago. He wanted to bridge the gap in speed with Yoruichi. It's pretty good, right?" 

In response, Sui-Feng could only grit her teeth as her frustration continued to mount. 

"But I'm gonna go ahead, okay?" Elicia asked cheerfully, causing Sui-Feng to snap her head in Elicia's direction. "Fonzie said not to hold back. So, I'll see you at the finish line." 

Before Sui-Feng could rage at Elicia's perceived arrogance, she was forced to leap sideways. The reason for that was that Elicia, using her [Thread Magic], started shaking the tight rope Sui-Feng was on. And although it was not enough to cause the assassin to fall from the tight rope, it definitely slowed her progress. 

"Damn it." Sui-Feng cursed as she drew Suzumebachi, her Zanpakuto, from the sheath on her lower back.

Then, Sui-Feng slashed all of Elicia's threads that she could reach. Unfortunately, Elicia was shaking the tight ropes from more than just the places close to Sui-Feng. So, no matter how many of Elicia's threads she cut, the ropes never stopped shaking. 

Sui-Feng even tried crossing on the same rope Elicia was using. However, Elicia used her threads to hold the stretch in front of her steady while shaking everything behind her, making that plan useless. 

Eventually, Elicia crossed the tight rope. And as soon as she did, she gave all the ropes the largest shake so far, making Sui-Feng, who was still crossing, and Ikkaku, who just reached the tight ropes, hold onto the ropes tightly so they would not be disqualified. 

Elicia, on the other hand, as soon as she stepped onto solid ground, kicked her right foot against the roof close to fifty times in the blink of an eye. Then, she disappeared in a burst of speed, heading for the next obstacle, which happened to be a number of small pillars that rose high into the air. Yet, crossing this forest of pillars was not what made this obstacle difficult. Rather, it was the Magic Concussion Cannons that were firing compressed balls of magic power meant to send anyone who was hit flying off to the side. 

"Well, I can't let them hit me now, can I?" 

With that, Elicia spread her hands to either side while ejecting her magic threads from her fingertips. Then, using those threads, which she wrapped around the barrels of all the Magic Concussion Cannons, Elicia made it so that none of the weapons would be able to target her by pointing them all into the sky. 

Then, when Elicia passed the obstacle, she released her threads from around all the cannon barrels while she continued forward. 

"Alright, the rest of you can have fun with those." Elicia said with a giggle as she once again used [Shave] to rush forward. 

{"Amazing! Contestant Elicia is speeding through the obstacle course completely unhindered!"} Loli shouted excitedly. {"And from the lead she's built up, it would take a true disaster for her to not end up in first place!"} 

{"Yes, she's shown exquisite mastery of her magic."} Yajima added. {"The way she used it to disrupt Sui-Feng or to clear the way for herself both show creativity. On top of that, her speed is incredible. And though I'm not completely sure, her movement technique looks to be completely physical rather than being a spell. Quite remarkable."} 

{"Indeed, it is."} Loli replied. {"Darkness, what do you think of the event so far?"} 

Though Loli asked the question, he was extremely nervous to hear the answer. He had no idea what Darkness, who was prone to getting lost in her own thoughts, would say. So, he was ready to cut her microphone once again if she went too far off the rails. 

{"Yes, Elicia is quite skilled with her magic."} Darkness said, sounding just as noble as a knight should. {"In fact, I've had the opportunity to experience her magic in the past once before. *Pant* And it was magnificent. *Pant* *Cough* Ah! Excuse me. But I was looking forward to seeing what effects those cannons would have should someone be hit by them. *Pant* Just imagine, being caught between several volleys... *Pant* Getting rag dolled in the sky... *Pant And then, there would be a malfunction... *Pant* And I would be left to endure--- *Status!*"} 

{"Sorry, folks."} Loli said with cold sweat dripping down his forehead. In fact, he was so worried that he started wiping the sweat with his wig instead of a handkerchief. {"It looks like our guest's, Darkness', microphone is experiencing technical difficulties again. We'll try to get her back to the rest of you as soon as we can. Oh! It looks like Contestant Elicia has made it to the final obstacle, a bridge between two buildings. However, the entire bridge is covered with magical landmines. Just how will she handle this?"} 

By now, all the contestants had crossed the tight rope and were rushing towards the forest of pillars. Meanwhile, Sui-Feng was rushing as fast as she could to catch up to Elicia and Ikkaku had just reached the other side of the group of pillars. Aerith and Yuka were neck-and-neck, a little more than halfway through the pillars while Karen was not far behind them. And Rufus was hot on Karen's tail. However, he was catching up quickly, as he was using his [Memory-Make Magic] to use Elicia's [Thread Magic] to copy her tactic for this part of the course. Instead of pointing the cannons into the air, however, he was aiming them at his competitors. Unfortunately for the guy from Twilight Ogre, that tactic resulted in the first disqualification of the event. 

{"And Twilight Ogre has officially received last place for this event."} Loli said in atone filled with regret. {"And Rufus has just caught up to Aerith, Yuka, and Karen. Which among them will pull away to take fourth place?"} 

While Loli spoke, the sound of Darkness excitement could be heard in the background. Apparently, she was euphoric from imagining the pain of getting hit by the magic Concussion Cannons based on how the guy from Twilight Ogre went flying away from the obstacle. 

{"I think you should look at Elicia, Loli."} Yajima said, interrupting Loli's impassioned commentary. {"She's reached the minefield. And it looks like she's about to employ her tactic to pass it right now."} 

And just as Yajima said, Elicia was nearing the minefield. As she did, she extended her hands forward before ejecting a number of threads towards the other side of the minefield. More importantly, towards the buildings on either side of the course. Then, once the threads were stuck to the buildings, she contracted all the threads at high speed. 

"[Thread Magic: Thread Catapult]." Elicia chanted as she was thrown through the air. 

{"Oh, my goodness!"} Loli shouted excitedly. {"Instead of navigating the minefield, Contestant Elicia has decided to bypass it completely by launching herself through the air!"} 

{"That's an ingenious tactic on two levels, Loli."} Yajima said. {"First, she does not waste time trying to avoid the mines. And second, she leaves all the mines for the others to deal with. And with that, if there was a chance for the others to catch up before, this solidifies her first place in this event for sure."} 

And just as Yajima said, Elicia, while still flying through the air, crossed the finish tine before landing gracefully and posing as if she had just finished a gymnastics routine. 

*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!* 

{"And Contestant Elicia takes first place."} Loli announced enthusiastically. {"Let's see how the rest of the contestants will finish."} 

Not long after Elicia, Sui-Feng, covered in soot with a few tears in her clothing, was the next to finish. After her, Ikkaku crossed the finish line in third place. After Ikkaku, Aerith was the next to finish, as she used a [Time Magic] spell called [Slow] to gain the upper hand over the other three contestants in the final stretch. 

Rufus took fifth place, copying Aerith's [Slow] spell shortly after Aerith's ended to gain an advantage over Karen and Yuka. As for Karen and Yuka, it was a photo finish, with Karen just barely squeaking out the victory over the Lamia Scale wizard. 

{"And that's the end of the 'Assault Course' event."} Loli shouted. {"Now, let's take a look at the current scores before we move onto the Battle Round for Day Two of the x790 Grand Magic Games."} 

{Overall Scoreboard 

Rank Team Score 

Fairy Tail 30 Pts. Mermaid Heel 24 Pts. Final Fantasy17 Pts. Blue Pegasus13 Pts. Sabertooth 11 Pts. Quatro Cerberus 10 Pts. Lamia Scale 3 Pts. Twilight Ogre 0 Pts.}