Fairy Tail: Jinchuriki

When they've just started to fly, Levy suddenly suggests they go to the center first. She thinks that because the teams are entering the labyrinth from all sides, the center should be the furthest from all of those entrances.

So she thinks that the goal should be somewhere near the center of this spherical labyrinth. If the goal is on the East side of this labyrinth, then the teams that enter through the Eastern entrances will be very close with it, making it unfair for the other teams.

Her theory really makes sense, so everyone agrees. Alex also vaguely remembers that in the series, Fairy Tail Team A found the center first before finding the goal. He only remembers it after Levy mentions it, making him very glad he chose Levy as a team member.

There are a lot of objects obstructing their way to the center. They also see many teams standing upside down, sideways, slightly leaning, or in normal positions as they fly. Many of those teams are fighting too.

But all of them are surprised when they see Alex's team just fly past them without walking through these confusing paths. Some try to attack them, but they move too quickly, so none of those attacks hit them.

"Hmm? They seem to be taking notes and making simple maps." Lucy looks at the papers held by the other teams.

"I see. They are taking each other's maps to find the correct path." Levy quickly understands what the other teams are doing.

"Should we also attack them and take their maps?" Elfman asks from below.

"No, I don't think that's a good idea. We already have the advantage of being able to fly past all obstacles. Besides, taking their maps won't be too helpful to us. They all come from different entrances, going through different paths, and we don't know where those locations are. Even if we get them all, we'll still need to put them together like a puzzle, and there's no way we can make a full map of this labyrinth with their maps because the teams that are left here are those that haven't found the exit."

As if to support Levy's doubt, the labyrinth suddenly moves, changing its structure. This means the map of this labyrinth has changed too and the maps those teams make will be useless unless the labyrinth's structure returns to its previous form.

"This..... It might be able to rotate in different directions. Now I'm sure of it. The goal must be in the center. After all, the smallest changes that can happen in a rotating giant spherical labyrinth is in the central area. It's just like a rubik cube. If they put the goal in the outer layers, it will move away too far when the labyrinth rotates, making it too difficult to solve. People can fail if the labyrinth suddenly moves even though they almost reach the goal, so the fairest location for the goal is near the center where it won't move too far even when the labyrinth rotates."

Levy is even more sure of her theory and everyone is convinced that she is right. So Alex moves faster to the center. Thankfully, it's easy to know where the center area is when they aren't affected by the labyrinth's strange gravity fields.

They reach the center fairly quickly and it is another strange location. It's like they enter another space with an island complete with the sea. It even has sky and clouds, but they quickly realize that the sky is just drawing, so they are inside a really big room.

There are many buildings there and the goal can be hidden anywhere. But they don't go to any of the buildings. Levy tells them to head East following the clue of going to Domus Flau which is located East from this labyrinth.

The artificial land flips upside down when they move, but the gravity keeps them on it. Even the water that forms a kind of lake doesn't drop thanks to the gravity magic mechanism.

They find a long bridge above the water as they go to the East. Alex sees a kind of door at the end of this long bridge. Now he remembers that it's the end goal of this labyrinth, so they are on the right track all along.

Soon, they reach the door that Alex sees. Someone has been waiting for them there, someone wearing a pumpkin-man costume. He is the host of this tournament, Mato.

"Y-you reach this place very quickly, kabo." Mato is really surprised by Fairy Tail Team A's speed on solving this labyrinth. It hasn't been that long since the game started yet they already find the goal.

"So this really is the labyrinth exit, right?" Levy asks.

"T-that's right, kabo. Congratulations, you are the 1st place, kabo."

"HURRAY!" Fairy Tail Team A is surprisingly the 1st to solve this labyrinth.

Alex praises Levy for her great thinking that made them find the labyrinth exit very quickly. He also thanks Lucy and Pyxis for helping them find the direction in this confusing labyrinth. Elfman and Wendy also thank them, making them blush.

They walk through the door and it really is connected to Domus Flau. Then after an officer writes their names, they go back to their lodging. They are very excited because they can start the tournament in 1st place.

Even Alex didn't think they would finish 1st in the preliminary. It was a difficult game, so he would be satisfied by just passing it. Well, starting from the 1st position is always better than last, so he's obviously happy with this result.

"By the way, Alex. I'm always curious about this, but why did you choose us. I was very sure you would choose the S-Class Mages. We didn't even get into the top 10 in our Guild's tournament except for Elfman, so why did you choose us?" Levy asks what everyone wants to ask on their way back from Domus Flau.

"This is the Grand Magic Games, right? You've played in the previous events, so you surely know that just like its name, they make us do different games. This is not a battle tournament although I'm sure most of the games require us to fight. But as you saw in that preliminary round, we didn't just fight. I would choose the strongest fighters if this is a battle tournament, but it's not. We need members with different skills to face different possibilities. When we compete with power, you can count on me and Elfman. But when we need to use our brains, you surely can't rely on both of us."

"I see, I can understand that logic. But Alex, in the previous events, almost all games will involve fighting even when they didn't sound like fighting round. We will fight to obstruct the other teams. You, Elfman, and Wendy are powerful fighters. Lu-chan herself is not strong, but she can summon powerful Spirits. I, on the other hand, isn't that strong in battles compared to the other contestants. Even when I think of fighting anyone from Team B, I don't know how I'll do."

"I know the strong ones are my contracted Spirits, but hearing it directly like this is hurt, Levy." Lucy feels a stab in her heart when Levy mentions her.

"I-I'm sorry, Lu-chan. That's not my intention." Levy apologizes in panic.

"So you aren't confident in your fighting abilities? Even after you trained with me so many times? Haven't I given you a lot of advice regarding your battle abilities? Haven't you read a lot of books about strategies, psychological warfare, theories of magic, etc? Is all that knowledge useless to you?" Alex stops walking and looks at Levy.

"N-no, that's not what I mean." Levy seems flustered when Alex mentions that.

"You have read more books about magic than anyone in our Guild. So you should know the strength and weakness of many types of magic. You have learned many strategies too. If you use all your knowledge, you can defeat even opponents stronger than you with minimal effort."

"Is that even possible?" Levy still seems doubtful.

"How do you know it's impossible when you haven't even tried it. I could think of some ways to defeat myself if I were you. Your magic is very versatile, Levy. It's one of the most versatile magic I've ever seen. You have limitless options with your magic. No matter what your opponents' weaknesses are, you will be able to create those weaknesses."

Levy understands what Alex means. Other Mages who specialized in a single type of magic will struggle when facing magic that becomes their weakness.

If Fire Mages fight Water Mages and they can't use other magic, then they will struggle a lot. But Levy's Letter Magic is so versatile she can adapt it to her opponents' abilities.

Alex continues to walk when it looks like Levy understands what he means. "All of you are strong and skillful. You have learned and gone through a lot of things that helped you grow. Have confidence in yourself because you are strong."

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Ch. 223. The Undefeated Acnologia