Brought to you by an anonymous netizen…
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Night time…
He walked through the animal paths in Magnolia forest relying on his distant memories as the only guide. He kept walking for about 10 or so minutes until he finally came upon the river coast next to the small river he remembered.
Even in that somber darkness, the river still flows as calmly as it did 4 years ago. The light and crisp sound of flowing water entered his ears and soothed his heart.
Standing on the river coast, he took in the scenery of this familiar river. In his mind, memories of how he had trained magic control and sword techniques flashed through his mind. He also recalled the days he spent training himself while traveling around Magnolia.
Noah may very well be an alien. He was born with the appearance and cognizance of a 10-year-old. In other words, he looks to be 17 years old but in fact, he had actually lived only 7 years in this world. He spent almost all his 7 years on improving and strengthening himself.
In a way, these 7 years had been the most significant and dry period of his life. He trained and trained but he still belongs to a family, he forged himself but he also didn't forget to find those he could call his comrades. Even if he were to be given a second chance, he wouldn't have it any other way, he does not regret doing what he did up to this point.
Immersed in his own thoughts, he soon heard multiple footsteps and he returned to the present.
"Ah! You really are here!"
He heard a perky voice and sure enough, from within the woods came the 3 girls that he used to share this secret training location with.
Like how he used to came here to train with them, Mira, Erza, and Lisanna walked to his side while leaving audible footsteps.
"Why are you hiding here all alone"
Mira crossed her arms and she had a teasing grin on her face.
"Could it be that you're shy after being away from the guild for so long?"
"There are a lot of newbies that joined during the past 4 years and they are all very curious about Noah Nii-san."
Lisanna assertively grabbed one of his arms while beaming at him.
"When I told them that Noah Nii-san is on par with Mira and Erza in the past, they just couldn't seem to believe what I said."
"Actually, I think most of them already knew, they just didn't voice it out."
Erza chuckled.
"I believe most of them saw how Noah effortlessly thwarted the combined attacks Mira and I did."
He listened to his childhood friends throwing around the conversation with all the tone they used to have preserved, he heartily laughed at the thought.
"I see, the guild had been quite jovial during the past 4 years."
"Noah Nii-san, Mira and Erza are no longer the girls you knew in the past, you know!"
Lisanna grinned in a mysterious manner before surprising him with a revelation.
"You should know that Mira and Erza are already S rank magicians now!"
"S-Class magicians?"
He's really shocked by this, he turned towards the two girls with an astonished expression on his face.
"You girls passed the S-Class magician test?"
"It happened about 2 years after you went on training. I was chosen by the guild master to participate in the S class promotion exam."
Erza replied with a slight tinge of nostalgia in her words.
"A lot of stuff happened and I almost gave up but I still managed to pull through barely and became someone who passed the exam and got the promotion."
"Although I hate to admit it, I only passed the promotion exam a year after she did."
Mira pouted.
"In other words, I passed the exam just a year ago."
"Erza passed the S class promotion exam at an age of 15 that year, she stirred up a bit of a commotion due to it and became the youngest S-Class magician in Fairy Tail!"
Lisanna chirped.
"Mira-nee was late by a year but she's still pretty impressive to attain S-Class magician status at an age of 16 where not many before her had done so. Noah Nii-san, you're really far behind them ya know!"
Listening to them, his astonishment slowly faded and looking at how the two girls are acting like it's only a matter of course, he felt a good amount of respect for his childhood friends' achievements.
He's not sure about how the other guild does their exams but he is pretty sure the promotions exams of Fairy Tail are done in such a way that the exact circumstances change each year so that it is hard to expect what is going to happen next time.
However, before one can even participate in the promotion exam, one must have a certain amount of strength and experience. The experience here refers to more than just tenure in Fairy Tail, it's nigh impossible for a newbie to enter the exam the exact same year he joined the guild, the basic requirement is around 1 or 2 years tenure, it also depends on how active a member is before the exam and the abilities they exhibit based on the jobs they did and how they went about doing it.
In summary, the experience is only something for the guild master to see and understand that the prospective candidate has the bare minimum required to join a promotion exam.
Only those who are active and has the required amount of strength can enter into the guild master's consideration. Erza joined the promotion exam when she was 15 years old and Mira did the same thing when she was 16 years old. This goes to show that the two girls put in a lot of effort so that they can participate in the S class promotion exam, at such a tender young age even.
His adoptive brother, the genius that shocked Gildarts, no pun intended, even he only became an S-Class magician at the age of 17.
Mira and Erza are earlier in regards to S class attainment, it isn't odd that Lisanna sounded proud of what the girls had got going on for them.
"You girls are too sneaky aren't you?"
Noah felt slightly unamused.
"You girls came over to call on me many times in the past 4 years and none of you even mentioned such a thing to me?"
Mira, Lisanna, and Erza all laughed out loud at the same time. Judging by how they behaved, their omission seemed to be of a deliberate nature, he could do nothing but bitterly laugh.
"Well, how about you?"
Mira licked her lips and the eyes she used to look at him shone brightly.
"Now that you are back, this means that your [Crush] mastery is at a level that wouldn't cause a disaster right?"
Lisanna and Erza's eyes shone brightly as well, it seems these girls are very interested in this topic.
Noah got back at them by feigning high and mighty.
"You wanna know? Well, that's for me to know and you to find out!"
Naturally, Mira and Erza isn't pleased with his answer. Lisanna seemed to have remembered something before whispering into his ear while blushing.
"Noah Nii-san isn't going to strip us naked with [Crush] again right?"
Noah almost planted his face in the ground after hearing her, he rolled his eyes at Lisanna who is giggling non-stop.
He seemed to have returned to his childhood on this night. The four of them stayed at their secret base and the sound of laughter and ball busting never stopped coming.