Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 166: Give the Guild Master a Break

Rhodes asked, "By the way, why'd you reach out to us? You picking a fight?"

"Max just wanted to say hi."

"Oh, perfect! Let's have a chat then," Rhodes said casually. "Cana and I are bored out of our minds."

"Hey, we're taking an exam, not going on a camping trip," Warren replied, exasperated.

"Well, we're just sitting around until we find the key or stumble across the exit."

Rhodes smirked and revealed his "evil plan." "Besides, if I keep chatting with you, maybe I'll burn up some of your magic power. If we end up fighting, it'll be easier for us."

Click.

Warren cut the connection without a word.

Cana burst out laughing. "You really are terrible! But why say that out loud?"

"It's just a little payback. I don't like being listened in on all the time," Rhodes said, crossing his arms. "Isn't there some way to block that kind of detection?"

"Besides keeping your distance, I'm not sure," Cana mused. "But I heard that if someone's telepathy magic is stronger than his, they can 'invade' or even 'hijack' his communication."

'So it's like hacking a mental network?' Rhodes thought.

—

About twenty minutes later...

Rhodes' eyes lit up just as Cana cried out, "Found it!"

"What?" Rhodes asked. He'd just felt one of his Murk Wolves cancel its summon—his signal that the key had been secured and passed off. One of the beasts should be delivering it soon.

"I mean i found it!" Cana called from above.

She leapt off a rock wall, springing into a hidden cave overhead. Moments later, she popped into view, holding up the oversized wooden key. It looked exactly like the one Makarov had shown them before.

"Double jackpot." Rhodes grinned. "Should I take mine and sell it to Warren team?"

Cana chuckled, clearly in high spirits. "Sure, I'll even haggle for you. Just give me half the cut for wine money."

Rhodes rubbed his chin, mock tempted. "Ugh, fine... let's not give the old man any more headaches."

He dismissed all of his summoned creatures except the Scuttle Crab, letting the key randomly drop somewhere.

"Let's see who gets lucky," he said.

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The two of them headed toward the finish line at a relaxed pace, scaling whatever obstacles got in their way instead of detouring.

When they finally reached the three exit gates, they saw that one had already shut.

"Someone beat us here." Rhodes checked the vision from his remaining Scuttle Crab.

"Mickey and Joey still haven't found their key," he observed. "But it looks like they're gearing up for a fight with Warren and Max. So that means Mest must've made it first."

"Probably thanks to Wan Chanzi," Cana said, referring to Mest's partner. "Once his arms turn into those metal hounds, he can sniff things out like crazy."

She glanced up at the sealed exit, still holding the oversized key in one hand.

"Wonder who they'll end up facing next."

"Let's leave them be for now. We should focus on recovering." Rhodes dismissed the crab that had been tailing Mickey and sat down on the cold stone floor, closing his eyes to quickly restore his magic energy.

"Yeah, good point." Cana settled down beside him, her thoughts drifting between the training they'd done over the past few days and the battle strategies they'd prepared for each group.

The first stage had gone surprisingly well. almost too well. Hopefully, that luck would carry over into the second.

By the time Rhodes had fully recharged, two familiar figures emerged from the maze, Warren and Max.

Warren had one of the massive Fairy Tail emblem-shaped keys tucked under his arm, while his other hand rested heavily on Max' shoulder for support.

Both of them were scratched up and dirt-covered, looking like they'd rolled down half the canyon.

Rhodes grinned. "Wow, you two look like you got properly worked over."

The two beat-up warriors didn't seem the least bit discouraged. Warren forced a smile, though it tugged at a cut near his mouth and made him flinch. "Doesn't matter. We won!"

"Can you even continue to the second round in that condition?" Cana asked, sounding skeptical. Hanging around Rhodes for too long had clearly rubbed off on her.

While she herself could still fight even with low magic power or an injury, she knew how important it was to weigh risk and judgment.

But looking at Warren and Max, they were barely holding it together.

"We didn't come this far to turn back now," Warren said firmly.

"Exactly. Just need to hold out a little longer, and maybe we'll pull it off." Max grinned through a bruise, glancing at the other pair. "So don't count us out just yet!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Rhodes replied with a nod. Then he tapped his chin and added with mock seriousness, "Which is exactly why, maybe it's best to eliminate you now."

Warren froze. "Whoa, whoa! You've already got a key! No need to go all cutthroat now!"

"I'm joking." Rhodes laughed. "This is just my way of blowing off steam before round two. Shall we head in?"

"Yeah," Cana said, inhaling deeply.

'Just a little longer.' She didn't know if she could handle another failure. But no, that wasn't the mindset she needed.

This time... she would pass.

With newfound resolve, she walked toward one of the two remaining exits, the massive key cradled in her arms. Before stepping through, she turned to glance at Rhodes, eyes seeking his reassurance.

Rhodes gave a small nod. He and Cana had been staring at the two remaining exits for a while now, but there was no visible difference between them.

At this point, all they could do was trust Cana's instincts. She had said her luck felt pretty good today.

Cana raised the oversized Fairy Tail key, poised to insert it into one of the magic circles. But right before she committed, she paused, frowned slightly, and turned around.

Without saying a word, she walked to the other exit and placed the key into its magic circle instead.

The key dissolved into the glowing rune, and shimmering ripples, like light bending across water, spread out across the entrance.

The two looked at each other, exchanged a nod of silent encouragement, and stepped through the portal together.

Behind them, Warren and Max craned their necks, trying to catch a glimpse inside, but the moment Rhodes and Cana vanished, large stones tumbled down from both sides of the canyon wall, sealing the entrance shut.

"I wonder who they'll run into," Max murmured.

"Want me to ask them with telepathy?" Warren offered.

He shook his head a second later. "Forget it. If I interrupt the exam, Cana might actually kill me."

A short silence passed.

Then Max clapped his hands together and stood up. "Alright, break time's over! Let's keep going!"

Warren nodded. "Yeah. We can't afford to fall too far behind."

They approached the last remaining entrance. As they stepped through, the world beyond the stone shimmered with a warm crimson hue.

When their vision cleared an armor came into focus, they both froze in place.

"Er—Erza?!" they stammered in unison.

Among the three S-Class wizards acting as examiners, Erza Scarlet might not have been the strongest, though that was debatable, but she was definitely the most terrifying.

Not because of her magic or strength, but because they'd been flattened by her too many times to count.

If it were Laxus or Mystogan waiting inside, they might've at least tried to put up a brave front.

But Erza?

Just seeing her made their knees go weak.

Erza greeted them with her signature, battle-ready smile. "I've been waiting for you. Let me explain the rules, and then you'll fight me with the full intent to take me down."

She drew one of her swords in a flash of light. "I'll be on high alert—so don't expect me to hold back."

Warren and Max instinctively clung to each other, voices trembling.

"Nooooo!!!"

...

Thank you all for the amazing support and powerstones last week! I was swamped with IRL stuff and couldn't quite catch up with the previously dropped translation, but we're back on track now! This week, we'll be fully caught up in a day or two, and I'll be dropping a few bonus Chapters even beyond the powerstone goal! Let's aim for the top 20 this week—let's gooo! 🚀